AN: Nope, I still don't own Star Wars. This was written for my great friend MasterOf4Elements, who is recovering from surgery.

"Three Halves of a Whole"

By EsmeAmelia

Han would never get over the fact that Luke and Leia had the same birthday.

When he first found out, he had teased them both about it relentlessly, constantly suggesting that they could possibly be twins, though he shut up about that after the fiftieth or so time that 3PO announced the odds of them being twins. Of course, he didn't actually believe they were twins, but it was still a weird-as-hell coincidence that he still wasn't used to even after spending two years with the Rebellion.

Still, however insane a coincidence it was, their birthday was next week, which was why he'd volunteered for this particular supply run. The spaceport where they were picking up supplies had a marketplace where people carried goods from all over the galaxy. A perfect place to find birthday gifts.

As for what he would get them, that remained to be decided.

[Han?] Chewie asked as the two of them made their way through the crowded, glitzy marketplace lit up by multicolored lights with every stall bombarding the patrons with holographic advertisements for their products. [Haven't you thought of anything yet?]

Han glanced over at a booth selling "adult" toys, knowing he'd damn well be asking for trouble if he got Leia anything from there (no matter how tempting it may be). "Nope," he said. "What're you gettin' them?"

Chewie reached into his satchel and pulled out two books - paper books! - both of which had an identical picture of a Twi'lek woman holding up a blaster on the cover. [They both enjoy this mystery series,] Chewie said, [and the latest book just came out, so I'm getting them each a copy.]

"Mysteries, huh?" said Han, lifting an eyebrow. A sudden image came into his mind of Leia sitting up in bed, her hair mussed, a single lamp lit, her eyes engrossed in that book.

Then he imagined himself lying in bed next to her, listening as she read the book out loud and joining her in guessing who the culprit might be.

He had to grin, given how his fantasies about himself and Leia in bed were usually more explicit than that.

They reached a stall selling caf, which got Han's attention, seeing as how they all loved a good cup of caf in the morning and the rich smell of caf beans was enticing his nostrils. He started browsing through the bags of different blends, but when he reached the Naboo blend, he suddenly remembered that Leia and Luke both particularly enjoyed caf made from Naboo beans.

"Huh," he found himself saying out loud. Even though he could get them each a bag of Naboo caf beans, it felt weird to give them both the same gift when Chewie was already doing that.

Next door was a stall where the droid in charge was shouting about how they had the finest wines for parsecs around. Han had always preferred beer and whiskey to wine, but the stall brought to mind one time when a supply run had managed to pick up some Alderaanian champagne. Leia had brought a bottle to the Falcon, staring at it as if it were an old family holo, and she, Han, Luke, and Chewie had shared it.

They'd all gotten tipsy that night except Chewie, who could hold more alcohol than the other three put together, but it was a pleasant kind of tipsy. He remembered how the drink was sweet and fruity and yet still had a bite and how the bubbles tickled his mouth and stimulated drunken giggles.

They'd talked long into the night, hours after the champagne was gone, all in a kind of dreamy stupor, sharing stories about their pasts. Leia and Luke talked longingly about favorite toys from their childhoods that were now long-gone and Han learned that both Leia and Luke loved playing ball with their families when they were kids.

That had made him slightly jealous, since even during the brief time when he had his parents, they didn't have a yard or anything that resembled one, no place to play ball in.

He briefly scanned the wine stall's selection in case they had Alderaanian champagne, but of course they didn't. There were probably fewer than a hundred greenhouses scattered around the galaxy where Alderaanian grapes still grew, after all.

[Han,] Chewie said, putting his paw on Han's shoulder, [you know they're expecting us back by tonight, right?]

"Yeah yeah," said Han, "but I ain't gonna leave empty-handed."

[You could just give them money,] said Chewie.

Han snorted. "Yeah, because they both have so much time to shop, don't they?"

[Well then you'd better pick something.]

Han chewed his lips, feeling weird that Chewie had said "something" in the singular even though he was shopping for two people. Yeah, Luke and Leia had the same birthday and had weirdly similar tastes in books and caf and wine, but getting them both the same gift felt like he'd be treating them like mere copies of each other.

He glanced over at another stall, this one selling weird knick knacks from around the galaxy, and an idea suddenly struck him.

. . .

Leia and Luke's birthday party wasn't extravagant - just a dinner in the Rebel base's cafeteria - but thanks to Han and Chewie's supply run, there was plenty of good food and they'd even managed to get a cake.

They opened Chewie's gifts at the same time and let out nearly identical gasps of delight before gushing to the Wookiee about how much they loved those books and couldn't wait to read the latest story. It made Han feel like checking out the series himself, though he would need to see if it had an audio edition seeing as how his reading skills were slow at best - a consequence of leaving school when his parents died and needing remedial reading classes when he entered the Academy.

He hadn't told Leia or Luke that, of course, but maybe someday he'd work up the guts.

Now they were opening Han's gifts, which made him unexpectedly hold his breath.

"I can't believe it!" Luke exclaimed when he pulled his gift out of the box. "You actually got me another toy shuttle like the one Ben gave me when I was a kid?"

Han grinned. "Yeah, I remembered how you told me about that shuttle that evening we shared the Alderaanian champagne. Do you like it?"

"I love it!" Luke shouted, shooting a grin at Han before turning to the princess. "What did you get, Leia?"

Leia was wearing a grin similar to Luke's when she pulled her own gift out of its box. "A set of action figures from Outer Rim Heroes - just like the set I had when I was a kid."

Luke gave a warm laugh. "I loved watching Outer Rim Heroes when I was a kid too."

With that, they both started gushing about their presents to each other, causing Han to sigh a bit, wondering why he suddenly felt left out. Maybe because Leia and Luke both had the same birthday, both grew up with adopted families and both lost their adopted families within a few days of each other, both were fully dedicated to the Rebellion, both liked the same books and caf and wine and old holoshows . . . they were two halves of a whole.

Which made Han the odd one out.

He found himself gazing down at his cake slice, his stomach suddenly feeling numb. Three's a crowd, the saying unwillingly danced into his mind. They were the two halves of a whole and he was the outcast, the low-life, the scumrat.

However, before he could sink too far into self-pity, he suddenly felt himself being embraced from both sides, sandwiched between two bodies.

"Thank you, Han," Leia murmured. "You may be annoying, but you have your moments."

"Yeah," said Luke. "We're both lucky to have you around - and not just cause you give great presents."

Han knew he should respond, but there was a sudden lump in his throat and he wasn't sure why. It wasn't just because they liked his birthday gifts, he knew that much.

So instead, he just wrapped one arm around each of them and savored how in this moment at least, he felt like he belonged.

THE END