~[16 yrs. A.B.Y.]~
- - -
Leia Organa looked out the window of her hovercar as the vehicle decelerated, coming to a stop outside its destination.
She had been looking forward to tonight all day. It would be simple - it was just dinner with family, no politics, and no agendas - just a quiet dinner with her brother and her son.
Her eyes came to rest on the ashen brown hair of Anakin, tracing his profile as he stirred in his sleep. She didn't want to wake him. He looked so peaceful - a feeling she envied him every day.
Anakin's eyes fluttered open and he yawned, stretching his arms out as he sat up and lifting his head off the cushioning of the hovercar's interior.
"Are we there?"
She smiled. "Yes, why don't you run inside and tell Uncle Luke that I'll be a minute."
Anakin nodded, a little groggy, and slipped out of the car as the chauffeur droid opened it.
Leia sighed. She was so exhausted from the happenings of the day that she was tempted to pass out inside the hovercar and forget about dinner. It frustrated her that she couldn't muster more endurance, and that after all these years she'd turned into a tired old politician after all.
~Not old yet,~ she reminded herself, though it didn't help much. It only proved that when she finally was old and gray, she would be even worse off than now: a weary, stressed, and - to be entirely truthful - unhappy woman.
She brought her eyes up to look at where Anakin had been sleeping. ~Well, almost unhappy. ~
Nodding to the chauffeur droid, she lifted her skirt to her ankles, freeing her feet to place themselves, uninhibited, onto the ground. It was a cool night on Coruscant, but the chill chased away the clouds so that the many stars of the galaxy could preach their brilliance to those below, on a planet whose own resplendence seemed so counterfeit against a deep blue sky.
Leia came upon Luke's door, feeling her brother's presence which permeated the very walls of the duracrete building. This place, to her, was more home than her own residence on the capital world, even more so than the palace from which she ruled in such veiled solitude.
She opened the door, which had already identified her, allowing her access to her brother's home. The hallway was warm and the lighting itself seemed welcoming. She found it funny that she could decorate and entire mansion with all the wealth of Kuat and still never mimic this apartment's ardent atmosphere.
Luke was not a man to care about the look of his home, as shown by the disorderly manner of the living room that met Leia's eyes as it came into view, but somehow, his home reminded her of the comfort of her mother's arms.
"Leia!" came Luke's voice as he walked out of the dinning room, coming up to his sister and folding her into a hug.
"It's good to see you," Leia said, holding him at arms length.
"You too. What has it been now - three weeks?" Luke asked. "You've got way too much on your plate these days, I hardly ever get to see you."
"I know, but with this new proposal coming up and Hapes turning into a bureaucratic mess..." she sighed, "Sometimes I think I wasn't cut out for this job."
Leia turned, walking towards the dining room with Luke in tow.
"I actually wanted to mention something to you before we sit down," Luke said, but Leia had already turned the corner.
Leia's eyes fell on the figure at the head of the table. ~So much for a quiet family dinner. ~
Han Solo stood up to meet her, bowing curtly the waist, "Lady Organa."
"Admiral Solo," Leia nodded, taking a seat at the opposite side of the table. The atmosphere had gone from friendly to regal formality in less than a millisecond, though there was no mistaking the cause. She glanced down at the food in front of her, thanking the Force that it was there to divert her attention.
Luke attempted to lighten the surroundings. "Han was just arrived on world yesterday. He's been asked provide the military support for the proposal you're working on." He feigned a mannerly smile as he sat down on the side between his sister and Han.
Leia's heart sank. "You're the military representative?" She'd been informed earlier that week of the intention of bring formal military backing to her proposal, considering its direct participation with that branch of government, but she was now kicking herself for not being involved in the filling of that position.
"Don't sound so disappointed, Your Highness," Han replied, putting a fork full of vegetables in his mouth as he finished.
Leia turned to her brother, not showing her anger at him for inviting this guest. "Where's Anakin?"
"He's upstairs," Luke replied, "Playing vidgames with Jacen. I had their dinner brought up to them."
"Oh," Leia replied, not sure what else to say. She hadn't seen Jacen in quite sometime, which no doubt went along with the fact that she avoided the boy's father, and she would have done anything for the distraction of having the boys at the table. Perhaps then the uncomfortable silence which suffused the room wouldn't be so potent, nor would the awkward bits of conversation in-between be so barren.
"Jacen and Anakin are both progressing very well at the Academy," Luke stated. Leia was grateful for his attempt to carve into the silence with something which might strip the formality from the conversation, or perhaps pull attention away from the constrained attitudes of the once good friends. It didn't make her any less angry at him for the situation he had inadvertently made, but it was an effort she could appreciate.
Despite all the hope she had held for a relaxing evening, now all she wanted to do was to finish her food and go home. Being alone in her ever cold bed was better than sitting in the icy room she now inhabited.
~Just one more thing I have to worry about,~ she thought, ~the past catching up with me. ~
- - -
Han stood in the entrance to the living room, down the hallway from the front door where Luke had just closed the door behind his sister and nephew.
"Well you two were civil," Luke said as he walked down the hallway, reaching Han after a few steps.
~Civil, ha, now that's a word for it.~ Han looked at his friend. "I didn't have to come here tonight, and if you'd have told me the guest list, I would have declined."
Luke sighed, "So I still have to keep my sister and my best friend in separate rooms?"
"Yes," Han replied, as though it were obvious, "And on separate days, too. Look, Luke, we're not the best of friends anymore, and I'd prefer it if you didn't push something like this again. I'm already stuck with her at work for a while; don't make me deal with this on my free time."
Han moved to the couch, sinking into it as he sat and rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. Luke knew as fluently versed in the elements and entrails of this situation as Chewie was in Basic. It was hard to explain without having lived it, and even then, there were times when he didn't think he didn't know what had really happened.
Luke sat down across from him. "Whatever happened to you two? We were all great in the beginning, and now we all can't even be in the same room together."
"It doesn't matter anymore, okay? It all happened a long time ago." Han let out a long breath. ~Sometimes it's easier to forget. ~
- - -
- - -
Leia Organa looked out the window of her hovercar as the vehicle decelerated, coming to a stop outside its destination.
She had been looking forward to tonight all day. It would be simple - it was just dinner with family, no politics, and no agendas - just a quiet dinner with her brother and her son.
Her eyes came to rest on the ashen brown hair of Anakin, tracing his profile as he stirred in his sleep. She didn't want to wake him. He looked so peaceful - a feeling she envied him every day.
Anakin's eyes fluttered open and he yawned, stretching his arms out as he sat up and lifting his head off the cushioning of the hovercar's interior.
"Are we there?"
She smiled. "Yes, why don't you run inside and tell Uncle Luke that I'll be a minute."
Anakin nodded, a little groggy, and slipped out of the car as the chauffeur droid opened it.
Leia sighed. She was so exhausted from the happenings of the day that she was tempted to pass out inside the hovercar and forget about dinner. It frustrated her that she couldn't muster more endurance, and that after all these years she'd turned into a tired old politician after all.
~Not old yet,~ she reminded herself, though it didn't help much. It only proved that when she finally was old and gray, she would be even worse off than now: a weary, stressed, and - to be entirely truthful - unhappy woman.
She brought her eyes up to look at where Anakin had been sleeping. ~Well, almost unhappy. ~
Nodding to the chauffeur droid, she lifted her skirt to her ankles, freeing her feet to place themselves, uninhibited, onto the ground. It was a cool night on Coruscant, but the chill chased away the clouds so that the many stars of the galaxy could preach their brilliance to those below, on a planet whose own resplendence seemed so counterfeit against a deep blue sky.
Leia came upon Luke's door, feeling her brother's presence which permeated the very walls of the duracrete building. This place, to her, was more home than her own residence on the capital world, even more so than the palace from which she ruled in such veiled solitude.
She opened the door, which had already identified her, allowing her access to her brother's home. The hallway was warm and the lighting itself seemed welcoming. She found it funny that she could decorate and entire mansion with all the wealth of Kuat and still never mimic this apartment's ardent atmosphere.
Luke was not a man to care about the look of his home, as shown by the disorderly manner of the living room that met Leia's eyes as it came into view, but somehow, his home reminded her of the comfort of her mother's arms.
"Leia!" came Luke's voice as he walked out of the dinning room, coming up to his sister and folding her into a hug.
"It's good to see you," Leia said, holding him at arms length.
"You too. What has it been now - three weeks?" Luke asked. "You've got way too much on your plate these days, I hardly ever get to see you."
"I know, but with this new proposal coming up and Hapes turning into a bureaucratic mess..." she sighed, "Sometimes I think I wasn't cut out for this job."
Leia turned, walking towards the dining room with Luke in tow.
"I actually wanted to mention something to you before we sit down," Luke said, but Leia had already turned the corner.
Leia's eyes fell on the figure at the head of the table. ~So much for a quiet family dinner. ~
Han Solo stood up to meet her, bowing curtly the waist, "Lady Organa."
"Admiral Solo," Leia nodded, taking a seat at the opposite side of the table. The atmosphere had gone from friendly to regal formality in less than a millisecond, though there was no mistaking the cause. She glanced down at the food in front of her, thanking the Force that it was there to divert her attention.
Luke attempted to lighten the surroundings. "Han was just arrived on world yesterday. He's been asked provide the military support for the proposal you're working on." He feigned a mannerly smile as he sat down on the side between his sister and Han.
Leia's heart sank. "You're the military representative?" She'd been informed earlier that week of the intention of bring formal military backing to her proposal, considering its direct participation with that branch of government, but she was now kicking herself for not being involved in the filling of that position.
"Don't sound so disappointed, Your Highness," Han replied, putting a fork full of vegetables in his mouth as he finished.
Leia turned to her brother, not showing her anger at him for inviting this guest. "Where's Anakin?"
"He's upstairs," Luke replied, "Playing vidgames with Jacen. I had their dinner brought up to them."
"Oh," Leia replied, not sure what else to say. She hadn't seen Jacen in quite sometime, which no doubt went along with the fact that she avoided the boy's father, and she would have done anything for the distraction of having the boys at the table. Perhaps then the uncomfortable silence which suffused the room wouldn't be so potent, nor would the awkward bits of conversation in-between be so barren.
"Jacen and Anakin are both progressing very well at the Academy," Luke stated. Leia was grateful for his attempt to carve into the silence with something which might strip the formality from the conversation, or perhaps pull attention away from the constrained attitudes of the once good friends. It didn't make her any less angry at him for the situation he had inadvertently made, but it was an effort she could appreciate.
Despite all the hope she had held for a relaxing evening, now all she wanted to do was to finish her food and go home. Being alone in her ever cold bed was better than sitting in the icy room she now inhabited.
~Just one more thing I have to worry about,~ she thought, ~the past catching up with me. ~
- - -
Han stood in the entrance to the living room, down the hallway from the front door where Luke had just closed the door behind his sister and nephew.
"Well you two were civil," Luke said as he walked down the hallway, reaching Han after a few steps.
~Civil, ha, now that's a word for it.~ Han looked at his friend. "I didn't have to come here tonight, and if you'd have told me the guest list, I would have declined."
Luke sighed, "So I still have to keep my sister and my best friend in separate rooms?"
"Yes," Han replied, as though it were obvious, "And on separate days, too. Look, Luke, we're not the best of friends anymore, and I'd prefer it if you didn't push something like this again. I'm already stuck with her at work for a while; don't make me deal with this on my free time."
Han moved to the couch, sinking into it as he sat and rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. Luke knew as fluently versed in the elements and entrails of this situation as Chewie was in Basic. It was hard to explain without having lived it, and even then, there were times when he didn't think he didn't know what had really happened.
Luke sat down across from him. "Whatever happened to you two? We were all great in the beginning, and now we all can't even be in the same room together."
"It doesn't matter anymore, okay? It all happened a long time ago." Han let out a long breath. ~Sometimes it's easier to forget. ~
- - -