Archive of Our Own

He shifted, his smile faltering and his hands clenching at his sides. He tried to ready himself for Lando’s inevitable rejection but to his great surprise, Lando’s face broke out into a welcoming smile.

“Sorry.” He said, shaking his head. “I just….didn’t expect to see you. Please, come in.” He gestured, making room for Luke. 

Stepping into Lando’s office, Luke looked around, taking in the luxurious surroundings, with it’s large floor to ceiling windows offering a stunning view of Cloud City. 

“This is a surprise. It’s good to see you.” Lando settled into a chair behind his desk, gesturing to a seat in front of it for Luke to sit in.

“I should have called ahead, sorry. I thought….you said to come and visit…” Luke trailed off, shifting uncomfortably in the chair. As confident as he felt as a Jedi now, everytime he was around Lando he couldn't seem to stop himself feeling nervous. It wasn't an entirely unpleasant feeling though, it was a peculiar mix of apprehension and excitement. And tension, intriguing tension, like they were always just on the verge of something happening.

“I did. And I meant it.” Lando smiled at him again.

“I should go.” 

“No. Luke. Its great to see you, really. I’ve just got back to back meetings all day and things here are really chaotic right now. But…” Lando tapped quickly on his comms pad. “Maybe I can move things around and we can catch up.”

“Yeah?” Luke perked up. 

“Not immediately, but maybe in a couple of hours? I can’t promise anything, I’m afraid. You could check out the casino or take a tour, I can get one of our security guards to take you around in a Cloud Car, it’s a great way to see the city.” Suddenly, Lando’s face fell, and he shook his head. “That is, unless you think flying around this place might bring back some bad memories.”

“No.” Luke ran a hand through his hair. “That might be quite nice...to see this place in a different way.”

“Great. I’ll set it up. And afterwards, you can relax at my apartment if you like? And hopefully I can join you.”

“Ok.” This wasn't exactly what Luke had envisioned but he was pleased that Lando seemed to want to see him.

The tour in the Cloud Car was informative and interesting and Luke enjoyed it a lot more than the last time he’d been flying around this city. It was a beautiful place and he was able to properly appreciate it. Of course, since it was a pretty romantic way to see the city, and, as nice as the security guard was, he would have much rather taken the trip with Lando. He didn't want to get ahead of himself but he couldn't help imagining that the two of them might one day do exactly that.

Afterwards, the guard offered to take him to the shopping district or show him around one of the casinos, but neither really appealed to Luke and he asked if he could go to Lando's apartment. The guard took him through a maze of quiet, pristine corridors and left him outside a door at the end of a hallway. Luke was now alone and he tapped the code that Lando had given him into the holopad next to the door. Luke had thought Lando's office was luxurious, but it was nothing compared to Lando's apartment. The front door opened into a spacious living area, with stylish, comfortable furniture, an expensive holo entertainment system, a wet bar, and more of those floor to ceiling windows they seemed to favour in the city. There was a sweeping balcony overlooking the city, the main bustle was in the distance, and nearby clouds floated past, giving the apartment an air of peace and tranquility.

Luke was impressed, if not slightly intimidated, by the beautiful surroundings. It seemed very....Lando - fashionable and elegant, but also warm and calm. It was an inviting space and Luke found that he didn't feel strange being here alone, he felt welcome. He looked around, taking everything in, and found himself pleasantly surprised when he came to the holopictures on the wall. There were pictures of Lando with two people who were presumably his parents, Luke could see where he got his style and good looks from, pictures of Lando with groups of friends and colleagues, and finally, a picture of Lando with Han, Leia, Chewie, and Luke. It must have been taken after the war, they were celebrating, overjoyed smiles on their faces, but what Luke was particularly focused on was the fact that he and Lando had their arms around each other's shoulders and they were happily looking into each other's eyes. It was an interesting choice of picture to display, next to Han and Leia who were in a similar pose, it made him and Lando look like they were a couple. Luke's stomach gave a little flip, and his mind raced - was there a reason Lando chose this picture? Did he see the same thing that Luke did? Luke wished Lando was here, he just wanted to know where they stood with one another. All the wondering, imagining, thinking about whether or not they both had feelings for one another was all very well but Luke had had enough of it. He needed to know if Lando felt the same way he did.

His thoughts were interrupted by an odd sound.

"Meow."

Luke looked around to find the source - a small, black cat was sitting on the opposite side of the room, staring at him curiously.

"Meow."

Luke walked over to the cat, who was sitting next to a neat, line of silver bowls, each with the word "Cali" written on them.

"Hello, Cali." He didn't know Lando had a pet. He reached out to stroke her but she turned, flicking her tail at him, and disappeared through a small, square flap at the bottom of a nearby door. Luke opened the door and followed her, interested to see where she was going.

It was a generous, rectangular space, open to the air, but the walls were high enough that Cali couldn't climb out. There were leafy trees to climb and scratch, a cascading water feature perfect for a refreshing drink, small bushes with colourful flowers to provide cool shade or a place to hide, covered, waterproof beds with soft pillows to sleep in, and lush grass to lie in. There were also clusters of a minty smelling plant that Cali seemed to be very tempted by, tearing small leaves off the plant to chew.

"This is nice, Lando obviously cares a lot about you." Luke murmured, thinking that of course Lando would create a place for his cat that was just as wonderful and carefully designed as his apartment. Cali ignored him, walking back through the open doorway into the apartment.

"Ok." Luke laughed, amused by her disinterest in him.

When he entered the living space, she was sitting on the sofa, once again, watching him closely.

"Fancy a holomovie?" He asked.

"Meow."

"I'll take that as a yes." Luke settled down on the plush sofa and switched on the entertainment system, browsing through the huge selection of different programs to watch.

Hours later, Luke was thoroughly bored. He hadn't heard anything from Lando and it was beginning to make him uneasy. On the one hand, it made him think that Lando wasn't actually that interested in seeing him, maybe he was even hoping Luke would get tired with waiting and just leave? However, on the other hand, Luke knew Lando had an important job and was clearly in the middle of trying to sort out everything that had happened in his absence. And Luke had just turned up out of the blue. He knew he couldn't just expect Lando to drop everything that he was doing just to spend time with him. He should have called ahead, he thought again. It really wasn't the right time to just show up unannounced.

Luke sighed, and, wanting to clear his head, decided to get some fresh air on the balcony. The doors slid open smoothly, and the cool air was a welcome feeling. He leaned on the glass barrier, gazing at the pleasant view, and tried to relax.

However, his attempt at relaxation was promptly ruined.

"Meow."

He swiftly turned around to see Cali had jumped up on the end of the balcony and was making her way onto a thin duct on the side of the building. She jumped onto a nearby roof.

"Kriff." Luke muttered, in panic. 

“So, how’s it going?” Han asked, as Leia appeared beside him in the holo. “Are we interrupting anything?”

“Oh, Yeah, it’s going great. I’ve turned up unexpectedly on a day Lando has back to back meetings, so I’m alone in his apartment, and I nearly got his cat killed when I accidentally let her out. Really pleased you two made me do this. Totally not thinking about leaving right now.”

Han tried, and failed, to stifle a laugh. Leia nodded slowly, considering Luke’s words, “Ok. So that’s not the romantic meeting I’m sure you’ve been picturing but it’s not that bad. And he doesn’t need to know about the cat thing.”

“I don’t know.” Luke said reluctantly, shaking his head in exasperation. “I only saw him for five minutes and he said he wasn’t sure when he’d come home. He’s busy working, he’ll probably be tired when he comes back. I think I should just go.”

“You can’t just leave.”

“I’ll send him a message, I won’t just disappear.” Luke sighed. “It’s not the right time.”

“So when is the right time?” Han asked, resting his chin on Leia’s head, much to her annoyance. “You’ve been moping about him forever.”

“Han.” Leia muttered.

“Hey, I’m just trying to help. Besides, he likes you, I’m sure of it. I’m very good at this stuff...very intuitive.” 

Leia snorted.

“I knew you had feelings for me.” 

“Yeah, and you also thought I was in love with Luke.”

“Ok, so maybe I’m not spot on everytime -”

Luke cleared his throat. “Can we get back to the point?”

“Right, sorry. Luke, you should stay.” Leia said firmly. “There will probably never be a right time, so you should just stay and see what happens. At the very least, you can have a nice visit with a friend.”

Luke nodded, reluctantly, and smiled. “I’ll speak to you two later.”

They said their goodbyes and Luke switched off the holocomm.

"Han’s right, you know. They both are.” A voice said from behind.

Luke jumped slightly and turned around, Lando was standing a few feet away, his cape folded neatly over his arm. “You surprised me, I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to eavesdrop but I didn’t want to interrupt. Besides, I thought you might sense me through the Force or something...” He smiled.

Luke’s face flushed, “It’s fine. And, well, I was focusing on the conversation, so I didn’t notice.” 

There was an awkward pause, they both stared at each other, tense and unsure. Luke found that he really didn’t mind that Lando had heard him talking to Han and Leia, in a way, it felt much easier than actually admitting his feelings. Everything was out in the open now and Luke felt a sense of relief. 

“So, they were right?” Luke prompted, wanting to hear what Lando had to say.

“Yes. Although, I wouldn’t exactly call him intuitive, I haven’t been trying to hide my feelings from you. Every chance I got during the time we spent together in the war, I tried to be near you. I think it’s been quite obvious.” 

“I don’t know about obvious, I’ve had my moments of doubt.”

“Well, let me make it clear - I like you a lot, Luke Skywalker. More than I’ve liked anyone...oh, ever. Ever since I met you, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. And when I said you, Han, Leia, and Chewie, should come visit, I was really hoping for you in particular.”

Luke stood up, a joyful smile on his face, “That is...very clear. Thank you.” He slowly made his way over to where Lando stood, reaching out to take Lando’s hands in his own. “And in the interest of...being clear, I’ve been thinking about you too ever since we met.”

“I figured. What with the moping Han mentioned.”

Luke laughed, “It wasn’t moping. Pining. Maybe.”

“Ah. Pining. Much more respectable.” Lando squeezed Luke’s hands gently and pulled him closer. They stared deep into one another’s eyes, that tension that Luke was so familiar with appeared again, this time stronger than ever. Luke couldn’t wait any longer, this moment had been a long time coming, it was a moment he had dreamt about many times, and, as much as he had enjoyed the build up, it was finally time.

Luke leaned forward, and slowly, firmly, pressed his lips to Lando’s. They were still for a moment, before they gave in and began to kiss passionately, savouring the experience that they had both craved for so long. The kiss was a culmination of so many gentle touches, so many intense looks, so many deep conversations. It was the next step in a close friendship charged with affection and desire.

Untangling his fingers from Lando’s, Luke reached up to caress Lando’s face lovingly, before pulling away to gaze at Lando, hands still on either side of his face. Lando wrapped his arms around Luke’s waist.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.”

“That’s ok. This was worth the wait.” Luke murmured, a small smile playing on his lips.

“Indeed it was. I’m glad you didn’t leave.”

“Me too.”

"I am curious though, what happened with Cali?”

“Oh!” Luke screwed his eyes shut, letting his hands drop to his sides. “I let her out on the balcony by accident and she nearly walked off a roof...I’m so sorry, Lando. I -”

“Ha! Yeah, she does that a lot.” Lando laughed. “Don’t worry about it, I usually just tempt her back in with treats. And there’s actually an enclosed ledge underneath that roof, it’s quite safe.”

“Treats? That would have been a good idea. I sort of...had to use the Force to float her back inside.”

Lando grinned, “Now, that, I wish I’d seen.”

“I don’t think she liked it much. In fact, I’m pretty sure she hates me.”

“I’m sure she’ll get used to you in no time.”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I think you might be around a lot in the future, so she’s going to have to.”

Luke pulled Lando tight against his body and kissed him again. It was pure bliss.