Lean On Me (Leia Organa)

                                    

                                          
Written for Fictober 2023 Day 18 on Tumblr!
Summary: Leia's feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of taking on the Empire, but her SO is there to remind her that none of them are in it alone.
Prompt: "We can't do this on our own."
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"I need a minute."
Blearily, I raised my head from my work, blinking in confusion as my girlfriend marched out of the room. Her voice had shaken me out of my haze of combing through paperwork, and now I could see her shoulders up by her ears as she walked away.
I glanced around, but no one else in the room seemed particularly worried. They probably assumed the smart, courageous Princess Leia Organa just needed to grab a report she'd remembered that might be helpful, or some more caf, or even a bathroom break.
I, however, knew her better than that. Leia had been my best friend for years, and we'd been dating for a while now, too. I knew the subtle changes in her tone, the unusual tension in her shoulders, all amounted to something definitely, definitely wrong.
I stood from my own desk in the small headquarters of the Rebellion, trying not to draw too much attention to myself. We were all exhausted, especially after being forced to do damage control on a few bad breaks we'd gotten in a row, so no one gave me a second look as I left.
I followed Leia down the familiar hallways, coming around a corner just in time to see her duck into her quarters. I frowned and picked up my pace a bit.
I stopped outside Leia's door, knocking quickly and speaking at the same time.
"Leia? It's me. Can I come in?"
I waited, holding my breath when I only got silence in response. Then, a moment later, I heard the door unlock from the other side. I didn't hesitate to push it open.
Leia had her back to me, and was already returning to sit on the end of the bed, her shoulder leaning against the wall. I quickly shut the door behind me, since I knew she wouldn't want anyone to see her like this, least of all members of the Rebellion.
"What's wrong?" I asked, crossing the room carefully to sit beside her on the bed. She wouldn't look at me, just stared ahead with her arms crossed over her chest and her jaw clenched tight. Leia hated to cry, but I could tell she was holding back tears.
I didn't push her, just waited patiently, resting my shoulder gently against hers. I knew she'd tell me in her own time, and until then, I resolved to be completely and totally here for her.
"We lost six of our best pilots last week," she finally said, her voice hoarse and gravelly. She didn't break her blank stare at the wall. "A few days after that, operating on bad intel, we lost two spies undercover in the ranks of the Empire. Yesterday, an agent went into town on a supply run and went back to his base without realizing the Empire had picked up his trail. He led them right to the doorstep, and we lost the entire base."
I pursed my lips together, trying to fight my own negative reaction to her summary as I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. I knew we'd caught some bad breaks lately, but having it all laid out like that emphasized just how bad our last week had been.
"Everything we've accomplished, every bit of progress we've made, is at risk of coming crumbling down around us," she continued. "And I'm failing everyone. I haven't been able to stop it and I haven't been able to fix it. No matter what I do, we keep losing ground. I- I don't know how I'm going to make this Rebellion succeed."
I sighed, pulling Leia a little tighter to me. From the tone of her voice, I knew that last part was what really bothered her. That she'd failed, that she hadn't been able to wave a magic wand and fix things. She always put too much on herself.
"In the wise words of someone I love very much, Rebellions are built on hope. If you let that hope die out, Leia, that's the only way to make sure the Empire wins."
Leia shook her head, and I could tell she was about to protest, but I continued speaking before she could.
"Besides, babe, it's not all on you. One person cannot succeed against something like the Empire, not alone. But when we lean on each other, work together, put our faith in each other? That's when real change happens. And the Empire can try to shake that faith as much as they want, but as long as we keep believing and inspiring people to fight back, then they have no chance. Not really."
"I want to believe you," she said, her voice still a little hollower than I'd ever heard it before. "But I feel so useless."
"Leia. We can't do this on our own." Any of the softness was gone from my voice, and I turned to face Leia, holding her shoulders so she had to face me too. "If you keep putting the entire galaxy on your back and yours alone, you will be crushed under its weight. This last week has sucked, but just like the victories, we will shoulder the failures together and come out stronger on the other side. It will not be easy, and the road will not be short, but we will stand shoulder to shoulder and get this done."
Leia stared at me for a long, long moment. The spark of fire that I normally saw in her eyes had dimmed, but I made sure she could see it in mine. Leaning on each other meant staying strong when one of us was weak, and vice versa, so I did. I did not take my eyes away once, willing the fire and determination she'd first instilled in me to be rekindled in her.
Finally, after what felt like forever, Leia's head dipped in a small nod. The fire still wasn't burning anywhere near as bright as it normally did, but it had been replaced with a steely determination mirrored in the set of her jaw. She held my eyes for another few moments, then leaned forward quickly and kissed me, hard.
I kissed her back, my heart soaring, but she pulled away almost as soon as she'd leaned in. She gave me a small smile, the mischievous glimmer of a plan staring back at me, and I knew my Leia was back.
"Thank you, Y/N. I'm... I'm happy I have you to go through this with."
"Right back at you, babe."
She squeezed my hand and then stood, pulling me to my feet with her. She grinned, tugging me along with her towards the door to her room.
"Come on. Let's get out there and find a way to clean up this mess."
"Deal."
I slung an arm around her shoulders as we stepped into the hall, and then went back to the main workspace of the base side by side. Whatever else came our way, we would handle it. Together.