A blaster in the hand is worth two (lightsabers) in the bush

As soon as Han stepped out of the Millennium Falcon, he let out a relieved sigh. It was good to be back on the familiar ground of Endor. Not that he didn't like spending most of his time in his beloved ship; but the numerous missions he had been sent on since the destruction of the Death Star had been quite numerous indeed, and they had kept him away from Luke and Leia. Especially Leia.

He missed her. Not to sound overly sappy. But he did miss her. A lot.

Standing on the boarding ramp, he let his gaze wander around the camp; in the early morning light, the place almost looked peaceful. So unlike the buzzing hive it really was. He paused to contemplate the view and take a deep breath. Nothing could beat fresh air, especially when it was from Endor.

Chewbacca bumped into Han just as he was starting to relax.

"Hey, watch it, fuzzball!"

The Wookiee simply emitted a mocking growl and carried down the boarding ramp one of the heavy boxes they had been sent to collect from Tatooine, one of the members of the Alliance of Free Planets. He was met by two soldiers in charge of running the camp, and one of them escorted him to the headquarters.

"Hello, Captain. Good to have you back," the other soldier greeted Han.

"Morning to you too. Must say, it's good to be back."

"Do you need any help with the Millennium Falcon, or the cargo?"

"I'll let you see that with Chewbacca; I'm expected elsewhere right now."

The soldier nodded and saluted him before going back to the headquarters. Han went directly to the part of the base where the living quarters had been settled, his pace becoming quicker as he approached the room he shared with Leia. He sure as hell wasn't going to run; he wasn't that desperate to see her. Nope. He was just walking a bit faster than usual, that was all. He had spent the last twenty-four hours inside the Falcon; he just needed to stretch his legs a bit, get some casual exercise.

The frustration that rushed through him when he entered the room and realized it was empty wasn't part of that casual exercise, though. Damn it. He should have known better; after all, Leia wasn't the kind to just sit around and wait for her man to return. From the 'princess agenda', she had picked leadership over damsel in distress. He loved that about her, but right now, he kinda hated it too.

Dashing outside the room, he caught a glimpse of bright gold metal at the corner of the corridor.

"Hey, 3PO!" he yelled, running after him.

The droid stopped and turned around immediately.

"Oh, sir! I did not know you had already arrived. How did the mission go?"

"Good. Where's Leia?"

"Oh, what a coincidence! I was just on my way to see her. R2 insisted on attending the session, even though he would have been much more useful at the main command post. I told him he was not as indispensable to Master Luke as he thought he was. He should not think so highly of himself, really, but oh, what can I say, he never listens to me. He has always been quite stubborn, for such a little…"

"Thanks, I don't need you to ramble on," Han interrupted. "I didn't ask about your buddy R2, now, did I? So tell me in as few words as 'droidly' possible to you where the Princess is."

If C-3PO had been human, Han could have bet the droid would have matched his offended huff with a scornful frown.

"I believe she is with Master Luke, sir. Along with R2, which is why I…"

"Just… Take me to them, alright?"

C-3PO lead the way, unusually silent. Probably his way of showing Han he didn't like how he had just been treated. Han didn't mind, however; anything that kept the droid from constantly talking was a blessing. They were obviously heading towards a remote part of the camp, deserted at that time of the day, which was dedicated to outdoor training.

"Wait a sec. You talked about a 'session', right? What kind of a session?" Han said as they got nearer.

Before C-3PO could reply, Han spotted Leia a few feet away, standing upright with her eyes closed. He was about to call her when he noticed Luke, sitting underneath a tree, R2-D2 next to him. C-3PO made as if to make himself known, but Han motioned him to be still and not utter a single word.

"Regain your concentration. Slow down your breathing. Focus only on the Force, on how it is everywhere around you, on how it connects everything," said Luke, watching Leia closely. A bit too closely for Han.

He kicked himself mentally at that thought; Luke was Leia's brother. Apparently, he still needed time to process the idea that he didn't have to feel threatened or jealous anymore; old habits die hard, he supposed.

Everything was silent for a while, and Han began fidgeting. What a boring exercise! At that precise moment, he was glad, even more than usual, that he didn't have to go through this Jedi nonsense. Sure, they got to wear showy weapons and talk in mysterious, bullshitty ways. So what?

"Can you sense your surroundings?" Luke let out.

"Yes," Leia answered quietly.

It wasn't like they had worked hard to obtain their little Force privilege; they were born with it. Big deal! He had been born with nothing, not even a family, and everything he had achieved since then was all his doing, and his doing only.

"Can you sense me?" Luke continued.

"Y… yes, I think so."

"You're not sure?"

"Well…" Leia frowned. "It's just… It's like something is interfering with your image in my head."

Tsk! Brain interferences now. Really, what a load of…

"Oh, hello Han!"

Han snapped out of his moody thoughts when he heard Luke call out his name and saw his friend wave at him.

"Hey there," he replied, feeling suddenly uncomfortable.

Leia opened her eyes and met his, but he decided to ignore her and walked towards Luke instead.

"How're you feeling, kid?"

"Good. Getting better everyday actually."

Luke almost didn't cringe when he stood up to shake Han's hand. Yeah, he was still recovering from his big battle with the Emperor, and the several missions he had insisted on leading since then had prevented him from healing as quickly as he should have, but he looked a lot healthier than the last time Han had seen him.

"Great news. But don't push yourself too hard, alright? It's not because you're a Jedi that you have to play all rough and tough non-stop."

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind," Luke laughed in return.

"Don't I deserve a hello as well?" Leia asked a bit defiantly. She had joined them under the tree in the meantime.

"I don't know, do you, Princess?" replied Han, just as defiantly.

"What?"

"What?"

"Why are you like that?"

"Why am I like what?"

"That."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do!"

"Nope."

"It's not because you've spent all your time lately with a Wookiee that you must act like one."

"Wookiees make for great company, I'll let you know."

"Oh, really? Actually, now that you mention it, I'm convinced Chewbacca would act nicer to me than you right now."

"I'm the mean one? You're the one who went all aggressive on me in the first place!"

"You're the one that ignored me in the first place."

"Am I? Because I'm pretty sure you were not there when I arrived just an hour ago!"

"Is it what this is all about? I didn't even know you'd be here this early!"

"What are you doing outside 'this early' anyway? You should be in bed."

"Waiting around for my man, I suppose."

"Well, yes."

"You're unbelievable!"

"I'm a scoundrel, remember? Shouldn't come as a surprise."

"Urgh! You…"

"Hello Master Luke!" C-3PO exclaimed, barging into the conversation. "I was just on my way to see you when I was joined by Captain Solo. I fear I must borrow R2 from you for now, his skills are much needed at the command post. I am very sorry to bother you while you are in the middle of a training session, but…"

"It's okay, 3PO. Actually, I needed to go back to the command post as well," interrupted Luke earnestly.

Leia stopped in the middle of her rant and turned to her brother, surprised.

"We're already done?"

"Errr, yes. I just remembered I had a meeting with…" He paused for a second, his gaze slightly panicked. "Ackbar! I have a meeting with Admiral Ackbar." He suddenly seemed relieved.

"Oh… Maybe I should go with you, then?"

"No! I mean, don't worry, it's nothing important. Just… Just Jedi affairs I need to run by him first. Stay with Han and, ahem, continue your… reunion," Luke hastily replied.

On that note, he waved awkwardly at them and disappeared with the two droids so quickly it left Leia and Han dumbfounded for a minute.

"Wow… I hope you're happy. You just scared my brother away," she finally said, facing Han again.

"Me?"

"Fine! We."

"That's more like it," he commented with a grin.

Leia let out a sigh and sat down on the grass.

"I give up. I don't want to bicker with you, not when we haven't been just the two of us for days," she said, looking up at him.

He was a bit taken aback by the sudden defusing of the situation, but he had to admit, he welcomed it as well. Settling down next to her, he gave her a small, apologetic smile.

"That was not how I had pictured our reunion," she said.

"I know."

He took her left hand and pressed it lightly between his palms.

"It's just… I was looking forward being with you again this morning, and then I come 'home' and you're not there."

"I'm sorry; I told you I didn't…"

"I know that too. I'm not implying you're at fault here."

"What's really bothering you, then?"

He paused and looked at her.

"Well… When I left, you were already spending a lot of time with Luke, trying to figure out where to stand on this whole Force thing. And I come back today, and you're still busy practicing with him. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, I mean I get it, that you'd want to learn more about this part of you, to share that with your brother. I guess I just…"

Damn it, he hated having to "talk about his feelings"! He was a man of action, not a man of words. He gladly and happily left that part to Luke and his Jedi pals. He started feeling embarrassed and decided to shut up and stare at the camp for a while.

"I understand," came Leia's quiet reply.

He turned his eyes to her again, a bit surprised.

"You do?"

She nodded and smiled at his confused expression. How could she understand what he had meant when even he had a hard time figuring that out? His confusion was however cut short when Leia leaned in to kiss him. That… that made things instantly better.

"It's good to have you back," she said.

"Funny. A soldier told me that earlier, but it sounds so much better coming from you."

"Come on, let's go have some breakfast, Captain. I'm starving!"

She got up and helped him to his feet, even though he was perfectly able to do so on his own, thank you very much.

"Does Luke know you're practicing on an empty stomach? That can't be good for you," Han teased her as they started to walk.

"Luke is the one who insists on me not eating before our morning sessions. He says it would cloud my perception of the Force."

"Tsk tsk. I can tell you, I wouldn't say Jedi bullshit like that to you if you had to practice with me."

"About that… I think I'm going to need blaster lessons."

"But you're already great with a blaster."

"It's more a question of not getting rusty."

"Luke isn't that good with a blaster, just so you're warned," Han said, a bit annoyed. Another thing that would imply him spending even less time with Leia. Great. Just great.

"That's why I'm asking you," replied Leia, rolling her eyes.

"… Oh."

"Yes. 'Oh'. So, what do you say?"

"Well, yeah, I guess," he answered, trying to contain his smile. "I mean, blaster lessons are really more useful than the fact that you can 'sense the Force' inside that tree. A tree won't come handy in a battle, but you can bet a blaster will. So, good decision, dear, good decision."

"It's a deal then?" she laughed.

"It's a deal," he nodded, wrapping his arm around her waist.

He was really going to enjoy these lessons; who needed the Force when you had a good blaster by your side? He knew that skill of his would always come in handy; he just hadn't expected it to help him in his love life as well. This just proved what he had known right from the start: a blaster in the hand is worth two (lightsabers) in the bush.