War {3}

Chapter 23

Leia's eyes drifted open slowly, her mind floating up to the surface of consciousness. She didn't exactly know why she had woken up, but she could guess. She and her brother had gone down to the medcenter the day after arrival to see about their condition, not expecting much.

But their doctor was surprisingly informative, not knowing exactly how the condition could be cured but stating that their heart rates were in sync. When one started to go faster so would the other, and vice versa. The doctor had tested this by making one of them, Luke, sprint while he intently watched Leia'a heart rate and her own breathing pattern.

Leia's heart rate had increased dramatically, and she had even felt a bit of perspiration on her forehead. The twins had realized that their hearts were definitely synchronized.

So now Luke was most likely up and about, unable to sleep, and because of it neither was Leia. Sighing, Leia stood up carefully not to wake up Han and tiptoed out into her living quarters where Chewie slept on the couch and Threepio was powered down in the corner. If she wasn't able to sleep might as well try to find Luke.

Grabbing her lightsaber for good measure, Leia threw on a tunic with some baggy pants and whipped her hair into a bun before exiting her quarters, not exactly caring about her appearance. As she walked she was hit with a cold burst of air as she neared a tunnel leading outside and shivered a bit in cold. This base reminded her of Hoth, except it wasn't built with snow and actually had a reliable heating system.

She was able to find her brother rather easily, as he hadn't wandered far from their quarters and on top of that she was able to use the Force. He stood looking out a window stretching from wall to wall, his arms crossed and his shadow being reflected onto the ground behind him by moonlight bouncing off of the snow. Leia couldn't shake the feeling that he looked almost menacing in that pose, although she didn't exactly know why. Intimidating was a better word.

Luke's head turned as his sister approached, smiling halfheartedly as she walked up next to him. She returned the smile, then looked out into the snow. "Quiet night."

"Indeed."

"Then why can't you sleep?" Leia asked, glancing sideways at Luke while keeping her head faced towards the window.

"Why can't you?" He replied easily, side-eyeing Leia as well. The two noticed the playful mood in the air as Leia then turned to face Luke with the smallest of smiles on her face and a dark brow raised.

"Because you can't." She ended the exchange, shrugging slightly. Luke's slightly playful face became ridden with guilt immediately.

"I'm sorry, I forgot. I just... couldn't sleep."

"That's alright, I don't mind. As long as you're not tired in not either, so it's not a problem." Leia reassured Luke, although well aware they'd gotten off topic. "But you still haven't told me why you can't sleep."

Luke pursed his lips and turned back towards the window, arms at his side now. "I'm just not very tired tonight."

"That's a lie; you've been training with Leena all day." Leia reprimanded, a bit concerned at his lie. Why would he lie to her like that? Then again, she was a bit of a hypocrite.

Leia sighed. Secrets between the twins stopped tonight.

"Alright, can you please tell me what's been bothering you so much? And I'll tell you something that I've been keeping to myself for awhile. Deal?"

Luke looked intrigued by the proposition and nodded in agreement, and lead her into his quarters where she sat in the chair and he on his bed above her. The walls were relatively thick, so they didn't have to worry about waking Leena up. Han and Leia's room was on the other side of their quarters closer to Kira's room with the living space closest to Luke's, and Chewie slept through anything. Besides, it's not like they were going to yell at each other.