"Wake up! Wake up!"
Han heard his youngest daughter squeal from down the hall and pulled the covers over his head. It was very early in the morning, and while there were gifts waiting under the tree for him as well, part of Han wished for once he could spend the holiday sleeping in.
Of course when he thought about it, it was all the holidays he'd spent in bed with Leia that they ended up with five children.
"She'll be in here any minute," Leia whispered.
"I know," Han rasped, still waking up. "She's a morning person like her mother."
Leia smiled. "Well she was a night owl like her father the nine months I carried her."
"She's got more energy than any of our other kids put together," Han said. "She's always up and running."
"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" Zara squealed. Seeming to come out of nowhere she jumped on the bed and pounced on her father's stomach.
Han grunted and sat up. Leia sat up as well, and reached to pet her daughter's hair.
"Good morning, Zara," Leia said.
"Good morning," Zara said sweetly, her brown eyes sparkling. She was the only one of the Solo children to have inherited Leia's eyes instead of Han's hazel ones.
"Good morning, sweetie," Han yawned.
"It's time for presents!"
"Is it now?" Han asked with a grin. "You sure you don't want to wait till…"
"No!" Zara cried. "Daddy we've been waiting forever, like a whole year."
Han smiled. "Ok, baby ok. Go on, honey, and wake everyone else up. Me and Mommy will be right behind you."
Zara hopped off her parents bed and ran back to wake her brothers and sisters up. Leia leaned over and gave Han a good morning kiss. It was long and sweet, and sent a warm feeling from Han's lips down to his toes.
"Hey, just what I wanted," Han said with a smile, pulling Leia down for another kiss.
"Oh, no, flyboy," Leia said moving off the bed. "We've got memories to make and presents to open. There will be plenty of time for that when the kids are at Luke's tonight."
Han grinned and jumped out of bed as well. He put on his robe and helped Leia slip into hers. He kissed her neck and pulled her hair over her should.
"Han!" Leia said clearing her throat. "Not now."
Han wrapped his arms around Leia's waist and pulled her back. "But I want to unwrap you first."
Leia rolled her eyes. "Keep this up and we'll have a new member of the family to buy for next year."
"Would that be so bad?" Han asked, stepping into his slippers following Leia out of their bedroom.
Leia and Han went into their living room to find their children waiting impatiently to open their gifts.
"Come on, Mom and Dad!" Ben said.
"Alright," Leia said kneeling by the tree. She picked up one of the presents. "Looks like this one is for Zara."
Zara smiled brightly as she eagerly ripped open the package. Inside was a doll that looked like her, which in turn looked like Leia. Its hair had even been styled in Leia's iconic buns.
"This is just what I asked for!" Zara said, taking her new friend out of her box. "She's so pretty."
"Alright, Jay. This one is yours," Han said hand his son box wrapped in blue paper.
Jacob opened his gift and was happy to find a new model set. "Thanks! I'll start working on this after dinner."
Leia smiled and picked up another present. "And this one is for Esme."
Esme smiled as she took the small green box in her hand. "Can I go ahead and open it?"
"Of course sweetie," Han said. He smiled brightly, knowing Esme would love her gift.
Esme untied the red ribbon around the package and ripped off the paper. Opening the box she was confused to find a dagger hilt. "What's this?"
"Try opening it," Han said.
Esme flicked the hilt, like she would her lightsaber and a small blade began to go. It was bright yellow.
"No way!"
"I made the hilt," said Han. "Your uncle Luke took care of the blade."
"This is amazing. I love it!"
"Ben this one is yours," Leia said, handing Ben a small box.
Ben sighed. "I'm guessing there isn't a speederbike in this."
Ben opened the box and found a new tool set and work gloves. He was handy with it, but couldn't understand why his parents would've given him this.
"I've got the parts in the hanger with the Falcon," Han said with a smile. "You and I are going to work together and by the time you're sixteen you'll have your own speeder."
"You mean it?" Ben asked. "This is awesome! Not only do I get a speeder, but mine's gonna be custom made like the Falcon."
"So a piece of junk that's always breaking down?" Breha, joked, nudging her twin brother's shoulder.
"Hey, you were born on that piece of junk," Leia said, smiling at Han. "We almost lived on it."
It was true that after the twins were born Leia considered stepping away from politics and letting Han whisk them away on the Falcon. She didn't want her little ones to have to deal with the harshness of the world. When Leia ended up pregnant again only a few months later she realized they'd run out of bunk space far too soon.
"Alright, Breha, it's time to open yours," Han said, handing Breha a neatly wrapped gift.
Breha opened the box and smiled brightly. "No way! No way!"
"Well, what is it?" Jacob asked.
Breha picked up a framed poster out of the box. "It's an autographed picture of Endor Smyth, my favorite action star. He's so dreamy."
"I still think he looks like your dad," Leia mused.
"Where on earth did you get this?" Breha asked.
"We met him at a state dinner," Han explained. "Apparently he's a big fan of mine and when I asked if he'd sign something for my daughter he was more than happy to."
Leia gave Han a kiss on the cheek. "He was ten when we destroyed the Death Star. He said your dad was his childhood hero. It made him believe an ordinary person could do anything."
Breha smiled. "See we have so much in common. We both share the same hero."
Han held his arms open and his children rushed to him, tackling him back onto the floor. He laughed loudly, enjoying the crushing group hug. Leia nudged her way in and wrapped her arm as far as she could around the pile. Han did the same, and grabbed Leia's hand tightly.
"I wish everyday was like this," Jacob mumbled against his brother's back.
Han chuckled. "Me too, buddy."
"Mom, Dad aren't you going to open your presents now," Zara asked.
"You mean this big hug wasn't it?" Han asked.
The kids rolled off their parents and scooted back to their places, as Leia reach under the tree to hand Han his present.
"This is for you, dear."
Han's eyes lit up like a child's and he grinned widely. He ripped open the paper franticly, causing his children to giggle.
"New boots!" Han said with excitement. He leaned over and kissed Leia on the cheek. He reached behind her and grabbed a tiny box. "This one is yours."
Leia smiled carefully untied the ribbon. Inside she found a ring with a sapphire and two diamonds. Her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, Han. This looks just like my mother's ring."
"I had it made special," Han said. "I know it can't replace the original, but…"
"It's beautiful," Leia said, throwing her arms around Han. She sat back and handed him the box and her right hand. "Will you put it on for me?"
Han smiled as he slipped the ring onto Leia's delicate finger. He kissed her hand. "Perfect."
"Please," gagged Jacob. "At least wait until we're out of the room."
Han stood up, and helped Leia up as well.
"Who wants tree shaped pancakes with powdered sugar?" he asked.
A series of 'me' and 'I do' rang out and the kids darted into the kitchen to help their father cook breakfast. Leia gave Han another quick kiss before the couple joined their children.
