"So. How did it go?"
Angrily, Leia threw her one of her datapads and Luke was so startled that he only managed to prevent the datapad from hitting himself with a quick touch of the Force. However, he watched it hit the ground and the screen grew a long, deep crack. His gaze shot to Leia who stood staring at it. When she finally looked up to meet his gaze, she was panting. "I didn't meant to hit you," she said, sounding truly apologetic. Luke nodded, slowly relaxing. "I know. But you just broke your datapad."
"Yeah, well." She squatted beside it and carefully picked it up to throw it away.
"Did you have anything important on that one?"
Leia shrugged. "Just all of my speeches I prepared for a trip Mothma wants to send me on."
Luke snorted. "Yeah, no big deal."
Leia just shrugged again, hardly seeming to care.
Luke just watched her for a moment as she cleaned up the mess. "Something happened between you and Han," he suddenly said and Leia froze. "On your guys' trip to Bespin. What happened?"
"That's none of your business."
"Hmm. That doesn't sound much like a Leia answer. That sounds like 'hey, Luke, I'm in a rotten mood, so you're going to get the brunt of it- duck!'"
Leia frowned, puzzled. "Duck?"
Luke nodded, pointing to the trash can. "Because you threw your datapad at me."
Leia nodded. "Ah."
"Leia, what happened between you and Han?"
"Well, you already perfectly translated my first response. I meant it, Luke. What happened on that trip is between me and Han. That isn't your business."
"You're really not going to tell me?"
"Why should I? Do I have to?"
"No, but I just think that whatever happened on Bespin has a large contribution to your 'I-could-kick-a-Jawa' mood and I thought I might be able to help if you just told me what's going on."
"It's fine, Luke. Nothing you need to worry about."
"Whatever you say, Lei."
Luke watched her. With the mess cleaned up, she put her other materials away, only keeping out one datapad. She crawled onto Luke's bed with her device, trying to hide away and avoid his pestering. He knew that was what she was trying to do and he was debating whether he should let her go or not.
He knew something had happened with her and Han and he knew it had to be the reason for her inexplicable anger, but Luke also knew that he really didn't have the right to bother her about it. Of course, he could make plenty of assumptions just as plenty of other Rebels had taken to doing. Luke could tell that the parameters of Han and Leia's relationship had extended, or at least changed drastically. He'd been able to guess before the events of Bespin that they weren't meant to be verbal sparring partners forever. He just hadn't decided how far things would ever go between the two. If his own observations were correct, a lot more had happened than he would ever have guessed at. Luke would be happy for them if his assumptions were the case, but with Han now lost, encased in carbonite and headed for Fett-knew-where . . . And now Leia was hurting. She hardly ever let her emotions be put on display, always hiding every hint of hurt deep inside her, but Leia's current anger radiated from her now. She wasn't even making an attempt to hide it.
Luke sighed, frustrated with the helplessness he felt. During the first year or so of knowing each other, Luke would admit that he had had a crush on her. But after three years, Luke could recognize their relationship for what it was: Luke cared deeply for Leia like she was his sister. End of story. There was much more potential for Leia and Han's future, Luke thought, but he would support her as a friend. After all, that was what she needed most from him. Especially now. A brother.
"Leia?" he found himself calling for her, though he hadn't realized that he'd made the decision to probe her yet.
Leia dropped her arms, setting her datapad to lie beside her. "Yeah, Luke?"
"Why did you throw your datapad at me?"
Leia shrugged. "I don't know."
"That's a pathetic lie," Luke told her quietly, softly as not to upset her further. "You know, you never answered my question."
"Which question?"
"When you came in. I asked you how it went."
For a long moment, Leia didn't respond. Luke sat up to look at Leia and saw that she had both of her arms slung over her face. He noticed her chest heaving and he knew she was crying. Yeah, this wasn't the Leia he knew, but that didn't matter. She was hurting and she needed help. "Leia?"
Quickly, in a sudden burst of motion, Leia jumped off his bed and came running to him. She lied her head in his lap and cried aloud. Surprised as he was, Luke didn't let it show. He just took her into his arms and let her cry. She cried so little, so seldom, and Luke she needed to let out all the tears she had pent up. She didn't need to talk about it and Luke knew, then, that he didn't even need to hear it from her. He knew. Maybe he didn't know what exactly had happened, but he knew enough. Enough had happened that Leia was hurting. Luke wished he could do something to help her.
"High Command isn't going to do anything to help, are they?"
Leia composed herself enough to answer him. She sat beside him, slumped against his side. "They couldn't care less."
"I'm sorry."
Leia just nodded once. "I know you are."
"We'll find him," he promised, taking her hand. "Real soon."
Leia nodded her head against his shoulder. She said quietly, "I know you will."
General Carlist Rieekan spent the rest of the meeting, quietly drumming away at his thigh with a stylus pen. Mothma's voice droned on while Ackbar, Madine, and Dodonna all replied with equally boring answers. Rieekan hadn't been a part of High Command, but Mothma had asked him to take Leia's place several months ago while her and Han had still been away.
If the Alderaanian general was completely honest, he'd be the first to declare aloud that meetings of any type were the worst part of the Rebellion. He had never been the type that could tolerate a three-hour meeting on contingency plans when things seemed to be running smoothly enough. He thought Leia had more patience when it came to these things than him, but she wasn't here and Rieekan knew that was how the others wanted it.
The rumors had started only a month or so after the evacuation from Hoth. He couldn't be sure who had started it, but once they'd got around, it was about all anyone would talk about. Watching the two and how they got along on Hoth had started it for Rieekan. He could tell that, despite their differences and outspoken opinions of each other, the pair were a perfect match, perfectly complimenting each other's strong personalities with their own vulnerabilities. Yes, Rieekan believed that Han Solo had vulnerabilities. He also believed one of them to be Leia Organa.
Anyway, the rumors had started as a joke. That's not saying they weren't still a joke, but after a short while, some started to believe the word was true. Though Rieekan had never been partial to the rumors, he had found himself hoping that something good might come out of such a trip if the princess and the scoundrel really were stuck with each other. Maybe Lelila would find the piece she needed to fill her empty heart. And maybe Solo would find a reason to stay.
But the rumors were unacceptable. It drove Rieekan mad and he hated that Leia was being forced to endure it. The nay-sayers had no right to talk about the princess in such an undignified way and it would disgust Bail Organa if he heard half of the comments being made about his daughter.
High Command certainly wasn't helping Leia in this trying time, either. At least, they weren't planning on it. Rieekan understood their points, but he was biased and he wanted the captain to be found so he could fill Leia's heart and she didn't have to suffer so.
When the meeting was adjourned, Rieekan intercepted Mon Mothma, pulling her aside in the corridor. "Chief-Councilor, if I could have just a moment of your time."
Mothma's eyes narrowed ever slightly. "Yes, General. May I help you?"
"It's about Captain Solo, if I may inquire."
Mothma actually sighed. "General, your spot on the council is honorary and temporary. You have no power-"
"I understand. That's why I'm coming to you-"
"Leia already spoke with us. You were there, General. You heard our response."
"But if you could just reconsider, just take a single moment to think again-!"
"We considered, General. The Rebel Alliance can't afford to waste any more supplies on a rescue mission for someone who isn't even a member of our organization. He put himself in trouble with the law and that is his fault, don't you think? It serves him right, finally getting what he had coming."
Mothma quickly walked past him, leaving Rieekan stunned. Call him biased, too- Rieekan figured he deserved the title- but he couldn't understand how the captain who had been a key figure in the Alliance's success since the destruction of the Death Star could mean so little to the Alliance's leaders. Idly, Carlist wondered what Bail would think if the whole situation didn't have anything to do with his daughter. He feared what the father would think if he knew about the captain's relationship with his daughter. Simultaneously, the thought amused Carlist. With a wider smile, Carlist began to ponder just how amusing a thought this was. Considering Leia's relationship with the captain now, Carlist could just imagine Bail having a heart attack over that. But how would the viceroy feel about the situation when he saw his daughter in her current state . . . ?
Rieekan's face fell. To himself, he said aloud, "Someone needs to find Han."
AN: I wanted to thank you guys for the wonderful reviews! It means the world to me! I got an interesting comment the other day about Luke's thoughts on things and how he's feeling about Han. And Leia. So, i'm interested in knowing what you guys think.