The Right Thing
Title: The Right Thing
Characters: Luke/Mara, Han/Leia, Talon Karrde, others.
Rating: PG
Summary: When faced with a windfall of cash, will Han and Karrde do the right thing with it?
A week before the wedding, Han and Karrde were at the same tailor, getting their fancy clothes fitted. Han hated it--he figured Luke would have let him go in his normal clothes if the damn ceremony hadn't been slated to be recorded and attended by more dignitaries than Han cared to think about--but knew it was necessary for his friend. Luke had been happier than Han had ever seen him lately; that morning, the kid was practically floating, and knowing what Luke had gone through in his life, that made all this fuss worth it.
And, too, it was worth it for something else.
"So," Karrde was saying. "I don't usually propose this, but I really think a fifty-fifty split is in order. It's only fair, you stuck with it for the whole ten years."
"What can I say, I know my friends like I know my ships, and I could tell there was something going on with them." Han grinned, smug. "I always knew."
"You sure you're not part Jedi?"
"Hey, they don't have a monopoly on knowing things!" Han pretended to be indignant, but it was hard when his arms ached from holding them out from his sides for so long. "So what's the total now?"
"About ten thousand," Karrde replied. "And I'm promised to collect more on the day of."
The two men shared a grin.
"All in all, a worthwhile venture."
*
The public ceremony was almost as beautiful as the private one. Seeing the joy on her brother's face as he repeated his vows to Mara, hearing the sincerity in their words and even just feeling the depth of Luke's bond with his new wife, Leia couldn't help but smile. She didn't think anyone, seeing Luke Skywalker so happy, could do anything but. Even Han had seemed suspiciously less vocal about being stuffed into a dressy outfit.
Leia's eyes narrowed; Han kept shooting glances at Talon Karrde, sitting in the second row. The smuggler was rustling around a lot, and like her husband, seemed entirely too pleased with himself. Perhaps that was just the man; Karrde looked mighty suave in his dress clothes.
That illusion shattered itself when she saw someone pass him something, and Karrde nod at Han, who seemed to draw himself up again.
Then Luke and Mara were kissing, everyone was clapping, and she took her husband's arm as they all made their way back down the aisle. Ahead of them, just past the last row of seats, Luke and Mara were sharing a more private moment, their heads close together and arms around each other, and Leia slowed their steps, taking the moment to lean in close to her husband's ear.
"What's going on with you and Karrde? You two are way too smug about something."
It could have been the shift of light as they made their way to the ballroom the reception was in, but she swore Han paled a bit. "Nothin', princess," he said, trying to be nonchalant as usual.
"Don't lie to me, Han," she hissed. "If I find you have some... some prank planned for the reception--"
"No, nothing like that!" he insisted as they walked across the hall and took their seats to Luke's left at the table reserved for the wedding party. "Completely innocent."
Leia's eyes narrowed, but Han had already turned to congratulate his friend, and she had to do the same, getting up to hug Mara and welcome her to the family. But when she sat back down, she took Han's elbow in a vise-like grip.
"If I find out you've done something that will upset my brother's happiness on his wedding day, then the month of sleeping on the couch you'll be doing will be the least of your worries," she whispered in that deadly calm voice. Perhaps more of their father shone through in her than he'd previously thought.
Han swallowed, looking at Luke beaming at everyone who came over to say their congratulations. Was it really worth it after all?
*
Karrde met up with Han as they were both getting drinks. The dancing had started after dinner, and both of them had taken a few turns around the floor with various partners. Shada--his date to the wedding--had been cool with him, thinking it inappropriate that money was being collected at a wedding, but she'd danced with him well enough.
It was just business, Karrde told himself. Someone had made a bet that Luke would go back to looking for Callista, that he'd never marry someone with a history like Mara Jade's. Karrde, having been around the two Jedi longer and having seen their interactions firsthand (not to mention knowing that the rocky start they'd gotten off on could only portend true love) he'd called that bet and wagered that Luke would make Mara his wife, sooner or later.
The betting had been intense through the strange period after Callista had left and before that mess with the Caamas Document, and it had been the stalwart supporters Karrde--and later, Han--had rallied to the cause who had come out victorious.
And he and Han had made off like bandits.
"Here's your share," Karrde said quietly, slipping a chip to Han, who took it with an uneasy look on his face. "Five thousand, seven hundred and sixty-two credits. Not bad for a day's work, huh?"
"Yeah," the former smuggler said, slipping the credit chip into his pocket. "Not bad."
Karrde took a pull from his drink, eying Han. "Don't tell me you're having second thoughts now."
"It's just... it's their wedding, Karrde," Han said, looking at where Luke and Mara were dancing, completely absorbed in each other. "You really think it's right to do this?"
"You aren't really turning this into an issue of morality?" Karrde paused, then grinned. "Leia threatened you, didn't she?"
"The couch is not a comfy place. You try sleeping on it."
"Oh, Solo." Karrde slapped his friend on the back, though inside he wasn't feeling as confident as before. "You've gone soft."
*
Luke had stepped away to get drinks for himself and for Mara, and leaned on the bar, watching her talk with a group of her smuggler friends. She was laughing, smiling in a way he'd never thought he'd see from her--moreover, he could feel her delight through their bond, that wordless joy that was like a sun had been born in his chest.
She caught his eye and gave him a secret, happy smile. He didn't know he was staring until he got elbowed in the ribs.
"Han!" he said, grinning as he saw who it was--though he rubbed his side. "How are you? Enjoying the party?"
"Yeah, great shindig you have here, kid. Didn't think Jedi were supposed to throw parties."
"I'm breaking the rules this once." Luke collected one of the drinks he'd asked for, watching the bartender make the other. "How about you?"
"Well..." Han fidgeted, and finally pushed a credit chip at Luke. "I know Leia and I got you a present already, but I want you to have this. From me to you."
"What?" Luke eyed the credit chip. "What for?"
"Oh, y'know. Stuff." Han shifted. "I thought you two might need funds for a honeymoon or something. There's almost six thousand credits on that thing, that ought to get you a couple nights somewhere nice."
"Six thousand?" Luke must have been louder than he thought, because the conversations around him dipped, then surged again as he paused. "Where in all the Corellian hells did you manage to get that much?"
"Look, don't worry about it, kid. Just take the credits. And if you don't use it on a honeymoon, hey, I figure there'll be kids at some point. You'll need the money."
"Han, I..." Luke fingered the chip, then pocketed it and pulled his longtime friend into a hug. "Thanks."
"No problem. Just do something for yourself with it. All I ask."
As Han walked away, leaning over to speak quietly to his wife, Luke resisted running a hand over his face. He didn't want to know.
*
Karrde turned the credit chip over in his hands, watching how the light reflected off its surfaces. A little less than six thousand credits--no paltry sum, even to a successful man such as himself. But it was a lot to a newlywed couple, particularly ones who wrote the galaxy blank checks like the Jedi. And he didn't want to think about how much money that shiny new ship that Luke had bought his wife had cost.
It wasn't as though he needed it...
I'm getting as soft as Solo is, Karrde thought with a sigh, and slid off his seat to go over to Mara, who was standing with her arm around Luke's waist, talking with some of his Rogue buddies.
"Hey, can I borrow Mara for a moment?" he asked. Luke looked at him, then at Mara, who nodded slightly.
"Just bring her back, okay?"
"Sure thing." Karrde led Mara off to an area where there weren't many people, the tables all mussed and jackets slung over the backs of chairs where the occupants had left them to go dance. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a credit chip, pressing it into Mara's hands. She took it, giving him a very familiar, suspicious emerald stare.
"What's this about, Talon?" she asked, eyes narrowed.
"A wedding gift, from me to you." He made himself smile. "I think about fifty-eight hundred credits is enough for at least a few modifications to that new ship your husband's bought you."
Mara was still suspicious. "You already got us a gift."
"I'm giving you another. Mara, you've been a trusted employee for years, but more than that you've been a friend. I'm just glad you're happy with Skywalker. Please, take it?"
She sighed, but tucked the chip away into the little beaded clutch she carried with her. "Thank you. It's just so much money, I'm surprised--grateful, but surprised."
"Well, I've got to keep you on your toes somehow. Can't let married life make you complacent." They laughed at that, and when she went back to rejoin her husband, Karrde smiled. He knew he'd made the right choice.
*
As they were getting ready for bed at the luxurious hotel they'd been put up in for the night, Luke paused, pulling the credit chip out of the pocket of his trousers. "Funny thing happened," he said, turning it over in his hands. "Han came up at the reception and gave me a credchip with almost six thousand credits on it. I know he could use the money--but he said it was a gift."
Mara paused, brow furrowed as she went over to the clutch she'd had with her at the reception and pulled out one just like the one Luke was holding. "Karrde gave me this. It has almost fifty-eight hundred credits on it, he said."
They stared at each other, then at the credchips, then Luke shrugged and put his on the table. "I guess I wouldn't want to know where either of them got this kind of money."
"Or why they'd be trying to push it off on us." Mara set hers down too, then turned to look at him, and Luke's breath was taken away. With her hair washed, curling softly around her shoulders, Mara looked so much more relaxed than he'd ever known her to--save for the nights she'd slept in his arms after they'd returned from Nirauan. He padded over to her and pulled her close.
"I love you," he murmured against her hair, and felt more than saw her smile, at least until she pulled away and took his hand, tugging him toward the bed.
"I love you too, Luke," she replied. "Come on, let's get some sleep."
Characters: Luke/Mara, Han/Leia, Talon Karrde, others.
Rating: PG
Summary: When faced with a windfall of cash, will Han and Karrde do the right thing with it?
A week before the wedding, Han and Karrde were at the same tailor, getting their fancy clothes fitted. Han hated it--he figured Luke would have let him go in his normal clothes if the damn ceremony hadn't been slated to be recorded and attended by more dignitaries than Han cared to think about--but knew it was necessary for his friend. Luke had been happier than Han had ever seen him lately; that morning, the kid was practically floating, and knowing what Luke had gone through in his life, that made all this fuss worth it.
And, too, it was worth it for something else.
"So," Karrde was saying. "I don't usually propose this, but I really think a fifty-fifty split is in order. It's only fair, you stuck with it for the whole ten years."
"What can I say, I know my friends like I know my ships, and I could tell there was something going on with them." Han grinned, smug. "I always knew."
"You sure you're not part Jedi?"
"Hey, they don't have a monopoly on knowing things!" Han pretended to be indignant, but it was hard when his arms ached from holding them out from his sides for so long. "So what's the total now?"
"About ten thousand," Karrde replied. "And I'm promised to collect more on the day of."
The two men shared a grin.
"All in all, a worthwhile venture."
*
The public ceremony was almost as beautiful as the private one. Seeing the joy on her brother's face as he repeated his vows to Mara, hearing the sincerity in their words and even just feeling the depth of Luke's bond with his new wife, Leia couldn't help but smile. She didn't think anyone, seeing Luke Skywalker so happy, could do anything but. Even Han had seemed suspiciously less vocal about being stuffed into a dressy outfit.
Leia's eyes narrowed; Han kept shooting glances at Talon Karrde, sitting in the second row. The smuggler was rustling around a lot, and like her husband, seemed entirely too pleased with himself. Perhaps that was just the man; Karrde looked mighty suave in his dress clothes.
That illusion shattered itself when she saw someone pass him something, and Karrde nod at Han, who seemed to draw himself up again.
Then Luke and Mara were kissing, everyone was clapping, and she took her husband's arm as they all made their way back down the aisle. Ahead of them, just past the last row of seats, Luke and Mara were sharing a more private moment, their heads close together and arms around each other, and Leia slowed their steps, taking the moment to lean in close to her husband's ear.
"What's going on with you and Karrde? You two are way too smug about something."
It could have been the shift of light as they made their way to the ballroom the reception was in, but she swore Han paled a bit. "Nothin', princess," he said, trying to be nonchalant as usual.
"Don't lie to me, Han," she hissed. "If I find you have some... some prank planned for the reception--"
"No, nothing like that!" he insisted as they walked across the hall and took their seats to Luke's left at the table reserved for the wedding party. "Completely innocent."
Leia's eyes narrowed, but Han had already turned to congratulate his friend, and she had to do the same, getting up to hug Mara and welcome her to the family. But when she sat back down, she took Han's elbow in a vise-like grip.
"If I find out you've done something that will upset my brother's happiness on his wedding day, then the month of sleeping on the couch you'll be doing will be the least of your worries," she whispered in that deadly calm voice. Perhaps more of their father shone through in her than he'd previously thought.
Han swallowed, looking at Luke beaming at everyone who came over to say their congratulations. Was it really worth it after all?
*
Karrde met up with Han as they were both getting drinks. The dancing had started after dinner, and both of them had taken a few turns around the floor with various partners. Shada--his date to the wedding--had been cool with him, thinking it inappropriate that money was being collected at a wedding, but she'd danced with him well enough.
It was just business, Karrde told himself. Someone had made a bet that Luke would go back to looking for Callista, that he'd never marry someone with a history like Mara Jade's. Karrde, having been around the two Jedi longer and having seen their interactions firsthand (not to mention knowing that the rocky start they'd gotten off on could only portend true love) he'd called that bet and wagered that Luke would make Mara his wife, sooner or later.
The betting had been intense through the strange period after Callista had left and before that mess with the Caamas Document, and it had been the stalwart supporters Karrde--and later, Han--had rallied to the cause who had come out victorious.
And he and Han had made off like bandits.
"Here's your share," Karrde said quietly, slipping a chip to Han, who took it with an uneasy look on his face. "Five thousand, seven hundred and sixty-two credits. Not bad for a day's work, huh?"
"Yeah," the former smuggler said, slipping the credit chip into his pocket. "Not bad."
Karrde took a pull from his drink, eying Han. "Don't tell me you're having second thoughts now."
"It's just... it's their wedding, Karrde," Han said, looking at where Luke and Mara were dancing, completely absorbed in each other. "You really think it's right to do this?"
"You aren't really turning this into an issue of morality?" Karrde paused, then grinned. "Leia threatened you, didn't she?"
"The couch is not a comfy place. You try sleeping on it."
"Oh, Solo." Karrde slapped his friend on the back, though inside he wasn't feeling as confident as before. "You've gone soft."
*
Luke had stepped away to get drinks for himself and for Mara, and leaned on the bar, watching her talk with a group of her smuggler friends. She was laughing, smiling in a way he'd never thought he'd see from her--moreover, he could feel her delight through their bond, that wordless joy that was like a sun had been born in his chest.
She caught his eye and gave him a secret, happy smile. He didn't know he was staring until he got elbowed in the ribs.
"Han!" he said, grinning as he saw who it was--though he rubbed his side. "How are you? Enjoying the party?"
"Yeah, great shindig you have here, kid. Didn't think Jedi were supposed to throw parties."
"I'm breaking the rules this once." Luke collected one of the drinks he'd asked for, watching the bartender make the other. "How about you?"
"Well..." Han fidgeted, and finally pushed a credit chip at Luke. "I know Leia and I got you a present already, but I want you to have this. From me to you."
"What?" Luke eyed the credit chip. "What for?"
"Oh, y'know. Stuff." Han shifted. "I thought you two might need funds for a honeymoon or something. There's almost six thousand credits on that thing, that ought to get you a couple nights somewhere nice."
"Six thousand?" Luke must have been louder than he thought, because the conversations around him dipped, then surged again as he paused. "Where in all the Corellian hells did you manage to get that much?"
"Look, don't worry about it, kid. Just take the credits. And if you don't use it on a honeymoon, hey, I figure there'll be kids at some point. You'll need the money."
"Han, I..." Luke fingered the chip, then pocketed it and pulled his longtime friend into a hug. "Thanks."
"No problem. Just do something for yourself with it. All I ask."
As Han walked away, leaning over to speak quietly to his wife, Luke resisted running a hand over his face. He didn't want to know.
*
Karrde turned the credit chip over in his hands, watching how the light reflected off its surfaces. A little less than six thousand credits--no paltry sum, even to a successful man such as himself. But it was a lot to a newlywed couple, particularly ones who wrote the galaxy blank checks like the Jedi. And he didn't want to think about how much money that shiny new ship that Luke had bought his wife had cost.
It wasn't as though he needed it...
I'm getting as soft as Solo is, Karrde thought with a sigh, and slid off his seat to go over to Mara, who was standing with her arm around Luke's waist, talking with some of his Rogue buddies.
"Hey, can I borrow Mara for a moment?" he asked. Luke looked at him, then at Mara, who nodded slightly.
"Just bring her back, okay?"
"Sure thing." Karrde led Mara off to an area where there weren't many people, the tables all mussed and jackets slung over the backs of chairs where the occupants had left them to go dance. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a credit chip, pressing it into Mara's hands. She took it, giving him a very familiar, suspicious emerald stare.
"What's this about, Talon?" she asked, eyes narrowed.
"A wedding gift, from me to you." He made himself smile. "I think about fifty-eight hundred credits is enough for at least a few modifications to that new ship your husband's bought you."
Mara was still suspicious. "You already got us a gift."
"I'm giving you another. Mara, you've been a trusted employee for years, but more than that you've been a friend. I'm just glad you're happy with Skywalker. Please, take it?"
She sighed, but tucked the chip away into the little beaded clutch she carried with her. "Thank you. It's just so much money, I'm surprised--grateful, but surprised."
"Well, I've got to keep you on your toes somehow. Can't let married life make you complacent." They laughed at that, and when she went back to rejoin her husband, Karrde smiled. He knew he'd made the right choice.
*
As they were getting ready for bed at the luxurious hotel they'd been put up in for the night, Luke paused, pulling the credit chip out of the pocket of his trousers. "Funny thing happened," he said, turning it over in his hands. "Han came up at the reception and gave me a credchip with almost six thousand credits on it. I know he could use the money--but he said it was a gift."
Mara paused, brow furrowed as she went over to the clutch she'd had with her at the reception and pulled out one just like the one Luke was holding. "Karrde gave me this. It has almost fifty-eight hundred credits on it, he said."
They stared at each other, then at the credchips, then Luke shrugged and put his on the table. "I guess I wouldn't want to know where either of them got this kind of money."
"Or why they'd be trying to push it off on us." Mara set hers down too, then turned to look at him, and Luke's breath was taken away. With her hair washed, curling softly around her shoulders, Mara looked so much more relaxed than he'd ever known her to--save for the nights she'd slept in his arms after they'd returned from Nirauan. He padded over to her and pulled her close.
"I love you," he murmured against her hair, and felt more than saw her smile, at least until she pulled away and took his hand, tugging him toward the bed.
"I love you too, Luke," she replied. "Come on, let's get some sleep."