Acknowledgement: Fiona who beta'd
Archive: Just tell me where.
Archive Date: February 14, 2001
Author's Webpage: http://www.geocities.com/lady_aethelynde
Category: Romance, humor
Disclaimer: The boys belong to George, but if he kept them busy, they
wouldn't be making out in the stacks where any librarian doing her
shelving could stumble on them.
Feedback: I crave it. It's my favorite high.
Notes: Sort of a sequel to "Postcards from Corellia," so read
that first. Also a response to the "new challenge for a new year."
Poetry is not mine, belongs to a long-dead lecher named Solomon.
Pairing: H/L
Rating: NC-17
Summary: On the renewal of their bonding, Han and Luke decide what
they want from the future
Warnings: Poetry! This is slash! That means two guys having sex. So
if you have a problem with this (or if you're in the "Han is
irrevocably Het" crowd) clear out now. You are warned.
"Elka, who is the best poet in the family?"
The Captain of the Millennium Falcon glanced away from the cockpit pickup and checked the instruments. The simulcrum of his sister stood on the navigator's board.
The blonde matriarch's holo looked thoughtful. "Depends on what you want, baby. Heroic ballads? That'd be Wila. Modernistic stuff is best done by Seska's Brant."
"Romantic. I want something special for Luke."
"That'd be Lissa. Hold on and I'll call her." Elka vanished briefly except for one hand in the holopickup's range. A small giggle caught his attention and he watched as a baby crawled past the pickup, followed by Hend, also crawling. Lissa came into view.
"Hi, Uncle Han. What can I do for you?"
"Lissa, honey, I need a romantic poem. Elka says you write the best ones. Luke and I have been bonded 10 years, and I want to have something very special and personal for him this year."
"Write it yourself, would be my best advice."
"I tried. You don't want to know how bad it was. Please?" He turned the charm up to megawattage.
"All right. I'll have it ready by your renewal date. I-" Hend came back into range, carrying the baby, and tickling her.
"Wuv oo, wuv oo, wuv oo!" he cooed into her tummy. She let fly gales of laughter as he blew a razzberry on her.
"Hend, I'm on the comm! That's very annoying."
"Sorry, sweet." The man took a look at the holo. "Uncle Han."
"Hend."
"Sorry about that. She's got a wild streak. Oh, you stinkpot," he chuckled as the baby tried to rearrange his cheekbones. He shifted the child and turned to go. "You're daddy's bitsy pookums, aren't you? Yes, you are," he cooed at her as he left the pickup's range.
"I wuv oo? Bitsy pookums?" The horror in Han's voice made Lissa chuckle.
"Oh, Hend's just a big goof about babies. Marni and I are lucky he likes them. I'll have your poem for you, Uncle. Take care. Here, Mama."
Elka stepped back into the range. "Sorry about Hend. Sure you won't reconsider moving back?" She considered a second. "After that, probably not. Although, I bet you'd be pretty proficient at baby talk if you tried."
"Thanks, Elka." Han ignored the insistant offer his sister was re-iterating: that he and Luke needed to make some provision to having children. "Have her Send it to these coordinates. They're Luke's place on Yavin. Say hello to everyone for me. I'm coming out of hyper. Talk to you soon. Love you, sis."
"Love you, too, baby."
He shut down the holo pickup. Chewbacca came forward and together they made the transition to normal space. They were orbiting Yavin, on a course to the fourth moon. Luke had moved his Jedi school here from Coruscant a year earlier, finding it easier to teach without the distractions of the Republic Capitol.
Luke finished packing his carrybag as he addressed the woman on the viewscreen. "Hello, Elka."
"Luke! What a surprise! Did Han arrive all right?"
"He's fine. Elka, dear sister, I need a big favor. Who writes the best poetry in the family? I want a really special renewal gift for Han this year."
Elka arched one elegant eyebrow. "Romantic, I suppose?" Seeing Luke nod, she said, "Hold, please." The tiny redhead appeared on the screen.
"Hi, Lissa."
"Uncle Luke!" she chirped. Lissa had always liked him.
"Lissa, I need a big favor. I want you to write a romantic poem for Han. I tried but it came out sappy. Will you, please? And keep it quiet, I want it to be a surprise."
"Of couse, Uncle. I'll have it for your renewal." Her lopsided smile held mischief he could not see.
"Thank you, Lissa. Here are the coordinates for our cottage. You do have a Matter-Sender?" She nodded. "Thanks sweetheart. And good fortune with the baby."
"It's nothing, Uncle Luke. Love you. Here, Mama."
"What are you boys planning for the Renewal? A full ceremony?"
"A quiet evening together. Something we get entirely too seldom. Thank you, Elka."
"You're welcome. And do visit soon, sweetie."
"We will, Elka. 'Bye." He switched off the viewscreen and the message light flashed at him. He triggered it.
"Master Skywalker, the Millenium Falcon docked at 1437, local time."
Luke checked his chrono and saw he had less than three minutes before his bondmate arrived. His things were ready, his room was in order. He made one final sweep, picking up the toothcleaner. He loved his mate dearly, but Corellian dentifrices made his eyes water. He was waiting behind the door when Han opened it.
"Luke? You ready to go?" Han called as he stepped into the room.
Like a bolt of dark lightening, Luke launched out from behind the door, knocking Han across the room, and onto the bed. He perched atop his mate, kissing him fiercely.
"Hi," Luke said brightly as he let them up for air.
"Miss me?" Han's chuckle was half-incredulous, half-teasing.
"Always. I'm ready to go." He kissed Han again, hungry need evident in every movement of his lips. "I miss you terribly. Maybe moving to Yavin wasn't a good idea."
"Maybe." Han pulled out his comlink. "And maybe I have a good one. Shall I tell Chewie it'll be a while?"
Luke thought it over. "Only if you want to tell him to take a week's vacation. I'd hate to think I did all that packing for nothing."
"Guess you did miss me." Quicker than Luke could react, Han overbalanced him and rolled him to his back on the narrow bed. "Know what?" He kissed Luke hard, teeth clashing, tongues duelling, and the taste of blood from a split lip adding to the arousal. "I missed you too." He ran a cautious tongue over his mouth, only to find it was his own lower lip that was bleeding. "If you're gonna hold out until we're at your place, let's see how fast we can get the old girl off the ground." One more kiss, this one slower, gentler and far more thorough, and Han pulled them both to their feet.
Luke scooped up the carrybag, and hit his mate with the wicked grin that the smuggler found utterly irresistable. "Were we five years younger, I'd offer to race you. Instead, come on." He held out his bare right hand, a gesture he only ever made to Han.
Moving with a speed unseemly to a Republic General and a Jedi Teacher, the two men were aboard the Falcon and lifting in less than ten standard minutes. The bunnyhop across the planet took a few more minutes, and they set the Falcon down on the landing pad near the tiny house.
Go, Chewbacca chortled at them, amusement evident in the ancient blue eyes. You smell as if the pheromones of your entire species are allotted to the two of you. I will stay at the Academy, and return in three days to make sure you remember to eat and drink. They laughed at the wookiee, but half-dashed off the ship, carrybags in hand, arms around each other's shoulders.
Han paused them and watched as his ship took off, headed for the Massassi temple. "Sloppy, sloppy," he grumbled as Chewbacca executed a roll and waggled the ship. "So," he turned to look at Luke's cottage. "this is your place."
Luke had been on Yavin since shortly after their last renewal date. He had come to Coruscant twice, and Han had come to Yavin six times. It was common knowledge in New Republic Ship Design that General Solo tested all the prototypes personally, and Coruscant to Yavin was the shakedown run. The standing joke was that the evaluation of the prototype depended on how much sleep his mate let him get: the less sleep, the better the evaluation. The longest time they had spent together was an eight day trip to Corellia, only four of which they spent at Stom and Elka's.
All of Han's visits had been spent at the temple: stolen moments between Luke's classes; desultory lovemaking, always initiated by him, on the hard, narrow bed before his mate fell into exhausted sleep; hasty meals, and all-too-rapid departures. Only once had he managed to coordinate his arrival with the beginning of the three weekly days of rest, despite his best efforts. He had not yet seen the house Luke was preparing, at Luke's insistance. It was to be a place just for the two of them, where they could leave the Jedi teacher and the Republic General, and all the rest of the Galaxy, outside.
Luke shifted his weight almost nervously as Han looked at the house. It was small, but neat, made of the native stone set in interesting patterns. The ceramic tile roof would stand up to Yavin's worst torrential rains. He had worked on it on the three rest days each week, and it was finally done, right on schedule.
"Cozy," Han commented. The little house was no bigger than the Falcon.
"Tiny, you mean. It's big enough. Come on." Luke's artifical hand closed just a hair too tightly on Han's real one. He ignored it.
Han was eager to see the inside. Luke had never decorated any of the series of apartments they had shared. He said they weren't home and he would only invest the effort of decorating in a home. Han, having always traveled light, had never added personal touches either, and the apartments were always as empty when they left as when they had arrived. It suddenly hit him, he had no idea what his mate considered a well-appointed house.
Luke stopped Han at the door. "There's an old Tatooine custom that the mate being brought into the new house for the first time enters with shut eyes. That way, the other can present the best part of the house first. Please?"
Han shut his eyes. "Far be it from me to argue with old customs."
Luke kissed him, slow and sweet, his tongue warm and indulgent. "Thank you."
Han held out both hands and Luke pulled him into the house, leading him carefully to the middle of a room. Han gathered what information he could from his other senses. His feet were noiseless, and the carpet was soft. The room smelled clean and new and slightly green, as if Luke had plants in it. A spicy undertone he couldn't place also reached him. It was moist and slightly too warm. A faint sound of falling water reminded him he needed the 'fresher. Luke dropped his hands and moved behind him.
"Han." Luke's hands covered his mate's eyes as he sighed the name into the welcoming ear. "Open your eyes." As he felt the flutter of eyelashes, he took his hands away. "Welcome home, my heart."
Han looked around. The whole house was one single room, walk in closet and 'fresher not withstanding. A food synth on one wall, and a view screen on the other, lay in easy reach of the bed that dominated the room.
The corner-posts were taller than Han and a hand-span thick. Each was elaborately carved with vines, strange flora and stranger fauna, and topped with a silver metal ball. The footrail was a frenzy of scrollwork as were the sideboards, which turned into drawers as they reached the floor. The headboard, almost as high as Luke's nose, was a baroque nightmare of frolicking near-human forest gods and wood nymphs.
The whole frame was scarlet gra'al wood, and emitted the faintly spicy scent. The bedding was pale gold: soft seln sheets, and a thick duvet, invitingly turned back. The pillows were a rainbow cascade at the head of the bed: some big and puffy, others small and flat.
Han gaped at the sheer scale of the bed. It was at least three meters wide and four long. The top of the mattress was almost a meter off the floor. It would hold half a dozen wookiees, let alone two humans. "Kid, you expecting company? Like a whole platoon?"
"No, just us. I thought we'd spend this visit in bed, eating, sleeping, talking and making love. So, we needed a nice big one." Luke pressed closer to Han's back, wanting to feel all of his mate's flesh under his hands.
"What'd you do? Buy out an Ord Mantell pleasure house?"
"Actually, you could say I inherited it," Luke said against the back of his neck. "Shall we see if it's comfortable?"
"You don't know?"
"Of course not. I sat on it once to make sure it wasn't rock hard, and I made it up, but I haven't slept in it. It wouldn't be right to sleep in our bed alone. I won't sleep here while you're gone either. This is for us."
"Inherited it?" A cold hand seized Han's insides and twisted hard. He'd come to terms with Luke's parentage, but the idea of sleeping in Vader's bed turned his stomach. In his younger days, it would have been a way to thumb his nose at the Empire: having the Sith lord's son in his very bed. But the Empire was long gone, and his own wild, defiant streak had cooled with age.
"My father was a very wealthy man. I only recently finalized all the pieces of the estate. This was his and Mother's. I found it in a sealed wing of his palace about six years ago, and had to clean thirty years of dust out of the carving. Shipping it without you finding out was a real headache." Luke's hands were not idle, and as Han listened to the much-loved and often-missed voice, he realized his gunbelt was sliding to the floor, and his vest was long gone.
Han took in the rest of his surroundings hastily as his mate's hands continued to undress him. The wall at the foot of the bed, the one they had entered through, shifted the scenery from a Dagobah swamp to a Corellian ocean. Han remembered the trickle of water, and placed a small fountain on a decorative bar, next to two lavishly green plants. The wall with the viewscreen was pale blue, nearly white. It encapsulated several things in a protective force-field, screening out Yavin's dampness: a flat drum, an X-wing helmet, a few holos of places, one of the Falcon, and the only one of humans: the two of them, looking at each other.
"Our Bonding," Han managed. Luke's hands were very distracting, and his mouth had progressed over one shoulder.
"Mmm-hm. Chewie gave it to me."
"Sneak." Han pulled Luke around to face him. "Half the galaxy help you get this place ready?"
"No, just Chewie and Leia. Well, Madine and Lando helped me get the bed here without you knowing. You have a lot of people who love you in a lot of ways."
"But you best of all." Han pulled him in for a kiss. Slowly, he backed Luke toward the ridiculous bed. The scenery wall shifted to Coruscant traffic, distracting him. "Turn that thing off."
Luke snapped once, and the wall became a steady starfield. Somewhere during Han's inspection of the house, he had stripped. "Are you too warm? I set it for my comfort." He licked away a bead of sweat that had trickled down Han's jaw. "You always taste good." He tripped the enviro controls with the Force and a cool breeze began cutting through the mugginess.
"Get in bed, Luke. I'll be right there." Han slipped out for a moment, and returned carrying his boots and pants.
Luke lay on his side, propped on one elbow, smiling invitingly. The soft gold sheet draped over his hips in a way that begged to be brushed aside, mirroring the renewed pallor of his hair. He was trim and lightly tanned, looking only a little older than the boy Han had met fifteen years before. Yavin was good for him in a way Coruscant with it's dying sun and thick air could never be. Desire, pent up for months, burst the dam and flooded Han with longing for his mate. He sat on the bed, amazed at how comfortable it was, never noticing he had dropped his clothing.
The huge bed was going to be a problem, Luke could already tell. He reached out, but Han was well out of arm's length. Frustrated, he scooted toward the edge of the bed. Han turned to face him, and leaned forward for a kiss. Luke opened to him, wrapping strong arms around him, and pressing close to every inch of skin he could reach.
Their mouths never left each other's body as their limbs twined together, indulging in deferred pleasures, denied desires. Each taste intoxicated them, each touch intense, exquisite torment as knowing fingers exploited the most erogenous parts of the men.
Luke nibbled his way to an ear and gasped, "I want you. I want to be inside you." He licked aross Han's cheek and kissed him hard, nipping at the corners of his mate's mouth, sliding slickly along the ridged palate, and tasting the subtle textures, the indefinable sweet flavor.
Luke heightened his senses with the Force, wanting all the nuances that were the essence of Han. The rich feel of his mate's life-presence, so different than the insistant piping thoughts of the students or the ever-present greenlife of the jungle moon, flowed over him, truly relaxing him for the first time in almost a year. He wallowed in it, giving himself over to the kiss and the Force.
Han opened his eyes mid-way through the kiss. Luke was always desirable, but today he seemed more urgent, more wanting than usual. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing steadily through his nose. If not for the intricate motions of tongue and lips, Han would have said his mate was asleep. He eased out of the kiss, breaking the contact for longer and longer periods of time until Luke opened his eyes. They were slightly glazed, and took a moment to come into focus.
"How?"
"Mmm?" Luke's mouth was seeking his again.
"How? Face-to-face? Hands and knees? Back-to-back?" It was a long-standing joke that disguised an actual request for information.
"Back-to-back? That could be awkward." The first part of the response was always the same. "Side by side would be easier."
One last kiss, and Han rolled onto his side, making himself comfortable, while Luke curled around his mate's larger frame.
"Desk job's getting to you, Han. There's more of you than I remembered." His fingers played light counterpoint to his teasing, running through the chesthair, plucking at nipples, navel, outlining ribs. He manipulated the Force to rearrange the air molecules, slicking himself and his lover without any mess. "Ready?"
"Since we left Corellia. That was the last time, so take it a little slow. It's been half a year."
"That long?" Taking his time, Luke eased into his bondmate, the tight heat encompassing him, the small gasps from Han lengthening into a satisfied sigh as Luke sheathed himself fully.
"Yeah. Right there. I've been doin' all the work since then."
"We'll just have to fix that this visit." Luke moved slowly, pacing himself with an easy rhythm.
"Very nice. You wanna move a little faster?" Han made an abortive movement to touch himself, but Luke was there first. The warm, smooth skin of his right hand encircled but did not caress. He was getting impatient when Luke's mouth at his neck put some light teeth behind the kiss.
"No. And you aren't going to move either. I want to enjoy this. And when I'm done here, you'll roll over and I'll," he paused and ran a suggestive tongue along the side of Han's throat, "satisfy you."
"Oh yeah."
Savoring each minute variation of position and tightness, Luke sank back into the Force, letting Han's pleasure flow over him and enhance his own. Frustration and impatience tempered with love and desire fed his own wanting. He stepped up the pace, taking in each detail of his bondmate, all familiar but each made new by separation. The warm skin was smooth against his torso, sweet under his mouth with the enzymes common to Corellians, the hair sparse on the back, but more concentrated on the legs. He pressed closer, deepening the contact even as he pressed as deep as he could into his lover.
But even Jedi have limitations, and Luke had reached the end of his own considerable self-control. He came fully back to current reality, and moved with sure, steady strokes.
"Ah, kid, you're torturing me. C'mon." Han's breathing was ragged and his voice rough with need. He thrust against the hand that enclosed him, wanting his own release.
Luke let go and gripped his mate's hips as the even, steady pace moved into something more frantic. He clutched too tightly as every muscle in his body tensed and thrust as deeply as he could as culmination rolled through him.
He let out the breath he was holding, and relaxed against Han's back, sated and content. Han enjoyed the feel of the warm breath between his shoulders, of his mate softening inside his body. The erotic tension was still building within him, and he moved just a little away.
"Come back to me, Han." Luke's hands were pressing on his shoulders, rolling him back. Each kiss seemed to burn as Luke moved lower, and it was a struggle not to explode at the first touch of the soft lips when his lover took him in.
Later, they slept twined around each other. It had been too many nights apart since the last visit. The big bed was comfortable and no bad dreams lurked in the scrollwork.
Morrning light slanted across the face of the sleeping Jedi, and his mate watched for a while, not wanting to disturb him. The gentle rays limned his features with liquid gold, and brought out the highlights in his hair, turning it almost the same shade as the bedclothes. Sleep erased the lines from his face, making him young again, taking him to a time before Vader and Yoda, Death Stars and Jedi,a time when all he wanted was to fly.
Unable to resist, Han reached out a single finger, and slowly drew it along Luke's jaw, following the molten light. Luke's eyes fluttered. Years settled onto his face, cutting channels beside his mouth, waking the shadows under his eyes.
Han rose before Luke could wake completely and hastily programmed the foodsynth. The matter sender flashed a light, letting him know an object was in queue to arrive. He flipped the switch to bring it in, and the foodsynth pinged. Breakfast was hastily assembled on the tray as he scooped up the small transfer pod. He was back to the side of the bed as Luke opened his eyes and stretched.
"The Sender materialized this for you, Luke." Han dropped the pod on the bed, and set the tray of kaf and cakes out of the way. "Gonna open it?"
"No. It's just work. It can wait." Luke pushed it aside as he sat up, surreptitiously tossing a corner of the coverlet over it. He picked up the kaf and sipped carefully.
"Love you." Han leaned over and brushed Luke's lips lightly as the cup came down. He wondered how he would be able to get his own package unobtrusively.
"Breakfast first," Luke insisted, reaching for a plate as his stomach rumbled audibly. "Even Jedi have to eat. Especially when we spend half the night attempting to satisfy an insatiable Corellian." The last was half-mumbled around a bite of cake.
"Not a bad attempt. Want another shot after breakfast?"
Used to the teasing, Luke paid more attention to the food. When the last of the frooberry syrup was turning to sticky droplets on the empty plates, Luke picked up the dishes and dropped them into the recycler.
"Now about that second shot..." he taunted, leaning naked against the bedpost, only to find his mate had slipped into the 'fresher. While Han was taking a shower, Luke opened the pod, and found a small object neatly wrapped in colorful paper, a very old-fashioned touch. A close approximation of his handwriting on a tag read "For Han."
"Lissa, you think of everything," he whispered, and tucked it under his favorite pillow. He rose and joined his mate in the 'fresher. As he slipped under the warm water, Han caught him in for a short kiss. "This whole place is incredible. Thank you for it. Wanna try the tub?" Luke nodded, his mouth busy on Han's collarbones and ribs. The taller man turned off the shower, and disentangled himself.
They sat in the oversized tub, the small contoured bench wide enough for the two of them, letting the warm water swirl around waist-deep around them. Luke leaned into one of the water jets, enjoying himself.
"I never lived anywhere that there was enough water to have a tub like this. You like it?"
"Oh yeah. I like the tub, and the house. And even the bed is getting better. It looks best with you in it, kid."
"Flatterer. You sound like one of my students trying for a better evaluation." Luke kissed him quiet.
"Here. Now. In the water." Han pulled him over onto his lap, kissing him urgently.
Luke straddled his thighs, rubbing against him, and returned the kiss with equal urgency. He eased the passage of his mate with the Force as he enveloped him, and settled into a gentle rocking motion. "You're keeping pace real well, old man. What gives?"
"Who you callin' old, junior? Corellians hit their sexual peak around forty."
"After this, it's all down hill?" Luke teased, stopping completely.
"Oh, space you. Anymore lip, and I'll finish what that garbage monster started."
"What about this lip?" Han moaned under the renewed assault on his mouth. Luke had begun rocking again, this time more insistant.
"Smart-mouthed twitch," he mumbled and gave himself over to the pleasure.
Han left the bath first, and went straight to the sender. As expected, there was an item in queue. He retrieved it. The small flat parcel was wrapped in dark paper and a fair likeness of his handwriting said "To Luke."
"Ah, Lissa, darlin." He tucked the package under his favorite pillow, one Luke would be unlikely to steal in the night. That was the advantage of the astoundingly huge bed: no matter how many covers Luke hogged, there were always more. Han had lost count of the nights he had awakened to drafts in intimate and awkward locations, only to find his bondmate had cocooned himself in all the bedclothes.
He listened to Luke humming to himself in the bath, and was amused to hearit was a family song that Marni had taught them on the last trip to Corellia. Suddenly, the little house felt too small. He stepped out the front door and let the warm jungle dampness roll over him. The aerial lizards were calling from the trees, and small sounds came from the forest. The air was heavy and smelled of growth, foliage and decay. Yavin 4's blue sky arched clear, and the great bulk of the gas giant was just peeping over the horizon.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Luke came up behind him and wrapped his arms around him. "I read about trees and worlds with unlimited water, but I never thought I'd see one, let alone live on one. Yavin holds a lot of firsts for me."
"Including me."
"Oh stars, we were so drunk that night, and hardly any of it was from drinking. I'm still amazed we didn't take Leia with us. Glad, though."
"Tell you a secret. kid. I hadn't had anything when you pulled me out of the party. I wanted you from the minute I laid eyes on you in Chalmun's."
"A secret? I knew that. Did you know I hadn't had anything either? I was completely drunk on being alive, and on knowing you were alive, too. I didn't want you from Chalmun's, though. I think I fell in Docking Bay 94."
"You remember the number after all these years? C'mere." He pulled Luke around to the front of him and kissed him. "Ten years with you."
"I'm older now than you were when we met." Luke's voice had gone pensive. "We've seen so much, sometimes I feel older than Ben." He fell silent for a moment, absorbing the warm feel of his bondmate. "I've got something for you. In honor of ten years. Come on back inside." He pressed Han back toward the house.
"I've got something for you, too. Had to face my sister to get it. She gave me the usual guff about kids. Seriously, Luke, how do you feel about one of the girls having kids for us? Astri says she'd like her last to be yours. Elka says-"
"I know what Elka says. And I won't have a son of mine raised that way!" The vehemence in Luke's voice startled Han. They had not discussed children since the initial visit to Corellia five years before, despite the sometimes unsubtle pressure from Han's matriarchial sister. Apparently Luke had given it some thought as well. "I won't have him depend on the charity of relatives, not seeing me but a few times a year. I love all the girls too much to hurt them by taking him away from his mother, but I couldn't live with not being there for him. It's too similar to how I was raised. My son will not be an orphan in your sister's house."
"Shh," Han soothed as they sat on the edge of the bed. He ran light massaging hands over Luke's back. "It's okay. I was just askin'. Not like we wouldn't go there more often, and not like he wouldn't have his brother right beside him. But if that's how you feel, we won't."
"What brought on the domestic urge?"
"Too much time alone in hyperspace to think. I got to thinking about it on the last visit to Corellia, seeing Marni all big and holding Astri's new one. Been thinking about it ever since."
"Han, if we lived in the household, I'd say yes in a heartbeat. But I can't make a fifteen year commitment to live on Corellia, until he was old enough for Jedi training. Can you understand?"
"I understand, Luke. It's all right. Maybe in a couple years when you have enough teachers to take a sabbactical we can discuss it again. Maybe the techs will have that ovum denucleation procedure down pat and a son could be both of ours instead of yours and Astri's or mine and Marni's."
"I love you. Force, I love you." Luke kissed him fiercely and reached under the pillow for the package. "Since you won't let this pass, let's see where we are next year. What's a Renewal for if not to review where we've been and where we're going?"
"Got it in one, kid. I have something for you, too." He reached under his pillow.
The packages were identical. Only the paper differed.
"To ten years. I hope you like it," Luke said, nonplussed at the coincidence.
"Ten years." They traded packages. At a touch, the cunningly folded paper fanned away. "You had Astri wrap it." Han's voice held complete assurance.
"So did you."
The packages held books. Actual paper books, such as Luke had seen very few times in his life. His father had owned a dozen, mostly ancient, and preserved in a liquid nitrogen enviroment, only readable by computer. The one he held was new. He opened it to find heavy laid paper, creamy under his touch, with the first and last ones decorated in a marbled fan-pattern. The handwriting on the pages was clear and lovely. It even had a distinctive smell.
"Not just Astri, but Hend was in on this too," Han commented looking over his own. "What did you promise Elka?"
"Probably the same thing you did." Luke looked at the poetry in the book. Slowly drawn in, he read more and more swiftly, engrossed. Too soon, he was at the end of the slim volume, aroused and romantic. Han was close to finished and he looked up, slightly flushed from his reading, and half-holding his breath.
"Han, this is just beautiful. Did you dictate it? I like the first part: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, For your love is better than wine. The smell of you is like rich resins and I breathe your name like sweet perfume. I shall take you with me and bring you joy, and you shall remember my love more than brandy." Luke shot him a sidelong glance. "So very Corellian."
Han teetered on the brink of anger and hilarity. The words Luke had just read him were almost identical to the first words in his book. He finally decided to laugh. And he laughed loud and long and hard. "You--you--you asked Lissa to help, didn't you?" he gasped.
"Yes. Why?"
"The next part goes--goes like this: My beloved is like a Flamepetal among the trees. I sat beneath his shadow in the heat of the day and the flowers were sweet to smell. He brought me to his house and his sign and sigil on my heart is love. Stay me with drink, refresh me with food for I am weak from love."
"Exactly. She wrote us both the same poem!" They both collapsed into laughter. "Oh, Lissa!" Luke gasped, after a while, and sent Han off again.
Lightheaded, ribs aching, the men looked at each other, and Han leaned over and kissed Luke solidly. They became more intense. Luke broke for a moment and carefully tucked the books under a pillow before returning to his lover.
"Laughing like that always turns me on," he whispered as he came in for another kiss.
"Wish I'd known that sooner. I don't think I've ever seen you laugh that hard." Han was more than receptive to the busy caresses, and added a few of his own as he trailed his lips down his mate's chest.
"Mmm, see what you can do about it. Ah, kisses better than wine..." Han's mouth enclosed him and thought was lost.
They drowsed in each other's arms until the late afternoon sun trailed across the bed, orange and heavy.
"Hungry?" Luke asked sleepily. Han nodded without opening his eyes.
This time, Luke rose and programmed the foodsynth. He had taken the time to prepare a very special menu for this evening. He punched it in and then carried the heavy tray back to the bed. Han had sat up and was reading again.
"Try this," Luke said, offering a piece of the flatbread. Han took it from his fingers with sharp teeth.
"Sheni spice," he commented.
"Here." A fried tidbit hovered near his mouth.
"That will be a fliry." Han took this bite too. "Gonna hand-feed me all the legendary Corellian aphrodesiacs you could program, hunh kid?" He pulled each finger into his mouth, licking away the salty taste of the shellfish.
"What better for a pair of legends like us? Here, it will get cold if we play too long. And I'm hungry too." He handed Han his plate and addressed himself to his own meal. "Do you know that there is a running debate at Rudrig University as to whether Luke Skywalker is an actual person or," he paused to recall the exact phrase, "merely a mytho-poetic manifestation of a heroic archetype necessitated by war? It might be fun to sit in on the symposium."
"Used to have friends on Rudrig. You really wanna go?" Han asked around mouthfuls of the carefully marinated sliced fungi.
"Maybe next month. Introduce myself to the person who thinks I'm not real." Luke speared a stalk of pinkish vegetable and nibbled at it. "I really want more time with you. This year has been horrible. I mean, I've had great success moving the academy, and building the house, but you haven't been here. That leaves me feeling like part of myself is missing."
"I know, kid. You know, I sleep in a thermal bag in my office half the time so I don't have to go home to a dark apartment and an empty bed? I miss you. This is ridiculous. I can't take anymore of it."
"So, what do we do?"
"You could move back to Coruscant with me. That's not the best idea I've had."
"I can't give up the Academy."
"I know. Like I said, not my best idea. I could move here. You're not a self-sufficient colony yet, and Chewie and I could do your supply hops. Lets me space, and see you."
"I like it, but what about the Ship Design?"
"I can send my work by the Stellnet, and someone else will have to test the prototypes. Small sacrifice to be with you."
"Any other ideas?"
"We move into your father's palace, you start wearing capes and I get to be a kept man."
"Try again."
"We move to Corellia and make babies with the girls. I handle shipping logistics for the Distillery, and you teach there."
"And how long before we both go crazy from Elka meddling?"
"I give it three weeks. She'll be waking us each morning and wanting to know whether we slept well, and if the sex was good."
Somewhere in the discussion, they finished dinner. Luke insisted on clearing the dishes, only to return with the dessert.
"You're trying to kill me, kid. You know what happened last time I ate that." Han looked at the dessert and groaned. The foodsynth had produced a layered confection of choca, cream, flinil, more cream, and zargli topped with more cream.
"The choca reputedly acts as an erection inducer," Luke began, digging his spoon into the parfait, and bringing up a sample of all the layers. He addressed the choca layer, licking it off the spoon. "The red flinil supposedly acts as an orgasm delayer." He licked the flinil layer from his spoon. "The zargli is a mild stimulant." This time Luke found his hand caught and his open mouth and tongue covered by his mate's.
"Stick that tongue out again," Han warned, releasing his lips, "and you won't get it back."
"That is the idea." Luke licked the final smear of cream from the spoon and dipped it back into his dessert.
"Kid, you're pushing--" Han got the spoon full of dessert in the middle of his sentence. He swallowed. "That's good. If you're up for it, I'm up for it."
"That is the idea," Luke repeated, and stopped teasing in order to finish eating.
Han ran the dishes through the recycler while Luke looked through his book again.
"I like this, even if Lissa played a trick on us."
"That's my family. Read me some more?" Han stretched out on the bed, and rested his head on Luke's bare thigh.
"Taking up where we left off... Oh, wait. This is yours. It's a bit different. 'Your name flows through my mouth like the best wine.'" He skimmed. "The rest is the same. Taking back up: Stay me with drink, refresh me with food for I am weak from love. His left arm is under me, And his right encircles me. The voice of my beloved! He spoke and said to me, Rise up, my love, and come away, For Winter is gone, the ice and rain are over The flowers bloom, the birds sing. The lina produces her early berries, the vines show their fruit. Arise and come away.
By night, in my bed, I searched for the one my heart loves. I looked for him and didn't find him. I rose and went about the city, seeking in all of its streets. The patrols found me, I asked them, 'Have you seen the one my heart loves?' I had just passed them when I found him. I held him and would not let him go until I brought him into my father's house, and into the bed where my mother bore me.
Who comes out of the wilds riding the vapor, Smelling of Spice and resins? See his bed, the bed that sixty men cannot encircle, of rich wood with pillars of silver."
"Don't tell me you told Lissa about this monstrosity," Han interjected when Luke paused for breath. Heplanted a kiss on the inside of the leg under his head, feeling the first warmth from the dessert beginning to inspire him. "Finish quick, kid."
"My beloved is tanned and handsome, the finest of ten thousand. His head is like pure gold, His hair is dark and shaggy. His eyes are as clear as the gulls by the shore, set like jewels in his head. His cheeks are beds of spice and his lips like flamepetals that drip sweet spice. His arms are like srine, set with flamegems. His body, like polished g'kal wood, Is decorated with crystlyx. His legs are pillars of marble chased with srine. His c'lket is like the mightiest tree of the forest. His mouth is very sweet And everything about him thrills me.
Place me on your heart like a seal. Keep me close at hand like a signet ring. Love is stronger than death, and jealousy deeper than the grave. Love is a blazing fire that all the waters of Corellia cannot quench."
"Oh, that Lissa. Quench me already."
"Dinner too much for you, pirate?"
"Nah, just an appetizer. You're the main course."
"Quickly then. The moons are starting to rise, and Chewie will be here soon. Just...don't yell timber?"
They made hasty love amid the laughter, sweet but rushed, ending with a kiss and a promise for later.
Chewbacca landed the Falcon on the pad as the two men stepped out the door. The trio walked to the small grove that Luke had cleared a little way from the house.
They stood facing each other as all three moons, and Yavin itself hung low above them, framed by the trees. Chewie stood to the side, the only witness to the simple renewal.
As he had ten years before, and every year since, Han repeated the words of the Bonding, "I claim you, Luke, as mine. At my side, in my heart, forever."
"I claim you, Han, as mine. At my side, in my heart, forever." Luke felt his breath catch, as it always did, at the deep commitment behind the simple words.
They kissed, sealing the promises. As it grew lengthy, Chewbacca put in, Would you like to take that inside?
They broke apart, and laughed at the wookiee.
It is good to see you happy, young one. You should not be separated from your mate.
"Chewie, how do you feel about relocating to Yavin, so I can have this guy all the time?" Luke asked as they walked back to the house.
I wondered if you would ever ask.