Mike awoke first, blinking his eyes and remembering that he was in the hotel. On his left was El, still fast asleep. She was lying on her stomach with her head turned towards him. He watched her eyelids flutter, probably from whatever dream she was having.
I can't believe she's lying next to me, Mike thought. He brushed her hair back from her face, causing her to stir. He looked at the clock on the bedside table. It was 8:30 and they could get into the convention thirty minutes early so they needed to get up soon if they were going to have time to shower and get dressed.
"El? We need to get up." Mike kissed her forehead and then nuzzled her with his nose until she woke up.
"Mike?" She had forgotten where she was but quickly remembered the night before. She smiled sleepily at him, her eyelids still heavy. He leaned in and kissed her for real.
"Good morning. We need to get going so we can see what all is down there before the masses take over. Do you want to take the first shower?" Mike asked.
"Do you want to take one with me?"
Temptress!
Mike groaned. "I would love that but we will definitely not make it down there by 9:30 if I shower with you. We can do that later though?" Mike kicked himself for not waking up at 6:00 a.m.
El smiled. "You're right. I'll take mine and then you can have the bathroom." She got out of bed and Mike noticed that she didn't even take clothes with her into the bathroom. He guessed that she would just get dressed in the room once she was finished.
I'm definitely in love with her.
When she emerged from the bathroom Mike thought it best that he go ahead and get in the shower himself, and he thought that maybe it should be a cold shower because when El stepped out of the bathroom she was holding a towel and drying her hair but otherwise she was still all wet and wearing nothing and the image had burned itself into his brain. She was so stunning that he had to distract himself so they could stay on their schedule.
"Um, I'm just gonna go take my shower." He stammered, not able to tear his gaze away from her. El smirked as he passed by her on his way into the bathroom. Mike felt her fingertips graze his back as he walked past her. He turned the faucet to cold and stood under the spray until he calmed down.
El was dressed by the time Mike finished his shower. She was wearing faded cutoffs that were pretty short and an old ringer style Return of the Jedi shirt with Luke and Vader on it. Her socks were white tube socks with stripes and she was sitting on the bed putting on her shoes. She looked like she was straight out of 1983. She looked at him as he stood watching her tie her shoes. He was wearing only a towel.
"I'm just going to brush my teeth and put on a little makeup while you get dressed." She said, standing up and walking toward the bathroom.
"Okay but you totally don't need it." Mike replied. She smiled and winked at him as she disappeared around the corner into the bathroom.
Mike dried off and threw on his own clothes, some black jeans and navy blue The Empire Strikes Back shirt with the poster image on it. He had already brushed his teeth and was just going to let his hair dry on its own, choosing to just run his fingers through his messy locks so they weren't sticking out as much.
He was holding both of their badge lanyards when El finished in the bathroom. He draped hers around her neck and put his on as well.
"Ready to do this?" He asked excitedly.
"So ready." She was just as excited as Mike.
They made sure they both had room keys, their money, and their phones for taking pictures and in case they got separated. Mike let El press the elevator buttons on their way to the convention center in the bottom of the hotel. Once they were in the elevator she grabbed his hand and squeezed, grinning brightly at him. He could sense her anticipation.
"I'm so glad you're here with me, El." Mike said as he pulled her near enough to him that their foreheads could touch.
"This is going to be so great!" She stood on her tip toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. Just then, they felt the heave of the car stopping. The doors opened and they stepped off, already able to see into the convention halls from the open doorways. Flashing their badges at the security guards stationed outside of the door, they entered the con. El was awestruck, her mouth gaping open as she looked around.
There were sets that would be used for pictures, booths selling everything Star Wars that could be imagined and some that couldn't be imagined, huge models of ships. And that was only what they could see from stepping through the doorway. Mike took El's hand and they started walking around to see everything.
At the back corner there was a carbonite freezing chamber that looked exactly like the one in The Empire Strikes Back from the scene when Han gets frozen. El was instantly excited.
"Do you think they'll let us take pictures here in our costumes?" She asked, almost jumping up and down.
"I think that's exactly what it's for. I think that's what all of these different sets are for. There will be plenty of people in costume. You won't believe how awesome some of them are, El. We could find a Vader and a Boba Fett to complete our scene. I know we could."
El hugged him.
As people started filing into the convention hall it got crowded quickly but El and Mike didn't care. Mike was loving watching El gasp every time she saw someone in a great costume. He took her picture with a couple of stormtroopers, a Kylo Ren in his mask, a pic of her on her knees hugging an Ewok, and sitting in a mockup cockpit of an X-wing complete with Red Leader helmet. She took the same picture of Mike. His face when he climbed into the cockpit made her heart melt. He looked so happy.
A couple of hours into being there El spotted the most perfect Chewbacca she'd ever seen and ran up to him to see if she could take a picture. As Mike got ready to snap it, Chewie picked her up and held her in the air. Her face was priceless to Mike.
They had another con goer take a picture of the both of them with Darth Vader.
"I'm hungry." El said after their third trip around the place. They had seen lots of places they wanted to take pictures when they were in their costumes later.
"So am I. Do you want to go eat at the restaurant here in the hotel or get some room service?"
It was almost 1:00. The con would be open until 7:00.
"I think I may need a nap too. I'm still tired from flying yesterday. Is that okay? You can come back down here if you want."
"We'll see. Let's go back up and order some food. My treat." Mike took her hand again. El loved the way his fingers laced between hers.
Back in the room, Mike looked over the room service menu while El hung their costumes up to loosen any wrinkles. The fabric she'd used for hers would easily shake out any wrinkles and since she had folded Mike's costume so well and he was supposed to be a rugged scoundrel anyway it didn't take much to get the costumes looking screen accurate.
"What do you want to eat?" Mike asked, moving to sit next to her on the bed. She had already taken off her shoes and was lying down. He handed her the menu.
"A burger is fine. I'm just tired. I hope it doesn't take too long." She yawned.
Mike ordered two burgers with fries for them and sat beside El, looking at the special convention program the VIPs were given. When he looked over at her a few minutes later she was asleep. He gently slid off his side of the bed and went around to her side. The bed was still unmade from the morning so he moved her legs until he could get the covers from underneath them and then he tucked her in. He would wake her when their food arrived.
Almost forty-five minutes later the food did arrive and Mike let the room service waiter push the cart into the room. Mike made sure everything was right before he woke El.
"Hey, our food is here. Do you want to eat?" He asked, waking her by running his fingers through her hair.
She nodded and got up. They ate their burgers and talked about what they would do that afternoon. They still wanted to debut the costumes that El had worked so hard on.
"Do you think I could sleep until maybe 3:30 and then go back down? If you want to go you can. I don't want to keep you from doing anything." El had finished her burger and was heading back into the bed.
"That will be fine, El. We still have four more days to be here. We don't have to spend every minute down there." Mike smiled.
"I don't want you to be bored because I'm all sleepy and no fun." She said.
Mike finished his own burger and took off his shoes. He looked at his phone before setting his alarm and then crawled into bed beside El.
"Is it okay if I just take a nap with you? I'd rather do that." He whispered. She already had her eyes closed.
Upon hearing him she opened her eyes. He was on his side under the covers, his head lining up perfectly with hers.
"I'd love that." She smiled. I love you. I want to tell you, she thought.
Mike scooted closer and put his arm around her, pulling her into him so that she was flush against him. "Then let's sleep. I set my alarm. We'll still have time to go back down there in our costumes." He murmured into her hair.
They slept until Mike's alarm woke them. El felt a lot better. She knew it might take a few minutes to get her hair to look right for her costume so she set about working on that while Mike put on his costume.
"Jeez, El, this thing is so awesome! You got everything right!" Mike had the pants on and the shirt. He stuck his head into the bathroom to see how she was doing with her hair. He was a bit amazed at how quickly she had transformed her hair from El to Leia. She had removed her shirt so she wouldn't have to slip it over her hair. "Wow, um, you look really pretty."
"You'll have to help me zip up my costume. I'll be out in a minute."
Oh yeah, how could I forget that?
"Are you sticking with your plan?" Mike asked her.
"Of not wearing anything underneath it? Oh yes. If that's okay with you, Mike."
"Just don't make me mess up your hair before we even leave the room." He chuckled nervously.
"I can't make any promises on that."
El finally stepped out of the bathroom. Mike watched as she undressed the rest of the way, his eyes never leaving her body. She stepped into the dress of her costume and crossed the room for him to zip it up. His fingers were shaking but he held it together and did what he needed to do.
As for El, when she walked into the room and saw Mike standing there in full Han Solo finery she had to pause. He had brought a leather holster and his replica blaster and it was strapped to his right leg. His boots looked perfect and he was standing with a definite cocksure swagger that caused her heart to race. He was watching her undress and it was making her feel excited but she knew she had to put on her costume so she busied herself with that, trying not to think about how she could feel his eyes on her. When he zipped her up her heart was pounding so hard in her chest she was sure he could hear it. Then he was finished and she put on the robe that went over her dress and slipped into the shoes she had brought for the finishing touch. They stood side by side and looked at themselves in the big full length mirror on the closet door.
"Damn, we look good!" Mike said.
"We really do. I'm so excited to do this." El smiled brightly at him. "I know this isn't what she's wearing when Han gets frozen but I like this costume. Do you think anyone will be a stickler and call me out on it?"
"You look so good, El. If anyone says anything about where we take pictures then their lives are sad."
Mike held their room keys in one of the pockets of his jacket and his phone fit in his back pocket, unseen unless he took it out. El didn't have any pockets so all the pictures they took would have to be on Mike's phone. They went back downstairs and were immediately surrounded by people asking to take pictures with them. El thought it was awesome, she felt like a celebrity. They made their way to the back of the hall to where the carbonite chamber was. To their surprise there was a film crew there shooting a documentary about the convention. One of the camera guys saw El and motioned to a producer to get his attention. The producer noticed and after a quick discussion with the camera guy he approached El and Mike.
"These costumes are ridiculous. They look so screen accurate. Where did you find them?" He asked, his question posed more to Mike than to El.
Mike smiled. "She made them herself, both of them." He put his arm around her as he praised her work. "They're pretty great."
The producer looked more closely at El upon hearing Mike say she had made the costumes herself. "You know something? You look a lot like Leia. I mean, this is a different costume than this scene had but you look so much like her that I don't care. I want to show the imagination of the convention. Would you two want to be in the short film we're making here? We're trying to highlight some of the different aspects of the con and want to show off some of the set design. Would you want to do the I love you scene? It wouldn't take long." He looked back and forth between El and Mike.
El spoke. "Sure, we were hoping to just take some pictures of us here in these costumes. Could one of you record us doing it with his phone?" She pointed to Mike. "You don't have to have it be the same angle as your movie, I just want the moment captured. If you don't mind."
The producer and the cameraman had another quick discussion, both nodding about something. Then the producer's attention was back on Mike and El. "Okay, that won't be a problem. And you can also leave your email addresses with my assistant and she'll make sure you're both sent a copy of what we shoot of you. Do you think you're ready?" He asked them.
"What about Boba Fett and Darth Vader? And Chewbacca? Shouldn't they be in the scene as well?" Mike asked as he took his phone out of his pocket to hand it to the man.
"Look right over there, son. Will they do?" Mike looked at where the man was pointing. Just to the left of the carbonite chamber stood Fett and Vader with Chewbacca standing behind them, C3P0 in pieces strapped to his back. Mike could have sworn he'd gone back in time to 1980 and the filming of the movie.
"Um, yeah. They're perfect."
Mike took his jacket off.
"Now, we're not shooting it frame by frame with closeups like the film. We're trying to capture the magic that fans create for themselves at these conventions. Everyone else will just be scene decoration. We'll start with Leia and Han standing beside Chewbacca. Han, you lean in and kiss her and then the stormtrooper here will pull you to the chamber which will lower you hydraulically. Leia, you say your line and then as you're lowered, Han, you say yours. Are you ready?"
They both nodded. Mike was feeling excited but El was feeling nervous. It was just role playing but she was about to be telling the truth and she hadn't expected to do it this way. The fog from the machine was floating all around, Vader was standing near the back of the chamber, Chewbacca was next to El and Mike. El saw the lady with Mike's camera walk in front of them.
"Before you start, I have to take this picture. This is just too perfect. Just look at each other like you're doing right now. You have the exact same look on your face as Leia does in the movie in this part. How's that? Oh well, never mind. It's going to make a great picture though." She snapped a few, Mike was looking at El who looked scared.
"Are you okay?" He whispered.
She just nodded.
"Okay, ready? Places! Aaaand, action!"
Mike leaned in and kissed El until he felt the stormtrooper pull him backwards. He stood where the trooper left him and looked at El.
"I love you." She called to him.
Does she have tears in her eyes?
He felt the platform start to lower. "I know." He kept his eyes on hers until the fog increased and surrounded him totally.
"Cut! Okay, that was brilliant! Are you two together because that was filled with so much emotion and there were only five words spoken. How powerful! My assistant filmed it on your phone and she took a few still pictures before we started. Give her your email addresses and she'll see to it that you get a copy of this footage. Wow. That was better than I'd expected. Thank you both!" He was smiling and clapped Mike on the back when he came up from the chamber. El was quiet.
"El, that was perfect!" You were so awesome. You looked just like her. I thought you were about to cry."
They were walking around, stopping occasionally when someone would ask to take a picture with them.
"Yeah." El could barely speak.
"What is it, El?" His hands were gentle on her wrists as he turned her to face him.
She wanted to tell him. But there were so many people around. She wasn't sure where she could go and be more alone with him but wasn't ready to call it a day and go back up to their room. They were standing in the middle of the aisle near a giant Lego Death Star. She looked up at him, he actually looked scared, like something might really be wrong.
"Mike," she whispered, "I...I wasn't acting back there. I wasn't pretending."
Mike didn't seem to understand what she was saying just yet.
"What? What do you mean?"
"I... I do love you." She made her admission and then looked away. A tear rolled down her cheek.
Mike looked shocked but when he saw how afraid and vulnerable she looked he let his hands move to her face, his thumbs brushing away her tears. He leaned forward and kissed her.
"I love you too. Oh, god, I love you so much." He whispered, her face still in his hands. She smiled, relieved.
They kissed again and then were interrupted by a Tusken Raider and a Jawa.
"That was so great! Did you plan that? I filmed the whole thing. I thought it was actors doing a scene. Now I can see that you're crying. Can I please send you this video I just recorded? I'd want it if it was me and my boyfriend." The Jawa was speaking. The Tusken Raider must be her boyfriend. Mike used her phone to email the video to himself and then he asked another passerby to take a picture of the four of them. He was feeling happier than he'd ever felt.
When they finally tired of taking pictures they headed back to their room. Everything felt different now, but in the best of ways. El had told Mike that she loved him and he said he loved her back. That was all she'd been wanting for months now. They couldn't stop touching each other on the elevator ride back up to their floor. They got back to their room and once Mike had shut the door El was on him in a flash, kissing him.
"I love you. I really do, Mike. I think I've known for a while."
"So have I. Known I love you, I mean. I think I knew that first day. It was like, something fell into place. Like a misaligned cog that suddenly righted itself."
"Will you help me take off this dress?"
"Sure. Want me to take off my costume first?" Mike asked, starting to remove his jacket. El stopped him.
"Leave it on."
A/N: So, I guess we know where the next chapter will start (heh, heh). But they love each other! Huzzah! Maybe they'll meet somebody famous soon as well. Thanks for reading and for any reviews. Much love!
