Chapter 4

Streaks of stars outside the viewport window bathed the cockpit in light as the Falcon completed its jump to hyperspace. Han and Chewbacca swiveled around their consoles trading instructions as Leia unbuckled her restraint belt and eased out of the navigation chair. She made her way through the hatch to the Holochess table in the hold and sat down with a sigh, unloading her datapad and other materials from a secured bag.

She was still frowning at the negotiated agreement when Han appeared from the cockpit, thumbs hooked into his beltloops.

"It'll be about ten hours until we reach Qundori," he reported.

Leia raised her eyes to acknowledge him before going back to her documents.

He ambled over and stood next to the booth, lifting his hand to her head. "You look worried," he said, his fingers moving absentmindedly around her braids.

She sighed. "I don't know if I should be or not. Even though we signed the agreement for this shipment weeks ago —," she motioned at the thin pad in front of her, " — they've ignored all our recent messages except to confirm the meeting for tomorrow. And now there's news reports indicating that the protests are making the current regime feel even more threatened."

Han shifted his weight on his feet. "So maybe they're trying to play both sides," he said thoughtfully. "Keep the masses happy by making a sale with the Alliance but not for any significant amount that would raise alarms with the Empire."

"That was my thought too," she said, smoothing stray strands of hair that Han had dislodged. "But it sounds like there's been increasing political pressure from some of their ministers to recommit to the Empire. I hope they're not tempted to renege on our agreement."

Han frowned. "Have you paid them?"

"Half." She didn't miss his fleeting expression. "They gave us a good deal," she added defensively.

"Well, I can see why you might be concerned," he said.

She glanced up at him. "Wouldn't you be?"

"I probably would," he admitted. "But we can also wait to see how things look after we land before changing our strategy."

"That sounds suspiciously like Han Solo's patented last-minute negotiation tactics," she said wryly, leaning back in the booth. "Maybe they'll come in handy this time."

"This time?" he quoted back at her. "Hey, my skills are always useful. That's my guarantee when you fly with me on the Falcon."

Leia smiled, no longer reluctant to show that his quips were charming in their own way. "And are there any other guarantees you offer when someone contracts for your services?"

He recognized the subtle note in her voice and slid into the booth beside her, his arm encircling her back and pulling her into his side. "Only for the most exclusive customers, Your Highness," he whispered, his head dropping to hers. "Would you care to negotiate the terms of our agreement for future services tonight?"

"I prefer those services to be more spontaneous in nature," she said, tilting her chin toward him. "If, that is, you're willing to forego the standard agreement."

He let his gaze linger on her for a moment, her features still heart-stoppingly beautiful to him. "For you, I would," he murmured and then lowered his head and caught her lips in his.

The kiss was slow and tender, both content to keep it light. Han's fingers curled around her ear, his knuckles casually tracing up and down her neck as Leia buried a hand in his hair. She allowed herself to bask in his warmth, to forget her concerns for a minute, until they were interrupted by Chewbacca lumbering into the hold. He gave a low growl and rolled his eyes as he folded himself into the opposite end of the booth.

"Sorry, Chewie," Leia said, pulling apart from Han and patting her mouth discreetly with the back of her hand.

"Oh, don't apologize to this big oaf," Han chided as he settled back. "He loves to pretend he's more put out than he really is."

That earned them an extended rumble accompanied by hand motions that Leia could only interpret as sarcastic.

"He's asking why he even came along," Han translated. He turned to Chewie and grinned. "Clearly you're here to provide the muscle in case anything goes wrong. After all, we can't all three be the brains of this operation."

Leia turned back to the pile on the table and rubbed her forehead, the reprieve of their kiss already gone. "Maybe I'm overthinking this," she murmured.

"That's always a safe bet," Han agreed. He stood and stretched and gave Chewie a friendly slap as he went by. "Come on, let's go dig up some food."


An hour later they were still at the table, remnants of their dinner strewn about, Leia's datapads stuffed back into her bag. She promised herself she would do another quick review before they landed; meanwhile, the warmth of the Falcon, the separation from the daily grind of the base, and the spiced Corellian wine in front of her served to make her more relaxed than she might otherwise be. She found herself sneaking looks at Han as he joked with Chewbacca; admiring him in front of others, even if it was just the familiar Wookie, was a luxury she rarely indulged in.

Han turned to her. "And then I told him that we ran out of seats for paying passengers but he was welcome to strap himself in the storage area next to the Termullian tarantulas." When she only raised her eyebrow amusedly, he sighed. "You weren't even listening, were you."

"I was!" she protested. "I may have missed the end of it, though."

"That better be because you were distracted by my good looks," Han grumbled good-naturedly.

"Maybe," she admitted, cocking her head at him. He didn't miss the gleam in her eye and winked at her.

Chewbacca swiveled his head to Han and then to Leia and threw up his hands with a growl. Pushing back his chair from the table, he rumbled a final remark over his shoulder as he loped off to his hammock.

"Good night to you too!" Han yelled at the retreating Wookie.

Leia surveyed the mess on the table and sighed. "I think he left the cleanup for us as a punishment."

"He's always a little tense on the flight out," Han said, waving his hand. "He'll be fine once we land."

She pivoted to face him fully. "And you? Do you get tense on these runs?"

"Nah," he grinned confidently, his arm stretching across the top of the booth. "Takes a lot to make me nervous."

"Hmm," she responded thoughtfully. "Then I guess you won't need me to help relieve your tension."

She mimed rising from the booth as if to wander off to bed, but Han caught her wrist swiftly. "Get back here," he growled, pulling her onto his lap. "You can't get away so easily."

Closing her eyes, Leia sank into the comfort of his embrace, leaning into the solidity of his chest as he ran his hands over the tingling skin of her back. His fingers swept under her bra and unhooked it deftly as she kissed along his collarbone before burying her face in the crook of his neck. She felt his lips damp on her cheek and turned her head into his, their mouths clashing heatedly, their tongues intertwining, their teeth gently biting. His hips thrust up against her center and she gasped at the sensation, his belt buckle close, so close, to where it would provide the sharpest pleasure.

"I think I'm getting tense for you, Princess," he whispered hoarsely as he removed her hand from his chest and drew it down on top of his erection. Han looked at her intently, his eyes dark, as he held her against him firmly, his hips thrusting again, positioning her fingers against her own core. Her eyes fluttered close as she returned the thrust, his blatant desire for her never failing to ignite something within her, to heighten her own arousal further.

He glanced at her hand between them as his calloused fingers on her back dipped below her waistband teasingly. "Why don't we go somewhere with more … room," he murmured, his voice hitching.

"Good idea," she breathed.

In his cabin desperate kisses were interspersed with the impatient removal of their clothes before Han pulled her down into the bunk next to him, his hands roaming over her exposed skin. The welcome haze of desire, of feeling without thought, sensation without any conscious effort, overcame Leia. She kissed her way down his body, his hands still smoothing any part of her he could reach, until her intent became clear and he lay back with a moan, arms falling limply to his side.

She always relished hearing his reactions to this act, to her tongue stroking flat along his length, her hand gently rolling his sac, her mouth enveloping him in a liquid heat. What started as incoherent gasps and moans quickly became verbal encouragements, pleas, demands that she not stop, never stop. His hands found their way to her head and shoulders, his touch almost gentle, restraining himself from holding her down except for at the very end, when any pause in her movements, in the rhythm of her hand wrapped around his base, in the steady raising and lowering of her mouth, in the swirling of her tongue around his tip, would have been inconceivable.

Han thrust up a final time with a strangled cry before melting back into the mattress, his body spent. Leia swallowed and rolled on her side, nuzzling her way up his ribs to place a light kiss on his shoulder.

"Fuck… fuck," he whispered, tremors still rolling through him, a tinge of awe in his voice. "That's better than I remember it." He opened his eyes lazily and brushed his thumb over her lips.

She raised an eyebrow. "I hope that's a compliment."

"You know it is," he said, his breathing slowing to normal. "Now c'mere."

He cupped her bottom to adjust her as his other hand delved between her thighs, his body by now fluent in the knowledge of how she liked to be touched, what she needed in order to reach her climax. Shifting onto his side, he angled two fingers into her and massaged the spot deep within that never failed to make her gasp. Leia stretched her top leg over his and moaned when his thumb came down on her clit, strumming in time with the movement of his fingers. It didn't take long until she turned her head into his shoulder, her teeth biting gently, his murmured entreaties driving her closer and closer, that's it baby, come for me, until she ground hard against his hand with a final shudder.

Han nuzzled her hair and kissed her forehead tenderly as she floated back down. "Never gets old, seeing you like that." They were facing each other on their sides and it reminded her of the first time they were together, the newness of his touch still vivid in her mind. No, it wasn't old yet, wasn't even close to being old.

The creeping thoughts, warnings from her brain, that she had pushed down so successfully these past months were becoming more insistent. What is this, they whispered, and Leia still had no answer. Beginning with a spontaneous burst of pique and passion, whatever this was had transformed into something else, something undefinable, separate from and yet congruent with the rest of her life. The sex, yes, the sex could be reason enough to continue if that was all either of them wanted. But although she was young, she knew that sex alone would not sustain any relationship worth having.

Leia had spent most of her life surrounded by caretakers many years past their youth and her constant presence had lulled them into speaking of things that were not often discussed in front of children. Her precocious mind had overheard and digested the palace gossip about Alderaanian aristocratic matches, those that were likely to succeed because of similar upbringings of each in the pair, and those that were almost certainly doomed to failure because the lovers were too different, had begun their lives on different paths, one from land, one from sea. And really, a voice in her head reminded her, what two people could have started out on such different journeys as a member of a royal family and a smuggler?

It wasn't the difference in their stations that gnawed at her; it was the likelihood that a lack of common roots would doom this, whatever it was, to wither and die. And if that were the case, perhaps it would be more merciful to kill it with a quick snip to the stem; to separate one day with tender feeling and without regrets so that each could continue on their destined path. And she had nearly been able to convince herself that this outcome was the best available given their circumstances.

Except, that is, when another voice inside her whispered, But wait.