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“You holdin’ up, kid?”
Luke let his bag fall to the ground with a dull thud. “Barely.”
Han sighed and walked towards him. “Bad week?”
“Could’ve been worse,” Luke replied, reaching out to wrap his arms around Han’s neck. “Better now.”
“I’m glad,” Han said dryly. “Sit down, I’ll grab you something to eat.”
“You’re gonna cook?” Luke asked incredulously.
“God, no. I’m gonna grab you a snack and then order takeout.”
Luke laughed at that, Han breaking out into one of his rare, uncontrollable grins at the sound. He couldn’t be doing too bad if he was able to laugh like that.
Han grabbed some fruit out of the fridge and passed it to Luke.
“Noodles okay with you?”
“Anything but ration packs.”
Han grimaced. “Oh, it turned into one of those missions, huh?”
Luke nodded in confirmation. “Turns out the village I thought the temple was in was a new village named after the old one. The original was a four day trek through a cold, barren swamp.”
“You couldn’t take the X-wing?”
“Last day of the trip was through densely packed forest. There was no clear space large enough to land any kind of craft.”
“Hell, Luke, I’m sorry.”
“It’s over now.”
Han nodded and turned to his commlink. He hated it when Luke got like this, all burnt out and despondent. He had a sneaking suspicion that the mission wasn’t as fruitful as Luke had hoped, either, on top of it being a pain in the ass.
But like Luke said, it was over now. The only thing Han could do was try and make it better.
“You able to get a real shower on the trip back?” Han asked.
“The transport only had sonics,” Luke said. “But they were good sonics, not like the janky ones on the Falcon.”
“Hey, that was uncalled for!” Han cried jokingly. “Leave my baby out of this!”
“She’s a good ship, but she could stand to see a few hospitality upgrades. It’s kinda worthless to spend all your time fine-tuning the hyperdrive when the inside of the ship is uninhabitable.”
“Maybe she could use a remodel,” Han conceded, finishing up the order. “Delivery droid should be here in twenty minutes.”
“Enough time to grab a shower?” Luke asked.
“I’ll do you one better,” Han said, walking towards the ‘fresher. “I’ll run you a bath and come get you when it’s ready.”
“Thanks,” Luke sighed, relaxing into the couch. “That would be nice.”
“Mmhmm,” Han hummed, leaning over to kiss Luke’s forehead.
As Han disappeared into the refresher, Luke felt himself deflate more so than relax. His muscles felt raw and overtaxed from so much walking, and he thought his feet might fall off if he took another step. He trusted Han with his life, but he really didn’t want to let on just how awful he felt.
He had a feeling Han already knew, though.
Han returned a few minutes later, extending his hand to Luke in order to pull him up off the couch. He fought the urge to just pull Luke up into his arms and carry him into the bathroom, mostly because he wasn’t sure how well Luke would take it. He and his sister were very different people, but they both got fairly offended at being treated like they were fragile.
They walked back to the ‘fresher in silence, Luke leaning against Han’s side as they walked. Less for actual, physical support, and more just to be close to him. Luke could feel Han’s love and concern coming off of him in waves, and there was something almost healing about that.
“You want some time alone or you want me to hang out?” Han asked.
“You could join me?” Luke responded, bordering on coy.
“Luke, you’re basically limping,” Han pointed out.
“I’m messing with you,” Luke said, fondly rolling his eyes.
“Besides, one of us needs to be decent to pick up the food,” Han added. “Although, I might join you afterwards? I could stick the food in the warmer and we could eat later.”
Luke shook his head, already slowly pulling off his shirt. “I might want some time to meditate, if you don’t mind. I haven’t had much time to breathe since I left.”
“Luke, I literally disappear into the Falcon for hours on end to recharge. I get it,” Han said. “Take as long as you need. Again, I can stick the food in the warmer.”
“Thanks.” With that, Han shut the door behind him and allowed Luke some privacy to undress and slip into the bath.
What Luke had intended to be mediation turned into him falling asleep in the perfectly-warm water (which, for Luke, was nearly scalding, but the fact that Han knew that was kind of touching.) He jerked awake from an unpleasant half-dream, the kind that you only have when you fall asleep on accident. The water was still warm, so it hadn’t been too long, though.
Luke shakily dried off and headed into the bedroom to get dressed. He skipped over his own clothes to grab one of Han’s softer shirts, holding it up to his face and breathing deeply before he put it on. He could almost hear Han asking, “Isn’t that a little creepy, kid?” as he did it, but it didn’t stop him.
Once he was dressed, he followed the scent of warm spices back towards the kitchen. Han was waiting for him, reading something on a datapad at the kitchen table.
“How long was I in there?” Luke asked.
“Only ‘bout half an hour,” Han replied, setting down the datapad. “Why, you fall asleep or somethin’?”
“Maybe a little,” Luke confessed. “Had weird dreams because of it, too.”
Han didn’t reply, just crossed over to wrap an arm around Luke’s shoulders and kiss his temple. “C’mon, let’s get you fed and we can go to bed.”
“It smells good,” Luke commented.
“Yeah, the place said they did a Tatooine-style spicy dish. I thought we’d get it and see how authentic it is.
“If it’s too much for your stomach after a week of rations, though, I ordered something a little more mild, too,” Han added.
“I think I can handle the spicy stuff,” Luke replied. “But I appreciate it.”
“No problem,” Han said. “C’mon, we’ll go eat on the couch.”
Han pulled the covered plates out of the warmer and sat a third one in the fridge for later. The two sat down on the couch, and Han handed Luke one of the plates. They ate in a comfortable quiet, the holoplayer making enough background noise to keep it from being eerily silent.
Even though it didn’t hurt his stomach, Luke was only able to finish about half of his food, despite his hunger. Kriffing rations, he thought.
“More for later,” Han said, as if he could read Luke’s mind.
“Are you sure you’re not Force-sensitive?” Luke asked as Han took his leftovers.
“I’ve been hiding a lightsaber under my bunk on the Falcon for years,” Han teased, tossing the food in the fridge and walking back over to Luke.
“Ready for bed?”
“I’ve never been more ready.”
As soon as Luke reached the bed, he collapsed face-first onto the blankets.
“You wanna get under those? Or breathe at all?” Han asked, barely containing a laugh.
“Breathing’s overrated,” Luke answered, voice muffled so it sounded more like “beefings ore-rated.”
Han laughed, pulling him back up. “Gimme a second. Go brush your teeth.”
Luke begrudgingly did as he was told, and when he returned, the bed was turned down and the lights were dimmed.
He didn’t have to be told to lie down. Luke was under the covers before Han could even say anything.
“Damn, you really are worn out, huh?” Han murmured, crawling in next to him.
“You could say that.”
“Everything okay?”
“...Yeah. It wasn’t worth it, the trip. I’m kinda pissed about it.” Ah, there it was.
“You didn’t find anything useful?”
“Nothing new. Anything to confirm what we already knew about the Jedi is useful, but it’s not necessarily helpful to trying to rebuild.”
Han bites his tongue instead of asking about whether or not it would be worth it to just cut his losses. Luke knew enough to basically reboot the Jedi order, but this time with it’s problematic elements thrown out the window. He’d already done away with the no attachments thing, and he’d made it abundantly clear that no children would be separated from their parents from here on out. Could he not just... Not worry about the rest? Find it as it comes to him instead of spending weeks away from home on nuisance backwater planets?
But asking that wouldn’t be helpful, so Han didn’t.
Instead, he impulsively pulls the blankets up over their heads.
“What are you doing?” Luke asked, squinting to see Han in the newfound darkness.
“Dunno,” Han replied truthfully, “but it’s making you grin, so I’m not too mad about it.” He leaned over over to repeatedly peck Luke on the lips.
“Stop that,” Luke said in a barely restrained a giggle, “or I’m gonna tell somebody.”
“What, that I’m secretly a big softy?”
“No, that you’re secretly silly.”
“Oh trust me, Leia and Chewie have had me outed for years.”
“Not Lando?”
“Nah, because then Lando would have to admit to having also been silly.”
Luke leaned over and bumped Han’s forehead with his own. “I still feel...” he trailed off, unable to fully grasp what his brain was trying to do.
“You don’t gotta worry about anything,” Han said reassuringly. “Whatever it is, we can work through it in the morning.”
Luke smiled and closed his eyes. He was right.
And with that, he drifted off to sleep.