s o l o

now that he’s brought it up about the possibility of leia not being the mother of han’s children, luke feels terribly guilty about it, sure that if word gets back to leia of luke even suggesting such a thing, she’d have his head. he reaches out and puts a hand on han’s shoulder good-naturedly. “hey, i’m sure whatever is meant to be will be. you know leia is crazy about you, much as i was slow to admit in the beginning.” true enough, in the beginning, everyone and their blasters were hesitant to admit to leia having any sort of feelings at all for han, except han himself, but luke supposes that’s just part of his charm.

he scoffs at the other’s teasing, rolling his eyes before rubbing one of them. “yeah, actually, it’s pretty surprising to me also. and very awkward.” he takes another bite of his food. “i never know what to say to people who know my future before i do, except that i’ll do my best to live up to their expectations of me. but gosh, there are a lot of expectations.” but then he laughs and wants to cave in on himself a little bit, the image of eisley’s face swimming up behind his eyes as though han had conjured her up. he’s not entirely sure he’s ready to talk about her yet though. “the last person i picked up at a cantina was you, han,” he chuckles. “i feel like i didn’t pretty okay with that.”

         he’d always assumed it would be leia. nothing else felt right to him, but han guessed that there was no way to know if he hadn’t lived through that portion of his life yet. it was still an unsettling thought though, and it was one that he didn’t really like to think about. “right...” he spoke, eyes glancing downward for a moment before putting on a somewhat faked smile for a second there. his relationship with leia in his own mind hadn’t progressed much, but from such small interactions, he experienced such strong feelings. “yeah... and i mean, i’m crazy about her to. i guess i’ll just have to wait it out.” 

Lazy and arrogant, a smile spread over Nessa’s lips. She chuckled, dismissing his attempt to rile her up. “You are so obvious. It’s adorable.” The man must have been a resistance poster child. Charming, persistent, annoying — a loyal dog willing to put his life on the line for freedom and the greater good. How insufferably noble. “I must have forgotten,” said Nessa, “My name is Mina.” She spoke with such a controlled ease that she might as well have been telling the truth. She doubted he expected her to give him a real name anyway. “And might ask what yours is?”

the deathstar - the first time it had been destroyed, the elation the trio had felt had been unlike anything she had experienced before. sacrifices had been made, but it was overall a victory for the rebels. the tension between herself and han however, hadn’t been broken yet with their first kiss. insecurity isn’t her style,  but leave it to han solo to have her flustered. leia can feel her cheeks burn. this han wasn’t her’s to hold.

“i remember the death star burning twice…looks like i’m a little ahead of you, huh?” handsome even when bemused, she attempts to placate the other a small grin and a shrug. “guess you’ve got some catching up to do. .. unless luke’s already gotten his hands on you?” she had flung herself at him- what if he had moved on from the push-pull flirtationship they had at that period of time? leia hopes her voice doesn’t betray how she feels.

       he stared over at her, slightly confused about the revelation about a second death star demise, but he was more concerned about leia. she was ahead of him... he didn’t know what had happened between them in the time he hadn’t experienced yet, but he assumed nothing bad? but now she seemed cautious and han felt an uncomfortable sense in the pit of his stomach. “then catch me up,” he requested insistently, almost tempted to take her hand to further plead his case. could it mess things up? then again, he really didn’t care if it did. all he wanted was to know what he was missing here. 

cassian let out a breath at the quirk of his eyebrow, “for the rebellion. not now,” he added, a small smile pulling at his lip. the man was… odd. he’d met his type. he nodded some at his offer, “same to you. i’m sure we’ll need it. all of us, the resistance.” he moved to rest a hand on the other man’s shoulder, “a pilot then– your ship make it through?” 

“Ever consider you’re not as perceptive as you thought?” Nessa questioned without missing a beat. Nessa had to hand it to the man. For once, she found herself intrigued with her prey. Under other circumstances, she might have actually enjoyed his company. Most of the marks the first order gave her were either clueless or lacked any sense of wit. Still, she looked down the bridge of her nose at him, a strategy slowly taking form in her head. “Well, sir, I have no plans tonight,” she said and propped her head up on her fist.  “Why don’t you buy me a drink and tell me a little about yourself?”

as han kept talking, luke became more and more agitated at the line his friend’s mind was taking, specifically about himself and leia. it’s not that luke doesn’t think han loves leia or that the two of them work well together, but well… “are you even sure they’re leia’s though? is that what they told you?” it’s not until after the words are out of his mouth that he worries it might be abrasive. “not that i’m saying it couldn’t be leia’s, obviously the two of you are… well… getting along as far as i know about it, but i guess i honestly can’t imagine her having a brood of her own.” and then he grins a little wolfishly, nudging han teasingly on the shoulder. “you on the other hand,” he laughs.

but if they are leia’s, luke supposes he ought to find them and meet them, glean whatever information he can get from them, and if at all possible, figure out if luke himself has any children of his own. he knows the old ways of the jedi would frown on that sort of thing, but there are many restrictions the old jedi councils would prohibit that the more luke learns and the more he studies about it, he can’t quite bring himself to align with. there were many flaws about the order that never got properly addressed, love and familial attachments being only one of them. “well, yeah, i’ve been meeting a lot of people, plenty of ‘fans’ as you’d call it.” and then he remembers. “and a few who are definitely not fans. but i’m not ready to give up this idea of you with children, though, i’ll need to see them in person to believe it. you should introduce us.”

       han paused, a bit stumped at luke’s words. he always assumed that they we leia’s. they had her eyes he thought, but... it was possible that they weren’t. han was pretty good with the ladies in his time, even some men, but none of them measured up to leia. he was sure that she was the one, but maybe something happened? maybe they weren’t meant to be together. han didn’t know, and there wasn’t really a way of knowing since they haven’t lived in that space yet. but it worried him. it even made him feel guilty in a sense. and while he was sure that he’d love whoever he was meant to end up with, it really would be a shame if it was not leia. and the thought of luke actually being his brother was a nice one. 

       but he shook those thoughts away and focused on their new topic that han hoped to instate. “fans? you’ve got fans?” he chuckled. of course luke had fans, the kid had a good head on his shoulders. han just liked to pull his leg though. “i’ll introduce you, i just gotta figure out if they’re... y’know.” leia’s. clearing his throat, han stretched out a bit and took a breath. “anyway, what about you? met any non-fans? any girls at bars? you’re not much of a cantina person though, are you?” he questioned, already knowing the answer but deciding to poke fun at him anyway. 

a short chuckle escaped from the woman. she wasn’t entirely convinced that there were any safe spaces here, even if the ceasefire was in affect. the wrong thing to the wrong person… it wasn’t like everything was closely monitored by the coruscanti police and government. the first order and resistance wouldn’t have been functioning in the way that they were if that was the case. “safe from the first order and resistance, maybe,” she agreed with a nod of her head. “but they’ll always be home to assholes.”

This one wasn’t going to leave her alone, was he? Nessa glanced down into her empty glass and then up at the man. Her eyes shamelessly trailed the length of his body, an inviting attitude thickly covering an attempt to pinpoint weakness. She chuckled; he looked more annoying than anything else, and Nessa had fought with people far more talented. She peered up at him with those big, green eyes of hers and smiled like the cat that caught the canary. “What makes you think a girl like me knows anything about shadows?” She leaned in closer to him and tilted her head to the side. “Hmm, it’s a busy place. Maybe you just haven’t noticed yet.” Nessa had nothing better to do that night, might as well string such a willing participant along. She was going to make him regret the day he was born.

       han liked a challenge. he was a challenge himself, so it was refreshing to see someone try to match the same chaos he tended to put out into the atmosphere. but the man just grinned to himself, looking down at the shorter woman as she moved closer to him just before her words. what makes him think a girl like her knew anything about shadows? well, for one, she was behaving in a sort of way that made him assume as such. then again, it might not have been his place to assume. “perhaps. but i tend to be quite perceptive,” he shot back with a half grin. 

“a pilot?” cassian had to admit. the man didn’t seem like the piloting type. not that he presumed he would lie about it, but it seemed… perhaps tt wasn’t a complete truth. this was something cassian learned to do–something he had a bad habit of doing to people he should trust. “i’m a pilot to, though, it’s only a side thing. i’m intelligence.” 

iden wondered briefly what he thought of her by the comment – although she was not currently in her imperial uniform, she was quite neatly put together and clean albeit plain. not the type of woman who looked like they’d hang out in shady areas. she gave a tight-lipped smile and shrugged her shoulders. “well, i figure if we’re all going to be stuck here for a while, might as well get to know some of the local spots. especially the ones who have alcohol involved,” she offered up.

This one wasn’t going to leave her alone, was he? Nessa glanced down into her empty glass and then up at the man. Her eyes shamelessly trailed the length of his body, an inviting attitude thickly covering an attempt to pinpoint weakness. She chuckled; he looked more annoying than anything else, and Nessa had fought with people far more talented. She peered up at him with those big, green eyes of hers and smiled like the cat that caught the canary. “What makes you think a girl like me knows anything about shadows?” She leaned in closer to him and tilted her head to the side. “Hmm, it’s a busy place. Maybe you just haven’t noticed yet.” Nessa had nothing better to do that night, might as well string such a willing participant along. She was going to make him regret the day he was born.

Nessa’s entire life had been one spent looking over her shoulder. Coruscant proved no different, despite the added bonus of a few close allies she trusted. What had started as a hunt for her biological family turned into one big, convoluted mess. She was stuck there with her job rendered useless– an armistice mean she couldn’t exactly go on with business as usual. Her life fell stagnant, and she was so kriffing bored. As a remedy, she bid her time in sketchy dives like the one she currently sat in, either with intent to lure someone home or mess with their head until she inevitably grew bored of that, too. “Well, roaches do tend to hide in the shadows,” she said languidly, not even bothering to look up at whoever spoke. “Check there.”

       he wasn’t about to get much out of this one off the bat, he could feel it already. but if anything, han was persistent. it was the least that a person could be to attempt to reach their goals. while he didn’t know anything about this woman, she was about a head shorter than he was and he couldn’t say that he felt massively threatened. guards were still up though. han smirked at her reply, shrugging a shoulder at her words. she was right of course, but he hadn’t expected her to be so blatant. and by her tone and demeanor, han sensed that she wasn’t very into the thought of company right now. “no idea as to where these shadows would be then? pity,” he sighed, taking a sip of the half empty glass in his hand. “haven’t seen you here before though.” and he was there a lot. 

“wanna bet on that?” It felt unbelievably good to be back in his arms (not that she had been gone from them long). when he pulled away, the absence of his warmth brought with it a cold and uncertain thought. was this her han? she blinked, the first hint of worry in her eyes.

“han… what do you remember last before you were.. brought here?” he looked so similar, but that was no guarantee he remembered he like she remembered him.

       the grin was plastered on his face as she embraced him, though it faltered when leia pulled away with that slight look of uncertainty. was something wrong? he paused... not that he was really looking at her, there were small differences coming up. but the look of worry that leia had concerned him far more than his question of where she was from. or what time, that was. her question made han bite his lip in uncertainty; hand running through chestnut curls. “i... i remember the death star going up in flame... what about you?” 

cassian hummed a bit in recognition of the name. of course he new who leia organa was. he had met her father several times. moving more to face the other man, “I know who she is. I hope she got out safely?” he asked. he assumed as much since he hadn’t heard of this man before. cassian wasn’t… good with people. this was honestly more conversation than he was used too– especially here. “well. it’s nice to meet you, han,” he replied, a bit of a tight smile on his face. he hoped he wasn’t being too dismissive. it wasn’t his intention, “what do you do then?” 

       he gave a solid nod, pleased to see that he was curious about the safety of leia too. really, he just wanted to see who this andor was because of luke’s endless talking about his girlfriend jyn. or partner, as he’d explained. who knew about relationships anymore? it wasn’t even han’s business and he had no interest in pressing him. “i’m a pilot” a smuggler too, but cassian didn’t have to know that little bit. “though i suppose i have been out of commission for more than i’d like to say,” he added with a chuckle. “and yourself? what’s your liine of work?”

it probably wasn’t appropriate for her to be out and doing this, certainly wasn’t a part of what she should have been doing at that current moment, but she needed to keep herself sane. sometimes that meant bending the rules and being able to get her troubles out of her mind, and she could use a distraction. a glass of something strong might take her mind off things for a little while. “yeah, well, this is the kind of play you go for no ice. not to get more out of your drink, but because the water quality on this level isn’t exactly dependable. but the pours aren’t bad.”

       so she knew her way around a drink. respectable. han liked to think of himself as rather knowledgeable as well, though he had to admit that he would drink whatever was set in front of him. “i don’t have a problem with that.” after all, he’d definitely been to worse dives. “and just how did you stumble on a place like this then?” he was a curious being. learning just who this woman was was a little puzzle that he wanted to solve. “as long as they give decent pours, i’m more than happy.”