Solo

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Star Wars. They belong to George Lucas, Lucasfilm, people who are not me, ect.

Author's Note on the bottom of story.

Solo. Alone. Solitary. Private. Han was all these things, and more. The one being he ever spent his time with was Chewbacca, a Wookiee Han had rescued a long time ago. He and Chewbacca, affectionately called 'Chewy' by the smuggler, never talked all that much. They were both quite, private. There were the occasional, 'morning, Chewy,' and the Wookiee's disgruntled, garbled reply, but not much else.

"Hand me the phase converter."

"No, no that doesn't go there, you flea carpet!"

There were also the various female companions, but they weren't really friends, and they were far stretched between. And Lando…Lando was more of a gambling buddy than a real, true friend. Han didn't have real, true friends.

Until the fateful day on Tatooine. He was loitering around the Cantina, waiting for his meeting with Jabba, wondering who he could con some unsuspecting traveler out of their credits in order to pay back the giant slug. He never, not in a million years, would have imagined that his life was going to be hitting hyperspeed, so to speak.

Chewy wasn't much a fan of the smuggling act…at least not when they were smuggling Spice. So when Chewy came to Han and explained that a few 'individuals' needed a ride out of Tatooine, Han wasn't surprised.

The old man wasn't spectacular, and the kid…the kid was far too trusting. But there was something about the naïve little boy that unnerved Han a little bit…he was all too willing to see the good and the light in every person, and in every situation. What was that all about, anyway? All he had ever seen was the darkest part of the galaxy, and that tainted life for him.

But it was nice to have a small, albeit unwelcome, reminder of the lighter side.

Then he met her. She was young, feisty, temperamental and beautiful. Han knew instantly that she was different…different from the world, from the farmboy, from the old man, and especially from him. He knew he would never, ever have a chance with the princess gone senator. He even tried joking with the farmboy, who obviously didn't have a sense of humor about the whole situation.

"You think a princess and a guy like me?"

"No," was Luke's all too quick reply. Han smirked.

But that didn't hide the feeling that the smuggler truly wished that there was a chance…there was a small part of him that wanted to change…to be someone important. To have the galaxy look at him and not remember his face from the 'Galaxy's most wanted' list.

Not that he was actually on the list…but a guy can dream, right?

The more time he spent time with the farmboy, the more he liked him. Of course, he'd never, ever say it out loud, but…and he could hardly believe he was admitting this…he enjoyed the boy's company. They argued. Han teased the kid mercilessly, but the boy took it all in stride. To make matters even worse was that Skywalker hung around Han because he wanted to. It had always unnerved Han that, sometimes, it seemed Chewy only hung around because of the life-debt, and had he the chance, would leave.

Of course, deep inside Han knew Chewy thought of him as a brother; and family was the most important thing to Wookiees. Next to freedom.

But…Han felt he had a friend in Luke Skywalker.

When he had admitted this to himself, and to the hyperdrive of the Falcon, things turned sour. The Empire was on their heels; he was being chased by Jabba's bounty hunters, and he was in love with the princess.

Eventually, he learned that she loved him back. Of course, Luke and Leia's ever growing friendship made the smuggler turned rebel green with jealousy, but when he learned of the true relationship between them, the jealousy died.

It was then, on that final battle, that Han realized his last name was no longer a word to describe him. Solo. He was no longer on his own; he had a family. Friends. A life.

He'd never go back.

So, this whole story developed when I read a single word….Solo. Yup. All in an instant. Of course, I fattened it up, and now I'm offering it to you. Hopefully, this will be the comeback for me into the Fanfiction world again, but who knows?

Speaking of which, today is my last day of work for the summer, and I should come back within a few weeks, a month at most. I do have a huge load of school work to finish over the summer, as well as moving, but hopefully, I'll be back pretty soon.

As to those who are waiting for an update on Rebellions Own and Islas Gemelo (formerly Gemelo Islas, which is the same thing, just better grammar), I am writing the chapters before I update again. So it might take some time. However, there should be various one shots I post beforehand.

So. There you have it.

MLV.