A/N: Enjoy this new story, everyone! I will be wrapping up The Rebel Retreat with the next chapter, so I wanted to put something new out there. I have been busy moving, so I haven't been able to update my other stories, and I'm sorrry about that!
On another note...I have some exciting news to share! Mark Hamill himself liked our tweet about our FanFiction page! I'm beyond thrilled to have such an honor, and hope one day Luke himself gets to critique my portrayal of his young character. But until then...may the Force be with you all!
I
Smoke rose patiently from the forest trees, clouding the night air like a giant cobweb had been launched over the planet. Somewhere in the distance, a fire burned. Then, beyond that, another fire. And another after that, continuing on and on until the whole forest wrapped around on itself. Suddenly, the small moon forest seemed bigger than it really was. Music raged from all over – in the trees, on the ground, into the sky… It was as though the forest turned into a tropical jungle, with an array of celebratory parties spanning the vast canopies and tree tops.
In the darkness, a sullen Han Solo watched from a vacant piece of wooden pathway that the Ewoks had built in their trees. He had left the party early, not enjoying the realization that the war had ended. Sure, in theory, there was still much more to accomplish, but the best part was over. The tough part that required his efforts was over. Even if Leia cared for him, once she realized he had no good qualities outside of being a smuggler and pilot, she would surely begin to like him less. That and the boy would move on to train further into being a Jedi and probably leave the Alliance all together. Han would be alone once more – just he and his ship…and Chewie.
Han turned back towards the Falcon, his beloved home. He scanned her over from a distance, waiting until he made it safely back to her and was able to get a good night's rest. Part of him wanted to stay out with the others and celebrate, but his emotions were running too wild for his on liking. He had left Leia in good hands with Luke and Lando, allowing him to live in a world of silence for at least a little bit.
The white noise buzzing from his comlink interrupted Han as he tried to figure out the best path to take through the linked bridges to get him back to where Lando had brought her down.
"What's up, kid?" Han's voice was distracted as he returned Luke's call.
"Where'd you go?" the young voice of the boy replied back.
Han rolled his eyes and huffed out a breath. Of course Luke would be the first to notice his absence. It was a miracle he wasn't tamed like a dog with how often the kid was able to pin point them using his Jedi abilities.
"Just out for a walk," Han answered bitterly.
There was a brief pause before Luke's voice was heard again. "Just don't get yourself into any trouble," he warned.
"I'll be fine, kid," Solo assured him. "We just blew up the Empire, remember?" Han hinted at the fact that he would hardly get himself into any kind of predicament with a planet full of little bears that seemed to currently worship him.
Tucking the comlink back in his belt holster, Solo began his trek back to the only thing he knew as his. The maze in the trees made it a longer journey than it had to be, but eventually, he navigated it enough to get him to where he needed to be – in front of the Millennium Falcon.
Solo let down the loading ramp and boarded his ship. Sullen eyes and dark circles on his face showed the lack of energy starting to become more and more present, and the weight on his shoulders felt heavier than ever. Carefully, he unclipped his holster and pulled off his boots as he made his way to the crew cabins to catch a few blinks of rest before someone caught him on his escape.
Slowly, he tossed the blanket in the air that covered his bunk in hopes of straightening it out. He wanted nothing more than to fall head first into the bed, but the sting of his leg where he has been caught by a blaster shot suddenly interrupted his descent into the mattress.
Han unbuttoned his Corellian stripes and slowly kicked them off – half due to grogginess and half due to the burning in his thigh. He twisted to his left side, trying to examine the wound. The blaster had only clipped him, thankfully just grazing the side of the thigh and nothing more. Wincing, he stood straight again and removed the striped pants from his ankles and tugged off his shirt after letting his vest fall to the floor behind him. The only thing that would fix his pain would be a quick shower and some bacta gel on the clean wound once he got out.
Silently, Solo made his way to the shower adjacent to the bunk. He ran cold water – he still felt the heat of the moon's atmosphere crawling into his skin and needed to cool off before he added dehydration to the list of problems running through his mind.
He let the water pour over his head as he leaned an arm up against the wall of the shower. The water stung like hot steam on a sunburn, which he had experienced plenty of times during his lost boy years on Corellia. As he put his weight on one leg in order to twist the other clear into the stream of the water, he winced again and closed his eyes. Slowly, the sting turned into a tingling warmth.
Once the sweat was washed off of his body and the dirt flowed out of his hair and his leg wound, the smuggler turned off the water and wrapped his waist in a towel. He opened the door back to the bunk and ran his hand through his long hair as he gazed at his feet on the familiar floor, making a mental note to chop a bit off again the next time he had a spare minute. For now, though, sleep was more important.
Han looked back up after water began dripping to the floor from his shaggy head. His eyes crawled over the stout body of a familiar female figure sitting on his bed. A stack of his clothes, folded, sat in a pile next to her, and his belt holster and blaster had been hung on the rail of the bunk next to his.
"Leia," Solo whispered, stunned to see how quickly she had tracked him down. "How did you—"
"Luke," the Princess told him softly. "Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?"
The worry in her eyes pierced him. "I'm fine," he promised. "How did you know, anyway?"
"Luke," she revealed.
Of course the kid would know. He wobbled over to the medical kit on the wall and searched for the bacta gel he kept stocked for times like these. "You can't keep taking care of me."
Leia watched him make his way across the room again and back to his bunk. He stood in front of her, offering her the bottle so he could position himself well enough to apply it to his thigh.
"Stop," she ordered after watching him struggle for a few moments. "You still make everything so difficult sometimes," she told him as she silently rolled her eyes in her mind at his stubbornness.
Finally, Han gave in and allowed Leia to brush the towel away from his leg. As she traced up the edge of the towel to hold it aside and reveal the wound, her fingertips began to burn hot against him. She was sure he had noticed the situation intensify just as she had. As she blushed, Leia swallowed a nervous gulp and exhaled patiently. This was the first time she had seen so much of him. Even with just the towel, she had been speechless. But as a Senator, it was her duty to not be caught off guard. And so, she did not waver in her offer to help him.
Han glanced down at her, their eyes meeting. Something sparked for a moment as Leia held his gaze, her hand slowly pressing firmly against his wound. Feeling her heart race, she finally broke eye contact and held out the bottle back to him.
"Maybe you should do it," she decided, cooling whatever was happening between them. "My hands are dirty." The excuse was the same lame one she had offered him before he had kissed her on the way to Bespin. Only, this time, she had a point – she had just emerged from the forest, and Han still had suds around the bottom of his chin.
Solo nodded and accepted the bottle from her. He gently rubbed some of the bacta gel onto his wound, hoping it would help clear it up within the next couple of days. Then, he set it down on the bed next to his holster for when he wanted to reapply it in the morning.
"I, uh…" Solo began awkwardly, hinting to Leia that he had to change into actual clothes.
"Han," Leia chuckled, standing to attempt to meet his height, even though she was still a good foot shorter than him. She placed her hands on his shoulders, gently massaging the sore muscles beneath them to keep him mellowed. "It's just me."
"Just you?" he repeated, suddenly stunned by how well she could release the knot in his shoulder.
"Well, yes." Leia spoke innocently, as though she didn't seem to care whether he was wearing a towel or no towel. "If you'd like me to leave, I can, but—"
"No, stay." Solo caught her hands on his shoulders to stop her from massaging them any further. Instantly, the heat returned to their point of contact.
Leia was at a loss for words as he let go of one hand and brought it up to trace the edge of her cheek. His feathery touch had her skin dancing with fire and ice. She gazed up at him with a mixture of longing and exhaustion, but encouraged him to make another move.
Before she could speak again, Han wrapped his hand around her neck and brought her lips to his, kissing her deeply and with more emotion than he had ever shown her. The revelation that this might be the last time he would get to hold her like he was flowed through him – he wasn't ready to let her go, but eventually, she would leave on her own. Was it fair to keep her coming to him until she realized that herself?
Leia pulled away from him, keeping her free hand at her side. She didn't know where to place it without accidentally unwrapping his towel from around his waist, so that was the safest place. She scanned his hazel eyes for any hint that he wanted more, but instead, found both the desire for sleep and a hidden sadness instead.
"What is it?" she asked, growing concerned.
Han wanted to answer, but couldn't decide how to explain to her. He didn't even know if he wanted to explain it to her. It didn't make much difference what he said – she would still leave eventually. They always did, which is why he started sticking to one night stands during his smuggling days.
Despite the need for conversation, the comlink in Han's holster went off again, spreading white noise through the bunk room.
"Han, buddy, you there?" Skywalker called once more, awaiting his friend's reply.
Solo frowned but let go of Leia in order to answer his summon. He struggled for a moment to release the comlink from his belt before he finally jiggled it loose; it was harder than it looked after all the years of practice of taking it from his hip. "Yeah, kid, I told you I'd be fine."
"The Alliance wants us back on base to regroup," Luke continued, ignoring Han's snappy reply. "Mon's worried about the galaxy going into turmoil after word starts to spread."
"Great," Solo muttered, running a hand through his hair once more in frustration. "Meet ya there, kid. I'll take the Princess on the Falcon."
Luke gave his okay as he signed off, confirming he had room to take Chewie and the others along with him. Then, Han turned back to Leia and gave her his cocky half smile as he sheepishly tried to woo her into accepting the fact that they had to leave.
"What'd'ya say, sweetheart?" he asked her in a mock tone. "Think you can help me fly this ol' girl?"