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"Well," Han said, lifting his bound left hand and bringing Luke's right one with it, "it could be worse."
One thing Han had learned about Luke and Leia in the past few months is that they both had a glare that could stop a krayt dragon in its tracks. Han could practically see Leia going through a dozen retorts in her mind before apparently deciding that his remark was beneath comment and leaning back against the wall. Luke just tried to snatch his hand back, which was an entirely useless gesture, considering the circumstances.
The first problem was that they had gotten stranded on some gods-forsaken moon, made all of obsidian and sliced through with canyons, while on a recon mission. The second problem was that they'd lost control of their craft on descent and landed right in front of an Imperial patrol. The third problem was that the two stormtroopers who'd caught them had only two binders and a bit of rope with them. So they'd corralled the three of them into a narrow rock inlet of the canyon, cuffed Han's left hand to Luke's right and his right hand to Leia's left, drove a couple of long thin pieces of metal (from our damn fuselage, Han thought darkly) into the ground, and then bound Luke and Leia's free hands to the makeshift posts. One stormtrooper had left to get the base reinforcements, but that still left one stormtrooper and his blaster between them and the chance of escape in the wider canyon.
There was also the problem that being sandwiched this close between the two of them was making Han sweat in a way entirely unrelated to fear, but Han figured that was on him alone to deal with. Stars knew this wasn't the time.
Han sighed heavily, clearing his thoughts as best he could. Things weren't completely hopeless - if they could get back to the ship's wreckage, they could use the backup comm to call for help - but they'd never get there if they lost their heads. "Okay, then." Deprived of being able to angrily point his finger at people, Han jerked his head in Luke's direction. "Can you..." He wasn't sure how to ask. "Look, can you just tell the Force to come down and pop these cuffs off for us?"
"It doesn't work like that," Luke muttered, but after a second of hesitation he closed his eyes. A charge built in the air - it made the hairs on the back of Han's neck stand on end - and then Han felt something pressing down on the binder from all angles.
"Stop...stop stop stop! Making it tighter! Stop!"
The charge dissipated and the pressure eased. The binders still pinched his wrists, but at least Han had stopped worrying that he'd get his hand cut off.
"Both of you," Leia hissed, "wait a minute. I think I've almost..."
Han swung his head around, feeling Luke craning himself around Han's body to watch. Leaning to the side as far as she could go, Leia picked at the knot tying her to the stake with her non-cuffed hand. Han had to admire how quickly she'd loosened the rope, not to mention the way she'd twisted her body around so that her breasts pressed out. Han thought he could feel Luke clearing his throat and swallowing hard behind him too, but maybe that was just his imagination.
"Can you pull the loops out?" Han said softly.
"It's too tight," Leia whispered. Strands of her hair had loosened from their tight braid and tickled Han's chin.
Luke picked himself up on his toes behind Han to get a better look. "Could we pull the stake out? With the Force, or just pulling, or..."
"Way it's wedged in that ground and those rocks, it'll make too much noise," Han replied. "Got a different idea."
With that, he held his breath and pressed his front against Leia's back, turning the three of them so that she bent over the stake with Han close over her and Luke pulled against Han. He could feel her tense up like an angry lothcat against him, but he said, "Don't get any ideas, Princess, it's just to get you some more slack."
"As if I could spare a thought for any ideas about you right now," she retorted, but when she went back to picking at the knot she relaxed against him. Or mostly relaxed, anyway - he still thought her breath was coming a bit quicker than it had been. (Not that Han had much room to talk. He'd never quite noticed how much warm muscle these two had in them before, but now that was just about all he could feel).
When Leia had the knot untied, all three of them grinned. She slid past Han to untie Luke, and Han took a brief moment to relish the feeling of the three of them in a tight huddle, pressed between the two walls of the narrow canyon.
"Don't suppose you've got a way to get the cuffs undone too?" Han's voice felt unusually raspy, even given that they were trying to be quiet.
Leia shook her head, but then Luke smiled and brushed a finger against Han's in their cuffed hands. His hands were rougher than Han had thought they would be. "Don't worry. I think I've got a plan."
"Very reassuring," Leia said, but Han could hear the smile in her voice. Getting even slightly freer made everything seem a bit more funny.
They crept along the wall of the cave, careful not to kick any of the loose stones on the canyon floor or run into the razor-sharp chips of black rock sticking out of the canyon wall. Once a rock had fallen behind them, and the three of them flew together in a tight knot, holding their breaths. When they finally reached the edge of the canyon, Han had realized that he'd gripped both of their hands without realizing it.
That still left the stormtrooper guarding them, leaning idly next to the mouth of the rock inlet, so close that Luke could reach around the corner and touch the back of his helmet. So what's the plan now, geniuses, Han thought, but then Luke took their hands and turned them both deeper into the rock inlet, pressing both him and Leia back against the wall.
"He's not close enough," Luke whispered, his face tight with concern. "If he just came a bit farther into this canyon, I could get a better angle..."
Han squeezed Luke and Leia's hands both at once. "Okay - that, I can fix." And before Han could second-guess himself, he turned forward and yelled, "HEY!"
Panic stabbed through him when the stormtrooper started, stepped into the canyon, and lifted his blaster, but Luke and Leia pulled him back against the wall, their bound hands nearly meeting as they crossed their arms over Han to hold him back and close to them.
"Don't worry," Luke whispered again, this time into Han's ear, and Han had only a second to think wow nice and wait can he read minds now before a rock flew from behind the three of them and struck the stormtrooper in the head. The stormtrooper wobbled a moment and then flopped onto the ground like a downed bantha.
"And that's how it works," Luke said with satisfaction, while Leia rooted around the stormtrooper's belt pouch and found the key to the binders.
As she unlocked them, Han pulled them both into a tight hug. "Told you it wasn't so bad."
Luke and Leia exchanged a look, and then to Han's everlasting shock, each took a turn to kiss him on the lips. Nothing more than a quick peck, but they both tingled on his lips when they pulled back and smiled wryly at him.
"What was that for?" Han said, loosening his grip on the two of them but still keeping them loosely in his arms. He'd tried to sound like a smart aleck, but to his own dismay it came out sounding fond. Their smirks turned into genuine grins, and Han felt his stomach drop. Chewie's going to laugh his ass off when he finds out about this.
And when they turned to resume their escape, each of them gripped a hand in Han's.