Title:Another Time, Another Place
Author: Myriad Daydreams
Timeframe: The Saga, during ANH (right after the scene where Han shoots Greedo, right before he talks to Jabba)
Characters:Han and Mara Jade, mentions of Ben and Luke
Genre:You decide for yourself
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars!
A/N:This fic may be slightly different. Whether you believe it or not, that's your choice. Please don't review saying how much you hate it. Try to be open. That said, I hope you like it!
------------------------------------
Another Time, Another Place
Han ducked out of the murky cantina before the bartender could stop him. Killing a man and leaving his body behind was not exactly what you could call good conduct, but what else could he do? It wasn't as if tossing those few credits on the table was a small gesture either- that was the last of his petty spending cash. With his debt to Jabba hanging over his head, every little bit of cash was worth a lot.
Han just hoped they could hurry up and get off planet before the bartender noticed he had not paid for his or Chewie's drinks. Han smirked to himself, and rounded another corner in the streets of Mos Eisley.
Though, things were starting to look up with the new business proposition from that old wizard. If he kept telling himself the old man and cocky kid actually had the money Han needed, everything would be fine.
Something about that old man was vaguely unsettling, though Han couldn't quite put a finger on what it was. There was a distant familiarity to him, but that did not make much sense. It appeared that the crazy man didn't get around to traveling much. By the amount of dust collected on his robes and the scruffiness of his graying beard, he probably had not left Tatooine in decades.
Perhaps it was the mysterious weapon he wielded that unsettled Han. It had stirred a lot of distant memories. He thought that type of weaponry had disappeared ages ago. Lightsabers belonged exclusively to Jedi, warriors of a very extinct era. A thought occurred to him. Maybe I could just ask…
Han sucked in a breath of air and slowed his stride to a near stop. Dark brown eyes scanned the surrounding area.
She was supposed to be here.
She told Han she would meet him right by the docking bay of the Falcon. And I forgot, he snarled at himself. What would she need this time? No matter how much she seemed to care about him, it was peculiar for her to appear out of the blue, without reason. Often she was seeking some kind of information, or interrogating him about smuggling business. Usually she was just on the same planet, and decided to drop by.
Perhaps this call had something to do with Ben Kenobi. No matter the reason, he still hoped she would show. Maybe she was still around here somewhere…
"Looking for me?" a smoky voice purred in his ear. Smirking widely, he turned to face the voice behind him.
She was exactly as he remembered, even with her native disguise. Emerald green eyes gazed intensely from the shadows created by the large hood shrouding her face. Though concealed by baggy, sand colored clothing, her dancer- like physique and catlike prowess were easily recognizable. Her arms were crossed, concealing a holdout blaster, Han knew.
His smile grew mischievous. "You weren't reading my mind, were you?" His voice was playful, seductive.
"Would I ever?" her voice mimicked his as she, too advanced a step closer.
"Hey, don't ask me. I don't trust that hokey religion of yours anyway." Her eyes flickered for a moment, hesitating and unsure, before slowly letting the comment slide, unacknowledged.
Taking another step forward, she bridged the gap between them. She leaned towards his face. Her proximity was intoxicating, he could smell her spicy scent, feel soft breath on his neck as she pressed her body to his.
"Miss me, Solo?" she whispered.
"No more than I always do, Jade."
She pulled away, raising a single, gold eyebrow. Her feigned anger was a ploy, yet he felt a groan rising in her throat as the space between their bodies increased.
"And that would be?" Her voice had dropped to a threatening growl, heavy with desire.
Han grinned wickedly and reached for the hood over her head. "One hell of a lot." He made to pull the hood back. A pained, worried expression flickered across her features, one he did not see often. Her slender hands came up to grasp his, prevnting him from continuing the motion. She shook her head a fraction, green- eyed gaze intensified with unspoken words. No, not here.
Han's brown furrowed. "No one's here to see you," he muttered in response, annoyance growing at her childish apprehension. He forced the brown hood back, ignoring her silent plea.
Waves of flame red hair cascaded down over her shoulders, framing her exquisite features. Unable to wait any longer, Han threaded his grimy fingers through her beautiful mane.
For a moment she simply watched him, before bringing her lips to capture his in a sensual kiss. His tunneling fingers became fisted in her hair as their magnified contact sparked desire deep in the core of his body, and he pressed her face closer to his.
Her tongue darted out to touch his for a brief moment. He grunted, trying to press her closer yet, mouth firmly masking hers. She let out a muffled laugh as his tongue desperately sought hers, tasting and teasing her mouth in turn. After a few moments of equal taunting on both sides, Mara opened her mouth to his, drinking in his musky taste.
Then, abruptly, she held back. A conflicted expression caused him to frown in unmistakable displeasure. She pressed her cheek against his and murmured in his ear. "I must leave now. My Master bids it to be so." Her voice was heavy with promise of the future; a future Han was not sure would ever come.
He pulled back to look into her eyes. "Baby, you just got here."
She stared directly back at him, and merely replied, "You have to go too. Duty calls. The old wizard and the farm kid will be arriving shortly."
Han opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off. "And Jabba the Hutt is searching for you, along with a few bounty hunters. He's just down that corner." She motioned with a small jerk of her chiseled jaw.
Han frowned skeptically. "How did you know about Jabba?"
Mara deflected his query with a small peck to the lips. "I can't tell you that." She put a hand on his face, and spoke softly. "And I'm not your baby." The venomous intent of her sharp remark was lost on him, as the soft look in her eyes belied her outward impression. He saw a desire mirroring his own in her mysterious green depths, and realized that their time was, as usual, short.
"Jade, that old man from the cantina," Han started again. Why was he telling her this? Han wasn't sure, but something seemed to tell him it was important. "He has a lightsword, like the one you carry-"
Her eyes grew wide, and she placed a single index finger on his lips. Her eyes blazed now, a fury directed at Han without forewarning. "Not so loud," she snarled, pulling him close again. Han barely listened to the words leaving her dry, crackled lips, and began thinking of better ways he could be spending one of her rare visits other than discussing some new "clients" of interest.
"Now as for that man, I need to know what he-"
He pulled her into another frenzied kiss, unable to resist her smell and taste any longer. Seeing her again was enough to drive him mad with desire. She filled him with a wild yearning to just forget everything and be with her, away from the galaxy and everything that was tearing them apart.
He kissed her lightly on the nose, cheeks, forehead, jawbone, every inch of her face tasting sweet and dusty. A small part of his mind that was still free to contemplate such things wondered if he was that covered in dust too. He hadn't been on-planet for that long. In fact, he didn't even know how long she had been on- planet.
"Solo…" she moaned, his kisses nearly diverting her from the urgent matter at hand. "What do you know… about him…" he question was interrupted by long a long, breathy sigh.
Han ceased his eager exploration of her features to shrug his shoulders nonchalantly. "I don't know, really. He just wanted a fast ride to Alderaan for him and a couple droids."
She nodded, her face betraying her disappointment. Han racked his brains for any other scrap of information, anything else she might want to know, anything to keep her here for just another moment.
"And," he paused, hesitating for a second, "He said he wanted to avoid any Imperial entanglements."
Han could have sworn a small smile played at the corners of her mouth. But a moment later it was gone, replaced by grim determination, and he wondered if he merely imagined it.
"Thank you, Han." He blinked at her rare use of his first name.
"How will I know I'll see you again?" he asked, ignoring the voice in his head warning him he was going soft.
She blinked wistfully at him, an ocean of emotions swirling in her green eyes. "Same as we always do. I will find you, and we will be together again. You have to trust me."
Before Han could protest, she turned, grasping his forearms with strength he found astonishing for such a slender- built woman.
"Remember," she said, voice dropping low, "You did not see he mere. Tell no one, not even the closest of friends. You have no idea the kind of jeopardy I am put in by doing this, no matter how much I want you. If anyone asks, you didn't see me."Her eyes narrowed as if daring him to defy her. When he did not reply, she tightened her grip and he nodded wordlessly.
And without another word Mara Jade, Emperor's Hand, vanished into the shadows.
Han sighed, suddenly feeling more weary and conflicted before. This visit was as unexpected and arousing as the rest. The bittersweet abruptness of it left him empty handed and with a cloud of frustration hanging over his head.
This beautiful woman, the woman of his dreams, the object of his desire, was a mystery to Han. He had gone to bed with countless number of women before, but none quite had the effect she did.
Yet, although she was beautifully his, she was gone as soon as she came. It just could not work. Their lives were too different, too demanding, too risky.
It was not meant to be. That was for certain. In another time, if they led different lives… maybe there could have a been a chance for a future, a life together.
But Han lived in a real world, one that did not allow such unrealistic fantasies.
Yet he still hoped.
Another time, another place.
Oh yes, he would wait to see her again.