On Dating and Hairbrained Schemes

"Can you hear me, kid?"

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Luke moaned, placing a finger to his left ear which tickled with the echo of Han's voice.

"Quit your whining, Luke," Han replied. "This is the best way to keep you from making a fool of yourself."

"Since when is being myself making a fool of myself?" Luke said to the open air. He was seated at a small outside table at a Tapcafe not far from Han and Leia's apartments.

"Since you're about to have a date with an ex Imperial assassin who not long ago wanted to kill you. Do I need to remind you of the attitude that comes with red hair and green eyes? She may be beautiful and her eyes my make you feel funny inside, but there's a devil in there too."

Luke smirked. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous."

"Jealous? Jealous?" Han laughed, but without humor. "I've got a brown haired devil of my own. I'm just trying to educate you with the benefit of my experience."

"Have you ever made a fool of yourself with a woman, Han?" Luke replied.

"Besides the obvious? This isn't about me, Luke. It's about you. Try to stay away from topics like insane Jedi Masters, clones of yourself, and, by all means, steer clear of Palpatine!"

Luke rolled his eyes, thankful that Han could not see him.

Not ten standard minutes later, Mara turned the corner and Luke blew a low whistle at how stellar she looked. The irony was that she looked as though she has just been through a firefight defending one of her shipments. Her dark red tresses were tangled in places and the wind pushed hair into her face. Her emerald eyes seemed to shine through the strands as if glowing and dirt or some other substance streaked her right cheek and neck.

When Luke stood at her approach, she sat down hard and let out long breath of her own.

"Sit down, Skywalker," she ordered with a raspy voice. "I'm not a lady wHO needs all that show."

"She looks like hell, Kid," Han observed.

"Everyone deserves common courtesy, Mara," Luke replied, amiably. "Are you ok? You look like you just beat the tar out of a group of Rebel sympathizers."

"What are you doing, Luke?" Han hissed. "I said stay away from Imperial comments."

Mara laughed. It was a good laugh, filled with humor. "Not far from the truth, Luke. I just came from the space port. Repairs were needed on my ship. The sad sack of flubber running the service desk tried to overcharge me on the bill. Must of thought I was fresh off the farm from Tatooine. No offense, of course."

"None taken," Luke replied without thinking. Now that he had a time to think, he sat down at her suggestion, even though he qualified it with his courtesy comment. There was no doubt that this woman had a profound effect on him. But he would have to be careful not succumb completely to his fascination.

"Well, anyway, we came to an agreement," she concluded.

"Did he survive the negotiations?" Luke added through a grin.

"Luke how many times-"

Luke dug a finger in his ear and pulled out the ear piece throwing it to the ground and stomping on it. Turning his attention back to Mara, he smiled.

"Well?"

"What the stars is that?" Mara asked, perplexed by Luke spontaneous act.

"Han."

"Solo?"

"Yeah. He had a brilliant idea that he might talk me through this date of ours. He wanted to make sure I didn't embarrass myself. I just decided that listening to him tell me how to act with you was more embarrassing than anything I might say on my own."

"Oh. Okay," she replied, shaking her head. "Can we get on with it, then?"

"Absolutely. You were saying about the mechanic at space port."

"Never mind. It's nothing. Did you say Solo thought this was a date?"

"Yeah," Luke said tentatively.

She pulled an oil cloth form her pocket and wiped at the smudges on her neck. "Where did he get an idea like that?"

Hero of the Republic and Jedi Master Luke Skywalker froze. He stared at her without speaking, cursing himself for crushing Han's inner ear device. What would Han do in this situation? What would Leia do? What would Darth Vader do? He would probably rise and take her head with his lightsaber. Han would play it off as if he didn't see it as a date either. He would put her at ease by cracking a joke. As for Leia she would bury the embarrassment deep and plot a suitable public revenge. Would she? Maybe. But none of these responses were Luke. What would Luke Skywalker do?"

"Farmboy?" she spoke into his reverie. "I lost you there for a second."

Returning to the present, Luke picked up his cup of caf and took a sip. "Sorry Mara. I was surprised by your comment. You didn't think this was a date? I thought I was clear in my intentions when I asked you to meet me."

"You asked to meet me for caf, Farmboy," she replied, tucking the cloth back into her pocket. "That could mean anything. Stang! I was hoping you weren't going to try and convince me to joint the academy. Again. You might have wanted to discuss an update on the smuggler's alliance for all I know."

Luke fixed his bright blue eyes on her. "Mara, you know very well that if I wanted to talk about either of those business related topics, I would have made that evident. I asked you come have some caf with me…socially."

Mara pushed errant hair behind an ear, unsure how to respond to certainly handsome and unexpectedly candid Jedi.

"If I recall correctly, you mentioned something about an informal test of my Force abilities," she countered with a mischievous smile.

Luke leaned forward, resting an elbow on the table. He raised both eyebrows knowingly and winked. "That's true. I wanted to see if you were aware enough in the Force to realize my attraction to you."

"I'm not blind," replied playfully. "In the Force either. Your attraction is obvious."

Luke blushed. She was being as forward as he was. It was fun. "So what do you think about that?"

"About your attraction to me?"

"No," he deadpanned. "About your attraction to me. I'm the Jedi Master. Remember? If I didn't want my feelings known, you wouldn't know them. However, you are not as highly trained as I am and thus there are cracks in the psychic walls you have built."

"What do you think you know, Master Skywalker?" she said with a slow edge as she also put a elbow on the table. She was sitting sideways to the table and rested her chin in her propped up hand.

Luke took the opportunity to scoot forward in his chair and lean even closet to her. "I won't bore you-"

"-Good," she interrupted. "I hate a bore."

"-with what we've already discussed. What I will enlighten you about is your need."

She smirked. "My…need."

"Yup."

"And what do I need, Farmboy?"

"Me," he said with confidence.

"You?" she said, deepening her smirk. "And what is that I need from you?"

At that point, Luke retreated to the back of his chair and crossed his legs. "That is what this date is all about."

Sitting up, Mara screwed up her face and narrowed her eyes at the blonde man in front of her.

"I'll give you this, Skywalker," she said. "You've got some set of Bantha b-"

"Don't say it," he interjected.

She smiled liked the feline who ate the caged avian. "I was just going to say it's cute. You're cute, Skywalker."

He grinned and blushed and felt weak in the knees even though he was sitting down.

"I'll take it. Would you like to for a walk?"

"Not a bad idea," she replied. "Let's go."