CHAPTER 4:
Once they tired of swimming, Han and Leia readied themselves for the hike back to the base. As the princess laced up her boots, she stole glances as Han deftly pulled his clothes on over his still-wet body. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, and she tried to swallow down this new sensation. She couldn't decide if she liked this giddy feeling or hated it. It made her feel out of control. She definitely didn't like feeling out of control, but this strange nonsensical emotion was addictive. Could Han be the one inciting these feelings? No, it definitely couldn't be Solo. He was annoying and infuriating, and he always tried to make her angry. But he wasn't being like that right now. She tried to shake that thought out of her head. It was probably the exhilarating motorcycle ride or the experience of floating in the water. Leia felt like she was suffering from sensory overloaded. Maybe she was just hungry.
As soon as Han was dressed, he sat in the dirt next to her and pulled on his boots. He looked over at the princess who was still lacing up the boot she started with. Han placed a hand on the back of her head and peered into her face, "You okay?"
"Huh?" Leia felt her cheeks get hot, "Of course." She turned back to her task of lacing her boots.
But Han didn't seemed convinced, "I think you've had too much sun." He sucked in his top lip and let it slide back into place. Although he was enjoying his one-on-one time with the princess, more so than he ever imagined possible, he couldn't help but hope they got back to the base soon for her sake. He stood up and held out a hand for her.
Leia took Han's hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. Han then retrieved his blaster holster and buckled it on while Leia pushed and pulled at her hair. Fixing it seemed like a lost cause. Han smiled as he watched her attempt to straighten out the mess around her head. Before he knew it, his feet had carried him over to her, and he reached out to assist her.
Leia pulled out of his grasp, her eyes wide with fright, "What are you doing?"
Perplexed by her skittish response to him, Han took a step away from her, "Sorry. I was just trying to help." He shoved his hands in his pockets, feeling rebuked.
"I can do it," she went back to work.
He decided to push his luck, "Doesn't look like you're doing that good a job of it."
Leia turned icy eyes on him, "I suppose you could do better?"
"Mm-huh," Han lifted his eyebrows, completely surprised by his response. What did he know about hair? He decided to go with it. "I live with a Wookie. That makes me a hair expert."
The princess suspiciously smiled at him, "When have you ever styled Chewie's hair?"
"Oh," Han's eyes moved to look at the sky as if he were thinking. "I help him all the time. So many knots, you wouldn't believe." He squished up his nose and hoped she wouldn't call his bluff. "I'm sure your hair is a lot easier than Chewie's."
Her eyes narrowed on his as if she was wrestling over believing him or not. Han held his breath. "Fine," Leia turned her back to him so he had better access to her hair. "Style away."
Han tried to bite back his smile. He couldn't believe that she was actually letting him touch her hair. Not just touch her hair, but play with it. This day, this girl, was full of wonderment. He carefully pulled out the pins stuck in her hair and handed them to Leia before he gently ran his fingers through the length of it to smooth out the tangles. Once he was satisfied that her hair was smoothed out enough for styling, Han worked to pull her hair into one bunch that fit in his hand. More than once he ran his fingers along the smooth skin at the nape of her neck, and his breath caught as his touch incited a reaction from her. Her skin rose in bumps as if she was cold, and her body went ridged. Han waited for her to pull away, but she stayed where she was. He took this as a sign to continue. He tightly twisted her hair into a taunt rope that hung down to her waist.
"Give me that elastic-y thing," Han held his hand out, and Leia placed the device in his hand. He fastened it around her hair closest to her head. Once in place, Han separated the hanging hair into three sections and rolled and pinned each in turn. It wasn't exactly like Leia's hair looked when they started this adventure, but in his opinion—biased as it may be, his creation gave her a softer, more approachable look.
"All finished," Han bowed.
The princess ran her fingers along Han's creation, her face pinched, "You better not have made me the laughing stock of the base."
"Now, would I ever do that to you?" Han asked innocently.
Leia whirled around to face him, "Yes!"
"Okay, maybe," Han shrugged. "But I didn't this time."
"You better not have," she warned, and Han couldn't help but laugh.
"Come on, it's time we get back."
Feeling refreshed, Han picked up the pace and Leia did her best to keep up with him. At least her wet clothes were keeping her cool. They came across a structure made of two boulders leaning against each other. It looked safe enough so they decided to go under it rather than over. They slowly made their way through the makeshift tunnel, giving them a respite from the overhead sun. Han was forced to crouch a little, making it difficult to keep up his hurried pace. He was relieved when spotted the dusty light filtering in ahead of them.
Han turned back to look at the princess, flashing her a cocky smile, "I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel."
Leia smirked, "Funny—Han!"
A scaly creature, all gnashing teeth and squirming tentacles jumped out and threw Han to the ground. Han grabbed his blaster, but the creature held Han down with a clawed paw, and one of its tentacles pinned down his wrist, forcing the weapon out of his hand. Han dug his free hand into its throat, failing to cut off its air but managing to keep the creature's sharp teeth at bay. Leia approached it from behind and grabbed its tale. She worked to pull the creature off of Han. She screamed and heaved, and heaved and screamed, but her efforts only managed to anger the animal. With a swipe of its tale, Leia was thrown hard against the nearest rock. Dazed she looked around for a weapon of her own. Using two hands, she heaved a boulder at the animal with all her force. Her weapon hit its target square on the back of the head, a perfect shot! Han slid further away from the predator and scrambled for his blaster. But Han didn't have to worry about another attack. The animal swiveled around and headed for the princess. She was still slumped against the wall and throwing the largest rocks she could grab at it. However, her efforts were in vain. With nowhere to retreat, Leia pulled her legs as far away from her attacker and prepared herself for the inevitable. The creature lashed out a tentacle, wrapping it around the princess' neck. She clawed at the tentacle as she fought to breathe, but for all her effort, she just wasn't strong enough. Leia could feel her world fading away. This wasn't exactly the way she thought she'd die. The last thing she remembered was the creature smashing against her as if was trying to squeeze all the air out of her.
"Leia!" Blaster still drawn, Han rushed over to her. Han kicked the creature off of her and worked to unwrap the heavy tentacle still cutting of Leia's air supply, "Leia!"
Han laid the unconscious princess flat on the stone ground and leaned over her to listen for any signs of breathing. Fighting down his panic, he tilted her head back and hoped the creature didn't crush her windpipe. Han pinched her nose, pulled gently down on her chin, and pressed his lips over hers. Relief washed over him as he saw her chest rise with his breath.
"Come on, Leia. Please breathe," Han pleaded in between the interval breaths he blew into her.
Just when Han thought he'd lost her, Leia coughed herself back to life.
"That's it, Sweetheart," Han stroked her hair, "You're going to be okay." You have to be.
Leia gasped and coughed until she finally was able to control her own breathing. Her chest rose and fell and her eyes found Han's, "That was a close one."
Han gently gathered her up in his arms. "Too close," Han whispered into her hair. Han glanced over at the carcass of the dead creature. Without thinking, he grabbed his blaster and shot it three more times, causing Leia to jump in his arms.
"I think it's dead," Leia struggled to raise her voice.
Han holstered his blaster and turned his attention back to the girl, "I'm sorry."
"About what?" Confused, Leia pulled back to get a better view of his face.
Han shook his head and avoided her eyes, "Everything."
"Han, I don't know what you mean? You don't have anything to be sorry for."
Han didn't respond. Instead, he helped Leia to her feet and made sure she was secure before he let her go. He drew his blaster, "Stay close to me." He held her hand and continued toward the end of the tunnel with caution and hyper-vigilance.
To Han's relief, they made it through the rest of the make-shift tunnel without any other events. Both of them blinked several times as their eyes adjusted to the brighter light. Han re-holstered his blaster but continued to hold Leia's hand. They walked the rest of the way in silence, each caught up in their own thoughts. Han's guilt gnawed at him from the inside. He's immature antics almost got Leia killed. Why did he have to convince her to take that motorcycle for a ride with him? He stole a glance at his companion. An angry red mark marred her neck, and her face was pink with sunburn. He had been too reckless, too irresponsible…too much like himself. And all he did was put the girl in danger.
Feeling his eyes upon her, Leia turned her own up at him and smiled. Despite almost being strangled to death and falling over a ledge, Leia had the best day of her life since…Alderaan. Han wasn't the mercenary she believed him to be. Today he showed her a side of himself that he never had shown before. He was nice to her, even—dare she say, caring. He was…fun. She actually enjoyed his company. Leia never thought she'd ever do that, enjoy his company. She felt like a giddy schoolgirl, well, at least the way she imagined schoolgirls with crushes felt. She looked down at their interlocked hands. She felt safe and protected in a way that she hadn't felt since her father….
"Han! Leia!"
The pair was pulled out of their personal musings by a frantic farm boy who was rushing toward them. The princess dropped Han's hand and hurried into Luke's embrace. Han watched her with Luke and felt slighted. He pushed that feeling down. It was for the best that she was with Luke. Luke would probably do a better job of keeping her safe. He definitely wouldn't be reckless with her. Still, he couldn't help but feel…jealous. He chuckled to himself. He had no right to feel jealous. So why was he bothered by the attention she was now lavishing on Luke? Stupid farm boy, Han thought. Both of them were too idealistic for Han's taste. They deserved each other.
Luke Skywalker broke his embrace with Leia and threw his arms around Han, immediately making Han feel guilty for his angry thoughts towards Luke. Luke pulled away, "We were all so worried!"
"We?" Han inquired.
"Yeah, the search party sent out to look for you," Luke nodded. "There's these strange animals…ali…aliquids. They've infiltrated the base."
"Aliquids?" Leia asked, feeling more than a little guilty for making the rebels send out a search party on the account of Han and her follies.
"Yeah. Real nasty things with long arm things," Luke waved his arms around in an attempt to imitate the beasts. "One killed Fito," Luke's eyes fell to the ground, "and wounded some others working in the hangar. Everyone thought they got you two as well."
"One almost did," Leia explained.
"Princess Leia," General Reikken gathered the girl into his arms. "I was so worried."
"I'm sorry, General," a contrite Leia said.
The general took a step back to look at her and noticed the red mark around her neck and her sunburned face, "What happened?"
Leia glanced back at Han and then returned her attention to Reikken, "I was attacked by one of those creatures." She waved a hand towards Han, "Captain Solo saved me."
The general reached out and shook Han's hand, "I'm most grateful."
Han felt uncomfortable taking any credit for the rescue since the aliquid only attacked Leia because she was trying to help him, "We kinda saved each other." He retracted his hand and scratched his head.
General Reikken surveyed the man, "Well, I'm glad you're both okay." He placed an arm around the princess, "Let's get you two checked out by the medics. You might be dehydrated."
Leia pulled herself out of range of the general, "I'm fine, General."
"Leia," Reikken frowned at her. "You're going to do what you're told. Now get to the medicenter."
The girl's eyes widened before they returned to normal size as she tried to contain her anger. She looked at Han and Luke who were frozen with fear, waiting for her to unleash her wrath on the general. Instead, she settled on giving Reikken a sour face. "Fine," she grumbled and walked away.
"You too, Captain," Reikken ordered.
"There's only one person I take orders from, General," Han's eyes flashed, "and that's me."
"It's a wonder you're still alive!" Leia yelled over her shoulder before she disappeared deeper into the hangar.
Han shook his head, "The mouth on that girl!" Then he headed straight for the Falcon.
Luke watched his friend go, "I guess they're both alright."
Reikken laughed, "They sure are."
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The sun had set around an hour ago, but the heat still lingered. Han found himself wandering the almost deserted halls of the base. His thoughts were on the princess. He hadn't heard from or seen her the rest of that day. He couldn't get the events of the day out of his mind. He smiled to himself as he remembered her floating on her back, the content look on her face. But then his smile faded as an image of her unconscious form crossed his mind. Han frowned. It would be best if he stayed as far away from her as possible. She was just trouble for him. And he was just trouble for her.
Without realizing it, Han found himself standing in front of the medicenter.
"Sir," a Two-One-Bee droid approached him, "May I help you?"
"No, of course not," Han replied but walked inside the medicenter anyway.
"Are you looking for someone?"
"No," but Han was, though he didn't know why.
"Captain!" Reikken cheerfully greeted Han, "So you're following my advice, getting checked out?"
"Not really," Han answered, hands tucked safely in his pockets.
General Reikken smiled knowingly. "She's doing fine. She's just exhausted. She's in Room Four," he whispered into Han's ears as he passed him. "She's asleep, but it's okay to go see her."
"I'm not here—"
"Good night, Captain," Reikken nodded before he left the medicenter.
Han stood there, not really sure why he was there or why the general was encouraging him to go see the princess. Since he had the general's blessing, he might as well go peek in on her, just to make sure she really did survive the day.
Han palmed the door of Room Four. The door slid open, and the light from the hallway flooded in and fell upon the sleeping countenance of the princess. Han hesitated in the doorway, not even certain what to do. He slowly approached the tiny form curled up on her side, and he couldn't help but smile at the sight. Her hands were twisted together under her chin, and her hair, messy with sleep, was still pinned in the style Han had created. The sunburn on her face was almost faded, thanks to the bacta gel that was probably applied when she first checked in. The only traces left of the sunburn were her rosy cheeks and the pink shade on the tip of her stunted nose. A small smile played upon her lips in her sleep, a smile he had never seen when she was awake. She looked peaceful and content, child-like. Han lightly ran a finger along her hair-line, and she stirred from sleep. He froze.
Her eyes fluttered open, "Han." She closed her eyes, "Let's keep our little adventure a secret."
Han's heart sunk. She didn't want anyone to know she was willingly with him, that he wasn't just her rescuer. "Sure," he mumbled and turned to leave.
"Good," she rolled onto her other side. "We don't want the lake crowded with rowdy rebels. It'll be just ours. And Luke's and Chewie's, if we want."
Well, that wasn't what he expected. Han smiled, "Okay, Leia." Without thinking he leaned over and placed a kiss on her sunburned nose, "Pleasant dreams and stranger things."
Leia shifted positions and settled back into sleep. Han expelled a sigh. Yes, this girl was trouble, but maybe he needed a little more trouble in his life.