Author's Notes: Two in one day from me.
This one is set at the end of ANH.
Writing Prompt: Tired
The celebrations went on long into the night. Luke had done the impossible and had blown up the Death Star with a one in a million shot and Leia could scarcely believe they'd succeeded. The war was far from over, but this was an impressive milestone, and she felt that the rebels had all earned the right to some down-time.
In the aftermath, they'd evacuated Yavin almost immediately. Following their attack on the Empire, the Emperor would of course want to retaliate, so no time had been lost in packing up and heading straight to Coruscant. There had been no real time to think in the frantic few hours following their victory, and so Leia had been silently thrilled when she spotted the Millennium Falcon land close to her vessel. Its roguish Captain had clearly decided to stick around for at least the next few days. Given time, she intended to convince him to sign up to the Rebellion. He had returned to help Luke after all. Maybe the farm boy would be able to talk him into staying again.
She wandered through the sea of inebriated and happy people, a slow wave of exhaustion creeping up on her. She glanced over at a nearby clock and saw it had just passed midnight. She hadn't slept since her rescue from the Death Star over 24 hours before, and the two glasses of wine she had consumed were doing nothing to keep her awake.
Leia looked around for the hero of the hour, intent on wishing him a goodnight, but Luke was nowhere in sight. Chewbacca was easy to pick out in the crowd, and Han's tall form was of course, standing next to him. Wondering where Luke could be, her eyes settled on the Millennium Falcon. The gangway was down, and the door was open, and an instinct she couldn't quite place was telling her Luke was aboard.
She weaved her way through the crowd and entered the ship without a second thought. Once inside, she heard running water and knowing the ships two owners were elsewhere, could only conclude Luke was using the fresher. Thoroughly tired, she sat down in the Captain's seat and looked properly at her surroundings for the first time. Less than a day ago, she'd been reluctantly rescued in this ship, and could still hardly believe this tin can and its pirate captain had been her rescuers.
The background noise of running water proved to be oddly soothing, and before long she snuggled back into the chair, promising herself she was merely resting her eyes.
"Ahem." She woke with a start no more than thirty minutes later to the sound of someone very deliberately clearing their throat. Above her, stood her three gallant rescuers. Luke looked at her with a somewhat bewildered expression on his face, Chewbacca seemed thoroughly amused, while Han… well his expression was dangerously smug.
"Looking for me, your Worship?" his smirk was growing by the second. Hoping to reclaim a little of her dignity, she looked as firm as possible before correcting him.
"Luke, actually."
"Aboard the Falcon?" Han looked intentionally bemused, "It's alright Princess. You can admit you missed me. We're all friends here." She wanted to argue with him, but she knew there was no clear way to articulate that she'd simply known Luke was aboard without it seeming as if she were making excuses. So she simply rolled her eyes and stood up with difficulty.
"It's late." she said, adjusting her dress, "I'm going to bed. Goodnight Luke. Chewie" she pointedly ignored the Captain and bypassed him as she headed for the exit. The party was still in full swing outside and was showing no signs of winding down any time soon.
"Goodnight" Han called from the ship's door, "Oh and Princess? If you wanted to sleep with me, all you had to do was ask!"
"Insufferable man!" Leia snorted, loud enough for those standing close enough to hear. Hiding a faint smile, she weaved her way through the crowd towards her beckoning bed.