Chapter 2 - Think We Kissed, But I Forgot

Luke decided that he needed a shower, a little more rest, and a little something for his headache before he was ready to tackle any Force visions. Leia was about to head to the 'fresher for a shower herself when she encountered the wreck that was her living room.

She'd been so focused on her need for kaffe that she hadn't really noticed it on her way to the kitchen, but it truly was a disaster. The smell of sour ale and other leftover alcohol hung in the air. One of the curtains in the room had either been removed or had collapsed. For some reason, glitter was sprinkled all over every available surface, and there were multiple mystery substances spilled on the carpet. Empty bottles and half-finished drinks were on top of most flat surfaces in the room, and several of the couch cushions were missing.

"Han!" Leia called back into the kitchen. "We're moving to a new apartment!" Moving had to be easier than cleaning up this.

"Okay, sweetheart!" he called back. He came out of the kitchen and put his arm around her from behind, chuckling as he surveyed the mess. "Eh, I've seen worse."

Leia spotted one of the missing couch cushions on the floor. She was on her way to pick it up when she almost tripped over Wes Janson, who was lying on the floor halfway under the couch. He sat up and flinched, like a scared rabbit. "Your Highness!"

She laughed and held out a hand to help him up. "Wes. We spent all last night drinking together, it's 1100 hours, and you're lying on my living room floor in your underwear. I think you can call me Leia now."

Wes had just taken a seat on the couch, blushing furiously, when there was a noise behind them. Tycho's face appeared from behind the couch, followed by his body, again clad only in his underwear. Hobbie emerged from another corner of the room a minute later.

"Why the hell is nobody wearing pants?" Han demanded. The Rogues gave him a series of blank looks in response. "Uh…" began Janson nervously.

"Whoa, looks like we missed something," said a voice from the hallway. Kes Dameron grinned at the group of scantily-clad men in the Organa-Solo living room.

His wife Shara followed behind, greeting Leia with a hug. "Leia and her boys…" she said, smiling and shaking her head.

Some time later, everyone was showered and dressed, and Wedge had basically commanded the rest of the Rogues to help him clean up the living room. Luke was looking much more alert after a short nap and a lot of water, and Leia was fortifying herself for a little time with the Force by eating leftover birthday cake in the kitchen.

Luke came in and stole a frosting rose off her plate. "Hey!" protested Leia. "Get your own cake!"

Luke's boyish grin was back. "Just wanted the frosting. You still want to do this?"

"Sure. I've pieced together a little of the party from what everyone else remembers, but Chewie won't tell me much of anything, and he was the least drunk out of any of us." She thought about that for a moment. "I think he thinks he's protecting us."

"Sounds like Chewie. So, I've been thinking about how to do this. You're still relatively new to Force visions – it could be a lot to handle at once. So we should probably do parts of the evening at a time."

"Okay. Can I finish my cake first?"

"Sure." He stole another bit of frosting off her plate.

So, we'll start like our normal meditations, but after we've tapped into the Force we'll concentrate on a specific memory from the party to help us find the part we want to see. Like – the song machine….

"C'mon, Leia, one song, pleeeease?" Luke was pleading. "For my birthday?"

"Fine. One song. After I finish this drink." Leia was sipping some kind of liqueur Lando had brought to the party. It was a little like whiskey, but smoother and slightly sweeter. Not bad, really, though she'd probably switch back to champagne after this one.

Luke got Wedge to do a duet with him while he was waiting for Leia: "Sealed with a Kiss," a romantic ballad. While she was watching them sing, Han came up behind her and started kissing her neck gently. Han's distraction almost made her miss the end of the song, as Wedge punctuated the final line by pulling Luke into a kiss. "Your birthday kiss!" he announced. Everyone hooted and cheered.

Luke was a little caught off guard. It wasn't the first time they'd kissed, but they'd certainly never done so in public before. And it had been a long time since Luke had kissed anyone, frankly.

Wedge spoke quietly in Luke's ear. "Let me know if you decide you want another one of those." He smiled and walked off.

A slightly dazed Luke appeared by Leia and Han a minute later. "Leia, we're up."

"I'll bet you are," teased Han. "That was some kiss."

Luke was blushing a little, but he persisted. "Leia. You promised."

"Okay, okay, I'm coming."

"Paradise City"? Leia, you swore you didn't even know that song!
Well, I guess I heard it once or twice.
Oh, yeah, that's why you kept trying to do all the background vocals.
I have a good memory!
Not that good, if you forgot that you did this.
Touché, little brother.
I'm the oldest, Leia.

Oh, Gods, how many songs did I sing?
All of them, Leia. All of the songs.

Leia was draped across the back of the couch like a nightclub chanteuse, microphone in one hand, drink in the other. Luke was hovering nearby, waiting for her latest song to be over so he could finally sing. She finished her song and very elegantly fell off the back of the couch.

All that could be heard on the microphone was the sound of a giggling Princess, followed by the sounds of Luke helping her up. "I'm okay, I'm okay," she laughed, standing up again, but when Luke tried to take the microphone, she snatched it away. And then, the last Princess of Alderaan and the only living Jedi Master, heroes of the Rebellion, began having a slap fight over a microphone.

Han covered his face with his hand and sighed.

Wedge suddenly appeared at Leia's side and put his arm around her. "Commander," he said in his most flirtatious tone, "let me fix you a drink," and led her away, removing the microphone from her hand and handing it to Luke as they left.

"You know, I'm not a Commander anymore," Leia said as Wedge led her to the makeshift bar in the kitchen. "The Minister of State has no military title."

"So do I need to start calling you Madame Minister when I flirt with you?" Wedge wondered, handing her a new glass of champagne.

"I'm sure we'll think of something," Leia smiled, fluttering her lashes just a bit. She took a sip of champagne. "So do I get one of those birthday kisses too?"

Wedge smiled slyly, took her hand, and gently brought it to his lips. "Happy birthday, Madame Minister."

She smiled back. "Nice, but not quite what I had in mind." She took another drink. "And I think maybe you should go back to Commander."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Leia raised her eyebrow at him. "So what does that mean?"

"Well, Commander, the night is young. But I think there might be another Corellian wanting to give you that birthday kiss."

"General Madine?" she said, feigning innocence.

"Right," he laughed.

"Thanks for the drink, Commander," Leia said, heading off to find Han.