Tatooine Suns

 

Part One - A Farmboy's Touch
Luke Skywalker was sitting in his sandspeeder and played absentmindedly with a set of binoculars. His uncle Owen had asked him to check on the farthest located moisture fields and he hated the boring expedition. Sighing, he stood up and searched the horizon with the binocs. As he surveyed the area he counted off the characteristics of the landscape.

"Sand, dunes, more sand dunes, rock, sand dunes, more sand, a girl, more sand..." he did a double take and scanned back to where he had seen the girl. "Bantha rocks, what's she doing here?" He asked no one in particular, as the droid who was accompanying him had lost its audio chip long ago and his uncle Owen had never bothered to replace it. Jumping back into his seat he started the landspeeder and drove it into the direction where he had seen the girl.

"Could be a mirage," he muttered to himself, but he needed to know. Something was driving him on to see if this girl was flesh and blood or just a figment of his very lively imagination. He snorted when he imagined his uncle's voice. You are a dreamer Luke, your father was one and you are too!

"Well, let's see about that!" He muttered beneath his breath and increased the velocity of the speeder. Soon he had reached the place where he had seen the girl and it seemed deserted. When Luke looked closer he could see the soft imprint of feet in the sand but somehow they weren't leading anywhere. Looking around he tried to make up his mind if he had been mistaken, the imprints in the sand could have been Tusken Raider tracks.

Suddenly someone or something jumped on his back out of nowhere and Luke was quickly thrown to the ground, his wind effectively knocked out of him.

"Hey!" he managed to choke before someone took hold of his neck, ready to snap it.

"What are you doing here?" a voice both soft and hard whispered near his ear and Luke tried his best to move his head without getting his neck split to look at the owner of the voice.

"I ... I'm on routine maintenance tour for my uncle," he managed to say and was pushed into the sand. Someone got off his back and nudged him not too gently into his ribs with a booted foot.

"A farmboy ...," the voice taunted and when Luke turned and sat on the ground he only could see a figure standing against the blaring light of the two suns of Tatooine.

"Who are you?" He asked and struggled to stand up. "I'm Lu-"

"I'm not interested in your family tree, farmboy, an enemy could take fair use of a name!" The girl spat out and slowly she circled him. Now, as she did not have the sun in her back, he could see that she was perhaps a few years younger, maybe 13 or 14 and was clad in the flowing garments of a Tusken Raider. The firmness of her voice belied her early age and Luke was impressed. He had never met a girl like her before. Most of the girls he knew were giggling anytime he met them, especially the two cousins of Biggs and Gavin.

"So what are you doing here?" Luke asked, carefully rubbing his hurting neck.

"What I do here is of no interest to you," The girl spat and put her hand on her hips. "Take your sorry excuse of a landspeeder and beat it!"

"Hey, listen!" Luke said and stepped towards her only to be stopped when he looked into the muzzle of a blaster. Backing off, he held up his hands in front of him. "Okay-y," he drawled and nodded. "Got it, I'm not as dumb as you think."

"For a farmboy you learn quickly." The girl commented but still had the weapon cocked towards Luke. Suddenly, there was some movement to the right and the blaster whipped around into the direction. Blaster fire surrounded them and four Tusken Raiders could be seen hiding barely behind two boulders.

"Get down," the girl ordered Luke and shoved him into the somewhat questionably safety behind his landspeeder, while she fired shot after the other at the Raiders. The one only barely hiding behind the boulder was shot and slumped to the ground while the others kept firing at them.

All Luke could do was keeping his head down and watching the girl's reflexes. He had never seen anything like this and Mos Eisley had a fair share of soldier like bounty hunters and cut-throats who got into frequent troubles. Almost open-mouthed he gaped at her when she took out the last remaining Raiders.

Checking her blaster, she tucked it securely away into her belt again and turned. She had not even so much as broken a sweat when she walked over to Luke and putting her hands on her hips, she glared down at him.

"What are you waiting for, Farmboy? There are more coming where those four came from," she snapped. "Or do you want to join in their little party?"

"No," Luke managed to say and scrambled to his feet. Dusting off sands from his trousers and tunic, he checked the astromech droid for any damage. When he found none, he boarded the landspeeder. "Grab your stuff and let's get out of here," he turned to look at her.

"Whatever gave you the impression that I would go with you, Farmboy?" she asked and watched as Luke's face reddened.

"You just said ..." he bit his tongue and shook his head. "Listen, I saw you can take care of yourself, but I'd feel better if you came with me. I can drop you at Mos Eisley, if you like..." He broke off when she threw her heavy backpack towards him. Catching it, he groaned underneath the weight and stashed it neatly beside the backpack of his own.

---

Luke kept his eyes onto the mountains in the far distance while he drove the landspeeder over the flat wasteland of the Tan-Toshe desert. She had told him not too nicely that he should drop her off by some caves she had passed a day ago.

As if she had made this trek by foot, he snorted silently and flashed the girl a sideways glance. Only Tusken Raiders can cross the desert by foot and then only if accompanied by their Banthas. They had almost made it to the mountains when Luke noticed the darkening skies. He throttled up on the engines, knowing full well what the sign meant.

"There's a sandstorm coming, one of the nasty kind. We better head for the nearest caves before it catches up on us," he commented and he saw out of the corner of his eye that she nodded.

They made it just in time to the first caves on the foot of the mountains when the storm hit them. The day grew darker and colder by the minute, as the girl jumped out of the speeder with backpack and thermal blankets in hand, heading towards the nearest cave. Luke stayed back to secure the speeder and grabbing anything he thought was useful, including moving the speeder into a recess to make sure it would not be swept away by the sheer force of the storm. The temperature was dropping rapidly and the first gusts of sand and wind was ripping at Luke's clothes as he made it quickly to the cave where the girl had disappeared into.

---

The sandstorm was raging outside and Luke moved deeper into the cave. The girl had ignited a glow rod and was rummaging through a back pack. Kneeling down beside her, he watched her for awhile before he turned his own backpack upside down and dumped its contents in front of her.

"The speeder is secured and I took everything with me I could find," he said and gave her two of the four water flasks. "If we are careful we can hold out in this storm without getting dehydrated."

The girl watched him silently, then nodded. "Yes, you might be right, Farmboy," she said and rubbed her arms.

"You cold?" Luke asked and dropped his gaze when he saw her angry glare.

"Isn't this what they call stating the bleeding obvious?" She spat and stood up. Pacing back and forth and glancing towards the exit of the cave, she rubbed her arms continuously. Luke was watching her and for the first time he had met her this morning he noticed that despite her tough exterior she was only a girl. Sighing, he grabbed the only two thermal blankets they had and draped one of them on the floor.

"Come here," he said and waved her over. The girl quirked an eyebrow at him and he shrugged his shoulders. "You go to sleep and I will keep watch, though it's unlikely the Tusken Raiders will venture out in this storm, it's better to be save than sorry."

She nodded and walked over to him. After she had taken off her boots and the protective head covering, she laid down. For a moment he was stunned by her hair colour, almost like liquid fire her locks tumbled down onto her shoulders and down her back. Momentarily shaken, Luke bent over and tucked her in, he was so intent on what he was doing that he almost missed her surprised gasp.

"What?" he asked, when he raised his head to meet her eyes.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her green eyes wide with surprise. Jade eyes, Luke thought. Her eyes are just the same colour like that Corellian jade, the material aunt Beru's necklace is made of.

"What do you mean?" he returned and tried to break contact with her eyes.

"This," she gestured vaguely. "What was that for?"

"I tucked you in, that's all. Don't need to jump down my throat you know," Luke replied harsher than he intended and moved back to sit on his heels. Silence stretched between them, the roar of the sandstorm outside the only noise in the small cave.

"I wasn't, you know," the girl's voice sounded small and vulnerable. "Noone has ever done something like that. It .. was so ... caring..." Her voice trailed away and when Luke turned his gaze on her, he was sure he saw tears glistening in her eyes.

"Your mom never tucked you in? Not even when you were little?" he asked in surprise and when she shook her head in the negative he let out a whistle. "Some kind of a family you are coming from, Jade," he bit his lip when he felt himself pushed back onto his back and the girl was straddling his chest.

"What did you call me?" she asked, her face merely inches away from his own and her hand securely around his throat.

"Ja-jade," he choked. "Your eyes, they look like Corellian Jade. I thought I could call you that as long as you don't tell me your name." He felt the pressure on his throat decrease.

"Why do you ever think I will give you my name, Farmboy?" The girl asked and let go off him. Shivering, she scrambled back under the blanket and used her arm as a pillow. For long minutes the were staring silently at each other.

"You are bleeding," she suddenly said and sat up. Rummaging through her backpack, she soon found a small medikit and tossed it at him. In the dim light of the dying glow rod, Luke tried to administer some balm to his bleeding lip, but failed miserably. He heard Jade sighing and then felt her hands on his as she took the balm from him and rubbed it over his lower lip. Luke closed his eyes and tried to suppress the sensation of her hands touching him course through his body. She squatted between his thighs and every time she moved a whiff of her scent met Luke's flaring nostrils. Parts of his body sprang to life at this and embarrassed he tried to jerk away from her.

"Thanks," he ground out and warded her hands off. She frowned at that but let it pass and scooted back into her makeshift bed. Luke stood up on shaky legs and moved none too steadily over to the entrance of the cave. There he sat down and, drawing his knees to his chest, hugged himself to keep warm. Soon he could hear the soft breathing coming from her direction and Luke closed his eyes as if in pain.

Great, just great, he berated himself and groaned silently. Here I am, stuck in the middle of nowhere with a girl intend of killing me at any given opportunity and I get a hard-on. How sick is that?

He shook his head and counted to ten, then backwards but it didn't help anything, his body, it seemed, had a mind of its own. As if on replay, his mind reminded him of the touch of her fingers, as they had firmly but gently examined his lip, her scent as she had bent forward, almost touching him.

Oh-uh, he swallowed. Better not go there. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on other things, like the storm or the dropping temperature and that managed to put a lid on his rampant hormones. Shivering at the cold he held himself tighter and burrowed his hands beneath his armpits to keep warm.

---

Luke was roughly shoved into the side and he awoke with a jolt. The cave was completely dark and he had difficulties adjusting where he was.

"What?" he snapped then as his eyes had grown accustomed to the dim light coming from the outside, he saw the girl squatting in front of him tightly wrapped in a thermal blanket.

"It's cold," she said. "You are cold. I could hear your teeth shattering."

Up until she had mentioned the cold, he had not felt anything, only a numbing feeling in his legs and arms and when he tried to move, his joints protested loudly.

"You ... you're right, I'm cold," he said and was surprised when she helped him up and guided him towards her bedroll.

"Lie down," she demanded and with a groan he sat down. "I heard that sharing body heat will keep each other warm, so take off your tunic ..."

Luke looked at her as if she was crazy. "So I can freeze to death more quickly?"

"Don't be such a fool, Farmboy," she snapped and threw the blanket at him. "If we share the thermal blanket we both stay warm, but first we have to get your body warmed up again." With this she undid her belt with the blaster attached to it and let it drop beside her bundle, then her tunic followed.

Luke gaped at her until his upbringing took over and he averted his gaze. From the sounds of it she was stripping and when he dared to look at her again, he could see shapely legs and firm small breasts. When she pushed him over to the side of the blanket he was sitting on, she draped the other blanket over herself.

"What are you waiting for, for Emperor's sake? Take the tunic off, or do you want to freeze to death?"

Luke shook his head and almost tore his tunic, trousers and boots off. When he started to undo his underpants, he heard her snap: "No! I don't want you to get any ideas, Farmboy. This is for warmth, not pleasure."

"What do you know about pleasure, huh?" he asked angrily, trying to ignore his burning body. Only a few minutes ago he had felt like an ice-log but now he felt all hot and burning, especially in all the wrong places. Laying down beside her and making sure the thermal blanket was covering them both, he tried to avoid body contact with her as he turned on his side, facing away from her.

"I know enough, Farmboy, so just keep your hands to yourself," she said but that didn't deter her from turning towards him and firmly grinding her breast into his back and embracing him from behind. "You're ice-cold," she muttered and unconsciously rubbed her hand over his arm while the other rested on his head.

Luke didn't have the feeling as if being cold but he was not foolish enough to point that out to her. He felt as if his body was going to explode with all the heat that seemed to emanate from the areas where her body was snuggled up closely to his own. Trying frantically to keep his thoughts off the feelings and sensations, he desperately tried to make conversation, so he asked the first thing that came to mind.

"So have you ever done it? You said you know enough about ... this kind of stuff," Luke groaned inwardly. Now that was a question which surely will keep me off the direction my body is heading, he taunted himself and rolled his eyes in the semi-darkness.

"Do you?" her breath fanned over his ear and he shuddered involuntarily. She must have felt it because she held him tighter and even slipped a bare leg over his thigh.

"Do what?" Luke croaked, trying to ignore her leg.

"Done it, as you said," came the prompt reply. Luke groaned but this time it came out as a sigh and his bed companion raised her head to look into his face. "You okay, Farmboy?" she asked and Luke confirmed with an affirmative nod.

"So, have you, Farmboy?" she asked, relentlessly pursuing the subject.

"I asked first, Jade," Luke snapped and tried to pry out of her embrace but she held him back.

"I will answer you when you answer me truthfully," she retorted. "... and don't give me that Bantha crap that boys your age are so fond of boasting."

"Oh and who are you to know if I lie or not, huh?" Luke snapped. "You don't look that old enough to me, great wise Jade."

"There are boys where I come from and they talk about their endeavors, but I never took them seriously."

There was a long silence between them where Luke tried to get his body functions under control, and after a while it seemed as if his body, and especially one particular part of his body, was giving him a rest.

"I haven't ..." he whispered into the darkness, hoping that she was already asleep. But his luck had run out ever since he had met her.

"Never?" she asked and he could feel that she rested her head on her propped up elbow. He turned slightly onto his back, causing her thigh to slip over his leg and hip and coming to rest near his groin.

Bad idea, Skywalker! he told himself off and tried to resume his former position but Jade had already shifted herself so that his left arm was curved around her back while she pressed nearer to his left side. Tucking the blanket in place, her hand came to rest on his chest.

"So?" she asked, seemingly oblivious to the discomfort she was putting Luke into. "You never?" Luke looked confused, then remembered all too strongly what they were talking about.

"No, never," he answered hoarsely, and tried to shift her leg ever so slightly away from his raging erection which was straining against the insides of his pants. "What about you?" he ground out.

He could hear her sigh, then felt soft hair caressing his shoulder and chest as she lay her head onto his shoulder.

"I was taught that these urges are natural to a body and that it should be dealt with like food and drink," she whispered. "If you are hungry, you eat, if you are thirsty you drink and if you .. ummm feel those urges ..." He could feel her shrug her shoulders, causing another jolt of sensations coursing through his body.

"Ummm... that doesn't answer the question, Jade, you're stalling," Luke said and turned his head slightly. Even despite the awkwardness of the whole situation, he actually began to enjoy himself. Whatever hell he was going through, he liked the feeling of her warm body pressed against himself, and he also liked the way her hair smelled.

"I ...never ... ummm... you know. My master said I was too young to peruse these aspects of life," she vaguely gestured with her hand and started to caress his chest just beneath the collarbone.

"Your master? What about your parents?" Luke asked, trying to fully concentrate on the conversation and not the errant hand which did nothing to his equilibrium.

"I don't remember them, all I have is my master. To him and only to him alone I answer," she replied grimly.

"Well you are answering me," Luke retorted, trying to lighten up the situation. "Ouch," he yelped when she pinched him. Acting on the first reaction that came to mind, he rolled over and pinned her arms over her head, just like he would have done with one of his friends in a mock fight. "Hey, someone should teach you some manners, Jade," he said with a grin but it was soon wiped off his face when realization hit him that he was lying on top a beautiful girl which was more than half-naked and him in only his pants, his erection pressing against the triangle between her legs.

He tried to move off her but his body didn't seem to abide to his commands. All his mind could think of was the warmth that emanated from her, as well as her firm breasts flattened out against his chest while her face was only inches apart from his own.

"Are you comfortable?" Jade asked and quirked an eyebrow at him, but her voice quivered and Luke was certain that she felt similar sensations like him.

Never felt better in my life, Luke thought but instead shook his head at her. With an effort he let go of her hands and propped himself up on his elbows.

Uh-oh, bad idea, he thought when his hips ground into her, increasing the friction between them. He heard her gasp and looked down into her face again. He knew full well that she had the ability to knock him off her and that she had not done so until now amazed him. Something tingled his chest and when his gaze lowered he could see that the tips of her breasts had turned into hard little pearls, beckoning him to touch. Tearing his eyes off the mesmerizing sight, he looked back into her face and swallowed hard. What he saw was beyond his comprehension, Jade's eyes were filled with something he could not describe but what he had seen in Biggs Darklighter's girl-friend's eyes every time she looked at her man.

He watched as Jade raised her hands and cupped his face, then gently she moved him towards her breasts. Instinctively, he rubbed his nose and cheek against the hardened tips and heard her gasp.

"Did I hurt you?" he croaked out and his head snapped up. The girl smiled shakily and shook her head.

"No, it's just ... nothing I felt before... it surprised me," she said.

"What does it feel like? Does it hurt?" Luke asked and suppressed a shudder of pleasure when she trailed her hands down from the side of his head down his throat and further down over his collarbone and chest. Touching first one then his other nipple lightly, he shivered.

"Wow," he gasped. "That's what it feels like?" he inquired and both had to laugh at the silly expressions on their faces. "Would you ... ummm ... mind if I kiss you there?" Luke asked shyly, aware of what their doings could be leading to. From what his older friends had told him, he had a pretty accurate description of sex and what the machinations were.

"It feels nice," Jade whispered by way of an answer and drew his head towards her breasts again and true to his words, Luke did not simply rub his nose over her nipples but gently took one of them into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the stone-hard tip of her breasts. He became aware of three things all at once; first, he felt Jade arching into his kiss so he moved one arm beneath her supporting her torso, second, his erection was throbbing wildly against his pants and it was becoming increasingly uncomfortable and lastly, he both liked the way she reacted to his kiss and the way that made him feel, discomfort or not.

Thus assured he kissed his way over to her other breast while his other hand gently touched the one he had kissed before. Jade sighed and rubbed her hips against him, increasing both their sensations. Luke became so lost in his administrations that he almost missed her hands as they roamed over his bare back and down to the small of his back. He liked the way she was touching him, always hesitating as if to ask for permission before she caressed a little more of his back. He shivered beneath her hands when she slipped them inside his pants cupping his firm buttocks, and he ground his hips into her. They both gasped and for a moment, Luke looked up into her eyes.

I have to stop or we both get into trouble, he thought fleetingly but try as he might, he couldn't stop, in fact his groin had tightened so much that it was painful and with each grinding motion against her, he could feel the tension rising. Luke was only too painfully aware what that meant. Like any healthy seventeen year old he had taken matters into his own hands when he had started to get dreams and he was aware that he was short to coming.

"Ummm, Jade," he whispered and with effort he raised his head and tore his lips from her soft breasts. "I guess we better stop, it's .. getting ... ummm... uncomfortable down there," involuntarily his hips twitched and the girl gasped.

"Oh, yes ... sure," Jade said and let go of him. Rolling onto his back, Luke forced great mouthfuls of air into his starved lungs and tried to calm his body. He could feel Jade shivering beside him and he turned his head. She had turned her back towards him, the thermal blanket having slid down, exposing her bare backside and part of the panties she was wearing. The sandstorm was still raging outside but it had grown lighter, so he judged that both suns had risen over the horizon and it was early morning. With the increasing light he also could see more of Jade's skin and the angry welts of whip marks on them. He gasped at that.

Her body whirled around and she stared into his blue-eyed stare.

"What?" she asked as she saw the sheer terror in eyes that only moments ago had been filled with passion.

"Your back, who did this to you?" He asked with a trembling voice and he could see her sharply inhaling, her breasts shivering in front of him.

"Training, Farmboy," she stated matter of factly. "You can't fathom how much pain a body can take before it breaks down."

Luke closed his eyes. "I think I do know," he whispered, uncomfortably squirming, which elicited a soft chuckle from his bed companion. His eyes snapped open when he felt her hand moving slightly over his stomach and further down towards his erection. He stilled her hand and shook his head.

"I thought you said I shouldn't get up to anything?" he rasped, boring his blue eyes straight into her green ones. He watched her as she thought about it, his hand still covering her just on the waistband of his underwear. She bit her lip and seemed to berate with herself.

"I would like to kiss you, Farmboy," she said and bent down. The moment their lips met, all pretense that this was an innocent game was gone. Whereas they had been safe before, their pent up passion was coursing freely through and between them as they clumsily explored their mouths with their tongues, tasting, giving, taking and sucking. A tingling sensation went through them and both groaned into each other's mouths as Luke put his hand beneath her head and pulled her on top of him, moving her head slightly to taste more of her.

She tastes wonderful, he thought as a deep growl rose deeply from within, sounding feral and animalistic to both of them. He had kissed a girl or two before, but compared to the deep kisses he exchanged with this red-haired girl, they had been only childish games. This was the real thing and although they had both been inexperienced at them, they learnt quickly.

After a few minutes of tongues rubbing against each other, mocking the rhythm of love-making itself, they both pulled apart, gasping for much needed air. Staring intently into each other eyes, the both posed a silent question and to Luke's relief she smiled at him for the first time they had met. Luke's heart opened to her then and when she slowly reclined on her back, drawing him to her, he knew that this time there was no stopping them. Gently, he helped her removing her underwear and afterwards she did the same for him.

Slowly, he slid on top of her, regaining his earlier position but this time with no barriers between them. He felt his shaft pressing against her feminity, but the young man tried to shore off the inevitable for a little while longer, while he kissed and caressed her all over. Starting on her face, he showered small kisses on her brow and down her nose, trailing his lips over her ears, then along her jaw line, making her whimper for his lips on her again.

They teased each other like two who had been long acquainted with each other's bodies and love-making, discovering each other's bodies and the way they tasted and smelled. Luke's body arched when Jade suckled one of his nipples and he could feel his manhood slipping over her soft core between her legs. They both groaned as the sensations raced through their bodies, leaving them breathless and craving for more. He caressed her thighs and legs as he bent down to kiss her deeply, then licking his way down to her breasts, taunting her as she had done only seconds before, then he slipped further down, revelling in the touch of the smooth skin beneath him. He got up on his knees, her thighs resting on his and there she lay open for him, writhing body and all as he for the first time touched her secret core.

"Jade," he whispered softly and the girl opened her eyes as she caressed his forearms and the pecs on his chest. She smiled at him again, her eyes brightly lit with the fire of passion experienced for the first time, and she nodded as she felt his fingers, driven by instinct, fluttered ever so lightly over her feminity.

"Yes," she whispered and arched her back, trying to draw him nearer as she lost herself in the sensation caused by her Farmboy's hands and whole being.

Gently, Luke lowered himself on top of her again and as if on their own accord, joined their bodies, as he pushed gently into her while she raised her hips to meet him. He felt her tightening around him, felt the barrier that tore, when she raised her hips and he slipped deeper into her and he stilled his movement while his heart drummed wildly inside his rib cage.

"I'm sorry," he whispered and showered soft, loving kisses over her face. "I didn't want to hurt you."

"Don't stop now, Farmboy. The damage is done, you won't hurt me now," her voice barely a whisper as if not trusting her own voice. She slowly, deliberately kissed him then, their tongues matching the slow rhythm of their bodies both instinct and nature dictated them.

Luke could feel the by now well-known feeling of his groin tightening and he increased his efforts of thrusting into her, each stroke deeper than the last and when he felt her tightening around his throbbing shaft, he knew he was doing it right. He had propped himself up on his elbows as not to crush her, but Jade had put her slender legs around his waist and was moving into perfect unison with him. Ever since their love-making had become serious, their eyes had never left each other, it was as if they both wanted to make sure that this was not a dream, that what they felt between them was real.

He could feel her fulfillment when she clawed his back, calling out his name to him with moans and stifled yells and he was drawn to his own pleasure when she squeezed him, almost making him faint from the sheer sensations racing through his almost exhausted body.

For a short, fleeting moment, something strange happened. As they looked deeply into each other's eyes, Luke had the feeling as if he could look right through her to the deepest corner of her soul and from the way her eyes widened and her surprised gasp, he knew she had experienced something similar.

"What?" he managed to breathe, but was cut off when he came violently. He collapsed, all energy drained from him but for the fleeting moment of being one with Jade, of sharing more than the physical bond between them and it lingered and deeply rooted itself in his very soul.

---

Luke woke up with a start and unconsciously his hand reached out toward Jade. When he found only cold, empty space, he shot to his feet and looked around frantically.

"Looking for me, Farmboy?" she asked from the entrance and came over. Luke felt all of a sudden self-conscious standing all naked in front of her while she was fully dressed and so he picked up his trousers and dressed quickly.

"Why didn't you wake me?" he asked a little hurt as he closed the fastenings of his boots.

"There was no need to. I had to contact my master and tell him to pick me up. I'm finished here," she replied and to Luke it sounded like a final statement. She was also finished with him.

"Great," he muttered under his breath and shook his head. Jade had noticed his movement and squatted in front of him.

"What did you expect, Farmboy? That I would stay with you on this backwater planet, and share your life?" she snorted at that. "Last night was exceptional as far as I can tell from my limited experience but we both know that we didn't commit each other to a life-long relationship. Better kiss and good-bye."

She stood up again and turned towards the entrance again, leaving him to finish him getting dressed in silence. Luke had felt a lump forming in his stomach ever since he awoke and he felt like he was going to be sick. I thought last night meant something to her, he thought and stared down on the blankets on which he was sitting. One in particular showed the evident signs of what had transpired between them and he grabbed it and balled it up angrily in his hands. We connected, I know she felt it too, and yet she can just as easily leave me as if it didn't mean anything to her, as if it was just a fleeting fling.

Unsteadily, he rose to his feet and followed her outside. During the night and day, the storm had lessened and now the two brilliant suns of Tatooine were setting over the horizon. For the first time in his life Luke did not appreciate the beauty of the sunset, he turned a blind eye on it and walked over to the speeder to check on it. She had already gotten most of the sand out of it and the astromech whirred around his dome to greet him.

"They are coming, so I better go now," he heard Jade's voice behind him and he turned around slowly, trying to fight off the inevitable goodbye.

"So you are serious, Jade?" he asked her with a hoarse voice and she nodded in the affirmative.

"Yes, I cannot stay, Farmboy. My master has sent down a shuttle pod," she replied and stepped closer to him. "I have to go. My life is not my own to make decisions like this. I have to abide to my master's orders," she tiptoed and put a soft kiss onto his lips.

With a groan, he put his arms around her and crushed her lips with his mouth, seeking, probing and ravishing the soft insides of her sweet mouth he now knew so well. He could feel her shivering in his arms and he tightened his hold on her. I'll never let you go, Jade. I'll never forget you! he thought and tried to ignore a nagging voice inside his head who taunted him with Dreamer!.

"I have to go," she whispered when they both came up for much needed breath.

"Will you tell me your name?" Luke asked all of a sudden, pleading in his voice. "I promise you I will never tell anyone."

She smiled at that and gently traced the outline of his face. "I know you won't," she said softly. "My name is-" she pinched a special spot at his neck and Luke slumped unconscious into her arms. "...Mara Jade."

Quickly and with a last kiss, she eased him gently to the sand beside his speeder and with one last long look she grabbed her backpack and made out to the rendezvous coordinates.

Unbeknownst to the retreating girl, a silent figure stepped out of the shadow of a boulder and watched the girl as she grew dimmer in the distance, then hurriedly made it over to the speeder and the unconscious Luke.

After having examined the boy, the man in his flowing beige and brown robes, sighed with relief. He could still feel the lingering effects of a Jedi mind-cleanse on the boy.

"Ah young one, she really took good care of you for not remembering her. It is most unfortunate and deadly to meet the Emperor's hand and survive," the old, grey-bearded man said and hauled Luke into the speeder. Making sure the boy was sleeping peacefully, he created a disguise shield around him and went off to the cave to retrieve the boy's backpack. In the security of a hiding place, he then waited for young Skywalker to awake and he knew with a little nudging of the Force from his side, the young man would be on his way to his aunt and uncle soon.

Tatooine Suns
A Farmboy's Touch | The Emperor's Hand | Suns and Lovers