Title: Everything
Author: leiamoody
Genre: Romance, Drama
Characters: Leia, Han
Timeframe: 4.6 ABY
Summary: Leia discovers you can sometimes get what you want.
Author’s note: Written for the Memorable Melodies Roulette Challenge. The song I was assigned was “I Could Not Ask For More” by Edwin McCain.

This little ficlet is derived from an unfinished chapter I wrote many years ago about Han and Leia getting married. (The beginning of the chapter, and the direction of the story for Han and Leia, fits the lyrics pretty well). This event is set in my AU GFFA, so it doesn’t match any version of canon (especially not the Disney version). This wedding is the culmination of a larger metaphysical experience they both underwent while Han was in carbonite, but that event is alluded to rather than fully explained in this ficlet. (That particular story was written many years ago, called Sleeping and Dreaming. I need to rewrite it and repost eventually…).
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It was three o’clock in the morning, local planetary time. The twin sister moons Lassarine and Roisine (named after the ancient Alderaanian goddesses of wisdom and intuition) sat high in the black sky, gazing down upon everything and everyone on Aeithera. The streets were still half-filled with beings coming and going underneath the Arkennine Palace balcony where Leia stood wrapped in a sheet. The university students, the Alderaani refugees, and the visitors who came just to see the Heroes of the Rebellion during their visit to the system were all mixed up in little groups down there and brought life to this planet.

“We did it.” Han came from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist.

She laughed. “That’s why I’m wrapped in a sheet. Was it so good you already forgot what happened tonight?”

He nuzzled her neck. “I couldn’t forget.”

“Because I’m just that good.” She leaned back into his chest then looked up at her new husband with a mischievous smile.

Han kissed her forehead. “You’re getting a high opinion of yourself, Princess.”

“Because I learned from the master.”

His arms tightened around her. “Of course you did. But I learned from you too.”

“How did that happen?”

“You know, and you remember, just like I do.” His voice trailed off into silence.

The events of those six months while Han was in carbonite were proven true. Their shared dreams during that horrific time was the only means of contact to let each other know they were surviving while caught in the midst of some physical and metaphysical hells. It was a strange journey into a realm neither of them understood even now.

But those dreams led Han and Leia to a shared destination that changed their lives for the better. It seemed ridiculous to imagine a wedding could be the shared goal that gave them hope while caught up in metaphysical darkness. Neither one of them ever imagined being married to anyone, let alone each other. But a twisted dream journey brought them to a pavilion in the middle of the Cita dav Ilo under the stars and twin moons. Five hours ago the princess from Alderaan and the scoundrel from Corellia were united in matrimony by an officiant who wasn’t happy to be dragged away from dinner. Their witnesses included a Jedi brother of the bride (and now brother-in-law of the groom), a Wookiee who knew enough secrets about the groom to make sure he wouldn’t do something dumb like screw up the marriage, two druids (including the R2 unit who recorded the ceremony) and a young woman who helped guide the couple during their dream journey.

“Get off the balcony and come back to bed.” Han turned in the direction of that rumpled white sheeted and black lacquer space where they had spent the majority of their honeymoon hours.

She laughed. “You aren’t exhausted yet?”

He tugged on the sheet that covered her from just under the shoulders down to the floor. “Not even close, Princess.”

Leia considered the possibility of going back over there for sleeping instead of another round of “consummate the wedded bliss”. The fact she wore a thin white sheet while Han paraded through the bedroom in a very attractive state of undress indicated there was no hope of getting sleep. “Okay, dear scoundrel, I’ll join you. But I want to do something else— ″

“Come on, don’t spoil my fun―″

“You’ll get another chance after I get some rest―″

“We’re making up for lost time, because we’re usually too busy—″

“But I can only take so much until I need sleep.”

Han laughed. “I’ll give you a break. Until sunrise.”

Leia stared into those hazel eyes that always suckered her into whatever Han wanted despite her objections. Some people might have suggested some form of bewitchment. She just knew he was too persuasive for her own good. It was some quirk of fate that brought him plus Luke back on the Death Star. Since that day Han never failed to prove himself worthy of her respect and love, despite Leia’s persistent fear that he would disappoint her. Now she was disappointed in herself for that lack of trust.

But that feeling didn’t matter right now. Everything she needed, that emotional sense of balance where the flow of life felt overwhelming like some ancient divine emotion, filled her. She earned that joy after six months of physical and spiritual separation from her beloved. Their shared dream of a wedding was the only sign something glorious could be waiting for them after the nightmare. Love and life were interspersed with a chaotic daily routine since their reunion seven months ago. But they remembered that dream and it carried them forward, waiting until something brought them to Aeithera. Finally the announcement came from Mon Mothma about their visit to the Quintes system and its central planet where the pavilion in the park was located.

Time finally caught up with them and now the vision was fulfilled. They were married.

“Honey, are you doing that Force stuff again?”

Leia blinked. These random moments of contemplation seemed to emerge from nowhere since finding out she was Force sensitive. She had no plans to become a Jedi, but did feel a strong connection to that eternal power source. But that connection did lead to weird fugues where she detached from conscious reality. Thankfully Han was around to keep her grounded.

She laughed. “Yes, I was just thinking about how far we’ve come.”

“I can snap you back into reality.”

Leia tilted her head. “I know.”

“That sounds familiar.”

“History repeats itself.”

“Are you satisfied with this part of history? Meaning how the vision turned out, are you happy we got hitched?”

Leia sighed. That was such a ridiculous question considering everything they had been through in the past four years. But she wasn’t going to quibble about the matter. “I wanted this, you wanted this. It’s everything we needed.”

“No changes?”

“Now that future is our past. It can’t be altered.”

“Not by us or anything or anyone else.”

She turned within his embrace and stood up on her toes to kiss him. “Never in eternity.”

Then she moved back from Han and pulled the sheet off her shoulders and let it fall down to the floor. Sleep could wait until sunrise.

Mav Edit: The Prefix was changed from Beyond the Saga to Saga since this takes place within the Saga timeline of from TPM through E9. Even if it's an AU, it appears it should be Saga or Beyond-Legends. Please PM a fanfic mod if this isn't correct.

 

A wonderful song you got & a squeelicious use of it. Beautiful and in character. I eagerly await the reposting of the larger story.

 

Thanks.

The unfinished chapter contained certain elements that fit the song, so it wasn't hard to expand upon it. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea in retrospect, because the whole thing just reads so off that no one can honestly tell what is going on...oh well.

 

Playful, sexy beginning. Can´t wait to read more, even though I might end up with a broken heart.

 

Playful and touching. Nice writing. Lynda V.

 

What a sweet, tender piece—you know this couple so well, and I always enjoy your writing about them. This is the tender, unguarded, quite literally bare moment they deserve after all their toils, and it shows just how much they truly are each other's "everything." And what's even better, you have united them beautifully with your fanon: it was a shared dreamwork experience that led to their tying the knot, beautiful Aeithera is a perfect place for them to be reveling together in newlywed bliss, and I smiled to see the dream journey guide (Sibylla? Or one of her other incarnations?) among their wedding guests. I'm very curious now about the larger story that this came out of, and would love to see it if you end up posting it.

 

This isn't the beginning so much as the ending. The beginning goes back a year and needs to be expanded upon...that part does have its dark moments, no lie.

I try to do my best work for the best characters.

I've gotten to know this couple well over the past three decades because I was stalking them in my head.

In terms of the dream journey...well, Sibylla does pop up, along with other individuals...