Chapter Four:

Alone in the lounge, Leia sat quietly listening to the low thrum of the ship's engines and trailing a finger absently along the rim of her mug. On the tabletop, a second mug now sat beside the stack of plates and fragrant panna cakes, along with a thermoregulated carafe filled with hot kaffe which she had quickly retrieved from the galley once Chewie had departed for the cockpit. Her own cup was nearly empty, and as she lifted it to her lips to drain the last dregs she heard the sound of Han's bootsteps on the deck plates. His familiar stride sent faint metallic echoes throughout the hold, which mirrored the little thrills that fluttered in her stomach, spiking in intensity at the sound of each advancing step. Setting her cup down, she turned her attention to the broad threshold leading on to the ring corridor and waited.

Han came around the corner in full stride, but pulled up short as his eyes fell upon Leia. He stood suspended on the threshold for an instant, and Leia found herself holding her breath as their eyes met and locked on one another.

Nothing had changed, and yet everything had.

Han looked exactly the same. His skin still had the same golden glow it always had, his hazel eyes were still warm and bright. But now she knew the taste and texture of that skin, knew the way those eyes darkened with desire, and the sounds he made when he was coming undone. It was the space between them that felt different now. It bristled with newfound energy that flowed around them, a current of deep emotion sparked to life, like the completion of a live circuit in the wake of their electrifying mutual confessions.

Holding her gaze, Han's face lit up in a wide smile as he stepped down from the threshold and into the lounge, covering the distance between them in a few long strides. Leia shifted over to afford him room, reflecting his brilliant smile as he slid smoothly into the space beside her. She inched in his direction once more as soon as he settled down, brushing his leg with her own and sending a new thrill of anticipation arcing through her body.

"Good morning," he said in a low drawl as he slipped an arm around her shoulders and drew her close. He angled his gaze down at her upturned face, a faint smile playing about his lips. "Sleep well?"

She smirked up at him. "When I slept at all, yes." She cocked an eyebrow. "And you?"

"Same. Think I got about four hours."

Leia pursed her lips in a mock expression of pity. "Poor guy. You must be exhausted."

"Hey, I'm not complaining," Han grinned.

For a long moment they simply looked at one another, breaths coming fast as they scanned each other's faces. Leia's heart swelled, seeing the light of love and commitment still very much present in Han's warm gaze. They were so close she could feel his heart beating in powerful counterpoint to her own. Everything had changed, and yet nothing had. He was still Han, and she was still Leia. They were just...together.

His gaze dropped to her mouth and then he lowered his head as she stretched up to meet him halfway, their lips touching lightly in a soft, sweet kiss. They drew apart for a moment, eyes still scanning, and then shared another smile before leaning in for a second kiss, this one lingering and deepening as they pressed closer together. Han's mouth moved warmly against hers and Leia responded with gentle fervor, tenderly returning the heartfelt emotion she felt radiating from his presence, and wordlessly reaffirming the depths of her own.

When they finally parted on a mutual sigh, Leia watched as his gaze drifted over to the stack of panna cakes on the table, and smiled as he raised an amused and somewhat dubious eyebrow.

"Did you….?"

"Don't worry, Captain," she laughed as she shimmied away to give herself room to move, and then reached for the pot of kaffe. "Chewie made them." She filled Han's mug and then, setting the pot back on the tabletop, slid the steaming cup toward him. "Looks like our Wookiee friend is a bit of a romantic."

Han laughed. "He's a big sap, is what he is," he said, lifting his cup and taking a long sip of kaffe while Leia portioned the panna cakes and topped each stack with a liberal drizzling of syrup.

"Well, I think it's sweet," Leia opined, dredging her first forkful of panna cake in the sticky syrup and then lifting it to her mouth. "Mmmm," she breathed, licking her lips after the first delectable swallow.

Her stomach rumbling with hunger once more, she tucked eagerly into her breakfast, devouring bite after bite of fluffy cake dripping with rich syrup. Almost halfway through her plate, she glanced over at Han's and noticed that he hadn't eaten a bite—in fact, he had yet to even pick up his fork. Instead he sat reclined against the back of the acceleration couch, gazing at her with a look of fascination, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"What?" she mumbled around a mouthful of panna cake, then swallowed and added a little defensively, "It's delicious."

Han sat forward abruptly, swooping in to capture her lips in a warm kiss. Leia was startled, but recovered swiftly, lifting her free hand to his face and then melting against him as his mouth tenderly devoured her own.

"Mmmm...you're right," Han agreed as they finally parted. He gave her a wink. "Delicious."

Leia couldn't stop the smile that stretched across her face as she watched him finally lift his own fork and dig in to his food. He scooped a large portion of panna cake into his mouth and chewed with relish, waggling his eyebrows at her as he swallowed.

"Wanna help me refit the cooling units on the aft power converter after we eat?" he asked, continuing to eat with great enthusiasm.

Leia gave him a wry look. "Sure, if you think Chewie will trust us to do it right. He seems to think we're both somewhat incapacitated...due to...developments," she intoned, giving him a meaningful arch of her eyebrow in return.

Han guffawed and rested his fork on the edge of the plate, reaching for his cup instead. "Ah, Sweetheart," he said, taking a deep swallow of kaffe and then leaning back against the acceleration couch with a happy sigh. "Chewie knows we make a good team but...uh...he might be right. He almost caught me dozing again in the cockpit."

Leia snorted. "Well, Flyboy, maybe you should head back to bed."

"Me? What about you? C'mon, you can't tell me you're feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed."

She laughed at his turn of phrase. "Actually, I feel wonderful," she said, weighting her voice with sincerity. She did feel wonderful: light as air, despite the woes of the recent past and the uncertainties of the near future. In the here-and-now, things were really pretty great. She started to speak again, but then had to cover her mouth to hide a yawn. Han smirked at her.

"Yes, okay," she admitted, stretching her arms over her head. "Maybe I could use a few more hours."

"Alright then," he said, setting down his cup and picking up his fork once more. "Let's finish up our breakfast, and then go back to bed."

Leia gave him a dubious look, though inwardly she thrilled at that suggestion spoken in Han's low timbre. She took another bite of her panna cakes and swallowed. "Isn't that how we got ourselves incapacitated in the first place?"

"Well, Chewie has given us the morning off..."

"And you want to use that time to sleep?"

"No, first I want to take a shower, and then I want to sleep. And after that…." He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.

The End

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End note: In case you're wondering, 59-year-old post-Areto Han is just fine. Still just as happy in 30ABY as he is here; maybe even happier!