DISCLAIMER:
No copyright infringement is intended. All characters belong to the owners of STAR WARS franchise. This is done just out of love for the story.
Let me tell you a story. Admittedly a chaotic one. However if you are over a thousand years old, you try to come up with a better one. I won't judge. I'm too old for that. And if I wait for you to be a thousand years old…, well, I probably won't be there to listen so that's that. And so you know now, I may add or embellish some details but who cares? You didn't know them personally so I'm free to ramble. And it is my story so I'm the one who's making the choices.
Oh, stop fidgeting, it is only a beginning and I needed some preamble. Just relax and listen. It's about two people, it's a love story, it's an adventure, it's a drama, not much of a comedy but it is inspirational.
I met Han as a young man, I mean young for his species. I met lots and lots of individuals of any kind and let me tell you, some of them were intriguing, even for me but those two pulled some strings in my heart. I never knew why exactly. If I were to tell you about others I met, some of them… Ok, I'm steering off the course, keep your pants on, I'm coming back to Han and Leia. Did I mention it's about them? Well, anyway, Han. For his species he was an exceptional specimen. I always had a soft spot for him. A scoundrel? A smuggler? Shady? Yes to all but he was a fascinating one. And I have it from the best sources that females of humans found him irresistibly attractive. Well, it's not for me to judge. He wasn't a blushing virgin when I met him but as soon as he met Leia his brain must have had gotten a tunnel vision. Lucky that he found her. In all the meaning of the word.
Their story sort of starts on Tatooine. A hell of a place. Sand, sand and just more sand. I always preferred greenery and water but anyway Han worked for Jabba. He was a Hutt and slimy as they make them. Han was a spice smuggler, among other things. And one of his trips ended badly. He lost the shipment that cost a lot of credits and was in huge debt to Jabba. Which wasn't ideal as Jabba was ruthless. Oh, where's my head? I forgot to tell you about Chewbacca. A lovely Chewbacca. Tall, strong and warm. He could… oh shut up already, I'm coming back to Han, I'm coming. It's just that I liked this Wookiee. And I told you it would be chaotic, didn't I? I called him my boyfriend. No! Not Han, Chewie! As if. You don't listen properly.
Where was I? Ah, yes, Tatooine.
Han was desperate to get a new job to pay off Jabba so he greedily agreed to transport an old man, a boy and two droids to Alderaan. Haven't heard of it? Well, no wonder, it's no longer there. Ah, it's a long story. For another time.
His passengers weren't ordinary as he thought at the beginning. Han wasn't interested in politics. Oh, no. In fact he actively avoided it. Thus he was less than happy to get suddenly involved, right in the middle of it. But I'm skipping ahead.
Millennium Falcon got them to Alderaan. Oh, you've heard of Millennium Falcon then? Good. I won't go into the details then. I'll just say that if anything fought with Leia for Han's heart it was the Falcon. Enough said.
So they got there but there was no planet. Just scattered remains as it was blown to pieces by the Empire. A Death Star to be exact. A frightening thing. But catchy name. Anyway, to make the story short they got pulled into its tractor beam and Millennium Falcon was taken on board by Death Star.
Luckily for our heroes they weren't caught by the Imperials, they hid in the Falcon's special compartments. Smuggling is useful like that. You have to think on your feet.
Obi-Wan Kenobi went to neutralise the tractor mechanism that would allow … Oh, alright, I forgot to mention him. Ben Kenobi, as I knew him, was one of the passengers that Han took on the Falcon. He was one of the last Jedi at the time. A brilliant and brave man. Sadly missed. I always liked him. The other human was young Luke Skywalker. Oh good, you've heard of him. I don't have to explain then. Two droids were C3PO and R2D2. They're important to the story, even if one of them was wildly annoying. The first one.
R2D2 found out that the princess Leia was on board of the Death Star. Yes, Leia was a princess. Not as any princesses I've known through my life. But then she took after her mother… Ok, let's not overcomplicate things at this point. Just let me tell you, that she was beautiful, fierce, loyal, brave and simply magnificent. No wonder they both fell for her from the start. What do you mean who? Luke and Han. I know, I know, it's confusing but then life is. Most of the time. I KNOW she was his sister but no one, well almost no one, knew that at the time.
Luke, always a man of action, decided to rescue her; you see, the Imperials were about to execute her. Yeah, I know. Nothing but bad press for the Imperials but then they deserve it.
Han was reluctant to get involved to say the least. He was already regretting his involvement so far and taking the charter. Yes, that was my Han alright. Solo was a deliberate choice for a name. Ironic when I come to think of it. Anyway, Luke was smart, he promised a big reward for rescuing the princess and Han being Han (at the time at least) got interested and complied. The rescue wasn't easy. Or well thought through. But luck, or rather the Force as I like to think about it, was on their side.
And now we come to the momentous meeting of those two lonely, a little lost but wonderful people. Ok, maybe it wasn't that momentous as they both seemed furious at each other at first. Leia, quite reasonably I think, criticised the effort. Funnily enough, she blamed Han and not Luke. I like to think that she couldn't take her eyes off of him right from the start. She never said so to me but I sense I'm about right. However in the end she took over, as she always did. A brilliant mind I always thought. She found the way to escape through the garbage chute. And so they landed in amongst the garbage with no way to escape at first.
Han had never met a woman like her. Not that he met princesses all the time. But she had awaken in him some very intense feelings. He couldn't fathom what they were or why they were there. He was mesmerised when she took Luke's blaster and shot a hole in the wall of the detention block and then shot at the Stormtroopers. In fact his first words about her were: "Wonderful girl. Either I'm going to kill her or I'm beginning to like her." Ha, ha, ha. Oh, that was funny. Han always made me laugh. Hmmm, I miss the scoundrel. One time he... Ok, ok back to the story.
The situation in the garbage chute was dismal. Not only there was a creature that lived in it and almost killed Luke. But as the Imperials found out where they were, they started the process of compacting the garbage and the walls started to close in on our heroes. Leia and Han tried to block it but to no avail. The walls came closer and closer. My poor Chewbacca, he must have been frightened to death.
Oh, I got you now. Now you're interested. I told you it would be a good story.
Finally Luke managed to contact C3PO and thanks to R2D2 the compacting stopped and the door was opened. They rejoiced loudly giving vent to their relief. And then Han did something that he rarely did before. He showed an emotion. Of all the people in there, there was one person that he wanted to hug. He strode through the garbage to Leia and put his arm around her pulling her close to him. To his delight she responded accordingly. He knew she was strong and fearless but when the walls were closing in, he tried to stay close to her and help her. But when the door opened his senses came back to him and almost ashamed of his weakness before he wanted to show his indifference to her by saying that he had enough of female advice. They sparred with words at this point but to his surprise he lost. Completely. Maybe it was the fault of her eyes that he got lost into but he was lost for words. No brilliant repartee came to mind. Just blank. He didn't know what was happening to him. No fancy princess was going to tell him what to do. She was infuriating. No one, NO ONE told him what to do. She called him 'flyboy', criticised him, Chewie AND his beloved Falcon. Unbelievable.
The escape wasn't easy. Leia was grateful that someone came to help her. She was in a bad state just before the short Stormtrooper (Luke as she later found out) came into her cell. You see, her whole planet, her family, her friends and all those wonderful memories were obliterated. She never felt so alone in her whole life. She almost gave up on life when those strangers came and gave her a new hope. And that strange man! Ugh, she was furious at him. But couldn't stop interacting with him. He drawn her in for some reason. She didn't know why she hugged him. It felt good. It felt right. Despite herself she relished the opportunity. It seemed almost natural. But then he riled her up again by some unwelcome comments. No wonder she snapped. So unprincesslike. And then he just had to emphasise that he did it all for the money. She couldn't expect everyone to share her ideals but that was soul shattering. So she wanted to cut deep when she said to him that if money was all that he loved then that's what he was going to receive. And to drive the message home, she purposefully said to Luke that his friend was quite a mercenary. "I wonder if he really cares about anything. Or anybody", she finished and furiously left the cockpit of the Falcon when they were having the conversation.
You see? I told you that they hadn't started smoothly. But I think this was the first spark that started the fire. And that unexpected, mutual hug between them in the garbage chute was the clincher. There was no way out for both of them from then on. Oh, stop making the doe eyes. I know it is a love story but it is anything but sweet. Just remember I warned you.
The parting shot from the princess leaving the cockpit, where she shot him down (again) for being enthusiastic about their escape, was hurtful to Han. Although he admitted to himself that for all purposes she was right. He was just angry that again he had no response. His mind was racing.
And then Luke asked him what he thought of her. Han replied truthfully that he was trying not to. And it was the truth. That little princess has been invading his thoughts a bit too much. He couldn't allow himself to be that distracted and he didn't want to be involved in any damned rebellion.
Luke was very naïve then and almost too easy to see through, I personally don't think he understood Han properly. I was told he seemed to be very happy with Han's answer.
"Do you think that the princess and the guy like me-"
"No!" Luke interrupted.
Teasing Luke was also almost too easy for Han, the old fox. Han sensed that Luke set his heart on her. Well, Han suddenly against himself took it as a challenge. But just for a moment, he knew that Luke would have a better chance. It was clear he would be staying with the rebellion and with her. Han wasn't going to. Han had other things to do. Still, Leia seemed to have left a hook in him and she was in his thoughts. Even if they were deeply hidden at the back of his mind.
I think I have told you already that Han never had problems with getting women. It was always painless and with hardly any effort on his part. Quick, short-lived affairs were the daily bread for Han. Oh I know it too well. I had to deal with some poor women he left behind. He never promised them anything but they always wanted more and surprisingly they never said a bad word against him. Yeah, that was my young Han. A rascal.
This was different somehow and he knew it. He was a smart lad although very thick sometimes. Ah yes, he was always my favourite.
And so just for the hell of it, Han decided to have some fun during their short trip to the rebels' base on Yavin. It was like a game to him. Every time he passed by her standing somewhere, despite having lots of space, he always put his hands on her for the briefest of moments and walked on innocently like nothing happened. His favourite place to land with his hands were her hips. Imagine Leia standing somewhere, let's say talking to Luke, when he passed them he quickly put his hands on her hips or arms and moved her gently as if trying to squeeze past her, murmuring "sorry, princess" and went on without looking back. Each time she sat somewhere, he seemed to be in need of reaching something behind her but not without resting his hand on her arm or her back and pushing his body into her personal space, even if for some infinitesimal time, not enough for her to react. And always with that devilish smile on his face.
But Leia reacted. She didn't know why but she did. Each time she felt his touch she trembled afterwards. It infuriated her. And she could not say anything as the touch was always too quick and seemingly innocent to others. She was really angry. She knew he was playing with her but she neither wanted him to stop nor did she avoided it. In fact she was angry at herself too. She didn't know what was about this man that made her so helpless. She always won when it came to words. She had a parliamentary background after all but that physical part eluded her. She always was treated as a princess, with respect and a distance. Even by Luke. The only manhandling she encountered was by Stormtroopers and now by Han. Although the two were incomparable as the latter strangely gave her pleasure. When unobserved, she could not stop looking at him. Despite herself she admired many things about him. His courage, decisiveness, his skills and, she had to admit, his looks. He was unlike any man she ever met. She always listened to his conversations with Luke. She appreciated his easy banter making Luke laugh uproariously. She could not help smiling herself but she was focused on Han so much that she found herself lost in thoughts many times and almost didn't hear their conversation. He was so irreverent towards her, called her 'sweetheart' when no one ever dared and yet… She didn't know where this fascination came from. She tried to bury it as deep as she could.
I tell you if I were there I would have told straight those two what is going on. They both apparently was helpless and blind. Well, I wasn't there so that is probably why the farce between them lasted that long until they finally understood and accepted their destiny. Those two were falling in love for the first time in their respective lives and they didn't know it. And there was no one to tell them that. When much later each of them separately told me about this I was inwardly laughing at them. But that's the water under the bridge now.
The game Han played somewhat misfired. He deluded himself that it was just a game. But deep inside he found that he enjoyed it too much for his liking. He started to look for opportunities to touch her deliberately. He stole glances at her when no one saw him. Ok, let's face it, he was ogling her. But there was more than just the physical closeness. She hardly talked to him but he listened to her conversations with Luke. She was something different. She was smart, wise beyond her age and fierce. Very intense. He loved that about her. And he was drawn in. He still knew he was leaving Yavin as soon as they replenished the resources and he got his reward but there was a nagging thought that he would never see her again. It would be highly unlikely to meet her again. All this made him very uncomfortable.
All I can say to you, don't waste your time when anything like it happens to you. Life is too short for the most of you.
Well, anyway, they finally reached Yavin. The transport cart took them from the Falcon to the main entrance to the base. Droids were silent, even C3PO for a change. Luke was wide-eyed and in rapture over the enormity of the base and ships gathered. His eyes scanned everything and everyone. Chewbacca was quietly commenting on the spaceships or equipment from time to time. Leia looked intently at her hands in her lap, deeply submerged in her own thoughts, face impenetrable. Han was unashamedly staring at the princess. He wanted to memorise her image for later, for those long journeys when there was nothing to think about. As if only then he found her beautiful and a sheer perfection. He was almost lost in thoughts as to what might have been if the circumstances were dramatically different. He hoped against hope that she looked at him this one time and once again he could have been lost in her dark pools of eyes.
I know I'm getting unbearably romantic in my old age. But that's my privilege. I've seen a lot of misery during my long life and I appreciate the short sunrays of positive energy when I see them. And Han and Leia's story is one of those rays of sunshine. If you don't want to listen, go. Right. You stayed, good, so on with our story.
When Leia jumped off the transport cart and walked to the general, Han's eyes followed her until she disappeared into the base headquarters. He felt a pang somewhere deep inside when she didn't turn to look back. He tried to banish her from his thoughts when he was collecting the reward, loading the stock and trying to quash any protest from Chewbacca. Because you see my Chewie had the heart in the right place and he was not afraid to use it. That's why I liked this Wookiee.
Luke tried to persuade Han to stay with the Rebellion. Unsuccessfully. He was crestfallen when Han declined once again and uncharacteristically for Luke he got bitter. He nearly said the same words as Leia. Yet Han found himself liking the kid and almost seriously wished him for the force be with him. Chewie complained loudly. But Han decided they were leaving and tried to stick to it. Apart from anything else, Han wanted to overcome these nagging thoughts about Leia. Out of sight, out of mind, or so he hoped. You see? I told you Han could be really thick sometimes.
Meanwhile Leia, after the debriefing, stood alone in a small conference room that had windows on the spaceport. She easily found Han and Chewie with her hungry eyes. They were loading boxes on the Falcon. Only now, unobserved, she allowed herself to look at him. She avoided him after they landed on Yavin. She felt his gaze upon her and yet she couldn't bring herself to look up. She was supposed to prepare herself for the meeting in the headquarters and all she could think about was Han leaving. For ever. She hated it so much. She remembered those brief moment of being touched by him and she trembled again. Why him? It was obvious to her that he spelt trouble and yet she was unable to shake it off.
The announcement of emergency meeting that came out of loudspeakers woke her up. She assumed her senatorial pose and turned from the window ready to leave the room. And yet almost involuntarily she turned back her head to look at Han one last time.
She was surprised that Han and Chewie were at the meeting. She dared not to look though. What's done it's done. Afterwards she found Luke brooding and asked him what troubled him. He explained that Han was leaving. Leia inwardly sighed. Luke fell for Han's charm as she did. Well, maybe not exactly in the same way but she could understand.
Han was finishing the preparations for the departure, Chewie was doing the last checkups. There were still receiving the messages from headquarters communications link. Han was supposed to switch them off but couldn't help himself and he was listening in. If they wanted to escape unscathed they should go now. And yet he was reluctant to start the engines although the Falcon was warming up for a while now. His mind was racing again. Death Star apparently found the rebel base on Yavin. He knew it was partially his fault. He didn't believe Leia when she said that the Imperials were sure to track them. Yet she was right. They were here to destroy Yavin as they did with Alderaan. He knew everyone on Yavin would be killed if the attack on the Death Star was unsuccessful. And from what he was hearing it hadn't been going well. It would mean that Leia would be dead too. He closed his eyes in despair when he thought of it. But he didn't know what he could do. Even if he managed to get to her there was no way he could persuade her to leave with him. He knew that. She was stubborn. He could recognise the symptoms. He had the same disease. What else he could do? Chewie asked what they were going to do. Han knew Chewie well. He was unhappy about the decision on leaving Yavin and he gently wailed listening to the report he heard on the comms now.
Aww, my poor Chewie he was the only one reasonable there and he felt too much. I always said that they should listen to Chewie more. He was… Alright, alright. I'll talk about Chewie some other time.
Finally Han made a decision, "Ok, Chewie, we're leaving. Now!" There was an urgency in Han's voice that Chewie didn't dare to comment on. They left the space port and Chewie was surprised that Han didn't set the coordinates for Tatooine as this was their assumed target. Instead Han turned towards the Death Star. The comms reports were more and more alarming. They keep losing the pilots and what's worse the first attempt to blow the Death Star was unsuccessful. Now it sounded like Luke decided to give it a try. Han speeded up. And then it got worse, Luke was alone, he lost R2D2 and was chased by three imperial ships. Han finally saw them. Without thinking he fired. He got one of them. Then the second wavered and burst against the wall while the third was blown out of track by the explosion. That's was more like it.
Leia was tense and listened to all reports with the impending doom in her heart. She couldn't believe it was happening.. All this effort for nothing. She wasn't afraid to die. She was worried for rebel fighters out there, especially Luke. She was distraught at the thought of all those systems in danger if the Death Star wasn't destroyed. But just as a little thought at the back of her mind there was Han. At least he would survive. She saw the Falcon leaving. At least he would be alive.
And suddenly as if the Force heard her, the most wonderful voice broke through the comms, "Yahoo, you're all clear, kid! Now let's blow this thing and go home!" She couldn't believe her ears. Han! He came back. He didn't leave. A rush of overwhelming emotion swept through her. But…
"Great shot, kid! It was one in the million!", his voice again all over the command centre. That was it. The Death Star disappeared from the screens. It was gone. They were safe. They were alive. She almost hugged C3PO but restrained herself. They were all coming in. She left the command centre almost running, although she knew well that the princesses shouldn't run.
She saw Luke first, at last there was someone she could really hug with joy. Then she heard him. Han was running towards them. He and Luke almost collided with joy. Her mind was shut down now, she run to Han to embrace him. Not as with Luke, she was too timid to do that. But her arms encircled his waist and his arm pulled her closely to him. She couldn't help herself. Even as Luke went away from the group to see what happened to R2D2, they remained comfortably together still in embrace. She didn't think she could be that happy ever again after all she went through. But there she was, close to Han, feeling safe, deliriously happy and optimistic for the future.
He ran as soon as they landed, he ran not even bothering to tell Chewie where to, he ran to find Luke but if he were to be honest he wanted to find Leia. Something told him that she would be there. All Chewie could do was to follow Han.
There they were, happy hugging, maybe he'd get a quick hug out of it at least? Seeing Luke was great but having Leia tugged closely into him was beyond his expectations. Of course Leia being Leia had to comment on him being more than money but to see a pure joy on her face, actually seeing her smiling at him for the first time was better than any reward he could ever expect. He was surprised by this conclusion but there it was. He was happy just for being happy. "Let's not overthink things", he thought. Han wasn't a great thinker anyway. All he wanted now was to take Leia somewhere private. Alas it was not to be. Although he steered her away from the crowd, she reached for Luke and he joined them. If Han was disappointed he didn't show it. The trio went happily together inside the building. Ever optimistic Han thought that maybe later he could find some alone time just with Leia.
Sorry to disappoint you all. They didn't have an alone time. With the debriefing and preparations for the medal ceremony Han lost the sight of Leia. He wasn't happy for the medal ceremony anyway. It was so not his style. Yet he complied in the end and even made the effort to look presentable. He was still him but cleaner. As soon as the door was opened, Luke and him were met by rows of people standing to attention. Han's eyes never wavered though. He had eyes only for Leia. She looked resplendent in a new gown that showed a bit of so far hidden cleavage. You can all imagine what his thoughts were then. Well, I can, I know my Han Solo. All I can say they sure as hell weren't pure. He walked towards her like a predator. He only broke into smile when she smiled at him. And Han's smile was great I can tell you. But again Han being Han couldn't help himself and took a peak into her cleavage when being given a medal. And then he winked at her knowingly. Oh, Han. Some things never change.
What time is it? That late? Ok, go away now. Maz is tired. I'll finish the story some other time. Oh, don't whine. There's plenty of time. If you reach my age, you'll know. On the other hand you may not. And besides some of you are too young to hear the next part. Well, because life is full of colour and the next part is not so black and white. Or so innocent. Sleep well. I know I will.