The Skywalker Chronicles
The Strong Gender
By Sienn (2002)
-------------------------
Rating: PG-13
Protagonists: Luke/Han (no slash)
Category: Humour
Spoilers:
None
Time Frame:
Approximately 22 years after the Battle of Yavin IV
Disclaimer:
STAR WARS and all characters created therein belong to George Lucas and I do
not lay claim on them, nor do I make money with this story.
------------------------------------
"Do you really have to go, Mara? I mean, it's not as if you've ever been
THAT keen on attending a Senate session, you know, and I would really feel
better if you stayed."
Mara Jade Skywalker sighed and gazed over to her husband who gave her one of
his best, innocent stares from his vantage point on the bed. She shook her
head in annoyance and snorted softly while she shut off the datapad she had
been working on and put it into a pouch of her tunic.
"Luke, you'll have a headache no matter whether I'm here or not. And it's
not as if you're going to be alone all afternoon anyway."
It was her husband's turn to snort. With an expression of extreme suffering,
he plopped back into his pillows. "When I said I wanted company, I didn't
have Han in mind. He is so. so."
"Yes?"
"Exhausting. And in my condition, I need rest and relaxation, you know."
Mara laughed as she fished Luke's attire for the day out of his drawer and
approached the bed. Tossing the clothes into his arms, she directed her
steps towards the door. "Dress and that quickly. I have an appointment and I
promised Leia we'd be on time."
Sudden hope filled the big blue eyes of the Jedi Master as he struggled to
sit up - groaning in the process and making an effort to show her just how
terribly stiff he felt.
"Leia'll be there, too?"
"Yes. We're going to attend the meeting together. She has offered to help me
present my propositions to the Senators."
"Oh." Luke mumbled, clearly disappointed.
Mara shook her head, unable to decide whether to be angry or amused by her
husband's behaviour. Smiling softly, careful not to let her dear flyboy get
a view of her face, she thought back to this very morning and how she had
woken up to find Luke ill.
*~~
From a certain point of view it had been the most amusing sight Mara had
ever had the pleasure to be confronted with that early in the morning.
Although she was naturally worried about her beloved to an appropriate
amount, she couldn't deny that the fact that he had caught a severe cold
felt like justice to her.
After all, she had warned him a thousand times about assisting Han with the
repairs on the sensor dish of the Millenium Falcon. Because of the necessity
of a huge crane to hoist the old dish down and the new one up onto the
Corellian freighter, the ship had had to be moved to an outside landing pad.
Of course the ex-Emperor's Hand hadn't expected Han Solo to care about the
fact that it was mid-winter on Coruscant and that rain, storms and icy cold
temperatures accompanied this season. Sometimes she thought he was as much
in love with his rusty bucket of bolts as he was with his wife, Leia Organa
Solo.
What she hadn't counted on was that her own husband would be so stupid as to
actually agree to help his friend when there was such a weather going on.
As far as she knew, Chewbacca - Han's Wookiee friend - had repeatedly tried
to talk the humans into stopping the work and finishing it at some other,
more convenient time. The large alien was well equipped to stand the kind of
small natural disaster that was one of Coruscant's rainstorms.
The men, though, hadn't listened - truth be told, she hadn't really expected
them to.
"Mara, I've never been ill. Not in all my life. And it's just a little bit
of rain."
That's what he had said before he had headed out. Mara had simply shaken her
head and darkly glared at him, inwardly cursing his foolishness. Under
normal circumstances, she understood his love for tinkering and working on
ships. There were times when she enjoyed doing it herself. But this was just
overdoing it.
It had been one of these moments where she had had the feeling this man had
no common sense whatsoever and it angered her when he got away with it on
top of that. It only spurred him on to do even more insane things.
When she had awoken to tentative, feeble sun rays peeking into their bedroom
this morning, trying to break through the ever-present layer of greyish
clouds that covered the sky of the city planet, it had taken her a couple of
seconds to identify the strange noise coming from beside her.
"Luke?"
He hadn't answered to her query. Thus, she had turned right in time to see
him convulse in accordance to another one of those strange noises.
Her suspicion - and curiosity - peeked, she had robbed closer to his warm
body, prying the blankets away from his face. During the night he had drawn
them up close to his chin and, as he had robbed deeper under them while he
slept, had managed to almost bury himself.
"Skywalker?"
With a groan, he turned onto his back, his eyes blinking tiredly at her.
"Morning, Mara. You slept we.." Before he could finish his question, her
husband exploded into a sneeze and hurriedly covered his nose with the edge
of the blanket.
When he had recovered from this and finally refocused on his wife, a clearly
amused smile was tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"I told you your idea was rubbish. But no, of course you wouldn't listen to
me. You never listen to me." She drawled sweetly, the smile turning into a
grin when his immediate rebuke was prevented by another sneeze.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He finally got out, trying to
sound dignified. He feared it didn't work that well. His voice sounded
strange to his own ears, which he felt were not working properly anyway.
"I'm talking about your insane decision to go out help Han in this
Sith-forsaken weather and the cold you have caught because of it." His
wife's tone had a merciless edge to it while she rose from the bed and
started to round it.
"I do NOT have a cold."
"No?"
"No. I'm feeling quite fine." Luke insisted and pushed himself up, fully
intending to rise and go to the bathroom. A hot shower would certainly make
him feel better. Halfway through the movement, a very unwelcome feeling of
nausea let him reconsider and he sank back onto the mattress with a small,
stifled cough-sneeze.
He heard Mara roam around in her drawer and imagined how she selected her
wardrobe for the day. Suddenly, though he really didn't care to admit it
aloud, he felt terrible. Every bone in his body ached and his head felt like
the sensor dish they had been working on the previous day had dropped on it.
Belatedly he realised that his nose was absolutely unfit to filter air
through to his lungs - thus the curious sound of his voice, he mused. He was
hot, he felt sick and he was tired.
"Mara?"
"Yes?"
"I feel terrible."
Jade-green orbs met his gaze, elegant eyebrows quirked. "Is that so? Could
it be that, for once, it would have been wise to listen to me?"
Another sneeze prevented him from answering in words, but he nodded, sending
her a gaze he hoped would trigger her pity.
Mara laughed and came over to him, sitting down next to him and laying her
right hand onto his forehead. For the first time this morning, he saw her
actually frown.
"You've worked up a fever."
"I've never been ill." Was all he replied, his voice testimony to his
surprise.
"Well, there's a first time for everything, love. It's best you stay in bed.
If it's not gone by tomorrow, we're going to call Cilghal."
The Jedi Master made a face, "Cilghal?"
His redheaded wife snickered, "Well, I can call for someone else, too, but I
doubt they're going to be able to help you better than she can."
Luke lay back, looking incredibly small among the thick blankets and pillows
and frowned. "I know, it's just.. Can't we do this a little more. umm..
Behind the scenes??"
For the second time this day, Mara erupted into genuine laughter. Smacking a
kiss onto his dry, hot lips, she rose and went over to the door, "Your
humour seems to improve with fever."
The Jedi scowled, "Very funny, my dear, very funny. You just wait until I've
had breakfast and a quick shower and."
"You'll have none of those. Stay in bed and I'll bring you something to eat
and some tea."
"I could get used to that."
"And some cough medicine."
Although she couldn't actually see it, Mara knew exactly how Luke's nose
would wrinkle at that and how an expression of disgust would invade his
boyish features. By nature she was worried about him, but at the same time,
she knew that it was nothing serious.
While she heated water for the tea, she keyed in Leia's number, acting on a
hunch that a certain Corellian ex-smuggler wouldn't feel much better than
his brother-in-law and having in mind to arrange something for this
afternoon that would teach them both some sort of lesson.
*~~
"Leia, I really think you should cancel this Senate meeting and stay with
me. After all, I'm your husband! Am I not more important to you than some of
these. these. fish heads?"
"Grethis are NO fish heads. They're related to birds, in fact." Princess
Leia Organa Solo, currently Chief-of-State of the New Republic, turned away
from Han to hide the grin that threatened to overcome her stern composure,
occupying herself with flicking a little bit of dust from the small glass
table next to the armchair.
"Well, I should be more important to you than some birds, too!" The dark,
rough voice of her Corellian sounded clearly annoyed and she knew that, as
soon as she turned around, a pout would greet her, destined to break her
determination and make her cradle him into her arms in pity.
Not this time, though. Not if it was his fault, and his alone, that he was
lying there and suffering from a cold that was certainly very uncomfortable
and painful for him. She HAD tried to talk him out of the repairs on the
sensor dish. But he hadn't listened. No, he had even dragged her brother
with him. And now Luke was struck with a cold, too.
Not that he didn't deserve it. Of course Han had talked him into helping
him, but her brother was no little boy anymore. He should have had the
common sense to refuse - at the very least when he had seen water pouring
down from the sky outside.
But no, he hadn't. Men and their ships.
When Mara had called and told her about her brother's illness, she and her
sister-in-law had immediately decided that an afternoon spent in the company
of each other - in the UNNERVING company of each other - would be exactly
what the two Bantha-heads needed to keep in mind that it was sometimes wiser
to stay where it was warm - and listen to one's wife.
"You will have company, Han. I would never let you alone in such a TERRIBLE
condition." Leia smiled at her husband and softly kissed his forehead before
she straightened and looked at her picture in the mirror, ensuring that her
dress sat correctly and her hair was in order.
"Terrible indeed. I've never felt WORSE in my whole life," Han grumbled,
drawing the blanket up to his chin and sinking deeper into the plush sofa
that was one of the centrepieces of their living room.
"Of course not."
"I would rather have you as company than Luke."
"Since when don't you like my brother's company?"
"Well, I do like his company, but he is so. so."
"Yes?"
"Well, rigid. I'm sure you won't even see that he is ill."
Before Leia could reply that she doubted that, according to what Mara had
told her, the door chime sounded and with a final, broad smile to her
husband, she went to open.
The sight before her left her temporarily speechless.
"Hello, Leia." The muffled voice sounded, nasal and pitifully weak, out of
an incredible number of thick shawls that were wrapped around Luke's head,
topped by a black Bantha-wool cap. Completed by his dark Jedi cloak, he
looked like a ridiculous figure sprung from a fairy-tale.
Unable to stifle a grin, Leia stepped back to let Mara navigate her husband
into the attic. She carefully steered him towards the wall against which he
sank with a small sigh.
Her sister-in-law winked at her, then - loudly - said, "I'm going to get the
speeder warmed up. You're coming?"
"In a minute," The Princess answered.
"Mara?"
The ex-Emperor's Hand clutched her belly, obviously shaking with silent
laughter. Leia could fully understand her. The whiny, little voice that had
its origin right next to her, in her dear brother's throat, was all too
laced with immeasurable suffering.
"Bye, Love. I'm going to fetch you this evening."
With all due care, Leia unwrapped her brother and although she was
determined to go through with the little scheme she and Mara had devised,
she had to admit that the sight of Luke almost managed to sway her and make
her stay with him.
Red-rimmed eyes, glazed with light fever, were a perfect pendant to an
equally red-rimmed nose and only half-lidded, in order to keep the light out
of a head that throbbed with pain. The pale skin, tinted scarlet at the
cheeks and hot to the touch, completed a picture of misery that, just for a
moment, made her heart clench.
It took all but a small probe in the Force, though, to reassure her that it
was not serious. Not serious enough to warrant cancelling an afternoon out
with a friend and by far not serious enough to deny her and her
sister-in-law the fun of putting their husbands back into place.
Patting Luke's cheek lightly, she grabbed her cloak and stepped out into the
corridor. "Good bye, brother dear. We're back as soon as we can. Han's in
the living room. Make yourself at home."
"But Leia."
Luke's cry echoed through the corridor, but only when she was around the
corner where Mara awaited her did the former Alderaanian Princess allow
herself to laugh out loud.
"I think by the time we come back, they'll be as tame as little Pittins,"
She commented.
The female Jedi Master grinned broadly, "If they survive the afternoon."
Leia buttoned up her cloak, looking at her friend with glittering eyes:
"Don't worry, I've locked away everything that could explode or burn."
*~~
"She didn't even kiss me goodbye." Luke croaked as he plopped down onto the
sofa next to his friend and drew his knees up to his chest. Scowling angrily
at the door, he repeated, "Not even a single kiss."
"Don't whine. Leia is choosing some birds over ME!" Han mumbled, sitting up
with a huff and taking a look at Luke. With a shake of his head he
commented, "You look worse than I do."
The blond Jedi Master shot him a withering look out of narrowed eyes and
frowned, "Birds?"
The Corellian nodded, sneezing into his handkerchief before he was able to
answer, "Yes. Some diplomatic thing. They want to join the New Republic.
Usual stuff. Unimportant."
"Mara said she was headed to a Senate meeting. Some presentation. With
Leia."
Azure eyes met hazel ones and it was at the same moment that it dawned on
them.
"Emperor's black bones. These little.. They set us up!" The expression of
total wonderment and surprise on Han's face and the utter indignation in his
voice would normally have triggered a laughing fit in Luke. Not today,
though.
"I cannot believe Mara is doing that. I'm ill!" Sniffling miserably,
trembling when he suppressed another attack of sneezes, Luke shook his head.
"I never felt that terrible. Why did they do that? They're supposed to LOVE
us!"
"You can never tell what a woman takes as love, kid. Probably they want
revenge. After all the fuss they made about this sensor dish thing
yesterday." Han trailed off.
"Right. It's all your. hic. fault."
"What??!!"
Luke turned so that he could look Han straight in the eye, then snuggled
even deeper into the couch and tried his best to look dignified. Taking into
account his dishevelled appearance, it didn't really have the intended
effect.
"YOU. hic... insisted on. hic. installing the sensor. hic. dish. I said we
should wait." He pointed out with all due care.
"I didn't insist."
".hic."
Han closed his mouth, staring aghast at the younger man. "What's the matter
with you?"
Luke grimaced, "I'm. hic... sorry. Comes from suppressing the. hic.
sneezes."
"Drink some water."
Wide blue eyes settled on Han, pleadingly hefting themselves onto his face.
The Corellian frowned, but finally pushed himself to his feet. "Just stay
put, I'm going to get you some."
"Thank. hic. you."
Rolling his eyes, Han made his way to the kitchen. He had the indefinite
feeling that this afternoon would be everything but relaxing. And some inner
voice told him that this was exactly what his wife and his sister-in-law had
planned.
*~~
"Haaaan."
Han Solo groaned softly and looked up from the book chip he had fished out
of his daughter's old collection. His gaze slowly wandered through the
living room. Soon, his eyes came to rest on the tousled, blond head that was
all he could see of his brother-in-law who presently occupied the couch.
Although the Corellian sported a cold, too, it had soon become obvious to
him that Luke was more affected than he was. The fever of the younger man
had risen, and if one could believe him, he ached as if a Sarlacc was eating
him alive.
Never had Han had to put up with a whiny Jedi Master and he honestly thought
not to be up to the task.
"What is it?" He asked, getting up despite his protesting bones and rounding
the sofa. Luke's face was glowing and his eyes had adopted a muddy grey
colour, clearly indicating that his body temperature was far too high to
feel comfortable.
"I'm not feeling well."
Han grimaced, sat down onto the small couch table and regarded his friend.
"You don't tell," he mumbled.
"I'm not joking." Luke complained, coughing a little bit. His nasal voice
had a ridiculous quality about it, but the Corellian's amusement about that
had left him hours ago. He was not feeling very well himself, but it was
clear that Luke was NOT able to take care of himself right now.
"I tell you, Leia, just wait until you get home." he mumbled under his
breath.
"What?" the Jedi Master inquired weakly, mustering him from below.
Han sighed, "Nothing, kid." Bending low and touching his friend's forehead,
the older man frowned in slight concern. "You're really hot."
"My head hurts."
"No wonder. Your nose sounds like stuffed to your brain with Wookiee hair."
Luke managed a small smile. "Feels like it, too."
"Then we've got something in common."
Blue eyes gazed up at him, suddenly wide. "I'm sorry, Han. I'm letting you
do all that and you're ill, too. I'm..."
Luke stopped as the colour drained from his face, shot upright and, hand
firmly clenched over his mouth, sprinted straight through the door to Han's
and Leia's bedroom and from there into the fresher.
His Corellian friend sighed and sank into the warmed place Luke had just
vacated. Han rubbed his temples. The poor kid really had attracted quite
some thing.
Of course he was annoyed that he had to pamper him while feeling quite like
dying himself, but in face of this misery, he was not really able to be
angry. Besides, somehow, he had the suspicion that Mara and Leia wanted just
that - him and Luke having a fight and annoy each other endlessly.
Oh no, he wouldn't let them have this victory. No way.
"Haaan? Could. could you help me, please?"
The former space-pirate wearily got to his feet. He wouldn't let them win.
But who had said it would be easy?
*~~
Death had to feel better. Much better. Luke couldn't remember ever feeling
like this. The attack of the Wampa had been bad. Losing his hand had been
bad. But this was worse than bad. He couldn't even concentrate enough to use
the Force. The most annoying thing had to be the fact that he couldn't
breathe through his nose.
Feeling like a fish on dry earth, he turned and tossed. Sometimes he fell
into a feverish slumber, but he never managed to hold on to relaxation for
long.
He missed Mara. For about the first hour, he had been able to be angry with
her and NOT miss her. But now he just wanted her to be there.
Perhaps it was childish, but he was ill. When he was ill, he was allowed to
be childish. After all, it wasn't as if he was often ill. It was the first
time. He was dying and his wife was out amusing herself with his sister.
If the universe were fair, they should both be sitting next to him and
giving him tea and those sweat biscuits that the Solo's food processor could
make so well.
Speaking of.
"Han?" His voice was just a small croak and his throat hurt most annoyingly
whenever he tried to get a sound out between his lips.
The figure in the armchair that stood in one corner of the Solo's bedroom
snapped to attention, focusing hazel eyes on the smaller man on the bed.
"Don't tell me you're going to be sick AGAIN!"
Luke pursed his lips, his stomach roiling at the mere thought of the
previous similar incidents this afternoon. "Not before you said it."
Han groaned, "Oh, great. How much did you eat today?"
The Jedi Master struggled to sit upright and took a bowl from his friend
with a grateful nod. It had proven to be much less exhausting for both of
them when Luke didn't have to go to the bathroom when he got sick. That way,
Han didn't have to drag him back to bed again.
HIS bed. By all means, HE should be lying in there and Leia should be taking
care of him, Han mused. This - him taking care of Luke and Luke lying in HIS
bed - just felt wrong.
Clutching the bowl to his chest, Luke gave him another one of those
miserable glances that forced you to be nice to him. Cursing himself for the
soft spot he had for the kid, Han poured some tea into the cup that had been
standing at the ready on the nightstand and helped his little brother to
take a couple of sips.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
Luke shook his head, obediently emptying the cup and then sinking back into
the pillows, "I had no appetite."
"Well, if you had eaten something, you'd not feel nauseous so often."
"I'm not feeling nauseous often, I'm feeling nauseous all the time." The
former farmboy answered with a petulant whine.
"Try to not think at it." Han suggested as he took some sips of tea himself.
"To not think at it? Genius idea, Solo." The younger man grumbled in between
coughs and sneezes.
"Hey, I'm just trying to help you, okay?"
"Ha! And that from the man responsible for this mess in the first place!"
Luke bit back, meanwhile thoroughly angry with himself for going out to help
repair the Falcon at all. He had done smarter things in his life.. more
stupid ones, too, but yesterday was not far from this dubious honour.
The taller Corellian jumped to his feet and furiously glowered down at his
counterpart. "I don't need to listen to that. After all, it's me taking care
of you all day and I AM ill, you ungrateful, whiny, childish baby."
The bowl forgotten next to him on the bed, Luke fought himself into an
upright position once again and glared at Han as best he could, given the
fact that he felt like his lids were glued together. "Take that back!"
"Why? Don't you like the truth?"
"I'm not whiny! And I'm not childish!"
"You are, Luke, believe me. You are. Why do you think Mara has fled the
scene?"
"You no-good, red-nosed, tech-addicted."
"Who's red-nosed? Better take a look into the mirror before you throw around
with such titles, little one."
"Don't call me little one!!" Luke's voice had risen a few pitches and
adopted a definitely hysteric undertone. He had grabbed one of the spare
pillows and was already lifting and aiming it at the Corellian. The whole
scene had just worked him up more, making his face flush to a rich, scarlet
colour. His hair, tousled by the tosses and turns on the mattress, stood in
all directions and the mix of a pout and a scowl on his face was just
priceless.
Before Han knew what had happened, his anger evaporated and was replaced by
laughter almost as hysterical as Luke's annoyance. Clutching his stomach,
the older space pirate rolled onto his back, chuckling and laughing
uncontrollably.
Luke gaped at him dumbfounded, the pillow unused in his hands and his eyes
wide with surprise. It only served to send Han into more extreme laughter,
until the Corellian felt like suffocating right there and then.
"What?" The Jedi Master from Tatooine finally queried, sounding like a
little boy.
"You look so ridiculous.," Han forced out between giggles, doing his best to
get air back into his lungs.
Luke sniffed, straightening his spine, and blew his hair out of his forehead
with small puffs. "I'm not looking ridiculous. I'm a Jedi Master. And I'm
going to teach you a lesson. I'm NOT childish. And I'm NOT whiny."
"YOU are delirious." Han commented, still chuckling as dried the tears that
had appeared in his eyes. "And childish. Ow." the Corellian's hands flew to
his temples. The laughing fit hadn't done him any good and from one second
to the other, he felt quite as bad as Luke looked.
"You see? That was the Force." Luke grinned, emphasizing his point with an
energetic hop on the mattress that was ungracefully interrupted by a dive
for the bowl that had rolled off the bed.
Han giggled once again, "Was that the Force, too?" He asked, gleefully
patting Luke's back while the Jedi's body was racked by coughing and
gagging.
When the blond man straightened once again, his face was deathly pale and
all he could do was crawl back into his previous position and curl up under
the covers.
"All your fault." He mumbled. It did no longer sound serious.
Han bent over him and peered into the eyes that were barely opened. He knew
full well that Luke saw him, though. "Peace?" he offered.
The farmboy smiled and nodded, "Peace."
"Great. Now, you should really try not to think at the."
Luke groaned, "Don't say that word."
"Well, okay. But you need distraction." Han repeated, enjoying lying lazily
on his bed, relaxing his aching body.
"Distraction? I'm dying and you talk about distraction?"
"Don't exaggerate. So what kind of distraction do you like?"
Luke closed his eyes fully and a dreamy smile lightened up his boyish
features. "You know, Mara always.."
"Ohhhh no, you stop right there, kid. I'm not Mara."
The Jedi's voice was laced with sarcasm, "Oh, really? I didn't notice. YOU
asked, by the way."
Han waved the comment off, "Let's not start that again."
For a while, silence filled the room. Then an idea popped into Han's head.
"You like flying, don't you?"
A small huff was all he got for an answer.
"I take that as yes, and I know it was a stupid question. Interested in
Jacen's old "Shoot the Tie" pocket games?"
One blue eye popped open and gazed at the Corellian. "You still got'em?"
"Sure do. You think I throw such gems away? I'll be right back. Don't run
away."
"I'll do an effort not to." Luke grumbled as he rolled onto his stomach and
robbed to the edge of the bed, trying to peer through the door and into the
room Han had vanished into. An acidic stink got stuck in his nose and he
made a face at the bowl under the bed.
Closing his eyes in an - in his opinion - super heroic effort to not throw
up again, he levitated the bowl into the bathroom and Force-closed the door.
The action left him drained and his head throbbing and he wished Han would
hurry up.
Finally, the tall shadow of his friend fell over him and he looked up to see
him carry an old-fashioned holo game in his arms, complete with screen,
cables and joysticks. It was antique in itself and every collector would pay
a nice amount of credits for it.
"Does it still work?" he queried.
Han nodded. "We just need some energy and off we go. Not that a terrible
failure will make you feel better, but it will satisfy me to blow you off
the sky."
Luke snorted, pride giving him the power to sit up and actually stay in this
position, "What are you dreaming of at night?"
"Nothing you would like to hear." The Corellian grinned at him mischievously
and Luke couldn't help but smirk.
"I guess I don't want to learn THAT much about my sister."
"Didn't think you would. Now, we try it with that." Han kneeled down in
front of the wall, next to Leia's small commode, inspecting the power input
that gave energy to the small data terminal that was worked into the
furniture.
Frowning, Luke forced himself to his feet and stumbled over to his friend on
wobbly knees. The impact of his body sagging onto the floor when he kneeled
down next to Han felt like a fall from the Imperial Palace straight to the
surface of Coruscant, but at least his stomach seemed to have calmed down.
"Are you sure those cables are capable of handling that amount of power?"
"Hey, kid, it's me! Han Solo! Mechanical genius! Give me some credit here."
Luke merely continued frowning, but decided to inspect the joysticks after
he had come to the conclusion that Han would try this no matter what he
said. The Corellian had never been able to accept that he, Luke, the
farmboy, the greenhorn, was in any way more versed in this kind of
technology than him.
"Just take care." He mumbled, carefully reading the small mission summaries
that were written onto the back of each little game disc.
He had no idea how much time had passed when Han tapped him onto the
shoulder. Holding two small wires together, the Corellian stared over his
shoulder at Luke and smiled, "Now, just a few seconds and we can play. Then
you'll have your distraction. Your nausea will be forgotten in no time."
"I told you not to say that word."
Han grinned devilishly at him, not even looking when he connected the two
wires - the one that led to the small power cell of the holo-game and the
one that belonged to Leia's data terminal.
*~~
"Just great, Solo. Terrific, really. 3PO would have done that better." Luke
huffed while he Force-carried the blackened, fuming remains of the holo-game
in the direction of the small garbage chute in the kitchen. For the time
being, his annoyance with his friend outweighed the light-headedness and
tiredness that had assaulted him the moment he had stood up and had had his
legs bear the whole weight of his body.
Han, black smears and stripes covering his face and pyjama as they did
Luke's, merely shrugged, "Everyone can make a mistake now and then. I
couldn't have known these things were THAT ancient."
"Sure. It's never your fault, isn't it?"
"Of course not. That's the only way of living that's worth to, kid."
Luke snorted and deposited the ruined device in the garbage chute. He tried
to battle down the dizziness as he turned and gestured to the wall, "Let's
take care of this mess before Leia and Mara come back."
Han grimaced, "Yeah, you're right. By the way, we've been a heart and a soul
all day, haven't we?"
The Jedi perched an eyebrow, "What made you think otherwise?"
The Corellian grinned, "Thought so."
*~~
"Well, the apartment still stands. The door isn't blown through the corridor
either. Can we dare think they're all right?" Mara wondered, her hand
carefully wavering over the sensory field that would open the door.
Leia smiled, "I'd say we can at least start to. Let's get into the vornskr's
den and take a look, hu?"
The ex-Emperor's Hand nodded and together, they entered. The living room lay
in front of them - tidy, peaceful and absolutely unscathed. Exactly as they
had left it.
Mara frowned, "I don't know whether to be relieved or suspicious. Do you
think our plan has failed?"
"You mean, they have actually NOT had any dispute and not caused a mediocre
catastrophe?"
The redhead nodded.
Leia grinned. "No way. Luke? Han?"
There was no answer. Exchanging a look, they cautiously made their way over
to the bedroom. Softly and without a sound, Leia opened the door and peered
through.
"By the Force." she whispered, then chuckled and met Mara's inquisitive
gaze. "Take a look at that."
Mara frowned and changed positions with the former Princess to peek into the
room. She couldn't help but grin.
One portion of the chamber's right wall, next to Leia's commode, was
blackened, as was the carpet directly in front of it. On the bed, covered in
soot and huddled together sleeping, Luke and Han lay. The Jedi Master's
cheeks were still coloured deeply red and he looked definitely feverish,
while the Corellian seemed to be almost through the cold, judging by his
appearance.
The soft steps of the women alerted one of the men and Han blinked at them
in confusion. Only belatedly did he realise how Luke cuddled next to him.
When Leia and Mara began to chuckle, he scowled in embarrassment and softly
pushed the smaller man away from himself. Luke didn't seem to notice and
remained deeply asleep, mumbling unintelligibly while he turned.
"His fever is pretty high." The Corellian offered, groping in his memory for
what had happened. They had cleaned the room - or tried to. Halfway through,
they had both been overcome by exhaustion, collapsed onto the bed and had
immediately fallen asleep. The kid must have cuddled up to him searching for
a source of warmth. If you had fever, you were mostly feeling like freezing.
Relieved that everything had a perfectly natural reason, Han got out of bed
and carefully, tentatively, stretched his muscles and joints. He felt
better, much better, than this very morning.
He looked back at Luke with pity, "I don't think he's going to get through
this in a day."
Mara - her green eyes glinting - went over to her husband and caressed
through his sweat-dampened hair, "Probably not. Thanks for taking care of
him."
"It was just self-defence." Han commented, accepting Leia's embrace. "His
whining is unbearable."
The Princess laughed as she directed her husband out of the room, "I wonder
where he's got that from."
"What do you mean by that?" The former space pirate's voice could be heard
from the living room until the door shut closed.
"Luke?" Mara queried softly, cupping his cheek.
It took a couple of seconds, but he finally blinked and stared at her for a
moment, pouting, "Had a nice day? Lots of fun?"
His wife chuckled. "Are you angry with me?"
"Oh, no. I was dying and suffering and my wife was out shopping, dancing or
whatever. I feel that is how things should be."
"It served you well for being so stupid yesterday."
"Female logic." He grunted before he exploded into a coughing fit.
"Well, after things have been settled, what would you say if your wife
brought you home, made you a nice, hot bath and gave you a long massage
afterwards?"
A small, lazy smile appeared at the corner of Luke's mouth and soon evolved
into a broad grin, "I think it would be the last way to save my life."
Mara laughed, "Thought so. Come on, my love."
She helped him up and, arm in arm, they joined Han and Leia in the living
room for a brief goodbye.
"By the way," the Chief-of-State wondered, "what did you DO in there?" She
gestured toward the bedroom.
"It was his fault!" Both men stated simultaneously, pointing at each other.
Luke's eyes narrowed, "It was your idea."
"You wanted distraction."
"You insisted on trying the energy output."
"You could have prevented me from doing it."
"You never listen to me."
"That's because you're always wrong."
"I was right this time!"
"You never said a word!"
"I never. you conceited smuggler!"
"Wimpy Jedi Knight."
~End~