Doing Something Together – Han and Qi'ra

Winter nights on Corellia meant a lot of fires, even down in the White Worms' hideout where light was in short supply. Han had on a tattered winter coat that he'd swiped from a donation box (hey, since they were going to the poor anyway, he might as well take advantage of that – after all, he was damn poor), but it did little to block out the cold. Still he shivered by the fire, but at least he could stick out his hands and warm them.

"Hey, mind if I sit?"

Han looked up and grinned at Qi'ra. Her coat was as raggy and tattered as his, but she still managed to wear it with dignity. "Do ya have to ask?" he teased. "A lovely lady could help warm up this night."

She pushed a crate up to the fire and sat next to him, her steamy breath mixing with the smoke from the fire. "I think . . . I think I remember my old home having a fireplace."

Han felt his chest tighten a bit. Qi'ra almost never mentioned her parents, and when she did, it was usually just saying they were dead. What was he supposed to say now? Was he supposed to ask about her old home or wait for her to volunteer further information?

After a few moments of awkward silence, she finally continued, staring down at the fire's glowing coals. "I remember my parents building a fire in the fireplace on nights like this." She almost seemed to be talking to herself, as if she had forgotten that Han was there. "I think I used to look at the coals and think they were jewels – big bright jewels. Maybe I even asked my parents if we could sell them for extra money." She swallowed, a slight smile on her glowing face. "I think I got sad when the fire burned down and the jewels turned into ash."

Han swallowed, looking down at the coals and thinking that yes, they did look kind of like jewels – jewels that sparked and popped. "When my parents were alive, our apartment didn't have a fireplace," he mumbled. "I dunno if I ever saw a fire in person back then."

Qi'ra closed her eyes, giving a deep inhale through her nose as if savoring the thick odor of the smoke. "That smell . . . it makes me think of those nights."

"Really?" asked Han. "The smell makes me pretty dizzy, honestly – and not in a good way."

Qi'ra just sighed contentedly, as if she hadn't even heard his jab. "We'd wrap ourselves up in these big blankets and drink hot chocolate as we watched the fire dance around in the hearth. I felt . . . I felt safe there."

Han didn't know what to say. He'd never thought of fires as safe – just something to get you a little bit warm. Hell, he'd even say fires were unsafe; they could burn you if you got too close, smother you if you inhaled too much smoke, and they could be a signal to an enemy to where you were. Maybe you needed blankets and hot chocolate in order to feel safe by a fire.

Or maybe you needed parents.

Han closed his eyes, spreading his hands out in front of the fire, focusing on the heat, and tried to imagine he was his younger self on a sofa between his parents, all of them wrapped up in blankets and drinking hot chocolate in front of the fire. What did hot chocolate taste like, anyway? Had he ever had it? Well, he remembered what chocolate tasted like, so hot chocolate probably tasted pretty similar, only . . . hot. He breathed in, out, in, out, savoring the warmth in his hands and imagining it enveloping him.

He remembered when his dad came home from the starship factory in the winter – how his big coat would be cold to the touch and smell all dusty and smoky. Smoky . . . kind of like the smoke from this fire, come to think of it. Sometimes Han would put on the coat after his dad took it off – it was big on him, of course, but it felt all comfortable like a big blanket.

"Han?" Qi'ra suddenly asked, invading his fantasy.

Han reluctantly opened his eyes back to the reality where his parents were dead and fire wasn't safe, seeing that Qi'ra was spreading out her fingers in front of the fire as if desperately trying to get every possible bit of warmth and recreate the cozy nights from her childhood. "Hmm?" he asked.

"If we ever do get off of Corellia and maybe someday have our own house . . . I'd like it to have a fireplace."

Han wasn't sure if their own house would be feasible when just getting their own ship seemed so far out of reach, but so long as they were dreaming, they might as well dream big. He grinned over at his friend. "I think maybe that can be arranged," he said. "Then we can have our own cozy nights in front of the fire and you can show me what hot chocolate tastes like."

Qi'ra grinned back. "That sounds wonderful."