...omg, between your post and the tumblr post on the "I love you/I know" moments, I had this FLASH about--- okay, I don't want to claim One true Interpretation, but definitely a take on it that I hadn't had before: Leia's "I love you" is the revelation, because it's already understood between them that he loves her--- because that is what the kiss meant, and they both know it; what hasn't been brought out between them openly is that LEIA LOVES HIM BACK. And that is what Leia's "I know" moment is, because she HAS known it that long and it's like, "Yeah, silly boy, of course you do, duh, sweetie."

(Also, hi, can I talk about how much I actually love the prequel trilogy even though I know it's not as "objectively good" as the original trilogy, but it hits SO MANY of my narrative kinks that it is NOT FUNNY, and apparently I will take a poorly written story in a fandom of my heart that hits my narrative kinks over a well-written one that doesn't? Oh, self.)