Thank you for reading! Here's the next part I edited.
The door opened before Han and he strode through the doorway, seeing Bria at the tiny desk across from the small, standard issue bed. She seemed engrossed in whatever was on the datapad before her, and had not looked up as Han entered. Quietly, Han made his way behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and bringing his cheek to hers. She startled slightly, then leaned into his embrace.
"Whatcha doin'?" he asked in a low, seductive voice.
"I've been given an assignment already. I was just going over the details."
"Hmmm...how 'bout going over some details with me?" He moved his head to her neck, placing warm kisses just below her ear.
She sighed softly, smiling. "Well, I have a mission here for you too." Her voice was slightly breathless. "You may want to take a look at it." She placed her hand in his hair, pulling his head closer.
He pulled back just enough to look at her. "Honey, I can't think of anything I'd like to do less." And with that, he turned her chair to face him, bringing his mouth to hers in a searing kiss, his lips opening hers skillfully. Her hands wound themselves around his neck as he picked her up and carried her to the bed. As he lowered her to the mattress, a certain young woman from Alderaan crept into his thoughts, clouding his mind with guilt. He pushed it aside, refocusing on the woman beneath him.
"I love you, Han," she whispered.
Han responded by kissing her more deeply. He supposed he didn't express his feelings for Bria as often as he should. When he was truthful to himself, he realized it was almost a way of punishing her for hurts of the past. Or perhaps he simply was uncomfortable trusting her with his feelings as completely as he once had.
He felt the excitement rising within him, and the thoughts of his feelings were lost to the pleasure of their bodies.
"...and then I just slipped past them and took off in their speeder." Han laughed in memory. "I don't think they ever knew what hit 'em."
Luke Skywalker laughed along with the Corellian smuggler, his eyes twinkling in genuine amusement. Han leaned back in his seat at the Falcon's holochess table. They were on their way back to Toriddos, after a successful mission to Arcticuna. They had procured a huge shipment of weapons that was originally slated for the Empire. It had been a very satisfying mission.
This was his third mission with young Skywalker in as many months. Solo had never known anyone like Luke. He was so enthusiastic, so idealistic, so full of...innocence. They were hardly suited for each other, but for some reason, the younger man embraced Han's friendship whole-heartedly. He seemed to trust Solo without question. So, Han found himself in the strange position of being confronted with yet another friend. The two men, along with Chewbacca, spent many long nights sharing a bottle of Corellian whisky, playing sabaac and swapping stories.
Occasionally they were joined by Princess Leia. It was painfully obvious that Luke had a blaring crush on the Princess. Han used it to his advantage, inviting her to spend time with them, telling both Luke and Chewie that he was doing it for his friend's benefit. Luke never questioned Han, but Chewie often favored his captain with a wry smile.
No one, including Leia, ever asked why Bria never joined them. Most of the time he spent with his friends, Bria was either away on a mission or taking care of some official business on the base. Leia was often involved in that same business, which was why she was not around as much as Han might have liked.
Every once in a while, Han felt a bit guilty towards Luke. Not that he was trying to start anything with the Princess. After all, he was with Bria. But he knew that his motives for including her in their plans had more to do with himself than with his young friend. But he just shrugged it off, knowing there was no harm to it. Realistically, neither of them had a shot with her...she was with Major Tobin. That was another thing he and Luke shared...they both had a strong dislike for Tobin.
Not that he wasn't a nice guy. He was just wrong for Leia. He and Luke both recognized that. Of course, Luke's feelings stemmed from jealousy. Han, on the other hand, merely saw that their relationship seemed to lack passion. He saw the way Leia looked at him. When she smiled, the smile didn't reach her eyes.
Okay, maybe he felt a twinge of jealousy. But it was different.
"How come you don't take a formal rank, Han?" Luke asked suddenly.
Solo picked up his glass of Corellian whisky and took a long sip. When he returned it to the table, he shrugged. "I dunno. I don't see making this my life's work, I guess."
"What about Bria?"
"What about her?" Han asked, annoyed.
"Well, she certainly lives for the Rebellion."
Han sniffed disdainfully. "Yeah, most of you suckers do." Then he grinned to show Luke he was teasing.
Luke shook his head, smiling at Solo's inability to take anything seriously. "So why are you with the Alliance? If you don't believe in the cause..."
"I never said I don't believe in it," Han responded quickly. "I just don't want to dedicate the rest of my life to it, that's all." He wished the kid would just shut up already. Han reached for the bottle of whisky and filled Luke's glass to the top, hoping he would start drinking and stop talking. Luke raised the glass to his mouth, took a deep swallow, then unfortunately returned to his train of thought.
"So, you won't be staying? You'll be leaving at some point, huh?"
"I don't know." Han glowered. "I haven't really thought about it much. I suppose...yeah, I suppose I'll leave. Eventually."
"And what about Bria?" Luke asked thoughtfully.
Han grimaced. What about Bria, indeed? Solo didn't normally think past today, much less that far ahead into the future.
Before Han could answer, Luke continued. "You'd make a great officer, Han." He smiled encouragingly.
Han laughed, glad for the slight shift in topic. "Been there, done that."
"Huh?"
Han sighed, resigning himself to revealing the tiniest bit of his past. "I was an officer in the Imperial Navy. A long time ago."
Luke just gaped.
Han laughed at his friend's expression. "I know, hard to believe, huh?"
Luke recovered quickly. "No...no, not that hard to believe. I mean, you had to learn how to fly the way you do somewhere."
"Hey, I taught myself to fly. Didn't need no Imps for that."
Luke grinned. "Of course," he agreed. He took another sip from his glass, then looked at Han thoughtfully. "So, why'd you leave the Navy?"
Han stared into the depths of his glass. "I got court martialed, actually."
"Bad behavior?" Luke could just imagine.
"Insubordination and attacking a superior officer." He gulped down some whisky.
Luke stared in surprise. "Why?" He knew Han had lived life on the fringe, but this surprised him.
Han sighed tiredly. "There was this group of Wookiee slaves. I got too involved with one of 'em."
Luke's gaze swiveled slowly from Han to the direction of Chewbacca's cabin, where the shaggy Wookiee had retired an hour ago. "So that's why..."
"He owes me a life debt," Han explained. "You have no idea how powerful a thing that turns out to be. I didn't imagine what I was getting myself into."
"Wow. That's a pretty amazing story."
"Yeah." Han wasn't sure why he'd told him. The only one who knew the whole story was Bria. To change the topic, Han threw in a sure distraction.
"When we hit Toriddos tomorrow, the Princess should be there." He grinned at Luke.
Luke actually blushed faintly and averted his gaze. "I know. She was due back from her mission two days ago."
Han reached over and patted Luke on the shoulder. "We'll have to get her to spend some time with us." Luke always felt too transparent to invite the Princess to join them, so the task fell to Han, who had no trouble at all. "Whaddaya think? Sabaac again?"
"You don't think she's getting sick of playing sabaac?" Luke asked dubiously.
Han shrugged. "There's not a whole hell of a lot else to do. You got any better ideas?"
"Dejarik?"
"You know I hate Dejarik."
Luke sighed. "Well, I don't know then."
Han's face lit up suddenly. "Wait, I've got an idea."
"What?"
He grinned at his young friend. "You'll see. It'll be fun. Trust me."
Luke's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "I've heard that before."
Han picked up his glass and aimed the contents threateningly at Luke, who simply laughed.
At the entrance to the command center, Solo paused, his eyes scanning the room. The command center was made up of a multitude of terminals, scopes and sensors. At each station was a chair, most of them occupied. His gaze settled on a young woman, intent on the sensor readout in front of her. Suppressing a goofy grin, Han made his way past the officers to stand behind her.
He leaned in close to whisper in her ear. "Miss me?"
To her credit, the Princess didn't even flinch. "Of course, I missed you, Luke." As she turned to face him, she forced her crooked smile to a look of mock surprise. "Oh, Han, I didn't realize that was you."
He crossed his arms, going along with her game. "And here I thought it was me who filled your thoughts."
She smiled, causing something inside him to twinge longingly. "Don't you wish," she muttered.
Han laughed and dropped his arms to his sides. As usual, she looked beautiful, even in her tan tunic with her hair pulled into a severe bun at the nape of her neck. "Well, I'm sure the kid'll be happy to hear I'm not the one who warms your heart."
Leia flushed a light pink at that comment. She knew Luke had a massive crush on her, and Han never failed to tease her about it.
Han didn't miss a beat, intent on his purpose. "So, what're you doing later?"
She shrugged. "What does later mean?"
"You've gotta make things difficult, don'tya?" He grinned. He knew he was flirting with her out in the open now, but he didn't care. It was harmless.
"Difficult?" She was suppressing a smirk. "You haven't seen difficult yet, Solo."
He fixed her with an intense, pointed look. "I haven't? Are you going to be the one to show it to me?"
"Perhaps. If you don't behave."
"What else will you show me, Your Worshipfulness?" he whispered in a low, throaty growl.
Her face flushed even darker now, and she turned her gaze to the floor as a technician came upon them, adjusted a reading nearby, then left. She met his heated gaze steadily. "I'm sure you've seen it all, flyboy."
He could almost see a sliver of shyness through her discomfort. "I bet there are a few things you could show me." He leaned closer to her.
She coughed delicately and pushed him away, her hands against his chest sending a warm flush through him. She looked around, seeming to remember where they were, then composed herself into a more professional demeanor. "So, what were you inviting me to?"
"That's a surprise. Just be at the Falcon at eleven hundred hours."
"You're awful sure of yourself. I didn't say I'd be there." She had lowered her voice so that only he could hear her, and Han wondered what she felt she had to hide.
Han just grinned. "You will be." He winked, spun around and swaggered out of the command center, passing Tobin at the entrance. Han tossed him something that was almost a smile.
Leia saw Wesley enter the command center, and her gaze was drawn from the cocky Corellian to the man she knew was about to give her a hard time. As he brushed past Han, Leia couldn't help but notice the glare he aimed at him. Fortunately, Han seemed oblivious to the hostility.
He walked up to her, avoiding her eyes, staring instead at the sensor display. Without looking at her, he commented, "Still slumming, eh?"
She heard the nasty edge in his voice and was not in the mood for it. "Stop it, Wes."
He sighed with disgust. "I just don't understand why you'd want to hang out with a guttervrelt like Solo. He's a professional criminal."
"We're all criminals," she reminded him. At the moment, Solo's company seemed infinitely preferable to Wesley's.
Wesley's lips pressed together. "Whatever," he muttered.
"When did you become so judgmental?" She leaned over the sensor display, keeping her voice low. She was beginning to get angry now, a familiar feeling whenever they discussed her taste in friends.
"When did you become so interested in life on the fringe?" he countered.
The anger was boiling inside her now, she could feel it bubbling beneath her cool exterior. She wasn't sure what infuriated her more, his possessiveness or his insults to Han. She looked at his brown eyes, normally so filled with tenderness, now only dark with anger. She met his glare. "When did it become any of your business?"
"I'm not supposed to worry about you?" he hissed.
"What is there to worry about? What do you think Solo's going to do to me?"
He looked away, expression pinched. He remained silent for a moment before finally responding. "Maybe I'm worried about what you're going to do with Solo."
Leia felt the crimson rush that exploded across her face, inflaming her anger. "I don't appreciate your implications, " she said in a crisp tone.
He had the decency to look embarrassed. "Leia, I'm-"
"Don't," she cut him off harshly. "Don't say another word." She spun on her heel and stormed from the command center.