Shoot first. Kill it, if you have to (Time Travel, Han Solo Style)
By Indygodusk
Chapter 12 - Epilogue - This is Going to be Great!
Traveling through the Force left Han feeling blinded, leaving afterimages floating behind his eyelids. Han rubbed hard at his eyes, wiping away the floating spots and the sight of the crashing ship with Palpatine's and Dooku's bodies onboard (and good riddance to bad rubbish). He wondered if Skywalker and Kenobi had managed to survive landing the ship on Coruscant, which had seemed an impossible feat even for a pilot as talented as Han. He supposed he wanted them to survive for Luke's sake if nothing else—certainly not for himself.
Realizing that Rey was no longer holding onto his arm, Han opened his eyes, finding himself standing on a peaceful-looking planet somewhere out in the galaxy. Rey stood next to him with her arms crossed behind her back, rocking back and forth on her heels with anticipation as she waited for his reaction. Han wasn't sure of the date or time, but overhead he saw three silver moons riding the edge of an indigo skyline. On the opposite horizon, a single golden sun was either rising or setting, lighting the street where Han stood in amber.
It felt too warm for the jacket, so Han slipped it off, tossed it over a nearby bench, and rolled up his sleeves as he looked around. He stood on a street corner leading into a row of stalls selling a variety of domestic goods. Shoppers of various species strolled the aisle, most holding bags of food or basic necessities. Everything looked legal and aboveboard with no obvious signs of desperation, deprivation, or slavery, so this probably wasn't a planet on the Outer Rim. Both buyers and sellers were showing signs of finishing up their business and winding down, so it was probably evening instead of morning. A few of the stalls were already closed and others had started packing up loose items into hovercrates.
"What do you think?" Rey asked eagerly.
Not sure what he was supposed to be seeing, Han looked around again. Shrugged. "Looks like a nice little marketplace with a stable economy. There's bound to be a port nearby to fly out of with job listings for pilots or crew. They usually pay more for people willing to leave the sector long-term."
"Or you can accept the will of the Force, stop running, and find your happy ending here," Rey said carefully "Perhaps even a new hope and happy beginning. After all, you're still young."
Han's lips pursed. "By this age in my previous life," he gestured at his early- to mid-forties body, "I'd already had a successful smuggling career, been a General in a rebellion, wooed and married the extremely picky, prickly, and popular Leia Organa, started going gray, fathered Ben, was running a legitimate shipping business, and taught Ben how to hotwire an engine and hack a locked door, though the latter was more R2D2's doing than mine." Han crossed his arms, feeling cranky. "I'm not that young."
Brow creasing as she looked him up and down, Rey nodded slowly. "You're right. You're too old for the people here." Something mischievous crossed her face. "Weren't you Ben's age when you first met General Leia?"
"Yeah, around thirty. I think she was nineteen going on twenty, though already a Senator and Princess. Why?" Han asked, looking at Rey askance.
Rey wrinkled her nose. "That's about the same as me and Ben. It can seem like a lot, especially at nineteen. Let's fix that." Reaching out, she slapped him on the shoulder so hard he staggered and his vision flashed white from the force of the blow. Flailing to keep from falling, he felt his vest begin to slide off on one side. For a ghost and a girl, she sure packed one hell of a punch.
"Hey! Warn a guy next time," Han griped. Pulling his vest back up over his shoulders, he was surprised to find that his body moved more easily than he expected. Reaching up to run a hand over his sharper jawline, he turned and peered at his reflection in the nearest window. "Whoa, what am I now, somewhere between twenty and twenty-five?" He couldn't help but preen a little, running a hand through his soft and silky brown hair. He had great hair in his twenties. His hips had also become narrower and his upper body more muscled. He adjusted the notch of his belt and tucked his shirt more to fit more tightly against his sleekly muscled torso. Might as well flaunt it while he still had it.
Down the street, he saw a Wookie start packing up a stall. She was selling chyntuck. Han did a double take. "That's a darn good price for chyntuck. I don't think I've ever seen it that cheap outside of the homeworld."
"Maybe you should buy some," Rey said with a bright, mischievous grin. "Trust me, this is going to be great."
About to grin back, Han hesitated. "What's the point when there's just me to eat it?" He didn't like eating alone.
"They're closing soon, you better hurry," Rey said.
"With what money?"
"Check your pocket."
Putting his hand in his pocket, Han pulled out a handful of credits. "What?! Are you telling me Anakin could've magicked me money that whole time he had me running around like a droid trying to sabotage Palpatine, buy munitions, and feed myself?" He growled. "I knew I should'a shot him more when I had the chance."
A bell rang overhead, signaling the closing of the market. Looking between the credits in his hand and the stall, Han shrugged and moved forward. "Why not?"
The Wookie shopkeeper looked irritated to see Han coming to bother her after the closing bell, at least until she realized that Han understood Shyriiwook and knew how to cook with her wares. At that point, she was more than happy to sell Han anything he liked and at a great price to boot. Declining the offer to join her and her mate for dinner, though he was tempted, Han took his chyntuck and returned to where Rey was waiting back at the corner. As the twilight deepened and the shadows stretched, her faint blue glow became more apparent.
"Where to now?" Han asked Rey. "If Force ghosts can eat, I make a mean dinner omelet. Even Ben likes them." A cloud passed over the sun, casting a chill over Han and dimming the market to gray as shops started to close up for the evening. He glanced around the bench for his jacket, but it had walked off while he'd been shopping. Of all the rotten luck.
"I think I'm going to stop fighting against the will of the Force and join with Ben," Rey said quietly. Han blinked at her in surprise. "He's not so bad now." Rey gave a private little smile. "The Force will fuse us into one and we'll be reborn as a single being. I like the thought of that—of never being alone again throughout the eternities."
"I'm glad for you both," Han said. "You have my blessing, for what it's worth."
"Thank you," she said. "You're good now, so it's time for me to go." Rey's voice was gentle and resolute, so Han took a moment to comprehend what she'd just said.
"But you just barely got here. You're going to leave me to eat all this chyntuck by myself? Alone?"
"I have a feeling you won't be alone for long," Rey said. "Your luck will circle back around. You just need to remember to turn around and run after the right things. May the Force be with you."
"I don't want the Force with me," Han said sullenly. "I want my family and friends. You'd think saving the galaxy would earn me a little consideration, but no, even you're leaving me." Scowling, he kicked at the ground. "When do I ever get what I want?"
"How about now," Rey said.
From the corner of his eye, he saw a speeder jerk to a stop nearby and park crookedly against the curb, but he was more concerned with Rey's Force ghost as it started fading from view. Ben's outline was revealed as she became more insubstantial, standing close enough that their bodies were touching. His face looked happy and content as he looked down at Rey's accepting smile, making Han's chest feel warm just to see it.
Contentment and a sense of belonging were something Han had always wanted for his son. Maybe seeing this was his reward. (He told the selfish and lonely part of himself to shut up and not be so greedy.)
Rey lifted her arms to welcome Ben. They embraced, her hands going around his neck as their lips joined in a gentle kiss, two halves of a once-broken whole reunited and healed. Their bodies became a shimmering column of pure white light, merging into one being of indescribable beauty before disappearing into the Force. The moment felt sacred. Han felt blessed to have witnessed it.
Smiling softly, Han decided to take a chance. Looking up at the sky, he said, "Okay, Force, I'm putting myself in your hands. What should I do now?"
Nothing happened.
Chuckling at his foolishness, he swung the bag of chyntuck by his side and decided to go and make himself an omelet. Problems always felt easier to manage after eating food. Whistling softly, he started down the street.
The doors to the badly parked speeder popped open as he strolled passed. He walked a few more steps when he heard a hauntingly familiar voice that stopped him in his tracks. "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."
Han froze mid-step, afraid he was hallucinating again. That sounded like his Leia, but he'd been fooled before. Fear of being disappointed almost made him run in the opposite direction, but running for the wrong reason was how he got into so much trouble in his last life. He didn't want to be that person anymore.
Taking a shaky breath, Han carefully put down his foot and turned around. His heart was in his eyes as he looked around for Leia's familiar face. As he searched, the clouds moved away from the setting sun, the heavens opened, and the street became awash in warm gold light framed by purple-pink clouds.
And there she was.
Highlighted by sunlight, Leai stood next to the hastily parked speeder, one hand resting on the frame. He'd recognize her anywhere and in any timeline. She looked as young as he'd first seen her, maybe nineteen or twenty, with long chestnut brown hair pulled back in fancy braids and a white outfit that made her creamy skin seem to glow. Leia had always been gorgeous, but now she was something more, with an openness to her expression that he'd never seen before.
Han had first met Leia on one of the worst days of her life. She'd been captured and interrogated by the attack dog of the Empire (who years later turned out to be her biological father—damn Vader) and then had her planet blown up along with most of her family and friends—an event that she bore the guilt of for the rest of her life. This Leia still had that fierce snap to her eyes and a maturity beyond her years, but without the shadows and scars caused by sorrow, bitterness, fear, and injustice. There was still strength, intelligence, and maturity in her face, but she hadn't grown up under the cruel shadow of the Empire or as an only child expected to carry the weight of a broken galaxy on her small shoulders. She'd never had to teach herself to always appear invulnerable or how to take a devastating wound without letting anyone see her falter, flinch, or break. You could tell from the way she looked and moved that this Leia had grown up feeling safety and joy.
It was what Han and Ben had fought for in this new timeline—Leia's happiness.
Han's heart felt full to bursting.
Forcing himself to stop staring in case Leia noticed and thought him a creep (old Leia would've already clocked him as a threat and warily dropped a hand near her hidden blaster), Han took a shaky breath and looked away. There was an old man on the other side of the speeder that looked familiar. Han was trying and failing to match his face to any of the Rebel leaders he'd once known. In some ways, he reminded Han of the Force ghost who'd known Dooku and been mentioned by Anakin, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, but he was too short and the face wasn't quite right. The old man arched one eyebrow at Leia and just like that, Han realized with shock that he was looking at Obi-Wan Kenobi—but twenty years older and several pounds heavier than the Jedi Han had last seen unconscious under a collapsed balcony. Han wouldn't have recognized the old space wizard at all if he hadn't just seen his younger self.
Old Ben Kenobi had been a survivor who knew how to keep his head down—thin, wiry, and tough like a lonely tree in the desert, with short white hair and a scraggly beard, deep wrinkles carved by decades beneath the unforgiving desert sun, eyes full of desolation and determination, and an aura of hard-won wisdom, tightly leashed power, and slumbering danger. This Kenobi was completely different except for the power in his eyes and the dark hooded cloak worn over his pale robes, without any of the furtive paranoia that had helped his other self survive his people's genocide, head up and shoulders unbowed by decades of heartache and tragedy. He moved his robust frame around the speeder with all the grace and agility of a tooka cat a fraction of his size and weight. Kenobi's white hair was long and shining with health, half-tied back with several braided sections at his temples. He sported a beard streaked with reddish gold and a face with only a few wrinkles that looked more like laugh lines than those carved by the harsh desert and devastation. His lightsaber also hung openly from his belt.
Han couldn't help the wide smile splitting his face at seeing them. They both looked great.
"If you wanted my help, maybe you shouldn't have driven like a maniac," Kenobi said reprovingly, shaking out his brown cloak and moving away from the speeder with a pointed look, "like your father."
Muscle in her jaw jumping, Leia took a deep breath and followed doggedly at his heels. "Look, I know I messed up by losing my temper with Luke and accidentally offending the Wookie delegation, but I am going to fix it. I just have to figure out how. There must be something more that I can do to apologize. I've tried all of the usual things, but they didn't work. The last time I went over there, the ambassador's assistant slammed the door in my face and roared at me out the window in Shyriiwook. I'm pretty sure he was cursing me out. Please, Uncle Obi-Wan. Help me fix this."
"Many people who can't speak the language assume that Wookie's are always angry at them, but it is possible that the ambassador's assistant was just offering you advice. Perhaps Chewbacca was trying to be nice and helpful," Kenobi said in a crisp Coruscanti accent that must've never been softened by twenty years of hiding out on the cesspit known as Tatooine.
Han had just started to get excited on hearing Chewie's name when twenty-year-old Luke popped out from the other side of the speeder, making Han's joy rocket even higher. The muscles on his face hurt from smiling so wide. Han didn't know a person could feel this much excitement and happiness at one time without bursting a blood vessel.
"I don't think so. He made this gesture," Luke made a sweeping motion with his arms and then circled his fists in a way that had Han barking out a loud laugh. Everyone turned to look at him.
"That's definitely not a nice gesture coming from a Wookie," Han said through his chuckles, his heart full to bursting with joy. "If you offended one, food is a good way to convey an apology. They sell Wookiee delicacies like this chyntuck at that stall over there," lifting his bag to show them, he turned and pointed, only to see that the stall was already locked up tight for the night and the shopkeeper gone.
"Indeed," Kenobi said with a friendly smile. "Food was going to be my advice as well, but I see we are too late to buy anything here."
"I knew I should've driven," Luke said, only to take an elbow to the gut from Leia. "Oof!"
"And you are?" Leia asked Han, ignoring her brother as she arched one brow and looked Han up and down. Unlike their first meeting, she seemed to like what she saw if he was reading her right.
Han gave her a rakish grin. "Han Solo, pilot and—" His tongue stumbled, not wanting to explain being a former smuggler or General to these too-familiar faces who only saw him as a stranger. But he wouldn't stay a stranger for much longer, he decided with determination, unable to keep his smile down. "—and a lot of other things. Nice to meet you, Princess." Leia looked him up and down again, her eyes lingering in several places before she turned pink and quickly looked away when she realized he'd noticed her looking. Feeling young, handsome, and smug, Han couldn't help but strut as he moved to join them.
Luke gave him a welcoming smile and shifted to make room for Han as naturally as if they'd been friends for years. "I'm Luke Skywalker. This is my sister Leia and my uncle, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Even more importantly," he grabbed Han's arm and looked up into his eyes with desperation, "do you know Shyriiwook and Wookiee customs?"
"Yep, I've known a few through the years and traveled with a Wookie copilot." Han felt his smile start to dim at the past tense.
Before he could get too down, Luke gave a loud, "Whoopee!" and threw his hands up in the air, reminding Han of just how young and innocent the kid must be.
"We're saved! I thought I'd ruined Leia's political career with that prank, but I have a feeling our luck is about to turn around with you, Han."
"I don't believe in luck, kid," Han said curtly by rote. Luke's face started to fall, making Han feel like he'd kicked a puppy. Han quickly added, "But I do believe in skill and I have that in spades. What can I help you with? I like the look of you guys, so I won't even charge anything." He cast Leia a smirk to let her know she was included in that statement. Although Luke looked appeased, once again smiling, Leia had regained her mask of aplomb, giving Han an unimpressed look.
That was okay. He'd charm a smile out of her again. That or an argument. Either way, they'd be together and it would be great. He sent a silent thank you out into the Force to Rey and Ben for bringing him here.
"What do you think of him, Uncle Obi-Wan?" Leia asked, crossing her arms and leaning back on one leg. Kenobi tilted his head to look Han over as Leia said, "Can we trust him? He looks like a bit of a rogue."
"Of course you can trust me," Han said with a pout, "and you like rogues." He barely stopped himself from picking up her hand and pressing it to his heart. It had taken him years to win her regard last time. He didn't have the patience to go that slow again. Somehow, he'd have to find a way to cheat.
"Leia, that's so rude!" Luke snapped. "He's standing right here. Uncle Obi-Wan, tell her that's rude." Not waiting for Kenobi to chime in, he added, "You're even rude to our parents. You haven't talked to Dad in months."
"I'm nice to our parents when they're nice to me," Leia snapped, "which means when they're not standing next to each other and completely ignoring the rest of us like for most of our lives." Her shoulders went back, her lips thinned, and her nostrils flared. "Or like at last month's diplomatic function when I walked right up to them and tried to say hello but was soundly ignored while they loudly rehashed the tired old topic of how Mom takes too many risks in her work and Dad is too restrictive with security for the millionth time. Which I remember telling you all about, Luke." She glared at her brother, who had the decency to wince and look guilty.
Taking a deep breath and putting on her diplomatic face, Leia said evenly, "I also remember telling you I'd try to go and see Dad when he's by himself after I get the Wookie delegation to forgive me and sign this contact. So stop being difficult, Luke. I know you accept our parents for who they are and enjoy training with Dad and Uncle at the Temple, but I'm not like you and I don't have to be. I did my training as an initiate in the Jedi temple for Dad, and I worked as a handmaiden to the Nabooian Queen for Mom, but I don't want a life in either of those places. I'm happy working with the Organa's Alderaanian Aid Organization and they love having me there. Stop trying to change my mind."
Looking contrite, Luke nodded. "Okay, I'm sorry for bringing it up. Again." Seeing Han's curiosity, Luke flushed and explained apologetically, "Our parents are good people, they're just also really…."
He paused long enough for Leia to snidely interject, "Arrogant, self-centered—"
Luke elbowed her in the side "—passionate. They're very passionate about improving the galaxy and eliminating injustice for people everywhere no matter the cost to themselves, which is impressive and admirable. It's just that they're also very passionate about each other to the exclusion of everyone else—"
"—including Obi-Wan and even their own children," Leia muttered. Kenobi looked down without comment to examine the toe of his boot, tacitly agreeing.
"—particularly when they're together in the same space," Luke said matter of factly. "They're good people. It's just that they started out passionately in love with a secret, forbidden marriage during wartime, which was probably all very exciting as they snuck around to be together, heightened by the tensions of the day, and then after the war there was huge drama when it all came out and they were forced to actually live together in the mundane world and try to balance two highly-demanding public careers with raising two difficult Force-sensitive children like us and—well—all those big feelings turned into frustration with each other and passionate dislike."
Leia snorted. "Oh, come on! They hate each other—except Jedi aren't supposed to hate and Dad is still trying to do the Jedi thing with you and Uncle Kenobi, while Mom claims to be too enlightened to hate and pretends to just pity him instead for not having the intelligence to always agree with her and do what she says."
"Not anymore," Luke said, shaking his head. "Not since whatever happened last month after you saw them when he ran security on that escort mission for Naboo that none of them will tell us about." He looked at Kenobi, but the old man only gave him a bland look in reply.
"Fine, keep your secrets," Luke huffed, turning back to Leia and leaning in. "Half the time when they're fighting now, I swear they look like they're seconds away from locking the door and doing you-know-what instead." They both wrinkled their noses and looked grossed out, making the usually subtle similarities between their faces more striking. "I know mom swore never again after the last time they reconciled, but I'm pretty sure they're going to get together again before the year is out. That or kill each other and blame it on space pirates like Hondo. I'm pretty sure when I called Dad last weekend, I caught sight of her in the corner of the screen coming out of his bedroom half-dressed. He covered up the camera and made a lame excuse, but it was obvious he was hiding something—probably Mom."
Rubbing her forehead, Leia gave a long-suffering sigh. "Maybe they'll make it work this time. Who knows? Either way, I'm definitely staying with the Organas over the holidays, just in case." She looked up with a flush and darted a quick look at Han before rounding back on Luke. "And why are we unloading this baggage on poor Han when we just met him? You're going to run him off!"
"No chance of that," Han said with a smile, throwing his arms around both their shoulders. "I don't care about your dad, but I'd love to hear more about you guys."
"Great!" Luke said. "Let's get going. Where to next, Uncle Obi-Wan?"
Instead of speaking, Kenobi was staring through Han as if entranced by something.
"Why are you looking at me like that," Han asked warily. "I don't think we've met before," he lied, rocking back on his heels. Did Kenobi suddenly remember him from when he'd killed Palpatine and shot Anakin?
Telling Luke and Leia he'd once tried to kill their Dad would be an awkward hurdle to get over on the path to epic friendship and love. Though knowing Anakin's shining personality and what he'd just learned, it might actually help him with Leia. Surely she'd had the same impulse at least once with her dad. At least.
Kenobi's lips parted, his face filling with awed wonder. "Oh, it's just…the Force moves around and through you like fruiting, flowering vines climbing a garden trellis in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, but you're not Force sensitive at all, are you, Solo?" Luke and Leia both turned to look at Han with twin piercing gazes. It made him uncomfortable.
"Nope, I'm as Force-deaf as a rock."
"That's okay. We still like you," Luke told Han earnestly before his head snapped up. "I see a Wookie in a shop apron over there. Maybe they'll open up again if we ask. Quick, let's go!" Luke grabbed Leia's hand and the two went tearing off. "Don't leave, Han! We'll be back!" he yelled over his shoulder.
Shaking his head with a crooked smile, Han fell into step by Kenobi's side as they slowly strolled after the twins.
"You know, not all rocks are deaf, Solo," Kenobi said with a sideways, crooked smile.
"Call me Han."
"Han." Kenobi inclined his head in acknowledgement. "My Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn once gave me a sentient, Force-sensitive rock."
Han stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. "Sentient rocks. Really? No—wait—you know what? I don't wanna know more." He waved his hand. Wrinkling his nose, he added, "It figures that Jinn was your Master. I bet the gift came with some enigmatic saying about how rocks don't worry about the future or anxieties and always stay in the moment. That or something about stinky blossom cheese on Telos."
"Actually…yes." Kenobi blinked at him and peered more closely. "Did you know Master Qui-Gon?"
"Him? Yeah, we met once."
"Really, when?" Kenobi asked eagerly.
"That would be…yesterday," Han said, surprised. "Huh." It felt longer. So much had happened since he'd been tied up and tortured in that lab by Dooku that it felt like years.
"Yesterday." Kenobi looked at him askance. "My Master died over thirty years ago."
Turning his wince into a smile, Han looked down to attach the bag of chyntuck to his belt and tried to stay cool. "I'm sorry for your loss. He was a kind man," mouth twisting, Han couldn't help but add, "though also very frustrating and prone to platitudes. Not really helpful either."
"And you talked to him yesterday?" Kenobi asked delicately.
"Look, I'm not saying he wasn't dead," Han said, but that just made the creases on Kenobi's face deepen. "Or that my yesterday is the same as your yesterday," that didn't help calm Kenobi either. "You know what? It's not important. Don't worry about it."
"But—"
Han clapped his hands together and looked around for the twins. "Do you still go by Old Ben to Luke and the locals and Kenobi to the masses or do you prefer everyone to call you Obi-Wan nowadays?"
Head tilting, Kenobi squinted at him. "Only one person in the entire galaxy calls me Ben and she lives in the Outer Rim on Mandalore."
"Oh." Han scratched his head and looked away. "Probably not Shmi or Luke's Aunt Beru then," he mumbled to himself, feeling all kinds of awkward.
Face going even more suspicious, Kenobi's hand dropped casually to his belt. "Han Solo…I've heard that name before. Do you by chance know Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker?"
"Unfortunately, but not your version. Though at least Anakin didn't go Dark and stayed a Jedi, right? That's a surprise," Han said.
Kenobi went stiff. "I beg your pardon."
"A happy surprise," Han clarified.
"Not to anyone who knows him well," Kenobi said with a haughty sniff.
Han barked out a laugh. "Then you don't know the half of it, but I suppose having his mom alive and Palpatine dead made enough of a difference in the end to keep him in the Light. Good for him," Han gave an approving nod and then snorted, "and the rest of the galaxy, that's for sure. Darth Vader was terrifying and more destructive than a supernova, but since I've grown as a person I suppose I can admit that the redeemed Anakin can be alright, at least when he keeps his mouth shut and arrogance in check."
Han went three more paces before he realized he was walking alone. Looking back, he saw a pale-faced Kenobi stopped in his tracks, looking like he'd been hit in the face with a brick. Shaking his head sharply, Kenobi looked back at Han. "The Force is unusually open about you, clearly telling me you're a good man that I should trust, despite my misgivings. You look like a conman and a liar and spout nonsense, yet you casually mention names and things you should not know. How? Just who are you?" he demanded, his eyes boring into Han's as his fingers drummed along the hilt of his lightsaber.
"Han Solo." Han gave him a little wave, starting to feel amused at the consternation twisting Kenobi's face.
"Han Solo," Kenobi repeated slowly and with great suspicion.
"I named my son after you if it helps, though I won't this time, circumstances being different and all." Only after he said it did Han realize that Leia was even closer to Kenobi in this timeline than in the last, so there was still a strong chance that they would, in fact, name a child after the guy. At least it wouldn't be the name Ben though. Han's Ben was gone, off becoming one with Rey in the literal and not euphemistic sense. Probably not literal at least, them being ghosts, though they had shown the ability to become solid as needed. So actually they could be….You know what? Nevermind. Han wasn't gonna ask and didn't want to know. As far as he was concerned, it was all innocent and pure.
His attention snapped back to Kenobi as the old man mouthed 'this time' before pressing his lips thin and speeding up to come up even with Han and peer into his face. "Anakin's mother, Shmi Lars, was once saved from Tusken Raiders in the deserts of Tatooine by a human man named Han Solo, but she described him as old and silver-haired when they met and that was almost twenty-five years ago. You look much too young and human standard, yet mentioned her twice. Was that Han your father?"
"Nope." Han scratched his chest. "So Shmi's still alive?"
"Yes," Kenobi said carefully. "Was that person you then? Have you had surgery or are somehow aging backwards?"
"Great!" Ignoring the question since the answer was both yes and no and because making Kenobi's face twitch like that was funny, Han clapped and then rubbed his hands together, thinking of what else to ask The Organas and the planet Alderaan should be fine since Leia had mentioned working with them, even the useless Jimbo was probably alive somewhere, so for close relatives that just left— "What about Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru? No longer killed by stormtroopers when Luke was nineteen, right? And Biggs?"
"They're both fine, I don't know any Biggs, and what are stormtroopers?" Kenobi looked frustrated. "Wait, start with the stormtroopers. They sound problematic. Who are they affiliated with?"
"The Empire of course, but I suppose they don't exist anymore. Good. I hate those guys, especially Vader's Fist."
"And who are they?" The vein in Kenobi's temple looked like it was going to burst.
Craning his neck, Han looked around for the twins, suddenly missing them. "The 501st Legion, of course," he answered absently. "Terrifying."
"Anakin's men? What does he have to do with this Vader?" Kenobi sounded ready to tear his hair out—and he had a lot of hair to work with nowadays.
"Look, it's a long story that I don't want to get into right now," Han said, starting to feel cranky himself. He was here for a do-over with his friends, not to get interrogated. "If it helps, I don't know your Anakin. I just know an Anakin who might've been. A worse one. Be grateful you don't know him either."
When he turned back to the street, Luke and Leia were returning, looking dejected. "No luck?" Han asked. Off to the side, Kenobi was staring into the distance—or the Force—and rubbing his temple with his fingers.
"No luck." Luke heaved a deep sigh, toeing at the ground forlornly.
"Hey, don't look so glum. After all, you've still got me and everyone loves my chyntuck omelets, especially Wookies. Promise."
Turning, Han held out his arm for Leia to take, only realizing after the fact that she didn't know him yet and wouldn't expect it. Flushing, he was about to tuck it back against his side and try to pretend it hadn't happened when she slid her arm through his and started walking with him. It was instinctual to shorten his stride to hers.
After a few moments, Leia gave him a sideways look. "Just so you know, I don't like brash flyboys."
"I'm a man, not a boy, and you're gonna love me, Princess," he declared.
Blinking, Leia's forehead creased. "I don't know how you heard about it, but Princess is just a courtesy title. You don't have to use it."
"Maybe I like calling you Princess," Han said, not sure he could stop after so many years. What had once been said with derision had turned into an endearment, though by the time she'd been turned on by her people for her parentage and been forced to renounce it he'd already been on the run and long gone. Poor Leia. Just another example of his stellar job being her husband.
Seeing her expression fail to relax, Han scrambled for something else to say to ease her mind, improve her mood, and win her over. He'd do just about anything to win Leia over again and this time, he'd make sure to appreciate it. "Look, I'm here to help. I won't disappoint you." Not this time. "Just give me a chance, Leia. You can trust me with anything. Everything." That was a bit too intense and raw-sounding for a new acquaintance. He swallowed hard and made his tone go light as Leia watched him with those big brown eyes. "It'll be fun, you'll see."
"I know," Leia said confidently. Her cheeks and the tips of her ears went pink as if she were just as embarrassed and surprised as Han by what she'd just said.
"Well—well, good." Han swallowed hard and hooked his thumbs in his belt, reminded himself that pulling her close and kissing her adorable face right now would be moving way too fast.
Head tilting, Leia's eyes went unfocused. "I can feel the truth of it in the Force. All of it," she said quietly, her voice resonant with power. She slowed and swayed, knees buckling as if about to collapse.
"Leia? Are you alright, Sweetheart?" Han slid a hand around her waist and pulled her close, examining her face with concern.
Eyes snapping back into focus, Leia gave him a funny little smile that made his heart flip. Voice breathless, she said, "You know what? I think I am, now that you're here. How strange."
Placing her hands on his chest, she looked up at him through her lashes with a strange mix of innocence and knowing. The combination of her warm weight against his body, intoxicating scent, and inviting look made him throw caution to the wind. Han needed to kiss her now and damn the consequences.
As Han started to lean down, Luke's arms unexpectedly came up around their shoulders and his blond head popped up in-between them, forcing them apart. "It is strange. Leia usually doesn't like anybody, not even me, her twin brother."
Moment ruined, Leia's lips thinned as she released Han's arm to step back and frown at her brother. Unfortunately, she wasn't riled up enough to want to kiss Han to rub it in Luke's face. Not like that one time she'd done the opposite to Han, though he'd promised to never bring that up again after the sibling reveal. (Discovering that the two of them were siblings had been one of the greatest days of Han's life, as Luke had been the biggest obstacle in Han's mind to him ever winning over Leia. The destruction of Vader, Palpatine, and the Death Star at the same time had just been the chocolate sauce, sprinkles, and cherry on top of his ice cream sundae made of winning.)
"That's not true." She waited a beat for Luke to get his hopes up before adding, with a supercilious look directed towards Luke that Han had seen directed his way at least a thousand times over the years both before and after their marriage, "I like Uncle Obi-Wan just fine."
As Luke sputtered, Han found himself chuckling. He couldn't wait to get to know these new, younger versions of his friends better and spend the rest of his life having adventures with them. All they needed to make this even better was Chewie.
Speaking of which—"Alright, kids, stay on target. We need to go make friends with the Wookies and for that, we need to make some delicious chyntuck omelets. I've got the chyntuck, so all we need to find are eggs, cream or milk, a few spices, and cheese. The color of the milk doesn't matter—blue, white, or orange—though the fresher the better. I guarantee this will blow Chewbacca's socks off."
"Wookies don't wear socks," Leia said primly, though her eyes were dancing.
"Semantics, Sweetheart." Han waved off her objections, happy she was bantering with him again. Flirting with Leia was always so much fun, especially when they were both on the same page about it and not about to crash or get frozen or shot. This was going to be great. He could feel it and Rey had promised.
"Let's go make some omelets!" Luke said, throwing his arms around their shoulders again and dragging them back to the speeder. Kenobi followed behind with a funny little half-smile on his face. "Force willing, this is going to be great!" he said, echoing Han's thoughts.
"Force willing," Kenobi and Leia chorused in what felt like a practiced response, sharing a smile behind Luke's head.
Yes, Han thought with contentment, it is.
THE END
AN: And thus we reach the end of our journey. Apologies again for the website stripping out all of my italics and me not being able to figure out how to fix it. Insert more sarcastic Han tone of voice yourself, please. Final plug for all of the fun and silly AI-generated art on my Indygodusk tumblr for this story. Thank you so much for being here! I hope you had as much fun reading this as I did writing it. Please leave a review letting me know what you think. Cheers!