Han looked across the tree bridge to the platform where Leia was surrounded by some of the female pilots, laughing and talking. It had been quite an overwhelming couple of days for the two of them. Not only had the Rebels destroyed the second Death Star, but Han and Leia had also discovered that Luke was no longer going to be an issue between them. Of course with that knowledge came the Vader thing, but they would deal with that together.

Han could smell the acrid smoke from the fireworks mixed with cooking fires below, and he wrinkled his nose. A laugh rang out through the trees and he realized Leia and the women around her were giggling at him, at the face he was making. He shrugged and turned away from them when he heard Leia call out his name. He stopped and waited for her as she quickly crossed the bridge and reached her hands out to him.

"Hey, general," she said in the sweetest of voices.

"Hey," he returned.

They stood there for a moment, silent, absorbed in their hands touching and their locked gaze. Another burst of laughter pealed from a group in the distance. Music floated from below. Drums and some kind of wind instrument, Han thought. He smiled and broke the spell.

"You gonna camp out here with the troops, or you wanna come back to the Falcon with me?"

She lowered her gaze in mock thought.

"I'll be on my best behavior, I promise," he urged.

She looked back up to his face, and said with a mix of confidence and shyness, "That's one promise I am hoping you'll break." She smiled self-consciously. Realizing her meaning, he sighed and mirrored her smile.

Han and Leia had not been without opportunity to consummate their relationship. The forty-day journey to Bespin on the Falcon had been their best chance. But Leia had asked him for time, and the uncertainty of his future with Jabba had meant that he granted her request… not because he thought he'd be back to pick up where they had left off but because he didn't want to break her heart. But now? Now they had a future together ahead of them. And they both clearly felt the time was finally right.

He guided her out of the trees and back to the forest floor. Just as they stepped off the last stair they heard a voice call out behind them.

"Han!"

Lando. They both froze.

"Han!" Lando clapped a hand on Han's back. "We're headed back to the Falcon to carry on with the celebration." He waved a hand towards the troops setting up tents just behind them. "Don't want to keep the party poopers awake." Lando was not so far gone that he was slurring his words, but his inability to regulate the volume of his voice indicated that slurring was probably the next step.

Lando had a group of four or five men standing behind him, and this presented Han with a dilemma. If it had just been Lando, he would have copped to his and Leia's plans. However, telling a group of men—her men—that he planned to take the princess back to the Falcon and deflower her, well, that was out of the question. Deciding to take the high road, he squeezed Leia's hand and said, "We'll join you."

When they entered the Falcon, Han moved to uncover his secret stash of Corellian whisky while the men plopped down in various places in the lounge. Leia stood in the outer corridor watching them. She understood that Lando and his companions had foiled their plans, but she wasn't as upset as she might have been. Han's bunkroom was not exactly the romantic venue young women dream of when thinking about their first time. So maybe this was for the best. She caught Han's eye as he poured a round of his favorite drink for the guys and gestured towards the bunkroom with her thumb. He nodded, understanding she was going to turn in alone, and blew her a kiss. She made a grabbing gesture, catching the kiss in mid-flight, and placed her hand on her cheek. It would have to do for now.

When Han stumbled into the bunkroom several hours later, he found Leia in "her" bunk—the bunk she had slept in on the trip to Bespin. He contemplated waking her, but he knew that she would not be pleased with his current state. Mustering what little self-control the alcohol had not taken from him, he climbed into his bunk fully clothed and pulled the covers up around him.

Leia, who had woken when he entered, quietly turned in an effort to see him in the dim light coming from the 'fresher. He was snoring in seconds. He reeked of whiskey and smoke. Had they been smoking in the Falcon? That wasn't like Han. But it was a party, after all, and they all had a reason to celebrate. She sighed, relieved at not having to fight off a drunk Han. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

Sleep eluded her, however. Focused on the next step for the Rebellion, she wanted to meet with Rieeken, and perhaps Mon Mothma, as soon as possible. She knew they would be shuttling the troops back to Ackbar's Home One as soon as the sun was up, and she wanted to be on one of those early shuttles. Hoping Han was out for the count so she wouldn't have to explain her early departure, she crawled from her bunk and padded to the 'fresher for a shower.

Han had no clue what time it was when the sound of movement outside the bunkroom woke him. He could identify Chewie's growls and barks but none of the other voices. His head was pounding and his mouth felt like someone had slipped little socks on his teeth in the middle of the night. He turned gingerly to look at Leia's bunk. It was empty and the bed was made. She was gone.

After a long shower and several cups of very strong kaffe, Han felt ready to look for his princess. No one on board had been awake when she had slipped out. He assumed she'd gone back to work, but given that this was the first day of a new government, he suspect she was knee-deep in meetings and other political business. Feeling wounded that she had left without a note or anything, he busied himself with the Falcon and getting them all back to the fleet instead. The smell in the Falcon was nauseating. What had they done last night? His first order of business after unloading his human cargo was going to be to clean up his ship.

As he arranged to dock with Home One so the troops on the Falcon could transfer back to the star cruiser for the trip to Chandrila, he received a communication that General Rieekan wanted to meet with him as soon as possible. He wondered immediately if this had something to do with Leia, as Rieekan operated as something like a father to the princess. The communications tech had no other information aside from the meeting request, so Han resigned himself to waiting until his own arrival on Chandrila the next day.

What's another night sleeping in my bunk alone, he thought.