It was some time before Han's self-proclaimed foolproof plan would actually work. After about twenty minutes of near collisions with the massive gray boulders, during which there was an uneasy silence broken only by Leia's sarcastic comments and Han's smart aleck retorts, Boba Fett finally gave up and headed in the direction of Coruscant. Leia breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's not over yet, sister," Han said as he pulled them out of the asteroid field. "We're almost to Tatooine, but there's two paths you can take. The first is a direct route to where you live, but it might take several timeparts. The second is much shorter, seeing as we go to lightspeed, but we'd have to backtrack in order to reach our destination. That would take about half as much time. So, what'll it be?"
"The short way," Padme said instantly. "We all need to get back home desperately, and it'll ensure that Boba won't be following us." The others nodded, and Han set the course for the far side of Tatooine. Padme and Anakin went back to what could be considered their quarters, whereas Luke planned to stay behind with his sister. But Padme insisted that he needed to come get packed to go home.
So Leia was left alone. Stuck in the cockpit with no one but Han and Chewbacca.
She would've been just fine there, minding her own business, but Han kept giving her lovesick glances every time he thought she had her head turned. It wasn't long before a disgusted Chewbacca tramped out of the cockpit. "Hey, where do you think you're goin'?" Han shouted at his retreating back. Chewbacca growled a reply. "I was not! Besides, you'd be doing it too if you were in my shoes!"
"I can't say I'd blame him," Leia said with a meaningful glance at Han.
"Oh, I get it," he shot back. "You're still thinkin' bout what happened last night, aren't ya? You must think you're a whole lot better than I am. Well, I've got news for you. It doesn't matter whether you feel the same thing for me as I feel for you, because like I said, we're not doing anything about it!"
"Han…" Leia said, massaging her forehead as if to ward off a massive headache. "I'm not saying that I'm better than you or that I can do better, because in case you haven't noticed, I'm not ready to leave the Jedi order. But I highly disagree with the way you handled things. You shouldn't have told me your feelings just yet, and you only did because deep down you thought I'd admit that I loved you when you confessed."
Han banged his fist down on the dashboard. "I just didn't want to lie to you! You mean a lot to me, Leia, and I could never stand to hurt you." This sent Leia into peals of laughter, but they sounded hollow and mocking.
"Tell me, Han, if you care so much about me, if you really don't want to hurt me, why is it you're arguing with me right now? All you ever seem to do is fight, and you never let a comment go unsaid. Tell me why. I mean it, Han, I really want to know. Why do we have to bicker all the time?"
Han raised his eyebrows. "You want to know?"
"Yes," Leia said calmly. "That is, after all, what I just said."
"Do you really want to know?"
"Han," she said, looking him in the eye. "Skip the little kid stuff and answer me."
"Because," Han laughed, leaning back with his hands behind his head. "I love to see you get all riled up and upset. It's really quite amusing, the way you act all indignant. You won't understand because it's kinda a little boy thing. Pick on the girl they like, thin line between love and hate, all that jazz."
Leia stared at him in complete disbelief. Then, almost in spite of herself, she laughed. Soon Han was laughing with her, and Leia laughed even harder, falling from her chair onto the floor beneath it. She wasn't the only one: losing grip from his hysteria, Han tumbled down next to her.
"You're an idiot," she managed to say as the last bout of hysterics wore off. "You're such a total and complete idiot. We're both idiots for always getting on each other's cases all the time, and yet, life just wouldn't be as entertaining without it."
"I know," he replied. Then, his face suddenly lit up, his expression that of a child about to call his sibling on something they'd just done wrong. "Leia, you know what I just realized? Back there, when you were talking about me handling the situation wrong, you said that I thought you'd admit you loved me. Well, Leia, how come you never said that you don't love me?"
"What the heck are you getting at, Flyboy?" Leia snapped. "I never said I did, either."
"Oh, such a shame," Han teased. "Denial is a pathetic way to live, constantly lying to yourself. But don't worry, Leia, admitting it is the first step to recovery. I'll help you out." He continued to smirk at her, as if to goad her into confessing her feelings. Which, of course, Leia was still convinced she didn't have.
"That's it, I'm leaving. If you can't behave in a civilized manner, well, I'm not going to let that rub off on me," she insisted, moving to get up. As she headed for the door, Han caught up with her, grabbing her arm. She whirled around; no doubt to tell him off, but Han was too quick for her. He didn't think about what he was doing, or he might've not even bothered. He wouldn't regret it until after it was done. Han moved in closer to her, and quickly, lightly kissed her cheek.
Leia smiled slightly at first, hand going instinctively to the spot where his lips had been for a sweet (albeit brief) moment. But as rudely as if she'd been slapped in the face, reality dawned on her and she stopped. "Not going to do anything about it, Han?" she said over her shoulder as she left, but the taunting manner in which she said it didn't sound like her at all.
Han slapped his forehead the minute she closed the door. "You ruined it," he said to the control panel. "She was almost willing to admit she liked you, and you blew it all by being a selfish child." That's not true, he thought suddenly. "Oh, who am I kidding?" he wondered aloud. "She doesn't love me. Never has never will. Great, Han, just great," he muttered as he turned to the control panels once again.
"You finally find the right woman," he said as he glanced at the readouts, "who's perfect in every way, even in her flaws. And she's a Jedi knight."
Morning would find him slumped in his chair, irritable from a night of sleeping in an uncomfortable position and from too many dreams involving jumping into deeper pits of blackness without giving it a second thought.