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Han Solo had to accept that his resolution to stay away from Princess Leia had utterly and completely failed when the radiation-sensitive woman told them off.
It had been supposed to be a simple mission: get in, get out, the Alliance got what they wanted, he got to brag about how the rebels would be dead without him, and the Falcon got an upgrade. At least that had been the sales pitch the princess had used when she’d approached him.
‘No,’ he’d said without looking up before she had even told him where she wanted him to go.
He imagined he could hear the subtle flair of her nostrils in the pause she took before saying, in a voice that betrayed nothing, ‘I thought you said you were only hanging around long enough to get your hands on the gravity compensator. Or was that just an excuse?’
That made him straighten up and glare at her, which he later kicked himself for. That had been her intended reaction.
‘No excuse, Your Worship. I ain’t stickin’ with your little freedom fighter operation for the pleasant conversation, I—’
‘You’re in it for the money, yes, we all know that,’ Leia finished with a tired roll of her eyes. ‘So what is it this time?’
‘Life Day’s in three days,’ he replied.
‘Oh. That’s a Wookie holiday, isn’t it?’
‘Yeah, it is,’ Han said. A lot of people thought it was a tradition of savages. He gave Leia a defiant look in case she was one of those people, but she looked unfazed.
‘We don’t need to bring Chewbacca, if he wants to stay to observe his rituals here.’
Han shook his head.
‘That won’t do.’
‘What won’t do?’ Leia asked, exasperated.
‘I need to be here for it too.’
‘Well, we should be back by then, it’s only a jump away.’
Han thought it over. ‘I’ll have to ask Chewie.’
And Chewbacca had said yes because, unlike Han, he didn’t enjoy pull-and-push games with the Princess—his words, not Han’s, who disagreed there were any games going on.
That was how they had ended up on Erortuh, with the datachip they had come to retrieve tucked inside a pouch in Leia’s boot, and everything going to plan… until the wind picked up and the first drops of rain started to fall.
‘Oh, thank goodness,’ Leia said, wiping the sweat off her forehead as they walked to their speeder bike. The city was not only close to the planet’s equator, but sat by a river. It had been nice and cool when they had arrived that morning; by noon, it was a humid, blinding hell.
Han was not a fan of the thunder that was beginning to crack the skies overhead, but he welcomed the promise of a respite from the heat. His shirt stuck to his back and armpits; he felt a violent need to rip it off and jump into the river.
They only needed to go back the way they’d come from, through the handful of small towns and farms that separated their drop-off point from the nearest spaceport, where Chewie was waiting with the Falcon. It had taken them about three hours before; Han hoped they would make it before the storm unleashed.
Leia sat behind him and put her arms around his waist, her thighs pressed against his. That would have made the temperature of Han’s body climb up a few notches even without the help of the weather. He took a few deep gulps of water, and then they were zipping away from the city, through yellowish fields as the sky became darker by the minute.
The speeder bike started to wobble before they had even reached the first town.
‘We should stop!’ Leia yelled in his ear.
‘No way we’re stopping now!’ Han yelled back, going full throttle. He pushed his goggles up as the rain began to fall harder; it took five minutes for the wind to carry them off. ‘Dammit!’
‘This is getting dangerous!’ Leia insisted. ‘We’re going to skid off the road!’
‘Then what do you suggest we do, sweetheart?’ Han asked, angry, although he slowed down. ‘We’re in the middle of nowhere!’
‘I’ll look for any side roads; there’s got to be a barn or something where we can wait out the storm!’
Han tried to take the bike as slow as it would go, his eyes straining to see a meter in front of them through the heavy curtain of water. The combined wind and rain were so harsh, they were weighing the bike down, making the nose scrape against the pavement.
‘There!’ Leia yelled at last, pulling at his shirt to get his attention. Han looked to their left and saw light in the distance.
He turned—carefully, he’d thought, but not enough. The bike almost turned on its side before he managed to right it… and then he realized it felt lighter.
‘Leia!’ he yelled, heart speeding up in panic as he skidded to a halt.
‘Here!’ Han heard her answer, and he saw the mud move and rise a few meters ahead. His boots squelched and threatened to peel off his feet as he ran towards her.
‘Are you hurt?’
‘I’m fine. No thanks to you,’ she said, shooting daggers at him and pushing his hand away when he held it out.
‘It wasn’t my fault!’ he shouted after her.
They managed to get the speeder off the road and took refuge under the roof of a shed where moofs shook their heads and twitched their tails in agitation behind the fence.
The rain had thinned slightly and Han peered around. There was a cottage a few meters ahead, up a flooded path that led from the shed. The lights they had seen from the main road came from it.
‘Let’s go.’
Leia caught his arm and pulled him back before he’d taken two steps.
‘Where are you going? We can’t just knock on some strangers’ door and ask to stay, Han! And what if we’re recognized?’
‘That ain’t just a house. See that sign over there?’ He pointed at a luminous square next to the gate. ‘That means they take travellers. Lodging’s usually cheap, too. As for being recognized…’
He gave her a once-over. She was drenched and covered in mud head to toe; her braids had slipped out of her crown and hung over her shoulders like thick, wet ropes. Only her eyes were unaffected, sparkling out of her pale face.
‘No offense, but you don’t look the part of a rebel princess just about now.’
‘Thanks,’ she said caustically.
‘Seriously though, these folks live in a middle-of-nowhere town on a middle-of-nowhere planet. I’d be surprised if they even got a vidscreen.’
Leia was still uncertain.
‘Look, Princess, if you wanna spend the night on this shed, have at it. That beast over there looks real cuddly.’ He nodded at one of the moofs that seemed more restless than the others. ‘But I intend to take a long, hot shower and a long, hot dinner. I’ll see ya in the morning.’
He patted her shoulder once and started walking out of the shed. With a huff that could be heard even over the rain, Leia ran after him.
They stood dripping on the porch of a little old cottage. Leia took a deep breath and raised a fisted hand to knock.
‘Wait,’ Han said, holding back her hand.
‘What now? Wasn’t this your brilliant idea?’
Han shrugged his jacket off and handed it to her.
‘I’m not cold,’ Leia said, frowning at him.
‘Oh, really?’ He smirked. ‘Think I disagree, Princess.’
He nodded his chin at her chest and she looked down. The deluge had been too much for her jumpsuit and whatever underwear she was wearing, which stuck to her skin and did little to hide her nipples— those were definitely feeling the chill, even if the rest of her body wasn’t.
‘You—lecherous—laserbrain!’ Leia sputtered, elbowing him on the ribs sharply enough to make him bend over. ‘Why didn’t you tell me before?’
‘Ow!’
‘What, were you enjoying the show all this time?’ she asked, snatching the jacket off his hands and putting it on.
‘I didn’t see it until now! In case you didn’t notice, I was a little busy driving, Your Highnessness!’
‘That’s convenient.’
What does that even mean?!’
‘You’re so—’
The door opened, shutting them up. In front of them stood a green-skinned Mikkian with a hundred tendrils framing her face. She was shorter than Han and several years older, judging from the wrinkles under her kind-looking blue eyes.
‘Did you intend to ask for lodging, dears, or were you just taking a breather on my porch?’ she asked in a melodic Basic.
‘Yes—we’re very sorry, we didn’t mean to yell at your door,’ Leia said, straightening up. ‘Would you be able to rent us a room for the night?’
‘You are very lucky; I happen to have one available. A couple of backpackers came through just a few hours ago—unmarried backpackers, travelling together. Would you believe it?’ The Mikkian clucked her tongue. ‘Of course I had to turn them away; this is a family residency. You are married yourselves, are you not?’
‘Why, of course!’ Han said quickly, throwing an arm around Leia and pulling her close. ‘We’re the Solos! Nice to meet ya, Mrs., uh...’
‘Mrs. Daraay, but you can call me Biala if you please.’ The Mikkian was glowing. ‘Come in, come in, then, get out of the rain, we’ll warm you up right away.’
Biala left them standing in the foyer and bustled away.
‘The Solos, huh?’ Leia said under her breath. ‘You couldn’t think of another name?’
Han didn’t get a chance to reply before Biala came back with two thick towels.
‘Now, towel yourselves off, no dripping, and I’ll show you to your room. There you can get yourselves cleaned up proper. I’ll get you something to wear til your clothes are all in tiptop shape again.’
No sooner had Leia said ‘Thank you, you’re very kind’ and closed the door behind their host than Han was already flopping down on the bed.
‘You’re making a mess!’ Leia said, tugging at one of his boots. ‘Get up, honey.’
Han groaned.
‘Put a towel under you, at least. I’m going to wash up. Oof.’
‘What now?’ Han asked as he slid off the bed. The quilt had gotten a bit damp, but he hadn’t really soiled it. It was Leia the one who looked like a swamp creature, not him.
‘These clothes.’ She held up a loose beige robe that looked like she could trip on. ‘They’re very…’
‘Ugly,’ Han finished for her.
His clothes weren’t much better. The pants had a baggy crotch; the shirt had bell sleeves. What were these people, monks?
He put down his towel on the bed and laid back down. That was when he noticed there was no door to the ‘fresher, only a textured plexi divider hiding the shower’s occupant—although not entirely. She had hung her clothes and towel from it, probably guessing at the lack of privacy, but she didn’t seem to realize that he could still see half of the flesh-coloured blur that was her body, twisting this way and that as she washed her head.
Han squirmed. Just who had he pissed off to deserve this torture?
He closed his eyes to block off the vision.
This had been exactly what he’d been thinking about last month, after New Year’s Fete, when he’d made the resolution that he had to stay away from Leia, if he was ever going to leave the rebellion. It had worked, for a while. A week and a half, to be exact, which happened to be the week and a half Leia had been away on a diplomatic mission with Luke. Han had been very pleased with himself, if in a bit of an aggressive way. Who needs her? Who needs them? Let them go on their own, have their little fun! I’ll be outta here soon anyway!
Then they had come back and it was as if nothing had changed, and when they’d swung by the Falcon and found a sulky Han, they had ignored him and come by at another time. Nothing unusual there.
And what had Han done? Agreed to come to a mission alone with Leia at the first chance he’d had.
It’s not my fault , he thought as he drifted off. She’s just…
Shaking him awake, that’s what Leia was, several minutes after Han had fallen asleep before completing his thought.
‘Han, do you hear me? I said you can use the shower now. And vacate my bed.’
He opened his eyes and found her standing over him, the wet ends of her long hair poking out of the towel wrapped around her head; her legs poking out of the one wrapped around her body.
‘Your bed?’ Han asked, drowsy but not enough to miss when he was being ripped off. ‘Your bed?’
‘Yes, what did you think was going to happen?’ Leia said, crossing her arms over her chest. ‘This bed isn’t big enough for both of us.’
‘It’s a double!’
‘A small double. You don’t even fit length-wise!’ She pointed to the evidence of his feet, hanging slightly over the edge.
‘I’ll huddle up.’
‘Then you’ll take up even more space and I won’t fit.’
‘Problem solved.’
Leia glared at him. She was infuriating. Unfortunately, she was also half-naked, which was throwing Han off.
‘Let’s discuss it after dinner, sweetie pie, shall we?’ he said in a mocking tone as he got up, grabbed his clothes, and headed for the ‘fresher. He smirked smugly when he stepped into the shower and remembered the view from the room, but he didn’t bother to try to cover the screen.
Let’s give her a show, then, he thought, and started stripping off.
The rain hadn’t done anything to abate the heat; multiple fans kept the dining room cool when he and Leia went down for dinner.
‘Look what the tooka dragged in!’ a deep, pleasant voice said. A second, red-skinned Mikkian with solemn green eyes looked up from setting dishes and cutlery on top of a large table and smiled at them. ‘I’m Dryce, you met my wife earlier.’
‘Pleasure to meet you,’ Leia said, returning the smile and shaking Dryce’s hand. ‘I’m L—ina, and this is… Hef.’
‘The husband.’ Han held out his hand, not without giving her a teasing look with Dryce turned away at her choice of names. ‘You were real life-savers, we nearly drowned out there.’
‘Ah yes.’ Dryce looked out the window. ‘If it doesn’t let up, the river will flood.’
‘Hope it won’t then, ‘cos we need to be somewhere else tomorrow,’ Han told him as they took their seats.
‘I hope you two like veuskhell,’ Biala said, coming in from the kitchen with a large platter.
‘I’m afraid I haven’t heard of it,’ Leia said, looking at Han. He shrugged.
‘Stuffed moof liver, dear.’
Han gulped.
‘Oh… how lovely,’ Leia said, smiling politely.
The veuskhell turned out to be less disgusting than it sounded when you didn’t think of it, especially with a generous helping of spicy potatoes. They were joined by two Mythrol who looked like they’d barely left fledgling age and had apparently come to Erortuh to get married against their parents’ wishes. The Mikkians were charmed by their story. Han thought it was rather pathetic.
‘What about you two? Have you been married for long?’ Biala asked.
‘Yes,’ Han said, at the same time as Leia said ‘No’.
He looked at her.
‘A few months isn’t that long, honey,’ Leia told him, smiling sweetly and patting his hand. ‘Unless you’re already fed up with me?’
‘Not at all, tumble bunny,’ he replied, catching her hand and lifting it to his lips. Her face briefly registered shock before she rearranged it into a loving expression. Han had no idea why he had done that, but he was glad Chewie wasn’t there to see it or he wouldn’t hear the end of it.
Leia cleared her throat as he let go of her hand.
‘A toast, to the newlyweds!’ Dryle called out, raising his glass, and they all followed as the Mythrol couple kissed and grinned stupidly at each other. Then, the Mikkian looked at his wife and added, ‘And to love.’
Han drank as Dryle leaned over and kissed Biala soundly on the lips.
‘Go on, son,’ Dryle said, and it took Han a moment to realize he was talking to him. ‘You have to kiss your wife too.’
He put down his glass slowly and looked at Leia, who seemed speechless.
‘That’s fine, we kissed earlier,’ he said. ‘Lots of kissin’.’
‘Yes, loads,’ Leia hurried to add. ‘In private.’
‘But we’re toasting now! You must kiss,’ Dryle insisted, the Mythrol backing him up.
‘Right, okay.’ With a wary look at Leia, Han leaned over and kissed her temple.
‘Thank you,’ Leia said.
‘You’re welcome.’
Biala looked disappointed.
‘That’s hardly a kiss!’
‘I’m surprised you two are still married.’
‘Oh well, you know, we’re very shy,’ Leia said, dabbing her lips with her napkin.
‘But we’re among friends!’ one of the Mythrol said (Han couldn’t bother to remember their names).
‘Go on, then, or I’ll start to think you’re not married at all!’ Biala said. ‘And we Mikkians value integrity above anything else, so that wouldn’t be pretty for you.’
The was an unmistakable hint of menace in the kindly old face that made Han think he didn’t want to find out.
‘Every time you kiss your wife, you have to think of it like it’s the first time and the last time. That’s how you stay married,’ Dryle said, looking first at the Mythrol, then at Han and Leia. ‘Fifty years that’s worked for us. Now, you’re in love, right?’
Han’s throat felt dry. Why was it so hard for his mouth to form a resounding “no”?
‘Then kiss her proper, for Force’s sake!’
The wave of relief that hit him when his body obeyed the command was almost terrifying. Taking Leia’s face in his hands, he drew her close and pressed his lips on hers. For a second, she seemed to pull away, and then she kissed him back, slow but firm, fingers winding through his hair and holding onto him.
Cheers erupted around the table and they broke apart. Han swallowed and opened his eyes. His heartbeat was annoyingly loud in his ears all of a sudden.
Leia stared at him with round, shiny eyes, her lips parted. She hurried to pick up her glass and drank deeply.
‘See, it wasn’t too hard, son, was it?’ Dryle asked, clapping him on the back.
No… not hard at all, Han thought, and he reached for his wine, too.
‘You know it's too hot to sleep this close to someone.’
They stared at the bed in dismay, as if they’d somehow expected it to split in two during the course of dinner and solve the problem once and for all.
Han turned his scowl on her.
‘Where d’ya expect me to sleep? The shower?’
‘There are enough blankets in here to fashion a pallet,’ Leia said, lifting them off the bed.
He wanted to fight her on it but, after the incident at dinner, he didn’t trust himself sleeping on the same bed as her. Too risky. Not that he’d do anything she didn’t want, obviously, but there was no controlling his body after he fell asleep. And if she wanted to… well. That went against his plans.
‘Fine,’ he conceded, and grabbed the blankets from her. As he made a nest at the foot of the bed, Leia riffled through the extra clothes that had been left on the bed and marched to the ‘fresher.
Princess or no princess, it was too hot to sleep with anything more than his underwear, Han decided. He took great pleasure in balling up the ridiculous garments and throwing them into a laundry basket.
‘Ahem.’
He turned around to find Leia standing in the doorway, her cheeks slightly pink.
‘If you’re not going to wear any bed clothes, could I borrow the shirt? My dressing gown…’ she held it up, letting it unfold. It was as long as her borrowed dress had been.
‘Sure,’ Han said, passing it on.
‘Thanks.’
He used the ‘fresher after her, and came back to find her primly tucked in, hair in a single braid that rested over her chest. Despite having the bed all to herself, she had picked a side and didn’t take up more space than necessary.
‘G’night then,’ Han said, and turned the lights off before settling in on his pallet.
‘Night,’ Leia replied.
Han stared at the dark ceiling. The rain still pitter-pattered on the roof and against the windows, although the Mikkians had been confident that they’d be able to leave tomorrow. Right now, he wasn’t thinking of that so much as the way Leia’s mouth had felt against his. He knew she could be a good liar—better and quicker than him on the spot most of the time, even. She would go to any lengths to secure her missions, to protect the rebellion. If she would die for it, why wouldn’t she kiss a man and make him believe she meant it, no matter how crazy he drove her?
But he didn’t always drive her up a wall. Sometimes, it was good between them. Terrifyingly good. Stay in one place indefinitely, risking his life for a cause he wanted nothing to do with-good.
‘I’m sorry we got stuck here,’ Leia said, interrupting his thoughts. ‘I know that you want to spend Life Day with Chewie—I hope I can still get you there in time.’
‘Yeah. It’s fine. It’s not like he’d complain. He likes you too much for that.’
‘Oh.’ She sounded surprised. Then, in a tone that made him think she might have been smirking, ‘More than he likes you?’
Han snorted. ‘Probably.’
‘Still, I’ll apologize to him. I imagine it must be hard to be away from his kind at this time of year. From his planet.’
Han didn’t imagine the sadness that touched her last words. He remembered that time, about a year after Yavin, seeing her at the front of a hall full of Alderaan survivors giving a speech on the occasion of Coronation Day, her dress the whitest white, her braids lustrous, her face betraying nothing. But he remembered even more vividly finding her afterwards on the acceleration couch at the Falcon, staring into nothingness. Her eyes had filled with tears when she looked up and saw him there, and she couldn’t even get a word out before she broke down. He was no good at comforting people, even less someone who always seemed so above wanting comfort, especially from him. So Han had sat there next to her, touched her arm to let her know he was staying if she wanted, and silently held her when she collapsed against his chest, swallowing his surprise and the strange ache that seeped into his heart like her tears into his shirt.
‘Just don’t forget about him when you win the war, Princess,’ Han told her. ‘’Cos I’d like to get him back where he belongs. Kashyyyk.’
‘I promise,’ Leia said, and he believed her.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
‘Be quiet, we’re supposed to be sleeping on the same bed,’ Leia whispered before getting up and opening the door a couple of inches. Han could see her bare legs in the light that came from the hallway. ‘Yes?’
‘Sorry to bother you, dear, but I couldn’t help noticing your husband and you are not sleeping together,’ Han heard Biala say. ‘I hope you didn’t get into a fight because we pushed you earlier, it was just a little bit of good-natured teasing.’
‘Wha—I’m sorry… you noticed how?’ Leia asked, sounding as puzzled as Han felt.
‘My tendrils,’ Biala pointed to her head, ‘can detect a lot of different information—like temperature. I was passing by when I noticed your heat signatures… apart from each other. I didn’t mean to spy on you, of course.’
Of course you didn’t, Han thought.
‘Oh. Right. No, we’re not fighting, it’s just…’
‘The heat,’ Han chimed in from the floor.
‘Yes, the heat. It’s still very hot, and my husband gets sweaty very easily.’
‘Why didn’t you say? Excuse me.’ A hand reached out inside the room and flipped a switch. A cool breeze started to circulate around the room. Han felt an instantaneous relief as the temperature of his body lowered. ‘We try to keep things simple with the technology, but there’s no helping the heat. Of course we have ventilators here! Now you two can leave this nonsense and act like a married couple. Sleep well.’
The door closed, leaving the room in darkness again, but Leia didn’t move.
‘I think you better come to the bed.’
His body thermostat went up a notch again.
‘Are you sure?’
‘If you don’t, she’s going to come back in ten minutes asking if we’re fighting over the blankets now.’
He waited until she got settled in and stood up, dragging his pillow. The whole sleeping in his underwear idea had been a bad move, he realized now, as he got under the same bedsheets as her and felt his leg brush against her bare skin, arms and shoulders bumping as they shifted. The mattress really was small. Han’s feet poked from under the sheets, and he couldn’t move much more to the edge without falling over. The space between him and Leia was both minuscule and a chasm. His hand had accidentally fallen on top of the ample sleeve of her shirt, and the realization reminded him that she was as good as naked under it.
He moved his hand away and thought of the Mythrol couple making out in an effort to gross himself out. His wretched brain turned that against him soon enough. Angry at himself, he huffed and turned on his side.
‘Han, you’re hogging the sheets,’ Leia complained, tugging at them.
‘Sorry. I forgot how to do this.’
‘What, share a bed?’
‘Yeah. ‘S been a while.’
Leia made a noise that seemed a mix between a chuckle and a sigh.
‘Me too.’
He felt Leia move behind him, carefully avoiding touching him. There was a depression in the mattress, and Han felt himself being pulled back. Would he roll on top of her when he fell asleep and stopped resisting it?
‘Sorry, I got to…’
Once again, he rolled over until he was laying on his back as Leia tried to scoot out of the way.
‘Are you going to do that all night, flyboy?’ she asked, and he realized she was on her side facing him now.
‘I said sorry, Your Sunshininess,’ he snapped. ‘This kriffin' bed ain’t just small but old too, it’s sunk in the middle.’
He bounced to prove his point, and Leia fell against him.
‘Stop that!’ she scolded, her breath tickling his shoulder. Grabbing his arm, she struggled to push herself away. ‘Or you’ll go back to the floor.’
‘You wouldn’t do that, honey bunch. Nothing that threatens your precious rebellion.’
Leia’s legs knocked against his as she managed to half-sit. His eyes, having had time to accustom themselves to the dark, saw her hovering over him in the shadows. She hadn’t let go of his arm.
‘You don’t want to find out what I’m capable of doing,’ she whispered, almost like a threat.
‘What if I do?’
There were things you said in the light of day, in front of other people, to yourself in the mirror, that morphed into something else in the middle of the night. There were things Han said he needed to do in order to survive like he’d always done, to avoid causing harm, and the things he wanted right now, all of which involved the woman he was currently sharing a bed with.
Leia’s face inched closer, her lips drawing his attention as they opened tantalizingly.
‘Then you should stick around and see,’ she said.
With a smirk, she let go of his arm and lay down, turning her back to him. Han let out a slow breath and slumped into the mattress.
Maybe he would have to do just that.