December 3, 1946.
Leia awoke early that morning, ironing her dress along with Chewie and Han's best shirts. Han had insisted the night before that the two men didn't have to show up to the function dressed-up, but Leia was convinced otherwise. She was relieved that Chewie at least had a suit, Han had nothing of the sort. His fancy clothing only consisted of a pair of blue trousers from his dress blue uniform and a white collared shirt.
She had set up in the living room to get everything ready, nearly making Chewie jump out of his skin when he saw the young woman ironing at 7 in the morning.
"Hey, I said we don't need to do this." Han exclaims as he enters the living room with his coffee an hour later.
"Han, you can't show up to city hall in your street clothing. You at least have to dress somewhat nicely."
"I don't even have a tie."
"I already took care of it, Chewie had one you can use." Leia informs him, trying to iron out a stubborn crease in Chewie's shirt. Han's annoyed gaze turns to Chewie, who was sitting on the sofa quietly drinking his coffee.
"I just don't see the point, it's not like anyone will be paying attention to me throughout this thing."
"It will not kill you to wear a collared shirt for an afternoon Han." Leia sighs, finally handing Chewie his newly ironed shirt.
"It might." Han grumbles as he walks away from the living room, His dress clothes in his hands along with Chewie's tie.
"He hates it when he's told what to do." Chewie chuckles, watching his friend sulk away. Leia smiles at her friend, finally moving on to ironing the skirt of her dress "Mornings like these remind me of home. My wife, Malla, used to iron every Saturday. I used to sit and drink my coffee as my son played with his toys."
Leia nods in response, not understanding fully what he was saying but getting the idea that he was talking about his family. Chewie grabs their empty mugs to wash.
"We have to be at the church by noon." Leia informs him as she finishes ironing her dress. Leia turns her iron off and sets the ironing board off to the side. She grabs her dress and heads to her and Han's room. Leia lays her dress down on the bed, admiring her work. She hadn't had the need to iron anything since moving in with Han and Chewie. She grabs a pair of simple black heels from under the bed, they were another pair her aunties had purchased for her, back when they were still trying to convince her to partake in the debutantes' ball.
Her dress was a navy knee-length A-line, white buttons cascading down the front of the garment and a belt which wrapped around the waist. Shara was insistent that no one was to show up in their military uniform for the wedding, especially Kes. She goes to the closest she shares with Han to grab her stockings, which she had forgone during the morning.
She undresses from the yellow dress she had worn in the morning, not even hearing the door open to the bedroom. She slightly jumps when she feels hands rest on her waist from behind.
"Anything I can do to help?" Han inquires, pressing a kiss to her bare shoulder. Leia removes his hands from her body so she could put on her black garter belt and her nylon stockings.
"Instead of wasting time hotshot, you can get dressed. We have to be downtown in an hour." Leia states as she rolls her nylon over her legs and clips it to her garter belt.
"What's wrong with what 'm wearing?" Leia turns to see what her love wore, a pair of grease-stained khaki pants and a white t-shirt that hadn't been washed in a few days. She raises an eyebrow at him, clearing challenging his remark. Han raises his hands in defeat and leaves the room, later returning with his newly pressed clothing in his hands.
Leia smiles as he walks back into the room to get dressed as she buttoned up her dress and clasped the belt around her waist. Han's quiet cursing fills the room as he struggles with putting on the tie, Leia chuckles and approaches him to tie it for him.
"How do you not know how to tie a tie?" Leia asks as she tightens it around his neck.
"I haven't had to in a long time, not since I was in Melbourne and even then I took my tie off when I was on leave." Han shrugs.
"You really are something." Leia gives him a quick peck on the cheek before placing on her shoes. Han follows her lead and leaves the room to have one more cup of coffee before they had to leave. Leia puts on a little rouge to add a little colour to her cheeks before leaving her room. Chewie and she had to wait for Han to finish his coffee before they go, citing that he thought Leia would have taken longer to put on makeup. Ultimately Chewie insisted that Han had to drink the hot beverage fast.
Leia herded the two men out of the apartment as fast as she could, so they could get to city hall on time.
….
Tycho and Winter sit on the benches at the entrance of city hall when the trio arrives at the function.
"We late or what?" Han asks, noticing that they were the only ones who had arrived.
"Nah, Winter just insisted we get here early." Tycho responds, looking at his watch once more. Han chuckles, slightly nudging Leia with his elbow. Leia rolls her eyes, taking a seat next to Winter. Luke and Wedge are the next guests to show up, then followed by Kes and Shara. Shara had her blonde hair pinned up and had a little makeup on to enhance her features.
"Sorry, we're slightly late." Kes says as the couple approaches their friends.
"I had a slight wardrobe malfunction." Shara says, gesturing to her overcoat which wasn't fully buttoned due to her protruding belly. Shara takes her coat off, handing it off to Luke who had offered to take it. She wore a black suit, which she found to be slimming at the right angle.
The group walk further into the building, Shara and Kes walk up to the city clerk hand-in-hand to discuss their intent. The clerk directs them to the office of the official who would be performing the ceremony. The group manage to squeeze into the small office to view the ceremony, which is simple and quick. Leia and Wedge sign the marriage license as the witnesses.
They head to Maz's after the ceremony, sitting at their regular table and sharing a bottle of champagne. Wedge stands from the table, raising his glass to the newly married couple.
"Well, I think it's fair to say none of us had ever expected for this day to come for Kes. Even when he wrote me letters discussing Shara I figured he'd fuck it up in some way, but here we are. Though in typical fashion he did act prematurely." He chuckles, motioning to the baby bump. "To Shara and Kes."
Everyone toasted to the couple, laughter filling the area as the men continue to tease Kes. Leia turns to Shara, who had her hand resting on her abdomen.
"Do your parents know about the baby?" Leia asks, taking a sip of champagne.
"They do, but they also think he and I married shortly before we headed for the states, so do Kes' parents."
"You'll have to hope they never see the registration." Winter remarks. Shara nods, taking a sip of her drink. Maz sends a bottle of wine over to the couple as a wedding present, insisting that Han isn't allowed to touch the good wine.
"Have you two thought of names yet?" Leia asks, returning to the conversation with the girls. Shara nods as she puts her wine glass down on the table.
"We're thinking of Rose if it's a girl, after Kes' grandmother. Or Poe if we have a boy, for my brother."
"And you are excited?" Han asks, interjecting into the conversation. Shara absentmindedly traces circles on her baby bump with her index finger.
"Nervous more than anything. Kes is just starting at the garage, and I'm not sure if my employer will keep me on after the baby is born. We're still living in that small apartment just off of Marigold St."
"God, I forgot about that shit hole Kes has you living in." Winter comments.
"Yeah, I should have asked about his living arrangements before I came overseas for him. One of my friends from Dover moved to Canada with her fiancé only to learn that the lucrative business he owned was a hot dog stand in Montreal."
The girls erupt into laughter at the story, imagining the disappointment the poor girl must have felt when she got off the boat in Quebec.
"I hope she turned around and got back on that boat." Winter giggles.
"That's the worst part, she couldn't. She was already heavily pregnant by the time she arrived in Canada, she was stuck."
"That poor girl." Leia shakes her head in disbelief.
"I mean a few girls were bound to fall for that right?" Winter shrugs. "Men who came into the clearing stations used to flirt with the nurses and promise them all of these luxuries they would give them when the war was over. A few of the girls got dismissed because of indecent behaviour with their beaus. None of the girls from my corps actually ran off with those men though, most went home to childhood sweethearts back home."
Leia feels a hand on her back, she turns to face Han who placed it there to get her attention.
"M gonna take off. You wanna come or come home with Chewie?" Han asks.
"I'll come home with you." Leia stands up and moves to Shara, hugging the seated woman. "Congratulations Shara."
"Thanks for coming you two."
"We wouldn't have missed it." Leia says, moving to Kes, who stands and gives her a peck on the cheek.
"Well thank you either way." Kes repeats, leaning over the table to shake Han's hand. Leia grabs her grey overcoat from the chair and buttons it up as the couple head into the cold December night. Leia locks her arm with Han's, holding him close to her side as they walk in the night.
Han was always warm, even during the cold temperature. She loved to cling to him to keep warm, especially since she always ran cold.
"Jesus, you are just like ice." Han curses as Leia's hand slips into his.
"Yeah, well you made me leave the house in a hurry I didn't get a chance to grab my gloves."
"I made you leave in a hurry?" Han looks at Leia incredulously. "I clearly remember Sweetheart that it was you who nearly shoved Chewie and I out of the apartment this afternoon."
"Maybe you should have thought about that before you had another cup of coffee and procrastinating this morning." Leia remarks, causing Han to slightly nudge her with his body. The couple begins to chuckle as they walk to the car, for the first time in a long time they were finally content and in control of their lives.