A/N: This is currently written as a flashback of Han remembering, but I'll be expanding it eventually and making it present tense.

Han's Reluctant Adventure:

D364/1 BBY, Tattooine

He'd picked up a couple of passengers and their droids in his favourite watering hole on Tatooine, wanting a ride to Alderaan. They'd paid a lot of credits and promised more, so off he and Chewie went with the old man, the naive farmboy, the annoying gold protocol droid, and the cute astromech that actually seemed worth something. Han had figured if they didn't pay up at the end of the ride, he could probably get some credits for the droids.

While on the way to their destination, he'd found out the old man fancied himself to be a Jedi and he was teaching the kid how to be one too. Han hadn't believed in the mythical Jedi, not until he'd seen the old man in action against the big scary dude in a cyborg suit and they'd been battling it out with lightsabres, which he'd also thought were only a myth. Turns out the weapons were worth a king's ransom if you could get your hands on one, they were so rare. (He'd done some digging in the black market, just for the sake of curiosity, of course.) When the dude in black (who he now knew was called Darth Vader) swung at the old man in a decapitating blow, the old man had just... vanished. If that wasn't Jedi voodoo, he didn't know what was.

But he was getting ahead of himself.

When they did arrive at Alderaan, they hadn't found a planet, but an asteroid field where Alderaan used to be. The old man's (maybe he should call him Ben, but he'd just never known him well enough to think of him as anything but the old man) weird weak spell during the trip made sense then, when he said something about it feeling like millions of voices had cried out in fear and then were suddenly silenced. That was the first time Han had started to believe there might be something to the Force nonsense he'd been spouting to the kid. Alderaan had been blown up by the giant moon sized ship that had sucked them in before Han could fly the Falcon out of there.

They'd hidden in the shielded compartments under the decking and then taken out the two stormtroopers that had come to investigate the ship they'd caught. After putting on the incredibly uncomfortable bodysuit and armour, he and Luke and Chewie had gone a wandering for reasons that he couldn't remember anymore, and the old man had gone to turn off the tractor beam generator. He did remember that the astromech had connected to the computer system and discovered that a princess they were apparently looking for was being held captive here. Han hadn't liked the idea of rescuing her, thinking they were in way over their heads already, just being stuck on this Imperial death trap.

But Luke had convinced him with the promise of a huge reward, enough to pay off all of Han's debts to Jabba the Hutt. He couldn't resist. So off they went, hatching up some hare brained scheme of passing Chewie off as a prisoner.

It actually worked, and they got into the cell block where the princess was located. A short firefight ensued and soon enough they had control of the guard station. At that point, Han had actually been having fun, but you'd never get him to admit it.

Two minutes later, he wasn't having fun anymore.

The first time he'd seen Leia, they'd been under fire from the Imps who'd figured out much too quickly that something was going on in Detention Block AA. Somewhere between firing shots, ducking shots, and huddling against the wall trying not to get shot, he'd caught enough glimpses of her face to see that she was absolutely gorgeous, although the hair all twirled up in buns over her ears was a rather strange look in his opinion.

Aside from insulting their rescue attempt and calling him a flyboy, she seemed rather smart as she took control of the situation and shot a hole in the garbage chute door so they could escape certain death in their pinned down positions. Han had spared half a second to blink in amazement that she'd found a way out and kept shooting at the troopers trying to kill them. He distinctly remembered saying to Luke, "Either I'm going to kill her or I'm beginning to like her."

Han laughed to think how accurate that statement was in regards to her. Princess Leia Organa was a spitfire. She shot blasters like a soldier, cursed, quipped, yelled, ran, fought, and did it all in a kriffing dress. Han had been very reluctantly impressed, since he'd never wanted to actually like another girl again. (Not after the last time he put his heart on his sleeve for one years ago and been abandoned by her.)

Anywho, back to the garbage chute. That... had been something else entirely. The smell alone almost did him in. And then there was the resident dianoga who actually did almost kill Luke. The cephalopod was quite determined that Luke was going to be dinner until someone out to get them activated the compactor and the walls started to move in on them. Luke was freed but they had bigger problems as they were about to be crushed. By some miracle, Luke's commlink still worked, despite being dunked in garbage water repeatedly, and he was able to call his droids to stop the compactor from crushing them with only a few seconds to spare.

Out of sheer relief, Han and Leia hugged in celebration, before parting with embarrassed glances for hugging a virtual stranger. That was actually one of the very few times he'd ever hugged the princess between then and now. He remembered wishing he wasn't wearing the stupid armour so he could actually have felt her body against his. She was a tiny thing, the top of her head barely reaching his shoulder, but he would have had to be blind to miss the curves under her fancy belted, not quite as white as it used to be, dress. (Han was most definitely not blind.)

After getting out of the garbage compactor, he and Luke had stripped off the armour and bodysuits, only keeping the utility belts since those looked really useful, and tossed them back into the garbage where they belonged. They'd both still been wearing their usual clothes under the suits, thankfully ( but it had been rather uncomfortable), so they didn't have to smell like garbage anymore. Leia and Chewie weren't so lucky. (Despite making Chewie stand in the shower for something like an hour once they were safe, he'd still smelled like garbage for a week. All that hair, you know?)

They'd done a quick round of introductions at the same time, since Leia didn't actually know anyone's name, having only made her acquaintance for the first time some ten minutes ago, and off they went.

Han remembered the trip back to the hangar that held the Millennium Falcon as being one long blur of shoot, run, shoot some more, get separated from Leia and Luke, chase some troopers like a crazed lunatic, and shoot some more, but they had all eventually made it to the hangar in one piece by some miracle.

Then he'd seen the old man sacrifice (Is that what you call it when you vanish into the Force?) himself so they could get away and his respect for the old codger had grown by leaps and bounds. But that didn't mean he was stupid enough to let that go to waste. He'd had to yell at Luke to get his ass on the ship, since the kid seemed to be quite attached to the old dude and wasn't moving from his spot, firing at the troopers between them and the scary cyborg guy who was coming their way.

They did get away in the end, after a small battle with TIEs that he, at the time, thought was a big thing. (Now, it would just be like, enh, what's four more TIEs?) The old man had thankfully done his job of turning off the tractor beam and made it possible for them to fly away from the Death Star without being pulled right back in. Han had yelled at Chewie to jump them to lightspeed from his position in a gun turret and he'd kind of sagged in his chair in relief when the streaks of hyperspace had appeared. He had no clue where they were going, but he figured it didn't matter right now. He assumed the princess had told Chewie where to aim for.

After taking a moment to come to the realization that they'd all survived, his ship was still in one piece, and he had a big payday coming, Han was in a pretty good mood again.

He was grinning when he returned to the cockpit and found the princess sitting beside Chewie. He gave his long time friend a pointed look and the Wookie rolled his eyes but vacated the chair so Han could have some alone time with the girl. (Chewie was the best.)

His alone time didn't go quite as he'd hoped.

First, she said the Imps had let them get away (which he now agreed with), then she said they were tracking them (she was right), then she said the astromech had the blueprints of the moon sized battle station and that their mission wasn't over yet. Han had been stupid and said he was only in it for the credits and he didn't care about her or her revolution. (Why? Why didn't he think before he spoke? That's not how you pick up a girl. What a terrible first impression that was.) Her eyes had gone hard and she'd practically spat at him, "You needn't worry about your reward. If money is all you love, then that's what you'll receive." It had actually hurt when she said to Luke, who was coming in as she left in a huff, "Your friend is quite a mercenary. I wonder if he really cares about anything or anybody."

That had been a real eye opener. She'd actually managed to make him feel like scum, and he thought he'd been immune to insults by now, wearing his devil-may-care persona like a shield and believing in it whole heartedly. He didn't just love credits, did he? Nope. Definitely not. Han loved his ship. Han loved Chewie, in a non squeamy kind of way of course. Han loved being free to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted; it was such a step up from his life as scrumrat slave when he was growing up. Han cared about people, too. Honest. He just cared about his own hide just a little bit more. And right now, his hide had a price on it until he paid Jabba back. So, yah. Priorities, you know?

Luke had settled into the princess' vacated chair and looked at him. "So, what do you think of her, Han?"

Han had fiddled with switches and knobs, pretending he wasn't all hurt from her words. "Tryin' not to, kid."

Luke had been much too happy when he said, "Good," in a relieved fashion. That had got Han thinking again. If the kid thought the princess was worth fighting for, maybe he should give him a run for his money.

Han started to wonder what it would take to get back into the princess' good graces, smiling a little as he imagined her wrapping her arms around his neck and looking at him all dreamy eyed, while she whispered things about how strong and brave and manly he was, before she thanked him for saving her life in the best possible way with a long, lingering kiss.

Getting all excited by the daydream, Han turned to Luke, and said, "Still. She's got a lot of spirit..." Han had almost laughed when Luke started to look concerned, so he laid it on thicker. "I don't know. What do you think? Do you think a princess and a guy like me..."

Luke had quickly cut him off with an emphatic, "No," and it was all he could do not to burst into laughter. Poor kid actually thought he had a chance. The girl was clearly older than him and so far above his little farmboy reach. He didn't really have a chance either, but his odds had to be better than Luke's.

Han had stood and clapped Luke on the shoulder. "Keep prayin', kid. You might get lucky. I'm going to rest my eyes for a bit. All that running and shooting has worn me out. Keep an eye on my baby for me, would yah?"

Luke had snorted, but seemed happy enough to be left in charge of flying the ship. Not that there was much to do while they were in hyperspace, but Han was happy to let him think he was being useful.

Han passed Chewie in the common area and paused. "You seen the girl anywhere?"

Chewie had rolled his eyes at him again but then growled out, "Female is in the refresher." Han had given him a half smile and then turned to walk on when Chewie added, "Crying." (Han didn't hear it, but Chewie had much better hearing than him.)

Han had froze and then his shoulders slumped a little as he turned back to his friend, a terrible thought forming in his mind. "Chewie. Did anyone happen to mention what world she's a princess of?" (If they had, he'd forgotten.)

"Alderaan," Chewie growled out simply.

"Ah, kriff," Han said as remorse filled him. Here he'd been all worried about credits and the girl had probably just lost everything and everyone she cared about, and she'd probably known the old man too. Now he felt like a dirtier level of pond scum than before.

This really sucked.

Chewie patted him on the shoulder in understanding, then went back to the cockpit to hang out with Luke, leaving the crying girl in Han's care.

Han had felt lost for a minute, as he didn't know how he could fix this for her. It wasn't in his power, or anyone's for that matter, to put her planet back together and resurrect all the people. Eventually deciding on a course of action, he went to the galley, made some caf, added a little of the really expensive chocolate powder he'd won in a card game to her mug, and carried the hot treat to the refresher door which was being guarded by the two droids that seemed to belong to her.

"Princess? Your Highness?" he'd called through the door, pushing his way through the metal gaurdians. "Are you okay?"

Nothing happened for a minute, but the door finally opened and he'd pretended not to notice that her eyes were rimmed in red and her cheeks were a little blotchy. She still looked beautiful anyway.

Leia had stared at him, trying to give him a good glower, but he could see her heart wasn't in it. "What do you want?"

Han held the plain black mug out as a peace offering. "I made this for you. It's chococaf. To help you feel better."

He remembered how she had blinked at the steaming mug for a few seconds before a shaky, but genuine smile had formed on her cherry red lips. "Thank you," she'd said, as she took the mug and cradled it in her hands, closing her eyes for a moment as she savoured the smell of the steam wafting up. "That's very sweet of you."

Han had beamed from the inside out as he felt the full force of her smile fill him with something he hadn't felt in a long long time:

Hope.

"Are you hungry?" he'd asked eagerly, suddenly wanting to do even more for her. "I haven't got much, just some ready to eat rations and some protein bars, but it'll fill you up."

Leia had smiled a little wider, humour filling her chocolate eyes. "Sure, Han. That would be nice."

Han had quickly turned back in the direction of the galley, glad to have another purpose. For some reason that he didn't care to think about too much, he was filled with a desire to make the Princess happy, no matter what he had to do to make it happen.