A Star Wars Christmas

Just Like Home (Hania)

Set between Episodes IV and V.

Leia stormed down the hall angrily, knocking on the door of a certain arrogant smuggler. "Han, get out here this instant!"

Instead of opening the door right away, Han chose to take his sweet time, opening the door slowly and staring at Leia lazily. "What is it, sweetheart?"

"Why didn't you come to the briefing today? Today is a very important day, because we are going to start building our new base soon."

"I wanted to take a day off for the holidays."

"The holidays?"

"Yeah, Princess. The holidays. Ya know, Christmas?"

Leia stopped dead in her tracks and stared up at Han, memories unexpectedly flooding her system. Memories of Alderaan around Christmastime, and now the snow glittered against the tall building and created a soft blanket on the ground. The winters on Alderaan were harsh, but Leia always sat nice and comfy on her couch between her parents with a mug of cocoa and a warm blanket, watching the endless Christmas holos that dominated every channel.

Realizing she had gone too long without saying anything, Leia quickly recomposed herself and pushed her memories and tears back, simply nodding at Han and walking away quickly as the tears from the unexpected grief started to fall down her cheeks.

Leia walked to her quarters as quickly as she could, and as soon as the door shut behind her she slid down it and cried uncontrollably, her entire body racking with sobs. Every fiber of her being missed the wonderful magic of Alderaan at Christmastime, and the warm, fuzzy evenings she would spend playing games and watching holos with her parents.

Now, she was stuck on a foreign ice planet, Hoth, that the Rebellion had just moved to. Now, she was almost forced to be a military leader and forced into shoes much too big and intimidating for her to fill.

Leia wiped at her eyes and sniffles as she heard the door knock, and Han's obnoxious voice reached her ears through the door.

"Princess, you alright?"

Saying nothing, Leia simply buried her head in her hands and refused to answer.

"Leia, come on. Let me in." He demanded, but not as harshly as Leia had expected. It felt more like a question, but was phrased as a demand.

Sighing, she looked in the mirror quickly to find her disheveled and her face red and blotchy from crying. Stop it. She told herself firmly. You are a princess, and will not show weakness to the people you are serving with. They expect much more from you.

The door slid open to reveal Han, and he stared at her in concern that caught her off guard. Usually he was just a stubborn, ignorant twat with an extremely confused moral compass, but tonight he seemed genuinely concerned for her well-being.

"Are you alright?" He asked again softly, and Leia nodded.

"I'm fine, thank you."

"No you're not." Han entered into her quarters without asking permission, and Leia sighed. That's more like the Han I know.

"Come on, what's up?" He asked, leaning against her bedpost and raising a brow. "You never were able to fool me."

"And how would you know that?" She snapped back. "What if I was fooling you and you didn't know it?"

"I find that highly unlikely." Han smirked. "You're an open book, Your Worshipfulness."

"An open-" Leia stuttered, outraged. "Who exactly is the politician here?!"