When in Mon Cala...
Somewhere on Mon Cala
The preparation work had apparently been completed and the two attendants motioned for Han and Leia to enter the little room. They were directed once again to take seats opposite one another. After they were seated, their hosts bowed to them and made a gesture that seemed to indicate that they should stay put until they returned.
After the hosts had left, Leia ventured a glance toward Han. He had crossed his legs, ankle resting on knee and he was leaning forward slightly. She didn't want to ponder on whether or not the rotten corpse and unwanted pregnancy thing was working for him.
It felt more comfortable sitting; less dangerous and unpredictable than walking and...bending. She leaned her head against the wall behind her and closed her eyes. Her muscles were sore from the long walk and the steam felt both rejuvenating and soothing.
The longer she remained immersed in the hot, wet heat, the more exhausted her limbs felt and holding her arms up over her chest became laborious and irritating - preventing her from truly relaxing.
Lifting her head back, she looked across to find Han in the same position that she had been - his head back, resting against the wall and his eyes closed. His arms were lying prone against him and his whole body looked limp (thank the goddess for small favors) and peaceful.
He opened his eyes and lifted his head when he saw that she was looking at him. "You can put your arms down," he said.
She immediately began to shake her head in the negative.
"I'm falling asleep here," he said. "You're never gonna relax like that." He lifted his chin toward her crossed arms. "I'll lay back, close my eyes and I promise to let you know before I open them."
She let out a deep, exhaustive breath and reluctantly agreed. "Alright."
She watched as his head lolled back against the wall and his eyes closed. Before she dropped her hands to her sides she took the opportunity to study him, unobserved. She had seen his chest before. Often, in hot climates, she'd seen him work on the Falcon without a shirt on. But being able to study the angles and planes of his chest, following the line of his collarbone and watching his skin glide over the bones of his rib cage as he breathed was a novelty that she just couldn't seem to pass up.
He was handsome by any definition of the word. His musculature was toned and tanned and she thought that the term "easy on the eyes" was invented just for how her gaze slid so effortlessly across the expanse of his exposed body. He had numerous scars scattered about haphazardly; some long and angry looking, some small and curious. It was his imperfections that fascinated her the most. All the stories she imagined they could tell. Stories from before she met him. Of what he had done and who had known in another life and another time. Stories that could only be coaxed out of him oh, so carefully, usually around a bottle of nice brandy and a hint of promises in her eyes.
She inhaled a long, deep breath and finally let her arms rest against her sides and her head fall back against the wall behind her as she shut her eyes. It was both relaxing and liberating to sit there comfortably in her nakedness knowing that Han Solo was just centims away from her. It was not a scary thought. She always felt safe around him. Trusted him.
This was just another adventure, she thought. Another memory that they would share. One that she would swear him to secrecy on and he would dutifully accept. How many other times had she bent the rules with him? Gone above and beyond some mission parameters for what one or both of them had felt was a greater cause? They were too many to count. And he had never betrayed her yet.
She had definitely fallen asleep. She didn't know how long she had been sleeping when she heard Han curse.
"Shit!"
She opened her eyes to find his eyes covered by his right hand. "What?" she asked.
"I forgot," he said. "I opened my eyes and I forgot."
She smiled, laughing a little. She didn't know if it was the relaxing heat of the steam or the soothing fragrance that was pumped through the ventilation, but her frontal nudity didn't bother her so much any longer. They were adults, weren't they? And it was just two, discolored tips on some fatty tissue. Han had nipples and the universe wasn't imploding every time she saw them.
"It's alright," she said.
He opened his eyes. She was amused by how when he first saw that she had remained uncovered, his eyes widened comically and then slammed shut with his hand placed over them for good measure. "I thought you said you were ready?!"
"I did," she explained, "I'm over it. My arms are tired." She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. "Look all you want."
Another long length of time crawled by and when she opened her eyes again she caught him looking at her. The look on his face was one that gave her pause. His look, it was not an ogling, insulting chauvinistic assessment of her body. But something else entirely. It was...a reverence. And she couldn't quite get angry with him about that. There were worse things in the galaxy than being revered by Han Solo.
He was nervous at first, she could tell. Like a juna rabbit stuck in a snare. But he relaxed a little when he realized that she hadn't planned to release her wrath and ire onto and upon him. Running his bottom lip against his front teeth and then licking them, he whispered, "You're beautiful."
She wanted to repay the compliment but couldn't find the appropriate adjective. Men weren't supposed to be beautiful, although that was the word that she would use to describe him at that specific moment in time. Intriguing was another. Mesmerizing or magnificent. Magnetizing. Enticing or tempting, even. There wasn't much not to like about what she was seeing, not much at all.
She decided just to graciously accept his compliment and steer clear of repaying it. "Thank you," she whispered back.
They shared a long, awkward silence before their hosts suddenly reappeared. It seemed it was time for their adventure to continue.