TITLE: "My Sassy Princess"

AUTHOR: Maiden of Endor

RATING: K

GENRE: Romance/Humor

DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and its copyright belong to the one and only George Lucas. I'm not trying to make money out of this, I just want to share my talent with other H/L fans and I hope I can make them happy just by reading this story.

SUMMARY: Han ponders about what Leia was thinking about him when she smiled at him that morning.

CHAPTER V- When You Smiled At Me

Through her closed eyes, Leia felt a ray of sunlight streaming through the window and shining down on her. She realized that morning had come. Carefully, she opened her eyes and become aware of the fact that she had fallen asleep on the sofa last night while she waited for Han to come home. Han had been with Luke and Lando all night at this place downtown called Stairway to Heaven, which was a bar and lounge. The three of them spent the entire night there eating and merry-making.

"Good morning, Your Highness. How was your sleep last night?"

Leia pushed away the blanket draped over her and sat up on the sofa. From the corner of the room, she saw Han smiling at her as he asked her that question. Han looked like he just stepped out of the shower, what with his hair still damp and his clothes looking fresh and crisp. She inhaled deeply and caught a whiff of his aftershave lingering in the air. Gosh, he smells so handsome today, Leia thought, and instantly felt attracted to how he looked that morning. But she tried to conceal how she felt towards him at that point in time; for fear that he might notice that she was slowly gravitating to him.

"Oh, good morning, Captain," Leia replied with a smile. The truth is, she was at a lost for words on how to react to Han's gesture when she realized that as she slept last night, Han draped a blanket over her. Did he care for me after all? Or did he do it out of pity? He must have thought I looked so pathetic as I tried to stay up all night just to wait for him and ended up falling asleep instead. "Oh, thanks for your concern", she added. "I slept well last night."

Han walked to the living room and sat down on the armchair next to the sofa. "That's good, because you look like as if you're going to get sick these days. I never thought that you sleeping on the sofa would be beneficial to your health," he joked, complete with his mischievous grin plastered on his face.

Here we go again with our daily tirade. Leia tried to suppress her growing feelings of annoyance over Han's comment and pretended to ride along with his smart-alecky statement. "Yes, sleeping on the sofa made me feel better," Leia stated while she raised an eyebrow at Han. Han looked blown away with her reply and couldn't think of a word to her rebut. She was amused with the priceless look on Han's face, so she added some more. "You were right, you know, when you told me that I've been looking sick these past few days. When I woke up today, I don't feel so sick anymore when I looked at your face," she said haughtily, while trying to look like she meant it. Don't you dare ruin my day, Captain Han Solo! Now I know how to fight back!

Those words hit Han right through the heart. She's really a bitch goddess. As if I myself don't feel sick of having to see her Medusa-like face everyday. He admitted to himself that he was offended, but tried to forget it. Instead, he gently tapped Leia on the shoulder playfully. "Good for you, Princess!" he exclaimed.

Leia glared at him with a look that says, Stop treating me like a kid! Han caught her glaring at him. He looked into her squinting eyes of hers, and got her point. I totally forgot, you're now a grown woman. But you still act like a whiny schoolgirl. Embarrassed at how he treated her as if she was his little sister, Han changed the topic of their conversation. He grew silent for a while. Then he remembered that a while ago, he cooked four pieces of pancakes for breakfast and spared Leia the other two, just in case she doesn't know how to cook her own food. Princesses don't cook, right?

"Oh, by the way, Your Worship," Han said while he groped for the right words to say. Maybe this will ease her annoyance over me. "Breakfast is on the table. I cooked two pieces of pancakes for you complete with maple syrup." A moment of dead silence filled the air. Leia didn't know how to react with Han actually cooking breakfast for her. Maybe he thought that I didn't eat dinner last night, so this is probably his way of making up for it.

Han, meanwhile, looked at her and waited for her reaction. I'm doing my best to be nice to you, and I hope you appreciated my efforts.

It wasn't long before Leia spoke up. Her face lightened up, and with a weak smile, she thanked him. "Oh... thanks," she said. Han watched her stood up and went to the sink to brush her teeth. She had her back turned on him, and felt that he was still there. She turned her head. "Aren't you going to leave?" she asked him. "By the way," she added, "tell the other generals that I will be late in coming to the Rebel Headquarters."

Han smiled. "Of course, I will." He looked at the time and said, "I have to go now." He stood up from his seat and walked carefully towards the door. He looked at Leia for the last time before leaving, just to make sure that she'll be okay by herself. Han lingered for a while outside the door and watched her sat at the dining table, about to start her breakfast. He smiled to himself, thinking, I was touched when I found out that you actually waited for me all night. He remembered having arrived home the night before and saw Leia asleep on the sofa, looking exhausted at having to wait for him to come home. Maybe she missed me. He thought of this and felt the urge to ask her, to confirm that he was right with what he was thinking of.

"Your highness, why are you still wearing the clothes you wore yesterday?"

Leia, who was engrossed with eating her breakfast meal, turned to her side towards the direction of Han's voice, and was surprised to see that he was still standing there. She also realized that she didn't bothered to change into her nightclothes. She looked at him, and his eyes met hers. Leia saw the hesitation in his eyes, the wanting look of his dying to ask her if she did waited for him.

"Err..." Han started off hesitatingly. "Mind if I ask you this? Did you really stayed up all night and--?"

Before long, Leia cut him off and finally revealed to him what he wanted to know.

"Whatever you were thinking of, it's true. I did wait for you." She smiled again, but this time, it was a different kind of smile she had on her lips. It was that sweet, once-in-a-blue-moon smile, the kind of smile that Han saw when he gave her a popsicle the other day.

"Go now. The others are waiting for you." Han looked at her again, and felt elated that she was still smiling at him. Han smiled back without saying a word and closed the door.

As he walked along the corridors of the apartelle building, Han thought about how Leia smiled at him. It was the kind of smile that he couldn't get out of his mind. Han was positive that he might actually be seeing an angel instead of Medusa.

Who would have thought that Leia Organa had an angelic side beneath her ice queen facade? Han asked himself. Maybe her smile meant two things; that she was thankful that I appreciated her waiting for me, or deep inside, she's probably thankful that I finally had to go and won't be in her sight again for the rest of the morning? Something like, "Thank goodness, I won't be seeing that nerf herder again!" Hahaha!

Han laughed at the thought and breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe Leia is a different person from what I thought she is. She can be mean and unpredictable at times, and yet, surprisingly sweet and charming at the same time. Han stopped himself from getting lost in his thoughts. Wait a minute! Could it be that...

He tried to brush the thought off his mind, but the more he did, the more he felt the need to admit this to himself, to find out what was truly inside his heart. I think I'm beginning to like you, Princess. But please don't make me fall so hard with that elusive smile of yours.

A/N: Oh, the power of one's smile! Looks like Han is starting to fall for Leia! ;) Stay tuned! Pls. review!