TRIAD ~ OT trio short stories

| You are not alone

Summary: after ANH, Luke finds Leia when she mourns for Alderaan. Han eventually joins
Genre: hurt/comfort
Warnings: mention of massive deaths (Alderaan), but I don't think anyone will be disturbed😂

The celebration party was more chaotic and crowded that anything Luke had ever experienced. There were people everywhere: people chatting, people walking, people drinking, people trying to shake his hand when they saw him as if he was some kind of celebrity.

The young pilot wasn't used to all that noise and confusion, and he was starting to feel overwhelmed by them. After all he had been just a farm boy up to the previous day, he certainly wasn't used to that kind of parties.

After long hours of torture with people that tried to approach him constantly, he decided to sneak out to find some peace and silence.

Luke walked alone past the crowded hall and managed to find an empty corridor. He didn't know where it could bring him, but he followed it nonetheless. He wanted to be anywhere but at the party.

At the end of the dark, silent hallway he found a balcony. A soft breeze was coming inside the building through that opening, and Luke felt the urge to go outside.

As soon as he stepped out, he closed his eyes and leant his elbows on the balustrade, feeling finally comfortable under that peaceful, starry sky. He let the breeze blow his hair away from his forehead and inhaled deeply, enjoying that serenity.

Something, though, was off in the Force. A deep sorrow, a pain that Luke couldn't quite identify was lingering over that balcony, and he didn't know why.

He was still thinking about this when a partly suppressed sob reached his ears: someone else was on that balcony.

Luke turned his head and just then saw a small, white figure, hidden in a shadowy corner of the terrace. That person was crying... and it was the princess!

"Leia?" the boy called, still unsure.

The girl straightened immediately and made a disparate attempt to fix her appearance before the newcomer could see her. But she didn't manage to, and simply stayed there, trying not to cry more.

"Yes, it's me" she said, her voice sounding surprisingly steady. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be celebrating?".

"Too much noise, too many people" Luke replied quietly. He wished he could sit down beside the princess, but he didn't want to do something off place. She was far too important to be comforted by a farmer from a third rate planet.

"I see" Leia said softly. A few seconds of silence filled the air, then the girl's self control fell apart and a tearful sob escaped her lips.

Luke looked at her for just a moment, then sat down at her side and embraced her - the etiquette could go to hell. He simply held the princess' frail body as she buried her face in his yellow jacket, clinging onto his shirt for dear life.

"Why are you crying?" the boy asked after a few seconds, when his friend calmed down a little.

"Dead..." Leia only managed to say, sorrow clear in her warm brown eyes.

Luke immediately understood, and mentally cursed himself for his stupidity. How could he forget? Leia had just lost her whole home planet... she had to feel shattered, torn apart, she had to feel worse than the he could even imagine. And he had brought up the topic with such an insensitivity...

"I'm sorry, Leia" he said sincerely. "I just... forgive me".

The girl sniffed and seemed to shrink into his chest.

"It's alright" she murmured. "At least you're here". When she had decided to stay on that balcony, she had intended to be alone, but now... being held was somehow reassuring, and she didn't feel as lonely.

"Yes" Luke spoke with a soft smile. "I am".

A thick silence fell over the two, occasionally broken by Leia's sobs and sighs. Luke didn't know how to sooth such a pained soul, so he decided to just be there without saying anything that could be inappropriate. Only the light sound of the breeze disturbed that quietness.

After what looked like an eternity, Leia abruptly stood up and stormed to the balustrade. Her shoulders were still shaking, a visible sign that she wasn't ready to go, not yet.

Luke just stared at her with a perplexed look on his face, deciding to join her only seconds later.
"Are you sure you don't want to speak?" he asked timidly. "It helps".

The princess closed her watery eyes.
"My father" she sobbed "used to tell me that... that dead people look down at us from the stars. That they would be always... always with us. But... I don't feel them right now. I'm just empty and... cold".

Luke wrapped one arm around her shoulders and bravely dared peck her cheek quickly - he immediately blushed and shut his blue eyes tight. He saw what she meant... he felt empty and cold as well, he had just lost his whole family (even if his pain couldn't be compared to Leia's).

He was about to say something encouraging when a voice called from the corridor he had previously walked down.

"Kid, where are you? Just tell me: dead, alive or drunk?".

Leia couldn't help but chuckle despite her heavy grief. "Han's coming" she said.

Luke breathed out a giggle, unwillingly blowing on her hair, and just then the girl noticed how close they were.

"I know" the young pilot said.

"Are you drunk indeed?".

"No!".

In that moment Han finally found the terrace, and frowned when he saw his two friends like that.

He couldn't have walked on the scene right after a first kiss... could he? And, most important, Leia didn't like Luke, did she?

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked, just in case.

"No, not at all" Leia said quickly.

And she didn't notice that Luke's arm was still around her body; anyhow, he did, blushing profusely.

"What is it, a group hug?" Han asked. "And you didn't invite me?".

Leia was about to say something, but Luke interrupted her.

"Exactly" he said. "Leia feels cold and empty, I was trying to help".

Han smirked just slightly, understanding why the princess was so upset. Alderaan had been destroyed and she was from Alderaan, so...

"I'm sure we can do something, don't we, Luke?" he said.

The boy nodded his head and smiled.

In a single second Leia found herself sandwiched between the two men's bodies, wrapped in what was really a group hug: she had literally one cheek on Han's chest and the other against Luke's shoulder.

She didn't protest, though, because, even if she was still empty, she wasn't cold inside any longer.