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By the time the fire simmered, the events of the previous day, week, month, year, decade seemed to collide all at once. The alcohol and the music simultaneously curved the mood from jubilant and thrilling to warm and lulling. Slowly and surely, partiers peeled themselves away from the action (some alone- some not) in favor of well-deserved rest. Each knew that when morning came, their fight was not over, only repurposed. The remnants of the Empire would persist and still outflank them. They were still the scrappy rebellion, but they’d managed to scrape away at the most imminent threat. They did the impossible, but then again, the odds never really mattered when the results lie in front of them.
The sky was clear and promising, not a single planet-killer in sight.
The hope that Leia had gripped onto with white knuckles seemed finally warranted after many years of touch and go. There had been celebrations across the entire galaxy reaching as far as the outer rim and beyond- each system overjoyed with the end of Palpatine’s sinister reign. She’d felt each applause, each dance, each firework plundering into the night sky. She felt it in her bones as she had felt Alderaan’s demise years ago. This almost felt like justice.
Almost.
Try as she could (she wouldn’t), but nothing could really fill the planet-sized void in her chest. At the very least, however, she rationalized their failure did not come without an even greater victory. The lives lost were met with an uncountable saved. It didn’t bring them back, but it didn’t make the sacrifice meaningless.
A soft smile graced her lips knowing that everyone previously enslaved by this cruel Empire would go to bed a little easier tonight. She was even further emboldened by the idea that the perpetuators of such cruelty would not. She wasn’t foolish enough to believe they were even close to ending this Civil War in their favor, but they were closer than they were yesterday and for the first time, she could see the future clearly without guessing.
“So, what’s next?” A gruff, but familiar voice asks from over her shoulder.
Han Solo didn’t possess the force on any level, but God, did it freak her out how he could climb into her mind like that.
She gives no indication of her surprise. As per usual, she is quick with a response- always ready to feed into their little game that they play. She wonders if it was one she would ever grow tired of. Despite the intense levels of exasperation he could bring her to, she never seemed to grow tired of him, so maybe that was a positive start. That, and he looked very good in lowlight.
“That’s a pretty terrible seduction tactic, you know.”
He smirks and steps away from the doorframe he was leaning on. If Leia felt tall in the Ewok village, which was truly saying something, Han must have felt like a giant. And poor Chewie had to sleep on the Falcon because he couldn’t fit any of the beds in the village. Unsurprisingly, the wookie did not seemed upset by this given how transfixed the Ewoks were with grooming him. Leia thought maybe Chewie was afraid of being held hostage on Endor forever. If anyone ran that risk the most, it was Threepio. He likely wouldn’t mind either. This was the best treatment he’d received in likely ever. Artoo was definitely over it.
All thoughts about rebellion, height requirements, and divine misunderstandings fizzled from her brain as Han drew closer. His face was uncharacteristically soft, but then again, he always seemed to look at her like that now so maybe this was his character when she was in front of him. Even if her days of battling her feelings for him were long over, newfound vulnerability still pricked old chords that she had to learn to ignore, because she loves him and she needs to deal with that. It is much easier to do so with his very distracting face leaning into hers until they meet and she realizes it may truly have been just a stupid pickup line.
For that, she was ready to be onboard with, until he pulls away and gazes into her soul and says, “You know what I meant.”
She sighs, “I find it very unlikely that Palpatine didn’t have a contingency plan set to go in motion in the event that he died. If he really is a crazy force tycoon like Luke insists, this is even more likely. We’ll need to gather our best intelligence to try and-”
Han, being the bastard that he truly could be, has the nerve to laugh.
She doesn’t hide her annoyance, because their relationship has never involved pulling punches. She crosses her arms and gives him a familiar defiant look that he should know better than almost anyone. It says, “If you don’t shut your trap I’m going to kick you off of this balcony”.
“You’re always in motion, aren’t you?”
“I hope you can keep up.” She challenges back, not quite appreciating the lack of explanation for his outburst.
“I didn’t mean for the rebellion, I meant… Well…” Did he look nervous?
“Loth-cat got your tongue, Flyboy?” It’s so easy to tease him and she isn’t sure if it’s healthy how much this makes her heart race.
He scowls. “I figured your newfound force powers would make you a little more intuitive to what I’m trying to say.”
Because Leia excels at nothing if not compartmentalization, she is able to fire back a response without addressing the ever-growing burden of her recent lineage update.
“All the superpowers in the world wouldn’t help me with deciphering your neanderthal logic.”
He doesn’t have a parrying response for that and Leia internally cheers at outwitting him, even if she usually wins. He’ll catch her off-guard occasionally, but she likes that about him. He will never cease to surprise her.
And likewise, it seems, because he deflates in defeat against the railing. It also happens to make it much easier to read his face from an eye-level perspective.
“I meant about us.”
“Oh, I never thought about that.”
It’s too honest and she knows it, because she can see his flinch even in the ambient glow of the lantern lighting. She’s quick to catch herself, though, because she doesn’t want him to think she never thought of a future for them, since that wasn’t entirely untrue.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” She corrects.
“It’s okay if you did.” Though he doesn’t do a very clean job covering the hurt.
She briefly wonders how he ever won a game of cards in his life. He sucked at lying.
“Really, I didn’t. I just meant that I haven’t had the luxury to really dream of what a post-Empire world would look like for me on a personal level. I didn’t want to have done that and… Well, lose."
This seems to reassure him, but he still cocks his head to the side in equal parts confusion and concern. She knows he gets it. Han doesn’t speak much on his life before her, but you don’t become a cynical smuggler without having a few dreams of your own dashed and prematurely taken. She guesses everybody in the rebellion has this to some extent. Some dreams are broken all at once like a planet shot into oblivion. Others are chipped away through stacked losses. She isn’t sure which is worse.
He takes her face in his hands and steadies her while looking into her eyes. "We didn’t lose.”
“No,” She says softly. “We didn’t. It’s not over yet-”
“We’re going to win.” He cuts her off and for once she isn’t mad.
She gives in to what he’s trying to do and grins. “So, what is next, General?”
“Well, it’s been a while since Chewie and I have had a home that isn’t the Falcon.”
“Funnily enough, me too."
He smiles and there isn’t a hint of sarcasm or smugness to it. It’s about as pure as a man like Han Solo could be and proof that hope and peace were still in reach for someone like him. She hopes she can be that for him the way she knows he can for her. A home.
It wouldn’t replace Alderaan, because it wouldn’t have to. It would be something else entirely.
He kisses her and she more than lets herself be wrapped up in him- be wrapped up in this moment, because like the billions across the galaxy, this is her victory too. Her parents fought hard for it and passed that battle onto her with trust and care and she followed through. And with that, she can not only hope for a greater tomorrow, but count on it and build upon it. Force willing, she’ll get to hold onto it for as long as she lives.