Crossed Signals, Part 1/4, Star Wars AU, Han Solo/Luke Skywalker, Rated PG-13
TITLE: Crossed Signals, Part 1/4
AUTHOR: general_solo
FANDOM: Star Wars AU
CHARACTERS: Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, mentions of Leia Organa
RATING: Rated PG-13 for language; maybe be a higher rating for other parts.
WARNINGS: None for this part besides a little bad language
WORD COUNT: 1490
DISCLAIMERS: I don’t own these characters. I don’t make any profit from them.
SUMMARY: Han Solo is unsure of his feelings and unsure of his place in his friends’ lives.
Crossed Signals, Part 1
Han Solo slanted his hazel eyes sideways, his fingers still tightening the bolt in a piece of machinery that belonged in the Millennium Falcon’s innards.
They were talking again. Always with their heads together…smiling…laughing. At ease with one another. As Han watched, Leia put out a small slim hand and laid it on Luke’s arm. She was dressed in light blue today instead of her usual stark white and it gave her a softer look.
And how could Han be mad? Luke was…well…Luke. A funny mixture of a naïve farm boy and a brave fighter. It made sense that Leia would like him, seek out his company. That they were close in age didn’t hurt. They’d both lost their families, been wrenched out of their lives into the Rebellion against the Empire. She was the Princess of a royal family, he was the son of a famous Jedi Knight.
Han gave the bolt a vicious, final twist, then sat and looked at his grimy hands. And what was Han Solo? A smuggler, a con artist. He knew what the others thought of him, even the ones who claimed to have accepted him.
Han glanced up to see Chewbacca looking up at him from the hangar floor. He was worried.
“What’re you looking at, Chewie? I know what I’m doing. Get back to work.”
Chewbacca gave a low growl, a doubtful look in his eyes but climbed back up into the underside of the ship.
Standing up, Han gathered his tools and put them carefully in their case. Then he climbed down and walked around the ship and down a long hallway that exited out of the backside of the massive building, a temporary resting place for a large faction of the Rebellion.
Some type of large, gnarly trees grew here. Their bark was a silvery grey that peeled off in long strips as they aged, giving a shimmery look when the sun was on them. There was a path that meandered through it, leading to a ruin of old stone walls and fallen statues. No one seemed to know what it had once been and Han could care less himself. Whatever it had been was long over with and forgotten.
Reaching one of the lower walls that was mostly intact; Han climbed on top of it and sat down. He’d been there a couple of times before, once by himself and once followed by a pretty little technician from the med squad. He groaned just thinking about it. She was pretty and she was nice but he just hadn’t felt like any kind of entanglement, no matter how brief. She hadn’t been very understanding. Apparently, Han Solo did not live up to his reputation.
He kicked backward with a booted foot, dislodging a small chunk of the wall that rolled down the side of the hill until it disappeared into the underbrush. Maybe he should just leave. Go back to places he knew, people he didn’t trust but at least he knew how to deal with them.
He heard a whisper of sound behind him and closed his eyes. Please don’t let it be that girl again. Turning he was startled to find the person already standing on the wall beside him. He jerked back instinctively, felt his balance go, but was immediately jerked back to safety.
“Are you planning on flying without the Falcon today, Han?”
Luke Skywalker squinted down at his friend, blue eyes amused, white teeth flashing against the Tatooine tan that he still hadn’t quite lost yet.
“Yeah…thought I’d give it a try.”
Han tried to smile back at his friend but didn’t quite pull it off.
Luke sat down beside him, letting his feet swing in empty air. They sat that way for a while, silently, until gradually Han felt some of the tension drain away.
“Hey, look at that weird bird…”
“Han, what’s wrong?”
“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong. I just get tired of being cooped up in one place for so long…that’s all.”
It was a lame excuse and he knew it. And he knew Luke knew it too. The farm boy was much smarter than he sometimes appeared to be. Han needed to detour him a bit.
“Where’s Leia?”
“I don’t know.”
“You were just talking with her…you didn’t ask.”
“No, I didn’t ask.”
“Well, you know…as close as you two are…I just thought…”
Han stopped and clamped his mouth closed. Shut up, Solo! You’ll give yourself away.
“What did you think, Han?”
Han looked at him from the corner of his eyes. Luke was staring out into the distance, a small frown on his youthful face. Han felt a wave of despair wash over him. He wasn’t much more than a boy, still. Trusting, good-hearted, loyal to his friends. How could Han tell him what he was really thinking?
“I think I may need to leave soon. Those bounty hunters…I’ll just bring trouble to everyone.”
Luke was staring at him intently, face unreadable, and Han forced himself not to flinch under that blue-eyed gaze.
“You can’t go. I don’t want you to.”
“Luke…”
“We’ll protect you. There’s no reason for you to go. We need you here. I need…”
“You need…what?”
A bitter laugh found it’s way out of Han’s mouth.
“Luke…you have everything you need. You belong here with these people. Hell, you might lead them one day. Save us all. And Leia…”
Han stopped, unable to say more, a growing tightness in his chest.
“What about Leia?”
“She…cares for you, Luke.”
“And you don’t think she cares about you? You saved her every bit as much as I did. More since I didn’t even have a hunk of junk to rescue her with.”
“Hey…no slurs against my baby.”
Luke smiled briefly, eyes now tracking the flight of the strange bird Han had tried to distract him with earlier.
“Are you going to the birthday celebration?”
Han stared at Luke blankly for a moment until he remembered that a party was being planned for a young pilot’s birthday. He’d been gravely injured a few months ago and was lucky to still be living.
“Oh…I don’t know. Are they serving the real stuff or that watered down shit?”
“The real stuff. They’re going all out on this one.”
Luke stood up, dusted off the dark pants he wore. He stood looking down at Han.
“You won’t…you won’t leave will you, Han? Slip off while everyone’s busy?”
Han tried to keep the guilty look from flashing across his face but knew he didn’t quite succeed when he saw Luke’s lips tighten into a thin line.
“Luke…”
Luke knelt down beside Han, closer now than he had been. Han could smell soap and engine oil and just plain Luke.
“Promise me…”
“Luke, I can’t do that.”
Han started to move away but Luke grabbed him tightly by the arm and held him in place. Han was startled by the strength in the slim fingers.
“I want you to stay.”
There was a different look in Luke’s eyes, a possessive, older look that shocked Han so that it was a minute before he could speak.
“Alright…I won’t leave…not for a while anyway.”
Luke stared at him searchingly for a moment, eyes narrowed. Finally, he released Han from his death grip but did not draw his hand away, instead he rubbed soothing circles on his arm. Han sat frozen, not quite sure how to take this change in the younger man.
“The party’s at the old commissary. Do you want me to meet you there or somewhere else?”
“Uh…there’s fine.”
“I’ll see you then.”
Luke stood, his hand lightly brushing against Han’s cheek as he did so.
He climbed nimbly down from the wall and Han’s eyes followed him until he disappeared from sight back towards the hangar.
Han’s face felt suddenly flushed and hot and he gripped the edge of the wall tightly, its rough edges scraping his fingers.
“You’re imagining things again, Solo. It’s just Luke…being Luke. He didn’t mean anything by it.”
He should leave, pack up his measly possessions, grab Chewie, and just go.
Luke wouldn’t really come after him. He was just trying his persuasive Jedi thing on Han. Han gave a short bark of laughter. And it worked too. He had Han’s mind so muddled he was imagining all sorts of things.
Okay, he’d go to the party. Drink, be the carefree Captain Solo, visit a little with Luke and Leia, a going away party just for him though no one would know that’s what it was.
Han caught sight of his filthy hands and sighed. Shower time was scarce. He’d better go early before everyone else got the same idea.
He stood up, stretched his cramped legs. He frowned again, his mind still working on Luke’s strange actions. Well, one last dose of Luke and Leia closeness and he’d be leaving from here, no matter what the farm boy turned Jedi threatened.
AUTHOR: general_solo
FANDOM: Star Wars AU
CHARACTERS: Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, mentions of Leia Organa
RATING: Rated PG-13 for language; maybe be a higher rating for other parts.
WARNINGS: None for this part besides a little bad language
WORD COUNT: 1490
DISCLAIMERS: I don’t own these characters. I don’t make any profit from them.
SUMMARY: Han Solo is unsure of his feelings and unsure of his place in his friends’ lives.
Crossed Signals, Part 1
Han Solo slanted his hazel eyes sideways, his fingers still tightening the bolt in a piece of machinery that belonged in the Millennium Falcon’s innards.
They were talking again. Always with their heads together…smiling…laughing. At ease with one another. As Han watched, Leia put out a small slim hand and laid it on Luke’s arm. She was dressed in light blue today instead of her usual stark white and it gave her a softer look.
And how could Han be mad? Luke was…well…Luke. A funny mixture of a naïve farm boy and a brave fighter. It made sense that Leia would like him, seek out his company. That they were close in age didn’t hurt. They’d both lost their families, been wrenched out of their lives into the Rebellion against the Empire. She was the Princess of a royal family, he was the son of a famous Jedi Knight.
Han gave the bolt a vicious, final twist, then sat and looked at his grimy hands. And what was Han Solo? A smuggler, a con artist. He knew what the others thought of him, even the ones who claimed to have accepted him.
Han glanced up to see Chewbacca looking up at him from the hangar floor. He was worried.
“What’re you looking at, Chewie? I know what I’m doing. Get back to work.”
Chewbacca gave a low growl, a doubtful look in his eyes but climbed back up into the underside of the ship.
Standing up, Han gathered his tools and put them carefully in their case. Then he climbed down and walked around the ship and down a long hallway that exited out of the backside of the massive building, a temporary resting place for a large faction of the Rebellion.
Some type of large, gnarly trees grew here. Their bark was a silvery grey that peeled off in long strips as they aged, giving a shimmery look when the sun was on them. There was a path that meandered through it, leading to a ruin of old stone walls and fallen statues. No one seemed to know what it had once been and Han could care less himself. Whatever it had been was long over with and forgotten.
Reaching one of the lower walls that was mostly intact; Han climbed on top of it and sat down. He’d been there a couple of times before, once by himself and once followed by a pretty little technician from the med squad. He groaned just thinking about it. She was pretty and she was nice but he just hadn’t felt like any kind of entanglement, no matter how brief. She hadn’t been very understanding. Apparently, Han Solo did not live up to his reputation.
He kicked backward with a booted foot, dislodging a small chunk of the wall that rolled down the side of the hill until it disappeared into the underbrush. Maybe he should just leave. Go back to places he knew, people he didn’t trust but at least he knew how to deal with them.
He heard a whisper of sound behind him and closed his eyes. Please don’t let it be that girl again. Turning he was startled to find the person already standing on the wall beside him. He jerked back instinctively, felt his balance go, but was immediately jerked back to safety.
“Are you planning on flying without the Falcon today, Han?”
Luke Skywalker squinted down at his friend, blue eyes amused, white teeth flashing against the Tatooine tan that he still hadn’t quite lost yet.
“Yeah…thought I’d give it a try.”
Han tried to smile back at his friend but didn’t quite pull it off.
Luke sat down beside him, letting his feet swing in empty air. They sat that way for a while, silently, until gradually Han felt some of the tension drain away.
“Hey, look at that weird bird…”
“Han, what’s wrong?”
“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong. I just get tired of being cooped up in one place for so long…that’s all.”
It was a lame excuse and he knew it. And he knew Luke knew it too. The farm boy was much smarter than he sometimes appeared to be. Han needed to detour him a bit.
“Where’s Leia?”
“I don’t know.”
“You were just talking with her…you didn’t ask.”
“No, I didn’t ask.”
“Well, you know…as close as you two are…I just thought…”
Han stopped and clamped his mouth closed. Shut up, Solo! You’ll give yourself away.
“What did you think, Han?”
Han looked at him from the corner of his eyes. Luke was staring out into the distance, a small frown on his youthful face. Han felt a wave of despair wash over him. He wasn’t much more than a boy, still. Trusting, good-hearted, loyal to his friends. How could Han tell him what he was really thinking?
“I think I may need to leave soon. Those bounty hunters…I’ll just bring trouble to everyone.”
Luke was staring at him intently, face unreadable, and Han forced himself not to flinch under that blue-eyed gaze.
“You can’t go. I don’t want you to.”
“Luke…”
“We’ll protect you. There’s no reason for you to go. We need you here. I need…”
“You need…what?”
A bitter laugh found it’s way out of Han’s mouth.
“Luke…you have everything you need. You belong here with these people. Hell, you might lead them one day. Save us all. And Leia…”
Han stopped, unable to say more, a growing tightness in his chest.
“What about Leia?”
“She…cares for you, Luke.”
“And you don’t think she cares about you? You saved her every bit as much as I did. More since I didn’t even have a hunk of junk to rescue her with.”
“Hey…no slurs against my baby.”
Luke smiled briefly, eyes now tracking the flight of the strange bird Han had tried to distract him with earlier.
“Are you going to the birthday celebration?”
Han stared at Luke blankly for a moment until he remembered that a party was being planned for a young pilot’s birthday. He’d been gravely injured a few months ago and was lucky to still be living.
“Oh…I don’t know. Are they serving the real stuff or that watered down shit?”
“The real stuff. They’re going all out on this one.”
Luke stood up, dusted off the dark pants he wore. He stood looking down at Han.
“You won’t…you won’t leave will you, Han? Slip off while everyone’s busy?”
Han tried to keep the guilty look from flashing across his face but knew he didn’t quite succeed when he saw Luke’s lips tighten into a thin line.
“Luke…”
Luke knelt down beside Han, closer now than he had been. Han could smell soap and engine oil and just plain Luke.
“Promise me…”
“Luke, I can’t do that.”
Han started to move away but Luke grabbed him tightly by the arm and held him in place. Han was startled by the strength in the slim fingers.
“I want you to stay.”
There was a different look in Luke’s eyes, a possessive, older look that shocked Han so that it was a minute before he could speak.
“Alright…I won’t leave…not for a while anyway.”
Luke stared at him searchingly for a moment, eyes narrowed. Finally, he released Han from his death grip but did not draw his hand away, instead he rubbed soothing circles on his arm. Han sat frozen, not quite sure how to take this change in the younger man.
“The party’s at the old commissary. Do you want me to meet you there or somewhere else?”
“Uh…there’s fine.”
“I’ll see you then.”
Luke stood, his hand lightly brushing against Han’s cheek as he did so.
He climbed nimbly down from the wall and Han’s eyes followed him until he disappeared from sight back towards the hangar.
Han’s face felt suddenly flushed and hot and he gripped the edge of the wall tightly, its rough edges scraping his fingers.
“You’re imagining things again, Solo. It’s just Luke…being Luke. He didn’t mean anything by it.”
He should leave, pack up his measly possessions, grab Chewie, and just go.
Luke wouldn’t really come after him. He was just trying his persuasive Jedi thing on Han. Han gave a short bark of laughter. And it worked too. He had Han’s mind so muddled he was imagining all sorts of things.
Okay, he’d go to the party. Drink, be the carefree Captain Solo, visit a little with Luke and Leia, a going away party just for him though no one would know that’s what it was.
Han caught sight of his filthy hands and sighed. Shower time was scarce. He’d better go early before everyone else got the same idea.
He stood up, stretched his cramped legs. He frowned again, his mind still working on Luke’s strange actions. Well, one last dose of Luke and Leia closeness and he’d be leaving from here, no matter what the farm boy turned Jedi threatened.