The kid had dragged him up and up and up and up, seemingly forever, the corridors ahead of them twisting and turning and winding throughout buildings and bleeding into streets and then into other buildings. Han had long since lost track of where they’d begun and where they were going, but he trusted Luke. After all, there had been countless opportunities for the Imperial Prince to leave this lowly smuggler to the wolves. Given the drama of every royal he’d ever even fleetingly encountered, this seemed anti-climactic, so even if he didn’t know and trust Luke as he did, he still felt reassured, somewhat.
“Just a little bit farther!” That was another reason Han felt compelled to trust Luke; the kid was chattering away, a pure and genuine joy radiating off of him as he went. There were some scoundrels who were as good a liar as you could get, and Luke was no one of them. Sure, he’d managed to deceive Han and everyone around him for weeks when it came to his true identity, but everyone had always known something wasn’t quite right. That was the thing, though - everyone had a secret, and no one asked questions.
Smart kid.
But not a malevolent one.
So Han carried on after him, and as he did, he felt his heart grow light even as his lungs burned and his muscles ached. None of that mattered. The way Luke bounded forth was infectious, and it reminded him what had drawn the two together in the first place.
Luke skidded to a halt, suddenly, and Han barely caught himself in time so as not to crash into the kid.
“Close your eyes.”
“Uhh…” Luke’s chipper, insistent tone caught Han off guard. “I donno about this, kid…”
“Just trust me!”
He was just so earnest. Something in those bright blue eyes reminded Han of a lost Loth Cat or an eager Akk Dog; as stoic as he liked to act, there were times when he had to admit that he simply could not. “Okay, I trust ya, just don’t make me regret this.”
“Don’t you worry,” Luke chirped, grinning as he covered Han’s eyes and grabbed his wrist with his other hand, “you absolutely won’t.”
They stepped forward a few steps together, Luke guiding Han through a door, up a short set of stairs, through another door… “Okay. I’m gonna take my hand away in a couple of seconds, yeah? Now you can open your eyes as soon as I move my hand, that’s fine, but if you want the full experience… give it a moment. Just listen. Feel the atmosphere, let your intuition tell you when to open your eyes… Just. Whatever feels right, y’know?”
The pressure on his face disappeared and an orange glow replaced the obscuring darkness in front of his closed eyelids. Han had been certain his eyes would snap open immediately, but he found himself hesitating. The atmosphere grew thick, and his breath caught in his throat as he felt himself tense in anticipation. Everything around him was buzzing now, and then -
As his eyes slowly fluttered open, he could sense Luke beaming next to him, but all he saw was the gleaming of the city sprawled out before him. Coruscant had always seemed almost obscene in its resplendence, the sort of world that would swallow you whole with one single misstep. But this… this seemed to radiate the same vibrant energy Luke himself did.
Each building appeared as an individual facet in an enormous jewel, making its own contribution to the sprawling metropolis below. The sun was sinking into the horizon, a select few rays peeking out through the buildings surrounding it, bathing everything in a warm glow.
“This is my favourite place in the city.” Luke’s gaze had shifted from enthusiastically observing Han’s reaction to staring out at the horizon for himself. “Well - I mean I know the whole planet is a city, but in the capital here… this one place seems to just make everything sparkle.”
And it did. The ecumenopolis below them glittered incessantly. But Han found his gaze drawn elsewhere. “It is incredible to look at, I’ll admit,” he said now staring down at Luke, “but it’s not the best view around here by a long shot.”
“I - ” His face was beet red, and he was determinedly staring towards the setting sun. “Well, I brought you here to - I mean that’s not - Han…”
Chuckling, The Smuggler sidled up next to The Prince and draped his arm across his shoulders. “I like it when you get flustered.” Leaning against him, Luke sighed and leaned into Han. “This place is wonderful. Thank you for sharing it with me.”
And, with the glittering lights laid out before them, Han and Luke sat in silence together, enjoying the peace that came with the still air around the two. Neither could say how long they stayed there, but it was pleasant, it was quiet, and it was for them.
i planned on never posting these but yknow theres so little skysolo these days it wasnt fair to keep it to myself..anyway they make fun of each others beards all the time i know george lucas and he told me
i planned on never posting these but yknow theres so little skysolo these days it wasnt fair to keep it to myself..anyway they make fun of each others beards all the time i know george lucas and he told me
