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Luke liked to look at the stars.
He had not had that luxury in years. It had been four years since the Battle of Yavin. Possibly a whole four years since Luke had had any type of luxury except one. He was always dependent on his friends. His friends were the one luxury he had always had during the war. But the war was over now. Everything was ended. So now Luke had the chance to look at the stars again.
It was quiet. He still wasn’t used to it. It had only been a few months and the peace had settled over them all. All they had to do now was operational clean up work and compared to the final battle they had just come from it was almost mundane. It was much easier than the tribulations they had just suffered through and the calm was unsettling. It was probably just because he wasn’t used to it. It felt too quite, like the calm before the storm. But this wasn’t the calm before the storm. It was the calm after the storm.
For most of his life Luke had been waiting for his chance to go out and see the stars. For his time to go out and fly and be a part of something bigger than himself. Life had given it to him in ways he had never imagined. The Force gave him the life he was destined for in all the ways he was not expecting.
Like this. This was not something he could have expected. But watching the stars go by from a drifting spaceship on a quiet and gentle night was something that Luke had always wanted and would always treasure.
“Luke, come back to bed.”
That was something else he hadn’t been expecting. Something else he would treasure.
“Luke.”
Luke finally turned from where he was standing, staring at the complex swirls of gas outside the window. He looked back at the bed and the mess on his side of the bed. On the other side of the bed his bleary eyed companion was looking at him, one hand tiredly raised towards him. Luke didn’t need to be asked to take it. If Wedge offered Luke his hand he would always take it.
Luke walked away from the window and towards the bed and entwined his fingers with Wedge’s when he was close enough to reach him. He used it as leverage to lower himself back down onto the bed. Wedge pulled the blanket back over him and snuggled down against him again. Wedge kissed Luke’s bare shoulder before he lay his head over it.
“We’re safe, starlight.”
Wedge got a noncommittal hum in response and turned and pressed kisses to Luke’s jaw as it was the only part of him he could reach without moving. “Luke, my star, listen to me. We made it out, okay? We’re alive.”
“Sometimes I still can’t believe that,” Luke replied, breath barely more than a whisper.
“I know, love. It’s only been a few months and you need time to adjust. That’s okay. We’re all adjusting.”
“How long will it take?”
“I don’t know. We never thought we’d make it this far.”
“We’re the only ones that did.”
A heavy silence settled over them as they thought of all the ones they’d lost along the way.
“Luke, we’re not the only ones. Yes, we lost people. We lost so many. But you can’t focus on that. Yes, you can remember them and you can grieve for them. But you can’t waste away staring at the stars and thinking about dust and ashes.” More kisses were pressed onto Luke’s shoulder blade, a stream of comfort from his lips. “We have to move on.”
“Will you be there?” Wedge’s heart almost stopped at how vulnerable Luke sounded. Luke was a Jedi Master now, a hero of the Rebellion, and one of the bravest people Wedge had ever met. He sounded so raw and so scared and Wedge never wanted to let him go.
Wedge shifted so he was sitting up and pulled Luke with him. “Starlight, look at me.” He cupped his hands around Luke’s face and smiled at him. “Oh, my starlight, I’m never going to leave you.”
“Never going to leave you either.”
Luke was smiling now and Wedge treasured it. It seemed like Luke’s smiles had been few and far between in the past couple of years but now they were coming more and more frequently. Wedge treasured them all but the ones that he was the cause of were his favourite.
“It’s over.”
“Yeah, it is. The war is over. We can go home.”
“I guess I haven’t really thought about where home is now.” And he’s right. They’ve both been drifting for so long that now they get to land they’re not quite sure where they’ll go.
“I think I know where home is.”
Wedge really looks at Luke. “Where?”
“I’m home right now.”
If Luke had broken his heart a second ago then he was repairing it now with all of the love that he poured into those four simple words. “You’re my home too, starlight,” Wedge said, his thumb brushing over Luke’s cheek. Luke lifted his hand and placed it on top of Wedge’s and squeezed it briefly. It was a gentle pressure but it was enough to communicate the rest of what they weren’t saying in the small spaces between them.
It was quiet outside. The galaxy was quiet in the aftermath of a war that was drawing it a close after decades. The history was written in the stars and all the names would be remembered for how they shone.
It was quiet inside. The two men holding each other, clinging to each other as though they were the only person left alive. They weren’t the only survivors but they were. They didn’t need to say it out loud. They were the lucky ones, and they knew that.
They were lucky enough not just to be alive but also to have each other. Below the blankets their legs were tangled with each others and the hands of the older man still held the other’s face. This was them. In their space.
Wedge was still cradling Luke when he brought them closer together so that they could seal their happiness with a thousand kisses. A thousand sweet kisses to remind each other that they were alive, they were safe, and they were home.