Leia ran into the cockpit, shaking.

Oh, how could she have let down her guard like that? Now he knew how she felt. Why did she let him kiss her like that?

Tears stung her eyes. Her so carefully built defense system was crumbling around her.

She heard Han's footsteps approaching. Leia hastily wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her flightsuit. She pretended to be busy pressing buttons on the cockpit wall.

"Hey Leia…what happened back there…I hope it won't make things…you know, weird between us."

"No. As far as I'm concerned it didn't happen." She kept her back clearly turned to avoid his gaze.

"Oh."

Was that a hint of…disappointment in his voice? Stop it Leia. Stop looking for things that are not there. He kissed you because he wanted to get the upper hand, nothing more.

"Well…okay then. As long as everything's fine then."

"It is," she said curtly. Please just leave!

She heard him step away. The tears really started to flow, and she choked on a sob.

"You're crying!"

Leia spun around, to find Han still standing there, staring at her incredulously.

"I – I….no…" There's no point denying it Leia, he has eyes you know.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you so upset." He moved toward her.

"I'm not upset." Good one Leia.

"You are!" He took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes with concern. "I'm so sorry. I didn't want to make you cry."

"You didn't." She didn't know why she was still denying it.

"I'm sorry."

Leia looked up at him, she had not seen this side of him before. Gentle and caring. Her heart swelled in her chest. Like she wasn't already so desperately in love with him, now he was actually being nice to her.

"Stop saying sorry. It takes more than a little kiss from a lowlife like you to get me upset, thankyou very much."

The defensive sarcasm wasn't working any more. He saw right through her. He just gave her a gentle half smile.

"Oh Leia." He pulled her into his arms and held her in a tight embrace. She struggled, but he just tightened his grip on her.

Give it up Leia. She felt herself relax into his arms. He held her for a moment, comforting her until her tears subsided. When she had calmed down, he took her face in his hands and studied her carefully. Then he slowly leaned in, bringing his lips to hers.

Leia responded, raising her face to meet him as his mouth gently sought hers. His arms tightened around her as his kisses grew more insistent.

His hands slid down her back, caressing her, sending thrills coursing through her. He reached for her jacket and began to tug it from her.

Leia immediately snapped out of her daze and wrenched herself out of his arms. "No Han!" she cried angrily.

Han was bewildered. "What…I'm sorry…I thought you wanted…"

"I have no intention of being another one of your…conquests!"

"Conquests? Conquests?" Han was suddenly livid. Leia had seen him angry many, many times before…but this was something different. He meant it.

"Y-yes," she stammered. "I know what you got up to on Ord Mandell…with those barmaids…I know what you're like with women…."

He narrowed his eyes. "Do you really have such a low opinion of me? Do you really think I'm just going to use you, then throw you away when I'm done with you?"

Leia couldn't quite find the right words to respond, though she was thinking yeah, that's pretty much it.

"I am a one woman man, I'll have you know. Sure I may have a little fun when I'm single, but once I commit to a woman – that's it for me. You should know that."

"I – how would I know that? All I ever see from you is arrogance. You're always looking out for the bigger better deal. How do I know you wouldn't have your three minutes of fun, then ignore me the next morning?"

His eyes were blazing. "I thought you knew me better than that. You could never be a conquest to me. Not you. You mean way too much to me to just..."

Han's eyes widened in horror, as though he'd said something he shouldn't have. Leia looked up at him curiously. She suddenly realized she was not the only one with carefully constructed defenses. And he'd just let his down.

"Han, I'm sorry – " Leia began.

"I – I…" Han seemed to be searching for words. He put his head down, defeated. "I care about you Leia," he said quietly. "I care about you a lot."

Fresh tears brimmed in Leia's eyes. "I care about you too," she whispered.

He finally dared to raise his eyes to meet hers. "You mean it?"

She frowned a little. "I thought you knew how I felt about you. You always tease me about it."

"I – I wasn't sure. You always denied it so well. So…you mean I was right? About your feelings for me?"

She nodded reluctantly, blinking back her tears, still stubbornly wanting to deny it.

"I…feel the same. I have for a long time. I thought you would reject me…so I teased you about it, to push your buttons and make you react. But…but…I do care…and I didn't mean to make you think I didn't. If you were mine…well…I'd…I'd treat you right. I haven't got much to give you…but I w…I want you to be more than a conquest, if that's…okay with you?"

Leia's eyes were huge. "It's okay. It's more than okay."

Han grinned and his eyes lit up. "Really?" Suddenly he seemed more like a sweet little boy, than an egotistical rogue. He stepped forward and took her in his arms, capturing her mouth in a fiery kiss.

"Are you going to…conquer me?" she whispered into his mouth, uncertain and nervous.

Han laughed. He kissed the top of her head. "Not here, Princess. Don't worry, we will have plenty time for that later. I think it should be some place nicer than this…and a little more private. Besides, we still have to get off this asteroid. I'm going to see if I can help Chewie and Goldenrod in the hold. You can wait here, if you like."

"Okay," she said in a small voice, partly disappointed, partly relieved. She watched him leave the room.

Ohhhh what just happened? Leia's head was spinning as she dropped into the pilot seat. In the space of a few minutes she suddenly had everything she had wanted. The man she loved actually wanted to be with her? Her mind could barely grasp the concept. No more having to deal with his cruel teasing and jibes…no more having to work so closely alongside him while desperately pretending to hate him…no more waking up with that heavy feeling of having to face him again…no more waking up alone. She shuddered.

Suddenly, something outside the cockpit window caught her eye. The reflection of the panel lights obscured her vision until a soft suctionlike cup attached itself to the windscreen. Leia moved closer to see what it might be. Large, yellow eyes flashed
open and stared back at her. With a startled scream, she leapt back, her heart pounding. She ran to find Han.

"There's something out there," she told him, breathless.

"Where?"

"Outside, in the cave." They heard a sharp banging on the hull."I'm going out there," said Han.

"Are you crazy!" shrieked Leia.

"I just got this bucket back together. I'm not going to let something tear it apart."

Leia groaned in frustration. "Then I'm going with you!" I just got you, she thought. I'm not letting something tear YOU apart.

He and Chewie grabbed their breath masks off a rack and hurried out.
Leia ran out behind them. After exploring the area and being attacked by mynocks, the cave started lurching around.

Realizing something was wrong, they all fought to get back into the ship. Han headed straight for the cockpit with Leia on his tail.

"The Empire is still out there!" protested Leia. "I don't think it's wise to..."

Han rushed past her, still heading for the cockpit.

"No time to discuss this as a committee."

Leia raced after him, bouncing around in the shaking ship. "I am not a committee!" she retorted. Back to the same old Han again. Didn't take long.

Han was already in the pilot's seat pulling back on the throttle by the time Leia reached him.

"You can't make the jump to light-speed in this asteroid field..." she tried to tell him.

"Sit down, sweetheart. We're taking off!" Leia gritted her teeth. What was she getting herself into with this impossible man?

As the ship began to move forward, Chewie barked. He noticed something out the window ahead.

"Look!" Threepio tried to warn them.

"I see it, I see it," said Han.

They flew out of the cave, which turned out to be a space slug.

The Imperial Star Destroyer was waiting for them. A bolt from the Star Destroyer set up a fiery explosion on the back side of the Falcon, causing it to lurch to one side. A second bolt hit hard, creating a huge explosion near the cockpit of the smaller ship. The Falcon tilted steeply, then righted itself.

"Let's get out of here," said Han. "Ready for light-speed? One...two...three!"

Han pulls back on the hyperspace throttle and – nothing happened. Flak bursts continued to rock the ship.

Han kept insisting it wasn't his fault, while Chewie howled.

"No light-speed?" asked Leia. Great, I finally got him and now we're gonna die. Just fantastic. Welcome to my life.

"It's not my fault!" cried Han.

"Sir, we just lost the main rear deflector shield. One more direct hit on the back quarter and we're done for!" warbled Threepio.

Han suddenly ordered Chewie to turn the ship around, towards the Imperials.

Leia was mortified. "You're going to attack them!" He's insane. I mean, he's really, truly insane. You sure know how to pick em, Leia.

Threepio was babbling as usual. Leia told him to shut up. She was not in the mood.

The Falcon banked and made a steep, twisting turn. It raced towards the Star Destroyer as if to attack it. With a swift move, Han flipped the Falcon and deftly parked it on the wall of the Destroyer, making it invisible to radar.

"What did you have in mind for your next move?" Leia asked him, after switching off Threepio.

"Well, if they follow standard Imperial procedure, they'll dump their garbage before they go to light-speed, then we just float away…"

"With the rest of the garbage," said Leia wondrously. Okay, I'm woman enough to admit it. The man's a genius. Maybe my taste in men isn't so bad after all. "Then what?"

Han did some searching on the navcomputer for a safe port. He suddenly seemed to find something. "This is interesting. Lando."

"Lando system?"

"Lando's not a system, he's a man. Lando Calrissian. He's a card player, gambler, scoundrel. You'd like him."

Leia smiled. She wasn't going to take his bait anymore. Things had changed "Thanks," was all she said.

"Bespin. It's pretty far, but I think we can make it."

As Han had predicted, the Imperial ship released its garbage, and the Falcon detached, invisible to the radar while surrounded by various pieces of twisted metal.

Han leaned back in his chair and gave Leia an invisible smile, which she sensed anyway. Pretty darn proud of himself, the smug creep, Leia noted with some affection. She shook her head, a grin creeping across her face. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

"You do have your moments. Not many, but you have them." She didn't have to see his face to know that she had rattled him. Advantage, Leia.