a/n: I'm so happy that this story is being received the way it is. Your reviews make me overjoyous and I'm glad that the characterization seems accurate. That has been my biggest struggle with this story.
Sorry once again for the late update and the length of this chapter. I had to begin some renovations on my apartment, but they're almost done.
Thanks again!
"What do you mean, shopping?" Leia asked, once again arguing with Han.
"I mean that you need a dress for this gala," He responded, barely paying her any attention and searching through his own closet. They were both in his cabin and Leia was sprawled out on the bed in exasperation.
Han wished that she was sprawled out on his bed for a different reason, and Leia would never tell you, but she wished the same thing.
"I have plenty of dresses," Leia said, sitting up and glaring at him. "I'm a princess."
"No offense, Your Highness, but you're going to need something a little less senatorial," he said, finally giving up on his closet. "And evidently I'm going to need something to wear as well."
Leia sighed for what felt like the fiftieth time that day. "Han," she whined, once again acting like a child. This time she caught it, and corrected herself. "Fine. We'll leave for the city center in ten minutes," she said and abruptly left his cabin. Han shook his head and chuckled at her behavior. The Princess was almost always insufferable, but sometimes it was adorable.
In the early afternoon, the city center was bustling with activity. Leia found herself involuntary holding onto Han's arm at many times just to keep from being left behind in the huge crowd.
They had already finished their shopping. Han had a nice tux and Leia a long cocktail dress that she hadn't shown to Han, but she had assured him that they would match. Han had never much enjoyed shopping for clothes, especially with women, but this trip hadn't been terrible. Leia had found the dress she wanted quickly and easily, and they paid instantly with an Alliance issued credit chip. (Leia had insisted that they not use Alliance funds, but Han had assured her that it was okay because it was necessary to complete their mission.)
As they walked further into the shopping center, looking for anything they might have forgotten, Han felt his stomach growl. He looked down at the watch on his wrist. They hadn't had anything to eat for about seven and a half hours, and the food at the gala was likely to be scarce if they got any.
Han looked down at the small woman beside him. "Are you hungry?" He asked.
She stopped walking for a moment. She hadn't even been thinking about food. Come to think of it she was very hungry. "Yeah," she responded tentatively, as if asking a question.
"Okay," Han said, wondering what was happening in her head.
They found a nice place that was serving lunch after walking about a block. They sat down and ordered. After the waiter left, Han began to snicker.
"What?" Leia asked, once again exasperated with the older man.
"It's just," he chuckled. "If you would've told me a year ago that I would be on a lunch date with Princess Leia on Ord Mantell I would've laughed so hard they would've heard it a system over."
Leia felt her face get warm. "This is the farthest thing from a date, Captain Solo."
"Here we go again with the formalities," Han smiled and took a sip of water. "You can call me Han, Princess."
"If you call me Leia," she answered, crossing her arms on the table.
"Now see, that's a bit different," he said. "If I slip up and call you by your name in front of Mon Mothma or someone else important, it'll seem disrespectful."
"I don't think so," she said. "I think it just might seem like we're friends."
Han thought for a moment. "I guess that's ok, Leia."
"Well I guess it is, Han," she returned.
In Han's mind, his name sounded more gorgeous than it ever did before coming from her lips. Images flashed through his mind of her whispering his own name into his ear in an intimate setting or screaming it into the night air of their shared bedroom.
No. No, no, no. He was not thinking about Leia in the bedroom. He was not thinking about the way she would writhe underneath him or shiver beneath his touch. No, he wasn't because they were at lunch in the afternoon on an alliance mission.
He returned from his thoughts when the waiter sat down their food and found Leia staring at him as though she was trying to read his mind. Han was grateful in this moment that she couldn't read minds.
You aren't reading my mind, right? He thought, as though he could catch her if she were.
Han thanked the waiter and quickly tried to bring up a conversation topic. "So, you got a dress?" He asked, taking a bite into some kind of sandwich.
"Yes," she answered plainly. "I hope it's appropriate."
"I still think you should've let me help, Leia," he said. "This planet isn't exactly looking for your fashion sense."
"Honestly, I think I did well." This was the truth. Leia was confident that the dress she picked was going to fit right in at the gala. However, she was a bit skeptical of wearing the outfit. It wasn't the type of clothing that she regularly came into contact with, and she had probably never owned a dress like it.
"Well then. I'll just have to take your word for it," Han responded, taking a bite of his lunch.
Back on the Falcon, Han was being chased around by Chewie and C-3PO, who kept asking questions about the mission, while Leia was attempting to get ready for the gala with her limited supplies.
After braiding her hair into an elegant updo, she decided to take a break for a cup of kaf. When she returned to her cabin, she saw the dress hanging on the sliding door to the 'fresher. She still wasn't confident in the dress she had chosen, and she was extremely wary of the shoes. If for some reason they had to exit quickly, it wasn't going to go well in the tall, black heels she had picked.
Leia grabbed the dress and examined it closer. Well, its safe to say that no one is going to treat me like a kid anymore. She thought, and began to change.
Han, in his own cabin, examined the tuxedo that he had purchased for the event. It had been so long since he had dressed up, he hoped he still knew how to tie a necktie.
Leia stepped out of her cabin at 1830 on the dot, and knocked on Han's door. No one answered. She wandered around the cabins for a few minutes, looking for him. When she didn't find him, she checked the main hold. He wasn't there either, so she walked all of the corridors on the ship. There was no sign of the Captain. Finally, she checked the cockpit, where she found him fully dressed with his feet kicked up, attempting to tie the slim piece of fabric around his neck. She chuckled, and he suddenly became aware of her presence.
His eyes slowly scanned her appearance. She was dressed in a black evening gown that came to the floor, and tall black heels. He allowed his vision to move upwards to the white fur she adorned and plunging neckline of the dress. Even higher, her hair was pulled back with a few tendrils hanging loose and her lips painted a deep red. Leia was stunning.
And she looked completely out of place standing in the cockpit of his ship.
When he finally found words, Han spat out a "Wow."
Leia found herself blushing slightly, but moved toward him, ever defiant.
Han continued, walking toward her as well. "Looking significantly less like a Princess tonight, Princess."
Leia suddenly frowned. "And to think, I was going to offer to help you with your tie."
Han smiled. "You look beautiful, Leia. Stunning. And, if Rieekan saw you now, he would never treat you like a kid again."
She smirked and placed her hands on his chest, beginning to work with the tie. "If Rieekan saw me now, he would faint."
Han smiled and waited for her to finish. Suddenly, it seemed as though there was very little space between them. Han could easily tilt his head down to capture her lips. But he wouldn't. He would never.
As soon as he went to pull away from her grasp, she kissed him. It wasn't hard or hungry, not filled with passion like he had always expected it to be, but it happened. She pulled away as quickly as it had begun.
She wanted to run back to her cabin and cry. She wanted to play it off like a joke. She wanted to claim that she was overcome by his physical appearance in the moment, but she didn't. Leia simply stood there and looked him in the eyes.
Without missing a beat, Han held out his arm. "Well I believe we have a gala to attend, Leia."
She cleared her throat and took his arm.
The gala could only be described as a whirlwind of color and music. Beings from every planet and of every race were in attendance. Their was an air of joyfulness about the room, but it was overlain with something else. Fear. Everyone there was under a watchful eye, whether by Padsay and his helpers or the Empire.
Leia felt vastly uncomfortable in her low-cut dress, with Han's hand at the small of her back. Han, who was making small talk with some of the other investors while she was distracted by the whole spectacle.
Ever since their chaste kiss on the ship, he had been pushing the boundaries of their personally space. All night, he head been connected to her in some way.
Everything in the room seemed to be red. The women were dressed in red, and the punch was made with some kind of red liquor. The small band wore red uniforms, and the sunset out the huge window bathed the room in red light.
Then all of the color turned to blue. The Bright Jewel Sun had set on the horizon of the city and the room was bathed in a bright blue light. The men's suits were blue and the art on the walls was shone with blue light. The band began to play louder, a song that was slow and reminded her of her homeworld.
Han held out his hand to her. "Care to dance, Princess?" He asked quietly, into her ear. She nodded.
As the music swelled, they entered the dance floor and he pulled her close. To any onlookers, they would just look like a normal couple in love, swaying to the music. Leia quickly realized that this was not the case.
"So here's the plan," he said. "We split up. Both try to find Padsay and corner him. When we do, we turn on our comms so that Chewie and Goldenrod can hear us."
The comms were new technology from the alliance, expertly hidden behind their ears and connected to the ship.
"And that's when we spin our little deal on him," Leia continued, slightly shifting their dance posture so that she could speak in his ear.
"Exactly," he said, giving her a small kiss on the cheek and a wink, leaving her on the dance floor.
She stood there for only a moment, thinking to herself. Shit.
