Stark Industries- Sunday

[thatwaslucky]

Rey had gotten a bomb dropped on her the other day, and she wouldn't say she was handling it well. Mostly she was handling it by being quiet and looking for distractions because too much quiet let her think too much.

And today the gremlin didn't show up, leaving her to handle work that she was focusing too hard on, meaning she was getting through it too fast. So this was really not working out the way she needed it to.


[Open!]

Comments

[gaveherahand]

Mara remembered that this was where Ben used to work and so she stopped in to see what had drawn him there.

"Hello," she said with a little smile. "Are you a relative too?"

[thatwaslucky]

"I'm going to guess not," Rey said, actually managing not to sound bitter because she was still being Rey about all this. "Hello. Can I help you?"

And she looked really familiar, but...

[gaveherahand]

"I was just looking around," Mara confessed. "My son worked here when he was a student. I was trying to figure out the appeal, but the fixing things trait came from his father's side of the family."

[thatwaslucky]

Yeah, there were some clues in there.

"What's your name?" Rey asked.

[gaveherahand]

"Mara," Mara said with a smile. "Mara Jade Skywalker. Who are you?"

[thatwaslucky]

"Rey," she said, tilting her head. "You're not the Mara who was here before...?"

Had to check.

[gaveherahand]

Mara blinked. "No. I'm here visiting my son. There was another me?"

[thatwaslucky]

"I went to school with a Mara Jade," Rey told her. "You're Ben's mother, right?"

[gaveherahand]

"I am," she confirmed with a nod. "Or was? Tenses get confusing when you're dead."

[thatwaslucky]

"Still are, I would say," Rey said.

[gaveherahand]

Mara laughed. "Ben told me a little about this place--he was only starting out when I died--and it seemed very confusing."

[thatwaslucky]

"It's probably gotten worse since then," Rey told her. "There's a whole new timeline now."

One where Mara didn't exist, oops.

[gaveherahand]

"There is?" Mara replied. "Ben didn't mention that to me."

[noonesreallygone]

Luke could feel the stone calling him back and he thought that saying goodbye to Rey here and slipping away quietly was a better idea than a potential farewell in front of people.

And then he arrived and there were people. "Oh, hello," he said to Rey and then to the pretty redhead.

[gaveherahand]

"Skywalker!?" Mara gasped. "What did you do to your hair?"

[noonesreallygone]

"Nothing!" Luke said and that was definitely true. Yikes on the hair, Luke. "Who are you?"

[thatwaslucky]

"This is Mara," Rey said, helpfully.

[gaveherahand]

"Your wife," Mara added helpfully.

[thatwaslucky]

"Remember how I said it gets more confusing?" Rey said.

[noonesreallygone]

Luke made a deeply unattractive garbling sound.

[gaveherahand]

Yep, that was the man she'd given her affections to.

"Very attractive," she said dryly. "Stop gaping, Skywalker. You'll swallow a gelagrub."

Which were large enough to ride, so that would be traumatizing to everyone.

[thatwaslucky]

Rey didn't know what that was but she wasn't going to interrupt to ask.

[noonesreallygone]

"I'm pretty sure I would've remembered that," Luke said finally. "You seem hard to forget."

[gaveherahand]

Mara smiled despite herself. "I am. This must be one of those other universes things. I never would've allowed for the beard."

[thatwaslucky]

"It is," Rey said helpfully.

Mostly she was watching them like a tennis match. Someday Jaina was going to find out about this and be so jealous.