Endor

That pit in Han's stomach refused to go away. Beside him, Leia slept. He envied her, the ease with which sleep came. But all he had to do was shut his eyes and adrenaline coursed through him. It made him want to jump up and run around, to yell, to sing, to scream, just to prove to himself that he was alive and not dreaming. He'd slept for too long, frozen in that block.

So he stayed awake.

Not that it was exactly pleasant. His mind wandered about, often enough to unpleasant thoughts and memories. Now it took a trip to when he'd started to be able to see after the hibernation sickness wore off. Luke and Leia swinging from Jabba's sail barge over to their skiff. The ease with which Leia slid into Luke's embrace and how the kid hadn't blushed or stumbled at the feel of her bare flesh against his hand.

His vision had been fuzzy then, but it seemed inexplicably clear to him in hindsight.

And then at the briefing, how as soon as Leia noticed Luke was in the room, she'd stood up and moved to his side, the two locking in an embrace that seemed as easy to them as breathing.

Luke running and jumping on the back of the speeder bike, grabbing hold of Leia and zooming out of sight.

And finally, that midnight farewell he'd witnessed on the wooden bridge.

Leia had woken him from his forced slumber with the assurance that she loved him, with a kiss that echoed her words. But did she love Luke? Han had been gone for a while, time enough for the two to grow closer together, to bond further.

And Leia had said Luke had gone to turn himself in to the Empire, to keep Vader and the Emperor's attention away from the squad.

Han got up and left the hut. Outside in the night, the bright false moon of the Death Star sparkled through the trees.

Was Luke there now? Had he turned himself in to let Han and Leia be together? Because if all went well, that space station would be blown into dust particles and scattered through space via gravity and the movement of ships. Luke had gone to his death.

Han bowed his head. Damn that kid. If Luke and Leia were in love, then that's all they had to say! Han love Leia, so he would step aside, the two were the most important human beings in the entire galaxy to him, he wanted them to be happy. And they deserved to be happy.

But that didn't matter. Luke had gone to his death – and he hadn't said goodbye. Not to Han, anyway. They'd just been reunited and didn't have really any chance to talk what with Luke's unexplained after Tatooine detour, the Alliance assembly, and then Luke's departure.

But they had never said goodbye, not after Han had tried to leave before the Battle of Yavin. And look how that turned out! Even their farewell at the Battle of Hoth had been basically a warning to each other to do what neither of them ever did: be careful.

A smuggler turned Rebel General and hero and a farm boy turned Jedi Knight, no careful was not in their nature.

Han looked back up at the Death Star, so far away, so close, and whispered, "Be careful, Luke."

Leia looked up from Han's bandaging of her arm at Threepio's declaration," They did it!"

There in the Endor sky, the Death Star burned and fell apart. She looked away and thought back to Ilum, the ice caves, the voices she heard and the crystal she kept tucked in her pocket. "You're wrong, Leia, you have that power too. One day, you'll learn to use it as I have." Leia looked inward and then outward, her mind seemed to expand over the entire galaxy, but she only wanted one tiny dot in the infinite sky.

And it still burned, brighter than ever – Luke's star.

"I'm sure Luke wasn't on that thing when it blew," there was worry in Han's voice and Han's own star seemed to flicker. Leia didn't take her mind's eye off the newly opened universe as she reassured him that Luke was still alive.

"You love him," at that Leia looked at Han, looked as she had always looked at him.

"Yes," she said simply, because she did. She had. Far longer than she had a face to go with the feeling, she had loved him. And she would always love him, her brother.

"Fine," Han said, a hard edge to the word. "I understand." He might understand, but Leia didn't. "When he comes back…I won't get in the way." Han left a pause there because he wasn't too sure Luke was coming back. Leia interpreted it differently. She thought he had to pause to get the words out and she tried not to laugh at his reaction.

"It's not like that at all," Leia moved closer, to let him in on a secret, on a bit of joy to this already welcome day. "He's my brother."

Leia pulled Han in for a kiss, a kiss of celebration. There was so much to celebrate. This was not how she had ever imagined the day the Emperor died would go, but it was surprisingly almost perfect.