A/N: Timeframe here is very early post-ANH or pre-ESB, however you want to look at it. Inspiration came from thinking about how Han might've viewed politics and politicians and how he would've tried to reconcile his opinion of Leia (as a politician) and the Leia that he was trying to get to know. Somehow it came out in Leia's POV, though. Enjoy.
Interesting
"A Senator at nineteen, huh?"
She eyed him cautiously. Probing questions from Han Solo usually took on a life of their own and were not to be trifled with. "That's right."
He nodded his head thoughtfully while scratching at the stubble on his face. For some reason, she had always liked the sound that made. "Interesting," was all he said in return.
Leia didn't like the feeling of being baited. Unfortunately she experienced that feeling all too often while in present company. She turned back to her datapad and continued to read, resisting the urge to fall prey to his trap. Interesting. The single word nagged at her sub conscience. What did he mean by that? Of course, it wasn't normal for a nineteen-year old girl to be elected to the Galactic Senate. But was it the fact that it was her that made it so interesting? Did he think her not capable? "Why do you say that?" She spit out before she could stop herself.
Han Solo grinned. She immediately rolled her eyes and took a deep breath, preparing herself for whatever onslaught that grin might be the harbinger of. He leaned forward a little bit, resting his arms on the table so that their faces were closer. She willed herself not to flinch, not to breathe, even. "It's interesting, is all," he said innocently. And then with a shrug of his shoulders he leaned back and propped his foot up on the chair next to her. She allowed herself a breath. "You, politics," he continued. "All that lyin' and cheatin'."
She arched an eyebrow at him. "There's more to politics than lying and cheating, Han."
He raised his hands up in a gesture of surrender. His grin turning into a full wattage smile.
Smiles from Han Solo were often contagious and she felt the edges of her mouth curling up in response. "Besides," she said, fighting against the shyness that inexplicably gripped at her when she initiated conversations with the irreverent Captain, "since when do you have a problem with lying and cheating?"
"Oh, I don't. It was just interesting to me that you wouldn't have a problem with it," he said slowly, as if for once choosing his words carefully.
"Interesting?" She repeated with her eyes trained on him. He found her interesting? He thought about her in his spare time? And not just lascivious-ly? Now that was interesting.
Han shuffled in his seat, straightened up and took his foot off of the chair next to her. "Yeah, interesting," he said into his plate as he returned to his dinner. He appeared uncomfortable, as if realizing that he may have revealed something to her that he had not intended to. She openly studied him for as long as she dared, piqued by this morsel of information.
When her eyes returned to her datapad, she couldn't concentrate on the figures in front of her. Suddenly she found her brain unable to process even the simplest of tasks. Interesting.