Fic: Perfectly Normal 3/7, PG
Title: Perfectly Normal
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Category: humor, romance
Timeframe: New Republic; one week after VotF
Summary: Luke and Mara discover that being a couple includes facing unexpected challenges.
Part One
Part Two
Luke's speeder was sleek and well-maintained, and he drove it like the fighter pilot he was. The evening was warmer than usual for early summer, and even with Luke driving faster than he really should, the wind that whipped Mara's hair left no chill. Watching the orange and red streaks of sunset spread over the sky, Mara gave herself over to the joy of sheer speed and precision, while resolving to outdo him the next time they should take her speeder.
Luke pulled into a parking slot outside the restaurant just a little too fast to be considered safe, and shut the engine down smoothly. Mara raised an eyebrow at him as she ran a hand over her disheveled hair. He grinned in return, exiting the speeder and circling around to open her door. Mara stepped out with deliberate grace, brushing against him slightly as she did so.
"Not nice to tease, Mara," he murmured into her ear as he leaned past her to shut the door.
"Who's teasing?" Mara asked, widening her eyes innocently.
He merely rolled his own eyes back at her, then took her hand. Mara tightened her fingers around his briefly, smiling as he brushed back a few stray tendrils of her hair with his other hand, the look in his eyes soft and warm and amused.
The long walkway that led to the Ithorian restaurant they'd chosen was lushly landscaped, a definite rarity on Coruscant. Slender trees draped graceful branches over the path, while vines dotted with tiny purple flowers twined around their trunks and dripped over the branches, mingling with the gray-green leaves. Smaller white and gold-flowered bushes nearly covered the ground along the sides of the walkway and even reached into the walkway itself, and the pale, rich scent of blooming greenery hung heavy in the air.
The entire atmosphere was one of quiet contentment, and Mara found herself relaxing more than she had in months. She was absently trailing her free hand through the leaves within her reach when something small and thin rolled beneath her shoe. Luke's hand caught her upper arm, steadying her, but not before she'd nearly fallen. "What the -"
"There," Luke said, pointing. Half a meter in front of them, a small lizard with pale blue scales reared up and hissed, then fell back onto all six legs and dashed into the undergrowth on the path's other side.
"Well, how stupid is that thing to step right in front -" Taking a step forward, Mara stumbled again and looked down to find the lizard's detached tail lying where she'd been standing, along with the heel of one of her shoes. "Oh, shavit." She bent down to pick up the heel, eyeing the still-twitching tail as she did so. "That's really disgusting."
"But useful. To the lizard, anyway," Luke said. "Are you going to be able to walk, though?"
Holding the snapped-off heel in one hand, Mara took an experimental step. The intact shoe's heel clicked daintily on the permacrete, followed by a less ladylike clomp from the broken one. Mara planted her fists on her hips as she looked down at her feet and scowled. "Walk, yes. I'll just look like an idiot, that's all. And I sure can't dance like this."
"You don't look like an idiot," Luke said soothingly. "You look beautiful, and once we're sitting down, no one will see your shoes. We'll stop back at your place before we go dancing so you can change shoes, or fix those."
Mara sighed, but the alternative was to go directly back to her apartment for new shoes, which would mean missing their reservation. Luke's expression was far too hopeful for her to do that to him. "All right."
She took Luke's hand again and tried to maintain her earlier feeling of contentment as she click-clomped the rest of the way to the restaurant's door, but Mara had been trained from earliest memory to move with conscious grace and her inevitable limp bothered her more than she'd admit. Luke said nothing, but sympathy was prominent within his Force sense. Mara sent a sense of gratitude toward him and concentrated on not losing her balance again.
The maitre'd greeted them with a sweeping bow. "Good evening, gentles. How may I help you?"
Even though Mara had spoken with Ithorians a number of times, the stereo effect of their multiple throats still had her furrowing her brow for a moment before she understood his words. Luke beat her to the interpretation. "We have reservations," he said. "Two for Skywalker."
"If you'll allow me to check the list," the maitre'd said, "I'll be right with you."
Mara watched him for a moment, then allowed her attention to wander over the restaurant itself. Most of the tables were surrounded by greenery draped over silver lattices, creating a feeling of seclusion. Much of the plant life seemed to be the same as outdoors, and the scent of the flowers mixed with the organic, unprocessed scent of Ithorian food. The result was different, but not unpleasant. Mara decided that they had chosen well, although she hoped the six-legged lizards stayed in the plants outside rather than in.
The maitre'd was speaking again, but Mara let Luke handle it as she continued to observe their surroundings. He was better at understanding him anyway -
"That can't be right," Luke protested, bringing Mara's attention back with a jerk.
"What can't be right?" she demanded.
The maitre'd spoke again. Mara only caught a few words, and looked sharply to Luke for a translation.
"They seem to have lost our reservation," Luke said, slight tension creeping into his voice.
"Oh, wrong answer," Mara said, glaring at the maitre'd. "Wrong, wrong answer."
She click-clomped forward, only to be restrained by Luke's hand on her arm. "Don't."
Mara turned her glare on him. "Don't what?"
"Whatever it is you're thinking," he said, pinning her with a glare of his own. "I don't need a Force-bond to read that expression, you know. We're here -" he took a deep breath "- to relax. Not maim people or destroy property. Let me take care of this."
She folded her arms across her chest and eyed him, then waved an open hand toward the maitre'd's station. "Be my guest, farmboy."
"Thank you." Luke glared at her one last time, then headed toward the maitre'd.
Mara refolded her arms and watched, tapping the toe of her broken shoe. Luke spoke quietly to the maitre'd, and was answered by that oddly stereophonic voice. Luke's voice again, polite but insistent. The maitre'd gestured at him placatingly, but Luke only spoke again, lowly. Mara sighed and turned her attention back to their surroundings.
In only a few minutes, Luke rejoined her. "You can stop tapping now."
Mara raised her eyebrow at him and tapped her foot twice more with slow deliberation before stopping. "Oh?"
Luke shook his head at her, his attitude a mixture of affection and exasperation. "Yes, dear. I took care of it. We'll have a table in a few minutes."
"Well done, dear," Mara said with wide-eyed and fawning admiration. "However did you manage it?"
"Oh, stop that," Luke said, rolling his eyes.
Mara linked her arm with his and slid her other hand up to his shoulder. "No, seriously. How much did it take?"
The corners of Luke's mouth twitched. "I didn't bribe him."
Mara widened her eyes again, as theatrically as she knew how. "Not the mind trick!"
"Do you always have to be so difficult?" Luke asked wryly.
Mara paused for a moment's thought, then nodded. "All part of the deluxe package. Sure you don't want to retract your offer?"
"You're not getting off that easily," Luke said with a grin. He slipped his arm around her waist and guided her to the plushly upholstered couches in the waiting alcove. "You haven't told me much about how work is going this week. How's Shada's training coming along?"
And that was a subject that Mara could get behind, because she unexpectedly liked this replacement of hers - liked her quite a lot, in fact. Shada was quietly intense and fiercely competent, a good listener and a quick learner, and far more. In the week they'd been working together, Mara had also learned that Shada had a wicked sense of humor, excellent aim with a blaster, and shared Mara's own fondness for watching smashball tournaments. Beyond all that, Mara also suspected that Shada was more than a little attracted to Talon, and he to her, but neither was willing to admit it. Mara's conscience told her that she had no right to tease another about being slow in that aspect of life, while another part of her wanted very much to tease them both mercilessly. She had so far resisted, but it wasn't easy.
She'd found considerably more than a trainee in Shada. She'd found a friend, potentially a very good one.
So caught up in the subject was she that it was fifteen minutes later before Mara realized that they were still firmly seated in the waiting area and not at a table.
"I know," Luke said when she pointed that out. "I was going to go check on that when you were done with your story."
"I'm done enough," Mara said, frowning toward the maitre'd, who in turn spared them not a glance. "I can tell you the rest once we get a table. I don't like this."
"All right," Luke said, standing and absently tugging his jacket back in place. "Wish me luck."
Unable to resist, Mara began, "There is no luck, only the -"
"Oh, shut up." Luke headed back to the maitre'd, who at first, Mara could tell from her vantage point, tried to politely brush him off. Luke persisted, but the Ithorian's body language radiated unconcern. Luke eventually managed to engage him in conversation, but despite the Ithorian's placating gestures, Mara could tell that he was in no hurry to accede.
She sighed and waited, resignedly assessing the decor once again, as she brushed a stray bug off her arm. On second thought, there might indeed be too many plants in here.
It was several minutes before Luke returned, holding his arm out to her. "They have a table. Let's grab it before they change their minds."
"You're kidding," Mara said, raising an eyebrow as she stood and took his arm. "What finally got him moving?"
Luke sighed. "I bribed him."
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Category: humor, romance
Timeframe: New Republic; one week after VotF
Summary: Luke and Mara discover that being a couple includes facing unexpected challenges.
Part One
Part Two
Luke's speeder was sleek and well-maintained, and he drove it like the fighter pilot he was. The evening was warmer than usual for early summer, and even with Luke driving faster than he really should, the wind that whipped Mara's hair left no chill. Watching the orange and red streaks of sunset spread over the sky, Mara gave herself over to the joy of sheer speed and precision, while resolving to outdo him the next time they should take her speeder.
Luke pulled into a parking slot outside the restaurant just a little too fast to be considered safe, and shut the engine down smoothly. Mara raised an eyebrow at him as she ran a hand over her disheveled hair. He grinned in return, exiting the speeder and circling around to open her door. Mara stepped out with deliberate grace, brushing against him slightly as she did so.
"Not nice to tease, Mara," he murmured into her ear as he leaned past her to shut the door.
"Who's teasing?" Mara asked, widening her eyes innocently.
He merely rolled his own eyes back at her, then took her hand. Mara tightened her fingers around his briefly, smiling as he brushed back a few stray tendrils of her hair with his other hand, the look in his eyes soft and warm and amused.
The long walkway that led to the Ithorian restaurant they'd chosen was lushly landscaped, a definite rarity on Coruscant. Slender trees draped graceful branches over the path, while vines dotted with tiny purple flowers twined around their trunks and dripped over the branches, mingling with the gray-green leaves. Smaller white and gold-flowered bushes nearly covered the ground along the sides of the walkway and even reached into the walkway itself, and the pale, rich scent of blooming greenery hung heavy in the air.
The entire atmosphere was one of quiet contentment, and Mara found herself relaxing more than she had in months. She was absently trailing her free hand through the leaves within her reach when something small and thin rolled beneath her shoe. Luke's hand caught her upper arm, steadying her, but not before she'd nearly fallen. "What the -"
"There," Luke said, pointing. Half a meter in front of them, a small lizard with pale blue scales reared up and hissed, then fell back onto all six legs and dashed into the undergrowth on the path's other side.
"Well, how stupid is that thing to step right in front -" Taking a step forward, Mara stumbled again and looked down to find the lizard's detached tail lying where she'd been standing, along with the heel of one of her shoes. "Oh, shavit." She bent down to pick up the heel, eyeing the still-twitching tail as she did so. "That's really disgusting."
"But useful. To the lizard, anyway," Luke said. "Are you going to be able to walk, though?"
Holding the snapped-off heel in one hand, Mara took an experimental step. The intact shoe's heel clicked daintily on the permacrete, followed by a less ladylike clomp from the broken one. Mara planted her fists on her hips as she looked down at her feet and scowled. "Walk, yes. I'll just look like an idiot, that's all. And I sure can't dance like this."
"You don't look like an idiot," Luke said soothingly. "You look beautiful, and once we're sitting down, no one will see your shoes. We'll stop back at your place before we go dancing so you can change shoes, or fix those."
Mara sighed, but the alternative was to go directly back to her apartment for new shoes, which would mean missing their reservation. Luke's expression was far too hopeful for her to do that to him. "All right."
She took Luke's hand again and tried to maintain her earlier feeling of contentment as she click-clomped the rest of the way to the restaurant's door, but Mara had been trained from earliest memory to move with conscious grace and her inevitable limp bothered her more than she'd admit. Luke said nothing, but sympathy was prominent within his Force sense. Mara sent a sense of gratitude toward him and concentrated on not losing her balance again.
The maitre'd greeted them with a sweeping bow. "Good evening, gentles. How may I help you?"
Even though Mara had spoken with Ithorians a number of times, the stereo effect of their multiple throats still had her furrowing her brow for a moment before she understood his words. Luke beat her to the interpretation. "We have reservations," he said. "Two for Skywalker."
"If you'll allow me to check the list," the maitre'd said, "I'll be right with you."
Mara watched him for a moment, then allowed her attention to wander over the restaurant itself. Most of the tables were surrounded by greenery draped over silver lattices, creating a feeling of seclusion. Much of the plant life seemed to be the same as outdoors, and the scent of the flowers mixed with the organic, unprocessed scent of Ithorian food. The result was different, but not unpleasant. Mara decided that they had chosen well, although she hoped the six-legged lizards stayed in the plants outside rather than in.
The maitre'd was speaking again, but Mara let Luke handle it as she continued to observe their surroundings. He was better at understanding him anyway -
"That can't be right," Luke protested, bringing Mara's attention back with a jerk.
"What can't be right?" she demanded.
The maitre'd spoke again. Mara only caught a few words, and looked sharply to Luke for a translation.
"They seem to have lost our reservation," Luke said, slight tension creeping into his voice.
"Oh, wrong answer," Mara said, glaring at the maitre'd. "Wrong, wrong answer."
She click-clomped forward, only to be restrained by Luke's hand on her arm. "Don't."
Mara turned her glare on him. "Don't what?"
"Whatever it is you're thinking," he said, pinning her with a glare of his own. "I don't need a Force-bond to read that expression, you know. We're here -" he took a deep breath "- to relax. Not maim people or destroy property. Let me take care of this."
She folded her arms across her chest and eyed him, then waved an open hand toward the maitre'd's station. "Be my guest, farmboy."
"Thank you." Luke glared at her one last time, then headed toward the maitre'd.
Mara refolded her arms and watched, tapping the toe of her broken shoe. Luke spoke quietly to the maitre'd, and was answered by that oddly stereophonic voice. Luke's voice again, polite but insistent. The maitre'd gestured at him placatingly, but Luke only spoke again, lowly. Mara sighed and turned her attention back to their surroundings.
In only a few minutes, Luke rejoined her. "You can stop tapping now."
Mara raised her eyebrow at him and tapped her foot twice more with slow deliberation before stopping. "Oh?"
Luke shook his head at her, his attitude a mixture of affection and exasperation. "Yes, dear. I took care of it. We'll have a table in a few minutes."
"Well done, dear," Mara said with wide-eyed and fawning admiration. "However did you manage it?"
"Oh, stop that," Luke said, rolling his eyes.
Mara linked her arm with his and slid her other hand up to his shoulder. "No, seriously. How much did it take?"
The corners of Luke's mouth twitched. "I didn't bribe him."
Mara widened her eyes again, as theatrically as she knew how. "Not the mind trick!"
"Do you always have to be so difficult?" Luke asked wryly.
Mara paused for a moment's thought, then nodded. "All part of the deluxe package. Sure you don't want to retract your offer?"
"You're not getting off that easily," Luke said with a grin. He slipped his arm around her waist and guided her to the plushly upholstered couches in the waiting alcove. "You haven't told me much about how work is going this week. How's Shada's training coming along?"
And that was a subject that Mara could get behind, because she unexpectedly liked this replacement of hers - liked her quite a lot, in fact. Shada was quietly intense and fiercely competent, a good listener and a quick learner, and far more. In the week they'd been working together, Mara had also learned that Shada had a wicked sense of humor, excellent aim with a blaster, and shared Mara's own fondness for watching smashball tournaments. Beyond all that, Mara also suspected that Shada was more than a little attracted to Talon, and he to her, but neither was willing to admit it. Mara's conscience told her that she had no right to tease another about being slow in that aspect of life, while another part of her wanted very much to tease them both mercilessly. She had so far resisted, but it wasn't easy.
She'd found considerably more than a trainee in Shada. She'd found a friend, potentially a very good one.
So caught up in the subject was she that it was fifteen minutes later before Mara realized that they were still firmly seated in the waiting area and not at a table.
"I know," Luke said when she pointed that out. "I was going to go check on that when you were done with your story."
"I'm done enough," Mara said, frowning toward the maitre'd, who in turn spared them not a glance. "I can tell you the rest once we get a table. I don't like this."
"All right," Luke said, standing and absently tugging his jacket back in place. "Wish me luck."
Unable to resist, Mara began, "There is no luck, only the -"
"Oh, shut up." Luke headed back to the maitre'd, who at first, Mara could tell from her vantage point, tried to politely brush him off. Luke persisted, but the Ithorian's body language radiated unconcern. Luke eventually managed to engage him in conversation, but despite the Ithorian's placating gestures, Mara could tell that he was in no hurry to accede.
She sighed and waited, resignedly assessing the decor once again, as she brushed a stray bug off her arm. On second thought, there might indeed be too many plants in here.
It was several minutes before Luke returned, holding his arm out to her. "They have a table. Let's grab it before they change their minds."
"You're kidding," Mara said, raising an eyebrow as she stood and took his arm. "What finally got him moving?"
Luke sighed. "I bribed him."