On day ten of their fake relationship secret operation, Leia welcomed the excitement that Luke's return to Echo base the next day provided after he had been away for several weeks on a mission that required radio silence. And since she was trying to be honest with herself these days, it was a nice distraction from mounting tensions as the days grew in which she and Han had still not kissed.
After a follow up strategy session two days ago with Rieekan and Janray (via holo call), in which Janray had briefed them on the "reach" of their relationship (rumors had spread all the way to the outer core and were all anyone was talking about on Han's home world of Corellia), but a lack of any specific proof was starting to turn the excitement of the possible pairing stale. The idea of the brave smuggler with a heart of gold and the tragic rebel Princess had captured the imagination of millions, Janray, reported. It was stoking a sense of hope that love, a future, could find a way. It projected the inevitability of victory against the Empire.
Leia was profoundly relieved this mission was succeeding and it wasn't just an excuse to be close to Han, which would be an indulgence she could never allow herself. She recalled what her father had told her in their last conversation before the Battle of Scarif. Jyn Erso had said that it was hope that sparked rebellions. She inspired so many rebels to give their lives to steal the DEATH STAR schematics three years ago. The Alliance was hanging on by the skin of their teeth, cornered on a lifeless frozen hell, desperate for a victory. Hope was powerful, it damaged the Empire, and this fake relationship operation was a bloodless and inexpensive way to generate it.
Janray encouraged Han and Leia to up the PDAs, and so they had made their "relationship" more official by walking around base off-duty hours holding hands and being generally more affectionate than combative. The kriff, kiss, kill bet had continued to skyrocket in the past 48 hours after making their "relationship" public. Hopes for catching the couple at least in a kiss were sky high. Even grumpy old General Dodonna had changed his bet, conceding that the operation was working splendidly and two of their best operators were more likely to kiss at this point than blast each other.
Leia and Han were holding hands on their way from the command center to the Falcon for her weekly Shyriiwook lesson with Chewie, when her comm beeped. She regretfully let go of Han's blessedly warm hand to answer.
"Hi Chewie, are we still on for my lesson?" Leia listened intently as she struggled to understand her friend via comm.
"Sure, no problem, I'll help Han make dinner and wait for you on the Falcon."
Han looked at her and laughed. "Uhh, don't take this the wrong way Princess, but you don't belong in a kitchen…like ever. Finally found something you aren't good at."
Leia rolled her eyes but laughed. She was a terrible cook. "Oh my stars! You are right about something for once! How does it feel? "
"Laugh it up. It just so happens I'm right about plenty of things."
"You keep telling yourself that, hotshot. But if you want company in the galley, you can put me to work chopping things. Surely my weapons training will be some help?"
"It isn't like chopping down the bad guys, Sweetheart. We'll try you out, but if you don't make the grade, I ain't afraid to boot your ass." Han winked at her as he laced his fingers with hers again and squeezed.
She squeezed back, laughing at his insult. They walked the rest of the way in companionable silence.
In the Falcon's galley while trying her best to chop vegetables evenly, Leia returned her thoughts to Luke's arrival the next day while chopping produce.
"I'm so excited to see Luke again! It's been ages! But I'm uncertain whether we should let Luke in on the fake relationship. He is one of our closest friends, but he also has a big mouth…What do you think?"
"Well…" Han thoughtfully stroked his chin while he weighed the pros and cons. "I have it on good authority his bet is on kill." Han chuckled before continuing, "It might be smart to let him in on the secret. Otherwise, he might go pokin' around and askin' questions in front of others if we suddenly go from being at each other's throats to in a 'relationship', ya know?"
"Yes, makes sense. We are going to have to pull him aside as soon as he lands before Wedge tells him and he causes a scene."
Han paused seasoning the meat briefly, and looked at Leia hesitantly. No one would accuse him of being a nice man with the act he put on, but he had a code, and it didn't involve getting between two people that liked each other. Hoping his worst fears wouldn't be realized, he took a deep breath before haltingly saying, "If you could have been in a fake relationship with Luke instead of me, would you have preferred that?"
Han kriffing Solo had a deep blush rising up his chest and into his neck. This was adorable.
"Would I have preferred Luke instead of you for this operation?" Leia parroted the question back to him to stall for time while she gathered her thoughts. Of course she wouldn't prefer Luke.
Han was gorgeous and warm, she was embarrassingly attracted to him. She was friends with both of them, and Luke was certainly an easier person to be around than Han, his optimism and passion brought everyone around him up. But she didn't stay awake late at night fantasizing about Luke's arms around her. She wished it could be Luke, suspected he had too early on, but they had instead developed loving, devoted, and cherished friendship that lacked the attraction and chemistry she had with Han. But Han had asked about the operation, not real life. Same answer, she would choose Han. He was the best rebel in a scrap, good at improvisation, and it was shockingly easy to sell they were in a relationship. They looked good together...believable which she shouldn't delve into too deeply.
"Well, Luke is much easier to get along with than you. You make it difficult at times."
"So is that a yes, your worshipfulness? You'd prefer Luke?" Han cut in, as Leia hoped he would, before she planned to continue.
"If you had let me finish, you would know that I was going to say, but, no I wouldn't have preferred Luke. For this op."
Han was about to point his finger and was working up to start a fight when his brain caught up to his ears.
"Well why the hell not? I thought you and him…you know, maybe had something going?"
"Luke and I are friends." Leia smiled at him wickedly before adding, "Do I detect a hint of jealousy, Captain Solo?"
Leia felt the prudent move was to shift this into a fight so she could get out of this conversation.
"I'm not falling for that, lady. I want to know why you would want to do this op with me instead of Luke."
"Well, it's like I said earlier. Luke has a big mouth, he would blab to the entire Rogue squadron that it was a fake relationship, and then our primary source of base gossip would be shot."
"How entirely practical of you, General. Is that all?" Han's voice dripped with snarky derision.
"Well, no. We have chemistry." She stated, as if it was a very obvious answer. And immediately regretted it. Could she have provided a lower hanging fruit for Han to seize?
Han noticed she balled her hands into fists again, which he had come to know was her tell for berating herself for doing or saying something she regretted. He also knew she had a very pleasant reaction when he dropped his voice to a low rumble, so he decided to employ it now in their battle.
"Tell me more about our chemistry." Han noted Leia visibly shuddered when he spoke.
"It's like in the holovids. Some actors just look good together and work well on screen. That's us. We have that, it plays well to a crowd. That's all."
Han stepped a little closer to her side in the already crowded galley space.
"I don't think that's the half of it, Princess." Han moved until his chest brushed against her left shoulder, gently moving her hair away from her ear to whisper, "I think that our chemistry is combustible on or off holo." Leia sucked in a breath as his whisper ignited her nerves. She maintained a death grip on her knife, frantically calculating her counter move.
She brushed (more calmly than she felt) against him to create some distance and moved into the doorway so she could think.
"Also…" Leia searched around for something safe to say. "It's a matter of credibility. Most of the Alliance already thought we had a thing for each other, and no one could have possibly believed that I liked Luke or anyone else. It makes sense to exploit that interest in us for this op."
She heard Chewie walk up the boarding ramp and call out that he was back and Wedge would join them for dinner. She estimated they had about 15 seconds before those two arrived in the kitchen area and she could get out of this conversation.
"Why wouldn't it be credible for you to be in a relationship with anyone else, Leia?" Han had walked up close, his hand lightly on her waist, sensing he had her, at least, figuratively, cornered at last!
Kriff, she walked right into that! Her mind was furiously thinking through how to undo what she had essentially just admitted to Han, that there could be no one else.
Han looked at her with a predatory smirk, knowing they were seconds away from being interrupted, moving closer until they were only a breath apart. "I love watching that brain of yours at work trying to get out of this conversation."
She gave Han an evil grin seconds before Chewie and Wedge rounded the corner. She had a plan.
Leia reached up to pull Han's face towards hers. Her heart pounded as she closed her eyes and crushed her lips to his. Han froze in surprise for the smallest of moments before wrapping his arms around her, splaying a hand across her upper back while the other snaked around her lower back to pull her closer. Leia ran her fingers through his hair as she deepened the kiss, desperate to eliminate space between them. Han backed her against the door jamb to increase contact as his finger barely brushed under the hem of her blouse, lighting a fire where his finger made contact on her back. That got away from her, it was supposed to be a quick kiss. It was maddening, wonderful. They were combustible.
[Finally!] Chewie growled
"Holy shit! We won, Chewie! We won!" Wedge was jumping up and down and hugging Chewie in his delight.
Leia and Han wrenched themselves apart, chests heaving.
"Uhh, sorry about that, fellas. The Princess can't keep her hands off me." Han drawled, as he tried to arrange his clothes and regain some composure.
"And what precisely did you two win, may I ask?" Leia's voice had risen in faked outrage. She winked at Chewie as Wedge glanced at Han, so he would play along.
"Well, it's just that Chewie and I have been rooting for you and Han to get together for years, Leia.
"I see. And will you be rewarded for your…support?"
"Oh, well you know how Jansen is with his bets…"
"Don't I ever." She laughed, dropping the act. "I suppose if anyone had to win, I'm happy it's you two. Anyone want a drink? We could sure use one." She added as she looked at Han's disheveled appearance.
Han dimmed the lights of his post-kiss afterglow to note that Leia felt comfortable enough here to offer his alcohol to their guests. She referred to them as we, not him and me.
After they ate burned meat and terribly chopped sautéed vegetables, she stumbled through her worst Shyriiwook lesson in three years. It was almost impossible to focus on such a difficult tonal language when she continuously thought about the explosive heat that was her kiss with Han. Leia let out a yawn, making to leave.
"I have to get going, I have an early morning tomorrow. Thanks for the lesson, Chewie, I'm sorry I wasn't my best tonight. Goodnight, Wedge. Walk me back, Han?"
After they had exited the Falcon, Han took Leia's hand as they walked to her quarters in an uncomfortable silence.
When they reached her door, Han turned to face her.
"Why'd you kiss me tonight, Leia?"
"I saw an opportunity for two of my favorite beings, one of whom is a huge gossip, to win a lot of credits, and I took it. Since no one else knew it was going to happen, it felt less like throwing the bet. Plus, we promised Janray we would and you hadn't made a move yet," Leia said softly, so no eavesdroppers could overhear her.
"And I think you were trying to dodge my question, which I'll drop for now. I was waiting for you to make a move, you like to lead," Han whispered back.
Leia laughed. "That's right."
Before she palmed her way into her room, Han cupped Leia's face in his hands, tenderly brushing his lips to hers in a way that felt more intimate and dangerous than the lust-fueled kiss earlier that evening. The type of kiss she had seen her parens sneak when they thought no one was looking.
She heard a chorus of, "We Won!" from at least 7 beings and heard Han laugh and tell them that Wedge and Chewie had just beat them to it. This was followed by several groans and the diminishing sounds of feet stomping away in defeat.
Leia leaned with her back against the door and her eyes closed, a hand over her heart, trying to get her heartbeat under control. No man had ever made her want as much as Han. And now that they were being nice to each other, she realized they made good partners, something hefty and permanent, and it terrified her. Because what mattered, the only thing that could matter, was the rebellion. And she feared at some point one or both of them would get hurt when she couldn't compromise on her priorities. How much more loss could her heart take, really?
As Han walked back to the Falcon, replaying that kiss, the bone-deep contentment of being in even a fake relationship with her stunned him. For a man who knew only the pain of abandonment and disappointment since childhood, it felt entirely out of character and optimistic for him to picture a permanence with her. The end of a long journey, a respite, home.
He was in love with Leia. Admitting it, finally, felt like he had thawed after a long freeze.