Many Partings Parts One and Two-PG
Fandom: Star Wars
Era: A New Hope
Pairing: Han/Leia
Rating: PG
Many Partings
Leia Organa shivered in the cold of space. She wrapped the blanket around her tighter, but she figured the cold was actually coming from somewhere inside, not the space she blamed.
She looked down and scuffed the ground with her shoe. Han and Luke had made sure she was comfortable before rushing off to send the ship into hyperspace. They didn’t stick around long, and Leia didn’t blame them, if she were them, she wouldn’t know what to do with a blubbering princess either.
Not that Leia was blubbering. She would never show emotion unless she absolutely had to. She had to hold it together.
For the Rebellion.
For the organization her father loved so much.
For the people who inevitably were the reason her father died. They wouldn’t let him off Alderaan. “Too suspicious” they said.
Leia shook her head. It didn’t do any good for her to blame anyone. Anyone except the Empire that is.
Han appeared in the doorway. “Hey Princess. You okay?”
Leia’s head snapped up startled. She hadn’t expected anyone to come and check on her for a while. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
It was a knee-jerk explanation and Han knew it. He grimaced at her, and moved forward. “Come on Princess. It doesn’t hurt to talk.”
It startled Leia the sincerity radiating from him. He was a smuggler, the guy who was rescuing her ‘for the money, sweetheart.’ She looked him in the eye. “It’s hard.”
Han nodded. “I bet.” He sat on the floor in front of her. “Cold, Princess?”
Leia shook her head, but Han immediately knew she was lying as a shiver coursed through her. He smiled knowingly and stood up and went to a closet where he pulled out another blanket. He wrapped it around her shoulder’s and sat back down.
“You know…when I was younger, I lost a lot of friends. My…caretaker you could say, used to help me get through it by burning pieces of paper. She had a book of paper, very valuable, you know.”
Leia nodded. It was almost impossible to get paper nowadays. Han continued.
“We’d cut little figures out of this precious paper, then burn it, making ashes. Then we’d throw the ashes out of an airlock. Sounds silly now, but used to help somehow…just made it easier to understand that they were dead.
Leia smiled softly. “It’s not silly. I used to do that when a pet would die. And say sad, depressing eulogies.”
Han grinned up at her, and then leapt up. He went to the closet again, and rummaged there for a moment, coming back out, grinning triumphantly at the package of paper and ancient pair of scissors he found.
“Before she died, my caretaker gave me these. She knew how important our paper-burning was to me.” Han smiled wistfully, thinking of Dewlanna.
Han carefully cut out the shape of a person, and pulled a lighter out and set it on fire. They watched it burn to ashes.
Leia took the paper and scissors from him. The alternated cutting, and spent at least an hour on cutting each person out.
Han handed her the first one and the lighter. “Say goodbye.”
Leia took it, and flicked on the lighter. “Goodbye Father. I miss you.” Leia blinked tears back and set the paper on fire.
She said goodbye to her aunts, her childhood friends, the servants she knew and adored, her adoptive mother, even her enemies. Her teachers, her instructors at the Palace. The boy who followed her around adoringly.
Han scooped up the ashes and placed them in a container and led Leia to the airlock. Together they stood and as Leia silently sobbed, they sent the ashes out into space.
Han put an arm around Leia. “Hey, feel any better?”
Leia wiped the tears off. “Yes.” She whispered. “Much better.”
Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you Captain Solo.”
“Han.”
Leia smiled. “Thank you Han.”
Han nodded and headed back to the cockpit. Leia watched him go, and then stared back out the window on the airlock door. She sighed and quietly said a final parting to her father, before walking away from the past.
‘Out of doubt, out of dark, to the day’s rising
he rode singing in the sun, sword unsheathing.
Hope he rekindled, and in hope ended;
Over death, over dread, over doom lifted
Out of loss, out of life, unto long glory.’
-Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King,
Many Partings.
Fandom: Star Wars
Era: Post-New Jedi Order
Pairing: Mainly Leia/Han, some subtle Tenel Ka/Jacen, Jaina/Kyp and Luke/Mara
Rating: PG
Many Partings
One by one the raindrops fell on her face as she turned towards the sky. Today was a day for remembrance, and remembering wasn’t always easy.
Leia Organa Solo sighed. Remembering was the hardest part of facing the past. Luckily, they had made a holiday for it, so everyone could do it together and get it over with all at once. Leia raised her arms out and let the rain soak through her hair, now chest-length, her clothes, and what felt like her soul.
Leia heard the screen door slide open behind her, and without turning she knew who it was.
“You might catch a cold out here, Your Worship.” Her husband’s deep voice resonated from behind.
“I’d rather remember the sad things outside, where it seems the world is crying, right along side me.” Leia crossed her arms in front of her.
Han came up behind her, and encircled her with his arms. When she looked up to face him, he gave her a half smile and a kiss on the nose. “Fitting that it rains on Remembrance Day.”
“It’s done so for years.” Leia leaned back against Han’s now wet chest.
Han blinked up at the rain and smiled again. “You remember the first Remembrance Day we spent together?”
“On the Falcon” Leia remembered, “We burned paper people to help me say goodbye to my family on Alderaan.”
Han nodded. “And the one after that?”
“More paper people, except Luke was with us that time…and Wedge. We said goodbye to Biggs, and the others who died at Yavin and Hoth.”
“Yep. And then we burned paper with Luke again, for your father’s deaths, then later with Mara because Luke dragged her along. We burned her past, remember?” At Leia’s nod, he continued. “Then later with Luke and the kids. For Gaeriel and those who died in Corellia.”
“Then after our peace treaty with the Empire. With the kids, Luke and Mara again.” Leia smiled softly. “And our final time spending it all together…with someone to mourn for, was when Mon Mothma died.”
They both stood in silence as they remembered how many had died since then, and how none of them had had a proper burial from them.
“I have one piece of paper left, Leia. Jacen and Tenel Ka are in the kitchen, Luke and Mara with Ben in the living room, and Kyp and Jaina are around here somewhere too.” He removed himself from Leia, and took her hand. “Shall we say goodbye, for hopefully, one last time?”
Leia’s eyes filled with tears as she nodded. She desperately prayed to every Alderaanian god she remembered from her childhood that she would not have to say goodbye to another child.
Han led her back inside, where Luke had blankets waiting for them. Leia went and got Jacen and Tenel Ka, Kyp and Jaina, while Han went to the closet and pulled out the last piece of sacred paper he’d gotten from Dewlanna as a child. Luke started a fire in the fireplace while the others looked on.
Han cut out figures and one by one, they said goodbye to those who they’d lost throughout the course of the war. When they reached to a small portion of the paper left, they all knew who must be next.
As the fire died down, Han handed the paper to Leia, who cut out a small figure. “Goodbye Anakin.” She placed the paper person in the fire, and they watched as he turned to ashes. Silent tears ran down their faces as they said goodbye to the one that they all loved.
They watched as the fire came to a halt, and Han carefully removed the ashes. By now the rain stopped, and Mara, Luke, Ben, Kyp, Tenel Ka, Jacen and Jaina followed Leia and Han outside.
Together they cupped the ashes in their hands and threw it up in the air, allowing the wind to catch them, as they all said a final silent goodbye.
Goodbye.
Era: A New Hope
Pairing: Han/Leia
Rating: PG
Many Partings
Leia Organa shivered in the cold of space. She wrapped the blanket around her tighter, but she figured the cold was actually coming from somewhere inside, not the space she blamed.
She looked down and scuffed the ground with her shoe. Han and Luke had made sure she was comfortable before rushing off to send the ship into hyperspace. They didn’t stick around long, and Leia didn’t blame them, if she were them, she wouldn’t know what to do with a blubbering princess either.
Not that Leia was blubbering. She would never show emotion unless she absolutely had to. She had to hold it together.
For the Rebellion.
For the organization her father loved so much.
For the people who inevitably were the reason her father died. They wouldn’t let him off Alderaan. “Too suspicious” they said.
Leia shook her head. It didn’t do any good for her to blame anyone. Anyone except the Empire that is.
Han appeared in the doorway. “Hey Princess. You okay?”
Leia’s head snapped up startled. She hadn’t expected anyone to come and check on her for a while. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
It was a knee-jerk explanation and Han knew it. He grimaced at her, and moved forward. “Come on Princess. It doesn’t hurt to talk.”
It startled Leia the sincerity radiating from him. He was a smuggler, the guy who was rescuing her ‘for the money, sweetheart.’ She looked him in the eye. “It’s hard.”
Han nodded. “I bet.” He sat on the floor in front of her. “Cold, Princess?”
Leia shook her head, but Han immediately knew she was lying as a shiver coursed through her. He smiled knowingly and stood up and went to a closet where he pulled out another blanket. He wrapped it around her shoulder’s and sat back down.
“You know…when I was younger, I lost a lot of friends. My…caretaker you could say, used to help me get through it by burning pieces of paper. She had a book of paper, very valuable, you know.”
Leia nodded. It was almost impossible to get paper nowadays. Han continued.
“We’d cut little figures out of this precious paper, then burn it, making ashes. Then we’d throw the ashes out of an airlock. Sounds silly now, but used to help somehow…just made it easier to understand that they were dead.
Leia smiled softly. “It’s not silly. I used to do that when a pet would die. And say sad, depressing eulogies.”
Han grinned up at her, and then leapt up. He went to the closet again, and rummaged there for a moment, coming back out, grinning triumphantly at the package of paper and ancient pair of scissors he found.
“Before she died, my caretaker gave me these. She knew how important our paper-burning was to me.” Han smiled wistfully, thinking of Dewlanna.
Han carefully cut out the shape of a person, and pulled a lighter out and set it on fire. They watched it burn to ashes.
Leia took the paper and scissors from him. The alternated cutting, and spent at least an hour on cutting each person out.
Han handed her the first one and the lighter. “Say goodbye.”
Leia took it, and flicked on the lighter. “Goodbye Father. I miss you.” Leia blinked tears back and set the paper on fire.
She said goodbye to her aunts, her childhood friends, the servants she knew and adored, her adoptive mother, even her enemies. Her teachers, her instructors at the Palace. The boy who followed her around adoringly.
Han scooped up the ashes and placed them in a container and led Leia to the airlock. Together they stood and as Leia silently sobbed, they sent the ashes out into space.
Han put an arm around Leia. “Hey, feel any better?”
Leia wiped the tears off. “Yes.” She whispered. “Much better.”
Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you Captain Solo.”
“Han.”
Leia smiled. “Thank you Han.”
Han nodded and headed back to the cockpit. Leia watched him go, and then stared back out the window on the airlock door. She sighed and quietly said a final parting to her father, before walking away from the past.
‘Out of doubt, out of dark, to the day’s rising
he rode singing in the sun, sword unsheathing.
Hope he rekindled, and in hope ended;
Over death, over dread, over doom lifted
Out of loss, out of life, unto long glory.’
-Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King,
Many Partings.
Fandom: Star Wars
Era: Post-New Jedi Order
Pairing: Mainly Leia/Han, some subtle Tenel Ka/Jacen, Jaina/Kyp and Luke/Mara
Rating: PG
Many Partings
One by one the raindrops fell on her face as she turned towards the sky. Today was a day for remembrance, and remembering wasn’t always easy.
Leia Organa Solo sighed. Remembering was the hardest part of facing the past. Luckily, they had made a holiday for it, so everyone could do it together and get it over with all at once. Leia raised her arms out and let the rain soak through her hair, now chest-length, her clothes, and what felt like her soul.
Leia heard the screen door slide open behind her, and without turning she knew who it was.
“You might catch a cold out here, Your Worship.” Her husband’s deep voice resonated from behind.
“I’d rather remember the sad things outside, where it seems the world is crying, right along side me.” Leia crossed her arms in front of her.
Han came up behind her, and encircled her with his arms. When she looked up to face him, he gave her a half smile and a kiss on the nose. “Fitting that it rains on Remembrance Day.”
“It’s done so for years.” Leia leaned back against Han’s now wet chest.
Han blinked up at the rain and smiled again. “You remember the first Remembrance Day we spent together?”
“On the Falcon” Leia remembered, “We burned paper people to help me say goodbye to my family on Alderaan.”
Han nodded. “And the one after that?”
“More paper people, except Luke was with us that time…and Wedge. We said goodbye to Biggs, and the others who died at Yavin and Hoth.”
“Yep. And then we burned paper with Luke again, for your father’s deaths, then later with Mara because Luke dragged her along. We burned her past, remember?” At Leia’s nod, he continued. “Then later with Luke and the kids. For Gaeriel and those who died in Corellia.”
“Then after our peace treaty with the Empire. With the kids, Luke and Mara again.” Leia smiled softly. “And our final time spending it all together…with someone to mourn for, was when Mon Mothma died.”
They both stood in silence as they remembered how many had died since then, and how none of them had had a proper burial from them.
“I have one piece of paper left, Leia. Jacen and Tenel Ka are in the kitchen, Luke and Mara with Ben in the living room, and Kyp and Jaina are around here somewhere too.” He removed himself from Leia, and took her hand. “Shall we say goodbye, for hopefully, one last time?”
Leia’s eyes filled with tears as she nodded. She desperately prayed to every Alderaanian god she remembered from her childhood that she would not have to say goodbye to another child.
Han led her back inside, where Luke had blankets waiting for them. Leia went and got Jacen and Tenel Ka, Kyp and Jaina, while Han went to the closet and pulled out the last piece of sacred paper he’d gotten from Dewlanna as a child. Luke started a fire in the fireplace while the others looked on.
Han cut out figures and one by one, they said goodbye to those who they’d lost throughout the course of the war. When they reached to a small portion of the paper left, they all knew who must be next.
As the fire died down, Han handed the paper to Leia, who cut out a small figure. “Goodbye Anakin.” She placed the paper person in the fire, and they watched as he turned to ashes. Silent tears ran down their faces as they said goodbye to the one that they all loved.
They watched as the fire came to a halt, and Han carefully removed the ashes. By now the rain stopped, and Mara, Luke, Ben, Kyp, Tenel Ka, Jacen and Jaina followed Leia and Han outside.
Together they cupped the ashes in their hands and threw it up in the air, allowing the wind to catch them, as they all said a final silent goodbye.
Goodbye.