ABOUT TIME ALREADY!
The Solo family had just moved into their new, much larger apartment a week prior.
Han looked around the place and groaned. He'd apparently forgotten that nature abhors a vacuum. The new place was as messy as the old one. Han had erroneously figured that more room meant less mess.
Boy, did I screw up on that one, he thought, shaking his head.
It was nice to have a large master bedroom with plenty of room for Jarik's cradle so that Leia could pick him up to feed him but also manage to get out of the room without crippling herself. The walk in closets - two of them - held the same amount as previously, but the doors weren't always threatening to burst open, as they often had in the old place. The kitchen was much larger and made food prep much simpler, the living room allowed for a larger, L-shaped sofa that they'd purchased for it. It was the softest, most comfortable sofa Han had ever watched smashball on, and each arm of the L allowed him to stretch out completely.
Jaina and Jacen were delighted to each have their own rooms. Anakin wasn't too sure about it; he wanted to be with Jacen. Jacen let his parents know in no uncertain terms that he was NOT going to room with his next to youngest brother.
"When Jarik gets a little bigger, he'll be your roommate," Han told the young boy, ruffling his dark hair that felt like that of his mother and was the same color.
Anakin grumbled but did find that he had sufficient toys to stuff the room chock full.
It was a typical meltdown hour at the Solos, the time of day when homework, cooking, Leia nursing Jarik, comms going off, Han coming home from training, arguments between the kids, more arguments, and just the normal all around chaos that was a daily occurrence.
"You did that problem wrong!" Jaina said accusingly to Anakin. "You're stupid!"
"Jaina!" Han's daughter was the apple of his eye, but he wasn't about to tolerate her lack of tact. "You're not going to call anyone stupid!"
"You call the refs stupid all the time!" Jaina pointed out.
"That's during smashball!" Han told her. "You can call the refs stupid in smashball because a lot of 'em are."
"But I can't call my brother stupid." Jaina shook her head.
"No, you don't get to call him stupid. Be more creative." Han opened the liquor cabinet and helped himself to two fingers of Corellian whiskey, wondering why everyone had to be at their most fractious during this time of day.
He headed into the bedroom, where Leia was on her side of the bed, feeding Jarik. "Hungry again, I see."
"When isn't he? Today, it's been every hour and a half. I don't even know why I bother putting a bra and shirt on," Leia said to him.
"Because I'm the only one that gets to see that," Han said, grinning wickedly as he bent down to kiss her. "I'm afraid to ask how your day was."
"Well, I received three comms from Najia and tried to help her while I've got a crying baby, one from Mon Mothma asking why I hadn't done a report I was never assigned, and then the kids got home, and, well, you heard it for yourself."
"Do you think our decision to have kids was a momentary lapse of sanity?" Han asked, sipping the whiskey.
"Absolutely," Leia assured him. "Would you mind bringing me a glass of Emera? I'm told it's good for relaxing."
"You or him?" Han asked.
"Yes."
"Be right back, assuming I'm not murdered on my way to the kitchen."
"Good luck with that one," Leia called after him.
Han was trying to locate some of the Emera wine he'd picked up on a cargo run. The kids were still going wild.
"I'm done with my homework!" Jacen insisted.
"It's not done till I check it," Han warned him. Jacen had a habit of 'forgetting' parts of his homework and would cram through them at breakfast. "Same with all of you!"
"I always finish mine," Anakin said, mocking his older brother.
"Yeah, well, Dad gets the final word on that," Jaina told him.
Han finally located a bottle of Emera - in the entry hall closet. There were unpacked cartons everywhere. At least the wine was labeled. Everything else was anyone's guess. He headed for the kitchen, and was grateful he had a portable wine opener on him at all times - except now. He was about to start fumbling through things when the chimes went off.
"Great," he muttered, as the three kids continued to argue over something, and he was pretty sure that the kids had no idea of what it was. He certainly didn't and wasn't about to ask. "Help you?" He said grouchily into the intercom.
"Hey Han, Mara and I are here," Luke announced, his voice happy and excited.
Han was about to say, and your point is...? but he restrained himself. "Hold on, I'll let you in."
"Uncle Luke's here?" Jaina asked excitedly.
"So he says," Han muttered as he continued to search for a wine opener.
"I'll let him in!" Jacen shouted.
"You always get to!" Anakin shouted back.
"Do not! Jaina always get to do it!" Jacen volleyed back.
"So what?" Jaina said irritably.
"All of you! Quiet! The only one opening the door is me!" Han informed them sharply. He hoped there was some Zopran in the house, because his headache was increasing exponentially with every moment the kids were pumping up the volume.
The chimes that indicated someone was at the door rang out gently, and Han opened the door.
"Did we come at a bad time?" Luke said.
"If there was a good time to come, I'd remember it. C'mon in."
Luke and Mara were divebombed by the three kids.
"Your sister's in the bedroom with Jarik," Han told him. "Assuming you're alive after these guys get done with you."
Leia emerged from the bedroom, buttoning the shirt she was wearing. "Luke!" Her voice was delighted as she came over. "Kids, try not to beat him up too much."
Luke and Leia exchanged a fraternal hug, and Mara, not the most openly expressive woman in the galaxy, offered her one as well.
"How about we order dinner in?" Mara suggested. "Looks like things are kind of busy in these parts."
"I'll pay," Han offered. "I was just about to start making dinner."
"Go, sit," Mara ordered him. She turned to Leia. "You, too. I take it the baby's asleep?"
"With any luck, I'll get an hour off," Leia told her.
"Guys, I'm gonna check your homework NOW," Han informed them. "It better be finished, and correctly!"
The pair went to talk to Leia while Han checked homeworks.
"Jacen? What about your history homework?" Han called out.
"It's not really an assignment," Jacen tried to hedge, but his uncle caught him.
"You and Jaina are in the same class, so how is it that Jaina has history homework and you don't?" Luke asked.
Jacen stomped irritably back to the dining room table.
"And do it right," Han told him firmly.
"Bakura Barbecue okay?" Luke asked.
"Always," Han said. "Care for something to drink?"
"Alderaanian ale, if you've got it."
"Finally! Something I can actually find in this place!" Han said, pulling an ale out. "Mara, what about you?"
"Any Corellian whiskey?"
"Thank you. I think I know where I left it," Han said to her. He handed the couple their drinks. "Sorry, it's been crazier than usual."
"It wouldn't be the Solo house if it wasn't crazy," Leia said, laughing a little.
Luke text comm'd the dinner order.
"Wanna play Grand Theft Starship?" Anakin invited Luke.
"How about you let me talk to your mom and dad and I'll play you later," Luke said to him. Anakin sulked a little.
"C'mon, let's see what you've got, kiddo," Mara said to Anakin.
"She's bloodthirsty!" Luke warned Anakin, laughing.
"I bet I can beat her!" Anakin said gleefully.
"I seriously doubt it!" Mara told him.
"I'm done!" Jacen announced.
"All right, bring it here," Han told him. He scanned through it. "Did you run spellcheck?"
"Oh please," Jacen complained.
"Run spellcheck."
"It's never enough for you, is it?" Jacen asked unhappily.
"Hey, you don't have to make me happy. Your teacher's the one you need to make happy," Han pointed out.
"C'mon, I'll help you," Jaina offered her twin. Jacen squirmed a little. Jaina was at the top of the class; Jacen trailed her. He was far from the worst student; he excelled in the natural and biological sciences and did well with mathematics, but his grammar and spelling were atrocious. He was bored by history and the other humanities, whereas Jaina was fascinated with them. Han and Leia were tempted to ask that in the future, they be placed in different classrooms. The two wanted to be kept together, but the parents were questioning the wisdom of two kids who were going to be ten in two months.
"So Uncle Luke," Jaina said, sitting down next to her father, "don't you have something to tell us?"
"Hey, we just flew in from Yavin. Give us a few minutes," Luke laughed at his niece.
"Jaina, Jacen, go make it a foursome on Grand Theft Starship," Han told them. The game could take up to six players, or played individually or any combination in between.
"Aunt Mara, what's that on your finger?" Anakin, now eight, piped up.
"Yeah, what is that?" Jacen added, staring at Mara's hand.
Mara looked up at Luke. "Can't get anything past these kids, can we?"
"Do not even try," Han said, rolling his eyes.
"I bet it's an engagement ring," Jaina said. "Isn't it?"
Luke and Mara stood together. Luke smiled and slipped his arm over Mara's shoulders. "It's true. We're getting married. We wanted you guys to be the first to know."
"I knew it!" Jaina said, smiling. "That's so cool, now Aunt Mara can be your wife!"
"It is a beautiful stone," Leia said admiringly. "What is it?"
"It's a heart of fire," Mara said. The stone was a deep, brilliant blue.
"And the blue ones are worth a lot more than the red ones," Han added. "Sorry, I did smuggle gems from time to time."
Luke and Mara laughed.
"Have you set a date?" Leia asked as she got up to hug the couple.
"We haven't gotten that far," Mara laughed. "I mean we've been together for what, ten years now, and we're just getting around to this."
"I think it's time to open the good stuff," Han said. "Assuming I can find it."
"The booze was the first thing unpacked," Leia said, laughing. "The holovisions were second."
"Sounds like we know where your movers' priorities are," Mara laughed. She truly did look radiant, her face lit with joy. "I like them already."
Han did, in fact, manage to find a bottle of Bespin Sparkle, which he'd won, just like the Falcon, from Lando Calrissian. Admittedly, the stakes in that game had been much smaller.
"I don't think it gets any better than this," Han says. "Hope you don't mind the plasticoid cups. We haven't gotten around to opening the good drinkware."
"Can we have some?" Jaina wheedled Han. "Please?"
"Leia? A sip for each one?" Han said, looking at Leia.
"Just a sip." Han poured and handed drinks all around. Leia raised hers first. "Here's to Luke and Mara, may your future be joyous, may you never know tragedy again, may you laugh every day, and may you always have enough to cover the bills." Everyone laughed, and drank to it.
"Leave it to my wife to be practical," Han said happily as everyone clinked their glasses together. Everyone smiled and laughed.
"I'm fine with practical," Luke said, his face alight with joy. He turned and kissed Mara, firmly but not enough to embarrass themselves. The kids grimaced, but Jaina smiled happily as well.
"Are you gonna get married where Mom and Daddy did?" Jaina asked them.
The two looked at each other. "We're not going to invite a thousand guests," Luke said. "Maybe something simpler. The Jedi temple here on Coruscant only holds a couple hundred people at most, and that's plenty for us. Mara?"
"Ooh, can we watch your wedding holos?" Jaina asked her mother. "Maybe Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara want a wedding just like you had."
"Shorter guest list," Han told her. "Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara were at our wedding. In fact, Uncle Luke was my best man."
"Really? Oh, let's watch it, can we?"
Leia smiled at Han. "Why not? For old times' sake."
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"Daddy, you look so...young!" Jaina said as she watched her father walk to the altar.
"I was," Han told her. "At least until I had kids."
"Oh, very funny," Jacen said sarcastically.
"How come you're not smiling, Dad?" Anakin asked.
"I hate crowds," Han said simply.
"He is so smiling!" Jaina pointed out as her father reached the altar and turned to face everyone.
"That's 'cause Mom's gonna walk down the aisle with Uncle Chewie," Jacen said. "Uncle Luke. You look real young, too! Where's Aunt Mara?"
"In the audience," Mara said. "Third row, bride's side of the room."
"How come they didn't take your picture?" Anakin asked her.
"Because it's about your mom and dad," she said simply. "It's their day."
"So when it's your day they're gonna take thousands of pictures of you," Jaina said, grinning.
"That's usually how it works," she told her niece.
"Oh look! It's Mom!" Anakin said, pointing to Leia beginning the walk down the aisle on Chewie's arm.
"Mom! You were so pretty!" Jaina said.
"She still is," Han reminded her. "In fact, I think she's prettier now than she's ever been."
"Flattery will get you everywhere," Leia laughed at Han as she gave Jarik his dinner.
"I know this," Han said happily, putting his arm around Leia and Jarik.
"Did you keep your dress, Mom?" Jaina asked.
"I did, although please don't ask me to find it. Or put it on if I do," Leia remarked. Her waistline was a bit thicker after four kids, but she remained remarkably petite.
"Can I wear it someday?"
"If you can find it, it's yours."
"Aunt Mara, are you gonna have a white dress?" Jaina asked her.
"I think so," Mara said.
"Can I help you pick it out?" Jaina begged.
"Sure. We'll go to the bakery, too, and find out what kind of cake tastes best."
"I could do that," Jacen said. "But not the dress."
"What're you gonna wear, Uncle Luke?" Anakin asked.
"Not a white dress," Luke said, laughing. "Unless Mara insists." This created raucous laughter.
"Sweet one, you're the most handsome man ever was," Mara told her future husband, "but I refuse to compete with you in the white dress department."
Han smiled at all this. This is what family is, and I'm the luckiest guy in the galaxy. The smile on his wife's lips confirmed that.
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Several hours later, after a delicious dinner, wonderful wine, three feedings for Jarik, and wedding holos, there were four Solo children asleep in their beds, and Han and Leia were on the sofa, Leia with her head on Han's shoulder, Han with his arm around her shoulders.
"They're finally going to do it," Leia said, smiling.
"About time already, I'd say," Han said, kissing the top of her head. "Looks like Jarik's out for a little while. How about we play Wedding Night?"
Leia looked up at him and smiled. "I think that'd be perfect."