WHAT'S IN THE PAST

(Two weeks into the trip to Bespin)

Han and Leia were taking a dinner break. They had to carefully ration food, but Han had come up with a root vegetable stew that was popular on Corellia. He'd toned down the seasonings, knowing that Leia was unaccustomed to the spices of his home planet. He served it with chunks of wastril bread and some forest honey.

"I'm getting spoiled by your cuisine," Leia commented to him. "And thanks for keeping the spices down to where the inside of my mouth won't burst into flames."

"This isn't cuisine, sweetheart. This is Corellian peasant food."

"Beats the crap in the mess hall."

"Sweetheart, bantha fodder beats the crap in the mess hall."

Both laughed and Han went to the cooler to pull out an Alderaanian ale. "Want one?" he asked Leia amiably.

"That'd be nice, thanks." Leia didn't drink all the time but when it came to intoxicants, Han always managed to find good ones.

"The lady's living large tonight," Han chuckled. "Need a glass?"

"I'm fine with the can, thanks."

"Did your dad use one? I mean, being a senator and a viceroy and all that."

"He drank it straight out of the can. He'd drink wine and other liquors at official functions, but when it was just us, he'd have ale." Her expression was wistful. "I miss him."

"Sounds like he was a great dad."

"He was. Okay, I wasn't really permitted to be a kid, but he was always loving and supportive. He wanted to educate me for public service."

"Looks like he did a good job of it."

"You never talk about when you were young," Leia observed.

"That's because it mostly sucked. I'd rather not bore you with it."

"You don't have to say anything about it. I'm not trying to pry."

"I know you're not."

"All I can tell you is, I went through a bunch of foster homes. Some were okay, some were horror shows, and a couple of 'em were good. The good ones were where I got sent to school, had shoes and clothes that fit, the food was decent, and I learned to fly."

"Do you remember anything before you went to foster homes?"

"Not much. Last thing I remember was waking up and I couldn't find my mother. My father took me to a neighbor and said to look after me. Never saw him again. Then I was taken to an office and from there on out, it was musical families." Han drained his ale. "When I turned eighteen, I got accepted by the Naval Academy at Carida. I was gonna be an officer and a gentleman. Needless to say, it wasn't what I'd hoped it would be, and I got cashiered out."

Leia tried not to react. She'd actually looked up some details on Han's past. She was suspicious from the time she met Han that he'd had to have had some military training; he was too good with weapons and a crack pilot. Leia knew those didn't weren't skills easily picked up without extensive training. Other than that, she had nothing, and having had Han take her into his confidence was a deterrent to more searching without his consent.

"Sweetheart, hope you don't mind, but I really don't wanna talk about this anymore," Han said quietly.

"Then you shouldn't."

"I'll tell you more someday. I'm just not used to talking about myself. Well, beyond my skills at piloting and sabacc." He flashed a boyish grin at her. It was one of the things Leia cherished about him; he took his work seriously, but not himself. Leia wondered what she'd be like being bounced from home to home. She wasn't sure she'd have been anywhere nearly as resilient as Han.

"Whatever you decide to tell me or not tell me is fine," Leia told him gently.

"I promise I will when I'm ready, but I have to tell you, sweetheart, I really feel like my life's only begun since I met you."

Leia smiled at him, her cheeks flushed pink. "You really are a romantic at heart, aren't you?"

"Just don't tell anyone, okay? I've got a reputation to keep up."

Leia couldn't help but laugh.