It was a name known throughout the galaxy, or even possibly, the entire universe. It was a name that brought hope to those who needed it. It was almost like the name of a god, a sort of celestial being. Ben Solo—the galaxies most finest smuggler—and hero. His name shined across the galaxy as if it were the brightest star in the universe. After all, being well known ran through his family history. His mother, father, uncle... grandparents. He was destined for greatness.
And he was the greatest. An excellent pilot and a well rounded man that brought happiness to those who loved him. Some liked to say he was the greatest pilot amongst the Resistance—even if he wasn't a true member—and plenty begged to differ with the Black Leader pilot Poe Dameron when it came to who was the best pilot. But, he didn't mind, competition with Ben Solo was the greatest. After all, that was his best friend.
Ben Solo was a name for the books, a name that would go down in history, just like the rest of his family.
"Ben Solo..." A little boy around the age of nine spoke with such enthusiasm. Hands extended out as he stood before five other children. His hair was as yellow as the sun shining down on him and skin as white as the sand beneath his boot-covered feet. "The legend."
Releasing a wave of gasps, the five children exchanged looks. They knew that name all too well. And, to them, Ben Solo was their superhero.
"Do you know him?!" A seven year old little girl with hair as black as night and eyes as blue as the ocean a distance away from them spoke in awe. "My big sister has seen him in person once before!" She nodded eagerly.
"Know him?" The little boy questioned. "I met him!" He exclaimed as more gasps followed. "He saved me and a bunch of others from the hands of The Monster!"
"Really?!" Another boy, about seven years old with red hair and big green eyes gawked.
"Yes! I remember it as if it were yesterday... It was night time and a storm was raining on the hut we were held in. The thunder roared and the lightning shook the ground beneath us. We were all afraid... Hungry, thirsty, shivering. The Monster had left and we knew that when he'd come back, it would be a nightmare. But... he never came back." He spoke with his hands extended out. "A noise was heard from outside. BAM! ROAR!" He shouted as the kids jumped. "Something was happening... Then, the door to the hut swung open and there stood a figure in the darkness, their silhouette appearing when lightning had struck. Two figures followed behind, just as tall... one was much more taller. Easily seven feet."
"CHEWBACCA!" The kids shouted as the little boy nodded.
"They took one step in and there he was... in all his glory. The hero, himself, Ben Solo!" Hearing oo's and ah's, he nodded. "He stood there almost as if he were the greatest superhero of all time. And, to me, he is. He saved us all, he even caught The Monster!"
"Wow!" A little girl with dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes clapped, just about the same age as the boy narrating his story.
"Ben Solo freed us all from being enslaved. And, when were released, I saw that The Monster was held tied up and being taken away to be put away. He was furious and called Ben Solo... The Scoundrel."
✦
"Thank the stars that went smoothly." Han Solo said as he took the co-pilot seat of his beloved Millennium Falcon. Not too long ago he had allowed his little—yet not so little anymore—bandit to take the pilot's seat. It was in his sons veins, he was meant to be one of the greatest pilots of all time. After all, it ran through the Skywalker-Solo blood.
"Oh, save it, old man. This isn't like the past where you constantly got caught smuggling. It isn't like your time with Chewie." Hearing a roar come from behind him, the young man who had taken the pilots seat—the one and only Ben Solo—spoke up before waving a hand over to the Wookiee. "Relax, Chewie, I'm not putting the blame on you."
Letting out another roar, Han rolled his eyes at the remarks his best friend was making as he manned his side of the panel on the Falcon. His son was far too much like him—look wise and characteristic wise—except his son had much darker hair and a skin full of beauty marks and freckles.
Looking over his shoulder, Ben grinned over to Chewie. "I think it's the old man's fault that you two always got caught." Ben pointed his thumb while covering the side of his mouth with one hand.
"This old man can hear you perfectly fine, kid." Han bitterly spoke as Ben chuckled, giving Chewie a wink before turning back ahead to help his father. Shaking his head, Chewie leaned back in his seat as Ben jumped to light-speed before putting the ship on auto-pilot.
"I'm just messing with you, old man." Ben shrugged before sitting back in his seat, crossing his arms behind his head as the sleeves of his off-white tunic hugged his biceps.
Sighing, Han lifted his focus up to the window, eyeing the streaks of blue and white that passed them by. "Kid, we've got to talk." He breathed, Ben's dark eyebrows instantly furrowing as his smile dropped, he was suddenly feeling uneasy. Whenever Han said we've got to talk, it was always serious and nothing good.
"W- What about?" Ben stuttered as he lowered his arms, looking over at Han.
Hearing his sons change of tone, Han rolled his eyes. "Oh, relax, it's nothing bad." Han waved a hand as Ben let out a sigh in relief. "My time has come... I hate to say it, but, things come to an end and I know your mother misses me a whole lot. I don't get to see her all that often and I feel terrible for it."
"Alright... What's happening?" Ben questioned.
"Kid, I think it's time I hand over the Falcon to you. I cant keep smuggling forever, not when I have a wife at home... not when I'm sadly getting old. And definitely not when I have a son who could carry on my legacy and do it better." Han admitted as he turned to face his bandit.
"H- Hand over?" Ben stuttered again, heart skipping a beat as Han nodded.
"I can't say I'm officially retiring, I know I never will. I'll join you here and there, but, it's all on you now. It's your job to keep this old ship running. To take good care of her. She is your responsibility now... as well as your prized possession." Seeing Ben's eyes widen as he stayed silent, Han sighed. "You are officially the captain of this ship."
Staring blankly at his father, lips lightly parted, Han's eyebrows narrowed. Ben was not one to be quiet, he was very expressive and very loud—much like his mother. It was odd to see him this quiet. But, maybe Ben wasn't ready for it, maybe he thought it was too soon and that's why he- "OH, YES!" -I stand corrected, Han thought as his eyebrows lifted. "YES!" Ben jumped out of his seat. "This is a dream come true! I've dreamt for so long about this! I thought it would happen when I was 40! But 15 years earlier is a whole lot better!"
Eyeing his son jump in excitement, Han shook his head. "Okay, okay, relax."
"Thank you, thank you!" Ben nodded eagerly before grabbing his father's face and smacking a kiss against his forehead.
"Okay, Ben, calm down..." Han said, grabbing Ben's hands before he stood up.
"I won't fail you, old man. I promise you that." Ben spoke confidentially with a toothy grin, the indents of his dimples showing deeply.
"I know you won't, kiddo." Han grinned before pulling his beloved son into a tight embrace. "You never do." Letting out a small roar of a cheer, Chewie stood up and joined the two in a hug.
Returning to the Resistance base and landing the Falcon, the three men were greeted by a familiar face—a mother, a wife, and a friend—the general herself, Leia Organa.
Her hair was styled over her head as she wore a smirk, eyeing her three favorite beings in the galaxy—excluding one who had been off training a future generation of Jedi. "It's good to have you three back." Leia spoke, arms wide open.
Rushing over to his mother before anyone else could, Ben hunched over and engulfed her in a hug, one that had her laughing from his eagerness. Ben was very much a mamas boy as he was a papas boy, but he saw his father more than he did his mother, so when it came to that time of seeing her again, he always took advantage. And so did she, Leia knew very well her son would run off and do what he does best yet again. After all, she was informed about the handing over of the Falcon.
"Hi, angel." Leia greeted as she ran her fingers through her sons hair, breathing him in and enjoying his presence while it lasted.
"Hi, ma." Ben grinned with his eyes shut, turning his head to kiss her cheek before he pushed back and stood straight.
"So your father finally did the thing, I'm assuming." Leia said as she walked over to Han and greeted him with a sweet kiss and a tight hug.
"Sadly." Han sighed as Ben rolled his eyes.
"I'm glad, this means I get to see more of my favorite smuggler. Well... second favorite, Ben's my first." Leia teased as she went over to greet Chewie. "Hello, Chewie." She smiled as he roared back happily.
"If anyone is glad, it's me. It's about damn time the old man retired." Ben winked over to his father as Han shook his head.
"I think you will do wonderfully. This has been your dream for a very long time." Leia nodded as she then turned back to face her son. "That's why I got you a small gift..." Presenting her hand, a BB unit in the colors of silver, white, and red rolled over. "BB-3A. Your own personal droid. The little guy may be... little, but it's a fine partner and copilot. Very smart and helpful." Leia nodded as Ben's eyes the droid that had stopped before him and beeped as a greeting.
"Well, hello there, new partner." Ben grinned, crouching as he eyed the droid. "We are going to have a lot of fun, you and I."
Smiling as she watched, Han walked over to Leia and held onto her shoulders before Ben stood back up. "You won't be so lonely out there, you'll have BB-3A to keep you company." Leia said.
"Thanks." Ben smiled over to her. "I should get going then-"
"Whoa, no, not so fast!" Leia lifted a finger. "You just got back home, and you are staying the night. Plus, two of my best keep nagging me about you and are dying to see you."
Knowing exactly who she meant, Ben grinned. "Ahh... The Resistance finest." He teased. "Where are those two bastards?"
"Ben." Leia scolded but Han snickered.
"What? I say that from the bottom of my heart. I love them very much." Ben said as he placed a hand to where his beating heart was.
Just as he said that, two sets of arms engulfed him. "Our favorite smuggler is back!" A female voice spoke.
"It's about damn time!" A male one said.
Turning and seeing the two familiar faces, Ben's smile grew in size as he encased them in one big hug. "Kaydel! Poe!" He exclaimed, more than happy to see his best friends.
"You are going to join us for dinner because we have a lot to catch up on." Kaydel said as she pointed a finger.
"And I've got a lot of bragging to do about my piloting so, come on." Poe said as he grabbed Ben's forearm, dragging him. "Bring BB-3A, along."
Looking over to the droid, Ben nudged his head before waving over at his parents. "I'll see you three later!" He called out before Kaydel and Poe pulled him away.
Making it to the mess hall and filling their trays with food—Ben's being overly piled up with how much he normally ate plus his active hunger—the three took a table as BB-3A had sat to aside with BB-8, the two practically having their own conversation.
"Word spread that Han gave you the Falcon." Poe said as Ben dug into his food. A man his size normally ate a whole lot so Kaydel and Poe weren't surprised.
"Word spreads fast." Ben said after swallowing his food. "Let me guess, my mother said something."
"Possibly." Poe nodded. "I was there when she got BB-3A."
"And she was sort of mentioning it to everyone in the command room..." Kaydel added as Ben shook his head with a small snicker, continuously eating his food.
"The whole ship for yourself, it's insane. At least Han had Chewie. How do you think it's going to be just you? You're always with your father..." Poe asked as Ben lifted his head.
"Oh, it won't be all that bad." He shrugged, although—truthfully—he hadn't really thought about it. Being alone wasn't something he was used to... he was always so busy that he never felt the loneliness. "I'll be super busy, I'll have BB-3A. It'll be fine." Ben said. But, it was almost as if he were convincing himself rather than answering a question.
"Well, buddy, if you ever get lonely, we could always tag along once in a while." Poe said as he nudged Kaydel, the blonde giving Ben a nod.
"Definitely. Plus, I'm sure the general would be fine with it. After all, she worries the most." Kaydel said as Ben took in a small breath.
"Thanks, guys." He smiled. "But, I think it'll be great. The old man always held me down." Hearing the two laugh, Ben's eyes fell to his food as his smile turned faint. Deep down, in the depths of his heart that he never paid much attention to, he felt loneliness. Sure, he had his family and his best friends... but, there was something missing within him.
✦
Standing before the Falcon as he had put his jacket on, Ben turned away from the ramp and eyed his parents and Chewie. "I'll see you guys later." He saluted with two fingers—Han doing the same back.
"Wait!" Kaydel shouted as she rushed over, dragging Poe with her. "Don't get yourself killed, hotshot." She teased as she tugged Ben into a hug.
"I won't." He chuckled as he hugged back before Poe went to hug him. "I'll be back soon, I promise."
Patting Ben's back, Poe backed up and held his upper arms. "You better keep that promise, big guy." Poe arched an eyebrow as Ben nodded.
"I will." He grinned, giving Poe's arm a pat before turning away and boarding the ramp with BB-3A.
"Ben!" Leia called out as he was just about to make it to the top, rushing up to him and grabbing his hand. "Keep this with you, somewhere you won't lose it." Handing him something before hugging him briefly, Ben looked down and saw the gold, chained dice in his hands—something he had with him as a child.
"Thank you." He said as she pushed away.
"I love you, Ben. Come back soon." She smiled as he nodded, watching her tiptoe enough and kiss his cheek before she left his side.
✦
"Ah, shit!" Ben cursed as he was running as fast as he could, BB-3A rolling closely behind, beeping frantically. "We'll get out of here, I promise!" He exclaimed over to the droid, only to be fired at as he instantly ducked. "Watch the hair!" He shouted as he aimed his blaster and fired at the gang member who shot at him.
Panting as he ran down alleys and streets, skidding to a stop to run a corner, Ben was instantly grabbed and tossed into a shop as BB-3A was practically kicked in. A figure now standing just outside the shop, dressed in a two piece set. A soft yellow colored the outfit; the top being cropped with a high neck line, tight, long sleeves and a set of soft, loose pants at the waist down. Hair long, tied back and hanging lowly.
Staring at them with much awe as they stood there with a blaster in hand, firing at what Ben knew to be the incoming gang, his heart fluttered in his chest as they turned their head and stormed up to him. He knew that beautiful face anywhere. "Princess Y/N?"
*・。*゜・。・o゜・。*゜・。・o*゜
Hello and here's my new mini-series, The Scoundrel! I've been in such a Ben Solo mood and I'm a huge of the smuggler AU and think it'd be fun to put this little story out! Hope you all enjoy!
And, of course, thank you for reading! Votes and comments are much appreciated :)