Leia woke up slowly, stretching kritten-style and rolling over to what was recently dubbed Han's side of the bed. She leaned over and glanced at the chrono, groaning when she realized she was awake twenty minutes earlier than she needed to be.
She rolled back to the centre of the bed, took a deep breath, and frowned. Something didn't . . . feel right. Her head felt heavier than usual, and the grogginess lingering in her mind, seeming to seep through the rest of her body. Maybe she needed more rest. After all, building the New Republic from the ground up wasn't exactly an easy work day.
The smell of breakfast wafted in from the kitchen and tickled Leia's nose. She smiled. Han made Corellian hotcakes and nerf sausage—something she never had a taste for until Han came into her life. Looking over at the chrono again, she sat up, accepting that she wouldn't be getting any more sleep this morning.
Leia scooted over to the edge of the bed and was about to stand up when she had to stop herself. Her stomach felt like it churned into itself, and her off feeling had turned very quickly into feeling generally unwell. She shook her head, almost as if she could shake herself out of her funk, and stood up.
She moved towards her closet, hoping to get dressed before eating breakfast, but decided that her low energy needed to be addressed first.
I'll definitely need an extra cup of kaf this morning.
Han stood by the stovetop, humming to himself as he flipped the hotcakes. Leia took a moment to admire the view before announcing her presence. Somehow, she had the feeling she would never get tired of seeing her former smuggler doing anything remotely domestic.
"Morning, flyboy," she said, moving towards him.
Han turned to her, a lopsided grin automatically gracing his features as he heard her voice.
"Morning, princess," he replied as she gently kissed his lips. His brow furrowed as he took in what she wore. "You okay, sweetheart? You're usually dressed by now."
"Mmm, yeah," she hummed against his lips. She pulled back slightly and stood on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I just feel kind of . . . blah today."
"Blah?" Han reached over and turned off the stove before resting his large hands on her hips. "What do you mean?"
Leia sighed and lowered herself on the floor, her hands moving to rest on his shoulders. "It's probably nothing—I just woke up feeling weird. Maybe I'm just overtired."
Han pulled her close. "You should rest more," he murmured against her ear. His hands started moving up and down her back. "You're taking care of yourself, right?"
Leia smiled up at him. "It's kind of hard not to with you making sure I eat three meals a day and come home at a reasonable hour."
He leaned down and kissed her. "Glad to see my influence is working," he said as he pulled back.
Leia wrapped her arms around his waist. "Always has, hotshot."
Han raised his eyebrows. "Even on Hoth?" he asked, slightly incredulous.
Leia winked as she moved to sit at the table. "Even on Hoth. Not that I would have told you then."
Han gave her a lopsided grin and kissed the top of her head, sitting down beside her with their food.
Leia dove into her breakfast, enjoying the subtle spices of the sausage.
"So I have another meeting with my favourite people today," Han said, taking his own bite of sausage.
"Dodonna and Madine?" Leia asked around her food.
"Yeah," he said, rolling his eyes. "Today should be interesting. We're supposed to talk about next month's Kashyyyk mission." He swallowed and waved his fork as he spoke. "You know, it's amazing this military gets anything done with those two running things."
Leia didn't say anything, chewing her third bite of the soft, buttery hotcakes.
"Last week's meeting was a real pain," Han continued, cutting another piece of sausage. "Madine wanted to send in ground troops before the X-wings, but Dodonna hated that."
Leia looked up from her mostly-finished sausage, eyebrow raised.
Han chuckled. "Dodonna called him every name he could think of. My personal favourite had to be 'overgrown bantha-brained son of a gundark.' I think he's been taking nickname lessons from you." He winked at her.
Leia burst out laughing, almost spitting out her food. Before she could respond to him, her lower abdomen nearly exploded in a searing burst of pain.
It started off slowly—nothing more than a slight twinge just below her stomach. Then, almost out of nowhere, she was left breathless, her stomach churning in time with the waves of agony. She clenched her jaw and took shallow breaths, trying to ease her discomfort. It's been a while since she felt this way. In fact, it almost felt like—
No, no, it can't be. It's not time yet, is it? Another wave of white-hot pain hit. She screwed up her face and tried to think of the last time she had her monthly cycle. Surely it had to be . . . She couldn't think of the date. Yet the familiar wetness she felt between her legs confirmed what was happening.
Han's face immediately tensed and he furrowed his brow. "Are you okay?"
Leia groaned, unable to speak.
Han knelt down beside her, squeezing her knee and stroking her cheek. "Sweetheart?" He tried to stay calm, but Leia could still hear the worry in his voice. "Do you need me to call someone?"
The pain finally subsided. Leia raised her eyes to meet Han's and gave him a small smile, shaking her head. "It's just my cycle."
Han raised his eyebrows. "Just your cycle? Is it supposed to hurt that much?"
She sighed. "For me, it does." She got up and started to half-waddle to the 'fresher.
"Do you need help?" he asked, still concerned.
Leia stopped by the doorframe and glanced at him, raising her eyebrow. "What exactly would you do, hotshot?" she teased, though her heart wasn't in it. Her lower abdomen still felt like it was being stabbed by a thousand knives, but she wanted, needed to reassure him somehow. She gave him a half smile as she continued to the 'fresher.
Leia rummaged through the upper cabinets, looking for her tampons and not being able to find any. Frustrated, she moved on to the drawers under the sink. The pain medicine situation was hardly any better—they had perigen and nyex, but no comaren.
That's funny. Why don't I have anything? She eased herself on the toilet and tried again to think back to the last time she had her cycle. She blinked and leaned back as she realized her last cycle was two weeks before the first Death Star.
But that can't be right—that seems far too long. But . . . Her life was anything but easy and relaxing during the height of the war. Her never-ending grief over Alderaan and the loss of her friends and family certainly took its toll, as did her duties as a member of High Command. And she was lucky if she ate more than one half decent meal a day—and even then, Han was the one who shoved ration bars under her office door and invited her to the Falcon for a fresh meal after a supply run.
Now, though, things were much better. Han cooked for her and gently encouraged her to stop working before the sun comes down. Endor was only a month behind them, but she was happier than she'd been in a long while. She softly smiled. As painful as her monthly cycle was, it was a sign she was healthier.
Another excruciating cramp tore through her abdomen, wiping the smile from Leia's face. She screwed her eyes shut and took shallow breaths, hunched over until the pain went away, then took some toilet paper and folded it in her underwear. It wasn't ideal, but it would have to do.
Leia made her way back to the kitchen. Han stood up and tried to help her into her chair, but she playfully shook him off and sat down.
"Han, I'm fine. It's only my cycle," she told him.
He narrowed his eyes and sat back down. "But you're not going into work today, are you?"
"Shockingly enough, Han, every woman has it and they still manage to live their lives."
He sighed. "Leia, you're in a hell of a lot of pain. No one would think less of you if you took the day off."
"I'm fine. It'll be an easy day at the office. I should probably . . . be able to come—" Leia abruptly stopped, cut off by another round of sandblasting pain. This cramp, however, was much worse than the last cramp. She curled up close to her knees and whimpered, wrapping her arms around her aching stomach.
Han knelt down in front of her and placed one hand on her thigh while the other rubbed her back. "It's alright, sweetheart. It's okay," he murmured in her ear as he stroked her thigh.
Leia couldn't respond. She squeezed his hand and focused on her breathing until the pain stopped.
"You were saying?" Han asked.
Leia met his gaze and wanted to tease him back, but his smile was too soft and his eyes were too filled with concern for her to do anything other than drop her head to his shoulder and pant from the tension in her body.
"I really should go in today . . ." she argued half-heartedly.
"But what would I do all day?"
Leia lifted her head to meet his eyes, startled by his change in tactic. "What?"
Han squeezed her knee. "See, I already called in sick. So if you're not home, I'll just be here all by myself."
She chuckled weakly. She knew he used that approach to try and make her smile. Besides, she's almost accepted she'd have to stay home. "Can't have that, can we?"
Han shook his head, smirking at her. "Nope. Can't leave a scoundrel like me to his own devices."
He kissed her cheek and stood up. "I'll call in for you and pick up whatever you need. What do you want me to get for you?"
Leia looked up at him almost in awe. She shouldn't be shocked, not really. He'd done much more for her in the past. Yet at the same time, the idea of someone caring for her so deeply after being on her own hasn't sunk in.
"Tampons and comaren. And chocolate," she added with a smile.
Han winked at her. "Okay. Get settled in bed and I'll be back as soon as I can, sweetheart." He kissed the top of her head and moved towards the door.
She grabbed his hand as he moved. "Han," she said. He turned back to face her. "I love you."
Han swallowed hard, and Leia could see his eyes mist over. "I love you too, princess."