All Bets Are Off - Chapter Eight
"Hey, Vitrk!"
At the sound of her name, Lyrena popped her curly head up from the cockpit of her X-wing, and she waved a greeting to the tall Corellian as he approached the Green Squadron's landing pad area.
"What's up, Solo?"
"Me and Chewie are headin' out to grab snacks for tonight's show," Han said. "Anything special your crew's cravin'?"
Touvi, standing a half-meter away, overheard Han's query and was quick to offer her opinion. "Be super if you could bring back some Choco Mint Drops," she said. "They are scrumptious mixed in with hot popped oats!"
Han's nose wrinkled in distaste.
"Hey, don't knock it 'til you tried it!" Evie exclaimed, and then sauntered away towards Synja's vessel to continue her data pad distribution.
"I'll look for 'em," Han called after her as he rolled his eyes. Turning back to Lyrena, he said, "Anything else, Lyr?"
"I'm good with anything you can rustle up," Lyrena shrugged before popping her head back into the cockpit to continue her adjustments. She could sense Solo lingering, though, and looked back down.
"Is there something else?" she queried.
She thought the freighter pilot looked a tad sheepish as he shuffled his booted feet.
"Uhh," was his non-reply.
Lyrena cocked her head quizzically at the Corellian, noting how his eyes made a quick scan of the area around them. He looked decidedly shifty.
"Uhh," he began again.
"Yeah, you said that. What's up?" she said as she dropped from the cockpit ladder to the tarmac.
Han gave her a slightly frazzled look. "Could use some, uh, intel." He ran a hand through his tousled hair, and arched one hopeful brow.
"Okay." She had to bite her tongue to hold back a laugh. She never saw the usually confident Solo so unsure of himself.
Han peered around the area again, seeming intent on confirming that no one was in earshot. When he spoke again, his voice was barely above a whisper.
"Thought you might know what size Her Highness wears. Kinda ruined some of her clothes on the Falcon, and I wanna replace 'em."
Ahh, Lyrena thought, suppressing a smile. So this is about Leia. Tamping down on the impulse to laugh, she replied in a detached tone. "Just head down to the quartermaster. They have a record of everybody's size and can get you what you need," she shrugged.
Lyrena thought she actually saw Solo's face flush then, and he ran his hand absently through his hair once more.
"Wasn't Alliance issue stuff," he muttered. "And I'd rather keep this on the down-low."
He looked downright discombobulated, and she had to admit she got a kick out of seeing the normally unflappable Corellian look so flustered.
"Oh, a covert ops, is it?" Lyrena said, and then crossed her arms and cocked her head. "Out with it, Solo. I got work to do."
"Heard you and the Princess went shoppin' in Pargaux," Han continued, and then nervously cleared his throat.
"Sure did." Lyrena smiled. That explained why Solo was so antsy—the only items of clothing Leia had purchased on Pargaux were of the more intimate variety. Still, it didn't explain how Solo had come to be in this predicament in the first place.
"And you...ruined one of these items?" she ventured.
"Yeah. Um, kinda ripped…."
Lyrena did a double take of startled surprise, and it stopped Han short.
"No, no," he almost shouted. "I mean, not me. The Falcon's autovalet chewed up...ah, hell." He threw his hands up, an unmistakable look of awkward embarrassment on his face. "It's a long story," he sighed. "Let's just say, I don't think it was cheap, the thing that was ruined, and I wanna replace it."
Lyrena almost felt sorry for him. "I think I can help. First, was it top or bottom?"
Han's worried look turned into relief. "Um, bottom."
"Color?"
"Blue."
"Oh, that was a gorgeous set," Lyrena eyes closed in memory. "It had the tiniest little Jorallan pearls…."
Her reminiscence was cut short by Solo's quick, "Didn't get a good look at 'em, Lyr."
"Of course," she said in a mollifying tone. "Well, the bad news is, you'll never get a pair to match the top without going to the shop in Pargaux."
"Ain't got time for that." Han's eyes were still nervously flicking around the hangar to be sure that no one else was listening to their conversation.
"I suppose not," she agreed. "So, you could get a complete new set. That would be nicer."
"Yeah, that's the plan. So….size?" His face contorted in question.
"Well, bottoms for humanoids usually come in extra small, small, medium, large, extra—."
"Yeah, yeah, so…. small?"
"Yes, I think so. Tops are different, though, unless you get a camisole. Then, I'd go small if the fabric has stretch, or medium if it doesn't, because the Princess is pretty well-endowed for her size."
Lyrena could swear she saw Han's face change color as she continued, "If you get a regular bra, I think she bought a 32C. Yeah, I'm sure of it, 'cause Synja said they wore the same size. And she probably needs something with firm support, but not the kind with—."
Solo hadn't said a word, but his eyes had definitely glazed over as she expounded on the subject. Clearly, men's choices in terms of undergarments were much less complicated, Lyrena smirked to herself. Reading Solo's body language and facial expression, she laughed a little under her breath. He's got it so bad, she mused to herself.
"You can do this," she said aloud. Nodding in affirmation, she touched his sleeve in a reassuring manner. "And I know she'll appreciate the gesture."
Solo offered a tight smile. "Thanks," he said, and then headed off toward his waiting freighter. He swiveled around after a few paces, pointing a long finger at the female commander, "This stays between us, got it?"
Lyrena gestured a zipped lip and the flick of an imaginary key. Han responded with a crooked smile and a casual salute, and then set off on his original trajectory toward the Millennium Falcon.
"Fixed your comm's volume control," Touvi smiled as she once again approached Lyrena's position, and tossed the communicator to her Commander. Startled, Lyrena reacted just in time to catch the small device. She had been adrift in her own thoughts, contemplating her conversation with the Corellian spacer.
"That seemed like it was about more than just snacks," Touvi observed, indicating the departing Solo with a jerk of her head.
"Not really," Lyrena shrugged, toying with the comm' volume control. "Hey, great job with this thing, Evie. Good as new."
Visibly pleased with the compliment, Touvi smiled brightly as she turned to leave.
"Hey, Touvs?"
Evie swiveled around on her bootheel and give her commander a questioning look.
"You ever place a bet in one of Janson's crazy pools?"
The slender communications specialist's face scrunched in distaste. "I don't speak with that asshole unless it's a direct order from High Command."
Lyrena laughed. "He's an ass, alright, but he doesn't really mean any harm. I'll be back in a bit. Gonna wander over to 'Rogue world.'"
My girls and I might be doing some future shopping courtesy of a well-placed wager, Lyrena mused as she purposefully sought out Wes Janson.