S.T.O.P. thread! Support for short story and one-post fic writers!

Oh gosh that is so sad! But very well written.

 

Okay, here is my latest vignette. It's my first writing assignment for my Mush Master, Melyanna, and called News at her suggestion.

~*~*~*~*~

Han lounged on the sofa, waiting for Leia to return. Their suite was not large, but it served their needs very well. As did this sofa. He pounded the cushions appreciatively. Very soft.

Where was Leia? In theory, her official luncheon had finished in the mid afternoon, which meant it would be almost dinner time when she arrived home. Yet the holographic windows displaying panoramic views of Coruscant told him it was nighttime. He glanced at the chronometer and was startled to see that it was almost 21:00. He climbed reluctantly off the sofa and made his way to the communications console to see if she had left a message for him.

He pulled up his messages and sure enough, there was one. He scanned it quickly. It was short and concise:

Han-- I'll be late tonight. Don't wait for supper. --Leia

"Now she tells me," he grumbled to himself, stalking off to the kitchen. See Threepio was recharging against the wall. Han unplugged him. "Get up, Goldenrod. Leia's gonna be late, so you can start supper."

Threepio's eyes blinked on and he straightened. "Of course, Master Solo."

Han rolled his eyes and went back to the sitting room to relax back on the sofa. Just as he was settling in, the door swished open and Leia came quietly in. She grinned at Han. "I take it you like the sofa?"

"You caught me in the first stage of a nap," he admitted.

Her eyes twinkled. "Which is . . . ?"

"Lying down," he told her, swinging his feet over the side and standing. Leia watched him carefully, her hands fiddle with the ends of her sleeves. Han walked over to her, holding out his arms, but she did not walk into them, only continued to stare up at him with huge, brown eyes. "What?"

"I--" she began, then suddenly seemed at a loss for words for the first time in her life. "I'm sorry I was late," she said after a moment.

Han furrowed his brow. "What's wrong, Leia?" She was certainly acting unusual.

"Nothing! Nothing at all! I'm just, well . . ." She swallowed and looked up at him, studying his face, and abruptly changed the subject. "Have you eaten?"

"Not exactly." Neither of them moved for a second. "Okay, who's gonna talk first?" Han asked her. "Are you going to tell me what's bothering you, or am I going to have to make you tell me?"

Instead of cracking a smile and challenging him the way she normally would, Leia glanced at the floor. "Han, I need to tell you something."

A shadow seemed to pass over his face. "Is something wrong?" He gripped her shoulders, suddenly worried. "What happened?"

She grinned and folded him in a sudden hug. "Oh, Han! I've been holding it in for so long, I barely know how to tell you?"

"What? How long?" he demanded, hands moving down to her upper arms and shaking her. "What are you talking about?"

"I found out just a few minutes ago," she said breathlessly, hurrying through the words. "Han, I'm pregnant."

Her words did not register at first. He stared. "You're what?!"

"We're going to have--"

"I heard you!" he interrupted. Emotions rushed through him and she laughed.

"You should see your face right now," she informed him teasingly, suddenly cheerful again. She stood on tiptoe and kissed him lightly, pulling away before he could deepen the kiss. Her eyebrows lifted and she watched him with anticipation. "What do you think, Han? I know we weren't planning on children yet, so soon, but . . ." Her voice drifted off.

Han finally found his voice. "What do I think?" he repeated, inexplicable joy surging up from his toes to fill his entire being. He wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her in a circle. "Leia, it's . . . amazing! Wonderful!" She clung to him, laughing. Then a thought struck him. "When did . . . you know?"

She grinned. "I was hoping you could help me figure that out. Can't be much over a month. I've suspected

 

Awww, how cute.

 

Thanks, Princess1. It's also on SMOOCH, so you may have already seen it.

 

Lovley to all! Very nice.

 

Hey. Haven't been here in a while, but I've written some more junk since then. I guess I'll put my one post story here, but it's a bit long. It's about Anakin and Obi-Wan's last duel before he becomes Darth Vader, told from Obi-Wan's point of view. Hope you like it.


EdIT: This story is either post-Ep III or during it. SPOILERS



A Fall Into Darkness
(PG-13)

?Don?t do this, Anakin,? I plead, stretching out my hand to him. An empty hand. No threat. ?You can still turn back??

?Fool,? he snarls, and I am forced to jump back as his lightsaber slashes at me. It is blood red. His old one is gone; lost, for all I know. He has renounced it, as he has renounced everything else from his past life. His anger boils off him like a hot wave, almost knocking me over. ?Back to what? Slavery? Catering to every whim of a dying nation with no leader? My new master, is strong, Obi-Wan, I have found power.? He takes a step toward me, and I back away. Gazing into his face, I can see the change. Gone is the innocent expression he wore when we first met, the gentle blue eyes, the knowing, friendly smile. His features are a twisted parody of what they were, the hate mutilating them beyond belief.

?You have yet to learn true power!? he cries, his voice cracking with the strain of his emotions. ?The Jedi are weak; they are being destroyed from the inside out! You never understood me, you always wanted to make me into something I wasn?t, not satisfied with what I was!?

?Padmé loved you.? I try this to pacify him, but it has the opposite affect.

?Where did it get her, tell me that!? His tone has something of a sob in it, but it is quickly buried. ?She is dead! And the Jedi?? He pauses here, trying to gather himself together. ??the Jedi did nothing, nothing to protect her.?

With a sudden burst of rage he leaps at me, and I am forced backward toward the edge of the canyon. Heat from the molten rock below beats into my back. I can feel the sweat trickling down my face, and attempt to wipe it away with my sleeve. Anakin takes that instant to swing his blade, and I barely twist out of the way in time. My boot slips on the rock beneath it, and a few fragments crumble away to tumble into the abyss below me. I throw myself into the air before the unstable surface can dump me to a certain, painful death. Landing a few meters away, I turn and, seeing the expression in his eyes, slowly draw my own lightsaber. The hilt is unbelievably cold in my palm.

?Don?t make me do this, Anakin,? I begin. ?I don?t want to fight you??

?Of course you don?t.? His voice is now almost a hiss. ?That is because you are weak. You always were.?

The taunt is meant to make me try something hasty, so I hang back, enraging him further. With a flick of his wrist he flings his lightsaber, sending it spinning through the air toward me. I manage to ignite my own in time to deflect it, sending it flying back to him. He catches it deftly, and some of the anger melts off his face, to be replaced by anticipation.

?So you will fight,? he says slowly. ?You only have to be provoked?? Abruptly, he lunges at me and I retreat, shoving his blade away from me with a shower of sparks. He snaps it around again with inhuman speed, and the force it contacts my parry with jars my arms to the bone. Shunting aside the momentary pain, I grit my teeth and slash at him, driving him back. We are equal for a few tense moments, trading parries and offensive moves, neither gaining the upper hand, when suddenly his lightsaber slips past my guard and twists my blade out of my grasp, knocking me off balance. I hit the ground hard, hearing my deactivated lightsaber hilt skid through the dust away from me. I am about to pull myself up when his shadow falls over me, eerily warped by the crimson glow of the energy beam he holds. I glance up, but his face is shadowed.

?Yes, you were always the weaker one, my friend,? he says softly. ?Even when you were the master and I the apprentice. Tell me?? He pauses, and I tense myself. I am still not prepared when his boot c

 

Like it? [face_hopeful]

 

Where'd everyone go? (And who did I catch the threadkiller diease from)

 

oh wow, that was great, and don't worry, you didn't kill the thread. Its still here.