Here is my response to the "first sentence" challenge so graciously provided by Sticksy. Thanks for the inspiration and please feel free to post more. (Please post more.) They really do help kick muses in gear when they've decided to put themselves in neutral for a while.

Confessions

Summary: Han and Leia have something to share with each other. Challenge response. One shot. HanLeia of course. Some angst, some romance, some… it's not that long, just read it to find out what else it hasJ



"I have a confession to make."

She opened the eye nearest to him and peered at him through the darkness. It was the only sign that she wasn't already sleeping.

"Sometimes, I watch you when you sleep."

She opened both eyes now, but made no other movement in the silent night.

"Not just for a few minutes, but until I can't keep my eyes open anymore."

There. He said it. Now she knew.

Now she knew the power that she had over him. Now she knew that he found pleasure just watching her sleep. That he could while away more time tracing every line and curve of her face than he could spend doing nearly anything else.

Well, anything away from her, that is.

Now she knew that he could spend hours just imagining the life that he could have with her. The life that he was sure that he could never have. The life that he would give his life to have. He would gladly give up his life if it was only his life on the line. But it wasn't. It was his and hers and so many others and he wasn't so selfish that he would sacrifice it all for a few moments of happiness. Even if they would be the happiest moments of his life.

He wasn't that selfish, no matter what people might think.

He watched her continue to lie motionless; her smooth skin covered by the soft linen of the sheets. He wondered if she knew that sometimes when he watched her sleeping, his breath caught in his throat because he was so overwhelmed with his feelings for her. He wondered if she knew that, when he finally gave in to his need for sleep, his dreams were filled with images of her. Images both real and imagined. He wondered if she knew that he dreamed of how she looked when they made love and when they fought and when she ignored him and when she focused all of her attention on him. He wondered if she knew that he loved all of these images of her as they made up the woman that she was. The woman that was lying next to him. The woman that he loved.

He didn't wonder if she knew that he loved her. He had told her so many times that even he grew tired of hearing the words from his lips.

He wondered if she loved him.

He watched her face for some reaction to the words he had spoken. He hadn't thought before speaking them, but knew that they told her how much he loved her without saying "those three little words". Maybe even more than those three little words did.

He wished that she would tell him that she loved him, too.

He knew that it wouldn't change things for them. That he would still be leaving once he saw her safely to the rendezvous. That he might not live see her again. That he might never see her again even if he lived. It wouldn't change anything at all.

But it would change everything. For him. Maybe for her, too.

"Sometimes I watch you sleep, too."

Her eyes closed after her confession and she missed the smile that spread across his face. He pressed a kiss against her temple and snuggled in behind her, tucking her back against his chest and wrapping her tightly in his arms. The warmth of her spread through him and he cherished it, trying not to think about what would happen next. He tried not to think about what would happen after Bespin. He tried not to think about how much he would miss the feel of her. He tried not to think about how much he would miss her.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I know."

In case it wasn't clear, I set this during the trip to Bespin, during ESB. Please provide me with any form of feedback you want to give. I have to confess that this was written fairly quickly with little to no editing and I'd love to know what everyone thinks. Thanks for reading and thanks, in advance (I hope) for reviewing. Scarlet.