TITLE: Fractured Family
AUTHOR: jenbachand
PAIRING: Luke & Leia friendship with implied Han/Leia
RATING: General
SUMMARY: Impending plans and the fate of their friend weigh heavily on their minds. Through the darkness they find a moment of comfort.
DISCLAIMER: I made no money from the writing of this fic.
NOTES: For losingntrnslatn who simply requested some Han/Leia. She was also kind enough to beta it. Thanks also to phdelicious for the look over as well. Much love ladies
Luke thought that one good thing about being close with Leia, other than the oddly intense sense of calmness and familiarity when she was around, was that she had larger quarters which allowed him to practice and her enough room to rant and pace.
She did the later frequently, or had up until they had received R2-D2's last report. The images of Han, still incased in carbonite, plummeted her spirits, despite the knowledge that he was, in fact, still there in his frozen state. Luke took to watching her after that, and though he thought he knew her, he discovered all sorts of inside information about the Princess. She was an artist, and had been sketching things and handing them off to her handmaiden Winter, before settling once again into a morose pose. She was also a fine diplomat, often settling disputes that erupted from the frayed nerves of their fellow campmates.
There was little feedback from Jabba's palace, and Han's rescue was the next thing that needed completion before they could move forward with larger plans. There were strategy and planning sessions taking part in the larger spaces; negotiations, treaties, but rescuing the newly appointed General Solo weighed heavy on the minds of their camp. An abandoned series of caves on Tatooine, far away from where he had grown up, were claimed for their purposes, and as one team member after another left in hopes of accomplishing their mission, the place began to resemble a mausoleum in its quiet and solemnity.
Luke's thoughts wandered to Leia's family; destroyed when the Empire had destroyed Alderaan. Had she taken to assembling her own fractured family amongst the motley crew of the Rebellion to alleviate her grief? She and Winter seemed as close as sisters, and he envied them that. Perhaps she had always found family in whatever form it took.
When she was alone one evening he decided to broach the subject that weighed heavily on their minds. A plan even he had reservations about. It had to be executed soon, or they would have to abandon Han until other missions were complete. He quietly approached her reclining form, with her eyes closed and arm shielding her from the rest of the light, and took a seat in the chair across from her.
"We'll have to go ourselves," he said and gave her a serious look. "We haven't had any reports in too long, and one or both of us will have to go." She sighed and sat up. The pain was radiating off of her in waves that set his senses into overdrive and he strained against his desire to walk over and offer her comfort.
"I know. I've been working on a plan. Chewbacca will be here in a few days and this is what I've come up with," she handed Luke an outline, complete with a costume and details of their cover. It was a good, workable plan, and Luke was very impressed with the amount of detail.
"It's good," he commented while flipping through the pages. "How long should I wait if I don't hear from you?"
"A couple of days at most. If we're not back by then, you'll have to come rescue us, oh Powerful Jedi Master," she finished with a slight quirk to her lips.
Rather than respond, Luke closed his eyes and concentrated. Before Leia could even blink, every single pillow in the room attacked, covering her and drawing a long forgotten laugh from her. It was a soothing balm on their roughened nerves.
After several minutes of mirth she quieted and Luke ambled over to help her out, but with near Jedi reflexes, she grasped his extended hand pulled him in under the pile. His amusement at being caught set her to laughing again. It felt good in these dark times to have a moment of enjoyment and Luke reveled in the peaceful feeling being around her brought to his soul.
After a few minutes they had settled, with her head on his chest and Luke patting her back, awash in a sea of stuffed satin shapes. He could feel the many emotions emanating from her, but the sadness of her soul was the most overpowering one of all.
"We'll get him home safely," he assured her. Leia nodded, but didn't say anything. Her emotions spoke for her, a touch of hope bubbling just under the surface. "We'll get him back home again, I promise."