Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or anything involving it, and I probably won't ever. I just write for fun and for therapy.
Summary: Or, when they kiss before he leaves. The extended scene that everybody needs.
Author's note: This is something that I couldn't get of my head ever since I saw The Force Awakens. My heart broke so many times; it's unbearable. Seeing Han and Leia, I needed this scene in my life, so here it is. For all you fans out there, I hope you enjoy!
"Some things never change," Han tells her as he pulls her into a hug for the first time in seven years, and it's just as he had imagined it, dreamed of it every night. One of his hands rests on the top of her head, feeling her silky hair all twisted up in a style that's new to him.
Leia wraps her arms around his waist, melting against him. It has been too long. Way too long, and she thinks that maybe they were foolish, are foolish for running when they need each other the most. Thinks that things could have been different, better, and that the pain would be a little bit easier to bare than being alone. And for now the emptiness she feels inside is gone, even if it's for a short while. For now she is almost happy and the hope she has is brighter than it's been.
"If you see our son . . ." she manages to say, "bring him home."
Han holds holds her closer as all his doubts crash down on him. You're his father, he hears her say again, only this time it's in his head, and he can feel her there surrounding him. "I will bring our son home," he promises her. Whatever it takes, he wants to say but doesn't because it could go either way with Ky- their son, and he knows, and Leia-
"I know," she says, trying to hold back her tears, but she has hope that it won't come down to that, and he feels it, too.
"Leia." His voice is quiet as he pulls away from her slightly, his hands gripping her upper arms gently, and she meets his gaze, heavy under all they've been through. "What I've done . . . I should have come back to you sooner. I'm sorry."
"It isn't your fault," she tells him again, giving him a shake to make him listen, to make him understand. "It was never your fault. I should have come to you when I found out where you were all those times, but I . . ." She lets out a small sigh, and she hugs him tightly again, not caring about who's watching anymore.
Han holds her, holds like he did all those years and years ago on Bespin and Endor and all them other times ago, and it's too much for him. His finger and thumb tilts up her chin, then his lips are on hers, kissing her soft and slow, much like their first kiss they shared on the Falcon. Her hands cling to the back of his jacket, and he wraps an arm around her waist while his hand rests on the back of her head, wishing that her hair was down once more so that he can run his fingers through it like before.
She's the one to break the kiss, gazing into his blue eyes that still show love and longing and sadness. "I think they are ready for you," she says and hates to say it, but it's true. They haven't wasted time, never could, but the girl he's told her about is in grave danger and it's only a matter of time until -
"Yeah," he replies, pulling her out of her troubled thoughts. "I'll come back soon." And it's a promise.
"Be careful," she says pulling him close one last time before he goes, feeling the warmth and comfort of him.
"I will." He kisses the crown of her head, then let's her go and begins his walk to the Falcon.
She doesn't like the feeling she has as she watches him walk away, and as hard as she can, she tries to ignore it. "Han," she calls, taking two steps forward as if she's reaching out to him, and he turns around, looking as if he might walk back to her like she hopes, but he doesn't. Can't. "I love you."
"I know," he says because he does and always has.
And he's half smirking and half smiling, looking sure of himself even though he knows what he's about to get himself into, and it's just like the years past, like old times, when they were better at being together. They stare at each other once more, words silently being said between them, then he turns around and heads to the Falcon again.
Once she sees him on board, she turns around and walks back inside. All that she can do now is hope and trust that he'll come back to her.