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Corellia wasn’t the most dangerous planet they’d visited, not by any measure, but as Leia and Han walked through the streets, she could sense a fear in him, one more pungent than the odor of oil that wafted up from the shipyards.
Leia knew little of Han’s life before they met. She’d heard story upon story of his past, enough to fill a lifetime, but it was still clear to her that he hid most of his history, even if no one else seemed to notice. She’d never heard of his childhood, in fact, he tended to clear out whenever the topic came up, and the same went for any mention of his family, or a love that lasted longer than a night.
But she was sure he must have some memory of his childhood worth sharing, and maybe it was just wishful thinking, but she felt sure he’d have to have loved someone at some point too. He loved Chewie, didn’t he? Maybe he could even love her… as a friend, of course. Either way, she was sure Han was more than he let on, a man with feelings and hopes and dreams far before he was some nonchalant criminal who only thought of himself.
Not that she would say any of that, even now, when she could almost see the answers to her questions in the green of his eyes, surface level thoughts prickling up. Leia knew him well enough to know that if she pushed it, he’d only put up a dozen more walls. It’s what she would do.
“What are you staring at, Princess?” Han asked after a moment too long of her eyes lingering on him. His words jumbled up into one string of noise, and it took a couple beats before the sentence registered in her mind. Her face turned pink, but she just laughed and shook her head.
“You have something in your teeth,” Leia said, and he frowned, shutting his lips tightly so they made a straight line across his face.
The two walked for what felt like miles, though Leia felt some relief that their small interaction had seemed to loosen whatever tension Han was feeling within himself. This had been the longest they’d walked through a city without Han proposing the idea they jack some poor fools speeder, so long, in fact, that Leia was close to suggesting it herself.
She had turned to ask Han if he had the proper tools on him when she felt a tugging at her sleeve. The cloak she wore was far from usual, a dark, green velvet she thought inappropriate for Corellia, but Han had insisted. The thought of it made her heartbeat rapid.
“This seems a little frivolous,” Leia had said as he placed the fine material over her shoulders. Han had been very serious about this, insisting she wear it and he be the one to drape it upon her. “Won’t I stick out?”
“We’re posing as newlyweds, sweetheart. This is what that looks like here,” He sighed, gesturing down to his pants, which adorned first class bloodstripes, the first and only window she had into his past. He was a true blood Corellian.
“Poor newlyweds, Han,” She reminded him.
“Believe me, princess, my mother was as poor as they came. This cloak will do just fine,” Han said as he tied the ribbons up into a fine bow. “Just be careful not to stain it.”
With that in mind, Leia gently snatched her sleeve away from whoever had tugged at it. She held it to her chest as if she’d been injured herself.
“Excuse me?” A small voice said, and when Leia turned to see the owner, she found herself looking down. The boy in front of her was dirty, his shirt too big and his shoes too small, he looked about thirteen, but it was clear he was trying to seem younger. “Do you have any change, Miss?”
The boy looked at her with the saddest eyes she’d ever seen, but it only took Han’s attention for his demeanor to turn, his gaze darting from the man’s rough face to the bloodstripes piped along the side his trousers. The shock was clear on his face, and he took a small step back.
“Congratulations, sir,” He said, and Han only nodded slightly. “You don’t see many servicemen getting married around here, the Empire usually deploys Corellians off-world.”
Leia could see the meaning behind that, though she knew she wasn’t meant to. It was harder for everyone when a stormtrooper was forced to wreak havoc on their homeworld, especially with Corellians, who were fiercely loyal to their planet. Beyond that, though, the boy seemed to be testing Han. She could see the question on the tip of his tongue. Are you a traitor?
“I haven’t been with the navy for a long time, kid,” Han said smoothly, and the boy seemed to let out a breath. “Thank you, though, I’m one lucky man.”
Han snaked his arm around Leia’s waist, and it seemed unclear if he was teasing her, or sending some other message to the kid. Maybe it was both. She could imagine what he’d say if he was joking with the pilots in the cantina.
Lucky is right, out of the Empire and in with a princess. Isn’t she something else?
Something else weird or something else hot, Leia would never know, but to Han she was certainly something else, and she supposed she could take that as a compliment.
“Do we have anything for the kid, sweetheart?” Han’s voice broke her out of her thoughts, and she nodded, feeling around her cloak for the hidden pocket that held their credits. Luckily, she’d brought extra.
She fished about 15 credits from her cloak, and though Han pursed his lips in what she assumed to be disapproval, she handed them over to the boy.
“I was saving this for our dinner,” Leia stage whispered to the boy, “But I think it’ll be more fun making him cook.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” The boy laughed, stuffing the credits in his pants pocket. “And you too, sir.”
Han gave another nod, and with that the boy was off.
“He had a blade, yknow,” Han said quietly as soon as the boy was out of ear shot.
“How do you know?” Leia asked.
“I dunno,” He shrugged. “It’s what I would do.”
“And you saw the outline above his waistband,” She quirked an eyebrow as he narrowed his eyes. “You’re not the only one with training, remember?”
“Why didn’t you take it from him?”
“He’s better with it than without,” Leia sighed, looping her arm with his as they continued down the street. “Safer.”
“You really are something else, princess,” Han said, and she smiled to herself.