CHAPTER 18:
"I thought you said that Alderaanian oplume wine is too good to drink alone?"
Han retracted the glass from his lips without taking a taste and swiveled around in his chair. Princess Leia stood in the doorway, one hand firmly planted on the frame. Although the dress the Doni had given her had taken a beating from all the trials and tribulations they went through, she still looked as beautiful as she did when she lied asleep in that horrid glass coffin. The light of the stars played on her face and her exposed cleavage, and her skin seemed to glow. Han put the glass down on the console, stood up, and then sat back down again, trying to regain his composure. Leia's lips parted and she emitted an uncharacteristic chuckle, but Han liked the sound and didn't mind that she was laughing at his expense.
"Did you get lost again?" Han smiled smugly at the girl.
"Something like that," she returned his smug smile, but her eyes reflected her uncertainty.
That didn't go unnoticed by Han. He had gotten used to her company and found himself wanting to spend more time with her. If he didn't want to scare her off, he'd have to watch himself closely. He waved a hand, inviting her to take the co-pilot's seat. Leia hesitated for the slightest second, grabbed the front of her dress so she wouldn't trip, and regally walked over to Chewie's chair. Han poured the princess a glass of the prized wine as she took a seat. He handed it to her with a smile.
"So what shall we toast to?" There was a giddy lilt to her voice that sounded like music to Han. He had to laugh; he'd never thought he'd think of her voice as music. She mistook his laughter, "What? Can't think of anything to toast to?"
"I can think of plenty," He drawled.
Leia's right eyebrow arched, "Well?"
Han glanced out of the canopy as he thought about it. In a million standard years he'd never thought he'd be seated across from a princess, drinking one of the most expensive and now the rarest of wines in the universe, after cheating death a few more times. Hell, he figured he would've been dead long ago at the hand of some lowly bounty hunter sent by Jabba. How did he end up here? Han looked back at Leia. Who cared how he ended up here? He was just happy to be here. He raised his glass to her, "To old friends."
"Old friends? Not new ones?"
"Nah," he smiled at her confusion. "New friends become old friends so old friends covers it all," He shrugged. It was kind of lame, but what could he say now?
Leia didn't laugh or make a smart remark. She just returned his smile and touched her glass to his, "To old friends." She took a sip, and Han did the same. Then the princess inhaled and stared into her glass, "So…does that mean you're going to join up with the Alliance?"
Han sputtered, "No! I never said that!"
"Oh," Leia uttered and took another sip.
Han watched her, anticipating the pleasure she'd find in the wine. But she only looked disappointed. He took another sip himself. He didn't like her disappointment, and he knew she wasn't disappointed with the wine. He rolled his eyes, "I might stick around for a while, if no one minds."
Leia's eyes flew to his. Her demure was just as calm and serene as it was when she was confronted with the torture droid, but Han could see the smile in her large brown eyes, "I'm sure no one would mind."
He took another sip of his wine to hide the pleasure she incited within him. Then Han cleared his throat, "Whaddya think about the wine?"
The princess cupped the glass with both of her hands, "I've never tasted anything like it."
"You never had any oplume wine before?" Han's mouth dropped open. Leia shook her head "no" and took another sip, this time closing her eyes. "But you're Alderaanian and royal. How is that possible?"
The girl's eyes slowly opened and went far away for a moment, and Han regretted asking the question. How could he be so insensitive? But then Leia returned her attention to him and emitted a short, self-effacing laugh, "I guess I was too young."
Han joined in her laughter, "So you never snuck a taste?"
Still smiling, Leia shook her head and took another sip, "This is heaven." She closed her eyes and emptied her glass.
"It sure is," Han agreed as he poured them both another glass.
Leia leaned back and put her feet underneath her, "Mmm…this is nice. I haven't done this in a long time." And she drained her glass.
Han smirked, "Spend a lot of time with one of the most gorgeous men in the galaxy?"
Leia rolled her eyes, "More like the most arrogant man."
"I can live with that," he winked and poured them another glass each. He watched her sip the sweet wine, "So what haven't you done in a long time?"
She put one foot on the console and pushed against it so her seat faced Han's. Her eyes narrowed on him, "I'm not sure I should tell the most arrogant man in the galaxy."
She was obviously getting comfortable. Han's lips slipped into a lop-sided grin, "Why not? I promise I won't let my head get too big."
She laughed, "It already is." Then Leia looked down at her glass, "I haven't enjoyed myself this much in a long time." And the sadness returned to her eyes.
"You mean you didn't enjoy yourself when you were kidnapped, sentenced to death, and almost captured by the Imperials?"
Leia giggled into her glass, "Well, nothing can compare to that much fun."
As their amusment faded, Han studied her for a moment. "It's been a while since I've enjoyed myself, too," he admitted, and he truly meant it. He looked away and took another sip of his wine. Maybe he was enjoying himself too much.
The pair lapsed into a comfortable silence as they watched the light show beyond the canopy. Han stole glances at his companion and was pleased with himself. Leia's lips were stretched in a serene smile, and she looked the most relaxed he'd ever seen her. And he was the one responsible for her state of mind at the moment. He had been responsible for her state of mind many times during the short span they've known each other, but how she was now felt even better than making her angry. He rarely ever seen her so quiet and still; she always seemed to be running around barking orders out or yelling at him. He liked her like this, wanted to see her more like this…
Han abruptly put his glass down on the console and stood up, startling Leia, "What's wrong?"
"Wait here!" Han ordered.
"Where are you going?" Leia sat up, back straight as a board.
"Nowhere," Han shook his head, "Just don't move."
Leia tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, "Why?"
Han rolled his eyes, "Will you just stay here?" He grabbed the bottle of wine and poured the amber liquid to the lip of the glass she held in her hands.
Leia stared him down for several long seconds, "Fine. But you better come back or I'll—"
"I'm comin' back, Your Worship," Han's patience was wearing thin.
"Then I'll be here, Captain Solo!" Leia snapped back and took a large gulp from her glass.
Han disappeared through the cockpit door. That didn't go as well as he planned. Hopefully, her mood would change by the time he returned. Not that he had a lot of faith that it would. Nevertheless, he decided to go ahead with his impromptu plan. Alderaanian oplume wine had a way of swiftly changing one's mind.
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Leia's eyes flew open and her glass shattered against the floor of the Millennium Falcon's cockpit floor. She was still seated in Chewie's chair, and the Alderaanian oplume wine bottle, almost empty, still sat on the console. She took several calming breaths as she tried to push the images of yet another nightmare from her head. She swiped the hair out of her face. This one was new. Vader was in it, but so was Han, and something made it far worse than any other dream she had. It was something she couldn't put her finger one. The details were hazy, but it left her with a queasy feeling. Maybe it was the wine.
The princess glanced at the pieces of glass, Nubian crystal, scattered on the floor and grimaced, "Han's going to kill me."
Where was he? Leia wasn't certain how long he'd been gone or how long she'd been asleep. She looked around before reaching down and picking up the larger shards. She carefully placed them on the console, and her irritation at Han's absence rapidly grew. It was just like him to get her drunk, get her to open up and trust him, and then take off. Leia closed her eyes. Why did she let her guard down like that? Maybe it was time to find a place to sleep.
Leia pushed herself out of the co-pilot's seat, teetered around for a moment, and with careful unsteady steps, she avoided the tiny shards of glass on the floor and headed toward the exit of the cockpit. She palmed the door and smashed against the chest of Han Solo.
"I thought you said you'd stay here," Han's tone was tainted with disappointment and anger.
Leia swooned and blinked her eyes as she recovered from the impact. Definitely way too much wine for her. She jabbed a finger into his chest, "I thought you said you were coming back."
"I did come back, Your Worship, didn't I?" Han argued.
The princess' mouth formed a tiny "o", and she looked back to the seat she had just exited. Her mouth quickly snapped shut, and she crossed her arms over her chest.
Han pushed passed her when he caught sight of the shattered glass, "What happened?"
Leia's eyes widened as an image of Han and Darth Vader flashed through her mind like an electric current. Han turned back to her when she didn't answer. The girl grabbed the doorframe with both hands and leaned heavily upon it, "It slipped out of my hands." Her face scrunched up as she waited for Han to explode.
Han's hands went to his hips and his brow furrowed, "Are you okay?"
"Of course," she said, and then there was the diplomatic smile Han hated. "Why wouldn't I be?"
His jaw clenched shut, and he let the subject of her well-being go. He was tired of her lying about it anyway. He looked down at her bare feet and then glanced at her hands, "You didn't cut yourself, did you?"
Leia just shook her head "no". Han nodded. "So," he drawled, "Where were you headed?"
"To find somewhere to sleep," she answered, now irked that he hadn't offered her a bunk in the first place. It wasn't like any of the Rogue Squadron offered up their bunk either, not even Luke. But Luke was mad at her, wasn't he? She wasn't so certain now. Leia shook her head to clear it.
The man's eyebrows rose, and then he settled into a wicked smile, "I've got something better."
Leia rolled her eyes but then pulled them shut against the dizziness that almost overwhelmed her, "I highly doubt that."
"Fine," he sauntered over to the pilot's seat and reached for the bottle of wine with all intentions of refilling his glass. "If you don't want to know…" He leaned back in the chair as he emptied the contents of the bottle into his glass. Then he sipped the sweet wine and counted in his head, one…two…three—
"Okay," Leia huffed. "What is it, and it better not be a night spent with you!"
"I thought you enjoyed my company," Han's voice dropped and he leered at her.
"Not that much, Flyboy." Leia narrowed her eyes on him as best she could, and Han returned his attention to his glass of wine. She pressed her lips together and frowned, hoping she wouldn't regret pursuing the issue, "So it's not a night spent with you?"
"Nah," Han slowly ran his hand along the edge of the console, "It's not that good."
"Every time I think you've reached your maximum capacity of arrogance," Leia quipped, "You manage to top yourself."
Han looked up to her and gave her the smuggest smile he could muster up, "I'll take that as a compliment."
Leia sighed, "You would." Now her patience was waning, "You still haven't told me."
"Told you what?"
"Oh!" she stamped her foot and turned to leave despite the fact she had no idea where she was going to go.
"Wait!" Han jumped out of his seat and went after her.
"I'm tired of your games, Captain Solo!" Leia continued on her way. Han caught up to her and grabbed her arm. She whirled around, "If you please let me go—"
"Where you gonna go?" Han released his hold on her and shoved his hands in his back pockets.
Leia glanced in the direction of the lounge and then back at Han, "Somewhere you're not!"
"Aw, come on, Leia," The tone of his voice caused Leia to freeze where she was. Was he actually pleading with her? She looked up at him expectantly. His eyes flew to the ceiling as he inhaled. Only after that was he able to make eye contact with her. The corner of his lips curved up, "Will you just come with me?"
The princess bit her lip, physically trying to hold in a stinging retort. There was something in his eyes, a look…In the nightmare that had woken her moments ago, he looked at her with that same intensity…Leia took a step back as an image of Darth Vader burned her mind.
"What?" Han couldn't mask his hurt. "Do I repulse you that much? Agh! Just forget it!" He turned around and stomped back toward the cockpit.
"No!" she called after him. A fear crept up her spine. What if he just kept walking away from her? "Han, please don't go!"
Now it was Han's turn to be frozen in place by her tone. He stopped, but his head was tipped down, and he remained facing away from her.
Leia didn't know what to say next, but she knew she had to say something. She took a single wary step toward him, "Didn't you want to show me something?"
"I did."
"Do you still want to show me?" She sounded like a child to him. He closed his eyes. Maybe he shouldn't… "Han," she whispered, "I'd really like to see what you wanted to show me."
That did it. Han slowly inhaled as he tried to contain his elation. He leisurely turned to face her, he but chose to say nothing. The girl held out her hand, "Please."
Han gazed at the tiny hand reaching out to him, the same hand he clutched more times than he could remember over the last couple of days. But this time she wasn't reaching for him out of fear or necessity. She was reaching out to him because she wanted to. And he wasn't going to pass up that opportunity.
Solo took her hand and whisked her down the hallway, pass the entry ramp, and into an area littered with partitions. Leia stumbled and tripped over her own feet a few times as she tried to keep up with Han's hurried pace. With the determination of a man at least a decade younger than him, he took no notice of the girl's mishaps.
"Are we there yet?" she wined after she tripped over her dress for the umpteenth time.
"I thought diplomats had a limitless amount of patience," he turned behind another partition.
"Well, you thought wrong," Leia tugged on Han's arm. "Can we go a little slower? I'm not exactly in my right mind right now."
"When are you ever?"
Leia bent her knees and pulled harder on Han's arm. But before she could snap at him, Han whirled around and faced her, "Close your eyes."
"Captain Solo," Leia teetered for a moment, "Captain Solo, I'd be a fool if I ever closed my eyes around you."
Han shrugged, "In most cases I'd agree with you." He smiled mischievously, "But you'll wanna close your eyes in this case."
Leia swiped at her hair, catching her fingers in the tangled curls. Han rolled his eyes and helped her out of her small dilemma. He then grabbed both of her hands and put them over her eyes. "Who am I kidding?" Han spun her around and put one hand over her eyes and the other around her waist to guide her, "You're a politician. Can't expect me to blindly trust ya'."
"I'm not sure I should be blindly trusting you," she argued but made no attempt to disengage herself from his hold.
Han bit his bottom lip in an attempt to stifle a smile. She was going to be so surprised. He led her with the utmost care around another partition, "You ready?"
"I'm ready!"
Han slid his hand out of her sight, but his arm around her waist...well, he was so swept up in her.. it stayed in place. Leia's large brown eyes widened and her mouth formed the slightest circle. "I can't believe it," she whispered.