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And yet when both are gone…
The night was long and they slept little. She led him to the couch where they talked and reminisced over countless glasses of wine. He vented and she listened. And when he didn't want to talk about it anymore, she made him laugh with stories from her childhood. He laid his head on her shoulder and then her lap. She stroked her hands through his thick hair and rubbed his aching temples. Eventually, he fell asleep and she followed shortly after.
Han woke in the middle of the night and tried to carry her to bed without waking her. His attempt failed, but he won in the end. They removed each other's clothes slowly and made love. They let their bodies act in place of words, uttering I need you, I want you, I love you.
They slept late the next day. Him lying on his back in the middle of the bed, her cheek resting on his bare chest, their arms draped over the other, and their legs entwined.
Han was the first of them to awaken. He decided they had nowhere pressing to be, so he contented himself with watching her sleep. He noticed that she hummed in her sleep. It wasn't a true snore, but it had a musical quality. He pulled her hair back from her face. From his position, he could only see her eyelids and her curved nose. Sitting up a bit, he caught a glimpse of the pale skin on her back. He noticed the color grow a tint darker over their week in Corellia. It was radiant.
Very gently, he ran the backs of his fingers down her spine. He pushed the covers as far down as he could reach, exposing her entire back.
She began to stir under his ministrations. Her hand absently stretched down the side of his body, reaching the top of his thigh.
With sleep still enveloping her and her eyes still shut, she tilted her head. "Morning."
He answered by grabbing her upper arms, pulling her limb frame up on top of him, and bringing her mouth to his.
"A very good mornin'," he replied when she was sufficiently kissed.
From on top of him, she nuzzled her head in his neck and sucked the skin she found there.
He blamed her tongue brushing that spot just beside his jaw for them staying in bed for the next hour.
When they were finally up and dressed, Han drove them to a home goods store. They chose a store farther away that wasn't in their daily rounds. Leia took precautions by wearing less than extravagant clothes and a scarf covering her recognizable braids.
They walked closely beside each other to the front door, found the kitchen section, and had a look around.
"Who knew there's this many different kinds of plates." Han was overwhelmed with the choices.
"It may look like a lot, but we'll trim down our choices soon enough." She pointed to a particular set. "Now, we can completely ignore the sets for over a certain amount because they are never worth the price. We can also forget about the plastic ones. Too cheap looking."
She pointed out a few sets that were a decent price and sturdy. "I like the bright yellow accents in this one, but the blue flowers are also very nice looking. What do you think, honey?"
Having never been asked his opinion before on plates, he wasn't sure what to think at first. He picked up one of each plate and studied them carefully.
"What are you doing?"
He squinted at each plate. "Tryin' to picture which plate would look better with meiloorun fruit."
Leia let out a loud chuckle. "You never fail to amuse me."
He smiled at her as he made his decision. "Um… I think I like the yellow. I like having somethin' bright to look at with my breakfast in the mornin'."
Leia smiled. "That's nice. Yellow it is!"
With their decision, Han carried the set of plates and bowls to the checkout. He picked up their bag and led her back to the speeder. "Wanna go for lunch? I am liking going out with you." He smiled as he quickly squeezed her hand.
"We shouldn't push it, honey." She knew they had to be cautious. "Anyway, I told Luke I would have a late lunch with him. I'm meeting him at 1:30."
"Some nice brother-sister time, I get it. I guess I'll have a quick bite of something at home before meeting with the lawyer." He closed his speeder door and started the engine.
"I would offer to whip something up for you, but I'm sure whatever you manage is better than what I could do."
He slapped his hand on the dashboard. "Well, that settles it. If we want this to work, one of us is going to have to learn how to cook."
She shook her head. "Or we just have to memorize the food delivery numbers."
His eyes lit up at that new idea. "And this is why I love you." He punctuated his words by leaning over for a quick kiss.
They returned to the apartment and Han went to work. He brought out a cutting board and knives and whipped up a vegetable stir-fry. He kept the heat on, letting the food cook, and grabbed his holopad, sitting down on the sofa with it.
Leia came into the scene. "What are you doing?"
He looked up at her. "Tryin' to see where we will stand financially. What with a portion of what I make going to Qi'ra and the boys."
Leia sat herself down beside him. She rested her hand on the back of his shoulder and craned her neck to see the numbers he was crunching on the holopad.
"Qi'ra will get the house and alimony which should count for a lot, but I'll also need to support the boys."
"Of course." Leia understood all the things that needed to be taken into account. "Need I remind you of my title? Money is no object, honey. Isolder will surely fight for all our joint assets, but my fortune is in a trust with my name only. We will be able to live quite comfortably."
He listened, twisting his mouth. "I'm not mooching off your fortune."
"Of course not," she assured him. "Why are you so concerned about money all of a sudden?"
He paused, taking her other hand in his and tracing her palm with his finger. "Just thinkin'…" He had wanted to bring this up ever since they committed to living together. "If we would… have a baby, the cost to support us would rise."
She stared at him with so much hope. "Han, do you mean it?"
He nodded his head, eyes boring into hers. "Yea. I know how much havin' a kid means to you, and it means a lot to me too. I love you so much." He brought his hand to her cheek and stroked it with his thumb. He turned her head down and placed a kiss on the corner of her eye before pulling her into his embrace.
They sat like that for a good 15 minutes. Never before did she have such hope and assurance of a beautiful future.
As she thought of her wonderful man, she turned her head to meet him. "Han, you know I would never be like Qi'ra. I will… or have every desire to be a good mother. But I would never push you away."
He wasn't worried. "Don't need to convince me. I've known you too long and too well to think that. And, I know you'll be a great mother."
"Thank you. That means the world to me, coming from you."
She met his lips with hers and tried to pour every emotion she felt for him into that kiss. He felt her physical admission of her devotion and met it with his own.
"Sweetheart." He moved his affections down her throat and to her chest.
"Han, I have to leave in an hour," she reminded him reluctantly.
"Yes…" he pushed her back so she was lying on the couch. "Your point is…"
He waited for her answer while he moved his hands slowly up her sides and to her neck.
She was putty. "No point. Carry on."
And he did. That is, he did until there was a knock on their door.
Han froze in a panic.
"Relax," Leia said. "It's probably your friend, the landlord. He said he would stop by sometime today to take a look at that leaky roof."
Han's breathing returned and he let her up.
"You get the door. I need to run to the 'fresher and fix my hair and this lipstick that has mysteriously smeared." She sashayed into the bedroom and then to the 'fresher.
Han opened the door only to lose his breath again.
"Luke! What on earth are you doing here? Leia's not… I mean, umm…" He caught himself. "I thought you were havin' lunch with Leia today?"
"Well hey to you too." He stepped past his friend without an invitation. "I'm having lunch with Leia in an hour, so we have plenty of time to talk until then."
He panicked. "Well kid, I don't have time. You see I have a meeting with Qi'ra and our lawyer…"
Han could tell Luke was going to give him a piece of his mind and wasn't leaving until he said it. "I know, Qi'ra told me. But that's not until later in the day so sit down and listen to what I have to say!"
"But… How did you find me? I mean… how did you know where I'm livin'?"
Luke turned back to him. Han stood still holding the front door open. "Close the door, Han. Qi'ra knew the general area and I spotted your speeder out front."
He was insistent and Han didn't see a way out. "I gotta leave, so make it quick. Or we could take a walk?" Luke didn't jump at that idea and instead walked around the living area.
"Ya know, I expected your home to be more like the Falcon, clothes everywhere, things haphazardly placed. But this is…" He looked around to the obviously cared for apartment. "Nice. And decorated." He caught a whiff of something. "Are you cooking?"
Han didn't respond.
Luke was almost laughing at his friend now. "Well who knew you were such a homebody!"
Remembering his stir-fry, Han ran to the kitchen and turned down the heat. On his way back, he nonchalantly closed the bedroom door. "Luke please…"
He finished his search around the room. "I'm here to talk to you about Qi'ra. Now I know things haven't been that great for you, but is this really the best option? To leave her alone with the kids?"
He was ruffled. "Luke, Qi'ra is the one who pursued a divorce first, not me. We talked about it a while ago, but… we never worked, Qi'ra and I. You know that."
Luke actually nodded at that and sat on the sofa. "I know you ran to her right after Leia and Isolder got together."
Han swallowed. Maybe Luke knew more than he thought. But Han had one purpose right now, get Luke out of the apartment. "Can we talk about this later?" He grabbed Luke's arm and tried to pull him to the door.
"Han! What are you doing? You're trying to get rid of me…"
They heard the 'fresher sink turn on and off.
Luke's eyes grew three sizes and his face began to turn red. "Han Solo, is there someone else here?"
He had nothing to say, so he turned away and tried to convince himself that everything would be alright.
A voice called out from the other room. "Honey, be sure to tell him about the leak in the bedroom."
Now Luke's face went full tomato and he stood. If he hadn't known any better he would have sworn that voice was… Only he knew better.