Chapter nine: Home: part two

Summary: Han comes home.

"Chewie. ...We're home."

"He's carrying a map to Luke Skywalker."

That stopped Han in his tracks. It was impossible not to traverse the galaxy without hearing stories. Whispers and rumors of the legendary Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master. The Hero. The Redeemer. That damned kid. ...That kid. Who'd have ever thought.

"...You are the Han Solo that fought with the rebellion." The dark-skinned kid continued.

...Was he? Did he still have a claim on the name of a man he formerly was? A man who'd been a hero? A husband, brother, and father. Did he have a claim on a phantom of the past?

"...You knew him." Finn didn't have to explain who he meant.

Memories flooded Han unbidden. Memories of another time. Another life. Of loves and sorrows. Of victories and regrets. He took a deep breath and turned back around to face the two young stragglers.

"Yeah, I knew him. I knew Luke."

In another life he had. And they'd been happy. Him, Luke… and Leia. The indomitable trio. A lasting friendship… But everything was too good to last.

Everything.

With Chewie wounded, the girl had joined him for takeoff and flight. He had to wonder how she'd developed an accent like hers, growing up on a rugged, uncivilized desert world. She did her best to conceal her glee beside him. The similarities to a certain dusty, bright-eyed kid pilot off a sand planet he once knew was making him uncomfortable.

Han was getting the most unnerving sense of deja vu right now.

The silence was broken when hesitantly spoke up. "You knew Luke Skywalker?"

Han glanced sideways at her. "I just said so, didn't I?"

The wonder and admiration in her eyes immediately gave Han conflicting feelings of cockiness and discomfort.

She tentatively asked. "Would you tell me about him? What's he like?"

Han sighed inwardly. He'd been half expecting a request of that sort. He leaned back in his chair. "And why would I do that, Kid?"

That seemed to momentarily stump her. She considered it for a moment, then looked him in the eye. "Because I asked?" Then she pulled a face. "And my name isn't 'kid'. It's Rey."

Again Han felt like he'd been thrown into the past, and he stared resolutely ahead.

"I mean," she continued hastily, "I've heard so many stories. But it's hard to know what's true and what's not. ...Or what's exaggerated." She added with a hint of a smile.

"But I've never met anyone who actually knew Luke Skywalker personally." She said, a hint of awe in her voice. "Luke Skywalker," She seemed fond of saying the kid's name. "Ace pilot, Hero of the Rebellion and the Battle of Yavin, then Jedi Master of the Jedi Order."

He studied her. And couldn't help the slight smirk as he said, "He wasn't Luke Skywalker, ace pilot, rebel hero, Jedi Master and all that to me. To me he was just 'Kid'."

And the past whispered to him. Han remembered.

The kid was watching again.

He could almost feel his huge eyes roaming about as though trying to absorb the experience.

That farmboy who was accompanying the old man was the picture of a fresh faced local who didn't get out much. Han was sure he's trailed at least a pound of sand onto his beloved Falcon.

He so far proved to have spunk at least. He was apparently a pilot too. Han turned his eyes to where he was standing in the entrance to the cockpit, his intense blue gaze seeming to take in every detail.

"First time on a ship, Kid?"

He's seen the look on this kid's face when he's first seen the white streaks of hyperspace.

The youth turned on him with a scowl.

"Quit calling me 'Kid'! I have a name. I'm Luke. Luke Skywalker!" His thick Tatooine accent was prominent as was his irritation.

Han snorted in derision. Even as a twinge of recognition registered at the mention of the last name, but he put it aside for later consideration. "Alright Luke Skywalker." He drawled. "I imagine you didn't have many opportunities to get off that dustball they call a planet, do ya?"

The kid's hands balled into fists. "You -!"

"Am I wrong?"

"Will you tell me about the places you've been?"

"Why should I, Kid?"

"I told you, stop calling me that. And because I asked?"

Han sighed

They broke the surface and the girl's eyes widened as she stilled.

"I didn't know there was this much green in the whole galaxy." Her voice was quiet with awe and emotion.

And once more Han was unwillingly transported to the past.

The kid was in the cockpit again when they flew down on the surface of Yavin IV, and this time Han couldn't bring himself to complain. The kid was clearly hit hard by the death of the old man.

He glanced back, only to find the kid directly behind them.

Han almost snapped at him, but paused when he glimpsed the frozen expression of wonder on his face.

"I didn't know there was this much green… anywhere." He whispered.

"What do you think of her, Han?"

"I'm trying not to, Kid."

Luke seemed to have given up trying to get Han to stop calling him that. Which was good because it was starting to stick, Han thought in amusement.

"It wasn't all bad was it? Some of it was… good."

Leia nodded firmly, that ernest joy that comes with age and beloved memories seeping into her eyes. "Pretty good." She confirmed, the barest hint of emotion in her voice.

"You know. No matter how much we fought. I always hated watching you leave."

He flashed her his signature lop-sided grin, one of his few features that remained untouched by the years. "That's why I did it. So you'd miss me."

He held her. Stroked her hair, the way he used to. In a happier time. A brighter age.

"If you see our son… Bring him home."

Home…

He'd forgotten where home was. Again.

No more.

I'm home.

A/N: This feels kinda incomplete, but I can't think of much else to add to it.