Title: Comfort & Joy

Timeline: 6 ABY, 20 ABY

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, but I love them.

Notes: I am addicted to holiday fic. : )

6 ABY:

Luke Skywalker leaned back against his seat and sighed. It was cool inside of the cantina, the chill of the ice and snow outside permeating even the festive atmosphere of the room. He pulled his thin jacket in closer around him as he held his left hand over the steam from his cup of caf. At least the right hand didn't need warming, he thought darkly and sighed again.

"Another sigh kid and you'll be riding home in one of the smuggling compartments of the Falcon." But the corner of Han Solo's mouth was upturned as if to soften his words.

Luke shook his head and suppressed another sigh. "Sorry, Han. Really, I am. I just… I guess my mind's somewhere else tonight."

"Yeah," Han said, taking a long pull out of his bottle of ale. "Know what you mean."

Han's eyes took on a faraway look and Luke knew that he was thinking of Leia. She was back on Coruscant while he, Han and Chewie had investigated a possible Imperial stronghold on Kestos Minor. Stronghold had turned out to be too strong of a word for the handful of ex-patriots holed up in a warehouse on the edges of a populated citycenter. Luke had almost felt like it was a wasted trip until one of the men, fervent and over-eager, had pulled out a detonator and aimed it at an unassuming crowd.

In the confusion and aftermath only one person lie dead—the Imperial with the detonator. But to Luke that was one death too many and he began to wonder when it would all end. When the Imperials would stand down and when some type of peace could be reached.

"I guess I'm just wondering when it's all going to end, Han," Luke burst out, the image of the man with the bomb still fresh in his mind. "We keep going to all these backwater planets and finding—what? A man who was willing to blow himself up. For what? A dying Empire."

Han regarded him over his bottle. "You just answered yourself, kid. The Empire is dying. Eventually-" He left the rest of that statement unspoken, pointing the bottle at Luke. "And when did our roles reverse? Usually I have to drink a couple of these to tune out all your optimism and hope."

Luke sighed. "I just can't see the good we're doing… I'm doing… anymore. I thought that by becoming a Jedi I would be able to help the galaxy but so far—not much has changed." He looked around the cantina at the smattering of strange decorations on the walls. He assumed some holiday was upcoming on the planet because the décor looked out place on the walls, and hastily tacked up. But the patrons around them didn't seem to care as they merrily drank and chatted, unaware of the danger they had faced earlier.

"Maybe you've changed," Han said, finishing his ale and sitting it down on the table. He stood and clapped Luke on the shoulder. "Look, kid—what happened today wasn't your fault. The guy was unhinged. And you gotta think, there was a whole crowd of people there who made it because we—you—were there."

Luke took stock of the words and looked up into Han's face. "You're right," he said after a moment. "Thanks, buddy."

Han squeezed his shoulder. "Look I'm gonna go and check on the Falcon. Chewie said it would only take a half-hour to de-ice."

"I'll be right there." He turned and watched Han leave, then regarded the people around him. Han was right. They had kept a crowd of people safe, even if that one loss was hard on his conscious. He had thought that being a Jedi would be somewhat different than this. He was constantly in situations where he didn't know the complete outcome, just doing the best he could before moving on to the next crisis.

He looked down at the table and traced a crack in the grain of the wood. He just wished there were more that he could do. Taking a gulp of his caf, his eyes locked on a man walking up to the counter to order a drink. In his mind's eye he could see that man, standing among the small crowd earlier in the day as the Imperial had aimed his bomb. Luke had only a second to respond then and had reacted as the Force directed, stopping the threat.

And now this man was having a drink in a cantina, blithely unaware of how close he had come to death or injury.

Luke smiled to himself. After one last sip he went to the counter to pay his and Han's tab. The man he had saved had gone to sit with another group over in the corner and he couldn't help but take one more look at him, to reassure himself that it had all been worth it.

As he paid the tab he jerked his chin toward the decorations on the walls. "Is it a special holiday here or something?" he asked the barkeep.

The bartender nodded at him. "Yeah, Winterfest. Happens once a year, pretty big deal."

Something tugged at Luke's mind, and he pulled out another couple of cred-chips. "Here, then. Buy everyone another round. On me."

He didn't wait to see what the barkeep's reaction would be, turning to leave, realizing that if he followed the Force all things would even out in the end.

...

Mara Jade pushed open the door of the cantina with her shoulder, the snow and ice stinging her eyes as she blinked against the weather. She scrambled in the door, wiping at her face with the back of her ungloved hand. It was just her luck that she would find herself on a third-rate planet in the midst of a harsh winter. She had heard there were opportunities on Kestos Minor, but she was beginning to believe those rumors had been false nuggets of information designed to lure people away from real opportunities elsewhere.

The warmth of the cantina started to thaw her out some and she looked around, noticing a small group of men in one darkened corner and a set of trashy decorations lining one wall. She rolled her eyes and headed for the bar. She sat her hand on the bar and waited for the barkeep, looking down at the rough and reddened flesh of her fingers. But red was good and meant that she hadn't lost circulation. She pushed down the rage that threatened to bubble up inside of her at the loss of her old life and position. She had never in a million years imagined that she would be making a hardscrabble living in conditions such as these.

But she was alive and still had a purpose…

"Be right with ya," the barkeep said, positioning a tray of sandwiches on the dome of a droid.

The droid headed off toward the table in the corner and Mara's mouth watered at the sight of the food. She hadn't eaten more than rations in quite some time.

"What can I get ya?"

Mara licked her lips. She didn't have much in the way of creds on her, but caf was cheap and always welcome.

"Wait," the barkeep said, before she could speak. "Look, some weird kid was just in here and offered to buy everyone a round. I have one of his cred chips left—looks like it's yours. So whatever you want, it's on him."

Mara looked at the bartender, brow furrowed. Some kid had left money to buy everyone a round? And the barkeep hadn't just kept the money? She was too practical to examine the gift too closely, however. "I'll have a cup of caf," she said, "and a sandwich like the ones you just sent that way." She gestured to the table in the corner.

A droid set to work making the cup of caf and she accepted it a moment later, heading over to a table on the other side of the room. She sat in the seat and held her hot cup in both hands, sipping slowly. Setting the mug down she waited on her food, idly tracing a crack on the table as she looked out the window into the darkened night, watching the snow fly. The sandwich was delivered by the droid just then and she forced herself to eat it slowly, savoring the unexpected treat.

Again, she let her fingers trace the crack in the grain of the wooden table and she suddenly felt a pulse push at her mind. It seemed almost familiar and she automatically pushed back, drawing in a breath at the touch of the Force. She tried again but found herself unable to reach into the stream again, just as she had been unable to for a couple of years now. She frowned and took another sip of her drink, looking out into the darkness again, wondering at what she couldn't see.

Her life was still in shambles, but for just a moment the former Emperor's Hand found comfort in a hot cup of caf and a sandwich.

...

Luke started up the ramp of the Falcon but stopped, a strange yet almost familiar pulse in the Force pushing at his mind. He looked back toward the cantina he had just left.

"What's the hold-up?" Han yelled. "Either you're in or you're out, kid."

Luke shook his head, wiping the snow from his face, entering the ship fully, the ramp snicking closed behind him.

"Must have been my imagination," he muttered.

...

20 ABY

Luke took his wife's gloved hand in his, pulling her close and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He rubbed at her shoulder and gave her a sidelong look. "Cold?" It was winter on Coruscant and colder than most.

"You don't fool me, Skywalker." Mara leaned slightly into his warmth before bumping him with her hip. "You're cold and using me as your blankey."

"She foiled my plan," he murmured, grinning at her. "Anyway, what would you like to—hey, is that snow?"

Sure enough, tiny flakes were falling from the sky, landing on their eyelashes. Mara held out one gloved hand, watching as perfect flakes disappeared into the black fabric. "The Jedi has great powers of observation," she teased.

But Luke took no offense. "Come on, let's get out of this weather," he said, pulling her into the warmth of a caf house.

"I knew you were cold." Mara smirked at him but led him to a table in the corner. They plugged their caf and hot chocolate orders into the table's menu and started to unwrap from their coats and scarves.

"I've disliked snow for a long time now," Luke said conversationally. "But it does look pretty at night." Outside the lamps were turning on with twilight.

Mara accepted her mug from the droid and then turned to look out into the snowy night. She took a sip and felt something tug at her memory. "This reminds me of a night on Kestos Minor," she said then, wondering why she would bring that night up now.

Luke looked at her over the rim of his mug. "Kestos Minor. You know, Han, Chewie and I were there once…"