LEILA

I hadn't seen Luke in years and I couldn't have been happier. Nothing felt safer to me than when he had his arm around me in my father's house, but it didn't seem worth mentioning. I was lonely. It would pass.

One of the things that made Luke such a good friend to me when we were younger was that he always said just what he meant, nothing more, nothing less. He wasn't really simple-minded, but being around him had always seemed simple to me. As easy as counting to three. Far easier than saying my name.

"Leila, why did your father send you to Tatooine?" asked Luke.

I shook my head.

"My father didn't send me anywhere," I began, "he just wanted me to be safe. He told my mother and I to run, while he did his best to hide us from the man who would become Darth Vader."

"My father," sighed Luke, "I'm sorry."

Luke was, beyond all else, empathetic. He had no control over his father's actions over 16 years ago. And yet, he still felt responsible. Luke had become responsible, and it was strange for me. We had known each other since childhood, it was like watching yourself grow up in a mirror.

"Luke, if it weren't for you, I never would have rediscovered my father."

Luke was shaking. I put my hand over his to steady him. He looked over at me.

"Leila…He's dead."

He put his hand on top of mine and squeezed my hand. I sensed someone next to me,

figuring it was just Luke, energy flowing through Luke into my hands through his. Then I heard a voice.

"Luke. You kept your promise."

Luke ripped his hands away from mine and leapt to the side, gripping the table with his right hand and scratching the back of his neck with his right. I put my chin in my palm and sighed. Then I looked over at my father.

"Of course I did, Obi-Wan. But I didn't know who she was when I went back for her."

My father nodded. I looked over at Luke. He looked at my father with reverence. I

smiled at Luke and caught my father raise his eyebrow at me out of the corner of my eye.

My father phased out of vision as he told Luke that he was proud of him. He took a final moment to smile at me and tell me he loved me. Luke was visibly upset. He missed my father very much. He stood up and stormed out of the room past his sister. She looked back at him, smirking, then turned her gaze towards me.

"Miss Kenobi. Mind if I join you?"

LEIA

Leila nervously shook her head. I smiled, but I worried about Luke, especially around people from Tatooine. I sat down across the table from her. She seemed intimidated by me. That was fine by me. I was pretty intimidating.

"Could you call me Leila?" she asked.

I nodded. Fragments of my upbringing as a politician came up every once in awhile. It was troubling. I acquiesced to Leila's request anyway.

"You grew up with Luke? On Tatooine?" I asked.

Leila nodded.

"My mother and I had to leave home when I was younger."

"Because of my father," I sighed.

Leila smiled.

"What?" I asked confused, and frankly, a little offended.

"You and Luke both do that. You take responsibility for your father's actions, even though the things he did weren't inside of your control."

"And what do you think of that?" I asked, prepared to be very offended.

"It commends both of you," said Leila, much to my surprise.

"It displays honor, Leia. A willingness to accept responsibility and an understanding of what your duties to the galaxy are."

"You think me feeling sorry for the victims of the actions of my deceased Sith lord birth father commends...honor?"

Leila nodded. Like Ben, she was always calm and respectful, no matter the situation. Now that I thought of it, Leila was like her father in many ways. I could also see how she had grown up with Luke.

"I am glad that it was you who had the good fortune to grow up with my brother."

Leila laughed.

"I also had the questionable fortune to fall in love with your brother."

I sighed, my heart going out to Leila. Luke was as clueless as a Wookie in a barbershop when it came to those things.

LEILA

I wasn't sure why I'd said that. I guess I just found Leia trustworthy and easy to talk to. I wasn't denying I was in love with Luke. That fact had become plainly obvious to everyone...except Luke. I'd known Luke for almost my whole life, and I felt like I was in love with him before I even knew what it meant.

"I'm sorry I told you that...I just met you," I sighed.

Leia shook her head.

"It's alright, Leila. You've been on your own for some time. I know what that's like."

"On my own?"

"In Ben's house, after he died."

I sighed. It was hard, living in my father's house, without any real semblance of who he was besides my memories. My mother refused to talk about him. She thought the Sith would sense it and find us.

"My mother was so paranoid. And even though she loved my father I knew a part of her wished he wouldn't find us. She was already at odds with my being friends with Luke, but Owen and Beru assured her that he had no contact with his father, and she relented. They never quite trusted her or me for that matter, they connected my father with Anakin. I always thought my father would come looking for me. By the time I finally found him, it was too late."

I didn't realize I was crying until I was. Leia had moved to sit next to me and put her arm on my shoulder. I saw the pilot out of the corner of my eye and prayed that he wouldn't talk.

"Hey kid, sorry about your dad. But Luke came back for you, even if he didn't know it was you and only came because the old man asked him to."

He had a way of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. I broke away from the table and ran. As my feet hit the metal of the ship's floor, I felt that the panel had a compartment beneath. I opened the panel and climbed below. I couldn't believe Han had said that to me.

I just wanted to be alone.