It was difficult to get the bolt cutters under the collar around Leia's neck, but Lando was being as gentle and careful as he could. "Stay steady, Princess," he said.

Kriffing Hutt, she thought, breathing carefully as Lando inched the pincers between the metal and her skin. He finally got them positioned to have enough of an angle to cut, but there wasn't a lot of clearance. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, not moving.

There was a satisfying click, then Lando was carefully pulling the metal away from her skin.

"Thank you," she sighed, rubbing her neck where the collar had been. She hit a sore spot. "Ooh."

Luke glanced over. "Oh, yeah. Looks like you got a little bruise from the bolt cutters."

"Sorry, Leia," said Lando, who was putting the tools away. "Was trying not to hurt you."

She looked at him. "After all this, if a sunburn and a few bruises are my main injuries, I think I should probably count myself lucky." She got up. "Speaking of which, I'm going to go check on Han."

Later, on the Falcon, Han's eyesight had improved enough that he noticed the bruise, which admittedly had gotten a bit bigger. He kissed it gently, and Leia smiled at him.

Lando was smirking.

"What?"

"Kinda looks like a love bite," he said. Leia rolled her eyes.

Back at the fleet, they'd landed, then promptly taken Han to Medical to get a complete workup. Leia was preparing to head to a debriefing session when Tuck Ello, the head medic, pulled her aside with a stern look.

"I need to know what you two did," she said, nearly glaring at Leia.

"What?"

"Sexual activity was supposed to be off the table until after he's had a chance to recover from the hibernation sickness, Princess. Even normal levels of arousal could be dangerous for him."

Leia gave her a confused look. "We haven't—he hasn't—we didn't do anything."

Tuck looked at her. "Nothing? There's a mark on your neck."

Leia sighed. She wasn't really looking forward to explaining why she'd had a collar on that had to be removed with bolt cutters. "It's just a regular bruise. From some…restraints the Hutts were using."

Tuck looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. That was out of line. I just—"

"Not a good idea to assume." Now it was Leia's turn to look stern. "If you'll excuse me."

After the debriefing, Leia checked on Han, stopped at her quarters to freshen up, and headed directly to a briefing with the High Command. The briefing was fairly typical, but she kept noticing General Dodonna giving her strange looks. And Mon Mothma seemed a little standoffish. If this is about my taking leave from the Alliance to rescue Han, you are just going to have to get over it, she thought.

She wasn't surprised when Mon pulled her aside after the briefing, but she was surprised at the reason.

"Your personal life is your own business, Leia, but I would recommend that out of respect for your station, that you at least be more discreet."

"What?"

"That mark. On your neck. You need to cover it up." Mon almost seemed a bit angry.

"It's a bruise." Am I really going to have to explain this again?

Mon looked dubious. "They always are."

"Good news, Sweetheart," Han said, approaching Leia from behind and gently nuzzling her neck. "I'm cleared for – all normal activities." He snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"That is good news," Leia said, turning her head to find his mouth. Han turned the rest of her body toward him, and they continued kissing, bodies drawn to each other like magnets.

"Falcon?" he gasped, between kisses.

"My quarters are closer."

"Chewie's gone right now. You can be as loud as you want."

"Falcon."

On the Falcon, Han was removing her uniform blouse and kissing down her collarbone when Leia had a thought.

She bared her neck to him, as if she were prey.

"Put your mark on me."

"What in the stars happened to your neck?" Luke blurted out right before the start of the joint briefing. Judging from the looks she'd been getting, he wasn't the only one who was curious. The new bruise was blooming purple against her pale skin.

Leia regarded him coolly, but spoke in a voice just slightly louder than necessary, so that everyone could hear. "That is a love bite."