Archive: WAAS, SWAL, Sithchicks. Everyone else, please ask.
Archive Date: March 15, 2003
Author's Webpage: http://www.geocities.com/angelajade/index.html
Category: Vignette
Disclaimer: Luke, Wedge, and the entire SW galaxy belongs to George.
I'm not making any money from this.
Feedback: constructive criticism and general feedback very welcome. Flames laughed at.
Notes: Megathanks to Sheyla. Fanfic beta and butt-kicker extraordinaire!
Pairing: L/W
Rating: PG
Summary: a series of vignettes exploring a relationship between the two
greatest X-wing pilots ever. Set during the Original Trilogy.
Epilogue - Some Years After the Battle of Endor
Slow, slow, slow...
Wedge groaned as yet another ancient speeder hiccoughed its way ahead of him in the traffic lane, wobbling precariously from side to side. Much as he publicly supported the campaign for safe travel on the newly liberated world of Coruscant, privately he didn't always agree that the speed restriction laws should actually apply to him. Especially when he was in a hurry.
Clenching his teeth in frustration, he pulled his own speeder back and gave the dilapidated vehicle in front more room, hoping like hell it was at least capable of staying in one piece should it need to land suddenly. His gaze quickly swept the other vehicles in the lane; too many looked like they were ready for the recycling yard. Even after all the effort the New Republic had expended in retaking the former Imperial City, restoring the planet to something resembling its former glory was going to take a long, long time.
Distant twinkling lights slowly resolved themselves into the windows and roof lights of towering structures, both old and newly built. Wedge sighed. At least it was theirs again. At least Coruscant was free.
One particular building caught his eye as it came into view; a group of skeletal spires buzzing with construction droids. The new Jedi temple. Wedge grinned. Almost there.
The traffic lane veered away some distance from the half-finished construct and Wedge dropped out and sped along at roof level, his grin widening with every kilometer the speeder covered. By the time he reached the building he called `home', his face was beginning to hurt. Still he kept smiling.
The door to his apartment hissed open at his approach, and Wedge knew that, yet again, he'd failed to surprise his mate. "You're up."
"Oh, yes," replied Luke, stretching out his arms and then dangling them over the back of the couch. "I'm most definitely up."
"It's the middle of the night." Wedge swallowed hard, struggling to keep his attention on Luke's face instead of his obviously tented sleep-shorts. "You should be sleeping."
Luke smiled. "I could sense you coming. I've been waiting for ages."
Dropping his bag, Wedge shrugged off his jacket and flopped down beside Luke. "I'm exhausted."
"Beer?"
A nod. "Beer."
"Thought so." Reaching down to the floor beside him, Luke produced two opened bottles of Corellian ale.
Grinning wryly, Wedge took the proffered bottle. "You read my mind?"
"Not really. You always want beer when you get home." He took a long pull from his own bottle. "How was Mon Calamari?"
Wedge gulped down half of his beer. "Let's see. Asyr caught some virus and spent the week throwing up. So Gavin couldn't sleep with her - he was hornier than a Devaronian and twice as grumpy. Inyri managed to get herself arrested for propositioning the local security chief." He paused for another swig of ale. "And Wes and Hobbie got lost on a recon."
Luke raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Lost?"
"That's what they claim." He drained his bottle. "Of course, we all know they just found a hotel somewhere and decided to spend a couple of days in bed."
Reaching out, Luke ran his fingers through Wedge's hair. "So, a fun time was had by all."
"No. It was boring as hell without you." He leaned into the caressing hand and smiled. "I feel better now, though."
Luke set his bottle on the floor. "You want to go to bed?"
"Read my mind, Jedi. What do you think?"
My body goes into sensory overload as you thrust into me again and again, your scent in my nose, your lips almost, but not quite, touching mine. Making love with you is so familiar - yet somehow it feels different every time. Your moans ring in my ears, your hair brushes my forehead, and inside my body is winding tighter and tighter, ready to throw me over the edge into oblivion...
I can touch the stars, Luke. I swear it.
I hear your groan as you come, feel your body shuddering against me. It's the moment you are at your most powerful - and your most gentle. You whisper my name. I hold you tightly. I never want to let you go.
I live for you. I would die for you.
I love you.
Their lips touched softly, a tender kiss of completion.
"Missed you."
"Missed you, too."
Sighing heavily, Luke rolled off his bedmate. "How long will you be home for?"
"Don't know," replied Wedge. "Five days. Maybe ten." He twisted onto his side and placed a hand on Luke's chest, watching as it rose and fell with each breath. "Long enough."
"Umm... I may be gone before you have to leave."
"Huh?" Wedge frowned at him. "Gone where?"
Luke gave an apologetic shrug. "The temple dorms are done. We've got three complete training rooms, one gymnasium, and half a library. It's time for me to go find some students."
"Oh." Wedge swallowed down his disappointment and tried not to sound petulant. "I guess we knew it was going to happen sometime."
Smiling, Luke pulled him into his arms and hugged him tightly. "Now, now, Commander. Be professional."
Wedge nipped at Luke's skin. "I'm a professional when I'm flying. I'm a professional behind my desk. In bed with you, I can be as childish as I like." Another gentle nip.
"I'll be back before you know it."
"Good." The next nip turned into a fully fledged lovebite, leaving a dark pink mark on Luke's side. "There. Now anyone who sees this will know you're taken."
"I was planning on going fully clothed anyway."
"Even better!" replied Wedge with a grin.
Luke laughed. "It seemed the most professional thing to do."
"True." Suddenly, he caught his breath. "I almost forgot. I brought you a gift." He left the comfort of his lover's arms and made for the door, trying not to trip over the boots and clothes scattered on the floor.
"You had time to buy a gift?" Luke propped himself up on his elbows. "You were bored, weren't you."
His bag was by the door where he'd left it; Wedge quickly found the tiny package inside and carried it almost reverentially back to the bedroom. The bed bounced as he landed on it. "For you."
Silver paper gave way to a small, black cuboid - a hologram generator. Luke smiled as he located the activation switch and it flared into life; a half-meter high holo of a Mon Calamarian beach, complete with sound effects and the smell of ozone. "It's beautiful," he breathed.
"To remind you of our trip there after Endor."
"What's that?" Luke peered into the glowing scene and tried to make out the words that were superimposed on the horizon. A slow smile spread across his face and when his eyes met Wedge's they all but sparkled. "It's the poem, isn't it."
Wedge could only manage a nod.
We sat on the beach, you and I, staring at the sunset as the tide crept slowly out, its every ebb marking a moment of peace. Nothing else mattered to me - only you in my arms, the warmth of your back against my chest, and the feel of your heartbeat under my hand. Perfect. I leaned forwards and whispered in your ear the words of an old Corellian love poem, a poem that has been used during betrothal ceremonies for centuries. You turned and kissed me, and told me you loved me.
I will never forget that moment. It sustains me when we are apart and inspires me when we are together.
"Thank you," whispered Luke, pulling Wedge in for an affectionate kiss. "I love you."
The two men lay together and watched the vision of a planet far away, each one silently reading the words that would forever lie etched in their hearts.
I will love you, now and forever
Each morning, each evening, each day
`Till Corellia stops its rotation
`Till the Sun gives out its last ray
`Till the galaxy finishes spinning
`Till the universe goes on its way
In times good and bad, I will love you
I will love you, come what may.
~FIN~