Never Let You Go

Chapter 20

"Han! They'll be here any minute!" Leia yelled to Han.

"I know. I'm ready." He walked out of the bedroom and met Leia in the living room.

      There was a knock at the door and Leia opened it. They walked out, joining Lando, Chewie, Luke, and Cora for the tour. Lando led them out of the building and outside, taking them all over Cloud City. The only portion of the city that he was trying to avoid was the portion of the city that held bad memories. He decided to save that part of the city for last.

      They walked into the building. As Leia and Han looked around, they knew it looked familiar. They looked at each other, Han squeezed Leia's hand and she squeezed back. Lando showed them to a room. When the door opened, it was the dining room.

"This is the dining room." Lando said.

"It's very lovely." Cora said.

"Thank you. However, I hardly come in here anymore."

"How come?" Cora asked.

"Bad memories." He said, looking at Han and Leia. Cora followed his gaze and gasped.

"Oh, this is the building where it happened. I'm so sorry." She immediately understood now.

"This is the building where we mainly package and ship out the Tibanna Gas that we are brought from the mines on other planets." He explained, walking out of the dining room and out into the hallway and walking to stop in front of a door.

"This here is the mechanics shop." They walked in and he walked them through it.

"When transports come through here and have problems, our mechanics will fix the problems for them so they can deliver the shipment successfully."

"Like the hyperdrive?" Han joked.

"Still sorry about that. I honestly thought they fixed it. They told me they did. When I came back here, I checked the records and it said that it had been fixed, but someone broke it so the ship couldn't get far."

"The Empire." Han said, Lando nodded. It all made sense now. It wasn't Lando's fault, it was the Empire. "Makes sense." Han nodded.

      They followed him around through the building. The final stop was the place they were trying to avoid. They walked into the room that glowed orange, surrounded by blue.

"This, this is where we package the Tibanna Gas." Lando said.

"And freeze people." Han added.

"Han, that wasn't my choice. Vader wanted you frozen. If I didn't do it, he was going to kill me, you, and your friends."

"I need to step out for some fresh air." Leia said quickly, turning and quickly walking out.

"Leia! Wait!" Han yelled after her.

"Sorry, Han." Lando said, honestly.

"I know." He said, nodding. "Excuse me, I'm gonna go check on her."

"We'll meet up with you guys."

"Thanks for the tour, Lando." He said before running after his wife.

      Han ran through the building, he found her in the room they were in on that fateful trip all those years ago. She stood by the window, staring out at the city below.

"Leia..." Leia jumped, she didn't hear his footsteps. She turned around, seeing him in the doorway. "You alright?" He walked in and stood in front of her.

"Sorry. I just had to get away from there." She sighed.

"It's okay." he smiled softly.

"This place hasn't changed. Looks the same." She wanted to change the topic.

"It does." He nodded.

"This is really the only place in this entire building that doesn't hold bad memories for me."

"We did have a good time in here." He teased.

"We did." She laughed softly.

"You okay?" he asked, knowing how hard this was for her.

"I am." She nodded. "Because you're here with me this time."

"Good. Because I'm not going anywhere. I love you, Leia." He held her in his embrace and kissed her.

"I love you too, Han." She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his embrace.

      They stood there for a little while, just enjoying the closeness. They closed their eyes and enjoyed their moment alone. Leia opened her eyes and sighed.

"What is it?" Han asked, looking at her with a confused look.

"Luke is looking for us." She sighed.

"How...oh!" Han said, realizing how she knew that. She nodded.

"We should probably go meet up with them." Leia said, moving from Han's embrace. She hated to let their nice, peaceful moment end.

"Might be a good idea." He agreed.

      Han and Leia walked out into the hall and found Lando, Chewie, Luke, and Cora after a few minutes of looking for them.

"There you are!" Luke said.

"Sorry about that." Leia apologized.

"It's okay. I know it's difficult being back here." Lando nodded.

"It really is a beautiful place..."

"I know. But it's filled with bad memories." Lando agreed, finishing the thought for her. Leia nodded.

"How about we all go get something to eat?" Luke suggested.

"Sounds amazing. I'm starving!" Leia said, practically running to the speeder. They laughed.

"I knew you'd say that." Han laughed. They got into the speeder and headed back to their part of the city.

      After lunch, they all headed back to their rooms and thanked Lando for the tour. Han sat on the couch with Leia. She was curled up, her head on his lap. He brushed his fingers through her hair.

"We should find a place to live, soon." She said.

"I know."

"I would love to live on Naboo, with all my family being there. It's such a beautiful place, but honestly, I don't think I'd want to see them all the time. But I love Corellia. It's far enough away from politics and it's so peaceful there. I'd love for him to experience your home."

"I think that sounds perfect. Peaceful and no politics." He laughed. "How about we start looking for a place there?"

"Okay." she smiled and nodded.