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1.
Leia is dozing in the seat behind Han. She still hasn’t told him much about where they are going, giving him only the coordinates, or why they are going. It’s all very mysterious. And he thinks perhaps Chewie was right and this is dangerous. But it’s too late now.
“I need to stop to refuel, that ok?” Han asks, waking her.
“Where?” Leia questions, peering over his shoulder at the map.
He tells her the name of a nearby planet.
She nods, stiffly. “Wake me when we land.”
“You got it.”
As they get closer to a busy city, the sky is suddenly filled with colourful bursts of light.
Leia is instantly alert, “Are we under attack?”
“No.” He laughs, and then he realises she’s not making a joke. “Hey, it’s just fireworks.” He says, softly, not wanting her to be alarmed.
“Oh.” She relaxes ever so slightly.
Why would her first thought be that they were under attack? Not for the first time, Han wonders who exactly this woman is and what she is involved in.
——
2.
The fireworks show is wonderful, full of booming noises and vibrant colours. But Han isn't paying attention to that. He can't take his eyes off Leia. He adores seeing her relaxed and happy like this, she is no longer tense with the stresses and anxieties of war. He feels a rush of love, powerful and exhilarating.
“Marry me?” Han blurts, the words tumbling out of his mouth before he is fully aware of what he's said. But once the question is out there, he realises it's the perfect thing to ask.
“What?” Leia shouts. “I can’t hear!” The fireworks are unrelentingly loud.
“Marry me?” He tries again, but there is another boom and his words are once again drowned out.
Leia frowns, “What?”
He takes a deep breath and shouts, “MARRY ME?” And this time, she hears him. In fact, everyone around them does, because there is a break in the fireworks. For a moment, the silence is deafening, and Han wonders if he's made a mistake, if, perhaps, it wasn't the right thing to ask.
Leia is stunned, she stares at him, a curious look in her eyes, before a joyful smile bursts across her face. “Ok, hotshot.”
Han has never felt happiness like this in his life. He can't stop smiling and he leans in to kiss her, she responds by throwing her arms around his neck and pressing herself close. There are cheers and claps from people around them, but neither notice, they are captivated by one another.
——
3.
"Where are we going?" Leia asks, for the second time.
"It's a surprise." Han gives her a wink, as he leads her by the hand to a deserted area on top of a hill, surrounded by trees. It's a quiet, pretty place on a planet that neither had ever visited before. Two pink moons in the sky above light the way. Leia idly notes that some of the plants and trees remind her of her home planet, Alderaan.
"Will I like it?" She questions.
"I hope so."
"You hope so? That's not very promising."
"Just wait." Han says gently, as they come to a stop. He lifts his free hand, signalling someone. And the show begins - fireworks explode in the sky, in tune to the Alderaanian lullaby 'Mirrorbright', white sprays like Cloudshape Falls, green jets the colour of the trees in Isatabith rain forest, multi-coloured whirls like starblossoms, all against blue bursts that mimicked the clear skies of Alderaan.
"Alderaan." She whispers, in awe and surprise. She had not expected this at all. It is beautiful and bittersweet, and Leia never wants it to end.
"I found this guy who made fireworks and he knew another guy who worked with someone who made fireworks for Alderaan. They created this from memory." Han hugs her close.
"It's perfect. Oh, Han. I don't know what to say." She blinks away tears, and turns to place a firm kiss on his lips. "I love you. Thank you."
——
4.
"You missed the fireworks!" Luke informs Han and Leia, as they appear holding hands.
"Fireworks?" Leia asks, in surprise.
"Yeah, you didn't hear them?" Lando asks, raising one eyebrow.
"We were ... asleep." Han says, unconvincingly.
"Right. Asleep." Lando laughs.
"No. We were." Leia tries to be serious, tries to stop herself from smiling, but she can't. She reaches up to smooth her hair.
"Uh, Han? Your shirt is inside out." Luke says, exchanging an amused look with Lando.
Han looks down at his shirt, "Oh. Yeah, well ... sometimes I like it like this?" He replies awkwardly.
Luke and Lando laugh again.
"So, these fireworks? Were they good?" Leia asks, trying to change the subject.
"Very good. Although, probably not as good as your private fireworks." Lando says with a smile.
Han and Leia burst into laughter.
——
5.
When Lando invites her to another party, she is hesistant, unable to forget Lando's friend, Han, who had disagreed with her about everything and anything, the intended short conversation had ended up being hours long as they had bickered away, ignoring everyone else. Lando had told her that Han wasn't trying to annoy her, but she didn't believe him. However, she does enjoy fireworks, so she agrees. Her face falls as she spots Han, looking, once again, underdressed and like he'd rather be anywhere else. When he sees her and Lando, he heads over.
“Wonderful show, isn’t it?” Leia says, trying to keep her tone light to disguise her displeasure at the appearance of this man who has the ability to irritate her like no other.
“I don’t like fireworks.” He shrugs.
“Oh. So, why did you come?” She blurts.
He just shrugs again.
Lando lets out a short, sharp laugh. “Well, he wasn’t going to until I mentioned you were coming and then suddenly, fireworks sounded like a great night out.”
“No, I didn’t say-”
"In fact, he couldn't stop talking about you. How smart you are, how passionate you are, how he didn't want your conversation to end."
"Lando!" Han snaps, annoyed. He glances at Leia, and then looks away embarrassed. "I just said it was .... nice to meet you."
Leia doesn't know what to say. She had assumed that Han didn't like her, that he had argued with her for no reason, but thinking about it, maybe he had just been arguing to keep talking to her. She's so used to dealing with politicians who have a way with words, that she forgets sometimes that not everyone is as confident. She realises that Han is just a bit awkward and that, like Lando had said, he probably wasn't trying to annoy her. The three of them lapse into silence as the display start. Han pretends to watch the fireworks, but she notices him sneaking glances at her. Leia smiles softly to herself.