Summary: It's cold. It's dark. It's Luke's birthday. He hasn't remembered, but two people have. Pre-ESB.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or locations I'm using, which isn't a surprise I'm sure.
A/N: Happy Holidays! This fic was originally written for the Star Wars Gift Exchange on Tumblr, and as I'm trying to forget about the pain of The Force Awakens I went back to Hoth and the trio when they were still (relatively) young and innocent. Consider it a Christmas present :) Reviews are always welcome, thank you x
Cold Hands, Warm Hearts
'If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?'
- Percy Bysshe Shelly
They've been on Hoth for two weeks now, and it's been the longest two weeks of Luke Skywalker's life.
Today, like every other day on this planet, has been spent setting up outposts and perfecting security, learning how to operate the speeders and computers that the Rebels have had to adjust to the cold, and running over emergency evacuation plans more than is necessary or helpful.
Luke is tired.
He is cold.
He has no desire to go near one of those stinking mounts again for as long as he lives.
He is also twenty-two years old today.
Only two people on Hoth have remembered, and Luke isn't one of them.
Even though he's been up since dawn, and night is rapidly approaching, he has only just returned to his quarters. He's wondering how much he can turn the heating up without it melting the whole room when his comm buzzes.
"Skywalker."
"Where are you, kid?"
Luke begins the tedious process of removing his boots. "In my room, Han."
There's a pause as Han relays this information to someone at the other end.
"Chewie's coming to get you."
"What-" but almost as soon as Luke has processed the information, the comm goes silent.
Luke groans and rolls onto his front, face down on the freezing mattress with his boots still firmly on his feet. The last thing he needs now is to spend the rest of the day helping Han fix his malfunctioning ship, or worse yet fly off on another short-notice supply run halfway across the galaxy to collect goods that won't even be there, thanks to poor intel.
He is still lying on his bunk five minutes later, when Chewie barks loudly outside his door and almost breaks it down with his powerful knocking.
"What is it, Chewie?"
At the insistent-sounding reply, Luke reluctantly gets up and goes to the door.
He can't understand the Wookiee, but always tries to make conversation anyway. There's something about the undulating rhythm of growls that comforts Luke, in his depressed and exhausted state, as they make their way across the base to the hangar where the Millennium Falcon rests patiently on the icy floor.
Chewie has adjusted well to the new surroundings, showing little evidence of even slightly feeling the cold that by now has become a familiarity to Luke and everyone else on the base. He and Han have spent most of their time trying to adjust the Falcon's systems to the cold; Luke has lost count of the times he's heard Han swearing about the frozen coolant, or the frost that has formed over the cockpit windows. Even the Rebellion's X-wings are having difficulties in the weather, meaning Luke and his fellow pilots are having to learn to fly their new snow speeders instead. It isn't fun, and even the speeders aren't perfectly adjusted yet- some pilots have been injured by their ships crashing into the snow when the manoeuvring fins freeze into position.
Now the Falcon looks dormant, the landing ramp down but no lights or movement visible. Even so, Chewie leads Luke up into the ship, beckoning for him to follow through the darkened living quarters. Han is in the cockpit, waiting.
"You look miserable, kid."
Luke just shrugs and drops into the navigator's chair. "Where are we going?"
"Huh?"
"The mission. What is it?"
Chewie grunts with laughter, while Han merely grins. "No mission."
Unable to even begin to comprehend, his tired brain draws a blank. He starts to get up, figuring that he can tell Han to forget whatever it is if it's not official business, but Chewie restrains him with a firm paw.
"Do you even know what day it is?" Han asks.
Luke pauses. "It's Primeday, isn't it?"
Chewie is almost doubled over with laughter now, which irritates Luke more than it should do. Han shakes his head.
"Kid, it's your birthday."
"No it…" he trails off.
Is it? In all honesty, Luke can't even remember what day it is. It could be his birthday, but he's almost certain that it isn't. He still holds that it's impossible to forget your own birthday, anyway- somehow you must just know. How old would he be, if it was? Not knowing for a moment how old he is scares him even more. Is this what a war does to you? Makes you forget everything you took for granted?
"Is it?" he asks Han finally, who is still waiting patiently.
Han just nods, his previously teasing grin now almost reassuring. "It's okay, kid. We remembered."
"I remembered." A voice from behind Luke makes him turn. Leia stands in the doorway of the cockpit, a bag slung over one shoulder and a ghost of amusement in her eyes. She looks up at Han. "You didn't."
"Yeah, but neither did Luke, so…" he finishes with a shrug, then gets up.
"Where are you going?" Luke twists in the chair to face Han, who has paused in the doorway on his way out.
"Where are we going, you mean." Han brushes against Leia as he heads out of the cockpit, and Luke doesn't miss the wave of exasperation that passes over her features when he does so. "And don't even bother asking, 'cause it's a surprise."
Luke looks to Leia for an explanation, but she just smiles and turns to follow Han. Chewie lets out a happy growl, almost smothering Luke in a powerful furry hug that he takes to mean 'happy birthday'. He finds himself grinning in unexpected excitement and happiness, despite himself. And when Han returns to the cockpit and asks him if he's coming, he doesn't even think twice about saying yes.
The only real admirable quality of ice, as far as Luke is concerned, is that it reflects light incredibly effectively. This means, because Echo Base is fundamentally a huge ice cave, its corridors need little artificial lighting and yet still remain pleasantly bright even into the dark Hoth nights. The floors are covered with duracrete in order for walking over them to be possible, but other than that all surfaces are covered in a thick, reflective layer of ice.
The base is less a logically formatted structure and more a labyrinthine series of alcoves and tunnels, room after room in a misleading maze that Luke is sure he will never learn his way around. Most of these rooms (and Luke has learned that there are hundreds, used for any variety of things) are empty; aside from living quarters, the medical wing, hangar and a huge storage facility for supplies and weaponry, there is very little of the base actually being utilised. The base is purposefully larger than it needs to be, in the optimistic hope that the Rebellion will be able to expand into it.
Han has obviously taken some time to learn these unused tunnels, and he leads Luke and Leia down a winding route far away from any inhabited area of the base. The floors, though still duracrete, have not been treated in a while, and they become increasingly slippery as they go onwards. After a while, Luke is finding it very difficult to stay on his feet for more than two steps. As they reach an intersection, Han stops suddenly.
"We're here."
He stands in the doorway of a large room, so big that it is probably being saved as a secondary hangar if the need for one arises. The room is still light, and despite its size it is completely empty. The floor is so frozen that Luke can't see the grey of the duracrete below the almost ethereal blue glow of the ice layer.
"What are we doing here?" He glances between Leia and Han, who seem to be silently debating who's going to tell him what's going on.
Leia gives in first. "This is your birthday present."
"A room?"
Han smirks as he sits on the glassy floor to begin taking off his boots. "Ever been ice skating, kid?"
"I… I don't have skates."
"Here." Leia opens the bag and pulls out a pair of boots with blades on the bottom. She hands them to him, then pulls out another pair and starts putting them on herself. Han has brought his own. As the two of them begin lacing the shoes up Luke just stands there holding the skates, feeling confused.
"Where did you-"
"Stop asking questions, will you?" Han phrases it more as an order than a question. "You scared or something?"
Hesitantly, Luke sits down next to Leia and pulls off his own boots. "There wasn't much chance for ice skating on Tatooine, Han."
"Don't worry about it. It's easy."
Luke shoots Leia an incredulous look as she leans over to help him lace up his skates. She is trying to contain her laughter at his expression, but fails. "Come on, Luke. It'll be fun."
"Fun." Luke nods his skeptical assertion. "I'll take your word for it."
He soon learns that Han was lying. Ice skating isn't easy in the slightest, and thanks to the lack of handholds he has fallen over more times than he can count within the first five minutes. But despite that, he finds Leia was right… it is fun. In a freezing cold, stinging extremities and bruised ankles kind of way.
They have all fallen over at least once, but other than that the others are surprisingly good. Leia is gliding across the ice effortlessly, as if it's second nature to her, which doesn't really surprise Luke. He's seen holos of Alderaan, he's seen the vast lakes of ice in winter, he's seen the snow covered mountains. Maybe skating here helps remind Leia of home. Maybe that's the point.
Han is also proving himself capable on the ice, although he is definitely more clumsy and awkward than Leia is. They both stopped trying to help Luke stand a while ago, instead getting themselves steady on the ice first. Luke has managed to remain upright in the doorway, holding onto the frame, while he watches them circle the room. Han falls over more than Luke expects, but that's almost certainly because he's distracted. Luke isn't the only one who is in awe of Leia's skating abilities.
The fingers Luke has wrapped around the doorframe are beginning to go numb by the time Leia comes to a halt by his side, twisting at just the right time to neither fall nor crash into the wall. Han is less lucky, almost losing his balance before Leia automatically grabs his arm to steady him. Her cheeks glow with an obvious pink against her otherwise-porcelain skin, and Luke gets the feeling it's not just because of the cold.
"You're doing great, kid."
At first Luke takes it as sarcasm, but the he sees the honesty in Han's expression and realises he is actually receiving praise from the smuggler.
"Now you just have to move."
"I'll fall over."
"No you won't," Leia takes his free hand in hers, and now it's Luke's turn to blush. "We'll help."
At Han's reassuring nod, Luke cautiously removes his other hand from the door frame and grips Han's wrist. He is surprised when he stays standing.
"Don't try and walk," Leia tells him, pulling him away from the wall. "Push off from one foot and-"
A yell from Han interrupts her, as Luke tries to move and loses his balance. Together they succeed in pulling him upright again, all almost falling over in the process.
"Maybe we should lead you around." Han moves his hand so he and Luke's fingers are wrapped around each other's. "Watch how we do it."
So that's how they complete several circuits of the room, Leia and Han effectively pulling Luke along while he remains as still as possible and tries to mirror their stance. His skates occasionally scratch against the surface, sending them all momentarily off course, before the other two manage to correct in time to avoid any disasters. On the third circuit, Luke gingerly pushes off on one foot and is reassured when they don't all go tumbling over on the ice.
"There you go, you're getting it," Han loosens his grip a little, but Luke panics and grabs for his hand again. Han just laughs and, as if by instinct, he and Leia speed up.
Luke is forced to begin moving his skates, finding that at this speed he is actually more stable. He worries less about his feet crashing into Han and Leia's, and though he still feels like he's going to fall over any second he finds that he can adjust his stance if he needs to and remain relatively steady.
After a couple more loops Leia squeezes his fingers and then, without warning, lets go. Even when Han does the same, Luke is able to keep going, keeping his eyes fixed on the ice a couple of feet in front of him. Just as he's beginning to feel almost confident, a cry from Leia makes him raise his head just in time to see a sheer wall of ice straight ahead. He twists, feels the skates dig into the ice, then slips and hits the ground hard.
"Luke!"
As he lies dazed on his back he hears Han and Leia's skates on the ice behind, then feels someone's presence next to him. There's a crash, and a series of swearing on his other side. Luke's curiosity overpowers his dizziness and he manages to open his eyes.
"Are you okay?" Leia's brown eyes are full of concern.
"Yeah." The reply comes not from his lips, but by an unseen voice to his left.
"I know you're okay, Han." There is more than a hint of amusement and irritation in Leia's voice as she tries to help Luke up. "I wasn't really talking to you."
Luke thinks he hears Han mutter something vulgar under his breath, but his head's still not entirely clear so he's probably imagined it.
"You were doing really well, Luke," Leia comforts him as she helps him up. Han is left to pull himself to his feet. "You just need to learn how to steer."
Although Han is laughing, and not exactly in a helpful way, Luke finds he doesn't mind. He even finds himself grinning along, and then finds the confidence to let go of Leia's hand and start off again. He turns, albeit clumsily, to face them from a few feet away.
"Race you."
"You're on, kid," Han can't keep the smirk off his face, but that hardly matters- now Leia is smiling, too.
Luke laughs. "Threetwoonego."
Then he is off, followed, with a cry of indignation, by Han, and an instant later by Leia. His cheating has gained him no true advantage, as they are already on his heels and catching up quicker than Luke would've thought possible. Leia is laughing, now, for no reason other than uncontrollable joy, and Luke finds himself joining in with the rare sound. On his left, Han begins to edge by, but Luke reaches out to grab the other's jacket and pull him back.
He succeeds in unbalancing Han, but didn't count on getting unbalanced himself, too- both of them stumble, and Luke's flailing leg gets in the way of Leia. They half-trip, half-fall as one, the impact sending an almighty crack through the cavern and a sharp pain through Luke's ankle.
After a pause both to gain their breath and determine how the hell it is that they're still alive, Han groans.
"That was a terrible idea, kid."
Forcing himself up onto his elbows, Luke turns to face Han, whose lopsided grin serves as a perfect contradiction to his dry remark. Han's eyes stray to Leia, who is still lying between them, her tiny frame shaking with silent laughter.
"Hey," Han nudges her with the toe of his boot. "What's so funny?"
"I don't know!"
When Leia raises her head, her cheeks red from cold and braids encrusted with ice, her smile and barely contained amusement become infectious. Luke and Han erupt with impulsive and uncontrollable laughter, their happiness echoing around the cavern with Leia's. For that brief moment they are free of restrictions, free of rules and regulations, free to just be.
As the ice's chill begins to seep through Luke's clothes, he realises that he doesn't care. He doesn't care about the cold, or the Empire, or whatever may happen to them in the next few days, or weeks, or months… because he is twenty-two, he is with his two best friends in the galaxy, and he feels unstoppable.