A/N: As I come off of hiatus, I can't help but give into the prompting of my muse. He's full of all kinds of things, including this sweet fluff. I mean, who could possibly resist Han, Leia, and a Disney love song? Yeah, not me.
So… this is how Han should have proposed. At least, in my mind, this is how he should have done it.
Dedication: This one is for my own personal Han Solo. I love you, Lucas!
Disclaimer: Do you honestly think that I own anything here? -shakes head- I don't know where you get your delusions, Laser Brain…
A Whole New World
"C'mon… I wanna show you something." Han grabbed Leia's hand and all but dragged her out to the Falcon. She really wasn't into spontaneity, and he knew that, but he couldn't keep this from her anymore, and it wasn't something she could prepare herself for.
"Where are we going, nerf herder?" She asked him, pulling back against his grasp.
"You'll see."
I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid
Tell me, princess, now when did
You last let your heart decide?
He took her to the cockpit and shut the door. She seated herself in the copilot's seat and strapped in as he got his beloved clunker of a ship out of its dormant running state and into active power. He pulled up his nav charts and selected a course he'd spent hours researching and programming, just for this moment.
"Where are we going, Han?" She asked again.
"You'll see. Just trust me."
I can open your eyes
Take you wonder by wonder
Over, sideways and under
On a magic carpet ride
The ship lifted off, gained atmosphere, attained zero gravity. Han powered her through the mundane garbage that was the planet's security checkpoints and out into the freedom of open space.
"Han, this is insane… where are you taking me?"
"Leia, listen to me for a second, okay? Don't interrupt, just listen. Would you do that for me?"
She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment. She loved him, she trusted him, but this was insanity. She nodded anyway.
A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no
Or where to go
Or say we're only dreaming
"Leia, look… you are the single most important person to me. Ever. I've never, ever felt anything for anyone the way I feel it for you. You're my sun and moon, my stars. You are everything… everything that makes my life worth living. And even more than that, that makes it worth living well. You give a substance to my life that I would never find otherwise."
Leia opened her mouth to say something, but he held up a hand, reminding her of the agreement she'd made to listen to him.
"I love you beyond hope. I don't know what I did without you, or what I would do if I didn't have you. I've almost lost you before, and the pain was unbearable." Han gestured to his heart, indicating where the pain had been the very worst. "I didn't want this to beat anymore. I wanted to die without you.
"I'm not dreaming up or hallucinating here. I need you around. Forever."
A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I'm way up here
It's crystal clear
that now I'm in a whole new world with you
Leia stared at him, speechless. She loved him the same way he had just described. She knew that he wasn't the most eloquent man, and he had obviously thought long and hard about how to say what he felt for her.
She'd had no idea that his love for her ran so deeply, that it impacted him the way it did. Granted, around her, he was softer, more tame, more gentle than he was around anyone else. He had a protective look in his eyes every time he gazed at her, and he was the first one to leap to her defense if he felt she had been wronged. She knew that he loved her, but… not like that. She didn't think that he needed her the way she needed him.
Clearly, she had been wrong. He did need her. He needed her more, loved her more than life.
Now I'm in a whole new world with you
"You can say something now," he said, anxious. He had just poured his heart out in a way that he never had before. Never before had he poured out his deepest feelings, and never before had his future ridden on how he was received.
Leia regarded him, obviously trying to say what was in her heart, trying to word it just right.
"Han… I love you, you know that I do… but…"
He cut her off. "No, Leia. No butts. I love you more than life, and I know that you love me. You know what I'm asking, even if I can't get the actual question out. Forget logic, forget reason, forget whatever stupid social reason that us being together is a bad idea. Tell me, Princess, when did you last let your heart decide?"
Unbelievable sights
Indescribable feeling
Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling
Through an endless diamond sky
Leia closed her eyes, trying to shut out her screaming mind, her mind that was screaming "no" even as her heart was screaming "YES!"
He was right. She hadn't let her heart choose in a very long time. She always went with her head, with cool logic and reason. She didn't go with her heart, with her emotions, regardless of how strong they were. She nodded, meeting Han's gaze and smiling.
A whole new world
Don't you dare close your eyes
A hundred thousand things to see
Hold your breath - it gets better
I'm like a shooting star
I've come so far
I can't go back to where I used to be
A whole new world
Every turn a surprise
With new horizons to pursue
Every moment red-letter
I'll chase them anywhere
There's time to spare
Let me share this whole new world with you
He took her hand, gesturing out of the viewport with his free one. "Leia, do you see all that?"
"The stars?"
"Yes. Look at them. See the dust clouds, the constellations? All of those, categorized scientifically, have lost their beauty to most. But not to me. I still see grace and beauty, wonder and awe at the stars, even as we navigate through and around them.
"See how many of them there are? There are a countless number of stars. I did some math on my own, and I figured out that there's a star for every reason I love you. There's a constellation for every time you've brightened my life, that you've saved me. There's a solar system for every time I've tried to tell you how much I love you and couldn't get the words out. I want to give every one of them to you.
"You make me a better man, and I can't bear to be away from you. I don't want to live without you. I can't love without you. You bring joy into my life, you keep the dark away. You've been here for me, fought for me, and I want to do the same thing for you."
Leia, gazing out of the viewport, finally started to see what he meant. The more he said, the more he expressed, the more she realized that everything he was saying, she felt for him. Every feeling he was vocalizing was one she had wished she could share with him, but had never been sure how.
She turned her gaze to look at him, and realized that he was down on one knee, a ring in his hand, gazing at her, the love and hope shining in his eyes. She gasped, blushing, as the full force of what he was about to ask washed over her.
"Princess Leia Organa, will you marry me?"
Tears of joy and love sprang to her eyes as she nodded. Han whooped with joy.
A whole new world
A whole new world
That's where we'll be
That's where we'll be
A thrilling chase
A wondrous place
For you and me
He slipped the ring on her finger and stood, holding his Leia close. He kissed her passionately, tasting her sweetness and feeling the love he had for her reflected back at him. It didn't matter that she was a Princess and he was an ex-smuggler. It didn't matter that their union broke social rules and would turn heads. There was no one who could tear them apart.
He had put it all on the line with her. He had risked everything by asking her.
She had said yes.
He was the luckiest man in the universe.
A/N: There ya go! Read and review, please? -pleading eyes-