CHAPTER 10:

Han stared at the princess. He wanted to tell her everything would be okay, that they'd get out of this situation like they always did, but he knew his words were hollow. They were locked in a windowless unfurnished room with no weapons. But looking at her slumped on the floor hugging herself, he had to think of something.

Han went to the door and pulled on the handle, testing it out. It was an old-fashioned door knob; surely it'd be easy to break. He studied the construction. It was held in place by the tiniest screws Han had ever seen. He bit his lip and ripped a button off of his tunic. Then he tried to push the edge of the button into the grooves on one of the screws, but the button's edge was far too wide to fit. Han slammed the button to the ground and began pounding his body against the door.

The button rolled across the room and spun around when it hit the edge of the princess' dress. The brass button grabbed Leia's attention. She picked it up and turned it around in her fingers several times. She glanced up at Han as he abused his body against the door.

"Stop!" she shouted, and Han immediately obeyed.

But Han wasn't ready to give up. He moved to the closest vent, crouched down, and peered inside. It was far too slender for even Leia to fit through.

"They're going to gas us, Han," Leia said quietly. "That's what those vents are for."

Han's shoulders slumped as all of the escape routes he could think of were exhausted. He slowly turned around to face his companion. A piercing pain stung his heart when he saw the tears that stained her cheeks. Han pulled his foot back and kicked the vent as hard as he could, creating a nice big dent in it.

"Sith!" he cursed as he jumped around on one foot.

"Hurting yourself isn't going to do you any good," the princess pointed out.

"There has to be a way out."

"Look around. There isn't."

"What?" Han turned to face her, "Are you just going to give up?"

"I'm not giving up," she sniffed. "I'm facing reality."

Han watched the tears roll down her cheeks. It was too much for him to take. He knelt down in front of her, "Don't cry, Leia." He pressed his lips together, "I'll be right here with you. This time you don't have to go through anything alone." He moved in to embrace her.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed and crawled to the corner of the room. Still holding herself, she rested her head against the cool wall.

Han fell back on his haunches, completely demoralized. His overwhelming heartache melded into anger. He was wrong about her. Her heart was as cold as ice. Even if he repulsed her, how could she be so cruel to him when he was also facing death? She wasn't worth rescuing. How stupid he was. She was as stuck-up, better-than-everyone-around-her as he always thought her to be. She probably thought she's too good to die with a lowly smuggler. How could he be so fooled by this girl?

Solo leaned back on his hands, narrowing his eyes on the girl cowering in the corner of the room, "Who would've thought the brave Princess Leia would be so afraid of death?"

Her eyes flashed when she briefly looked at him, "I am not afraid to die."

"Then what is it, Your Worship?" he drawled. "Dying this way isn't as glorious as dying in a battle or at the hands of Vader?"

Leia buried her head in the corner again, and despite her coldness towards him, Han felt a pang of guilt. He closed his eyes, suddenly overcome by defeat.

But the sound of her voice grabbed Han's attention, "Everything….everyone I care about ends up dead because of me."

He froze as her words sunk into his thick skull. Did she just admit she cared about him?

Leia sucked in a ragged breath now unable to control her emotions, "You shouldn't have come after me." Her tears rolled down her cheeks and landed on her lap. "Not now. Not then… on the Death Star." Her mouth opened and closed with her silent wails. She closed her eyes in an attempt to stop her tears, "I wish I died on the Death Star."

"How can you say that?" Han reprimanded. How could he think that? Sick to his stomach, he scrambled over to her.

The princess looked up at him, "You're going to die, Han."

He forced a smile, "It had to happen some time."

She turned back to the wall, bracing herself with one hand, "If you didn't come after me, it wouldn't be today. It wouldn't be because of me."

Han couldn't restrain himself anymore. He gently took hold of Leia's trembling shoulders and slowly pulled her to him so that she leaned against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on top of hers.

"I'm so sorry, Han," she whispered between her tears.

"You have nothing to be sorry about." He was the one who should be sorry even though he never voiced his thoughts out loud. He turned her around so that she faced him. He caressed her face, delicately wiping her tears away. Again he smiled at her, a genuine, heart-felt smile, "Did I tell you how beautiful you look? You're the most beautiful girl I have ever seen."

Leia blinked a few times, her large brown eyes looking into his and her lips slightly curving up at the ends. Han's stomach did a few flips, "What a better way to die? I have the most beautiful girl in the universe at my side. This is exactly the way I always wanted to die." His lips formed into his characteristic lop-sided grin.

Still smiling, Leia shook her head. She paused as if she wanted to say something, but no words came. Instead, she scooted as close as she could to him, wrapped her arms around him, and buried her head against his chest. Despite their fate, Han felt elated and warm inside. He returned her embrace, once again resting his head on top of hers.

"I…" Leia's words were muffled by Han's chest. "I'm sorry…I wasn't nicer to you."

Han lifted her chin, "What was that? Did you just apologize to me?"

The girl swiped at a tear with the back of her hand, "Don't make me take it back."

Han innately grinned at her, "Never." He pushed a curled lock of hair out of her face, "You know, I like to argue with you because you're so cute when your face turns read and your eyes get all squished up."

The princess let out a small giggle, "You're weird."

"That's a new one."

"What?"

His lips formed a lop-sided grin, "You've never called me that before."

Leia's eyes slipped to the right, "You're right. I did forget that one. I'll be more careful in the future…" her eyes dropped to the ground.

Han quickly thought, "You know what?"

"What?" she returned her attention to her companion.

"I've always wondered what it's like to kiss you." Han sucked in his lips and coyly gazed at the girl.

"You…what?"

"Haven't you ever wondered?"

"Wonder what?" she asked, but she knew exactly what he meant.

"You know," Han shrugged and looked away like a shy school boy. "What it's like to kiss me."

The princess slowly disengaged from Han, and his heart sunk. How could he be so stupid?

The girl blinked twice. She ran her bottom lip through her upper teeth, "Uh…well…I suppose I've been a little curious," she whispered.

Solo's eyebrows rose. Did she just admit…? Han's heart began to pound loud and fast, and he prayed that she couldn't hear it. He tried to cover his nervousness with a smirk, "What do you say? Since the both of us are curious…why don't we give it a try?"

Leia sunk back to sit on her heels as if she were retreating from Han. Han casually stretched his legs out and tried to pretend he didn't say anything about a kiss, which was impossible.

The girl wrapped her finger around a lock of her hair and twisted it around over and over, driving Han crazy. "Okay."

Han gulped, "Okay?" She nodded. "Are you sure?"

Leia slowly nodded again, and Han smiled, feeling giddy as a teenager experiencing his first encounter with a girl. How did she manage to fluster him like this? He's the older, more experienced one. She's just a girl, a girl still in her teens. Han decided to push that last thought out of his head.

The princess leaned forward, supporting herself on her hands. Han not only had a perfect view of her perfect bosom, he could see her chest rise and fall with each breath. Good. Now she's flustered. His confidence grew. Han caressed her chin, guiding her lips to his. She was trembling, and he feared he was pushing her over her limits. But she didn't pull back so he decided to continue letting things progress.

Solo let her come to him so that he didn't scare her. With her hands planted firmly on the ground, Leia leaned in and pressed her lips to Han's. Despite it being the most awkward kiss he ever experienced, his stomach did more flips than he thought possible. His thumb lightly brushed against her cheek. She stayed there longer than he expected. Then she retreated faster than a killin running from a nreca.

Han opened his eyes. The princess sat back on her haunches, her cheeks bright pink. He smiled at her, "You okay?"

She nodded, her mouth slightly open, "You have lipstick on your…lips."

Still smiling, Han wiped his lips with the back of his sleeve, "So was it everything you ever dreamed of?"

Leia's dark eyes narrowed on him, ready to lay in to him like she never had before. She opened her mouth, but an eerie hiss distracted her. Both Han and Leia looked at the vents. A steady stream of purple haze seeped in from each vent. Han instinctively pulled Leia too him, wrapping his arms around her as tight as she could. She closed her eyes and returned his embrace, burying her head against his chest once again as she tried to remember how she felt when he carried her down the cliff.