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Vacation Part 8: Affirmation
by Lianne Burwell
December 2003
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Luke turned to his left and swing his lightsaber, enjoying 
the quiet hiss as the strangely curved beam sliced through 
the air. Then he spun around and swung again. In his mind's 
eye he could see a handsome man with long dark hair pulled 
back in an ornate clasp going through the same motions, but 
with a blade of metal rather than light. His face was as 
serene as a Jedi's. Luke could not remember the man's name 
or what era he had lived in, but he felt a fondness at his 
image.

Much of the information that had come to him with Corrin's 
Quickening was like that; the images were still clear, 
often manifesting as intense dreams, but the details were 
fading from his mind. He wasn't really disappointed to see 
them go. He had spent most of the flight back from Sandrica 
half-comatose as his mortal mind tried to deal with the 
memories of an immortal who had been more than ten thousand 
years old.

And not just his memories. As Luke tried to sort through 
them, he had come to realize that it was more than just 
Corrin's memories, it was the memories of every immortal 
whose Quickening Corrin had absorbed over the millennia, 
along with the Quickenings *they* had taken, and so on. He 
had memories going back to the days when primitive humans 
had roamed ancient plains, hunting their prey with stone-
tipped spears.

Thankfully the oldest memories had been the first to fade. 
They were still there, but they required deep meditation to 
access. Corrin's memories were easiest, but even they now 
required concentration. Every so often, something would 
trigger a particularly vivid memory, but that was rare.

Still, it had taken time, so Lando had dropped him off at 
the Academy with abject apologies to Luke's students before 
heading to Coruscant to report on what had happened to them 
to the Senate. The syndicates that ran Sandrica were guilty 
of attempted genocide, murder of a respected archaeologist 
and his team, and the attempted kidnapping of a Jedi with 
the intention of selling him, probably to one of the 
remnants of the Empire.

It was only recently that Luke had finally heard the 
results of that report; from Leia, not Lando. A delegation 
would be traveling to Sandrica to investigate their 
'claims,' since they had not been able to bring back proof. 
In fact, they hadn't been able to bring anything back but 
the clothes on their backs, their ship, and Corrin's 
lightsaber. Their clothing and purchases still sat in their 
cabin at the resort, if they hadn't already been destroyed 
by management.

Normally, the idea of a delegation would make him 
skeptical, since the new Republic had quickly developed an 
aversion to do anything that might upset non-member planet 
-- a failing that Corrin remembered from the Old Republic, 
much to Luke's dismay -- but the delegation was being led 
by General Ackbar. The reasoning was that a member of an 
aquatic race would have better luck contacting the 
surviving natives. Luke knew the Mon Calmari well, and he 
was not likely to let himself be put off for the sake of 
diplomacy. He trusted Ackbar to do the right thing.

As for Lando, there hadn't been any word of the man since 
he had left Coruscant, and Luke was beginning to worry.

First he had worried that Lando had changed his mind about 
a relationship with Luke, but he had quickly dismissed 
those thoughts as unworthy of both of them Lando might be a 
rogue and something of a rake, but he was not the type to 
just vanish without a word. That left Luke worried that 
something had happened to the man; not unthinkable 
considering the number of enemies they both had.

Luke ended his exercise and moved to the edge of the 
parapet at the top of the pyramid, looking out over the sea 
of life that was Yavin Four. The green top of the jungle 
stretched for as far as the eye could see, glowing brightly 
under the rising sun. Despite his worries, he felt a deep 
sense of peace filling him, so unlike the day he had stood 
there before Lando had arrive to drag him off for a 
vacation that had turned out to be far more eventful than 
either of them had expected or planned. He reached out to 
the Force and received a silent reassurance in return.

* * * * *

Three days later, Luke was in his workshop, trying out the 
techniques in Corrin's memories for building lightsabers. 
He had managed to duplicate the curved blade of Corrin's 
'saber, although even with the memories to guide him it had 
taken several tries. Now he was working with an idea 
Corrin'd had for combining lightsaber technology with an 
extendable fiber-optic cable to create something that was a 
cross between a lightsaber and a whip. He wasn't sure what 
use it would be, but he was curious to see if it could be 
done.

He was tweaking the control chip into place when the door 
to the room opened and Tionne peaked in. "Master Luke, the 
supply ship is here," she said, then disappeared again.

Luke set aside his tools and rubbed his tired eyes. A 
glance at the chronometer told him that he had been working 
for most of the afternoon, which explained why his eyes 
were burning so much. It did not explain why it was Tionne 
had come to inform him of a supply ship; surely she could 
have dealt with it on her own. Maybe it had just been her 
subtle way of telling him that he needed a break.

Now that he was no longer concentrating on his work, his 
stomach was growling, reminding him that he hadn't stopped 
for lunch. Considering how often he told his students to 
listen to their bodies and the limits set by them, he was 
in danger of failing his own advice. He smiled and shook 
his head, then left the cluttered workroom. He would go see 
the pilot, then find some dinner.

The sun was setting as he emerged from the building, and he 
took a deep breath, enjoying the moist, living air. Yavin 
Four had been chosen as the site of the Jedi Academy 
because of the former rebel base there, providing an 
existing base to build on, but he also found the abundant 
life very soothing through the Force. Compared to Yavin 
Four, Coruscant felt like a dead planet. It teamed with 
intelligent life, but other than a few gardens for the 
elite and vermin in the lower levels, that was all. It was 
unbalanced.

As he approached the landing field, he could hear the sound 
of his niece squealing. Jaina and Jacen were both visiting. 
They were almost old enough to come here as permanent 
students. They already had a good grounding in Jedi 
techniques and only needed the intensive practice to hone 
their natural talents. He had high hopes for them when he 
wasn't fearing for their safety. Their parentage and their 
birthright had both made them targets more than once. But 
for now, they were still children, and from the sound of 
it, very excitable children. His curiosity was piqued at 
what was making them so loud, so he quickened his step.

Coming around the corner, he stopped in his tracks, then 
grinned. Right. Supply ship. Tionne was definitely 
developing a strange sense of humor.

The 'supply ship' was the Lady Luck, and Jaina was 
squealing because Lando was swinging her in a wide circle. 
Jacen was a little more reserved, but he was also grinning 
at the chance to see his 'Uncle Lando' again. Then Lando 
saw Luke and set Jaina down with one last hug. "Luke!"

Luke stepped forward and let Lando sweep him up into a hug 
that was as enthusiastic as the one Jaina had received. 
Over Lando's shoulder, Luke could see the twins sneaking 
away, giggling to each other. With the children gone, Luke 
didn't resist when Lando kissed him. He'd been missing that 
for too many weeks.

"So," Lando said, finally breaking the kiss. "How are you 
feeling?"

"Hmm. Kiss me again, I'm not sure," Luke said with a grin. 
Lando snorted, and squeezed his ass.

"I'm serious. Last time I saw you, you were..."

"A wreck?" Luke suggested. Then he smiled. "I was 
overwhelmed by Corrin's memories. I just needed time to 
absorb them. Everything's back to normal."

Lando shook his head. "As if anything about you is normal." 
Then he frowned. "It's just memories, right? I mean, you're 
still Luke."

Luke grinned and kissed him. "I'm still me," he assured the 
man. Still, he could understand the slight fear. After all, 
Callista had been able to gain a second life by taking over 
the abandoned body of one of his students who hadn't wanted 
to survive her love's death; a sentiment Luke better 
understood now. He knew that he would survive Lando's death 
-- he had too many responsibilities to abandon them -- but 
the light would go out of his life.

* * * * *

Lando kept his arm around Luke's waist as they made their 
way back to the temple. Being away from the man had been 
hard, and he was reluctant to let go of him before he had 
to. While he was gone, from time to time he'd almost 
convinced himself that it had all been a fantasy. Luke had 
been on the 'out of reach' shelf for so long that he still 
had trouble believing that the Jedi was actually in love 
with him. It was too much like a dream.

But here he was with Luke pressed up against his side, 
seeming just as unwilling to be separated. It was a nice 
feeling, and while he knew their lives meant that they 
would have to spend time apart, it was a feeling that he 
intended to experience frequently.

"So," Luke said as he led Lando to his private quarters. 
"What kept you? I was beginning to think that the Lady Luck 
had broken down in some out of the way system."

Lando grinned. That was the perfect opening for his news. 
"Not exactly. I needed to take care of some business."

Luke frowned. "Business?" he asked, suspicion obvious in 
his posture.

"Yep, business. I was in the mood for a change, so I sold 
one of my companies to my personal assistant."

"Really?"

"Well, it was inevitable that I was going to lose him. He's 
much too good at his job. This way, I know that my former 
employees are going to be protected during the change of 
ownership, and I know he can do the job."

"And you probably didn't charge him the real value of the 
company."

Lando frowned. "How can you suggest that?" he asked, 
pressing a hand to his chest in mock outrage. Then he 
grinned. "Actually, no. But the contract gives me a percent 
of profits for the next ten years."

"Ah, of course."

"And it gives me enough cash to buy into my new endeavor."

Luke's eyebrows went up. "And what new endeavor would that 
be?" he asked.

Lando wanted to milk it out for a little while longer, but 
he couldn't wait any longer. "A Corusca gem outfit is 
having difficulties. They needed a new investor, as well as 
a manager with the business sense to turn things around."

"Which one?" Luke asked, although the smile trying to break 
free told Lando that he'd figured it out.

"GemDiver."

Luke knew it. "In this system."

Lando was grinning now. "That would be the one. I've been 
checking on them for a few months now. They've got a lot of 
potential, they just don't know how to tap into it 
properly. With me in charge, the company should turn a 
profit within a year, two at the most."

The smile was wide enough to almost split Luke's face. 
Lando was relieved. He hadn't really been worried about his 
lover's reaction, but he was glad he'd been right. "You 
know, they've been sharing supply runs with us."

Lando shrugged. "Makes sense. Two outfits in one system? 
Why pay extra for two ships to haul along the same route?"

"And the former owner visited regularly."

"Have to be social," Lando agreed as Luke opened the door 
to his rooms. Lando followed him in, then kicked tapped the 
lock button as soon as the door closed behind them.

"Do you plan to be social?" Luke asked, one eyebrow going 
up. Lando took it as an invitation. He grabbed Luke's wrist 
and pulled him closer until they were pressed against each 
other, chest to chest.

"Oh, I plan to be extremely social," he purred, easing them 
towards the bed. He nipped at Luke's ear. "Very social 
indeed. Good neighbors and all."

"Hmmm," Luke groaned, letting his head tip back. "I don't 
remember the last owner being *this* social."

Lando snorted. "I certainly hope not," he said before 
kissing Luke.

Luke shuddered wonderfully in his arms, then kissed back 
hungrily. Staying away this long had been almost painful, 
but Lando had wanted to get everything arranged before he 
told Luke about his change in business plans. A tiny little 
voice in the back of his mind had been asking, every step 
of the way, whether Luke would really want him that close, 
and this was his way of getting around that fear. Present 
the man with a done deal and he wouldn't have the chance to 
object.

Not that Luke seemed to be objecting. The smile on his face 
when he saw Lando had been so bright that it was all he 
could do not to knock the blond to the ground and have him 
right there at the landing field with the kids watching. 
But they weren't at the field anymore, and Jaina and Jacen 
had very wisely made themselves scarce.

Then Luke growled, and a moment later Lando found himself 
flat on his back on the rather hard bed with Luke tugging 
at his belt buckle. He seemed to be having a little trouble 
with it, and Lando couldn't help laughing. His eyes went 
wide, though, when obviously frustrated, Luke grabbed his 
'saber and used it to cut the expensive leather accessory. 
"Hey!"

"I'll get you a new one," Luke said, thankfully not using 
the lightsaber to finish the job of stripping Lando. While 
Lando trusted his lover, having that glowing blade so close 
to his bare skin was nerve-wracking.

In short order, they were both naked, even though Luke had 
refused to let him help with the process, and he had an 
armful of hot-blooded Jedi. It was something he'd been 
dreaming about since the day he'd dropped Luke off, frantic 
with worry about the man, but knowing that he owed it to 
Tronin, Corrin, and the natives of Sandrica to tell the 
Republic what had happened as quickly as possible. The 
Senate had been reluctant to act, but Lando had done an 
end-run around them. The Mon Calmari had been more than 
willing to speak up on behalf of another aquatic race, 
since they were very rare. As for Tronin, while he'd gotten 
private funding for his dig, he was still well-know and 
well-respected in the academic world, and several of the 
top universities, including on Coruscant, had loudly and 
publicly demanded an investigation into his death after 
Lando had contacted them. His friend's death would not go 
unavenged, even if he had to build his own army to go after 
the Syndicates.

But right now, Luke was moving against him, and there was 
little room in his mind for thought of anything but that. 
Lando groaned and grabbed Luke's nicely shaped rear and 
pulled him even closer so that their erections were rubbing 
together in a way that had him gasping into Luke's mouth. 
He parted his legs so that Luke was fall between them and 
canted his hips in an obvious invitation.

Luke didn't bother to ask if he was sure. He shifted, and 
Lando felt something stretching him, preparing him, even 
though both Luke's hand's were clutching at his back. Then 
Luke was sliding into him and he didn't care. Every touch 
was good, inside and out. Too good to last very long.

The sheet came up to cover them as they lay there in a 
sweaty, panting heap, and Lando smiled to himself. This was 
the sort of homecoming he liked.

* * * * *

Luke woke in darkness, and a quick check of his chrono told 
him that it was still an hour away from dawn. He turned the 
lights on to a soft glow, barely enough for him to see his 
bedmate by. Not enough to wake Lando up.

GemDiver. He smiled and shook his head. Only Lando... The 
station had been bleeding money since before the overthrow 
of the Empire. Corusca gems were rare and valuable beyond 
belief, but they were also very difficult and expensive to 
mine. And yet, somehow he had little doubt that Lando would 
find a way to make a profit doing it.

Luke ran a finger down the side of Lando's face, feeling 
the lines there that were too faint to see in the dim 
light. Smile lines, for the most part, but they showed the 
man's age, even though Lando had yet to start going gray. 
Luke couldn't say the same. His own once blonde head was 
slowly shading to silver. It was hard to believe that it 
had been twenty years since their first meeting. Not that 
he remembered it well; he'd been delirious and half out of 
his mind from the pain of his severed hand. Now he couldn't 
imagine his life without the rogue in it.

Interesting how he always seemed attracted to a type. 
Rebellious princess. Sarcastic smuggler. Cocky fighter 
pilot. Even Callista showed no interest in conforming to 
societal norms. He still missed her, and wished her well, 
wherever she was. He hoped she would find what she was 
looking for.

"Luke? Everything alright?"

Luke smiled. "Everything's perfect," he replied softly to 
the sleepy question.

Lando wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him 
close. Luke settled his cheek against the other man's 
chest, enjoying the soft prickle of the curls there. "Good. 
'Bout time we got some perfect," Lando said, then sighed 
and went back to sleep.

It wasn't going to be easy, Luke knew. Both of them had too 
many duties to be able to spend much time together. But 
what time they could steal, they would. If he'd learned 
nothing else since he'd left the farm on Tatooine, a wet 
behind the ears, overconfident boy, it was that you took 
what you could, when you could. Corrin's memories had only 
reinforced that knowledge.

But it was nice to now have something to come home too. 
Someone to hold onto in the night.

Luke closed his eyes and enjoyed the closeness until 
morning came an it was time to deal with the universe 
again.

THE END