SURPRISE! I know many are waiting anxiously for this chapter, so I am posting a day early. One more final chapter to go.

Hope you enjoy the resolution :)

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Part 5: Fuse

Inside Leia's quarters, Han wondered if he were a glutton for punishment. This woman had repeatedly hurt him and here he was, subjecting himself to it again. He didn't know what she wanted and he was scared to find out.

It was almost absurd to be frightened of this little woman. But, she had held his heart in her hands for three years now. One last squeeze and he was sure it would shatter completely.

They stood in the small, cold room, facing each other. Suddenly reticent, she stared down at her joined hands.

"You wanted to talk," he said impatiently. "So, talk."

Her eyes flitted to him then back to her hands. She took a step closer and seemed to force herself to meet his gaze. "I realize I've hurt you. And I want you to know that I'm very sorry. I never meant to hurt you." Her breath misted in front of her face.

Is that it? he wondered angrily. She wanted to apologize and unburden her conscience? Did I mean anything to you? he wanted to ask. Cause you meant everything to me. One leg angled forward and he placed his hands on his hips. "If that's all you wanted to say…" His grunted statement trailed off, waiting.

"No," she said quickly. "That's not all."

When her eyes lowered and she said nothing further, Han decided he was done dancing around what happened. "Leia, we spent two and a half years together. For me, that's a lifetime. You can't tell me that you felt nothing, that it didn't mean anything." Outwardly, he was hard and calm. Inside, his stomach was in knots.

She stepped even closer to him and closed her eyes. "It did mean something."

"What'd it mean, Leia?" He wanted to take her hand, enfold her in his arms. But, no, not when he had no idea what was coming. When she didn't reply, he spoke again. "Why the hell is it so hard to tell me how you feel?"

Her eyes opened and she looked at him with a challenge in her eyes. "Okay, then you tell me how you feel."

Taken aback, he just blinked and clamped his mouth shut.

"Yes, that's about what I expected." She almost looked pleased.

"It's different for me."

"How so?" One eyebrow rose.

"I never talk about how I feel." He paused to point a finger at her. "And anytime I did try to let you know how I felt, you let me know you didn't want to hear it."

Her head lowered guiltily. "You're right. I did."

Han was a bit surprised at her admission. He had been all ready to fly into an argument, but she had knocked his ship right out of hyperspace. Gathering his courage, feeling slightly like a fool, he reached out and tentatively took her hand. It was colder than his own.

Her gaze flew to him instantly and the tiniest, most hopeful smile appeared at the corners of her mouth. It made him feel encouraged yet apprehensive.

He stepped closer to her, leaning his face down towards hers in a more intimate posture. "You said it meant something. What'd it mean?" he sighed.

Her lips parted but nothing came out. Han could see the raw intensity in her eyes.

"Leia, I've spent my whole life running from anything that made me feel something." He took a deep breath, forcing himself to continue. If he didn't, he might never know what he had left behind. "But, I couldn't run away from you."

She gazed up at him in wonder. "And what do I make you feel?" she asked softly.

He hesitated for a breath, suddenly terrified of revealing too much of himself. Steeling his resolve, he forged ahead. "Too much," he answered soberly.

Very slowly, Leia moved closer to him, until she had to tip her head back to look up at him. One hand was held firmly in his and her other rose to rest against his chest.

Han was locked in the gravity of the moment, frozen. He could kiss her, but he didn't move. Where was she taking them?

"You make me feel too much, too," she whispered, blinking against the sudden glitter of tears.

As few as they were, her tears threatened to drown him. "Why are you crying?"

She quickly closed her eyes, chin trembling for the briefest of moments. When she opened them, the tears were gone and her chin was still. "Because you're leaving. You were always leaving."

The pieces fell instantly into place and Han wondered how in the worlds he hadn't seen it sooner. He smiled. "Maybe…if you gave me a reason to come back…" He left the thought unfinished.

Her eyes softened and grew bright with hope. The hand on his chest reached up and lightly fingered the scar on his chin then rose to brush against his lower lip and, suddenly, Han needed her.

Lashes lowered, he bent and kissed her softly, searchingly. Her lips felt cold but heat rose from her mouth and he was aware of the tight knot in his chest loosening, each strand slowly melting to a blossom of warmth.

The kiss was tender and endless and Han was more certain than ever that he was in love with her. She had admitted to having feelings, but did that mean she loved him? His head bowed away from the kiss and they regarded each other solemnly.

"Do you want me to come back?"

"Yes," she whispered with a tinge of longing.

He nodded. "Then I'll do the best I can to come back. To you."

Leia smiled then lowered her gaze to his chest.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She looked back to him. "I remember what you said about the Hutt. That he's going to be angry and merciless." Her eyes were worried.

"Hey," he said reassuringly. "I've never had a better reason to make sure I stay safe. I'll be okay." He didn't know how, but he had to make it back to her. He raised his palms to her cheeks and cradled her face in his hands.

"I've missed you," she said in a tortured whisper.

Han's smile was heartfelt. Leia was finally saying all the things he had wanted to hear for so long. "It's good to hear that. I've missed you, too."

They kissed again, passion building with all the longing and emotion they had both tried to deny for months. Afterwards, Leia looked at him soberly.

"When are you leaving?"

He grimaced. "In the morning."

She sighed and lowered her eyes. "You've put it off for so long…do you have to leave so soon?"

Her eyes returned to him and now it was his turn to avert his gaze. "I would wait, but…after what happened on Ord Mantell…" He looked at her again. "I can't take the chance that anything might happen to you cause of me."

Her expression turned to one of surprise then shifted to disbelief, finally settling on resolute. "I think I proved to you on Ord Mantell that I can take care of myself."

One side of his mouth rose. "Yeah, I know. You're tiny but you pack a wallop."

Her expression remained dismal. "Is that really the reason you're leaving now?"

"Yeah. No matter how mad I was at you, it scared the hell out of me when you disappeared in that skimmer. I knew then that I had to go take care of this debt."

The misery in her eyes wrenched his heart. "I'm so scared for you," she whispered.

His gentle fingers brushed back a few loose strands of hair from her face. "Now you know how I felt. And why I have to go."

She threw herself into his arms and clutched him tightly around the waist. Emotion overwhelmed him and he closed his eyes as his hands soothed her back. They stayed this way, locked in time for several minutes, until Leia pulled back and tilted her face up to his. Han bent to kiss her, his need for her overshadowing all else.

Mouths and tongues clung together, generating heat in the cold room. Hands relearned the contours of each other's bodies, but he could barely feel her through the thick snowsuit she wore. He pushed the vest from her shoulders, let it drop to the floor and, there, that was better. He could just feel the lines of her back. One hand clutched his bicep as the other wound itself through his hair and they moaned in unison. Han's body was on fire with need for her.

His fingers deftly pulled down the fastener of her snowsuit and Leia tore her mouth from his, startling him from his passionate haze.

"It's freezing in here," she gasped.

Han smiled with relief. "Well, that's what blankets are for, Sweetheart."

He guided her to the bed, pulled back the thick blankets, and she followed his gesture to crawl under. Shrugging his jacket, then his shirt to the floor, he pushed off his boots, shivered slightly then joined her under the blankets. Leia had removed her boots and dropped them from the bed.

"It is pretty damn cold, all right," he agreed, gathering her to him.

Leia gave a short laugh.

He smiled mischievously. "But, don't worry, I'll keep you warm."

"I'm counting on that." Her eyes held a promising glint.

With the blankets cocooning them both, his fingers returned to opening her snowsuit. They both struggled awkwardly to remove it without allowing the cold air in, and as they shoved the suit down her legs, Leia began to laugh quietly over the struggle, bringing a chuckle to Han's lips as well. Once removed, he pushed it out the edge of the blankets and brought his body up to cover hers.

Leia grabbed his growing erection through his pants with a firm hand and he grunted in response.

"I'm not going to be the only one cold under here," she whispered. "Off with the pants, Hotshot."

He laughed breathlessly, unfastened his pants, and shoved them off. He felt her now, so soft against his hardness, and everything ceased to be funny as they became lost in the excitement of each other. Leia pulled the covers over their heads and let her tongue play along the outline of his lips. A sharp breath flew into Han's mouth at the stinging pleasure.

His fingertips brushed down her back, hips, thighs, as her tongue thrust between his lips, dueling with his own. He stroked a slow, light path down one leg as he kissed a blazing trail down her chin, her throat, lingering at the tender cleft at the base. Leia moaned and threw her head back, inciting him further.

"I missed this," she whispered breathlessly. "I missed you."

"Leia…" He couldn't form a coherent thought. His mouth traveled to her ear, tongue first outlining it then dipping inside in short flicks that caused her to gasp, over and over.

Her hands tickled over his buttocks and he moaned in her ear, took the lobe in his mouth, and gently suckled. Their breath had turned the air under the blanket warm now and the cold had been forgotten. Leia's touch lightly skimmed his back, shoulders, hips, moving between them to stroke his thighs just beside the small, curly hairs. Her legs fell open and she clutched him between her thighs, moving back and forth along his shaft, teasing him mercilessly.

He gasped, over and over, at the tantalizing caress that froze his thoughts, allowing him awareness of only the bliss of that feeling. His body tensed, unable to move.

Suddenly, he could take it no longer, he pressed tightly against her, pushed her legs apart with one of his, and in one swift movement, was deep inside her. They groaned together in ecstasy.

For a moment, he didn't move, was too overwhelmed by what it felt like to again be sheathed deeply within her, her tight, wet heat enveloping him. When he came back to himself, he kissed her deeply and began to move sensuously inside her, eliciting soft, exciting moans from her lips. She wrapped her legs around him, beckoning him deeper, and he growled loudly into her mouth. His thrusts became frenzied, her hips rising to meet them, as he drove into her, over and over, mindless of all but the pleasure that streamed through him. A strangled scream began from deep within Leia's throat, and she writhed beneath him, her inner core trembling and shuddering around him, driving him closer and closer to the edge.

Her legs shook and bucked and her fingernails raked down his back; the slight pain coupled with the sensation of her convulsing, throbbing, and constricting around him drove everything from his awareness except the hot gushing thrill that overtook him, soaring through every nerve of his body, spilling inside her as she clutched his buttocks fiercely to take all of him in.

Breathing harshly, they rode out the quiet tremors that claimed them, neither able to speak or move. When Han was able to think, he realized how excruciatingly hot it was under the blanket. He pushed it down from over their heads, for once finding the frigid air a relief.

Finding her eyes now in the bright light, they were damp and dark with emotion. His heart felt tight and far too big for his chest and there was a sudden, inexplicable lump in his throat. These feelings that had only ever been inspired by this woman in his arms fell to the tip of his tongue and remained, unspoken. He loved her…he felt it rising from deep within, spilling to the surface. But, if he said the words and they weren't returned…he couldn't take it.

Breath pooling in the cold air between them, her hand rested softly on his cheek while her eyes seemed to examine his features closely. He wondered what she was thinking, thought to ask then quickly closed his lips.

"I don't want you to go," she whispered.

He returned her solemn gaze. "I know."

She stared into his eyes for a long moment then leaned closer to kiss him, very softly. Afterwards, she burrowed into his chest and they remained just so until they absolutely had no choice but to return to reality.