A/N: Just a short little ficlet I couldn't get out of my head. I didn't really revise this one, so be warned. Also, spoilers for TFA! (Though if you haven't seen it yet, you really should go out and do that - it's incredible.)

Just as most things that came out of Han's mouth, it was completely unprecedented and out of context when he asked her. But then again, that was what she loved about him.

They'd been lounging in their apartment on Coruscant, watching one-year-old Ben on the floor, playing with a model X-Wing Uncle Luke had gotten for him earlier that week. She'd just gotten back from another reconstructive session in the Senate, which were thankfully becoming less frequent as of late as the Republic was inching closer to becoming fully reformed. Nonetheless, with both her senatorial duties and motherhood taking their toll, Leia was exhausted, and frowned at Han with lidded eyes when her tired mind was unable to process the question he'd asked.

She felt his eagerness through the Force – just as she felt him in every other aspect. He may not have been a user of the Force, but she could pick his signature out from a crowd in a heartbeat, a bright and untamable flame burning amidst the bland backdrop of a galaxy full of dull characters. And his eyes were just as bright as he took her hand earnestly and looked at her expectantly before repeating himself.

"Marry me, Leia."

She was quiet for a moment, lips quirking into a thoughtful smile, before a genuine giggle slipped from between her lips. His wide smile faded just a bit, however, and Leia's laugh was cut short very quickly. "You're serious."

Han frowned. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Han…" She sighed gently as she leaned forward to press her lips gently to his in reassurance. "You know I love you. And I know you love me. But do you really want to marry me?"

"Would I have asked if I didn't?"

"I just know you haven't thought it through much," she pointed out.

He put his hands up defensively. "I've thought about it once or twice."

She just smiled, threading her fingers with his. "You're Han Solo," she whispered. "You don't settle down."

"I could," he told her keenly. "For you. For both of you."

Leia laughed again, pressing her lips to the crown of his head. "I know you could. But that's not you, Han. I knew that loving you meant I'd be committing to an atypical lifestyle involving a lot of balancing and a lot of crazy and Han, I love that. I love where we're at right now. And you don't have to marry me to convince me that we can be that perfect family. You're going to be an amazing father. And you're already an amazing lover, with or without the title of husband. And sometimes, you're going to feel that call of adventure and you're going to need to grab Chewie and take the Falcon out for a while and I don't ever want that sense of adventure to be hindered by familial duties because that's one of the things I love about you so much."

He smiled genuinely, taking in her words before his eyes shone with humor. "Who said this was about familial duty? I just wanted to make sure those young senators who've had your eyes on you know you're taken."

Leia laughed at that, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss. "I love you," she whispered against his lips, before he captured hers again.

"I know."

It had been such a small moment within their thirty-something years together, but as pain gripped Leia's heart even from thousands of light-years away, she remembered it with such clarity, it could have happened just days before.

And as she sank to her knees, feeling that untamable fire suddenly extinguish, Leia couldn't help but wish she'd just said, "yes," to Han's simple question so many years ago.