A/N: The beginning of this chapter references deleted scenes from Episode V. The first being the extended scene before Leia kisses Luke and the second being the alternate kissing scene between Leia and Han. (The deleted version is better in my opinion and kriffing hot.)

Hanleia, Finally!:

D349/3 ABY, Asteroid Field

Leia was in a bad mood. Actually. Let's call it a VERY bad mood.

Absolutely nothing was going right lately. Not that it ever usually did, but the last two days were just that much worse than normal that she was ready to shoot the next thing she saw, and if that happened to be a certain hotshot pilot, she wouldn't mind.

First, Luke went missing. Than Han went chasing after him. Then she abandoned a baby to his own devices on a base that was frequently overrun by wampas. Thank the Force Jacen was a good kid and attached himself to another adult instead of wandering off. Then she spent a sleepless night worrying about Luke and Han, despite Jacen's reassurances that they were okay. Then Han said he was leaving. Then Luke said he was leaving too. Then she KISSED Luke just to spite Han. She was still cringing at that stupid idea. Not that kissing Luke was terrible or anything, but it felt like she was kissing a brother, and now she worried that he'd have even more wrong idea's about the two of them getting together. Before they were interrupted, she was ninety percent sure Luke was about to confess to being in love with her. And then there actually WAS a wampa in the base, shortly followed by the Empire showing up and kicking their butts in a frankly embarrassing fashion.

And now here she was, trapped in this stupid cave, in this stupid ship that should have been recycled for spare metal parts years ago, on an asteroid with the Empire flying around above them, making escape impossible. Then again, this stupid ship was still barely functional, despite the hours of repairs they'd already done. As long as she could remember, Han and Chewie had been repairing their ship, like it never could be fixed properly again. Why couldn't they have a nice ship like Hera's? She never saw Hera constantly having to jury rig things together to make her freighter fly. Hera did regular maintenance and promptly fixed things that broke in battles or whatever. It was hard to believe that the two ships both came from the same ship building company. Then again, if you compared the two pilots, it made perfect sense.

Leia didn't know what to do about Han anymore. They were so different, and fought like slavering mookas over a bone about absolutely anything and nothing. And yet... Despite saying he was leaving many many times over the last four years, he was still here. They'd even come close to having a civilized conversation a few times over the years that had made her think that maybe, just maybe, they could work it out and finally give in to the attraction between them that sparked like a wildfire whenever they were close to each other for longer than a second. But then he'd say something stupid again and Leia would get frustrated and they'd be back at the beginning. She was twenty-two years old (almost twenty-three) and had never had a boyfriend. It was bloody sad. She'd turned down so many offers of dates over the years, all because of her attraction to that stupid nerfherder who was way too old for her anyway. What was she doing? Why couldn't she just fall for Luke, who was sweet and noble and her own age? Or there was Wedge, who was only a few years older, and was one of the hottest pilots in the Rebellion. He'd asked her out a few times whenever he was between girlfriends, but Leia'd never been able to make herself say yes, because that just never felt right either. She'd once had a bit of crush on Ezra, before meeting Han, because Ezra, despite being a bit goofy, was a genuinely nice person and gorgeous and her age as well, but she'd never gone after him either, somehow just knowing that Ezra only had eyes for Sabine, even before she'd seen them together.

Anyway, back to her bad mood...

She mentally growled at the part she was welding back together, cursing the stupid ship that couldn't stay together if you paid it to. With a silent 'Ha,' of triumph she finished what she was doing and hung up her goggles and reached to push a connecting part back into place. And promptly began cursing again is it refused to connect properly.

Then Han wandered in, putting his arms around her, trying to be all helpful, but Leia wasn't in the mood and shouldered him off to the side, determined to finish what she'd started on her own.

"Heyyyy! Your Worship. I'm only trying to help." Han protested.

Leia couldn't take it anymore. She'd heard more than her share of Your Worships and Highnesses. All it did was remind her that she didn't have a home anymore. Or parents. "Would you please stop calling me that," she gritted out while still fighting with the obstinate part.

"Sure, Leia," Han said apologetically.

Leia huffed a sigh. Wow. He actually knew her real name. "You make it so difficult sometimes," she vented.

"I know. I really do," Han admitted. "You could be a little nicer though," he pointed it. "Come on. Admit it. Sometimes you think I'm alright."

Leia FINALLY got the cursed part to cooperate, but pinched the skin of her finger in the process. She stifled the urge to curse and raised her hand to her mouth reflexively. Leia turned to Han. "Occasionally. Maybe. When you aren't acting like a scoundrel." Han grabbed her sore hand and messaged the hurt away, sending tingles through Leia that she was doing her best to ignore.

"Scoundrel? Scoundrel. I like the sound of that," Han said as he held her hand to his chest and looked into the prettiest chocolate brown eyes in the galaxy.

Leia knew she had to stop this before it went any further. The nerfherder was leaving after all. She glanced at their joined hands. "Stop that," she said softer than she intended. His ministrations were making flutters go through her and they were going straight to her head.

"Stop what?" Han said innocently.

"Stop that," she said again, frantically thinking up an excuse. "My hands are dirty."

Han just kept his smouldering eye contact and kept caressing her hand. "My hands are dirty too. What are you afraid of?" he asked as he leaned a little closer.

Leia reared back a bit. "Afraid?"

Han leaned closer still. "You're trembling," he whispered.

Leia shook her head in denial, even as her body shook with desire. "I'm not trembling," she whispered back.

Han was only millimetres from his goal now. "Maybe because I'm a scoundrel. I'm the scoundrel in your life," he mumbled.

Leia was still shaking her head. "I happen to like nice men."

Han nodded a little. "I'm a nice man." One more fraction to go.

"No you're not, you're..." Leia managed to get out just before Han closed the last distance between their mouths, her hand still held to his chest. Leia closed her eyes as passion roared through her and Han kissed her like she was his only air to breath. Now THIS was amazing. Leia pulled back a fraction and met Han's pleading, passionate eyes. "Okay, hotshot." He smiled in relief and she pulled her hand out of his grasp and wrapped it around his neck, pressing closer to his hard body as he put an arm around her back and they kissed passionately for five blissful seconds, finally indulging in the spark that flew between them.

And then Threepio had to ruin it all, tapping on Han's shoulder. "Sir. Sir. I've isolated the reverse power coupling."

Han growled a little in his throat and pushed the droid out of the room. "Thank you," he said, sarcasm dripping that went right over the droid's head. "Thank you very much."

Leia made her escape while she could, heart pounding and limbs trembling. Oh Force, what had she started? That was more passion than she'd ever experienced in her whole life and it scared her more than she cared to admit. So she ran. Not that she got very far. Or could go very far for that matter, being stuck in this ship.

Han cursed when he turned around and saw just a glimpse of Leia's white clothes disappearing out the other door. Stupid kriffing droid with his terrible timing. He wished he could melt him down and sell the scrap metal for whatever credits it was worth. He'd been waiting four kriffing long years for an opportunity like this to show up, and it finally does, and then Threepio just had to stick his big mouth in. No matter how many times he'd told himself to leave the Rebellion behind because it wasn't good for a person's health, he never did, not able to leave the snarky Princess. He felt an overwhelming need to take care of the tiny woman that he just couldn't shake no matter how much he tried.

He kept saying he was leaving, hoping it would prompt some kind of reaction from her. Preferably a 'please don't leave me, I love you,' kind. But that's never what he got. Then she went and kissed the kid right in front of him, and Han had thought his chances with her were officially shot. But now...? Han saw a glimmer of hope that he clung to like a lifeline. She'd kissed him back. Really kissed him back. There were tongues and everything, and possibly even a whimper. No way was he letting her get away now and let her have too much time to think and change her mind.

Han ran after her, catching up in the common area at the centre of the ship. "Leia! Stop please," he called as she was about to walk down the hallway that led to one of only two cabins that actually had a bunk in them. She'd appropriated his for herself, even though all of his stuff was in it.

Leia turned at Han's call, not sure what to think. He stopped right in front of her, a desperate look on his handsome face. "What, Han?"

"Please, Leia. Please give us a chance," Han begged. "I know I'm not the galaxy's greatest guy, and I'm not a superhero type like Luke, and maybe I am a little scruffy looking. But please. Don't walk away from me now. I worship the ground you walk on. Why do you think I call you that all the time?"

Leia shook her head, eyes wide at the confessions pouring out of Han.

Han continued. "Because I do. I worship you. You're so far above me, a worthless scrumrat from Corellia, but all I ever wanted was a chance with you. So please. This is me begging, something I've never done for anyone, and I swear I'm never doing again. If you want me at all, it's now or never. Or if you'd rather have Luke, just tell me, and I'll go away forever."

Leia's heart froze at the thought of never seeing Han again. She could feel her limbs trembling at all the emotions she was trying to contain. The fear. The passion. The love. Oh Force, the love. She'd been hiding it from herself for so long, but it was the only explanation for why she couldn't bear to be parted from Han's company for long. Biting her trembling lower lip, Leia took the step that closed the distance between them and cupped Han's face in her hands, searching his hazel eyes and seeing only the utmost sincerity staring back at her. "Han," she whispered. "All I ever wanted was you."

Han groaned, wrapped her in his arms, lifting her slight weight just a little, and mashed their mouths together in a fury of passion that was anything but elegant. After a minute of frantic kissing, his brain sort of turned back on and he gentled his mouth on hers, trying for a little more finesse before he completely scared her off. Fortunately for him, Leia didn't seem to mind his out of control moment. In fact, she seemed to be trying to climb up higher in his arms. Han pulled back a little, grinned at his Princess, and picked her up all the way and twirled her around in a circle a few times, laughing.

Leia wrapped her arms around his neck tighter, giggling at the most joy she'd ever seen on Han's usually grumpy face. Apparently kissing was all he needed to lighten his personality. She'd have to remember that in the future, maybe for the next time he tried to get in argument over something stupid.

Han came to a stop, stared at the woman in his arms in awe for a moment, then let go with one arm, tucking it under her knees instead, lifting her higher and holding her closer to his heart, where she belonged. "You just made me the happiest man in the galaxy, sweetheart." He glanced towards the cabins, a question in his eyes that he was afraid to voice.

Leia looked down the hallway as well and thought for a moment, knowing this decision would officially change her life forever. She looked back at Han, his expression waiting patiently but not expectantly, letting her know that he was fine with whatever she decided. That was the deciding factor for her. Leia sighed and laid her head on his shoulder, one hand playing with his soft, shaggy brown hair. "Yes."

With that one word, Han's chest tightened with emotion; joy, love, and fear all fighting for dominance. He was terrified he'd not be good enough to please her. Ecstatic that she wasn't going to make him wait another three years before letting him in her bed. And so ridiculously in love with her, it hurt. Han pushed the fear away, telling himself to calm down and just go with it. He smiled softly down at the beautiful goddess in his arms and kissed her forehead before taking the first step towards his new life of being Leia's man. There was no question in his mind that he'd never leave her again as long as she wanted him at her side. At least as long as nothing unforeseen happened. (Like Jabba sending a bounty hunter or ten after him.) That thought made him wince a little, but he kept walking. With the crazy life they lived, who knew when he'd get another chance to love her?

Leia snuggled deeper into Han's firm chest, feeling safe and cherished for the first time in too many years. Every since her parents were murdered by the Death Star, she'd thrown herself into the running of the Rebellion, surrounding herself with as many people as possible, but not really feeling like she was part of a family anymore. She had some very close friends that came close, like Hera and Luke, but the sense of belonging to someone had been missing. But now, in Han's arms, that feeling was back and it made her heart soar.

Han stopped in front of the door to his cabin and Leia helpfully hit the button to open it with her boot, grinning a little at her ingenuity. Han grinned back at her, walking in a cloud of happiness he hadn't felt for a very very long time. Hopefully this cloud would last a lot longer than his last relationship that he'd put his faith in, back when he was still a naive teenager.

Han placed Leia down on the bunk gently, pressing a quick kiss to her smiling mouth, before straightening back up and walking the two steps back to the door, closing AND locking it, not wanting any more interruptions by a certain annoying gold droid. He walked back to the bunk, then stood staring down at Leia while she looked up at him expectantly. "Uhh. I know this isn't really an easy thing to ask, but have you ever done this before? And are you on anything?"

Leia's face reddened in embarrassment, causing her to sit up and put her back against the wall and wrap her arms around her raised knees. She reluctantly shook her head, too mortified to speak.

Now Han was feeling decidedly uncomfortable as well. "Was that a no to the first or the second?" he cringed as he asked, but this was too important to ignore.

Leia shuddered in a breath and whispered, "Both. No to both."

Han ran a frustrated hand through his hair. This was a problem. He could deal with the first problem. Actually, it kind of made him preen a little that she'd never been with another guy and he'd be her first, and hopefully her only. It was the second that was going to cause a few issues. The random girls he'd had relations with in the past had all been on contraceptive shots, and those weren't exactly something he kept in stock in his rather sparse medkit. "Okay," he breathed out in a huff. "We can make this work. There's always the old fashioned way."

Leia looked up at him like he'd lost his mind. "The what?"

Han shrugged out of his jacket and toed off his boots, then slowly settled on the bed beside her, leaning back against the wall as well, sensing Leia was on the verge of bolting out of the room. "I'll tell you later." He raised a knee and casually rested his arm across it, leaning his head against the wall and staring up at the ceiling, desperately trying to think of something to talk about that would settle her down again. He blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Soooo. That kiss you gave Luke. That was just to make me jealous, wasn't it?"

Leia shot him a look, then smacked his arm. "You're still a nerfherder, you know that?"

Han rolled his head over and smirked at her with a twinkle in his eyes. "Of course. Well...?"

Leia rolled her eyes, but relaxed a little, turning towards him a bit. "Yes, you cocky moron, it was meant to drive you nuts."

Han grinned, not offended in the least by her insults. He'd been called so much worse by so many different people, he just let them go right over his head. And really, at this point, he'd decided that her insults were actually terms of affection. "Did you like it?"

Leia smacked his arm again. "You're not supposed to ask that. It's rude."

Han just looked at her with a raised brow.

Leia huffed, knowing he'd wait until he got the answer he was looking for. "No. Okay? It was like kissing a family member. Affection but no real passion."

Han's eyes lit up and he leaned a little closer. "But it's good with me?"

Leia leaned closer too. "Now you're just fishing for compliments. I don't think your ego needs any help."

Han pouted a little then grinned. "You do think it's good with me. You'd tell me I sucked otherwise."

Leia just shrugged, not willing to admit anything one way or another. She closed the remaining distance between them so that she was looking right in Han's mirth filled eyes. "I'm not opposed to doing it again, if you like," she admitted.

Han thought a silent thank you to whomever. "Gladly," he whispered against her lips, reaching over and tilting her head just right with a finger under her chin.

Leia sighed into the gentle kiss. He was so GOOD at this. There was something to be said for falling for a guy almost thirteen years older than her; at least one of them knew what they were doing.

Somehow, all while kissing her senseless, Leia found herself being undressed by Han's deft fingers. One moment she was wearing a vest and then she wasn't. Then her boots disappeared. Then her shirt and slacks. Everything came to a stop after that as Han paused to look at the second layer of long sleeved thermal shirt and leggings that still covered her from neck to toes. He chuckled a little. "This is definitely the most layers I've ever taken off a woman."

Leia wasn't sure if she should be offended or not. On the one hand, it sort of confirmed that he hadn't been sleeping around on Echo Base, because practically everyone wore double layers there. On the other, she'd rather not hear about his previous conquests. "Just shut up and kiss me again," she commanded.

Han smiled knowingly and cupped the back of her head, pressing his mouth to hers and delving his tongue into her waiting mouth, loving how sweet she tasted. He put his undressing mission on hold for the moment to feel for the pins that were holding the braid together on her head. With a mental smirk of success (since his mouth was busy right now), he finally got her hair undone. Cascades of silky brown stuff fell over his hand. Han pulled back and looked at Leia in shock as she reached up and finished undoing the now loose braid and shook out her hair. "Holy nerf, that's a lot of hair!" he exclaimed. "No wonder you keep it braided."

Leia ran a hand through it self consciously and glanced down at the bed. "You don't like it?"

Han raised her chin back up with one hand while letting waves of it fall through the fingers of his other hand. "No. I love it. It's beautiful." He looked her in the eyes, so she knew he meant it. "You're beautiful."

Leia beamed at him and threw herself at him, knocking him onto his back, surrounding them in her almost waist length hair. She ran her own hands through his thick shaggy collar length hair. "You're not so bad looking yourself, hotshot. And I'm sorry I called you scruffy looking. You actually clean up pretty nice when you try."

Han laughed and wrapped his arms around her back, grabbing fistfuls of the silky hair. "From you, Princess, that must mean I'm pretty kriffing hot."

Leia rolled her eyes, but kissed him anyway for a minute. "Still an egomaniac," she whispered teasingly.

Han captured her mouth again to move things back in the direction he wanted, all the while removing the rest of her clothes and his own, his hands exploring the curves he uncovered as they appeared. Her skin was so satiny soft, he could stroke it all day. And despite being tiny, she had proper lush curves in all the right places.

Leia found herself on her back with no memory of how she got there and Han's mouth worshipping her breasts and his hands stroking up and down her sides and along the length of her legs, making shivers battle with the jolts of electricity his mouth was sending through her with his sucking of her nipples. One of her hands clenched in his hair and the other did a little exploring of her own as she felt the muscles of his back and ran down to his backside. (A backside she'd admired on the sly for a very long time.)

When Han started kissing a path down her torso and over her stomach, she looked at him in surprise. He couldn't actually be aiming for where she thought he was aiming, could he? Leia gasped as his mouth landed on her clit and she closed her eyes in amazed bliss. Yes. Apparently he was. She opened her legs a little wider, perfectly happy to let him do whatever he wanted to her if he made her feel like that.

Han glanced up and smiled at the expression on her face. His princess looked like she was in heaven, which meant he was doing it right. Returning to his mission of making her cry in ecstasy, Han added a hand to his ministrations of her core, finger carefully probing her tight opening, finding it wet already. He slipped a finger inside, all the while working her clit and raising his other hand back up her body and squeezing a luscious breast, keeping her distracted. He gradually worked her sheath open a little at a time, preparing her for his cock that was frantically telling him it had been WAY too long since it last had any attention. Han did his best to ignore the mindless length, instead concentrating on making Leia come. He breathed a sigh of relief when she finally tightened around the fingers he had in her pussy and gently bit her clit, sending her over the edge, looking up at her to see her face as she cried out his name.

Leia panted in the throes of a climax that ripped through her, sending her far and beyond any she'd ever managed to give herself. She barely noticed as Han surged up her body, planting himself over her, pressing kisses all over her jaw and neck. She definitely noticed when something bigger and hotter than his fingers entered her and thrust into her depths, only causing a slight pinch of pain that barely registered within the electric shocks that still kept her body tensed on the edge of no tomorrow.

Leia reflexively wrapped her arms and legs around Han, holding on for dear life as he thrust in and out of her, hard and deep, not letting her climax taper off for at least a minute. The feelings were indescribable as they looked at each other, getting lost in each other's eyes.

Han groaned as Leia's brown eyes stared up at him, love shining in them clear to see, despite the blown wide pupils. She was so soft, and hot, and wet, and kriffing tight. He'd never known it could be this good. He kissed her again, tongue mirroring the movements of his hips. Knowing he wasn't going to last much longer, Han pulled away from her mouth and kissed a path to her ear. "Come again," he whispered.

Leia gasped as he changed the angle just enough to rub against something new inside her, eyes closing as she concentrated on the new feeling that pushed her to the brink again. Her insides tightened around the intruder inside her again before sending her into another climax only minutes after the first.

Han pressed his forehead to Leia's as he thrust hard through her clasping tunnel a couple more times, feeling the climax build to almost unbearable levels before he quickly pulled out and came all over Leia's flat stomach, groaning in relief as the pressure finally abated.

They panted in exhaustion, both trembling from the exertion, eyes meeting as they both slowly recovered their wits. Leia ran a hand up and down Han's back while one of his hands stroked her hair away from her glowing face. He leaned down and kissed her again softly before rolling them over onto his back, draping Leia over his chest.

Leia sighed in contentment, not even caring that he'd left a sticky mess on her and that she was covered in rapidly drying sweat. She felt positively boneless and more relaxed than she could remember ever being. No wonder people did this whenever they got the chance. And to do it with someone you loved... Well, that just made it perfect. She snuggled into a comfy spot on his chest and closed her eyes, quickly falling into a deep slumber. It had been a VERY long time since she'd gotten some proper sleep, and right now, there was nothing in the galaxy that was going to stop her from sleeping in the arms of her love.

Han watched Leia with half lidded eyes, a sense of utter contentment filling him as she fell asleep under the soft strokes of his fingers through her amazing hair. "I love you," he whispered when he was sure she was definitely too gone to hear him. Han kissed the top of her head, and with some careful squiggling, managed to get a blanket over them without waking her up. Then he succumbed to his own exhaustion, happily holding the girl of his dreams in his arms.

Twenty something hours later...

Threepio and Chewie sat at the dejarik table, attempting to play, hearing the faint cries of passion and the squeaking of a bedframe for what had to be tenth time in the last cycle.

"How long are they going to stay in there?" Threepio wondered.

Chewie shrugged and rumbled out, "I don't know."

Threepio stared down at the holo characters forlornly for a minute. "Anakin and Padme were like that as well, engaging in extended periods of mating. They were always yelling at me to 'go away' too."

Chewie rumbled out a laugh before looking thoughtful. "I met Anakin Skywalker once."

That got Threepio's attention. "Oh. Tell me. I miss my mistress and her husband. I can never have too many stories to keep in my databanks."

So Chewie did, telling the golden droid about the time he'd met Ahsoka Tano and the adventure they'd had together as they saved themselves from sport hunters and how that led to his meeting of her Master.