A/N: If you enjoy this, please leave kudos or a comment, they genuinely make my day!

At the anon in my last story, who is probably checking this one out as well: GROW THE F UP, not everything is about you. Stop clicking on fics you know you won't like just to spew hate. If you use Star Wars as an excuse to harass the few Han/Leia writers that are left, you're as entitled as Kylo Ren.

Everybody needs a place to rest
Everybody wants to have a home
Don't make no difference what nobody says
Ain't nobody like to be alone

~ Hungry heart, Bruce Springsteen

:::

I. Caf and carbo-protein biscuits

Finally free from Imperial persecution, the Millennium Falcon sped along the hyperspace lane and Han got up from his pilot's seat. He gave Luke two hard pats on the shoulder before exiting the cockpit. Kid was too innocent for his own good, which made him a perfect target for Han's teasing.

Don't worry, Luke, not interested in your rebel princess .

Her Highness didn't seem the kind to be easily impressed, anyway; the young farmboy would have a hell of a hard time even without Han. Or maybe Luke's idealism and foolish courage would make Princess Leia fall for him. That was what the rebels valued most, after all.

Ah, well. It was none of Han's business.

They had three hours until arriving into the system the princess had indicated. Yavin. Han had never heard of it before.

He found Chewie fixing a panel that had short-circuited and caused a small fire during their skirmish with the TIE fighters.

'I'm thinkin' we should add this to the rebels' tab,' Han muttered to his co-pilot.

Chewie growled in exasperation.

'What? Yeah, it needed replacing, but it was workin' just fine until we pulled this little stunt!'

' [It's the third time it caught fire!] ' Chewie said.

Han waved a hand and started to walk away.

' [Why don't you offer your new friends some food?] '

'What am I, a pleasure cruiser?' Han asked over his shoulder, not bothering to add that that was exactly what he'd intended to do. And he hadn't even thought to add that to the bill.

He grabbed three cups of instant self-heating caf, which he activated, and a bag of carbo-protein biscuits from one of his foodstuff storage crates and headed back into the main hold. He found Luke wandering, looking around the ship with interest (as if he hadn't insulted her earlier that day). Passing him one of the caf containers and a couple of the biscuits, Han casually showed him the way to the crew quarters, in case he needed a bunk or the 'fresher.

The princess was sitting on the accelerator couch, her elbows resting on the Dejarik table. Her shoulders were practically slumping as she stared blankly into the distance.

'Hey,' Han called. 'Here.'

Leia snapped out of it at once, straightening as she accepted Han's offer. Feeling the cup's warmth, she peeled off the lid and took a sip. Her dainty face scrunched up.

'You call this caf ?'

Han huffed. 'You know what, Your Worship? You ain't got much manners, for a princess!'

Her jaw tightened as she prepared to give a scathing reply, Han was sure of it. Seemingly changing her mind at the last moment, she looked away instead, closing her eyes for a second. Her round, brown eyes were shiny, but not a tear escaped them.

'I apologize,' she said in a tight voice after a moment, still avoiding Han's glare. 'Thank you for the refreshments, Captain.'

Han nodded curtly and was about to get out of her way when she added, 'And for getting us out of there safely.'

'No problem.'

Opening his own caf, he sat down at the technical station and began to pull up data for the Yavin system.

'You won't find anything there,' the princess called behind him.

He turned around on his seat. She was biting into one of the biscuits with gusto. They were typical space travel rations; these ones were not bad, but nothing special, either. She was probably starving. Han had no idea how long she had been kept as a prisoner.

'And why's that?'

'Because I deleted any record of Yavin from official databases myself.'

'Wipin' off planetary records?' Han asked, eyebrows raised. 'That sounds like the Empire's kinda move.'

'It is.' Leia sighed. Han couldn't pin down her age: her commanding attitude made her seem mature and experienced enough that she could have fooled anyone into thinking she was in her late twenties, but her face when she quieted down told Han she was probably as young as Luke. Right now, though, she looked weary beyond her years. 'You don't win a war by playing nice, you know.'

'Right.'

It was easy to forget that she'd lost so much—heaps more than Luke had—at one fell swoop, with the way she carried herself. The way he'd found her sitting alone just now had been as close to grieving as Han had seen her so far.

They're just kids , Han thought, risking and losing so much for the sake of a hopeless cause.

The princess there had gambled her entire planet for the rebellion. Han doubted her royal subjects had agreed to run that risk. Still...

'Sorry 'bout your loss,' he said gruffly, standing up.

A few beats passed before Leia whispered, 'Thank you.'

'You hurt?' he asked suddenly, as he wondered what Vader's officers had done to her (maybe Vader himself? No, she'd be dead). Had they bothered with torture before they blew up her world? She didn't look like she'd been tortured, but she didn't look a lot of things. 'You can use the medbunk if you need it, it's in the crew cabin. Free of charge.'

Leia raised an unimpressed eyebrow. 'How very generous of you. I think I'm fine now.'

'Don't take what I said earlier personally,' Han added, unable to help himself. 'This thing… good luck with it. It's just not who I am.'

The princess stared at him over the rim of her cup as he turned his back to her and started walking to the cockpit.

'And are you sure you're the person you claim to be?' he heard her say.

'Yup!' he said without looking back.

He was Han Solo, and he never looked back.