foolishmortals | Recuérdame.

Recuérdame.

[Those of you who wish to see those who passed on? You'll be directed outside by Zeus, where he raises his arms, and marigolds begin to float around him. They float upwards, and form into a bridge.

It's structurally sound, and it seems fitting that you can cross it.

Eventually, you'll see it. Elysium. The Land of The Dead. Gentle music plays as you cross over into the city.

It's...festive. It's always festive. The architecture is colorful and full of spirit, and your group seems to be the only ones...human in appearance. Even your old friends seem to be a bit more skeletal in appearance. You can spend as much time here as you like, but eventually, that bridge will disappear. And you'll have to leave.

But...they'll never truly be gone. Not if you remember them. And someday, you'll join them. But for now, you celebrate. You've earned your happy ending.]

(ooc: This is the last log for the three canon rounds of Foolish Mortals! Thanks for coming along for the ride - we loved having you, and we hope to see ya real soon!)

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[ She missed it and he knows it. He gives her a not-all-that-bashful grin that slips away the moment she mentions Ben. ]

...I know, Leia.

[ He knows Ben is here, he just...hasn't had the guts to go talk to him yet. ]

I'm sorry.

[She lets out a quiet sigh that betrays exactly how tired she is. How tired she's been for months on end, with precious little restful sleep to carry her through.]

He died a hero, Han. He...he did the right thing. I wasn't there, but the way I hear it, he said something along the lines of 'wanting to do what his father would, for once.'

[She's never been so immeasurably proud and immeasurably sad all at once.]

[ It's not really his place any longer to press a comforting hand to her cheek, to rub a reassuring thumb along her jawline. It hasn't been for a long, long time.

But screw it. He's doing it anyway. Trying to comfort her, any small way he can, worried about just how exhausted she looks, how much sleep she's been missing -

And then her words hit him and his face just goes slack, numb with grief and loss and bittersweet pride. ]

Ben...

...I tried to talk to him, on the base. I think...I think I almost got through to him.

[ Maybe it had helped. Eventually. ]

[She doesn't push him away, because how could she? There's part of her that will always love Han Solo, no matter what happened between them in the end. Having a child with someone, even if that child was ultimately the driving force between you...Some bonds are never truly broken. Even in death, it seems.

Leia offers what she hopes is a reassuring smile.]

I think you did, Han. I think something stuck with him.

[She pulls away, gently disentangling herself from those old bones, and raises her brows at him.]

I met someone, you know. Just recently.

[ He lets her go. It hurts a little, but he does, his arms falling back to his sides.

Then he raises a nonexistent eyebrow in response, cocking his head to one side. ]

Someone?

[ Is she saying what he thinks she's saying? ]

[She nods, the corner of her mouth lifting. She looks almost amused about it, herself.]

I've been through an awful lot these past few months, and just about the only good thing that came out of it was meeting Stan.

...Stan.

[ That confirms it. He blinks. It's a lot to take in, but...well, he'd always expected something like this to happen. Leia is an amazing woman. The real surprise is that she hadn't been snapped up long before this.

Still, despite everything, despite the fact that it's been years, that he wouldn't have another chance with her even if he weren't dead, despite the years of heartbreak and hurt that had separated them...he still has to fight the urge to get defensive the moment she says the name. ]

Stan.

[ He nods. Okay. He can deal with this. It's fine. He's fine.

Pause. ]

...He's here?

Stan.

[She confirms this with a wry note of humor in her voice. She nods, hitching her chin over to where Stan is hovering near his brother.]

He's right over there. With his twin. Don't you go harassing him, now, Han.

[ He points to himself and gives her his best wide-eyed, wounded, innocent look. As always, it's pretty damn good, and completely full of shit. ]

Would I do something like that?

[There's a barely-restrained eye roll, but she's still smiling fondly.]

Yes. Without a doubt. Just...

[She reaches up to cup Han's cheekbone.]

Go easy on him. He just lost his twin, too.

...Luke.

[ Yet another loss Leia had suffered. Unlike Ben, he's been here long enough for Han to catch up with him, but grief - for Leia, mostly, and all she's suffered - passes over his face all the same. ]

Leia...I'm sorry.

[She bows her head, shaking it.]

It's alright. I've had time. It's...a lot, all at once, but being here makes it a whole lot easier.

[ He nods. It's not often anyone gets the chance to say goodbye like this. ]

Good.

[ Speaking of saying goodbye. Han clears his throat, looking uncomfortably to one side. ]

Listen...when you see Chewie...

[ He falters, trailing off. ]

[Even if she didn't know it was him, that expression is so incredibly Han that she'd know it from a thousand yards off. She nods gently, her hands folding in front of her.]

I'll tell him whatever it is you'd like me to. I know he misses you something fierce.

[ He'd known that would be the case, of course, but he still looks devastated at the news. An unhappy Chewie is almost worse than an unhappy Leia. ]

...Yeah.

[ He clears his throat. ]

Just tell him...to hang in there, alright? That I'll...be waiting for him here.

And don't let him scratch the Falcon. Or lose it. Or crash it. Or -

[For someone who thinks he's a stoic badass, Han certainly does wear his heart on his sleeve. Even when he doesn't technically have a heart anymore. Leia nods, holding up a hand to indicate that he doesn't need to go on, really.]

Don't worry, don't worry. I'll tell him. And we're all...well, the Falcon is all we have left, Han. We have no choice but to take good care of it.

[ He is a stoic badass!! But this is Chewie we're talking about.

He nods, not trusting himself to so much as thank Leia for talking to Chewie. She knows...she knows what that means to him. Instead, he frowns a little, concerned at the news that Leia - and the resistance, he supposes - are now so dependent on the Falcon. ]

Yeah?

[ She'll tell him more if she wants to, but...well, it's not as if he can do anything to help her from here. ]

Well, she's a good ship. You treat her right, she'll keep you safe, get you where you need to go.

[She nods. It's not an easy thing to think about—frankly, it makes her head hurt, wondering what's even going on back home. Wondering if there'll even be a resistance to go back to.

Those are not thoughts for right now, though. Those are thoughts for after all of this.]

She's never let us down before, Han.

[—but that reminds her. She feels in the pockets of her cloak for a moment, before producing a pair of golden chance cubes connected by a chain. Her palm unfurls, holding them out to him.]

I saved these for you.

[ He's not sure what to expect, when she pulls a closed fist out of her pocket. Han's not exactly a sentimental man. What could she possibly have to give him?

But then she opens up her hand, and he stares for a long moment. The chance cubes - they're worthless junk, tossed up in front of the Falcon's main window so long ago he'd almost forgotten them entirely. They'd just been part of the background for years. Decades.

Part of the Falcon.

Part of home.

He swallows, and gingerly takes them from her outstretched palm, staring in something like wonder. A part of him wants to ask if she wouldn't like to keep them, but...she wouldn't have asked, if she hadn't meant it. Besides, she's got the Falcon herself now. Chewie. And now, someone new to share her life with. She doesn't need worthless old trinkets to remember him by.

Carefully, he closes his hand around the cubes and tucks them away, looking at her gratefully. ]

Thank you.

[She studies his face as he looks at the trinket in her hand, trying to glean what she can from it without muscles or skin to give her a hint. But she's known Han Solo for thirty years; she's gotten good at reading him, skeleton or no.

She merely smiles at his thanks, bowing her head graciously.]

I almost kept them, you know. But I thought it'd be selfish of me, considering they already brought me so much luck in recent weeks.

[ He smiles back, just shaking his head. ]

You never needed them.

[ Maybe he shouldn't say that, considering just how much Leia's lost over the years. Her parents, her marriage, her brother, her son. Her planet. But...she'd survived all of that, and none of it had come close to extinguishing her spark.

He reaches out, tucking his fingers under her chin to gently urge her to look up at him. ]

We'll be here waiting for you, Princess. All of us.

But I don't expect to see you here for a long time.

If you say so.

[There are so many things she wants to say, that she shouldn't. Or perhaps she should, but would it really make any of this any easier? Would it help? Or would they just part feeling worse? Perhaps it's better to leave it unspoken.

Leia lifts her chin, looks up into Han's eyes, still the same as she remembers, and smiles, her eyes swimming with tears that she can't keep back any longer.]

...I'll miss you. I still do.

[ She doesn't need to say any of it.

He nods, and though he doesn't tear up, his eyes never leave hers. One corner of his mouth twitches up in a crooked grin. ]

I know.

[ He can't kiss her, not the way she deserves to be kissed. So he just reaches out and enfolds her in his arms again, holding her close one last time.

He doesn't need to say it, either; the way he hugs her says it all.

I'm sorry. ]

[Those two words have so much history between the two of them, enough to make her heart ache, and her smile widens in a desperate bid to keep the tears from spilling over. It's a relief when Han hugs her again, because she can bury her face against his jacket, breathe in that familiar scent one last time. When she's got herself composed, sniffling, she pulls back just enough that she can lean up and press her lips softly to his jaw. One more for the road.]

[ There's more time if they want it, but as much as Han wants to linger at Leia's side for as long as he can, he knows it's time. He gives her that same crooked grin when she kisses his jaw, and reaches out a hand to caress a bony finger tenderly down her cheek. ]

See you around, Princess.

[ With that, he turns on his heel and saunters off, disappearing into the crowd. ]

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hasit - 2018-03-22 00:40 (UTC) - Expand

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