a/n: i don't have any excuse for this. it's a joke.

Auditory Mistakes

The destruction of the second Death Star, Darth Vader, and the Sith Emperor in one fell swoop was undeniably an enduring victory for the Alliance – it meant a new dawn, a real chance to take the reigns and make the galaxy a better place. Despite the raucous, wildly carefree celebrations on Endor after the heat of battle, every single rebel knew the real battle had just begun: there was no time for relaxation; there were footholds of peace to be established.

The day after the Battle of Endor dawned sunny, bright, and full of promise; even before noon, yesterday's illegal freedom fighters were gearing up to emerge as today's legitimate government; their orders were to rendezvous at Coruscant, where Alliance High Command had seized control of the Senate at the exact moment the Death Star had met its end.

Han Solo was informally charged with transporting the Princess to the rendezvous point. Informally, because he'd be going with her no matter what his orders were – he'd agreed to retain his military commission and continue to serve. He and Chewbacca were loading cargo onto the Falcon and doing last minute mechanical checks while Leia, ever the diplomat, said warm goodbyes to the Ewoks for hosting them – though Han did suppose that was necessary, since a hefty amount of alliance fighters had swarmed the planet for the victory party.

Han was squinting at what he thought might be a new scratch on the Falcon, muttering under his breath about killing Lando, when he felt a very determined, sharp tap on his shoulder. He turned around quickly, finding Luke standing there looking rather…stern. Han arched one eyebrow, looking at the kid expectantly. Luke folded his arms, giving himself an austere air.

"What did you do to my sister last night?" he demanded.

Taken aback, Han stared at him. First of all – it was going to take some time for him to adjust to the sibling thing; Leia still hadn't really explained that very clearly. Second of all – he didn't have a damn clue what Luke was talking about.

"What?" Han grunted. "What d'you mean? Did she say something?" he asked, shooting a narrow look over towards Leia and the Ewoks – Luke being a protective brotherly nuisance was going to get old real fast, and since when did Leia start complaining about him to anyone but him?

"No," Luke said, giving Han a lofty glare. "I heard her crying."

Han furrowed his brow, lifting his hand to his jaw – last night? When would she have been - ? Leia hadn't been out of his sight during the party – or afterwards, come to think of it. Unless she'd gone off to cry after he'd fallen asleep, but he didn't know why she wouldn't wake him up if something was wrong.

Luke narrowed his eyes, misinterpreting Han's silence.

"You can't run off now that the Empire's gone," he said, bristling. "She really loves you. I don't know how you could let her cry like that and not do anything – "

"Wait a minute, she was crying with me in the room? Kid, what the hell are you talking about?" Han asked, exasperated.

"After the party," Luke said stiffly. "In the tree house you guys were staying in. I was in the next one."

Han blinked at him in disbelief for what felt like a full minute, and then he glanced to the side, rubbing his jaw.

"Uh," he began.

"Now you remember," Luke said.

"Uh," Han said again, looking back at him slightly sheepishly. "Yeah, but," he said, hesitating. "She wasn't crying."

He waited, looking at Luke silently – despite how troublesome it would be to have Luke confronting him about hurting Leia's feelings, it was decidedly more jarring that Han might have to advise Luke explicitly that he was sleeping with his sister.

Luke looked unconvinced.

"She may have been trying to keep quiet, but I could hear her," he said flatly.

Han let his hand fall to his side heavily.

"You sure it sounded like crying?" he asked sarcastically.

Luke narrowed his eyes.

"Pretty sure," he challenged. "She has enough to cry about without you – "

"Luke," Han interrupted seriously. "It wasn't crying."

"Then what was going on?" Luke demanded skeptically.

Han would rather be back hanging in carbonite in Jabba's palace than explain it, but at that moment, he saw Leia approaching, and he saw his out. He snapped his fingers, took Luke's shoulders, and turned him around, pointing at the Princess.

"Tell you what," he said dryly. "Why don't you ask her?"

Before Luke could protest, Han had stridden away, and up the Falcon's ramp so fast that the young Jedi's head spun. Luke shot a questioning look after the retreating smuggler-turned-general, and then took a few steps towards Leia. She looked at him brightly, her eyes shining with happiness he hadn't seen there since – well, ever. He faltered slightly, but still, ignoring her warm greeting, he asked:

"Are you okay?"

She paused, tilting her head.

"Yes," she murmured. "Why do you ask?" she ventured, lips pursing.

"I thought you and Han might have had a fight," he said suspiciously.

She furrowed her brow.

"No, we're on good terms," she said. "He accepted an indefinite commission in the New Republic we'll build," she added.

"Oh," Luke said, looking down. He frowned, and looked back at her. "It's just…I heard you crying last night, in the tree house."

Leia looked confused.

"I wasn't crying," she said simply.

"Well, I heard something," Luke said, exasperated. "And it was your voice," he added, as if he was catching her in a lie, "and you sounded like you were trying not to actually cry, and you kept pleading with Han."

He was so intent on fulfilling his new role as protective older brother, he didn't notice right away that Leia's face had turned bright pink, and she was looking at him with wide, mortified brown eyes. When he finally trailed off, looked at her, and did notice, he raised his eyebrows.

"What?" he asked innocently.

Leia seemed to struggle immensely for a moment, and then she cleared her throat, shaking her head.

"It wasn't crying," she said quietly. "I was – don't worry about it, Luke, he wasn't hurting me," she said faintly.

She looked like she wanted to be anywhere but where she was, and Luke furrowed his brow – he was just looking out for her, and he had been a bit worried after Bespin to find out she was putting all of her eggs in a Solo basket, but at least it was comforting that they weren't already having trouble –

Oh.

Luke suddenly understood just exactly how he had misinterpreted the situation. He snapped his mouth closed and stared at Leia, his own cheeks flushing, and she flicked her eyes over his shoulder pointedly, compressing her lips.

"I'll," she began carefully, not meeting his eyes. "I'll see you on Coruscant," she said, giving him a very formal nod.

She slipped past him and up the Falcon's ramp, disappearing after Han – she left Luke standing there, and when she was sure she was out of sight, she dashed towards the cockpit in search of Han, nearly running into him. He caught her arms and pulled her with him towards the main hold, sitting on the edge of the table, and reaching for her waist.

"Han," she hissed. "You are never going to believe what Luke asked me."

"Try me," he said, deadpan.

She repeated the conversation, and Han nodded grimly.

"Yeah, he tried to call me out for upsetting you," he snorted dryly.

"He thought I was crying," Leia lamented.

She covered her face, hiding her head in Han's chest.

"What if he'd come in to check?" she gasped.

"He didn't," Han answered, appalled at the thought.

"Do I sound like I'm crying when…?" she asked in a small voice.

Han laughed out loud.

"That's your main concern?" he growled, amused. "How you sound, not that your brother's not only trying to beat me up all of a sudden, but is also about as naïve as a four-year-old?"

Leia lifted her head and lowered her hands, clutching her own shoulders.

"Well, I'm a little self-conscious," she said earnestly.

Han touched her cheek, and kissed the corner of her mouth.

"Don't be," he said. He smirked. "I like how you sound."

She flushed, and glanced down, looking back up at him through her lashes. He gave her a roguish grin.

"Told you you were being loud," he teased mercilessly.

She slapped his chest lightly.

"Whose fault is that?" she chided, trying to look stern.

He pointed to himself.

"You want to nag me for being too good in bed?" he asked smugly. He shrugged. "I'll take it."

She took his hand and laced her fingers into it, narrowing her eyes.

"You're insufferable," she told him faintly.

He pulled her close, and held her gaze charmingly.

"Careful, Princess, you're going to make me cry," he teased.

She laughed huskily, and let him pull her into a hug, closing her eyes tightly and trying to block out the look on Luke's face when he cottoned on to his misinterpretation – she had to admit, though, if the only obstacles she now had to face in her future were awkward moments with her brother and her lover, it was a far better future than she'd imagined when her world was destroyed four years ago.

luke 'innocent' skywalker

-alexandra
story #284