"You're cheating."
"I am not!" Ben laughed, dragging his father's chips across the table to himself.
"You are. You're doing a Jedi thing," Han said, glaring at him playfully as he dealt the next hand.
"I'm not, I just learnt from the best."
"Ain't that the truth," Han said smugly.
Ben nodded. "Uncle Lando is a fantastic card player," he smirked.
Chewie laughed and clapped Han's back in sympathy.
Leia beamed. A smile on her son's face was a far rarer thing than it ever should have been. The sight of him laughing, teasing, playing cards with his father was so refreshing she felt her heart stutter.
Then an alarm sounded at the engineering station and Han dropped his cards and cleared his throat. "I guess we're here," he said bravely. "You wanna help me bring her in, kid?"
Ben nodded, just as bravely, his jaw tight, and climbed out from the bench, following Han down the corridor and into the cockpit. Leia followed at a distance, smiling as Ben moved to sit in the co-pilot's seat.
Han grabbed his shoulder and shook his head. "Why don't you sit here today?" He said, spinning the pilot's seat around.
Ben smiled more brightly than he had in months and slid into the seat. Han grinned and kissed the top of his head, laughing as Ben blushed and pushed him away. He seemed to be made to embarrass his teenage son - Leia thought it a crying shame that Ben was having to go away now, on the cusp of adolescence, and not just because of the laughs they'd be missing out on.
But the night terrors that had plagued him since early childhood had intensified to the point of him being completely inconsolable. He spent hours each night sitting up in bed, rocking to comfort himself, refusing help from either of his parents. He had such little control over his abilities that every breakable in their house had been accidentally or deliberately smashed, thrown or blown up. He'd been expelled from his school when he'd inadvertently thrown another student across a room - he'd only meant to give him a shove, and as Han was quick to say, it would have been a well-deserved shove - but they'd expelled him nonetheless. So with very little choice left to her, Leia had finally given in to her brother.
Ben wrapped his hands around the controls and smiled to himself, carefully navigating the ship into the planet's atmosphere. Han slid into the seat behind him, and Chewie into his usual seat, growling a couple of instructions at Ben. Han had taken to proudly telling anyone who would listen that Ben was a far better pilot than him, although the significance of this was lost on most people. He was a fantastic pilot, and he loved the Falcon just as his father did. He gently brought her down to land, the Temple seeming to loom at them in the distance.
"I'll get my bag," Ben said quietly, climbing out of his seat and heading down the corridor.
When she was sure he was out of earshot, Leia set her hand on Han's shoulder. "He'll be okay, Han. It's the right place for him. Luke can help him where we can't."
"We should be able to," Han said softly.
Leia shook her head. "It's bigger than us."
Han nodded, his jaw clenched. "I know. I just hate the idea of him being away from me."
Leia kissed his cheek and squeezed his shoulder. "Me too. But he wanted to come, Han, and it's the right thing. We just need to stay tough for him until we take off again. Then you can have a cry."
"'M not gonna cry," Han grumbled, climbing out of his seat and following Ben down the corridor.
Luke was waiting for them when they climbed down the boarding ramp, Ben hanging back a little warily. He reached for Leia as she started to descend the ramp. She turned and took his hand.
"Mama, I don't wanna go," he mumbled, staring at his feet.
Leia sighed and pulled him to her chest. He was so tall now he could rest his head on her shoulder as she held him.
"Can't I change my mind?" He asked softly, his voice shaking.
"Sweetheart, this is the right place for you. Dad and I can't give you the help you need."
Ben bit his lip. "I just wanna be a pilot with Dad. Second-mate on the Falcon. That's it."
Leia squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, fighting off tears. "Ben, I promise you, that once you complete your training here, if you still want to be a pilot, nobody's going to stop you. We're not sending you here to become a soldier. We're sending you here to learn how to control your power, and to help you with the visions. That's all."
Ben pulled away from her, not roughly, and rubbed his eyes, tears slipping unbidden down his cheeks. "Okay," he said softly, clearing his throat and giving his father a hug. "Bye, Dad."
Han held him tightly. "Bye, kid. Listen, you comm us whenever you want. We'll be here to see you in a month."
Ben nodded, letting Han hold him.
"I love you, son."
Ben smirked and looked up at him. "I know, Dad. You can let go of me now. I'll be okay."
Han kissed the top of his head and released him. Ben blushed and found his eyes tearing up again. He cleared his throat and rubbed his face, sniffing. "Love you, Ma," he said tightly, giving her another quick hug before going to Luke's side.
Luke wrapped an arm around Ben's shoulders and waved at the others. Han grabbed Leia's hand and gave her a gentle tug up the boarding ramp.
"Dad's about to start crying," Ben said with a smirk.
Luke smiled and gave him a squeeze. "How long do you think it'll be until they're arguing with each other?"
"Hmmm," Ben said. "I give 'em… fifteen minutes. As long as Dad's real careful pullin' into hyperspace."
"He was crying," Leia said dully, her arms folded as she sat behind the pilot's seat.
"'Course he was crying," Han said bitterly. "He doesn't want to be there. He wants to be at home."
Leia rolled her eyes and Chewie gave them both a warning growl. "Han-" she began.
"I know he has to be here, I just… I wish I could stay with him."
Leia bit her trembling lip. "It breaks my heart that we can't help him."
"I know," Han whispered, spinning his chair around to face her. "C'mere."
She sighed and climbed into his lap, burying her face in his neck, wrapping her arms around him as she started to cry.
"We'll all get through this, sweetheart. It'll be okay," Han whispered, holding her close as the galaxy spun around them at lightspeed.