It is Your Destiny…
Tython, Three Years Later
Han and Leia were visiting Luke and Mara at their apartment on Tython. After an extensive tour of the changes to the temple and across the grounds, the four of them were sitting around a small table, sharing a few drinks before dinner. The Skywalker apartment was sparsely furnished and large windows flanked nearly every available outer wall. They were on the top floor of the temple and through those windows, only the tips of the trees could be seen swaying to the gentle winds in the distance.
Han and Luke were dressed casually. Luke in a light-colored, loose-fitting tunic and pants made of natural fibers with a braided rope for a belt. Han's pants didn't fit him quite as loosely and were made of a sturdier fabric. The taller man's buttoned-down shirt was tucked in and his belt slung low to one side where an old, but polished DL-44 blaster fit snug in its holster.
Both of the women at the table wore light, sheath dresses. Mara's was the color of Blue Milk and had a high neck, its iridescent material hugged her body possessively and ended right at the knee. Leia's dress was a warm, golden color that perfectly matched the flecks in Han's hazel eyes. It had a v-necked bodice that fit snugly with narrow straps that criss-crossed on her back before meeting a cinched waist that gave away to a slightly lighter colored, pleated, chiffon material that reached all the way to her ankles. She also had a sheer wrap, which she let hang carelessly at her elbows.
"So, we've talked about us all day. What about you guys?" Mara Jade asked, taking a deep draw from her stemless wine glass. "What have you been up to?"
"Well, the Falcon made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs," Han offered proudly.
Leia rolled her eyes and made a derisive snorting sound before taking a deep draw from her own wine glass.
"I sense a story," Mara prodded. "C'mon, spill!"
"Oh, nothing really." Leia began, looking over to Han. "He wined and dined me at this fabulous restaurant on Oba Diah."
"It was really nice," Han supplied.
"Yes, it was. And we stayed in the penthouse."
"Which was really nice," Han added.
"Anyway," Leia continued. "He had paid for it all on credit."
"Knowing that I was going to cash in on a few bets after we beat the Kessel Run record. Which we did."
"But," Leia answered with a smile.
"The damned bith bookie skipped town with all my winnings," Han groused.
"And we had to sneak off Oba Diah while being chased down by a few capital ships."
"How'd you escape?" Mara asked.
Han smirked and put his hands up behind his head. "Go ahead," he told Leia. "Tell 'em."
Leia shook her head. "He magna-clamped us to the back of the flagship's bridge, shut the Falcon down and hid us within the garbage trail right before they jumped to hyperspace."
"By the Force," Mara chuckled. "That was brilliant. I'll have to remember that one."
"And that was it?" Luke asked.
"Yeah," Han answered him, taking his arms down and grabbing his drink.
"Well," Leia interjected. "There was that run-in with the bounty hunters later on Akiva."
"I had that totally under control," Han replied.
Leia leaned forward, resting her forearms on the table while she took a sip of her wine. "He had to fly us through an asteroid field to lose them and then hid us inside a large asteroid cave that ended up being a space slug."
"Now, you're just making stuff up," Mara laughed.
"I wish she was," Han murmured.
Luke cleared his throat. "From your correspondence I thought that you were doing things of...of a bit more substance."
"Luke," Mara said in a warning tone.
"No, that's okay," Leia said, holding her hand up to Mara. "Luke's right. And it wasn't all space slugs and garbage compactors."
"Garbage compactors?" Mara asked.
"Don't ask," Han said quickly.
Leia cleared her throat. "We, uh, visited all those old seminaries that Father had studied at," she said.
Luke sat up taller in his seat. " And? What did you find? What did you do?"
"We did...different things in different places. Depending on what we found."
"We helped turn one into an orphanage," Han supplied, looking fondly over to Leia. "And another to a monastery."
"And we found some datashards," Leia added, standing up and walking over to her bags on the floor. She came back to the table and placed a stack of shards in front of Luke. "I think you'll find them interesting. It reveals a lot about how Father and...all those people were re-learning how to use and interact with the Force."
"You've reviewed them all?" Luke asked.
Leia blew out an exhaustive breath. "Hardly," she said. "I perused them, would be a more apt description. And I've marked the ones that I thought would interest you. I saved a copy for myself," she said, hitching her thumb back towards her bags. "I thought we could sort them out together. All of us," she said, looking over to include Mara.
"Definitely," Mara answered with a warm smile. "It would be nice to work on something together."
"Agreed," said Luke. "Maybe that'll give us enough of an excuse to talk to each other more over the holo and to actually meet, in person, like this, more than a couple of times a decade."
"That would be nice," Leia said and she looked over to Han.
"Agreed and uh," he said. "Leia and I have been talking. Well, we talked about it before we got here. You've been setting yourself up a pretty good network of academies from the Core to Wild Space."
"Yes, even in the Imperial Remnant," Luke said, smiling at Mara. "It's been one of the big changes we made with recruitment and teaching."
"Instead of having everyone in one place. We are providing a more regional option," Mara added.
"And it's providing us with more of a local presence," Luke said.
"Trying to dispel the perception that we're only there to help the government and military with big, galactic problems," Mara supplied.
While Luke added, "Without losing sight of any potential for big galactic problems, as well."
"A fine line to walk, I'm sure," Leia replied.
"Yes, well, your Jedi Adjunct position has proven very helpful to us on that front. Although we have renamed it to Force Adjunct so as not to alienate anyone. The position is allowing us to remain in contact without getting too tangled up in the everyday mire of galactic government."
"That's quite a feat," Leia said. "And while we're on the topic of big government, like Han said earlier, we've been talking some things over about...where we go from here."
Luke's face lit with interest. "And?"
"Yes, well, Winter came to me with a proposal from the Galactic Senate. Something similar to your Force Adjunct but on a grander scale."
"Such as?"
"Such as, I would be the bridge between the Senate and these Adjuncts. My official title would be Ambassador and I would split my time between Coruscant and visiting all the planets where the Force Adjunct position is deployed, delivering messages and concerns from the Senate and vice versa," Leia explained. "They see me as a good compromise, I think. Because they feel I'm less of a...Jedi, for lack of a better word and more of something in the middle."
Luke sat back in his chair nodding. "I like it. It makes sense. And in addition to reporting back to the Senate, you could also point out any areas of concern to Mara and me."
"Exactly," Leia said, her voice rising a bit in excitement. "Which brings us to another part of it."
"Which part is that?"
"The part where Leia and I get to stay together," Han interjected. "The Falcon's a transport ship," he continued. "Meanwhile, we've been flying around with her holds empty. We thought, since Leia would be passing by all those adjuncts and academies of yours, that maybe I could place a bid for a supply contract."
"Even shuttle the occasional passenger or two, if I happen upon any potential students while I'm traveling," Leia added.
"I prefer non-sentient cargo," Han groused, but with a quick look from Leia and wink back her way, he amended, "But, yeah, a passenger or two here and there could definitely be negotiated."
Luke and Mara exchanged a quick glance of their own before Luke turned back to Han and said, "That would be perfect, actually. We've been struggling to find trustworthy transports for many of our more sensitive supply needs."
"Sensitive? As in what, exactly?" Han asked.
"Well, information shards, such as these," Luke pointed to the stash that Leia had placed on the table. "There's been a few instances where we've had a donor offer information only for the courier to decide the blackmarket paid better than we did."
"Just how bad is your pay?" Han chuckled.
"I'm sure we can offer you a decent fare," Mara chimed in. "Some of what we need is truly priceless. Like the shards Luke mentioned and the crystals for our lightsabers. Having someone we could trust for those unique items would be invaluable."
"And it sounds like Leia's extensive travel will have you passing by nearly every world or region that would require some sort of delivery or pickup from us," Luke said.
"Well, then?" Leia said, looking over to Han.
"It sounds like it's about time to find out just what Mara's definition of a 'decent fare' is," Han replied, chuckling.
"Later," Luke said. "They'll be plenty of time for us to iron out the details later. Let's get back to enjoying our visit."
"Agreed," Mara replied, standing up as she moved to refresh everyone's drinks.
"So, what else?" Luke asked. "I have a feeling you still have more to talk to us about."
"Oh, I don't know," Leia said, looking over to Han.
"Well," he said, leaning back casually in his chair, swirling his freshly filled drink around in his hand. "There was that other little thing."
"Is that even worth mentioning?" Leia asked, shrugging her shoulders and smiling broadly.
"What is it? You're killing me," Mara said, as she sat back in her seat next to Luke.
"Oh, nothing much. Just, uh," Leia replied, stalling. She looked at the three sets of eyes watching her around the table, starting with the blue ones, moving to the green ones and then winking at the dreamy hazel ones before saying, "We might've um...somewhere along the way...gotten married."
Han and Leia both accepted congratulatory hugs and handshakes from both Luke and Mara and while Han, Luke and Mara settled back down and began to talk specifics on Han's transport contract, Leia sat back and just listened to their excited voices, watched the way their gazes slid from one to the other and overall just enjoyed the novelty of having all four of them together again.
It didn't take long for her mind to wander back to all those memories that she and Han had been relieving within the past hour or so. It had all been wonderful, their time together. Even the tight spots and the inevitable arguments that flared up between the headstrong pair, had been fun. They were both quick witted and a bit snarky and verbal sparring with Han was almost as fun as their other favorite pastime and in fact, she thought, usually preceded it.
A warm blush bloomed across her chest and Leia reached for her wine glass and took a sip. She turned and looked at Han sitting next to her, taking in his features in profile. Everything had started over for them, back when she had tracked him down on Nar Shadaa. A clean slate, they had agreed. And a new beginning is what they found. She thought back to that first conversation, after he had led her into the Falcon.
Han lifted his arm off of her as soon as they entered the curved hallway and led the way into the lounge. Leia's eyes were busy scanning over all the exposed wires, empty mechanical compartments and overall universal disarray that was the internals of Han's beloved ship.
Even with all the help she was able to provide earlier, she suddenly felt out of her depth as a competent co-pilot. "Cracken wasn't lying," she whispered, as they both entered the lounge. "They really did a number in here."
"It's not as bad as it looks," Han called as he ducked into the small galley to wash and scrub his hands.
Leia scanned over the pieces parts that were scattered across the small, round table and then walked over to the technical station. Several wires were pulled out. Some were open-ended, their edges bared exposing tiny, colored coded wires within. Some were spliced together and wrapped with spacer's tape. She leaned in to read the small scribbled labels written in Han's distinctive hand.
"He left the Hyperdrive, at least," Han said from behind her. When she stood and turned to look at him, he was drying his hands off on a fresh towel. "Probably because the model's older than me, but it's still better than most you'd find out there nowadays."
They just stood there and looked at one another for a long moment. In a way, at least to her, they felt like strangers again. As if everything they had been through before had been, as crazy as it sounded - another life. Han watched her watching him and then he threw the towel onto the banquette and walked towards her.
"They took the shield generators but left the duralloy plating," he told her. "Stripped the med station, too." He was standing in front of her now. "So, basically as long as we avoid any kind of firefight, we should be good."
"We could just stay right here," Leia offered. "Paint the viewport to look like deep space, pretend that we're limping along on our sublights. Live on rations and find creative ways to conserve heat."
"That doesn't sound very heroic," he said, cupping her cheek in his hand, gently stroking the soft skin with his thumb. "I like it."
She didn't know exactly where she stood with him. Would they pick up right where they left off? Or would they work together as co-pilots and friends, getting to know each other all over again? "Han, I-"
"I don't think," he said, interrupting her, "that we should overthink this."
Her breath caught and her mouth opened slightly. He took it as an invitation and she gladly complied by slowly lifting her chin. It was the tender curve of his upper lip that touched her first, brushing against her lower lip before sliding higher, a hint of stubble leading the way. And then their lips were aligned and their breath was mingling in the space between them.
He slid his arm around her lower back and pulled her body against his as he deepened the kiss and she ran her fingers across the coarse hair along his jawline and then up and through the long locks of hair behind his ear. She relished the feeling of being enveloped in him. Everything surrounding her was of him. From the familiar smell of the Falcon, to the tangy hint of his favorite ruik root tea, to his warmth and his own unique aroma - which was currently enhanced by a mixture of soldering smoke and industrial soap.
He drew away from her, placing both of his hands on either side of her face while his eyes studied hers. She watched as his pupils raced back and forth as if speed reading whatever it was that he found there in the deep, chocolate puddles of her eyes. When he was done, when he had found the answers to whatever his questions were, his pupils slowed and then remained laser-focused on hers. He swallowed. From her vantage point, she could see his adam's apple bobble in her peripheral vision.
He shook his head ever so slightly, and said, "I love you."
She smiled up at him, and thinking about all they had been through and how they had gotten here, she couldn't help herself as she replied, "I know."
"Leia," Mara asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"Hmm?"
"Where were you off to? You look a million parsecs away."
"No," she replied, smiling as she reached across and gathered Han's hand in hers. "I'm right here."
Later that evening...
Leia climbed the spiral staircase up to the rooftop veranda of Luke and Mara's apartment. She saw Luke standing by the far edge and slowly approached him.
"I often come up here to meditate," he told her without turning to face her.
Standing next to him, shoulder-to-shoulder and looking out across the temple grounds, Leia pulled the light wrap she wore up to cover her shoulders. There was a cool, healthy breeze pressing against their faces and it seemed to carry in its wake the nebulous promises of tomorrow from somewhere over the sun-soaked horizon. She sighed deeply and replied, "I can see why."
She looked up at the clear, deep, cobalt blue sky of Tython. From where they stood, it felt as if they were high enough to reach up and touch the stars – she and her twin - snatch them out of the sky and hold them in the palms of their hands. It was often how she felt when they were together - limitless.
He agreed with her. Not through spoken words, just…through the connection that they shared through the Force. She explored that connection. She found his mind was flooded with thoughts and emotions and they spilled over her, buffeting her much like the night wind. Her skirt ruffled against her ankles as the cool evening breeze whipped around her. She crossed her arms, her hands rubbing up and down her biceps absently.
He turned to face her. Luke Skywalker. Her best friend. Her twin. The lines on his face reminding her of how much they had been through. But they had been there for each other through it all. And now they were looking to the future. And they would be together for that, too.
The two stood silent for a moment, Luke seeming more than content to let her settle into her thoughts. His voice was the first to speak. "You look happy," he said. "I'm happy for you."
"You know, all those stories," she said, shaking her head. "We have been doing more than treating the universe like our playground."
"I know that and I apologize. Believe me, I'm more jealous than disapproving." He smiled. "You know, we're here. We've reached it," he said "That place in time where we, our former selves, opened a portal in time and traveled back."
"I know," she said. "Somehow. I can feel it."
They stood in a prolonged, but comfortable silence yet again. She tried to imagine their other selves, standing together like this and debating over the decision to go back. What to change and who to tell. Discussing what they could lose.
"It almost feels as if we may have gone back more than once," she said, breaking the silence. "Do you feel that, too?"
"It's definitely possible." He turned to look at her. "Are you tempted to go back again?"
"No," she replied very quickly and definitively. "If you would've asked me right after Naboo, I might've had a different answer. But now I know-"
"C'mon, you two," Mara's voice came from downstairs.
"Yeah, Mara wants to tell us something about your X-Wing and a planet called Dagobah," Han chimed in, laughing.
"This," Luke said, wrapping his arm around his sister as they headed for the stairwell down. "You know that this is what we went back for. And that our future from here is bright."
"Yes," Leia answered breathily. "And that's a helluva thing to know."