After congratulating Lando for his commissioning, the group headed to the auditorium at the top level of Home One.
Just a few steps before the entrance, Leia's comm chirped. She signaled Chewbacca, Lando and the rest to go on and answered the call.
"Princess, Commander Skywalker has just asked for clearance to dock," the deck officer announced.
"Thank you, Venk. Please tell him that the assembly is taking place in the amphitheater. Organa out."
At least Luke had made it. She had the feeling that his abilities would be sorely needed in the following days.
She hurried through the hatch and scanned the upper level of seats for Han, expecting to find him reclined against a wall or a column, as usual. She had no luck at first, but then she heard his voice and something fluttered in her stomach.
"Who says they didn't?" He bragged to Lando. "But I ain't crazy!" The friends laughed warmly. "You're the respectable one, remember?" the Corellian added, taking a seat by Chewbacca in the front row.
The front row? What was Han Solo doing in the front row? She had not much time to consider the anomaly, though, because Mon was just starting her speech. Stealthily, she slipped into the vacant spot next to him. He acknowledged her with a quick glance and she brushed the tip of her fingers just infinitesimally to the side of his leg in answer.
As the Chandrillan started to talk, she felt the soft pull of the hyperdrives and the stars blurred out of the windows. They had jumped into hyperspace earlier. Luke had made it just in time.
"General Solo, is your strike team assembled?" Madine called.
The jaw of the last Princess of Alderaan dropped. She turned inquiring eyes on him, as if daring him to assert it, or amend it. He did neither, but looked at her from the corner of his eye.
General Solo?
"My squad is ready, sir," he answered. "But I need a command crew for the shuttle," Han Solo added, his manner halfway between a smuggler and an officer.
A General?
Leia Organa's chin dropped a little more.
"It's gonna be rough, pal," he was saying to the Wookiee now. "I didn't want to speak for ya."
Are you crazy, Han? How would I leave you alone? Chewbacca protested vehemently.
"That's one!" Han Solo declared happily.
You really were up to something, you nerfherder.
"Count me in, General," she announced with a smile. There would be time later to kill him for keeping her in the dark.
Thank you, Han's eyes answered.
I love him. I really love him, the Princess thought. And if I touch him now, I'm gonna make love to him in front of everybody until he dies of exhaustion and that wouldn't be proper.
She felt then the room fill with a bright sensation, as if the sunshine had poured suddenly through the viewports.
"I'm with you too," Luke Skywalker announced from the top of the stairs.
The Princess threw herself into the Jedi's arms, hugging him tightly. Luke she could embrace in the middle of a crowd. Luke was safe. Nobody in a million years would think anything wrong about her and Luke.
Han Solo watched his lover and his friend embrace, and something twitched in his gut. There was something else to it, something he could not pinpoint, but as real as a kick in the shins. Stop being paranoid, Solo.
Almost shyly, he stepped in to greet Luke, stroking lightly the Princess's back in the process. She laced her arm with his and that was all he needed to be happy again.
Princess Organa waited by the main archway for Han Solo. Luke was gone to take a shower and change clothes and Chewie had said that he had something to do in the Falcon. Lando had disappeared without a word. The Corellian was still at the bottom of the amphitheater, being greeted by pilots and other Alliance personnel. It seemed that she was not the only one surprised by his new status.
Covertly, she watched carefully one person in particular. A certain tall blonde was just approaching him. She could not hear what they were saying, but she would have paid for being able to. She did not entertain him too much though. Lieutenant G'Mendez soon shook Han's hand briefly and was on her way up the stairs, aiming for the same exit were Leia was stationed.
Her first instinct was to flee and get out of the blonde's path, but her upbringing and her pride were more powerful. Always look at the enemy in the eye, her father had said more than once. She had faced Vader without flinching; she could deal with Han Solo's ex lover without running away. Straightening her back, she glared at her.
Strangely, Aralee G'Mendez was looking back at her intently. Stopping one step below the Princess, both women leveled their gazes and locked eyes.
Han Solo saw them from the corner of his eye and broke out in a sweat.
"I think congratulations are in order for you too, Princess," the navigation officer said extending her hand to Leia Organa.
Reluctantly, she accepted the offering, finding her hand surprisingly warm and steady. "You have nothing to fear from me, Princess," Aralee continued, smirking a little. "Wouldn't be so sure about the others, though..."
"I know," the Alderaanian acknowledged. "I wish we had met in different circumstances, Lieutenant," she added not really knowing why.
Aralee G'Mendez bowed her head slightly. "So do I, Princess." And with that, she was gone, a cascade of blond curls bouncing behind her.
Han has good taste in women, that's for sure, Leia Organa thought watching her go.
A strong hand was placed softly on her shoulder. "You alright?" Han asked.
"She has class, General," she stated, turning her eyes to him.
He offered his arm to her, heart pounding painfully. "I know," he said, leading the Princess through the archway.
They had taken just a few steps along the corridor when they found another familiar figure.
"Han, this is my friend Winter," Leia said waving in the direction of the silver haired woman. "I know you've already been in touch but..."
"Yeah," he answered.
"Winter, this is Cap... General Han Solo." The Princess smiled at her own slip.
"I hope you didn't get the wrong impression from me, General," Winter said extending her hand to him.
In a very Lando-ish gesture, he took her hand but, instead of shaking it, he brought it to his lips with a flourish. "On the contrary, Lady Winter."
"Just Winter, please," Leia's friend answered laughing. "Anyway, Admiral Ackbar is waiting for me. If you excuse me..."
Again, he offered his arm to the Princess and they resumed their walk to the lift. Winter turned and observed them from behind. They looked so good together. The way he leaned to whisper in her ear, they looked so happy. It was ages since she had seen Leia smile like that. It was weird, even with their disparity in heights, how they seemed to walk in perfect coordination, almost... Floating. Really weird.
"You never kissed my hand like that," Leia whispered to Han Solo.
"No," he whispered back, "I prefer to kiss other parts of you."
They finally reached the elevator and waited patiently in front of the closed door.
"When were you planning to tell me, General?" The Princess asked casually.
"Last night," he smirked. "But someone distracted me..."
Leia Organa smiled impishly, studying their own reflection on the polished hatch. "I think I still haven't congratulated you properly, General," she insisted.
The lift arrived and the doors opened. Han lead the Princess into the empty cabin.
"Love it when you talk dirty," he retorted with a grin.
But when he looked back at her, she had become suddenly serious.
The doors closed and the slow descend started.
Leia's eyes filled with tears. "I..." She started.
"S'alright," Han comforted her, his arms coming around her waist.
"I'm so damn proud of you," she blurted at last very unprincess-likely, and pulled him down to kiss him.
Time stopped. The place was forgotten. Nothing mattered anymore but the feeling of each other as her hand buried in his hair and his pulled her body closer.
The lift reached the lowest level and opened its door.
The lovers did not even notice. They only shifted their stances slightly to reach for new sensations.
A mechanic ran to catch a ride and stopped dead in his tracks, eyes going wide. Silently, he signaled the closer fellow Rebel, and she the next. But only half the hangar was aware of the scene in the lift when the doors closed again.
The spell was broken by a few whistles, and money changed hands.
The couple in the elevator finally broke the kiss. "I should have joined three years ago," he sighed, burying his nose in her hair.
She placed her cheek on his chest, her arms still tight around his ribcage. "Why are we going up?"
But she never got an answer, since the doors opened, revealing Senator Mon Mothma and Admiral Ackbar.
The temperature in the cabin suddenly dropped ten degrees when Mothma and Ackbar joined Solo and Organa there.
"Nice, Solo," Mon Mothma's voice dripped irony. "Nice."
Ackbar shook his head in disaproval.
Han Solo opened his mouth but Leia Organa elbowed him.
"We are legal adults, Mon," she stated, blushing deeply.
The Chandrillan tilted her head. "I know, dear, but you're officers too, not to mention a High Princess. You have to give example."
"But Mon..." - "Look, Senator..." – both lovers talked at once.
The doors opened in the next-to-last level. Stepping out, Mothma turned to address Leia again. "I don't care what you do or do not behind closed doors, just be sure that they are and remain that way." Then she turned to her companion. "Don't make me regret my decision, General Solo."
"She hates me," Han groaned when the doors closed for the last time.