DISCLAIMER: I don't own Star Wars. The dialogues came directly from the movies. No infringement here.
A/N: One reviewer told me, "Let them kiss and make up!" I guess the story is a little bit dragging if I'll make them take longer, so I think I'll use flashback scenes for this chapter.
SUMMARY: Fast forward to the battle of Hoth. This takes place after Hoth was destroyed by the Imperials, Han and Leia escapes through the Millennium Falcon with Chewie and Threepio, and Luke heads off to Dagobah to train under the Jedi Master, Yoda.
The moment you've all been waiting for... Han and Leia's kiss inside the Falcon! (I, too, am excited for this one!)
CHAPTER XIX- The First KissAlone in the Millennium Falcon, Leia was engrossed in welding one of the valves. Her mind wanders off to the events of the past few days. Hoth was exterminated, and she, along with Han, Chewie, and Threepio had to escape by riding in the Falcon. Luke headed off to Dagobah to train under the Jedi master, Yoda. They had to make an emergency landing in an asteroid field, because the engines of the Falcon needed to be repaired. Add to it, Imperials chased them and was about to take them under siege, but thankfully, they didn't reach them.
The past few days had stressed Leia emotionally. Not only she was busy with the Rebellion, she and Han had been on each other's nerves. When they first came to Hoth, it was Han who was trying to get her attention, but after the Entertainment Night, Leia found herself in want of his attention. Am I carried away with the song I sang, that's why I'm the one now who's trying to get his attention? She mused. Leia reached out for a screwdriver and continued on with the repairs. Sheesh, she thought, sighing. This is taking me so long to repair this valve. And along with it, she realized that she and Han are also taking so long to express their feelings, if ever there was some feelings in the first place. Both of them were taking what seems like forever, to figure out what was really there in the first place.
Leia remembered the day that she overheard Han talking to General Rieekan about leaving the Rebellion, because of his problem with the Hutt, and how she wanted him to stay, but tried so hard not to show it.
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In the command center, she happened to pass by a corner, when she overheard two men talking. Leia immediately recognized the voice, and decided to linger on to listen to their conversation.
"I'm sorry to hear that", she heard General Rieekan say to Han. She cocked her head more and tried to listen intently without being noticed.
"Well, there's a price on my head," Han replied in his masculine, suave voice, which Leia loved hearing the sound of. "If I don't pay off Jabba the Hutt, I'm a dead man."
What is this about? She thought. Is he going to leave? She felt uneasy about it. For the first time in her life, she wanted Han to stay. Han, the man she used to loathe, was going away. Leia couldn't bear to lose sight of him again. He went away before on a trip to Tatooine, and during the course of those seven days, she was already going mad over missing him.
"A death mask's not an easy thing to live with," General Rieekan said regretfully. "You're a good fighter, Solo. I hate to lose you."
"Thank you, General." That was the end of their conversation. As Leia was about to leave, she felt Han's presence behind her. He turned to Leia, and said, without any hint of emotion in his voice, "Well, your highness, I guess this is it."
"That's right," she shot back, trying to sound as if the conversation between Han and Rieekan did not matter to her at all. The truth is, she was angry that Han didn't tell her about his problem. Han was appalled with her reaction, as if she did not give a damn at all, when he knew that she was concerned with him leaving. Han sees she has no warmth to offer him, and so, he shook his head and adopted a sarcastic tone.
"Well, don't get all mushy on me. So long, Princess," he said coolly. Han walked away into the quiet corridor adjoining the command center. Leia just stood there and felt like following him, wanting to talk to him about the issue. Will I go after him or not? She asked herself. She hesitated, but then decided to go after him.
"Han!" she called out. Her voice echoed in the corridor, and was audible enough for Han to hear it. Han turned to him and said, "Yes, your highness-ness?" He stared at her piercingly. Leia felt affected standing beside him, and was at a lost for words to say. What would I say to him? Then, she thought of saying this. "I thought you decided to stay," she said emptily.
"Well, the bounty hunter we ran into on Ord Mantell changed my mind." He, too, didn't know what to make of her gesture. He felt she was trying so hard to be what she was not, knowing that he was the only person who could make the chilly facade of Ice Princess melt.
"Han, we need you!" she exclaimed.
"We?" he asked confusingly. Or you needed me more than they do?
"Yes."
"Oh, what about you need?" he asked. He planned to make her pour out what she was hiding inside. I can sense you wanted me to stay. What a miracle! You never really liked me at first, and now, you wanted me to stay?
Leia looked mystified. Han surely knows how to get into her and take advantage of her inner turmoil with him. "I need?" she asked, confused, and pretends to act indifferent. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Han was fed up with the way she acted. "You probably don't."
"And what precisely am I supposed to know?' she shot back, the tone of her voice raising. Then he said what she feared to hear.
"Come on! You want me to stay because of the way you feel about me!" he exclaimed. Leia was taken aback; shocked that he knew what was inside her all along, but she knew it was the truth. She wanted him to stay because of it. Stupid feelings!
"Yes," she said. Han was sure that was really the case, but instead, she continued on with an excuse. "You're a great help to us. You're a natural leader." Han was obviously pissed off with what she said, and adopted again that "I don't care" demeanor.
"No!" He exclaimed coolly. "That's not it. Come on. Aahhh-uh huh! Come on!" he taunted her.
Leia stared at him, then she understood. He does know. But she tried to conceal it, and laughed at his face, like she doesn't care, and felt like an idiot for doing so.
"You're imagining things," she said in between laughs, which annoyed Han very much. He thought of a witty tirade to make her stop. "Afraid I was going to leave you with a goodbye kiss?" he asked snootily, remembering the "accidental kiss" that happened during the Rebel Olympics.
Leia was flustered. "I'd just as soon kiss a wookie," she said haughtily, and walked away, not wanting to talk with Han anymore. Han was amused at her reaction.
"I can arrange that," he called out. "You can use a good kiss." And maybe it's the only thing you need to stop acting so mushy on me.
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Han sipped his cup of coffee and placed it down at the holder beside him. He stood up and decided to take a walk around the Falcon's quarters. He thought of searching for Leia, and decided that she was probably down in the basement, fixing the valves. He decided to go there. As he walked, he recalled the time that when the Falcon accelerated, she fell into his arms...
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"Let go," Leia said as she fell into Han and caught her. Leia blushed to the roots of her hair, and Han decided to hold her a little longer. He was amazed at how warm she felt, and how she seemed to have no bones. They say that girls, when you hold them, are five degrees warmer and seemed to have no bones, and Han realized it was true, all along.
"Shhh," Han hushed her as he held her tighter, which made her blush even more.
"Let go, please," Leia said hesitatingly, still trying to maintain her composure. She could feel herself on the verge of giving in to him.
Han even managed to crack a joke. "Don't get excited."
"Captain, being held by you isn't quite enough to get me excited," she replied coyly.
Han smiled at her. You probably want more than that, huh? He thought. "Sorry, sweetheart. I haven't got time for anything else."
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As he walked down the basement, Han saw Leia welding the valve. Leia stopped for a while when she felt him approach, as his presence made all the cells in her body come to life. Then she continued on with her work. She felt goose bumps all over when Han came closer to her. Han reached out for a screwdriver, but Leia motioned him not to bother.
"Hey, your worship, I'm only trying to help," Han said, looking aghast.
Leia frowned at him. "Would you please stop calling me that?" she requested.
Han smiled, thinking, Maybe she'd like to be called by her real name. "Sure Leia." He breathed a sigh of relief, and thought that he only mentions her name whenever he's angry with her. Leia felt so elated at hearing Han mention her name. "Oh, you make it so difficult sometimes," she muttered.
Han felt that the mood between them was getting lighter, and the conversation more intimate. No more tension and anger this time brewing between the two of them. "I do, I really do, you could be a little nicer, though." He added, "Come on, admit it. Sometimes you think I'm all right..."
"Occasionally, maybe," she cut him off. "When you aren't acting like a scoundrel."
Han laughed. "Scoundrel? Scoundrel? I like the sound of that." He reached out for her hand, which was already swollen from doing all the repairs, and started to massage it. Leia flushes, thinking, What is he trying to do? It was the first time he did this to her. "Stop that!" she exclaimed hesitatingly. "My hands are dirty." She pulled away her hand and rested it on a console.
"My hands are dirty too," he replied. "What are you afraid of?" he suddenly asked.
Leia looked right into his eyes. "Afraid?" She felt like running and hiding away from him, thinking, this isn't right. Why is he looking at me like that? Han looked at her piercingly, and she realized how dashing, confident, and handsome he looked. She felt like melting as she felt herself being drawn closer and closer to him. Without warning, he reached out for her hand slowly from where it rested on a console, and draws it closer towards him. She could feel her whole body wildly electrocuted by him, and at the same time, a bit excited and afraid for what was about to come.
"You're trembling," Han told her, as he could feel her wanting to break away from him. But he kept his hold tightly, and promised this time that he would never let her go.
"I'm not trembling," Leia denied. Then she felt herself drawn even closer towards him. She could feel his breath against her face.
"You like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life."
Leia's tone of voice changes, and in a whisper, she said excitedly, "I happen to like nice men."
"I'm a nice man," Han replied. She could feel his face so close next to hers, and Han decided to kiss her right then and there. As he was about to, she added, "No you're not, you're..."
There was no turning back this time. Leia's sentence was cut off as Han kissed her hotly and passionately. Time seemed to stop, as both were lost in their kiss. Han realized he had always wanted to kiss her this way, and Leia thought, I've always wanted this. He kissed her deeper, which made her body bend backwards, and she indulges in the kiss she'd always dreamed of. It made them forget all the things they hated about each other, and with that, a new feeling came over them.
Leia looked liked she was already going to faint from the kissing, and both were so engrossed in the intense moment between the two of them, that they didn't noticed Threepio approaching. Han pulled back when he heard Threepio's voice, and Leia, embarrassed at being caught, looked at Han for a moment and walked out.
As she walked in the corridor, Leia felt like flying, her head still pleasantly dizzy from the kiss as she smiled to herself, and never minded that she looked like she was about to go crazy with the lopsided smile she had on her lips. She pressed her finger to her lips, thinking, Captain Solo kissed me! She gushed romantically. It was what she always dreamed of: that Han would love her back. And with that kiss, she was sure he did.
A/N: At last, they finally did it! They kissed! Woohoooo! RR please! The next chapter would be the last chapter in the series.