"Y/N!" Biggs Darklighter, who had become one of your closest friends, called you from the doorway of the infirmary on Yavin 4 where you worked. "They rescued the princess!"

You heaved a sigh of relief. Rescuing Leia had been on the front of everyone's minds. "Who did?" you questioned.

"That's just it," Biggs announced, walking over to you. "It was Luke."

Your stomach dropped. Before you could react, your overseer interrupted. "Solo! I need you over here."

"Just a moment!" you called over your shoulder. You turned back to Biggs. "You're sure it was Luke?"

"Yeah, but there's more. Us pilots are suiting up to go to war. The Empire has a weapon called the Death Star, and--"

"Solo!" your overseer barked.

"I'll tell you everything when I get back," Biggs promised excitedly.

You pulled your friend into as tight a hug as you could manage. "Good luck, Biggs," you wished. "Stay safe!"

"Don't count on it," Biggs teased as he hurried out the door.

You hurried to your overseer, who'd gathered a group of your coworkers. "Alright," he began, "I've had it from the command center that our pilots are to fight the Empire soon. We need to prepare for evacuation, so do exactly what I say..."

Once you were dismissed, you followed your personal instructions, which was to pack up loose supplies. It was important work, but it wasn't what you were focusing on.

Luke's here. He could be just a room or two away. Your heart pounded rapidly at the thought. You were caught between wanting to drop everything to run and find him and wanting to run and hide. Who knew if Luke even wanted to see you? You'd left him, after all. He wouldn't know that you had tried to go back to Tatooine. An hour off the planet you had realized what you were doing--who you were leaving behind.

***

You ran to the cockpit where Chewie and Han were trying to get the Falcon into light speed. "Han, we need to go back," you told him, quietly at first.

"Go back?" he repeated. "Not on your life, kid. I'm already behind on this shipment thanks to you."

"Han, turn the ship around," you begged. "I have to go back. Drop me off. I know those people. I'll be fine."

Han stood to face you, his arms folded over his chest. "Do you? Let me tell you something, sis. Tatooine is controlled by the Hutts. It doesn't matter if you've met the most wonderful, little family; word is gonna get out that you're there and Jabba's gonna find out. Once he knows you exist, he's suddenly got leverage over me. That puts you and those people in danger with your fate riding on whether or not I can do the Kessel Run fast enough. Got it?"

***

That made it easy to forgive Han, but forgiving yourself was harder.

"Fancy meeting you here." The sound of a familiar voice caused you to spin around and come face-to-face with your brother, the notorious Han Solo. Speak of the devil.

"What're you doing here?" you snapped, a little more aggressively than you meant.

"Well, hello to you, too," Han scoffed.

The last time you'd seen Han, you were in a castle on Takodana, assuring him that the Rebellion would take good care of you--reminding him that since he'd dropped his shipment, you weren't safe with him anymore. Cassian Andor had come to retrieve you and was waiting quietly in the corner. He didn't know who Han was, a fair trade for Han not knowing where he was taking his little sister. There would be no method of communication, no way to tell if the other was alive. You hadn't even been sure you'd see him again.

You rushed to pull him into a hug. Han patted your back. "Okay, I missed you, too. You can let go, now. Y/N, let go! Geez, kid!"

You stepped back at his request. "Sorry, it's been a while. You haven't told me why you're here."

Han pointed to himself. "I'm the guy that rescued your princess."

You folded your arms over your chest. "That so? I heard Luke rescued her."

"He opened the cell while I fought the stormtroopers and supplied the get-away vehicle, so if you think about it, I did most of the rescuing," he reasoned. "How do you know Luke?"

You really didn't want to have the whole "human emotions" talk with Han. "Doesn't matter," you sighed. "Where's Chewie?"

"Gettin' the reward for rescuing her highnessness," he answered simply. "C'mon, I'm gettin' you outta here."

You stepped away from Han. "I'm not leaving," you informed him bluntly.

Han looked like he was trying his hardest to process that but just couldn't. "Hey, what's your problem? You develop a death wish while I was gone?"

"I'm not dying," you scoffed. You weren't sure what was speaking-- faith in your pilots or faith in your evacuation team.

"Tell that to the Empire," Han returned, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. "We're leaving."

You ducked under his arm. "No," you insisted. "I can't run from everything."

"You can sure try! Haven't they told you the Empire's got a weapon that could blow this planet into smithereens?"

"Then, I guess I'll be one of the smithereens," you announced. Somehow, you were okay with that. When you'd first joined the Rebellion, it was just a job-- a way of being useful. But for a year, you'd lived around people that really believed in the cause. Cassian had died for it. His sacrifice and others had convinced you that this was worth dying for.

"I promised I'd look after you, Y/N," Han reminded you.

"And you did a fantastic job," you interrupted. "Tell Chewie I said hi."

Han seemed to fight with himself on it briefly, but unable to argue, he swallowed past a lump in his throat and backed away, reluctantly. "See ya 'round, sis," he finally said.

Once Han was out of sight, you hurried to mission control and scanned the place for someone who could give you some answers about Luke. You couldn't wait until Biggs got back. After some time, Leia walked in, immediately assuming command.

"Your highness!" you called.

Leia spotted you. "Hello," she responded, offhandedly. "Y/N, wasn't it?

"That's me," you confirmed. "I was wondering if you'd tell me where to find Luke Skywalker."

"In the main hangar with the other pilots," she informed you. "They're preparing for takeoff now. He's Red Five if you want to stay updated on his status."

"Oh... Thank you," you responded. So, Luke had joined the fight against the Empire. He could die. You found that notion far less acceptable than your own death.

In the control room, you could pick up on a few things. For example, you learned the pilots had fifteen minutes to defeat this Death Star. You already knew Biggs's call-sign, so you made a mental note to pay attention to Red Three. And you heard a voice that was familiar to you. He didn't say much, and what he said was choked by radio static. "Red Five, standing by." Luke was there. Just hearing his voice was enough to send you back to a moisture farm on Tatooine in the middle of the night with stars hanging above your heads and warm hands holding yours.

At under fifteen minutes, the battle didn't seem to be going the Rebellion's way. You looked around at the people who'd given themselves to this cause. As seconds ticked down, they seemed to realize it was almost over. You admired their tranquility, but you couldn't accept that this was Luke's end. You wished he would get out of there, but you knew he wouldn't give up.

Seconds before the end, your brother joined the battle, true to form. And somehow, Luke did it. Somehow, you lived. The minute Luke landed, everyone rushed outside to congratulate their new hero. You almost left with the crowd but fell back. You knew you'd see Luke soon, but there was a lot going on already. You decided to wait.

Later in the day, it was almost like nothing had happened. There was a happier atmosphere. You expected that from people who almost died but didn't, but your routine didn't change.

As you were powering down the evidently unneeded bacta tanks, Han walked in, Chewie at his heels. Without warning, they enveloped you up in a bone-crushing group-hug. "Guess you were right, huh?" he observed.

"You bet!" you laughed.

Chewie ruffled your hair and said he'd missed you. This was the closest to home you'd been in over a year.

"What're you hangin' 'round here for?" Han asked. "There's a celebration in the conference room. Y'know, he's been asking about you."

Your gaze snapped onto Han. "Luke?" you clarified.

"Yeah, who else? How'd you two meet anyway?"

"Where is he?" you questioned.

"He's in the maintenance wing with his droids," he informed you. "Wanted to be there when Artoo was repaired." You were already starting out the door. "Hey, aren't you gonna tell me how you know him?"

You ignored him.

You got to the maintenance wing as fast as your legs could carry you. When you made it to the droid sector, you heard Luke's voice. "You feeling better, Artoo? You really gave Threepio a scare."

Artoo responded in its signature series of whistles and raspberries.

"I do not have a bug in my systems!" Threepio insisted. "Really, Artoo, after all we've been through, one would think you'd treat me with some decency."

Luke laughed, and how that sound made your heart ache. "Alright, you two," he said. "I'm heading back. Take care of yourselves."

You couldn't think fast enough to hide; so when Luke turned the corner, there you were. The smile dropped from his face, and he seemed frozen in place as though you'd disappear if he got closer.

"Hi, Luke," you said, your voice barely more than a whisper.

"Hi..." he returned. Hesitantly, he took a step forward, then suddenly swept you up in a hug and spun you around. You wrapped your arms around his neck as he buried his face in the crook of your neck. "I missed you," he whispered.

You pulled away, and kissed him, your fingers combing the hair at the back of his neck. He kissed you back, and kissed you again and again making up for a year of lost moments. When you finally had a moment to catch your breath, you stared into those clear blue eyes that you had thought of every day. "I'm sorry, I left," you started. "It was stupid, and I wasn't thinking--"

"Hey, don't say that," he instructed softly. "You don't have to be sorry. I told you I understood why you had to leave."

"I ended up leaving Han, too," you told him. "Hanging around him got dangerous..."

Luke shook his head. "Doesn't matter anymore. None of that matters anymore because we're here now. We're home again."

Home again... You held him tighter than you'd thought humanly possible. "I missed you, too." You pressed another brief kiss to his lips and took his hand, leading him out of the maintenance wing. "C'mon. We have a lot to talk about," you announced. "We could talk on the Falcon. I don't know how long you were there..."

"Not long," Luke informed you. "Couple of days."

"So, you already took Han's grand tour of the place," you reasoned.

Luke shrugged. "I haven't taken your grand tour of the place," he pointed out.

You nodded. "Would you like to? Take my tour, I mean," you asked.

"You bet," Luke confirmed. When you got to the main hangar, hand-in-hand you climbed the ramp into the Falcon. "So, where does your tour begin?"

You looked around the hall you hadn't been inside in ages. "This hallway-- one of many. People walk in it, mainly, but Han has probably set at least three fires here."

"This is already better than Han's tour."

"Yeah," you agreed. "Han wouldn't tell you the humiliating stuff."

Luke smiled. "Humiliating? What kind of humiliating?"

After an hour, you had told Luke at least one story for just about every part of the ship. One minute it was as if no time had passed, and the next it hit you how much you'd missed. Eventually the tour stopped. "And this," you began, opening the door with a flourish, "is the last room on our tour. The end."

"Oh, come on," Luke teased. "You mean to tell me there aren't any stories for the guest room?"

"The what room?"

"The guest room," he repeated. "Well, that's what Han said it was."

You rolled your eyes. "Remind me to kill Han. This is my room, and there aren't any stories here yet." You walked inside and sat down on the bed. You patted the space next to you, inviting Luke to sit with you. "But I imagine you have your own stories to tell."

Luke sat next to you and wrapped his arm around your shoulders. "Maybe one or two..." he confirmed. He told you how he'd bought Artoo, only to find the princess's message inside the droid. He told you about Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi that had taken him to Mos Eisley spaceport where he'd met Han and Chewie. Rescuing Leia had only been a piece of the whole adventure.

By the end of the story, you were both lying down more than you were sitting up, and your head was on Luke's chest. "So, you're a Jedi?" you asked, once he'd finished with his story.

"Not yet. I still have a lot to do before I can call myself a Jedi, but now that Ben is dead... I don't know who'll train me..."

"I used to think the Jedi were a myth," you admitted. "What can you do? Can you read minds?"

"Not exactly," he laughed. "And I'll admit that my powers aren't very strong yet, but I can tell you're tired."

You shrugged. "I'm not that tired," you yawned.

"It's been a long day. I'm tired, too," Luke whispered. "I should probably get to my own room."

"I just got you back," you reminded him. "Stay a little longer... Please..." You heard Luke muttered something and felt him brush the hair away from your temple. You nodded off after that.

***

"Hey, kids!" Han practically screamed, pounding on your open door. "Wake up!"

And wake up you did, nose-to-nose with Luke. You bolted up, grabbed the pillow from under your head, and threw it at Han. "I'll kill you, Han Solo!"

Han caught the pillow and threw it back at you with as much force. "I'm ready when you are! Be in the lounge asap!" With that, he stormed off.

You rolled your eyes and looked over at Luke. He was still sleeping, oddly enough. You gently shook him by the shoulder. "Hey, Luke," you called softly. "Luke, wake up."

His eyes squinted open. "Hi..." he groaned and promptly fell back asleep.

"Hey, what happened to the morning-person I met on Tatooine?" you asked.

Luke rolled over and ran a hand through his hair. "He died in space where time isn't real and everything is cold. What happened to the not-morning-person I met on Tatooine?"

"My brother," you responded simply. "If you get up, you can watch me personally murder him."

Luke sat up. "I'm up, I'm up!"

Together, you began to walk to the lounge. You began to yell at Han before you got there. "Ok, moon-jockey! You'd better have a fantastic reason for waking us up, of I will personally throw you into the engine so it can finish the jo-- Oh, your highness!" You stopped when you finally entered the lounge to see Princess Leia there.

"Good morning," she greeted politely.

"Good morning, your highness." Luke seemed like the only one collected enough to respond.

"Oh, please, call me Leia."

Han who had been pacing anxiously back and forth stopped, bent to Leia's eye-level, and gestured to the two of you. "Well, princess?" he began, ignoring her instruction. "Tell them what you told me."

Leia gave Han a warning look. "I was just getting to that. Luke, this afternoon there's going to be a ceremony in which the Rebellion will award you and Han with medals of honor."

Luke's eyes widened. "Oh."

"But that's not it, is it?" Han pressed further. "Tell 'em the other part."

Leia glared at Han. "The other part isn't relevant at the moment," she announced. "Believe me, I regret telling you."

Luke met your eyes for a moment. "Well, if that's all..."

"For now it is," she confirmed. "If you'll be at the throne room doors by two, we'd appreciate it."

"Now wait a minute!" Han interrupted. "You can't just act like nothing else's going on!"

"As far as you're concerned, there nothing else is going on," Leia insisted.

As the pair of them argued, Luke grabbed your hand and whispered, "Can I talk to you?"

You nodded and made your way back to your room. "What's going on?"

"They're going to ask me to lead the relocation team," Luke told you.

"How do you know?"

"I can sense it," he announced. "I'm going to volunteer before they can ask me. I'm ready to be a part of the Rebellion. I've got to take an active role."

You considered his words a moment. "Well... I-- I support you."

Luke brushed a strand of hair behind your ear. "I know we haven't had a lot of time to talk about what comes next..."

"But," you interrupted, "if you feel like it's the right thing to do, then, Luke Skywalker, I'm with you with every step."

Luke kissed your forehead. "You're the best. I'm gonna tell Leia."

You watched as he ran out of your room. Luke had grown up in a year. You supposed that you both had. He was a Jedi, a hero, a dedicated rebel. There were miles of difference between him and the farmboy you'd first met, but he was the same. Despite the year of separation, despite the fact that you felt like you'd met an entirely new person, you somehow felt closer to him.

"Y/N, you need to talk your boyfriend out of this!" Han once again stormed into your room.

You shook your head. "Hm... not gonna do that."

"You two stick around the Rebellion and one of you is gonna get killed, you know that?"

You began pacing. "Don't lecture me about the Rebellion, Han," you snapped. "Don't you think I know that people die here? Biggs Darklighter was one of my best friends. I was joking with him minutes before he was shot down. You knew Cassian, vaguely. Did you know he was killed last month?"

"That's why you've gotta leave."

You shook your head. "No, that's why I've gotta stay. Do you know what it's like to finally actually believe in something?"

Luke knocked on the door. "Am I interrupting something?"

You shook your head and in a desperate attempt said, "Not at all. Actually Han was just volunteering the Falcon to be your flagship."

"Now, wait just a minute--" Han started.

"Really?" Luke interrupted. "You won't regret it, Han."

Han held up his hands. "I never said--"

"What won't Han regret?" Leia questioned, appearing at the doorway.

Han hesitated a moment, his eyes on Leia. "Volunteering the Falcon to escort the hero of the Rebellion, here," he finally said.

"Oh," she responded. "Alright. Luke, if you'll come with me, we should let General Rieekan know your intentions."

The two left, and Han gave you a look. "He reminded me of you. That's why I didn't ditch him at the first sign of trouble."

You patted Han's shoulder. "Good to know."

***

About two months into relocation, in the middle of space, both you and Luke were exhausted. Leia had been an essential part of the flagship crew, and she and Han did not mix well. Or perhaps they mixed too well. Either way, the worst place to be was the cockpit when they were both there. It was an inside joke between you and Luke that you had to take turns playing referee, and when you wanted to be alone, it was Chewie's turn. Chewie was almost always the referee.

As the leader of the operation, Luke made all of the major decisions and had to relay every turn the ship took to the fleet of rebel starships behind you. Luke had admitted to you that he wasn't entirely sure where he was taking everyone. All he knew was that he'd had a vision of an ice planet.

You wondered if Luke was just trying to avoid the ice planet as long as he could. Almost every day, he shivered and said, "I'm freezing." You'd found his dusty desert poncho in your room and returned it to him, but it was made for a hot climate and did little to warm him. Sometimes all you could do was huddle together to stay warm. After all, you were from a jungle planet, and you didn't like the cold of space any better.

On one such occasion, you were both lazily sprawled across the worn seat that circled the dejarik table. Luke was playing with the ends of your hair, and you were humming absently as you tended to nowadays. The need for words had passed within the first three weeks you had been reunited.

You heard footsteps stomping towards the lounge and loud, muffled, angry voices with them. You tilted your head up to look at Luke and you both rolled your eyes before Han and Leia entered the room.

"I'm not the one that feels the need to report to Rieekan every second, sister. So, you can stop blaming me for following your instructions!"

Leia spun on her heel to face Han. "Don't you realize what you've done?" she snapped. "We'll be stuck on Ord Mantell for days now, and it's your fault!" With that, she stormed off.

"Fine, be that way!" Han yelled after her. "At least we won't be stuck in a trash compactor!" He looked over at you and Luke. "Would you two knock it off with the PDA?"

"We're not in public," you pointed out.

"What happened?" Luke asked.

"General Rieekan suggested that we get the hyperdrive looked at," Han answered sheepishly. "The nearest space station is on Ord Martell. We can be in and out in a day or two."

Luke sighed and stood. "Guess I'd better send out a transmission," he announced. "I'll tell the fleet to go on without us. When we get off-planet, we'll figure out a rendezvous point."

On Ord Mantell, Han got into an argument with the owner of the repair shop, and you and Luke decided to do what you did best: wander off. "We've got errands to run," you'd claimed. Of course, saying that was a bad idea because Threepio was immediately attracted to something as simple as running errands and sort of talked his way into going with you into the city.

"Miss Solo! Master Luke!" Threepio called whenever you got too far ahead of him. "Thank the maker! For a moment I feared you'd lost me!"

You and Luke exchanged a half-irritated, half-amused look. "Yup, good thing you found us," Luke agreed. You snorted.

"I don't mean to sound impertinent," Threepio continued. "But it doesn't seem like we've accomplished many errands. In fact, I'm not entirely sure we've accomplished one..."

"Hmm... guess you're right, Threepio," you allowed. "We should probably try to get something done while we're here."

"Like what?" Luke asked.

You nodded to one of the stores that lined the sidewalk. "Blankets. We need them. The cold is insufferable."

Luke's grip on your hand tightened. "We stay warm well enough."

"When we're together," you agreed. "But we're not always side-by-side. Besides, if we're really going to an ice planet, that's a whole planet... of ice."

Like shivered. "On second thought, some extra blankets would be nice."

Once you got inside the store, you immediately lost Threepio to the crowd again. Neither you nor Luke were willing to say if that was intentional or purely coincidental. You quickly located a table that held a pyramid of folded blankets and ducked behind it. "What color do you want?" you asked.

Luke ran his hand over the base of the fuzzy stack. "I like the green one. You?"

"That navy blue one's nice," you noted. "But we have to think hard about which ones we want, or this whole trip'll be over too soon. And we'll have to retrieve you-know-who."

"Fair point," Luke remarked. "Why navy blue?"

"Good association," you answered simply. "Why green? Why not that sandyish one?"

Luke grimaced. "Bad association."

You thought back to Tatooine. "Oh right..."

"Do you ever think about it? Your time on Tatooine, I mean..." Luke inquired.

You nodded. "I thought about it every day after I left."

"Me, too. Funny isn't it? Now that we're together again, it seems like a distant memory... but before, it always felt like yesterday."

You thought it over. "Well, we were different people then. Even though it was only a year ago, it feels like we were just kids on Tatooine, but now... well, we've both seen a lot. We believe in something now. I mean, we've found home, but now we're fighting to protect it. I think it's brought us closer, and I don't mean just physically. Am I making sense?"

Luke looked at you for a moment, contemplating your words. "Yeah, I get what you're saying."

"Please enlighten me. I'm not entirely sure what I'm saying."

Luke smiled. "Tatooine was just laying the groundwork for when we became grown-ups."

You shrugged. "I guess that's accurate. At least now we're over all that adolescent pining. Though technically you're still a teenager."

"Only for another month," Luke clarified. "It isn't my fault that you're older."

You grabbed the two blankets from the stack. "Well who else am I supposed to blame? Your deceased father? Not fair to him. My dad? Don't know the guy, and frankly it would've been rude to my mother to wait a few more months to pop out."

"You're acting weird," Luke teased.

"It's the emotions," you explained.

You walked to the counter to pay for your goods. Luckily Empire credits were accepted as proper currency on Ord Mantell. Just as the cashier droid was calculating your total, Threepio found you. "Master Luke! Miss Solo! I was really worried this time! Where were you?"

"Around," you muttered, handing your credits over. Once the blankets were paid for, you gave Luke his and headed out. "We still got time," you pointed out. "Anything else we need to do?"

Luke shook his head. "I can't think of anything we need to do, but maybe we could go get some bubblezap."

You smiled. "Just like old times?"

"Just like old times," Luke confirmed.

Together, you located the nearest cantina, which happened to have a no-droid policy advertised just outside. "I suppose we'll just have to find someplace else," Threepio reasoned.

"No time for that," you countered quickly.

"Besides," Luke continued, "I have an important assignment for you."

Threepio took a jerky step backward. "An assignment? Why certainly, Master Luke! It's been ages since I've had any kind of assignment from anyone-- much less one of the important nature. How may I be of service, sir?"

"You can..." Luke looked at you desperately.

"Tell Han and Leia where we are!" you finished.

"Yes! Exactly," Luke agreed. "We have to keep them updated, right?"

Threepio looked back and forth between you and Luke, trying to determine how that could possibly be classified as 'an important assignment.' But finally, he answered. "Of course, Master Luke! I will return shortly!" With that, he waddled off.

"Well, that buys us a little time," Luke remarked, opening the door for you. You both sat at the bar and ordered your drinks. Luke winced as soon as he took a sip of his. "That's different from Tatooine bubblezap."

"Is it? I don't really remember what that tasted like," you admitted.

"Just... different," he said. "Sweeter."

You hummed. "Like you?"

Luke smiled and rolled his eyes. "We're not gonna be that couple, right? Like the kind that you get a cavity being around?"

You shrugged about it. "I've thought about it, if only because it would annoy Han. For that reason alone we should..." Luke wasn't paying attention to you anymore. He was staring at something or someone over your shoulder, and his hand went instinctively to the lightsaber that hung from his belt. "Should I look over my shoulder?"

"No," was Luke's direct response.

"Okay..." The nagging desire to look over your shoulder was bugging you to death.

"Just trust me, okay?" Luke instructed, sensing your feelings, no doubt.

You took a swig of bubblezap and swallowed. "I trust you. I'm just curious."

You felt someone slide in next to you. "I'm curious, too," he said. And at that you looked over your shoulder. On Yavin 4, you'd met a man that went by Rex-- just plain Rex. The man next to you seemed like a younger version of him. "I'm curious as to why a pretty thing like you is hangin' out in a dump like this?" He even sounded a little like Rex.

You held up your drink. "Just out with my boyfriend. My significant other. The love of my life." With that, you turned back to Luke. Is that what this it? you mouthed. Luke shook his head.

The man laughed. "Don't settle down too quick," he advised. "Hey! A few more drinks for my new friends!"

"Sure, Boba," the bartender agreed.

"That won't be necessary," you informed him. "We were just leaving."

You started to rise from your seat, but Boba put his arm around your shoulders and kept you there, a bit more aggressively than you were comfortable with. "Not just yet."

"Let her go," Luke demanded. He would've seemed calm to anyone else, but you knew him well enough to tell when he was angry. A small part of you felt bad for Boba.

You felt the barrel of a blaster being pressed in-between your shoulder blades. "I'll shoot her clean through the ribs," Boba threatened. "Don't think I won't."

You had to keep a clear head..."Y'know, Boba, you've put me in a really uncomfortable situation," you complained. "I thought we were your new friends."

"Give me what I want, and we still can be," he snarled next to your ear.

You noticed that Luke still had his hand on his lightsaber. "What is it that you want?"

"Ever heard of Han Solo?"

A bounty hunter... "Kriff and a half," you muttered, closing your eyes.

"I thought as much."

You looked at Luke and sighed. "It's inevitable. I step one foot outside the Falcon and suddenly everybody wants to know my entire family tree."

Luke gave you a small smile.

The barrel of the blaster moved just under your skull. As if that was supposed to be more intimidating or something. "You've got your brother's attitude. It's not helping your case. I want you to take me to him, now."

"How is it that whenever there's a party, you don't invite me?" Han practically yelled it. He was always showing up at the last second. "If you don't move that blaster from under my sister's head, I'll snap your neck with my bare hands."

The blaster didn't move, but you heard him charge another one, and you assumed he was pointing it at Han. "Nice of you to join us, smuggler scum."

"That's rich, coming from a bounty hunter," Han snapped.

You tugged Luke's sleeve. "How many blasters does this guy have?" you whispered.

"Two," he answered. "So far."

"Oh."

You shifted your attention back to the conversation Han and Boba were having. "If you want her dead, take another step," Boba instructed.

"Why not just shoot me and leave her alone?" Han asked.

"You're no good to me dead," the bounty hunter replied.

You could almost see Han roll his eyes. "Then shoot me in the legs and haul me off, genius. Forget you ever saw her."

Boba let out a menacing laugh. "You'd like that wouldn't you?"

"You'd like that option a lot better than your other one."

"The other option is her dead," Boba snapped.

You took a drink of your bubblezap. "Not to cause a scene," you began. "But I believe that the other option that Han is referring to is that thing clipped onto your belt that you're holding, dearest."

"Oh," Luke exclaimed. "If you think now's a good time..."

You nodded slightly. "Yeah, I do."

Luke ignited the saber, and the surprise was enough for Boba to lower his weapon slightly. In the bounty hunter's moment of shock, Luke reached out and pulled you behind him. Boba cracked a smile and even chuckled a bit. "Put that thing down. I've been dealing with real Jedi since I was a kid."

"You've lost your leverage," Han pointed out. "Now, I want you to answer some questions. Who sent you?"

Boba dangerously tapped his finger against the trigger of the blaster aimed at Han. "You know who hired me, Solo. Oh, he'll be very interested to hear that you're keeping that little peach a secret. He's been getting lonely, needs a new slave."

"Over my dead body," Luke sneered, stepping closer to Boba.

Boba rolled his eyes. "Y'know, you're annoying me." The sentence was barely said when he turned his blaster on Luke and fired. Luke deflected the blast with the saber.

While that was happening, Han grabbed your hand and pulled you to the door. "Y/N, get outta here! Run!"

The moment you turned to leave, a blast that barely missed you hit a window just ahead. You sprinted right down the street, shoved your way past droids and people, and almost ran into a group of stormtroopers."Hey, what's the hurry?" one demanded. You ran past them, too.

You were fast enough to shake the stormtroopers, duck into an alleyway, and huddle behind a crate. You were breathing heavily-- too heavily, and you weren't sure where you were. You were afraid you'd lost yourself... again.

You weren't sure how much time passed, but by the time you heard Luke call your name, it was dark and few people were on the streets. "Y/N? Where are you?"

Shakily, you rose. "I'm here!" you announced.

Luke spotted you and heaved a sigh of relief. He ran over to you and wrapped his arms around you. "You scared me," he whispered. "Hey, Han! I found her!"

Across the street, Han saw you and jogged over. "You didn't have to run that far! We've been looking for you all night."

"How'd you escape the bounty hunter?" you asked.

"More like 'how'd the bounty hunter escape us.' Otherwise? Fair amounts of luck," Han explained.

"The Force," Luke coughed.

Han rolled his eyes and shrugged. "We got lucky that your boyfriend has his superpowers. But don't think we got away completely unscathed."

"Don't make her worry about that," Luke instructed. You looked over at him and only then noticed the blood trickling down his temple.

"Luke, what happened?" you gasped. "Are you okay?"

Luke smiled. "I'll be fine. I doubt it will even scar. What about you? Is there anything you need?"

"I am a little dehydrated," you admitted.

"Well, sorry, we didn't save your bubblezap," Han informed you.

You gave him a warning look.

"But we did save the blankets," Luke told you, draping yours over your shoulders.

"You're making me sick," Han remarked. "C'mon, let's get her back to the Falcon."

As you all walked back, Han explained that he'd figured you were in trouble when Threepio said that you told him to report your whereabouts to Han. He'd left immediately.

"Does Leia know where we are?" you asked.

"Well," Han began. "No. But she'll be fine. It's not the first time we've been out late, and it won't be the last."

Leia was not fine. The minute Han put one boot on the Falcon's ramp, Leia was there yelling. Even Chewie was there to scold him. You and Luke exchanged a look, and silently, mutually agreed "Chewie's turn." You were too tired to deal with them. Together, you slid past.

Once you'd had something to drink, and Luke had cleaned his injury, you settled down together on your bed.

"Today was too long," you sighed, burying your head in Luke's chest.

"In more ways than one," Luke added, drawing the green blanket over the pair of you. There was a tone in his voice that seemed off.

"Luke..." Your voice was barely more than a whisper. "What's wrong?"

Luke's thumb traced circles on the back of your hand. "I almost killed him..." he confessed. You knew he was talking about the bounty hunter. "I wanted to kill him. I was angry and scared, and I wanted to protect you. But it didn't feel right-- wanting to kill someone that badly, wishing them dead... Everything was spinning around me, out of balance. I never want to feel like that again."

You weren't sure what to say. You couldn't pretend to know how the Force moved, or even if that feeling was attributed to it.

"Sorry if I'm upsetting you..." Luke apologized.

You shook your head. "You're not upsetting me," you promised. "Don't ever think you're upsetting me by talking about something important to you."

"But it's unsettling, isn't it? It's... dark..."

You sat up to look at him, brushing his hair away from his face. "If we only ever shared the parts of us that are all sunshine and roses, we'd never really know each other."

Luke pressed a kiss into your palm. "We still have a lot of growing to do, I guess."

"But we have time," you promised, laying back down. "We have time for mistakes, and we have time to figure out who we are. The best part is we're not doing it alone anymore, and every day we grow closer."

Luke was silent for a long time. You were nearly half-asleep when he spoke again. "We'll survive this war, won't we?"

"I think we will," you replied. "If we don't... well, we'll have died fighting for what we believe in, but I think, in the end, it'll still be you and me."

You felt Luke plant a kiss in your hair. "I love you," he muttered.

"I love you, too..." And you fell asleep to Luke's heartbeat.

***

Luke was up before you, as was everyone else. Kneeling next to your bed, he gently shook you awake. "Hey, we're in space now."

You opened one eye. "I can tell. I'm freezing," you yawned.

"And I stole the extra blankets," he added.

Reluctantly, you sat up. "That's not very nice," you criticized.

"I can make up for it," he promised. With that, he pressed his lips to yours, firmly but slowly. All the words that were difficult to say were said with just that kiss. Love and appreciation. Faith and understanding. At the beginning of your day-- in the tired, early minutes-- you felt years pass. You thought you felt yourself as you hoped you someday would be, at peace, surrounded by your family, close to home.

Luke pulled away and cupped your face in his hand, his thumb running over your lips. "That's a nice thought..." he mumbled.

"What is?"

"Growing old with you," he answered simply.

You threw your arms around his neck. "It is a nice thought," you agreed. Your heart was more full than it had been on Tatooine, or on Yavin 4, or even just yesterday on Ord Mantell. You were home, and you never had to leave as long as you lived. Just that thought brought tears to your eyes. And every second would bring you closer until you were vital pieces of each other. Together you quieted the war outside for just a moment. You warmed ice planets and moved the stars in the sky. When you found home and stayed close to it, peace was restored to the galaxy, and you couldn't be happier.