I feel home, and that's just what I feel....

[motherofresistance]

Who: Leai and Gray!Ben
Where: Leia's quarters
When: A little while after this thread
What: Leia has a special gift for Ben
Warnings: Probably none other than family feels

It wasn't often Leia specifically asked Ben to come to her quarters. Mostly because it was rarely necessary; it was easy enough for them to find each other on the base if they needed or wanted to. Sometimes Ben would come to her, sometimes she to him, but it was seldom in either of their own rooms. The request hadn't been anything especially urgent; just 'if he had time' that evening, and if not, she'd said that was fine. They could always find another night.

But the unusual nature of the request would likely make it stand out. As would the emotions drifting through the Force when it was made. Warmth, love, hints of excitement and an odd sort of nostalgia... What exactly was Leia planning? There was only one way to find out...

Comments

A million years late, but just wanted to round these out.

[motherofresistance]

Now that was a kind of smile that Leia knew very well, even if it was unfamiliar on Ben. She returned one of her own. "I'm sure she would have, as her duties permitted," she said. "And Tom-Tom would likely end up having his own, specially cooled stable in one of the gardens; few places on Alderaan could really have been called balmy, but summers in Alderaa City still got warm enough that it'd be uncomfortable for a tauntaun."

"And a tea, in this case, doesn't refer to the drink," she said. "It refers to a light meal served about midway between lunch and dinner. It features tea, obviously, but also things like pastries, finger sandwiches, scones, seasonal fruits and nuts, or sometimes small servings of things like soup or quiche. Teas were typically smaller gatherings for friends and were considered less formal than something like a dinner party, but there was still an etiquette to them. They often had a theme, and a lot of planning could go into setting up the menu if you were hosting one; choosing what foods would go best with the tea you planned to serve, what was appropriate for the setting, the guests you were inviting, the time of year, and a dozen other factors. And of course if someone was invited to tea at the palace, it had to be a cut above, so my aunts made sure I knew how to be a good hostess."

The smile became a bit more mischievous for a moment. "Oh I'm sure they'd find time to be worried about both," she said. "Though one big scandal would likely keep them more occupied than a dozen small ones, and would probably have more interesting results."

She nodded her understanding of Ben's opinion on politically motivated marriages. "It's something I grew up around, so I understood the necessity of it," she said. "It's not entirely about politics and appearances though. Whoever would have married me would have become the next Viceroy of Alderaan; that was no small job even when one wasn't also trying to organize a rebellion. My choice wouldn't have been mine alone; I'd be choosing for all of Alderaan, and I'd have had to choose someone I thought was capable of ruling beside me. My people deserved that."

"But yes, I'm sure that they'd all have eventually come around," she said. "We might have disagreed on any number of things, but we all loved each other. Once they'd seen that I love your father just as much, they would have relented. It just might have taken some time for them to understand that."

((OOC: You don't have to feel the need to reply to this or the other PSL; I just wanted to clear this and the other tag out. :3))