Disclaimer:I do not own these characters in any way, shape or form. I just make them do stuff.
Author's Note: One shot because it feels like Tatooine where I live right now and it's too hot to do anything besides stay inside in the air conditioning. Contains very light sexual suggestions.
Leia palmed the front door of the apartment open and was greeted by silence. Stepping through the living room, she wiped the back of her hand across her forehead, brushing away beads of sweat from it. Her hair was damp around the edges of her face and her shirt stuck to her back. Against her better judgement, she had walked back home from her meeting. It was only a few short blocks from the New Republic headquarters to the building where her and Han resided, but in the boiling heat, she felt as though she had walked across the entire planet.
The holovision was shut off and Han's normal spot on the couch was empty. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder, full of work she had brought home with her in hopes of getting something done that afternoon. The unexpected heat wave had made everyone unusually sluggish, even Mon Mothma. She had dismissed the meeting early, saying that all matters for the day had been covered, an unusual move from the woman who usually wished to discuss matters for hours on end until every last detail had been covered. Leia couldn't help to think that the Chancellor wanted to leave the meeting room just as much as everyone else. While the building had a climate control system, it also had large windows that let the sunlight pour into the meeting room, making the temperature almost unbearable as the hours dragged on. General Dodonna had spent most of the meeting dabbing his forehead with his handkerchief and reaching for a pitcher of ice water in the center of the table, repeatably refilling his glass numerous times throughout Mothma's briefing. Leia noticed at one point, General Rieekan looked as though he had dozed off in his chair, his shirt unbuttoned from his collar much past a regulation appropriate amount . Leia had tried her best to keep focus, fighting herself to stay awake in the humid room. Even she had found it difficult to pay attention as she felt beads of sweat roll down her back between her shoulder blades and her skirt clung to her legs under the table.
"Han?" she called out across the apartment, wondering where he could possibly be.
"In here, sweetheart" Han's voice echoed from the far corner of the apartment.
Leia entered the bedroom, dropping her bag near the doorway as she walked across the soft carpeting towards the bed. She flopped down onto the bed and splayed herself against the cool sheets in an unprincess like fashion next to him. Han looked as though he had not moved in hours, making himself comfortable in the cool room. His back was against the pillows that rested against the headboard and his data pad was propped against his knees. He was wearing nothing more than a pair of threadbare heather gray shorts, his chest bare, looking every bit of a scoundrel who had taken a day off.
"Gods, it is hot out" Leia remarked as she rolled to her back and unzipped the small zipper at the side of her skirt. She pulled the layered fabric from her legs and discarded it on the floor next to the bed.
"I know. That's why I've been laying here all day" Han remarked as he sat up a bit and moved his data pad aside to the small table next to the bed.
"This is just ridiculous. Coruscant never has this hot of summers" she said as she worked the buttons on the front of her shirt undone, groaning as she sat up slightly to pull the sticky linen dress shirt from her body. She felt as though she would never cool down, despite the climate control of the apartment being set at a comfortable temperature.
Han rolled to his side, his hand running across Leia's stomach that was partly covered by a thin camisole that hung loosely across her chest. He pushed the fabric aside, exposing a strip of her pale stomach. She was warm to the touch and sticky with sweat, but he hardly cared.
"I'm not hating this heat so much if it means you come home and strip down for me immediately".
"I couldn't stand another minute in those clothes. I think the Republic needs to change the dress code to something less formal until it cools down".
Han chuckled. "I think they should just allow you to stay home and lay around like this all day with me instead".
She laughed at Han's suggestion as she pushed back a few stray hairs from her forehead that had fallen from her braids. The cool air against her warm skin combined with Han's fingers still tracing lazy patterns under her camisole on her stomach caused goosebumps to pepper her bare arms and legs. Pushing her feet against the mattress, she nudged her body up towards the pillows and closer to Han. His arm wrapped around her bare shoulders. Turning in his embrace, she let her hand rest against his chest, tilting her chin up towards him, inviting him to kiss her.
Han wasted no time in leaning down to press his lips against hers. He couldn't refuse, never growing tired of kissing his princess, especially when she was half naked next to him. While he didn't exactly like living on Coruscant while Leia pieced the galaxy back together, he was beginning to appreciate that they were able to have some kind of stability to their lives for once. The apartment was given to them by the New Republic and while not a permanent home for them, it was better than hopping from planet to planet in the Falcon or the constant fleeing from the Empire they had done during the war. Han never imagined he would actually enjoy the simplicity of staying put in one place for longer than a few days, but he had enjoyed the fact that Leia could fall asleep in his arms every night and they could kiss each other goodbye every morning without the fear of being blasted or captured during the day looming over them .
Han's comm buzzed on the table next to him. Groaning, he gave Leia one last quick kiss before rolling to his side and grabbing the device from next to his data pad. Clicking a button to activate the call, Luke's voice crackled through the transmission.
"Hey, Han. You busy right now?" Luke asked.
Leia ran her fingertips across the top of Han's hipbone, the angle of it poking out from the top of his shorts. She bit her bottom lip as she playfully touched his skin. Looking at him, her eyelashes fluttered slightly over her deep brown eyes, a sultry smirk on her face.
Gods, this better be important Han thought to himself, hoping that the Jedi could not read his thoughts at the moment because nothing he was thinking was anything he'd want Luke to ever know he thought about, especially considering it was the Jedi's sister who was causing him to struggle to reply.
"What do you need?" Han asked curtly, trying his hardest to ignore the feeling of Leia tracing against his stomach and focus on the conversation with Luke. He figured as long as Luke wasn't in dire trouble, he could somehow talk his way out of it, leaving him free to spend the rest of the afternoon with Leia.
"I was wondering if you could come down to the hanger".
"How are you working on anything right now? It's hotter than a bantha's ass out".
"Not bothering me any. This is like any day on Tatooine" Luke nonchalantly replied.
"Yeah, don't remind me of how miserable that sand pit of a planet is".
"Hey, I grew up there!" Luke retorted to defend his home.
"I know, kid. You're probably the only one on this planet right now that can actually do anything productive in this weather".
Luke hadn't noticed until Han had pointed it out that the hanger was unusually quiet that day, most Republic personale hailing from more temperate climates and choosing to take the day off due to the heat. A few newer pilots were still ordered to work though, the occasional x wing taking off or landing in the hanger as Luke tinkered with his own ship.
"How badly do you need me?" Han asked, glancing over to Leia beside him, hoping that Luke would give up on his request for his presence. His gaze wandered to her chest, the silk of her camisole falling between the curves of her breasts, exposing the creamy skin from underneath.
"Well, considering it's your ship that is going to need the repairs..." Luke replied, not quite sure how Han was going to take the news on what had just happened.
Han shot up at Luke's words. "What happened to the Falcon?" he demanded.
"A rookie pilot was coming back in from a test flight and took the landing a little too quick. He was lucky to get the situation under control before anything really bad happened, but not before hitting the Falcon" Luke calmly explained.
"Are you kriffing kidding me?" Han shouted into the comm. "Some new guy crash landed on my ship?!"
"It's not that bad" Luke tried to assure him.
"Yeah, I'll determine that myself. I'll be there in a bit" Han huffed before clicking the comm off. Dropping it back to the table, he turned back to Leia.
Leia could tell Han was not happy with the news, a mix of annoyance and anger on his face. He didn't say anything to her as he leaned to kiss her before turning to the edge of the bed, swinging his long legs over the side of the mattress and reaching for a pair of blood stripes from the floor. Pulling them on with more force than necessary, he stood and walked across the room, picking a shirt up and pulling it over his head.
"Luke said it wasn't bad. I'm sure he wouldn't lie to you" Leia quietly said as she sat up a bit, propping her elbows up behind her as she watched Han move about the room.
Clicking his blaster belt around his waist, Han stepped closer to Leia, leaning over her and kissing her forehead.
"I know. I just had other ideas of how I'd be spending my afternoon".
"I'll be here when you get back, hot shot" Leia reminded him as she gently smiled at him.
Han's boots stomped against the concrete floor of the hanger, each step echoing in the expanse of the space. The fabric of his shirt clung to him, the heat and the humidity inside of the hanger even more oppressive than outside. He was less than pleased in having to come down to the hanger in the first place, grumbling to himself as he pushed back the sweat dampened hair from his face as he walked. He spotted Luke up ahead, standing near the Falcon with a young man next to him in an orange pilot's jumpsuit. The man studied the floor, not looking up as Han reached them. Han wasted no time, walking alongside of the Falcon with his head tilted up, inspecting the damage along the starboard side of the ship. The hull had a few long scratches, the silver metal marred with white paint marks from the x wing scraping against it. Han could tell the damage wasn't severe, at least it didn't appear to be from from ground level. It seemed that Luke's words of it isn't that bad held some truth to them, it was merely cosmetic and no major damage had been done to his precious ship. He had half expected to see the Falcon in pieces upon arriving to the hanger, a mild sense of relief coming over him when he saw his ship still intact. Han turned on his heel, still not exactly happy about the situation as he made his way back towards Luke and the pilot.
The pilot looked up at Han for the first time with a look of absolute terror in his eyes. The man could hardly be more than eighteen years old, the orange flight suit seeming to swallow his lanky frame, making him look more like a boy dressed up a New Republic pilot than an actual one. His fingers fidgeted with the strap of his flight helmet dangling from his hands as he spoke.
"General Solo. I'm so sorry". The young pilot's voice quivered, his eyes darting back to the floor, not sure what sort of repercussions would possibly come from his mistake. It was complete bad luck on his part that the ship in the way of his landing happened to be one that had a temperamental and high ranking Corellian as it's owner. "I...I came in too fast. I didn't mean to hit your ship".
Luke took a step forward. "It was a mistake, Han" he said, defending the young pilot as he sensed Han's frustration. "I saw it all happen, he did the best he could do in the situation".
Han looked up towards the Falcon, his beloved ship had taken much worse damage over the years than some rookie pilot banging into it. He took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. He'd been a young pilot once too, making a few mistakes of his own as he learned how to fly. "It's okay, kid".
The pilot glanced up from the floor, still wide eyed. He had figured he was about to be at the receiving end of a long string of curses from across the galaxy colorfully strung together by General Solo, not a casual admission that everything was fine.
"Thank you, General. I'm sorry again..." the pilot's voice trailed off as he realized he wasn't completely off the hook quite yet.
Han raised his hand and pointed at the pilot. "You owe me. You're going to be scraping off those paint marks you left on my ship. Falcon's got some other odd jobs that need to be done too".
"Yes, sir" the pilot replied firmly.
Han nodded at the pilot, knowing the kid would be miserable for the next couple of weeks pulling Wookiee hair from the fresher drain and attending to any other less than desirable jobs around his ship Han could think of. That was punishment enough for the young pilot.
Han walked back through the streets of Coruscant towards the apartment building. The sun hung low in the sky as dusk was setting in, casting long shadows across the sidewalk from the surrounding buildings. Despite the setting sun, it was still hot, the air heavy and thick with not even a hint of a breeze to help cool the evening off.
Palming open the door to the apartment, the cold air from the climate control system was a welcomed relief. Han unbuckled his blaster belt from around his waist and set it onto the glass table that sat near the doorway. Leia rounded the corner into the front hall. She had changed out of her camisole into one of Han's old shirts while he was gone. The thin fabric hung from her small frame, the hem reaching to the middle of her thighs. Her legs and feet were bare, her pale skin almost blending into the white carpeting on the floor and her hair was pulled up into a simple bun on top of her head. She leaned against the wall as she smiled at him.
"I hope you didn't use that on anyone while you were gone" she said as she nodded in the direction of Han's blaster laying on the table.
"No. I was good". Han pulled his own shirt from over his head, letting the cool air onto his chest. He stepped towards Leia and wrapped his arms around her, letting his shirt fall to the floor. Her hair was slightly damp as he kissed against it, figuring she must had showered while he was at the hanger. "The kid made a mistake, nothing serious".
"I'd hate to be him if it was something serious"
"I'm not that mean".
Leia couldn't help to laugh. While he was gone, she half expected a call from Luke saying that she needed to come down to the hanger to help pull Han off of the pilot for damaging the Falcon. She ran her hands against Han's chest as she rose on her tiptoes to kiss him.
"No, you're a nice man" she playfully whispered as her lips hovering inches from his.
"I am" he replied before kissing her again, running his hand down her side, tracing along the curve of her body.
"Mmhmm" she hummed to him.
Grasping her waist, Han picked Leia up, her legs wrapping around him as he began to walk towards their bedroom. "Now, where we before we were interrupted?"