A/N: Dear readers, please note that there's a five-year time jump between the previous chapter and this one, which takes place in the early months of 07ABY.
All the Way – Chapter 13
By Justine Graham and Erin Darroch
"See? What did I tell you, sis? Everything has worked out great, hasn't it?" Luke Skywalker's cheerful voice, although electronically filtered through the holoreceiver, was nevertheless warm and vibrant with affection. "The galaxy is a safer and fairer place for everyone. True and lasting peace is actually within our grasp and, if we keep working hard at it, the Jedi may someday be restored to positions of honourable service." He paused and gave a short laugh. "All of that, and you're making cookies, too."
"Cookies, yes, plus two different types of bread," Leia said, addressing her brother's image on the holoscreen without looking up from her task. She folded and then pressed the elastic ball of dough beneath the heels of both hands before giving it a scant quarter-turn, then repeated the process as she spoke again, projecting her voice to carry across the expansive, sunlit kitchen. "I may even try my hand at a Corellian spiceloaf before the day is out. I never knew that baking could be so...therapeutic." She glanced up in time to see Luke's shimmering image beaming a smile at her. She shot him a smile in return. She didn't need to tell him that it was sometimes Borsk Fey'lya's face she had in mind when she was punching and pummelling dough. Luke was a Jedi knight—and her twin. He knew.
"Everybody needs a hobby," Luke grinned. "But something tells me you're going to have your hands full with another Corellian export pretty soon, since Han is on his way back from Kuat, so I'd better let you go. I've got to get a shower anyway."
"Oh, are you going out?" Leia asked. She looked up, and then narrowed her eyes at her brother's image as she felt a tremor from him that she could tell he was trying hard to suppress. Although he was thirty kilometres away in Theed, they shared a strong emotional bond, and Leia's mastery of her abilities allowed her to sense unusual vibrations in his energy with little effort. She stopped kneading the dough and concentrated for a moment, then gave an exclamation of surprise mingled with sisterly triumph. "You have a date? What! Who?"
Luke dropped his head down in defeat, his shoulders shaking with laughter. "Ah, that's what I get for teaching you the ways of the Force," he sighed in mock regret, raising his blue eyes back to the holocam.
"Spill," Leia commanded. "All the details. I didn't even know you were seeing anybody. Since when? Why didn't you say anything?"
Her brother gave a one-shouldered shrug. "Well, it's pretty new. We're just getting to know each other."
Leia gestured impatiently. "Yes, and...? Who is it?"
To her dismay she saw Luke leaning forward and then extending his hand to the holocam controls. Her mouth dropped open. "What! You're not going to tell me?"
Through the faraway lens, she saw his light eyes sparkling with good humour and a touch of mischief. "All in good time, sister. All in good time. Goodbye for now."
"Oh, that's so unfair!" Leia cried.
"May the Force be with you," Luke grinned, and then his image went dark as the transmission ended. The holoprojector on Leia's end flickered briefly before powering off.
Leia rolled her eyes, directing a playful ripple of exasperated energy at him through the Force. Then, grumbling under her breath about sneaky Jedi brothers with top-secret romances, she turned her full attention back to the dough beneath her hands.
Of all the skills she had acquired through two years of vigorous training with Luke, the development of culinary expertise had been perhaps the most unexpected. Learning how to cook had been a necessity of survival during the most intense phase of their work on Ganymion Five. In that harsh and unforgiving environment, with Han and Chewie temporarily out of reach on Kashyyyk, they had both been hard-pressed to feed themselves satisfactorily for a month. They'd had a supply of dry rations to keep them alive, of course, but even the relative novelty of raw tubers and sweet-tart berries had grown old very quickly, and the twins had spent some of their downtime finding ways to add variety and taste to their diet.
Baking in particular had come easily to Leia, but the best she had managed back then was a basic flatbread, shaped from mashed kotchpeas and crushed grains mixed with xalva oil, and then grilled atop a thin, flat rock, balanced over a smouldering fire. She had always found joy and excitement in the acquisition of any new skill, and there was something especially gratifying about gathering components and crafting them into something that was both nourishing and tasty. That feeling extended to the further development and improvement of it and, to her surprise, she had also found genuine peace in the process.
Now, almost a year after the Battle of Coruscant and her return to public life in service to the New Republic, Leia was still finding time to bake. She found it relaxing, especially when she was at home alone in the house on Naboo that she shared with Han. These days, the time she spent kneading, rolling and shaping dough was also quality thinking and planning time, devoted to devising clever diplomatic solutions to sticky political problems. With her datapad open nearby, she often spent the baking time between batches reviewing reports from the Council, composing and sending proposals, and organising meetings. It was a far cry from the formality of the Senate floor, but she wasn't sure she was ready yet to resume all aspects of her former political life. Indeed, after nearly three years away from the public spotlight, she didn't know if she ever would be.
She still had much to learn about the art of baking, but she was making progress. Her current project was a Nabooan five-blossom cookie—a variation of the traditional recipe for bread and an ambitious venture given the adjustments required to modify the ancient recipe, but a challenge she had been keen to try nonetheless. She worked the dough a few more times before rolling it out and cutting it into various shapes. She had just finished arranging the raw shapes on the baking tray when the distant but distinctive sound of the Falcon's engines on approach reached her ears, drifting in through the wide-open glassine double doors leading onto the terrace, which she had left ajar to admit the fresh spring breeze. Her pulse quickening, she hastened to put the cookies into the wall-mounted thermal convector and swiftly programmed the controls before crossing to the sink.
As she cleaned her hands under the autotap, she stretched up on her tiptoes to peer through the window that overlooked their expansive property. She was just in time to see the antique freighterfly high overhead, and then dip and dive in a series of showy pirouettes before circling around and drifting down to settle in its usual place alongside Leia's own docked ship, the Arralute. The Falcon's landing repulsors stirred up a cloud of dirt and debris that briefly obscured the two vessels as she finally came to rest on the distant grassy plateau opposite their mountainside house, which served as their private landing field.
Smirking at Han's display of aerial prowess, Leia rounded the edge of the counter, paused to steal a quick peek beneath the proving cloth at the tray of his favourite burmillet buns, and gave a short nod of satisfaction. They would soon be risen enough to slip into the oven after the cookies were done, and would be baked and ready to serve at their mid-day meal. She tucked the edges of the cloth back into place, and then hurried outside to meet her husband.
The Falcon's ramp was already beginning its descent by the time she reached the edge of the high stone terrace that extended from the house—although terrace was perhaps a misnomer. It was more a fortuitous outcropping of the verdant mountain upon which their home was situated; a broad, stony knee that protruded from the lushly flowered woodland at their back, which had been paved and edged with a waist-high ornamental balustrade in typical Nabooan style. The main structure of their house had been built deep into the rock of the mountain, leaving only a third of it jutting from the precipitous slope, in a position unassailable by any simple means. Without the use of hovercraft, the only access point to the house itself was the stone bridge that stretched between the second terrace, ten meters below, and the distant landing plateau. With a state-of-the-art combination of overt and invisible security measures in place, the property was a veritable fortress. Remote monitoring stations, motion sensors, recognition plates, and a plethora of other security resources ensured that only a select few sentients in the galaxy could approach the Organa-Solo residence without triggering alarms and activating the compound's sophisticated defenses.
But all was peaceful now. Remote code scanners had accepted the security cipher transmitted by the Falcon upon her approach, and sensitive recognition algorithms had verified Han's identity as well, leaving the ship free to settle on her struts without further scrutiny. Bright morning sunshine poured down from a cerulean sky, flooding the mountainside, the plateau and the lush green valley below with soft golden light. Far in the distance, the silver squiggle of the Solleu river glinted and sparkled as it wound its way towards the capital city, where Luke had taken up temporary residence after their shared victory at Coruscant.
Leia sighed with pleasure at the sight. It wasn't Alderaan—no planet would ever take her homeworld's place in her heart—but as she and Luke had learned in their Force-enhanced investigations, Naboo had been their biological mother's native world, and for that reason alone it meant something to them both. In addition, the peaceful and picturesque planet possessed many geographical features similar to those of Alderaan, as well as flora and fauna that felt oddly familiar. To Leia's amazement, it was really beginning to feel like home.
That sentiment was magnified now by the arrival of her husband, returning to her side after the conclusion of his latest consultation with the Corellian Engineering Corporation on Kuat. Between Luke's developing plans for a new Jedi training academy, Han and Chewie's engineering work with the CEC, and Leia's own return to the political sphere, their lives were all suddenly much busier and more complex than they'd been since the end of the war.
Standing on the terrace and shielding her eyes from the slanting rays of the mid-morning sun, Leia was reminded of the many times in childhood when she had accompanied one or the other of her parents to the family landing platform to greet the one who had been away. She recalled with a wistful pang how warmly her parents had always embraced and kissed one another as she had bounced around them, awaiting her turn—and how clearly delighted the returning parent had always been to see young Leia herself. She felt that same sense of excitement and elation coming from Han now; it flowed to her through the Force, reinforcing a powerful truth that she already knew deep in her bones.
She felt the smile on her face grow even wider as she watched his distant figure bound lightly down the ramp of his ship, a small travel case gripped in one hand. As he strode past the foremost starboard landing strut, he slapped his free palm against the manual controls there, sending the ramp rising once more behind him, and then broke into an easy trot towards the far end of the connecting stone bridge.
Leia felt a familiar flutter deep within as she tracked his progress. At thirty-five, Han was in his prime and, with the soft rays of the sun limning his tall frame in golden light, he cut quite a striking figure. He would cut a striking figure in any light, Leia mused, pursing her lips as she watched him cover the ground with long, purposeful strides. He was lean and fit, and he moved with an athletic grace that she still found utterly entrancing to observe.
She sometimes teased him about his limited wardrobe, but privately she had to admit that the bloodstriped trousers he favoured fit him well, hugging his body in all the right places and accentuating the long lines of his lean-muscled frame. With his white shirtsleeves rolled to the elbow and his hair charmingly tousled from the breeze that swept across the plateau, he looked such a picture of casual perfection that it made Leia's heart thump against her ribs. She leaned forward against the stone balustrade and bounced for a moment on the balls of her feet.
As the daughter of a royal house, she had always been expected to maintain perfect composure and poise at all times, to understand the proper deportment for any given situation, and to learn and employ the rules of etiquette and protocol. But as she watched her husband striding in her direction across the cut-stone bridge, the discipline of those long-ago lessons dissolved and drifted away on the soft spring breeze. Abandoning any further pretense, she left the terrace and hurriedly descended the broad stone steps down to the lower level, before crossing swiftly over to the foot of the bridge.
Seeing her descent, Han slowed to a halt and set the travel case down at his feet, then straightened up and opened his arms wide, his handsome face creased in a happy smile as Leia rushed along the narrow span to his position, and then launched herself into his embrace. He wrapped her up and whirled her lightly around, then set her down on her feet as they shared a series of brief but joyful kisses.
"Welcome back," Leia said, smiling up into his eyes.
Han grinned down at her. "Thanks, Sweetheart. Great to be home." He bent to retrieve his case and then they pivoted in tandem, casually linking arms as they began making their way back along the remaining length of the bridge, this time moving at a much more leisurely pace.
As they walked, Leia leaned into Han's side and allowed her eyes to flutter closed for a moment. She drew a deep breath and tipped her face toward the mid-morning sun, feeling the warmth of its penetrating rays mingle with the ripples of radiant energy that flowed to her through the Force. She could feel it all around her—from the chittering flocks of pelliki winging their way through the azure sky toward the Solleau, to the gentle swaying of the distant trees and the fauna teeming within—the air here was vibrant with the richness of life in abundance. The strongest energy, though, flowed from the man who strolled at her side. His essence was a brilliant beacon that eclipsed all of the other signals around her, grounding her and filling her with a warm and exhilarating glow. It had been only ten days since his departure, but she'd missed him so much. She opened her eyes and slanted him a smiling glance, giving his arm a light, affirming squeeze.
They chatted easily as they sauntered back along the bridge, catching each other up on events that had transpired on Kuat, Naboo and Coruscant since they'd last seen one another. Han gave a brief but exultant update on his lucrative collaboration with the CEC on behalf of the New Republic and then, as they slowly ascended the stairs together and crossed the broad upper terrace, Leia told him about the latest developments in her joint venture with Luke on the establishment of a new Jedi academy.
When at length they stepped over the open double threshold into the house, Han stopped with an upward quirk of his head, deeply inhaling the myriad scents that drifted into the dining area from the adjoining open kitchen space.
"Whatever that is, it smells good," he grinned."But I'm gonna get so fat." He stepped over to the dining table and set his travel case down atop its wooden surface.
Leia laughed and rolled her eyes. "Not likely."
"I dunno, Sweetheart. I don't have to run for my life the way I used to. This new hobby of yours could put some weight on me, if I'm not careful." He popped open his case and began rummaging through it.
"Fine, more cookies for me, then," she said, wending her way around him and crossing over to the wall-mounted convector. "I guess I'll get fat all alone. Or maybe you can take some with you to Kashyyyk for Malla and Waroo when you go." She gave that statement a moment's consideration, and then snorted a laugh. "If they make it past Chewie, that is. We know how he feels about cookies." A quick glance at the digital display told her what she needed to know about the progress of the slow-baking treats within, so she resisted the urge to open the door for a peek. She turned back, expecting to see Han still standing near the table, but he was suddenly right behind her, a mischievous sparkle in his hazel eyes.
"Cookies?" he said, sounding intrigued. "Didn't know you'd moved on to cookies. Thought you were into bread now."
Despite seven years of close acquaintance with Han—including three years as his wife—Leia was still profoundly physically affected by his proximity. He exuded a masculine power that made her pulse race and her breaths come short, especially when he looked at her with that particular gleam in his eye, as he was doing now. She was hard pressed not to stammer, and she could feel the telltale blush rising to her cheeks.
"Why not both?" she said with a light shrug, feigning nonchalance. "If I'm going to get fat, I may as well enjoy the process."
He smirked and said nothing, though his hazel gaze roamed over her face with lively interest. Leia knew that he was fully aware of the impact he had on her— and he was not above using it to his full advantage. His presence had always been deeply affecting, even in the earliest days of their acquaintance. And now, even without tapping into the Force, she could easily read his mood. Judging by the cocky grin emerging on his face, he could read hers, too. By force of lifelong habit, she attempted to maintain a semblance of cool aplomb, but in truth she was overjoyed to see him and wanted nothing more than to take him by the arm and drag him with her to their bedroom.
His knowing smile finally cracked her composure. She laughed and then, holding onto his broad shoulders for leverage, stretched up on tiptoe to indulge in another kiss, this one a little slower, deeper, and full of erotic promise. One of Han's hands came up to frame her face as they kissed, and it was only after she subsided that she realized he had kept his other arm neatly tucked behind his back. As she quirked her head to one side and raised a querying eyebrow, he brought his hand forward, holding the folded edge of a small but bulky canvas pouch.
"What's that?"
"Anniversary present."
Leia's brow furrowed. Their third wedding anniversary had passed a few standard months before. She took the pouch from him, opened it and peered inside. "Ooh! What's all this?"
Han took a step back and patted the nearby countertop. "Dump it out and see."
Leia complied, stepping over to the counter and then tipping the contents of the pouch onto the smooth surface. Inside was an array of smaller packages of varying shapes and sizes, most of them with contents visible through their transplast wrapping. Each one was neatly labelled, and Leia couldn't contain her smile as she plucked one of the larger ones from the pile and squinted to read the Aurebesh script.
"Crelnut," she said, and then placed it aside and picked up another. "Kukuia. And—oh!" Her eyes fell upon an envelope of dark reddish powder, and she gave a little gasp as she snagged it from the stack and hugged it to her chest. "Redsprout! I've been wanting to try this for ages!"
"I know you have," Han said. He gave a little shrug. "I stumbled across a specialty shop on the outskirts of Kuat City, and I had them put together an assortment of stuff I've heard you talk about wanting to try. Hope you like 'em."
"I love them," Leia said, turning back to sort through the remaining packages. "What a wonderful surprise." She laughed. "I can't believe you brought me flour."
"Flours," Han corrected, with marked emphasis on the plural. "For our anniversary."
Leia angled a smiling glance at him, amused by his silly word play. "Flours," she corrected. "But...for our anniversary?" She narrowed her eyes, still puzzled. "We've not long passed one, and we're almost halfway to the next…?"
"Not that one," Han said. "Today—or maybe tomorrow, I've lost track—is the fifth anniversary of...something else. Something special."
For a moment, Leia was genuinely confused, but after a swift backwards count of the years she said, "Oh! Hoth! The battle of Hoth was five years ago. I should have realised what you meant. We just released a statement about it to the galactic press a few days ago."
She had been asked by the New Republic's first Chief of State, Mon Mothma, to record a message for galaxy-wide transmission, acknowledging the historical milestone and honouring those who had died in that battle. That communication had also included an announcement of plans already in progress for a larger celebration still to come: the fifth anniversary of the monumental Battle of Endor and the subsequent fall of the Empire.
Leia squinted at her husband. "Why are we baking in memory of Hoth, though?"
"Not in memory of Hoth," he said, and then fixed her with a look that left little doubt of his meaning. "In memory of what happened a couple of days after we left Hoth."
Leia felt her eyes widen and then the heat of an unstoppable flush rose to her cheeks. She bit her lip and shook her head in wonder, still amazed at how her thoroughly unsentimental, live-in-the-moment spacer husband could nevertheless demonstrate such heedfulness to minute details of their shared lives that often escaped her attention. That particular aspect of his character was one she never would have suspected in the earliest days of their acquaintance, and it never failed to catch her off guard.
"That was…yes, something special," she agreed.
It was indeed a wonderful memory, and as it surfaced anew, she met Han's gaze once more and easily confirmed her sense of his distinctly carnal intentions.
"Best day of my life," Han said without even a hint of self-consciousness. "Up to that point, anyway."
Leia smiled at his unreserved declaration. "So...you've had even better days since?"
"Hell yeah. Hey, with you, Princess, every new day's better'n the last." His tone was light and he grinned as if he spoke in jest, but Leia knew he meant every word. His overt expressions of sentiment were rare, and she was one of precisely three beings in the galaxy who occasionally got a glimpse of his secretly mushy side. It warmed her heart, and with fleeting memories of that first intimate night together flickering through her mind, she was starting to feel very warm, indeed.
She turned her back to the counter and planted the heels of her hands behind her, wrapping her fingers around its sculpted edge. "I don't know," she said, cocking her head to one side and giving him a playful leer. "My recollections are a little fuzzy. Why don't you come over here and refresh my memory?"
Han's eyes flickered. He closed the distance between them in a single long stride and took her by the waist with both hands. In a deft collaborative manoeuvre they had perfected on the journey to Bespin five years ago, she bounced lightly on the balls of her feet as he lifted and then set her atop the broad kitchen counter, all in one smooth move. Over the years that had passed since that trip, practically every horizontal surface on the Falcon had been used in like fashion to negate their difference in height and, once they'd settled on Naboo, every suitable space in their home had seen similar treatment.
He pressed close between her thighs now, as she wrapped her limbs around him and met his hungry kiss. She allowed her entire body to relax into his warm embrace as she pressed herself against him. Goddess, how she'd missed the feeling of his strong arms holding her close, and the solid thump of his heart beating in time with hers as one heated kiss melted into another, and then another. He was so warm and the muscles of his broad back and shoulders were so firm under her hands, it made her swoon. She didn't think she would ever get enough of touching him.
When they finally parted for breath, Leia dropped her mouth to his cheek, pressing her lips there before moving on and nibbling along the angle of his jaw. "It's a little clearer now," she teased between kisses. "I seem to recall that particular day was pretty amazing."
As she pressed her lips to his throat, Leia felt the deep rumble of Han's answering chuckle. "'Amazing'?" he teased. "If I recall correctly, you said we passed that point before we even made it to the bunk. In fact, I'm pretty sure the word you eventually used was 'perfect'."
Leia hummed her acknowledgement against the skin of his neck and then lifted her head to meet his kiss once more. He'd get no rebuttal from her on that score. Everything about that night had been perfect—though, in truth, there were no words to describe the exhilarating rush of that incredible first experience. They had arrived at the bunkroom threshold half-crazed and desperate for each other, after making it through a whole day's worth of stolen moments of heavy flirtation and intensifying desires. She remembered with crystal clarity every heated interlude of that long-ago shipboard afternoon, but none more vividly than the moment when they'd finally reached the bunk room door—when Han's gaze had grown soft and sincere, and he'd put his heartfelt adoration into three simple words. She recalled her own response just as keenly. As the hatch opened, she'd harkened back to her observations of hours before, calling upon Han's immutable nature as a man wholly defined by his actions, and invited him to show her.
And he had. Oh, he had. Although she had no basis for comparison, she couldn't imagine anything more thrilling and fulfilling than being the object of Han's loving attentions. Not only because he was skilled and intuitive and physically gifted—although he was certainly all of those things—but also because he was deeply attuned to Leia herself. He adored her and, moreover, he understood her. He had an uncanny way of anticipating her needs, often before she could give voice to them, and especially in those crucial moments when she was lost to words entirely. He brought all of his best qualities to bear every time they were alone together. He had shown her then, on that long, slow trip to Bespin, and he continued to show her now, every day, what it meant to be loved.
Attuned to her unspoken desires even now, Han dipped both thumbs under the hem of her tunic and then sent his hands gliding upward beneath the fabric, warmly drifting over the skin of her ribs and then higher still. He knew just where to touch her to elicit a response, and employed that intimate knowledge without hesitation, grazing the pads of his thumbs over the peaks of her breasts through the whisper-thin layer of her shimmersilk bra. Leia shuddered and, with a little moan breathed against his lips, sent her own hands wandering with abandon over the familiar landscape of his muscular back from shoulders to waist, at the same time as she slid herself right to the edge of the counter and tightened her thighs around his hips.
She felt Han's lips quirk into a smile, and then he drew back and dipped his head down to adorn her throat with open-mouthed kisses before returning to her mouth again with deepening fervour. At the same time, he began a slow but insistent roll and press of his hips against the soft crux of her body, deftly employing the same exquisite manoeuvre that had driven her half out of her mind during their first intimate encounter enroute to Bespin, and many times since. She gave a low groan of appreciation and matched him in practiced counterpoint, revelling in the palpable surge of his body against hers that made her feel powerful, adored and desired all at once. She settled into the sweetly familiar rhythm of it, so intoxicated by the heady combination of heat and taste and friction that she lost all measure of time—and then flinched at the shrill buzz of the convector signalling the completion of its countdown.
She drew back with a sharp intake of breath. "The cookies!"
"Ah, fuck the cookies," Han growled.
Leia laughed and pulled away. "Cool your jets, Flyboy. I didn't craft delicious perfection only to ruin it at the last minute."
But Han was a man on a singular mission. Despite her words, he didn't release her, but angled forward for another kiss instead. Leia turned her head aside, laughing as he settled for biting softly at her neck. She brought both hands up and pressed them firmly against his chest, holding him at bay. As she unfurled her legs from around his hips, he finally acquiesced. With a long-suffering sigh, he straightened up and then stepped away to afford her room. Leia hopped down from the counter with a shrug and a sweet smile in his direction, then snagged an insulated glove from the counter and moved across to the oven.
Opening the appliance's thermal shield, she peeked inside and noted with pleasure that the cookies were lightly puffed and golden brown, with just the right amount of surface crackling to indicate a perfect bake. She removed the tray, beaming a smile at the successful culmination of her morning's efforts. Working quickly, she transferred the cookies from the baking tray to a nearby cooling rack before they had a chance to stick.
The empty pan had scarcely left her hands when she felt Han's arms wrapping around her waist once more, this time from behind. The fine hairs at the nape of her neck prickled to attention under the warm rush of his breath and the obvious evidence of his desire pressed firmly against the small of her back. The sensation of him there, warm and powerfully aroused, sent giddy energy shivering through her core. She fought to remain focused for a few moments longer, intent on completing her remaining tasks, despite having an amorous Corellian attached to her person. As he nuzzled her ear, she reached out and lifted the proving cloth from atop the pan of burmillet rolls once more and, finding them ready for the oven, whisked the cloth away and began folding it neatly in half. Han huffed his impatience and tugged her closer, then dived down to begin nibbling on her neck again.
Leia squirmed and gave a soft laugh. With his warm lips sending shivers down the length of her spine, it was getting tougher by the minute to stay on target—but she had to get these rolls into the oven, and soon. Feigning control over her waning composure, she plucked a warm cookie from the cooling rack and held it up to her shoulder, hoping its enticing aroma would distract her single-minded husband long enough to allow her to make a move for the pan.
"Want to taste one?" she asked.
"Nah," Han replied. He teased her earlobe with a scrape of his teeth. "I'd rather taste you." His voice was low and deep, a subterranean rumble that spiked Leia's pulse and made her vision go slightly hazy around the edges. That seductive growl never failed to elicit a powerful physical response from her body and, in her present state of mind, it was more than she could withstand.
She dropped the cookie back on the rack and then pivoted around to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck and stretching up to meet his waiting kiss. As their lips met once more, Han shifted his embrace, keeping her tucked close in the circle of one arm, but bringing his other hand up to lightly stroke a very specific spot at the back of her upper arm, just beneath the short sleeve of her tunic. He broke their kiss and drew back to meet her gaze, his eyes alight.
"So...you did it," he said. He broke into a wide grin that crinkled the corners of his eyes.
Leia returned his smile with a giddy one of her own. "Five days ago," she confirmed.
Han's fingertips grazed over the area where the subcutaneous contraceptive chip had been, holding her gaze as he stroked the soft skin there with a reverent touch. "I gotta admit," he said, "that was all I could think about, the whole time I was gone. Whether you were gonna go through with it or not. Have any second thoughts?"
Leia gave a thoughtful nod, recalling the jumbled mix of emotions she'd experienced on her trip into Theed to visit the medical centre there. It hadn't been a spur-of-the-moment decision. They had discussed it at length, many times, before finally confirming that the timing was as right as it would ever be. Han had had his own chip removed just prior to his departure for Kuat, but Leia's work commitments had delayed her procedure, leaving her with a few days more to consider the ramifications of their proposed joint venture. It would be a monumental step, there was no doubt about that, but she wholeheartedly agreed with Han that they were ready for it, and they would face the future as they always had, ever since that pivotal moment on the journey to Bespin: together, all the way.
"I did have a bit of a last-minute wobble," she admitted with a rueful smile. "Took the long way around to get there and then sat in the speeder outside the med centre for so long I was almost late for my appointment. Not because I have any doubts, but because it's...kind of terrifying."
Han laughed. "You got that right."
"And we have so many other things going on…." she trailed off. She didn't need to run down the list of challenges they faced—he was as cognizant of them as she was.
"Yeah," Han agreed. "But like we said, we're never not going to have a lot going on, right? And at least now we've got some stability. The Core worlds are at peace, we've got a good income, and I can be here at home or wherever you need me to be. Even if we have to spend time on Coruscant when the Senate's in session or you're doing your diplomatic thing...or your Jedi thing or…."
"I want her to be born here," Leia said suddenly, surprising herself with words she hadn't even known she was going to speak.
Han's eyebrows climbed almost to his hairline. "Her?" he said. "Wait, is that some kind of Force premoni—?"
Leia laughed softly and shook her head. "No, no. I'm just saying… when the time comes, I want to be here, at home on Naboo."
Han's expression relaxed into an easy smile. "Oh, I can arrange that. If that's what you want, Sweetheart, I'll make sure we get here from wherever else we may happen to be."
Reaching up, Leia threaded her fingers through the hair at his temple. "So, you haven't changed your mind either? This is our last chance to rethink it..."
"Listen, we survived the war, brought down the Empire and restored peace to half the galaxy—and we're workin' pretty hard on the other half. I think we can handle it." He shrugged. "And anyway, this is what it's all been about, Sweetheart. Everything we've done has been to make the galaxy a place where folks would even want to raise children. Where kids can grow up safe and happy."
"You're right," Leia said.
"I know I am," Han said. "And besides, how hard can it be?" He gave a short laugh at Leia's sudden change of expression. "Okay, I mean…I know it'll probably be tough sometimes, but at least there's no more war in the Core. And we've got a good home here. Plus, the kid'll have a Jedi mom, and a Jedi uncle, and a Wookiee defender for life."
"And you."
He skewed his lips to one side. "I don't know if that's a big plus in her favour, but yeah, me, too. I'll give it my best shot."
It came as no surprise to Leia that Han sidestepped her vote of confidence, although she only needed to look at him to confirm that her words had struck their intended chord. She decided to make her meaning even plainer.
"I am so glad and grateful that my children will have you as their father."
His hazel eyes softened and then flared with a spark of deep affection. A hint of a genuine smile tipped up the corners of his mouth—before it was swiftly masked with a quirky smirk and an eyebrow raised in query. "Oh, children, plural, huh?" he asked. "Hang on a second, Princess. Let's discuss that…how many are we talkin'?"
Leia shook her head and then shrugged. "Let's see how the first one goes and then decide from there."
"Good plan."
"Unless the first pregnancy results in twins…."
Han's face changed colour and his eyes grew wide. He swallowed visibly. "I, uh...I guess that's a real possibility, huh?"
"Are you ready for that, if it happens?"
He wrinkled his brow and drew his head back. "Who's ever ready for that? But if it happens, we'll handle it, like we handled everything else the galaxy ever threw at us. We're a good team, Sweetheart."
"That we are," she agreed. She stretched up on tiptoe to press her lips to his.
Han responded with warmth, gathering her close as he softly devoured her mouth in a kiss that grew deeper and hungrier with every heartbeat. Pressed full-length against him, it was easy for Leia to discern that his desire hadn't waned in the few minutes since they'd parted. If anything, his body was surging with greater intensity than before, as though the very real possibility of starting their family had flipped some primal switch in his brain. She couldn't really fault him for that—not when the prospect seemed to have had the same effect on her. She could feel the heat of her own desire coiling tense and hot in her belly, the heady anticipation she'd felt since the moment of his homecoming amplified to new heights by the thrilling potential of setting out together on a new and uncharted course.
Without breaking their kiss, Han swivelled them around in a tight circle and, with a couple of shuffling steps, steered them away from the kitchen counter in the direction of the hallway leading to their bedroom. Her body thrumming with need, Leia readily complied with his wordless directive—until a niggling thought surfaced in the back of her mind. She broke away with a little gasp against his chin.
"Wait, I still need to put these buns in the oven or they will over-prove."
Han gave a wry snort. "Yeah? Well, I've got a bun to put in the—"
Swiftly, Leia clapped a hand over his mouth and shot him a hot glare. "Don't say it," she warned, half seriously. "Unless you want to spoil the mood."
Han laughed against her cupped palm, but released his hold on her and began pulling away to give her room. As he withdrew, though, Leia abruptly changed her mind. The sight of him—with his hair tousled, skin flushed, and eyes dark with erotic intent—sent a wave of desire coursing through her, so powerful it obliterated all other thoughts. Suddenly, she didn't want any distance between them at all. She didn't want anything else, except to be naked in bed with him, immediately. She caught his hand, and held him fast.
"On second thought, never mind the buns," she said. "I'll make another batch later."
Han grinned, showing a flash of white teeth against lightly bronzed skin that never failed to make Leia's breath catch and her stomach flutter. He really was too gorgeous for words, she decided, admiring the way the mid-morning sun, streaming through the open windows and doors, drenched his handsome features in golden light, making his changeable eyes look a translucent sea-green. His whole face crinkled up in pleasure at her change of direction.
"Good plan, Princess." He reached over to the counter and snagged a cookie from the cooling rack, then popped the whole thing into his mouth and began chewing.
"Mmm…," he said around the mouthful. "Damn, that's good." He reached for another one and sent it the same way as the first.
Leia enjoyed the sight of him enthusiastically devouring her creations, but she couldn't resist a playful prod. "Thought you were worried about getting fat."
"Well, I plan on working these calories off." He gave her a wink. Plucking a third cookie from the rack, he offered it to her. "What about you? You're gonna need your strength to keep up with me."
Leia laughed. "Are you sure about that, Flyboy? I think maybe you'll need your strength to keep up with me. It's been a long ten days." She angled forward to take a bite of the proffered cookie straight from his hand. She savoured the taste, silently congratulating herself on the delicate flavour and crisp texture as she chewed and swallowed. She gave a nod. "Yes, we'd better put these on a plate and take them with us, in case we need to refuel."
Han snorted a laugh, but moved to comply with her suggestion. Retrieving a plate from the upper cabinet, he transferred half of the cookies there, before turning to face his wife with an eyebrow raised in query. "All of 'em?"
"All of them."
Still chuckling, Han tipped the rest of the rapidly cooling cookies off the rack and onto the plate, leaving one behind, which he lifted and began munching with obvious relish. "That's a lot of calories, Sweetheart," he said after swallowing the first bite. "You planning on giving me a workout?"
"Don't I always? And anyway, I need the calories. With any luck, I'll soon be eating for two…."
Han's eyes widened. He shoved the remains of the cookie into his mouth and, after a pause to swipe the crumbs from his lips with the back of one hand, scooped Leia off of her feet and into his arms. She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck as he straightened to his full height and adjusted his grip.
"Eating for two, huh? I like the sound of that."
Han's eyes twinkled and then softened as he held her gaze, the subtle gleam in his eyes mirroring the truth of his heart. Leia was reminded of a similar moment that had passed between them five years before, on that memorable night aboard the Falcon when they had paused at the cabin threshold, on the cusp of a monumental shift in their relationship. They were standing at a similar threshold now, Leia mused. Crossing this one, though, would take them far outside the bounds of that tiny shipboard cabin and into a larger universe beyond. As Han brushed his slightly sugary lips against her own and then teased her with the tip of his tongue, Leia felt a powerful rush of love for him, mingled with giddy anticipation. She returned his kiss with eager enthusiasm, delighting in the taste of him, sweet and subtly spiced.
She was more than ready to take the next step. They both were.
When they finally parted, Han beamed a wide grin. "Grab the cookies, Sweetheart. My hands are full." He swivelled around and leaned in to allow her to take the plate with her free hand. She lifted it and then offered it up to him, tacitly asking if he wanted another, but he shook his head.
"Bad manners to kiss with your mouth full. And I plan on kissin' you all the way to bed."
Leia smirked and then softly pressed her lips to Han's once more. "Okay, Hotshot," she breathed against his mouth. "Kiss me, all the way."
A/N: And then he did. The End. Dear readers, we hope you will forgive us for the "fade to black" on this chapter and on the one before it. It just felt right. To our guest reviewer (and anyone else) who feels disappointed: we're sorry about that. It wasn't meant to be a 'rick roll', we promise. This is where the story took us: all the way to "happily ever after". If it's our particular brand of romantic smut you're after, try our fics Always a Thing of Wonder, We Tumble to the Ground, Winter Wonderland or The Only Constant (among others). Thanks for reading and especially for sending us encouraging and appreciative messages. They really kept us going!