After their successful rescue on Ord Mantell, it had been six months before another mission took them off planet.
But as promised, it was Leia's turn to travel, meaning Jo had to stay behind on Hoth to act as Senator Leia... without Leia.
For some reason unbeknownst to Jo, Leia and Han's mission took significantly longer than Jo and Han's had. They were gone for a little over a month, and the entire time Jo's mind was going crazy with scenarios and hypotheticals.
What if Han asked Leia to take a vacation with him? And she said yes?
What if he asked her to run away with him and she actually considered it? Is that why they're taking so long? Have they found a little mountain to make their home?
Jo would have easily gone crazy with her thoughts if not for Luke. The boy was a God sent. Any of his free time was spent with Jo, and over the month that Han and Leia were gone- and the months in between, they had formed quite the bond.
"Jo?" Luke called her true name as he entered her quarters. "Ready for our training?" He was already in his gear- a pair of loose fitting pants and light armor over his torso and shoulders. He wanted to get use to the fit of the plates in case he needed them during battle.
"Yeah." Jo rose from her couch in her own training gear: her warrior wrap, this time in black, and stretchy pants with holes on the knees to allow more movement. "Armor?" Jo looked over Luke as they left her quarters to head to the combat room. "Should I be wearing some? I feel horribly underdressed now." Jo joked as she looked down at herself.
"No," Luke laughed as he looked down at her clothing. "I wanted to try it out." He shimmied his shoulders to try and get comfortable in the stiff plates. "I don't know how people fight in these things." He admited as the plate on his shoulder pinched him.
"Maybe that's why the Storm Troopers suck at fighting." Jo guessed with a smirk. "Their movements are restricted." Jo opened the combat room's door and stepped inside. The combat room was located in the very center of the temple, making it far warmer than any other room- minus the Princess's quarters.
The heat was another reason by Jo favored the room. She thrived in heat and combat, so the room combined her two favorite things.
"I have a surprise for you." Luke told Jo as they moved to the weapon's rack on the far side of the room. Jo immediately grabbed for the batons that they usually fought with.
"Oh?" Jo asked as she grabbed two batons, but as she turned back to Luke she spotted the small medal rod in his hands. She froze as she realized what it was he was holding.
"I thought we could practice with this today." Luke watched Jo's eyes widened until her forehead wrinkled.
"Luke..." Jo breathed out. Quickly she put the wooden batons back and stepped towards Luke. "Can... can I hold it?" She asked as she looked from the saber to Luke's eyes. He held it out for her and gave a nod.
Tingles exploded over Jo's body as she held the light saber. She always dreamt of using one, but never thought she would actually get the opportunity. Light sabers were sacred to Jedi knights. They were impossibly hard to find and took years of training to properly yield. Yet, here she was holding one in her very hands.
"Here-" Luke placed his hands over Jo's to show her the proper way to hold it. "Does that feel natural?" He looked from their hands to Jo's eyes.
"Yeah," All of her concentration was on their hands, so much so that she didn't realize how close her and Luke were.
"Now, press this button..." As Jo's thumb pressed down on the small black button, a bright blue surge of power extended from the top of it. Jo, though she expected it, still jumped.
Luke smiled at her surprise and watched the way the saber reflected in her eyes.
In that moment, Luke finally found something that he could compare Jo's beautiful blue eye to... his saber.
"The light saber... it's the same color as your-" He stopped himself before he said eyes. It was a habit, normally when he talked about eyes it included both. But not for Jo.
"Eye?" Jo finished for Luke with a playful giggle.
"Yeah." Luke gave an embarrassed chuckle. "I always thought it was blue like the sky, but now I think it's blue like this-" He looked down at the light saber they were both still caressing.
Jo liked the comparison much better than all the other ones she's heard. To compare her eye to the color of a powerful light saber, it made her feel beautiful and strong.
"Are you ready to try it out?" Luke let go of her hands so she was holding the weapon all by herself.
"Yes." Jo said eagerly as she focused on her grip. She didn't want to hold it too hard, but she also didn't want it to slip between her fingers.
"I'll use the same thing Ben Kenobi used on me." Luke, who knew he would be giving Jo this treat today, pulled the small orb out of his pocket and turned it on. The droid lifted to the air and zipped around Jo. "It will fire little lasers at you, and trust me... they hurt." Luke laughed as he took several large steps back to give Jo some space.
"Is this payback for me continuously kicking you butt?" Jo asked as she kept her eyes trained on the droid. Her body jerked instinctively every time the droid so much as twitched.
"Maybe," Luke admitted as he folded his arms over his chest. "But I also wanna see how you do."
The droid fired off its first laser, and Jo moved the light saber to block the shot. As she did, she let out a little cheer for her first successful block.
Luke laughed at her enthusiasm. He rarely saw her this excited over something, but it didn't take him long to realize she thrived when training. She preferred it to the meetings and showing face.
He watched her quietly as she blocked the next few shots, then the droid sped up and one made it past the saber and hit her on the arm.
She hissed as she rubbed the sore spot.
"Why do you like training so much?" Luke asked as she went back into her defensive position. She focused on the droid, even turned as it tried to fly behind her.
"It was the only time I could be me growing up." Jo admitted. "I wasn't Princess Leia when I was training. I was Jo, so-" she blocked two consecutive shots, but the third one hit her in the shoulder. "So I associated combat and training to feeling... like Jo."
"That's... sad." Luke felt sorry for the girl. While he knew there were certain restrictions to being the Princess's decoy, he didn't think they went that deep.
"It's the job." Another blaster hit Jo on the hand and she wiped it away and shook off the pain. As she held the light saber in one hand the droid fired off several fast shots. Though Jo's attention was on her hand, the lightsaber moved to block every single shot.
Both Jo and Luke looked at Jo's hand on the lightsaber. She was the one to move the lightsaber accordingly, but she didn't mean to.
"What... was that?" Luke dropped his arms from his chest as he took a step towards Jo.
"I don't know." Jo shook her head as she pushed the button to retract the saber. "It was... I mean I did it... but I didn't do that."
"Jo..." Luke looked at the lightsaber as it hung loosely by her side. "You've talked about the force before.. where did you learn about it?"
"I-" Jo gulped. "Senator Organa was close to the Jedi Knights before the Empire took over. He was very fond of several Jedi- including Ben Kenobi." Jo's voice shook lightly, though she wasn't exactly sure why. "He told me about it, and how it's important for everyone to know about the connection the force has to... everything." Jo held the lightsaber in both hands and looked down at it. "I guess I always liked the idea of something connecting us to the universe: I would even imagine a small twine wrapping around me and leading to... a tree or a piece of cake-" Jo laughed at her childish thoughts. "But the more I focused on how it all connected, the more I felt connected." Jo didn't want to look at Luke in fear that he'd belittle her. "I know it doesn't make sense, but sometimes... sometimes I can feel things even if I don't see them." Finally Jo raised her eyes to Luke. "I felt you move those missiles to make it into the exhaust port on the Death Star. I felt you move the force." Luke's eyes widened. "I don't know how, but at any moment I can feel your presence- it's slightly stronger than everyone else's."
"I can feel yours too!" Luke admitted. Jo's eyebrows skyrocketed at the new information. "I always thought it was because you were always with Leia and I-" Luke stopped before he confessed too much. "But they've been gone a month and I can still find you even when you're somewhere I never go."
"Is it... is it because we both feel the force more than the others?" Jo asked. "I've tried to sense Leia and sometimes I feel her and other times I can't."
"I don't know." Luke dropped his gaze to look at the lightsaber between them. "But I'm glad someone else believes in the force. I thought I was the only one."
"Never." Jo gave a crooked smile. "I'm always here."
On the other side of the base, the Millennium Falcon landed in the hangar. From it emerged an enraged Leia and an irritated Han. Both were followed by Chewie, C-3PO and R-2 who were all just glad the trip was over.
"Was that landing sufficient enough for you, your highness?" Han sassed Leia. She scoffed and folded her arms over her chest to keep in the warmth of her jacket.
"You tried to make it bumpy, don't think I didn't notice the way you jerked the landing gear." Leia looked around the hangar for Jo and Luke- but they were nowhere to be found.
"I had to do that because of the storm! If I didn't, then the landing gear would have broken off then our landing would have been even bumpier." Han defended himself. "What? What are you looking for?" Han looked around to see what could possibly be drawing the Princess's attention, but then he realized- she was looking for someone.
"Where are they?" Leia's brows furrowed in concern for her friends. "Didn't they receive our transmission that we were landing? They should be here." Leia left the Falcon to flag down an officer. "Excuse me, where is Senator Organa and Luke Skywalker?" She asked. The officer stopped and looked around the hangar.
"I'm not sure, ma'am. No one has seen them for a few hours." That worried both Han and Leia.
"Did they show up for the daily meeting this morning?" Leia asked.
"Yes, ma'am, but that was the last anyone's seen of them. Excuse me-" The officer left to go check on another leaving transport.
"They should be here." Leia turned to Han. She forgot all about their argument as she worried for her friends.
"I'm sure they're okay." Han offered her little comfort. "Let's check their quarters." He offered. Leia nodded and the two left the hangar in search of their companions.
But after checking their separate rooms, the briefing room, the cafeteria, they only had one last spot to check.
"They'll be here." Han assured Leia as they neared the combat room. "Luke and Jo have been training constantly. They probably used the free time to get a little work out in." Han pushed the button to open the combat room's doors, but instead of finding the two training, they saw them laying on the floor... laughing.
"What?" Leia whispered as she entered the room quietly.
Han followed her, but didn't call out. Neither of them did. Instead they kept quiet and listened to the two's conversation.
"So you mean to tell me that you lived on a whole planet of sand and did not once slide down a sandy dune on your butt?" Jo asked with a laugh.
"No! The sand was hot!" Luke defended his actions.
"I didn't mean naked!" Jo's laugh grew as she rolled on her side to clutch her aching stomach. "Why would you do that- naked?" She screwed her eyes shut as she let out a full bellied laugh.
"You asked if the sand ever got... everywhere! So I thought you meant naked!" Luke couldn't help but join in with Jo's laughter.
Han and Leia gave each other the slightest of glances while the two laughed.
In that look it became painfully obvious that they both felt the same thing- jealousy.
Their trip had been absolute hell, but while they were gone Luke and Jo only grew closer. It was as if the two didn't even notice their absence.
"What's going on here?" Han finally announced himself.
The two on the ground quit laughing as they rolled over to see Han and Leia by the door.
"Hey guys!" Luke pushed himself off the floor and stepped over Jo to go greet the others. Jo gave a string of giggles as she popped up and ran over to Leia. She threw her arms around the jealous girl, completely unaware of her sour mood.
"I've missed you-" Jo muttered as she squeezed onto her longest friend. "I can't believe a month could feel as long as it did without you-" Jo pulled away and gave Leia's shoulders a squeeze. "You look good! You look like you really enjoyed the mission." Jo gave her friend a warm smile. She was so happy her two friends were back, it felt immensely better to have more people around who knew the real her.
"Yeah..." Leia didn't know what to say. For the first time, Jo didn't know her true feelings.
"What have you two been up to while we were out saving the galaxy?" Han asked as he looked between Luke and Jo.
The two exchanged a quick glance, as they did two mischievous grins over their faces.
Jo looked back at Han with the same grin. "A bunch." She answered vaguely. She didn't want to tell them about her lightsaber escapades, she knew how Han felt about The force and she didn't want to start aruging with him as soon as he got back.
"A... bunch?" Han didn't like that answer at all- or their little shared grins. "Yeah, well... we were pretty busy out entire trip too." Han lied. Jo's attention went entirely to Han as she waited for him to elaborate. "I haven't had that much fun in... a long time." Han turned to give Leia a cocky smirk. "Thanks for the fun, your worshipness."
Han caught Jo's slack jaw before he turned and left the combat room without so much as another word.
Jo looked at Leia with furrowed brows.
"What does he mean?" She asked.
"Hm?" Leia saw the jealousy flash in Jo's eyes.
"'Thanks for the fun'?" Jo specified. "You were supposed to go track down an Imperial Fleet in the Mando system. What could be fun about that?" Jo looked between Leia's dark eyes to try and catch her in a lie.
"A lot," Leia answered evasively as she turned to leave the combat room.
Jo and Luke gave each other a brief glance before Luke nodded. Jo gave him his lightsaber back before she followed after Leia.
"A lot?" Jo fell in step beside the Princess. "Like... what? I would love for you to be more descriptive."
"Why?" Leia had to force herself not to smile or else she's ruin everything.
"Well..." Jo tried to think of a reason. "For the cover, I need to know every detail of that mission in case it becomes imperative later. What if they find out that the true Leia went on that mission? We'll both have to give very indepth answers to avoid being found out." The cover for her true intentions was good, if she didn't know better she'd believe it. "Leia-" Jo followed her into their shared quarters. "You have never been so secretive of something before." Leia stopped by her bed and turned to look at Jo.
"And you've never..." Leia stopped as she realized her jealousy was about to come out.
"What?" Jo showed her palms defensively to Leia.
"Nothing." Leia shook her head as she turned her back to Jo. "What happened isn't mine to tell. If you really want to know, ask Han."
Jo's blood chilled at that. Could Han had tried something on Leia? Or maybe he told her something about his and her time together?
"Fine..." Jo didn't like the emotions swirling around inside of her. Doubt. Insecurity. Betrayal. She didn't like any of them. And she didn't like how they all were because of Leia and Han: two of her closest friends. "I'm going to take a shower. I'm sure you can attend your normal duties alone?" Jo asked harshly as she stepped into the bathroom.
She didn't wait for Leia's reply before she shut the door between them.
Later that evening after endless meetings and stewing, Jo went out to the hangar to talk to Han.
She found him on his ship with Chewie, which was not surprising at all.
"Hey, Chewie." Jo gave the furry giant a hug. "How'd you like the trip?" She asked casually, though she was hoping he'd divulge some helpful information for her. Alas, he only brought up the horrible food. "I bet your glad to be back here then, yeah? At least our food is good." She laughed as she passed by him to get to Han who currently had the top half of his body under the control panel in his cockpit. "So... are you going to tell me what happened between you and Leia on your month long trip?" Jo's voice was clipped as she spoke.
Han, who had his fingers wrapped around several wires and a mouthfull of a screwdriver, gave a grunt.
"Really?" That drove Jo's anger up a wall. "Could you be a decent human being for one second and tell me that nothing happened?"
Han pulled himself out from under the control panel and pulled the screw driver from his mouth to point at Jo.
"Some things should just be kept private, Princess." Han didn't mean to use it, it just came out. After a month with Leia, the insulting title was on the tip of his tongue.
"Princess?" Jo let out a dry chuckle. She couldn't even put a string of words together to express how angry she was.
"I didn't mean that-" Han stood to try and repair the damage he just instilled, but Jo didn't give him the chance.
"Do you like playing with my emotions?" Jo's voice took on a tone Han had never heard before. It was damaged, but also lethal, like she'd strike out at any second if he said one wrong word. "Is it a game for you? Do you gain points for every time I cry? Or yell at you? Because if you do I suppose you've racked up quite the score."
"What are you talking about?" Han turned around to set the screwdriver on his seat. Afterwards he tried to wipe the oil from his hands, but he just rubbed it in even more.
"You ask me to run away with you," Jo lowered her voice so she wouldn't be overheard. All of her previous anger was gone, now all that was left was sorrow. "Then you come back with Leia after a month away and say you had the best time of your life. So, I'm asking... is this all a game for you? Because if it is I need to know." Jo gulped as she looked at Han's profile. He didn't turn to her yet, but she didn't mind as the tears started to build in her eyes. "I have never considered leaving my post as Leia's decoy- ever- but then you ask me to run away and for the briefest of seconds I consider leaving everything behind. But is this who I would be running away with?" Her eyes racked along his figure. "Someone who enjoys to torment me?"
"You were considering it?" Han turned to give Jo all of his attention. "Really?"
"That's-" Jo's cheeks reddened in a second flat. "That's not the point." She looked between his lit eyes.
"That's exactly the point." Han lifted his hand to hold her face, but remembered the oil and decided against it. "You wanted to run away with me." The words made Han's whole world brighten. "You-" He looked between her beautiful mix-matched eyes. "Nothing happened." He confessed. Jo's lips parted, but before she could get a word out, Han spilled his guts. "We fought the whole time and when we weren't fighting we refused to talk to one another. She called me a bigoted slime ball and I called her a prude pain-in-my-ass." Han couldn't stop it now, it was all pouring out. "I couldn't wait to get back to Hoth so I wouldn't have to spend every second with her, but I also couldn't wait to come back to you-"
Jo's breath stopped in her throat.
"I came back to you."
"Then... then why lie?" Jo looked between his eyes for the answer. "Why make me think you enjoyed your time with her?"
"Because I saw you and Luke laughing with each other. You two bonded while Leia and I... we were at each other's throats."
"So..." Jo tried to understand. "So you lied because you were jealous?" It was like a lightbulb went off in her head, and suddenly it all made sense. "You made me feel insecure because... because you didn't like that Luke and I were laughing?" She asked. She didn't know whether to be angry or flattered that he was jealous. But she knew she definitely didn't like spending the whole day in the dark. "And... Leia went along with it? Why? For the same reason?" Han nodded. "Unbelieveable." Jo turned away from Han.
"Jo- wait-" Han called out for her. Jo didn't want to stop, she wanted to leave and be angry, but there was something in his voice that made her turn around and give him another chance.
"What? What could you possibly say that would make any of this okay?" Jo kept her guard up as she looked at him. She didn't want to let in so easily. Han needed to know that he couldn't manipulate her like that. She deserved better.
"I'm not- I'm not good at this-" He pointed between Jo and himself.
"At what?" Jo watched his hands move between them.
"At what we're trying to do here."
"Fight?" Jo asked sarcastically as she looked back to his eyes.
"God- No!" Han exploded. He ran his oily hands through his hair and didn't even care about the mess. As his hand dropped it slapped his thigh loudly. "At being who we are... to each other." Han looked between Jo's eyes as he said those few words. Jo's eyebrows rose as she finally figured out what he was trying to say. "So just.. cut me some slack!"
"Are you trying to say you want me to forgive your bad habits because we like each other?" Jo's confusion played out on her face.
"No!" Han yelled just as loudly as he had before. He looked around the cockpit as if expecting to find all the answers somewhere, but when he came up empty he looked back at Jo. It was in her eyes that he found clarity. "I'm saying you have to help me figure out how to be the person you need me to be." Han huffed loudly as he finally got it off his chest. Jo's stared at him in pure shock. "I'm gonna mess up- but- but I don't want to mess up so bad that I lose you for good." Tears stung Jo's eyes and she had to blink them away.
"I don't... I don't know how to help you- or- or change you- or if I even want to change you." Jo wiped her tears away the second they fell to her cheeks. "You're absolutely irritating, Han Solo, and you make me so damn mad sometimes... but you-" She dropped her hand from her cheek and looked at the smuggler. "You make me feel like Jo whenever I'm around you. You-" She stepped back into the cockpit. "You make me feel like me and... I'm discovering things about myself when I'm around you-" she took another step until she was at Han's toes. "- and I really like the girl I turn into when I'm with you. She's smart and quick and bossy-" Han gave a hearty chuckle that made Jo smile. "-and she's a bit irritating and she makes you so damn mad-" Jo's eyes flicked between Han's dangerously fast. "But she also feels a whole new appreciation for the galaxy." Jo's voice was barely a whisper, but Han heard her as if she were whispering right in his ear. "Don't make me doubt who I am again.... or what I have with you. I don't know how to do this either, Han. We're learning this all together but... don't do that. Let's not make the other people jealous on purpose. Please?" Her voice cracked. "Can you just hold me now?" She asked with a desperate laugh.
Han didn't need to be told twice. He wrapped his arms around Jo's slim figure and held him against her without a second thought to his dirty hands.
Jo wrapped her arms around Han's waist and rested her forehead on his chest. His chin fit perfectly on top of her head, and they stayed like that without having to say a word.
"You smell like oil." Jo whispered as she inhaled his scent.
"Yeah-" Han started to pull away but Jo tugged him back and pressed her cheek against his peck.
"I like it. It smells like you." Jo closed her eyes as she let herself be just Jo with Han.