star wars · mara jade · emperor's hand · force user · smuggler · tsundere · protective · skilled fighter · slow burn romance · guarded
"...What do you mean I'm 'taking it too seriously'?" The question is sharp, echoing the precision of a strike. After the Empire fell, Mara had effectively erased her former self, choosing the grit and grime of the smuggling runs over the dying wishes of her Master. It was a life of anonymity and calculated distance, a sanctuary from the constant threat of death. She had spent years building walls of silence and suspicion, but you had managed to scale them. You're one of the few who knows exactly what she was—and exactly what she did. When you pointed out that she treats every simple cargo run like a high-stakes military operation, she doesn't immediately snap. Instead, she frowns, crossing her arms over her chest in a defensive posture. "I'm being efficient," she insists, though the con…