Perfect Picture
Characters: Han/Leia, Luke/Mara, Jacen, Jaina, Anakin, Tahiri, Ben, OCs
Rating: PG
Warnings: cavities
Summary: The hardest-working families of the last century need a break.
The planet they’d all flown in to was widely known as an excellent vacationing spot, and stepping out of the Falcon onto the ferrocrete of the landing pad, Han could already feel the heat soaking through the soles of his boots. Leia had asked him to put on their more climate-appropriate clothing, but Han had stubbornly insisted that he wasn’t changing so soon after getting dressed in the first place. Now he could understand why, but didn’t dare bring it up to Leia. She’d only be smug.
On the next landing pad over, the Jade Shadow was just putting down, maneuvering jets firing as Mara set her down in the exact center. Han had to admire it; not only did Mara have a keen eye for ships (he didin’t doubt that she’d had some hand in picking her wedding present), but she had a fine touch on the controls as well. Almost as good as he was.
The ramp on the Shadow extended outward, and Luke, with four-year-old Ben in tow, descended. Ben spotted Han first and tugged his hand free of his father’s, running over with limbs flailing comically to wrap his arms around Han’s legs.
“Uncle Han!”
“Hey there, kiddo,” Han said with a grin, ruffling his nephew’s red-gold hair. He raised a hand in greeting to Luke, who had probably submitted to his wife’s wishes and put on the lighter, more comfortable clothing. “And you too, Luke.”
“Hi, Han,” Luke said, grinning as Ben detached himself from Han’s calves and ran over to say hello to his cousins. For a minute, they just stopped and watched as Ben at last permitted himself to be carried piggyback by Jacen.
Han had to smile a little at that. Jacen had become more thoughtful and quiet as he’d grown older, and the things he’d seen had had the effect of making him even more introverted. The only times that Han saw his oldest son laugh and smile were when he had Ben around.
Luke smiled. “It’s nice to see Jacen like this, outside of the Academy. He’s always so serious, it’s hard to remember that not too long ago he had a whole zoo in his room and was always trying to add more.”
“I know what you mean.” Han shrugged. His oldest son had become an enigma to him after the war, and Han sometimes felt that he wouldn’t be able to relate to the young man anymore. Not that they were strangers, but...
He shook his head. Time to jaw on that later; he could all but hear Leia asking what was taking him so long. “Come on, we’d better get everything to this place we’re staying at before our wives get after us.”
*
Their accommodations were top-notch. This place had escaped being ravaged by the Vong, and the proprietors of the beachfront villa were old enough to remember the heroism of the Old Republic Jedi, and even remembered following the exploits of Anakin Skywalker with breathless devotion. Not to mention the Jedi had been instrumental in ending the invasion.
The kids were let loose to play on the sand--a heavily pregnant Mara snagging her son and covering him in a shiny layer of anti-UV lotion first--while the adults got to sip cool drinks in the shade of two giant umbrellas. It was, Han thought, as far as you could get from a greasy cantina in Mos Eisley. If you’d asked him then if he’d be watching his three children, plus one girlfriend and one nephew, splashing around in surf on one of the premier resort worlds--
A sudden flash brought Han out of his thoughts, and he reached for his blaster before realizing it was the flash of a holo-taker, and was in fact the waterproof, sandproof, everything-proof one that Leia had insisted on acquiring and giving to Jacen before their trip. Their home had been ravaged and he needed holos to decorate his room, make it his again, she’d said. This would go a long way to healing the emotional scars placed on him during the war.
But it just wouldn’t do to have an exemplar photo of Han Solo on there where he wasn’t looking his best.
“You better give that thing over here and let me see it,” Han said, pointing his finger at his son. Jacen blinked twice, then tucked the device behind his back. “If it’s not a good picture you’re going to have to redo it.”
“Why would I do that? It looks fine!”
“I don’t know that!”
“It’s fine!”
Han started to get up, and Jacen skittered back across the sand, and the chase was on.
*
When they were unpacking from their trip, Leia held up the holoprojector on which she’d stored all the family pictures and movies they’d taken on vacation. There were pictures of their initial arrival--one of Luke trying out a set of fire poi that one of their neighbors in another villa had brought along, to hilarious results--her new niece and nephew that had been born on-planet.
But the one that she stopped at, a fond smile making her look years younger, was the vid of Jacen scrambling across the sand, waving a holo-taker above his head with a giant silly grin on his face, and Han barreling after him. No matter what happened after, Leia thought as she thumbed off the holoprojector, as long as she could look back at that, she would be able to have something happy to hold on to.
Rating: PG
Warnings: cavities
Summary: The hardest-working families of the last century need a break.
The planet they’d all flown in to was widely known as an excellent vacationing spot, and stepping out of the Falcon onto the ferrocrete of the landing pad, Han could already feel the heat soaking through the soles of his boots. Leia had asked him to put on their more climate-appropriate clothing, but Han had stubbornly insisted that he wasn’t changing so soon after getting dressed in the first place. Now he could understand why, but didn’t dare bring it up to Leia. She’d only be smug.
On the next landing pad over, the Jade Shadow was just putting down, maneuvering jets firing as Mara set her down in the exact center. Han had to admire it; not only did Mara have a keen eye for ships (he didin’t doubt that she’d had some hand in picking her wedding present), but she had a fine touch on the controls as well. Almost as good as he was.
The ramp on the Shadow extended outward, and Luke, with four-year-old Ben in tow, descended. Ben spotted Han first and tugged his hand free of his father’s, running over with limbs flailing comically to wrap his arms around Han’s legs.
“Uncle Han!”
“Hey there, kiddo,” Han said with a grin, ruffling his nephew’s red-gold hair. He raised a hand in greeting to Luke, who had probably submitted to his wife’s wishes and put on the lighter, more comfortable clothing. “And you too, Luke.”
“Hi, Han,” Luke said, grinning as Ben detached himself from Han’s calves and ran over to say hello to his cousins. For a minute, they just stopped and watched as Ben at last permitted himself to be carried piggyback by Jacen.
Han had to smile a little at that. Jacen had become more thoughtful and quiet as he’d grown older, and the things he’d seen had had the effect of making him even more introverted. The only times that Han saw his oldest son laugh and smile were when he had Ben around.
Luke smiled. “It’s nice to see Jacen like this, outside of the Academy. He’s always so serious, it’s hard to remember that not too long ago he had a whole zoo in his room and was always trying to add more.”
“I know what you mean.” Han shrugged. His oldest son had become an enigma to him after the war, and Han sometimes felt that he wouldn’t be able to relate to the young man anymore. Not that they were strangers, but...
He shook his head. Time to jaw on that later; he could all but hear Leia asking what was taking him so long. “Come on, we’d better get everything to this place we’re staying at before our wives get after us.”
*
Their accommodations were top-notch. This place had escaped being ravaged by the Vong, and the proprietors of the beachfront villa were old enough to remember the heroism of the Old Republic Jedi, and even remembered following the exploits of Anakin Skywalker with breathless devotion. Not to mention the Jedi had been instrumental in ending the invasion.
The kids were let loose to play on the sand--a heavily pregnant Mara snagging her son and covering him in a shiny layer of anti-UV lotion first--while the adults got to sip cool drinks in the shade of two giant umbrellas. It was, Han thought, as far as you could get from a greasy cantina in Mos Eisley. If you’d asked him then if he’d be watching his three children, plus one girlfriend and one nephew, splashing around in surf on one of the premier resort worlds--
A sudden flash brought Han out of his thoughts, and he reached for his blaster before realizing it was the flash of a holo-taker, and was in fact the waterproof, sandproof, everything-proof one that Leia had insisted on acquiring and giving to Jacen before their trip. Their home had been ravaged and he needed holos to decorate his room, make it his again, she’d said. This would go a long way to healing the emotional scars placed on him during the war.
But it just wouldn’t do to have an exemplar photo of Han Solo on there where he wasn’t looking his best.
“You better give that thing over here and let me see it,” Han said, pointing his finger at his son. Jacen blinked twice, then tucked the device behind his back. “If it’s not a good picture you’re going to have to redo it.”
“Why would I do that? It looks fine!”
“I don’t know that!”
“It’s fine!”
Han started to get up, and Jacen skittered back across the sand, and the chase was on.
*
When they were unpacking from their trip, Leia held up the holoprojector on which she’d stored all the family pictures and movies they’d taken on vacation. There were pictures of their initial arrival--one of Luke trying out a set of fire poi that one of their neighbors in another villa had brought along, to hilarious results--her new niece and nephew that had been born on-planet.
But the one that she stopped at, a fond smile making her look years younger, was the vid of Jacen scrambling across the sand, waving a holo-taker above his head with a giant silly grin on his face, and Han barreling after him. No matter what happened after, Leia thought as she thumbed off the holoprojector, as long as she could look back at that, she would be able to have something happy to hold on to.