Luke stares at the two as Han opens the door for the petite brunette. He smiles at the other man's gesture, taking a sip of his beer. He knew Han irritated Leia beyond belief, but he often observed she was happiest around him.
"When are those two going to fuck?" a voice asks, breaking Luke from his thoughts.
"Winter!" Shara exclaims, slamming her drink onto the table.
"What? I am not the only one who is curious, it's almost been half a year and no one can deny he wants his hands in her skirt just as much as she wants her hands in his pants.
"There is no need to be crude about it." Shara says, twisting the glass of water with her fingers.
"Please Shara, everyone at this table knows you are not a prude when it comes to matters of the bedroom. Didn't want to have a long engagement? Please you both know Kes' parents would kill you both to have a child out of wedlock." Winter says, taking a sip of her white wine.
Everyone looks to the couple at the end, Shara's face flushed the bright red and Kes smiling wide.
"Why didn't ya tell us?" Wedge punches Kes lightly in the arm, before placing his arm around his friend.
"We weren't going to start telling people till after the wedding and once I found a job." Kes admits, scratching the back of his head.
"Well I believe a congratulation is in order." Luke speaks up, smiling at his friends' joyful news. He looks over to the empty seat, knowing someone was missing.
"I need another drink, Tycho escort me to the bar." Winter stands, holding her arm out waiting on her beau. The man reluctantly stands and takes her by the arms to take her to the bar.
"We should be heading home anyhow. I have an early morning." Shara announces, placing her coat on. The group of friends say their goodbyes to one another, leaving only Wedge and Luke at the table.
"Biggs would have loved hearing that." Wedge comments, noticing Luke's lingering stare at the empty spot.
"Yeah, He would've."
"It's funny, isn't it? Biggs was the first to sign up and of all of us he's the true hero."
"I think he would've liked that. He was always trying to surpass us." Luke chuckles as they remember their friend.
"Yeah he would have. I remember asking Corinna A'Daasha out and Biggs went out of his way to outdo me to convince her to go out with him instead."
"I remember that. Biggs wouldn't shut up when he managed to get a date with her."
"What a prick." Wedge laughs.
"Yeah. That he was." Luke chuckles, smiling sadly as they think of their since passed friend.
"I remember before we shipped out, he was making jokes about how if any of us were going to die a hero it would be him. Who knew that the crazy bastard would be right."
"While I was in Belgium I remember sitting in a foxhole. A German Bf-109 came overhead was firing randomly into the forest, and this Bell P-59 flew overhead and started chasing the Bf-109, drawing the fire away from us." Luke smiles recalling the memory. "I always imagined it was Biggs, protecting us. I didn't know his plane had been shot down over France five months before."
"I got a letter from his mother while I was stationed in Italy. I had been out flying that day, doing surveillance and when I went back the letter was waiting for me in my tent. I snuck off into the closest town and got so drunk I couldn't remember the night. I woke up the next day with a blinding headache and my officers standing over my bed." Wedge smiles at the memory of the stern officers, unimpressed with his insubordination.
"What did they do to you?"
"They threw me in a cell overnight. Decided not to punish me because they knew pilots weren't expendable."
"You smooth talked your way out of it?" Luke questions. Finishing off his beer.
"I absolutely talked my way out of it." Wedge laughs, Luke smiles at the sound of laughter from his friend. He reaches into his pocket, grabbing a cigarette from his coat along with his lighter. As he lights the cigarette he watches the red-haired waitress move towards their table with three beers.
"Thanks Mara." He says as she places the drinks on the table.
"I don't understand why you two assholes insist on purchasing three beers. What? You two gonna split that third one?"
"Yeah, we're gonna share it. Mind your own business Mara." Wedge says.
"I will when you actually have business that is worth knowing." Mara retorts, raising her eyebrow and walks away from the table.
"She's a piece of work. God help the poor man who ends up with her."
"I don't think she's the type of girl who needs to be with a man."
"Man, you and Leia must be spending a lot of time together. She's filling your head with her feminist ideals." Wedge laughs, reaching over to grab the new pint. "What does she think of Mara?"
"I don't know what she thinks of Mara. Nor do I care." Luke responds, also grabbing a beer.
"You still doing that magic thing with old Ben?"
"It's not magic Wedge. It's meditation."
"Yeah but like you manipulate objects and stuff, right?"
"No, I don't" Luke shakes his head. "It's an ideal that everything has a natural order or an organizing principle. It's a Chinese philosophy."
"Well, I don't know anything about that." Wedge shrugs.
"Clearly." Luke retorts, staring at the last pint sitting on the table. Wedge finds himself staring at the full glass as well. A sad silence lingers as the two ponder of their late friend.
"You think he knew he was going to die when his plane went down?" Wedge finally asks, the question lingering on his mind.
"Probably."
"You think he suffered?" Luke goes silent at Wedge's second question, taking a moment to think on it.
"I think he was…content. As you said, he always gloated that he would be the one to die a hero and he did." Luke responds.
"To Biggs." Wedge says, raising his glass in the air.
"To Biggs." Luke repeats both the words and gesture. The two men lower their glasses, clinking them with the third glass that would have belonged to their dear friend.