Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except the mistakes as this is un-beta'd.

Just Us Three

Leia let out a long, tired sigh as the door to their apartment slid shut behind her. It wasn't as if the evening had been particularly tiresome; in fact compared to a lot of the dinners she was forced to attend in her role as Senator, this small and informal one had been a breeze. It also wasn't a particularly late one, compared to how late she knew she could have been. Nevertheless, it was still an evening spent away from her family. An evening Leia would have much rather spend here.

She moved through the apartment, not entirely surprised to find it silent and almost completely dark (bar the small sliver of light she could see coming from underneath her and Han's bedroom door). She supposed Han had retreated to their bedroom after putting Ben to bed, she could see him now; propped up against the headboard, datapad in hand.

Leia headed to their bedroom, dropping her bag quietly on the dining table as she passed it. She pushed open the door to reveal both her husband and son sound asleep on the bed in front of her. Han was on his side and Ben on the side usually reserved for herself. Leia smiled widely at the sight. They both slept in exactly the same position; on their backs, one arm flung above their heads on the pillow, the other resting on their rising and falling stomachs, a slight snore escaping each of them in perfect sync with the other. Her boys.

At the foot of the bed and spread out in every direction was a collection of still-holos. They were mostly family shots; lots from when Ben was a baby and toddler, lots of the three of them with Chewie, Luke, and Winter among a few others. Plenty of the Falcon and the adventures they had had on her both pre and post Ben. There were also a few of herself and Han all dressed up to go to some formal function or other; clearly in the days were Leia was a lot more successful in convincing Han to accompany her to such events.

Leia noticed a couple of shots of what she recognised to be Corellia. Han was not in any of them, she knew he had taken them, and they were now some of the only things he possessed from his formative years. She had to swallow down the feeling that rose from the pit of her stomach at the thought that she possessed no such images of Alderaan. She had done, plenty in fact, kept at her home on the planet. But those, like so much else, was gone now; lost forever.

She took off her shoes silently and left them in the doorway. Approaching her husband's side of the bed, she gently took away the datapad that had been abandoned on his chest and climbed onto his lap. Han came too gradually, blinking slowly a few times before smiling up at her in recognition. His hands immediately found her waist, drawing her closer so he could place a chaste kiss against her lips.

"Hi." He said, his voice still croaky from sleep. He really was rather adorable like this, Leia thought happily to herself.

"Hi." She replied.

She stroked her fingers across his cheek, placing another kiss there. Han made no attempt to stifle the yawn her gentle attention produced. The yawn seemed to clear his head a little and he looked up at her with brighter eyes, noticing for the first time that the long, silky dress she wore was sleeveless. That was quite unusual for formal, Senatorial dinners; Leia was normally covered top to toe in seemingly endless masses of material. He rubbed his hands up and down on her bare arms, enjoying the softness of her skin under his own rough palms.

"This is a little revealing isn't it?" He teased lightly; seeing as how it wasn't really revealing at all, just slightly less nun-like.

"Well it was a small, informal thing. I thought they'd probably be able to cope with the sight of my bare arms."

Han laughed. Whilst it certainly wasn't the grandest thing he had seen Leia wear, it definitely wasn't what he call informal either. Leia moved slightly in his lap and the burnt-orange material of the skirt shifted to reveal one of her lovely, shapely legs. He realised as well as being sleeveless this dress also had a thigh-high slit on one side. It was more revealing than he had first supposed and absolutely a different style to what Leia usually wore. One of his hands reached out instinctually to caress the newly exposed skin.

"Just how informal are we talking?" He asked, only half joking.

"Well I'm fairly sure there are now certain planetary systems in which I would no longer be considered your wife." She told him deadpan, not missing a beat. Han smiled at her joke, pulling her to him for another kiss, longer and deeper this time. A little show of jealousy in response to her teasing words. "I see you've had an interesting evening." She said, turning slightly to look at the mess of still-holos behind them.

"Ben wanted to look at them." He said simply. "As you can see, the excitement wore him out." Ben slept on, completely unaware of anything, beside them.

"Do you think some of these are appropriate memories to share with your six-year-old son?"

She was referring to the small pill of stills separated from the rest, lying next to Han's thigh. They mainly consisted of images of her, taken by Han, in which she wasn't wearing an awful amount of clothing. There was, for example, a shot of her from the first time he had taken her to Corellia a few weeks after the battle of Endor. She was lying on one of the planet's famous cliff beaches, her limbs spread wide on a large rock, the waves lapping just below her feet, and her choice of swimwear barely covering the essentials.

There was another of her in his bunk (before it had become their bunk) on the Falcon. She wore even less in this one, nothing in fact; bar his sheets placed strategically, stopping it from being entirely indecent, instead of mostly indecent which was what it had ended up being. Plenty of people would be shocked enough to discover the last Princess of Alderaan in such a compromising position. Leia remembered the moment well; it had been the morning after Coruscant had finally fallen and Han had wanted to take the first still of the newly free and no longer 'wanted' Princess. She'd just woken up, hungover from the celebrations of the night before, and Leia had always thought she looked mighty grumpy for a newly liberated woman. Still Han seemed to like it. At least, he had kept it all this time.

"Ben was already asleep by the time I found them. I'm not that much of an irresponsible parent!" He told her as soon as he realised what she was referring to.

"It's quite some life we've had." Leia said quietly looking at all of the memories spread wide on the bed sheets. Looking at it like that it seemed absurdly domestic, ordinary even, compared to the lives they had both led before the Rebel Alliance and the fall of the Empire.

"You make it sound like it's over already!"

"Show anyone some of these stills and yours certainly will be." Leia said seriously, but there was an undeniable smile in her eyes.

"Don't worry sweetheart. Those are just for my own, personal, viewing pleasure."

"Pervert." She scoffed.

Han made a sound that could be interrupted as either an exclamation of denial or a groan of acceptance. She didn't bother to find out which it was, she was too busy kissing away any further thoughts he may have on the subject. The moment she felt his tongue enter her mouth they both jumped in surprise at the sudden movement next to them.

Ben sat bolt upright in bed, turned to face his parents and said, in the most disgusted voice:

"You're yucky kissing again! Gross!"

"Hey kid you should be thankful; you wouldn't be here without some yucky kissing." Han joked. Leia did not see the amusing side of it.

"Han!" She exclaimed, hitting square in the chest, almost winding him. She held a lot of power and aggression for such a little person. Leia crawled off of her husband's lap and turned to face their son. "Hey Benny."

"You're back Muma." Ben smiled, only just remembering she hadn't been there when he had fallen asleep. He sprang forward into her lap and hugged her tightly.

"Of course I am. I missed you too much. And I'm back just in time to tuck you in to your own bed. Take your Wookie." Leia told him referring to the stuffed toy Wookie he couldn't sleep without. Ben picked it up from where he had just been lying. "Say goodnight to Daddy." He did as he was told, reaching over Leia to give Han a sloppy goodnight kiss.

"Night bud, see you in the morning." Han replied as he ran a hand through Ben's soft, dark curls.

Leia carried their son to his bedroom, situated just next door to her own. Once inside the room she placed him under the sheets before turning to switch on his Star Chart. The little device acted as a nightlight and the gentle, swirling movements of the planets and stars on his ceiling never failed to put him to sleep quickly. Leia settled in the bed next to him. He usually needed one of them beside to get him off to sleep, yet the Star Chart was having its desired effect on Leia herself and she wondered who was going to be asleep first.

As she lay there trying to keep her eyes open she suddenly saw something on the Star Chart she hadn't seen before. She recognised it immediately, even in miniature form, but it was impossible. She concluded it must be her overtired mind playing tricks on her.

"Do you see it Muma?" Ben whispered sleepily beside her. Leia's hand found her son's hair but she didn't respond verbally; she wasn't keen on encouraging a new conversation whilst she was trying to get him to sleep. Ben continued regardless. "Daddy added Alderaan to my chart for me." So she hadn't been imagining things – that was the muted glow of her home world shining down upon her. "Daddy says that cause you don't have stills of it like he has of Corellia where he was borned you have to picture it in there…" Ben reached forward and gently tapped Leia's head with his forefinger. Leia felt the tears prick at the back of eyes. Even talking about Alderaan so simply and innocently like this with her son caused a strong reaction within her. "Daddy says that's how we keep it alive even though it's not there no-more. He said we should 'member it 'cause it's where you come from so it's important."

Ben shifted his head to look at his mother, trying to see her face in the soft light of his room. Leia, more than a little overcome at that point, simply nodded. When at last she found her voice she said:

"Daddy's right."

"Course he is!" Was Ben's adamant reply. She smiled. She had momentarily forgotten that anything Han said was absolute law to their son. Ben completely hero worshipped his father and as much as Han would deny it, Leia knew how pleased, and proud, he was of the fact.

"He joined them too, see?" Ben said pointing to three faint lines that appeared to be joining Alderaan with two other core plantes, the third line joining the other two planets to each other. She hadn't noticed that before. "There's Alderaan for you, Corellia for Daddy and Coruscant for me 'cause Daddy said I was borned there before we came here. Three altogether." He told her confidently, and after a moment's pause he added. "Just us three. That's what Daddy says."

At once the words transported Leia back to the first time Han had said them to her. She was in the hospital having just had Ben. Complications from the birth had led to emergency surgery straight afterwards to stop the excessive bleeding she had had. Leia had come round to see Han sat at her bedside, Ben fast asleep in his arms, already looking so natural and at peace with fatherhood.

He'd then had the unpleasant task of telling her that the damage caused to her body by the difficult labour meant there would be no more children. She'd been upset. She hadn't meant to be; she knew the fact that had one beautiful, healthy, perfect child made them a lot luckier than some. But she couldn't help mourning all the others that would never be.

Han had placed Ben in her arms, sat on the med-bay bed beside her and wrapped his arms around both of them, before telling her, lovingly but firmly:

"It will be alright. We've got our family. You, me and Ben. Just us three." He then added in a lighter tone of voice: "Maybe we'll let Chewie and Luke tag along for some of it as well."

In the short time that Leia had spent lost in her own memory Ben's breathing had become slower and heavier next to her. She turned to find him already sleeping; the Wookie toy clutched tight in one hand, the other hand resting above his head on the pillow. Sound asleep once again looking just like his beloved Daddy. She crept from the bed and out of the room, stopping to turn off the Star Chart and giving one last lingering look to Alderaan before she did so.

Back in her own room she found the bed abandoned but could hear Han in the adjoining fresher. The still-holos had all been cleared away; except one that was now placed reverently on Han's nightstand. The image showed Leia sitting on their living room floor in one of her many regal evening dresses. The faux-feathered skirt was spread wide on the floor behind her and a slightly younger Ben sat on it, back to back with his mother, both tilting their heads to laugh to one and other. Leia ghosted her fingers over the image of their son. She may not have been able to have any more children but that didn't mean she did not have the most precious thing in the world.

She made her way to her side of the bed where Han had laid out a nightshirt for her. His shirt of course, she couldn't remember the last time she'd slept in her own clothing. She smiled, imagining what High Command would make of that. What would they make of just how domestic her ex-smuggler had become?

As Leia entered the bathroom Han was standing at his sink brushing his teeth. He'd changed into his sleep shorts and as Leia passed him to stand at the twin sink next to him she ran a comforting had across his bare back. Leia observed her reflection, pleased to find she didn't look nearly so tired as she felt, and began the lengthy task of unpinning her hair. When Han had finished he wiped his mouth and hands on the nearest towel before turning to stand behind Leia, undoing the tiny clasps of her dress with an experienced method and care. He took a moment to place a tender kiss over one her shoulder blades as it goose-bumped against the sudden cool air.

When he raised his head he found her regarding him carefully in the mirror's reflection.

"What?" He asked softly.

"Nothing…" But she started speaking again before the last sound of the word had trailed off completely. "Ben showed me Alderaan on his Star Chart." Han ducked his head to continue the work of unfastening her dress. She could have sworn he almost looked guilty.

"Do you mind?" He asked her, still refusing to meet her eye in the mirror. "I know I should have asked you first. It was just that Ben was asking about Alderaan earlier before he wanted to see all of the holos and he seemed really into the idea of having it on his chart…"

"Han I don't mind." Leia interrupted him, speaking sincerely. "It was a lovely thing to do. For Ben and for me."

He finally caught her eye in the mirror and gave her a smile that made her chest ache in the best way possible. He reached up to move the now free hair out the way before stepping her out of the dress. He couldn't help his smile making its way into the little smirk that appeared on his face every time he saw her without clothes. Even after all of this time she was still absolutely breath-taking to him.

Han took the dress to her closet and draped it over the long, rectangular puffe in the middle of the room. He knew she would deal with it properly in the morning, or more likely Threepio would, the droid seemingly still not picking up on just how much it weirded Leia out to have him organise her wardrobe the way he insisted on doing.

When came back into the room he found the nightshirt he had laid on the bed gone and assumed she was changing into it. When she come out of the fresher a moment later however she was not wearing the shirt but a short, silky, floral robe instead. In fact she was wearing his favourite short, silky, floral robe. She walked over to him slowly, making sure to keep eye contact as she opened the robe at a tortuous speed. Han felt his eyes pop in skull as he realised she wasn't wearing a single thing underneath. Christ, she was sexy.

Leia took his face in her hands and kissed him at the same agonisingly slow rate. She was certainly quite the seductress when she wanted to be.

"Shall I go get the holorecorder?" He asked, his face and voice both full of mischief.

"Not on your life. This is one of those things you're going to have to picture in there." She told him pressing her finger against his forehead in the same way Ben had done to her. By recalling her conversation with Ben she had in turn recalled Ben's conversation with Han. Han smiled, understanding her reference at once.

"Well in that case I better take a good look at exactly what I need to be picturing in there." He said, sliding the robe from her shoulders until it pooled at their feet. Now that was a sight he certainly didn't a holo to help him remember.