TITLE: "My Sassy Princess"

AUTHOR: Maiden of Endor

DISCLAIMER: You know the drill. By the way, Janno Gibbs sang "Fallin'" (another OPM hit). I'm only using it for this chapter. Han's smuggler friends are my idea. I borrowed a line from the song "(They Longed to Be) Close To You" by the Carpenters.

SUMMARY: The second part of the two-part song fic chapters in these series. This time, Han is totally sure that he's in love with Leia! He reminisces about her while he's away.

CHAPTER XI- Fallin'

Han Solo went out of Jabba's chambers feeling very frustrated. A while ago, the Hutt told him that the money he paid to settle his debts was not enough for him. Another new problem, he thought, dismayed. Now where would I get such an amount to pay all my debts? Nevertheless, the Hutt accepted his payment.

"Hey Solo! How's life?" A voice from afar called out to him. Han turned his head and recognized the person calling out to him. It was none other than Ben Frigg, a close smuggler friend of his.

"Frigg!" he exclaimed. They approached each other and gave the other one a strong tap on the shoulder. "It's been ages since I last saw you. How's the business going?"

"Oh, fine. I'm glad the Empire hasn't found it yet."

Both walked further until they reached the entrance of the Mos Eisley Cantina. It was the favorite hang out of smugglers and space pirates. Han used to hang out here frequently before he became a member of the Alliance along with his buddies. There, they would gamble, drink, and check out the cantina bargirls.

Ben waved to a group of three men who were sitting around in a circular table. The three of them were engrossed in a round of Idiot's Array, that Ben had to shout out to them in order to be heard.

"Good men! Look who I have here with me! Solo's back!"

Upon hearing the news, the men dropped the cards they were holding and stood up immediately. A gray-haired middle-aged man slapped Han playfully on the shoulder. "Han! It's good to see you again!"

"How's your rebel life?" a muscular-looking man asked.

"I'm doin' fine," Han replied with a smile.

"So, why don't we welcome him again into the club?" a short chubby man piped in. He motioned for a bargirl to give them a drink. "Five bottles of whisky, pretty lady," he said, as soon as the bargirl approached them. The bargirl smiled at the men in a flirty manner and replied, "As you wish, fatso." Then the girl turned away.

The men sat down at the table. Everyone was eager to ask Han about his newfound occupation as a rebel general. "How's the war going on, Solo?" Angus, the middle-aged man, asked him.

"It's going well. We're soon to have a big battle with the Strom troopers in Hoth."

"Are you talking about that icy planet?" the muscular man asked.

"Yup. We'll be going there next month, Ray," Han replied. Along with Ice Princess, he thought. Why did she enter his thoughts all of a sudden?

Our little conversations

Are turning into little sweet sensations

And they're only getting sweeter every time

Our friendly get-togethers

Are turning into visions of forever

And I can't believe this foolish heart of mine

"Hey Solo! Are you there?" Max, the chubby man, snapped at Han. They were immersed in a round of Idiot's Array. Nearby, a gorgeous female singer was singing a mellow love song. Some men gathered around the dance floor, doing a slow dance with the bargirls. The song made Han remembered the woman who drove his life crazy. Princess Leia Organa. For the past days, he was enjoying his own company as he traveled to Tatooine, but somehow, he felt that there's something missing. Could it be that I'm actually missing her? he thought. It feels so good that Nerf Brain is not here with me to drive me crazy all the time. But why am I missing her? She means nothing to me.

"Wake up, Han!" Ben nudged him on the ribs. It hurt him enough to snap him out of his thoughts. "Watch it, bro!" Han exclaimed, agitated.

"Sorry for that," Ben mumbled an apology.

"Han, you lose!" Ray exclaimed. "I got the Idiot's Array!" he cried out.

"Oh crap!" Han exclaimed in defeat. He took a swig of whisky. Maybe this will drown all his thoughts of her. But this was not enough to drown the gnawing feeling in his heart. It was something he wanted to run away from, but the more he did, the more it drove deeper into him.

"What's the deal when someone loses this round?" Max asked aloud.

"A whisky treat!" the other three exclaimed.

"I don't know that! What kind of rule is this?" Han asked, surprised.

"Oh, I totally forgot, Solo," Ben explained to him. "Those who loses the game for the third time will give us a treat. Han forgot that this was the third time he lost a round of Idiot's Array.

He felt Max reached for his wallet, which was popping out of his pocket. "Hey, give it back to me!" Han shouted. He made a grab for it, but before he could do so, Max flew it away from him and waved it friskily in the air. "Hey, sexy miss," he called out again to a bargirl. "Five bottles of whisky, please! We'll be paying this with Captain Solo's money!"

"In a while, asshole!" the bargirl called out from afar.

Han felt annoyed at Max for taking his wallet. "Who says you can use my money to pay for your drinks?" he asked.

"Rules are rules," Ray told him. He noticed the uneasy look on Han's face. "Relax, buddy," he continued. "Why are you in a hurry to get your wallet?"

"Oh come on, I'll just take a look at it," Max smiled mockingly as he opened the wallet and explored its contents.

Just then, a pocket-sized picture fell out from the floor. "What's this?" Max wondered as he picked up the picture from the floor. He turned it over, and a holographic picture of a smiling woman looked back at him. "Hey, who's this?"

Oh, great, now they know, Han thought, embarrassed.

I can't pretend

That I'm just a friend

Cause I'm thinking maybe we were meant to be

"No wonder, Han, you've been so un-attentive all afternoon," Ben told him. He and the others crowded around Max as they studied carefully the picture Han carried around in his wallet. Han just buried his head in embarrassment. Before he left for Tatooine, Han happened to pass by the vanity dresser of the Princess and found a picture of her lying around. He didn't know what he was thinking of during that moment, but he just grabbed the picture and stuck in inside his wallet. What made me do it? he wondered. Am I having feelings for her already? And he seemed to have found himself staring more and more at her picture with a silly, sheepish grin plastered on his face.

"Hey, she's cute," Ray commented with a smug smile. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"I have to admit, she has my approval but you have already forgotten the rules," Angus said. "Collect and collect women, and no going steady."

Han felt himself blush a deep shade of red. "Return that to me, will you? And for your info, she's not my girlfriend."

"Stop playing denial king, Han," Angus shot back at him.

"If she's not your girlfriend, then why are you keeping a picture of her in your wallet?" Ray asked curiously.

Han felt dumbstruck, at a lost for words to say. Why did I keep that in my wallet? And why am I growing fond of staring at her picture? It was not him to keep a picture of a woman and stare at it shamelessly.

Max passed around the picture to the other men, and they took turns in staring at it. Soon, the picture reached the hands of Ben. Ben turned it around and found out that Leia had actually written her name behind it. "Guys, there's something written behind it," he said. The other men gathered closer around Ben, and he read out the name written at the back of the picture. "It says here," he mumbled, "That the name of the lady in this pic is..." he looked more closely at the cursive writing, "...Leia Organa".

"Did you say Organa! Isn't it that well-known Alderaanian royal family?" Ray exclaimed in astonishment.

Ben looked at Han, his eyes widened in shock. He knew something about that aristocratic family. "You've got to be kidding, Solo! You knew her personally?"

Han have no choice but to tell the truth. "Well... yes..." he muttered. Then he related to his companions about how he had to share a pad with Leia, and she getting at his nerves for twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. After hearing the story, the men grew even more curious, which led them to asking more questions.

"I never thought that princess is such a pain in the neck," Max commented.

"Did you ever try to spy on her when she takes her bath?" green-minded Ray asked. "I bet you've seen her butt-naked."

"I'd never do that," Han replied, blushing.

"She's a pain in the neck, all right," Angus concluded. "But I'd give anything in this world just to be with a cute lady like her all day and all night."

"She's cute," Ben chimed in, staring even more at her portrait. "I'm crushing on her." He pressed the portrait to his lips and kissed it tenderly.

"Don't you know that cute is next to ugly?" Han said bitterly as he snatched away the photo from Ben. He grabbed his wallet from Max and hid the photo hurriedly in his wallet, keeping it away from sight.

The bargirl arrived with five bottles of whisky. The men made a grab for a bottle, and toasted it. "Here's to Han and his chick," they said in unison before taking a swig. Han didn't join their toast, but he just looked at them meanly, flustered for being teased to Leia.

After a while, Ben asked him again. "So," he trailed off in a drunken voice, "What's the real deal with you and with that Organa lady? Are you an item?"

"I never even thought of being on with her. She's not my type, and I don't like her," Han spat off sarcastically as he drank some more whisky.

"Wooo!" Max hooted, as if trying to annoy him even more. "You don't like her, but it's already obvious that you're falling in love with her!"

"Correct!" Angus, Ben, and Ray exclaimed in agreement.

I think I'm fallin, fallin in love with you

And I don't, I don't know what to do

I'm afraid you'll turn away

But I'll say it anyway

I think I'm fallin, fallin for you

Fallin, fallin in love with you

How obvious am I already acting? Han asked himself. Feelings of guilt, frustration, and annoyance with his self slowly crept in. He realized that he was thinking of her more and more, that he was actually longing for her presence in his life. Is this an I-miss-you case, or something deeper? he wondered. When I'm with her, I wanted her out of my sight, and when I'm not with her, I want her back in my life. He never thought that he was actually feeling this way for her.

The men were now mockingly singing a song that annoyed Han to his very being. "Why do stars fall down from the sky," the men sang in a drunken voice, "Every time, you walk by, just like me, they longed to be close to you..." Then the men burst into roaring peals of laughter. Han blushed even more, and not just because of embarrassment.

"Han, you're turning into a mush ball!" Max exclaimed.

"The Captain Han Solo—lover boy!" Angus joined in.

He couldn't take anymore being treated as if he had some contagious disease. He stood up from his seat, angry, and berated the drunken men. "If you have nothing good to say, shut up!" With that, he turned away and headed for the exit.

The men just looked at each other, dumbfounded. "Well, that's the way people are when they're in love," Ben remarked at Han's sensitivity with their jokes. They had never seen him that way before.

"Correct!" the others chimed in as they hiccupped.

Whenever we're together

I'm wishing that goodbyes would turn to never

Cause with you is where I always want to be

Whenever I'm beside you

All I really wanna do is hold you

No one else but you has meant this much to me

I can't pretend

That I'm just a friend

Cause I'm thinking maybe

We were meant to be

Han walked out of the cantina out of annoyance. As he trudged back to his ship, the words of his friends kept ringing inside his head. "You don't like her but you're in love with her!"

You're in love with her!

You're in love with her!

Those words, no matter how hard he tried to get off his mind, just kept repeating inside him. Then the truth struck him—a truth so easy to say but so hard to swallow.

She was now his everything. The air he breathes, the heart beat of his soul, the one he cannot live without. No other woman has meant this much to him as she did.

I think I've fallen, fallen in love with you

And I don't, I don't know what to do

I'm afraid you'll turn away

But I'll say it anyway...

He never thought it would end up like this. Even if he kept on saying that she's not his type, he was now positively sure that...

I think I've fallen

Fallen

In love with you

Fallen

Fallen in love with you...

The question of "why her?" still stuck in his mind. But with that, another question bothered him.

Will you be there to catch me when I fall?

Because Max was completely right with what he said.

You don't like her, but you love her!

Madly! Han had never felt this mad for any other woman.

He took out again her picture. Leia smiled back at him, and Han smiled sheepishly to himself. Then he tenderly kissed her portrait, as if she'll be the only one to fill his dreams and fantasies.

Leia, now I know that I love you.

A/N: Again, I'm using an OPM song here, but I tell you, it's a lovely song. Romantic. If you're that curious to hear it, feel free to look for an mp3 of this song, "Fallin'", by Janno Gibbs.

A big "HI!" to one of my loyal readers, Hannah (Gewher)! Thanks for supporting my story! I'm so flattered:) :) :) I'll do my best to write better chapters. Thanks a lot! RR please!