Chapter 2: The Long Con

Leia was attempting to compose herself and remove evidence of her tears in the privacy of her office when she heard a knock on her door.

"Yes?" She tried to keep her voice even.

"It's me, can I come in?" Usually, Han tried to enter her office with kaffe or for a quick visit as loudly as possibly, taking all the space and owning the room. His voice was decidedly not that. He sounded worried.

"Can we talk later? I'm working," she attempted to state as flatly as possible. She knew she hadn't fooled him but hoped he would at least take a hint and leave her alone. Her door hissed open anyway, and she sighed with irritation as Han walked in.

"Let's talk now. I'm worried about ya. You know, I can see a lot of Mon Mothma in you. 50 steps ahead of everyone else, mesmerizingly beautiful, and an iron will you can't help but bend to."

Han's admission to being under both Mon and Leia's spells caused Leia to snort out a surprised laugh. Her mentor had played her well today. Mon had also played an outsized role in developing who Princess Leia was as a politician and diplomat. She would be happy to be compared to the great Mon Mothma in such gracious terms any day.

Han had anticipated Leia's chagrin at Mothma's insistence that they were a real couple, and her obvious manipulation of the situation, but not Leia's sadness.

"I thought Old Mothy did you dirty with that little speech, though Princess. She shoulda saved it for when you were in a real relationship and not for this…with me. And I told her so too."

"Mon always has her reasons for doing what she does. She doesn't do anything by accident. I accept that about her. I couldn't tell you why she played it that way today. I'm sorry for walking out…Look, I appreciate your concern, Han, but I don't want to talk about this." She had called him Han, not Captain or Solo.

Leia fought against the beginnings of a meltdown. Her breath had quickened, verging on hyperventilation as she tried to nudge him out her office door and not humiliate herself in front of him.

"Leia, you don't have to do this alone, you know." Han had stopped moving and put his hand on her shoulder, looking into her eyes intently.

"Yes, I do. Get Out." She was shaking with the effort to not cry, to keep that Ice Princess mask on for just a minute more.

She believed she didn't deserve Han's offered comfort. Somewhere deep in her brain she knew Alderaan's destruction couldn't have been her fault, that the order had already been given to destroy it, but emotionally she was crushed under the guilt of surviving and not preventing her entire home world's destruction. Not just her planet's destruction, but the genocide of her parents, subjects, and friends. The weight of the guilt and Han's kindness were too much, and she let out a choked sob.

"C'mere, sweetheart," Han whispered into her braids as he drew her into his chest and gently rubbed her back. She wrapped her arms around his waist and for the first time in a long time, let herself be comforted.

"That's right, let it all out, Sweetheart," he soothed as she was wracked with heartbroken sobs.

After a few minutes, Leia's breathing had evened out and her tears had subsided. Her head was nestled against Han's chest, and her head tucked safely under his chin. She took a deep breath and pulled back just enough to look up with her sad brown eyes into his.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"I'm just glad I'm not the one who made you cry," He joked with a wink. He cupped her face tenderly in both hands and brushed the remaining tears away with gentle thumbs, chastely kissing the tip of her nose.

"If you still want to go through with this PR stunt of yours, we should meet and hash out the details. I don't know much about publicity, but I do know how to set up a long-con," he finished with a roguish grin.

She gave a watery laugh and squeezed his forearm before moving out of his embrace. Han gave her one last concerned look before exiting her office.

Although she couldn't be entirely certain of Mon's motivation for pretending she and Han were a couple, she was sure Mon wasn't paying lip service about them making a good match. What was she supposed to do about it?

With Luke or Chewie, it was nearly effortless to nurture and grow their easy friendships. Luke was so sunny and enthusiastic and Chewie so wise and loyal. Her feelings for Han were so much more complex and layered.

She had hardly slept the night before, and dark shadows haunted her eyes. Leia had revisited the undercover kiss with Han on repeat in the privacy of her bunk, yearning to taste that heat and passion again. The kiss had felt real. More surprising to her was the desire to build on the effortless companionship during unguarded moments on their last mission.

Her inclination when Han was previously affectionate or caring towards her was to shut him down immediately and create distance. Start a fight, put on the Ice Princess mask, run. But she had given in and allowed him to comfort her today and it felt right. Healing. This was something Leia would have to consider more fully later.

Ever the pragmatist, Leia's thoughts returned to her plan to use the romantic holos taken during the undercover mission the day before as a publicity stunt to garner interest in and increase recruitment and donations for the Rebel Alliance. The famous (or infamous) Last Princess of Alderaan and her underdog suitor was such a delicious feel-good story.

She considered once again whether it was a mistake to pitch the fake relationship propaganda idea. The temptation to mix as-yet defined feelings for Han with a pretend relationship was risky. But maybe it was brilliant? It would also give her and Han an excuse to burn off some of the charged tension and longing with some staged romance and rules of engagement. She was confident the scheme would pay dividends for the Alliance and that would be reason enough for her to continue with the plan.

With a sense of duty outweighing her reservations, Leia began strategizing how they might pull this off – the long con, as Han put it. They would need to set ground rules, define the scope, identify a suitable op to further the publicity stunt, and sit down and share basic details of their life that a couple would know about their partner.

Leia smiled as she got out her data pad. She might be terrible at vulnerability and romance, but ops and strategy? That she was great at!