S E V E N
Climbing into the top gun of the Falcon, Clary situates herself so she's in the right position, reaching forward as she pulls her headset on, straightening it. Han's voice blares in her ears.
"You ready, sis?"
"Yep," Clary shifts in her seat, resting her hands on the control of the gun. "Let's do this."
She hears Han laugh loudly before her attention is diverted to the Death Star. She watches through the window, feeling adrenaline rush through her veins as she gains view of the trench; three enemy speeders are following an X-fighter. It has to be Luke. Clary spins around in her seat, aiming the gun as she fires—blasts of light shoot from the side of the Falcon, causing the enemy ships to explode.
"Nice shot," Han says into the headset. Clary smiles.
"I know."
Gaze flickering back to the window, Clary watches with tentative eyes as a ship to the left comes in range. She pushes the buttons on the control panel of the gun as she aims, firing. Three of the blasts miss before the fourth one nearly slams into the enemy ship, causing it to panic and plummet into the other one as they flip, slamming into the trench of the Death Star with a loud explosion. Luke's X-fighter is free to go.
"You're all clear, pretty boy!" Clary exclaims into the headset, watching with fervent eyes as Luke's X-fighter nears the target.
"Let's blow this thing and go home!" Han adds. Clary watches from her window as two shots aim into the small hole of the Death Star. Han quickly spins the Falcon out of the way, flying away from the huge space station. Clary can hear the quick hum of the rebel fighters as they quickly follow after, and the Death Star explodes into a million pieces.
"That was great, kid!" Han cheers through the transmission. Clary is grinning from ear to ear as he continues, "That was one in a million!"
Clary glances out of the window of the gun post; she spots one ship spinning, one of its wings defected. It continues to fly far from the destroyed Death Star, plummeting into the vastness of space. Her smile continues to stretch across her face as the Falcon follows the Rebel ships back to the fourth moon of Yavin. Clary feels a rush of adrenaline once they land, and she quickly climbs out of the port, racing out of the Falcon. Han and Chewbacca have already gotten out and are being greeted by shouts and people surrounding them.
"I knew you'd come back!" Luke exclaims as he escapes a hug from Leia, going towards Han. Han grins widely, hugging Luke tightly. He doesn't notice Clary until after Leia steps forward with her. She grabs a hold of the younger girl's arm, squeezing it affectionately. Luke turns, his blue eyes glittering and bright as he pulls Clary into a tight hug. She laughs, feeling her heart race, before wrapping her arms around him tightly, hugging him back with equal enthusiasm. His grip is gentle yet secure around her. She feels comforted. "I just knew it," she hears him whisper against her ear, making her face flush. She pulls away from Luke, meeting his gaze. His eyes search her and Clary blocks out all other sounds; the only people in the room are just her and Luke.
She's snapped out of her thoughts as Leia grabs onto Clary's other side, pulling Han in as well. Clary thinks this is the happiest she's seen both of them.
"We weren't gonna let you get all the credit and take all the reward, farm boy," Han states. Clary grins as Leia laughs loudly.
"I knew there was more to you two than money."
Clary finds her grin fade as her attention diverts towards Luke's X-wing. A fried R2-D2 is lifted off the back of the fighter and lowered onto the ground. Luke stares at the burned droid with wide eyes.
"Oh, no!" he exclaims, tearing himself away from the hug as he makes his way closer to the droid.
"Oh, my! R2!" calls C-3P0, making his way over as well. He glances down at the fried robot. "Can you hear me? Say something!" Without waiting for an answer, he turns towards the mechanic who had lowered the droid. "You can repair him, can't you?"
The man nods. "We'll get to work on him right away." He nods to two other technicians as they step forward, helping to lower R2 onto a platform. Before they could roll him away, 3P0 follows after them, panicking excessively.
"You must repair him!" C-3P0 shouts. "Sir, if any of my circuits or gears will help, I'll gladly donate them."
"He'll be all right," Luke reassures. C-3P0 hesitates, as if ready to retort with an anxious reply, but he's interrupted as Clary steps forward. She smiles, grabbing onto the metal-makeshift shoulder of the bronze droid, patting him reassuringly. The droid glances her way before lowering his head, as if finally agreeing with their statements. He walks off, following after the technicians, his worry seeping out of him in rushed words. The mechanics ignore him, however, and they turn a corner, vanishing down a hallway.
Clary laughs under her breath, touched by 3P0's compassion and consideration for his smaller droid friend. She suddenly feels Luke's eyes on her and glances his way. He smiles and Clary realizes his smile is the most naïve of his features. He holds out his arm, to which the girl takes, feeling her face warm. She hears Han cough from behind her and she looks over her shoulder, shooting him a pointed look. She sees Leia is smiling as the girl rushes to her, grabbing Clary's other arm. Han joins after them as Leia grabs his right arm with her free hand; Clary watches with amusement as her brother refrains from groaning as the four walk away from the crowd. Clary, now, hears the cheers from the group of Rebels surrounding them and she can feel herself growing overwhelmed. She has never felt like this before. She likes the feeling.
...
Nearly the following day after, a ceremony was held: a celebration, in honor for defeating the Death Star. Clary shifts awkwardly on her feet as she glances at her reflection—her hair is down; she can barely recall the last time she had worn her hair down—and she's in a nice dress, white, similar to that of Leia's. Smoothing her clothes down with her hands, Clary looks up once more. She inhales sharply and exits the room.
Walking down the hall to the Throne room, Clary spots Han and Luke waiting by the doors, Chewbacca standing close behind. Chewbacca is the first to notice Clary's arrival and he lets out a familiar bark. Luke turns from his conversation with Han as all their attention is diverted to the girl. She stands in front of them, awkwardly, as Luke's eyes search her. His expression changes to that of one she can't read and she looks away from his blue eyes, meeting Han's familiar dark gaze. He's watching her carefully, a small frown placed on his face.
"What?" Clary gives him a look. She knows what he's going to say.
"I'm just wondering who are you and what have you done with my baby sister." Han smirks as Clary rolls her eyes, crossing her arms. Her brow creases as she gives him a look, and he steps towards her, grinning. "There she is."
"Han—"
"What? You look great, Clary, really—exactly like our father."
Clary feels her face redden. Her gaze flickers to Luke, who is watching the conversation, a small smile creeping on his face from Han's words as Clary shoots her brother a glare.
"Han—"
"Hey, he wasn't a bad-looking man, sis. Of course, I got more of the good looks—ow!" He cuts off as Clary reaches forward, smacking him harshly on the side of his arm. She gives him a pointed look. Han opens his mouth to retort but Clary raises a finger.
"Han."
"Clary—"
"Han."
Han frowns, swallowing his opinion before letting a smile tug at the ends of his lips. He reaches forward with one arm, hugging Clary tightly across her shoulders as Luke stands on her other side. She feels him watching her and she looks down. Before anyone has the chance to move, the doors open. Bright light seems to flood in the room as the four enter the huge ruins of the main temple.
Hundreds of troops are lined up in neat rows, and as Clary continues to look around, she sees banners flying and farther ahead, Senator Leia, as beautiful as ever. Chewbacca roars again as Luke, Han and Clary continue forward until they stand in front of the Princess, kneeling before her.
Glancing to her right, Clary watches as Leia lays the medal around Han's neck. He looks up, meeting the Princess' gaze, and gives a wink. Clary smiles as a smirk crosses Leia's face before she turns, facing Clary. She places a second medal over her neck and shoots her a kind smile. Clary finds herself grinning from ear to ear, now, as Leia moves on to Luke. Clary watches, feeling warmed by Luke's tender smile, as he looks up at Leia, blue eyes glittering. The Princess steps back, allowing the three to bow to the line of Senators. Glancing over her shoulder, Clary spots Chewbacca standing near a shiny new R2-D2 and a pristine looking C-3P0. At Clary's glance, R2 lets out a loud whistle, causing the young girl to laugh. Chewbacca barks in response as the crowd behind begins to cheer for the newly awarded heroes. Clary turns, along with Han and Luke, to face the Rebel troops as they rise from their seats, clapping loudly.
Clary shifts on her feet once again, glancing to Han first. He's grinning from ear to ear, and it's the happiest Clary has seen him in a long time. She takes his hand and he squeezes back tightly. She glances back and sees Leia smiling brightly at the two. Clary returns the gesture before her gaze flickers towards Luke. His blue gaze meets hers and Clary is elated. She holds out her hand to him and he takes it; his hands are as warm as his smile and eyes. Gleaming, Clary tears her gaze away from him before it rests on the troops before them. The clapping continues to echo throughout the room, followed by Chewbacca roaring happily.
For the first time in a long time, Clary finally feels at home.
a/n: this is not the end of part one, mind you, but the end of a new hope! i have a filler chapter following after this, that basically helps lead into the events of the empire strikes back, along with developing more on clary's backstory and who her mom truly is. anyway, thank you all for the past votes & comments this has received so far(500+ votes im cryING SJDJD!!), and i really hope you're all enjoying the story!! (i try not to leave a lot of author note's so when i do they probably sound too sentimental yiKeS) :~D