A/N: In February 2017 I wrote a series of short fics for "OTP's Day" based on a list of non-sexual acts of intimacy. I'm going to be reposting them here now regularly. Please remember to leave a comment if you liked it and to leave quietly if you didn't :)

This one references or is a follow-up to my fic "Give it time".

Prompt: Sharing a bed [pre-ESB]

Sharing

The door slid closed behind Han and he nearly collided into Leia when he tried to take a step, as she stood frozen in place.

'You've got to be kidding me,' he heard her snarl under her breath. Looking over her head, he found the source of her anger: there was only a double bed in the dingy rented room; no sofas or loungers in sight.

Han suppressed the urge to close his eyes and rub a hand across his weary face, knowing what was coming next. A nanosecond after he'd predicted it, Leia was whirling around to face him, hands on her hips, glaring at him in a way that seemed to erase the thirty-centimeter height difference between them.

'This isn't happening,' Leia said sharply. 'There's only so much I'm willing to do for the Rebellion. You're going to go back and tell the innkeeper to give us a different room, with two beds.'

'You heard the man; this is the only room available.'

'Yes, but that's probably because he thought we wanted a room like this,' Leia retorted, gesturing at the bed. 'He must have meant this was the only room available for a couple. Which we're not. So will you just please—'

'No, he meant this was the only room available,' Han said, slouching slightly, a thumb hooked on his gunbelt as he waved his other hand around. 'In the whole building. That's what "the only room available" means.'

'Then go and ask him for a pallet!'

'Look at this place, Princess. You should be grateful there's a bed and that it's in one piece. Besides, do you really wanna get the innkeeper's attention?' Han reminded her. 'We shouldn't even be here—and we wouldn't, if you'd let me take the Falcon.'

Leia huffed in outrage. 'Oh, so it's my fault now because I didn't let you bring that bucket of bolts? I thought you were supposed to be able to fly anything! This is all your fault.'

Han took a step closer, scowling at her. Few things about this trip had gone right, which wasn't unusual for a mission with the Rebel Alliance… But a guy could hope, and since it was the first time he'd had a mission alone with Leia in nearly four months, his hopes were high. What exactly he was hoping for was still unclear to him, but something better than this, for sure…

He'd told her he was staying for good, back on Hoth. He hadn't made that decision because he expected some sort of reward, not even her gratitude, but Han's commitment or lack thereof to the Rebellion had always been the main point of contention between them, the thing that made Leia pull back whenever they got too close. When he told Rieekan that, after this mission, he would make it official, he had expected the wall between him and Leia to come tumbling down. It had instead been more like a malfunctioning elevator, lurching down an inch at a time. At least it had been, until this trip started going to hell, and now she was acting like she'd rather be anywhere else but near him.

'My fault?' Han asked, poking a finger into his chest and giving her a hard look, but the day had taken a toll on him and he was too tired to argue, too frustrated to spit out anything more than, 'It always is, isn't it, Your Highness?'

He turned his back to her and, moments later, the door to the refresher slid shut behind him.

When Han returned to the room, Leia had taken off her boots and vest, and was unsuccessfully trying to unbuckle her belt and holster, as she wasn't accustomed to the workings of this one in particular.

Han approached her and, without looking at her, reached under a strap on her thigh, flicked his finger, and let the holster fall onto the floor with a thud.

'Thanks,' Leia muttered. She acknowledged she was stressed and she had lashed out—his last comment had mollified her. It's not, it's not always yourfault.

Leaving the rest of her clothes on, she drew back the covers of the bed, quickly inspected it for bugs, and lay on the farthest side.

Han removed his boots and belt as well, setting his blaster on the mattress; then he discarded his vest and unbuttoned his shirt. Leia rolled her eyes. 'Don't get too comfortable. We might need to leave in a hurry.'

'Then I won't need a shirt, I'll need my blaster,' he replied, grabbing the weapon after he'd tossed his clothes into an armchair. He tucked the blaster under his pillow and started to get into bed next to Leia. She sat upright again and glared at him.

'What do you think you're doing?'

'What's it look like?'

'Look again.'

'Kriff, Leia, what's the problem now?'

'Take your pillow and sleep on the other side,' Leia said in a level voice, pointing at the foot of the bed. Han stared at her in disbelief.

'No.'

'I'm not movin'. I got here first.'

'So?' Han shrugged and slid into bed. 'I don't mind.'

'I do.'

'Okay, be my guest.'

'Why do you have to make everything so blasted difficult!' Leia exploded.

'I'm the one makin' this difficult? You're the one who's been acting crazy! What do you think I'm gonna do to you?'

Leia covered her face with her hands and rubbed her eyes, suddenly tired. Nothing. The problem is what I want you to do to me.

Ever since he'd casually announced her that he was finally going to make his commitment to the Alliance official, she'd been having trouble keeping her emotions in check. At first, she'd tried to convince herself that she couldn't let that change anything between them—but she couldn't pretend that it really didn't, that it didn't matter to her. And it also… it scared her to think that he might be staying because of her. One thing was certain: right now, being this close to him was dangerous.

Sighing, she grabbed her pillow and dragged herself to the foot of the bed, where she disappeared under the covers. A long moment later, Han turned off the light and threw himself down into the mattress.

Leia stared at the dark ceiling, listening to her quiet breathing mingling with his louder exhalations in the silence of the night, thoughts whirling unbidden inside her head. What if she hadn't acted for duty this time? What if she had stayed where she was? What if his legs were intertwined with hers instead of popping from under the bed covers next to her head? Would he still have done nothing, or would he have drawn her closer, into his arms, warm and reassuring?

And then, what? What happens in the morning, when he doesn't go?

And then, she didn't know, and it was the scariest part.

It was a chilly night, enough for Leia to be grateful they had found shelter here. Turning onto her side, she reached out and pulled the blankets over Han's bare feet.