This chapter is a little slower, but I promise it is going to get a LOT more interesting…
Han had spent the rest of the day staying out of Leia's way, with the exception of bringing her some soup for dinner and demanding that she eat at least some of it. After much coaxing, she finally got through about half of the bowl before she sent him away again. He only wanted to make sure she was taken care of, but she was far more interested in being left alone.
She had fallen asleep early that night, and Han crept into the room to find her once again snoring loudly on her back. After about twenty minutes of futilely trying to fall asleep with the noise rumbling in his ears, he decided to throw on some sleep pants, grab a pillow and a blanket and retreat to the living room couch.
He was awakened early when he heard Leia's flu-like voice calling him from the bedroom. After taking a moment to work out the kink in his neck from awkwardly being propped up on the arm of the couch, he went into the bedroom.
"Hey, sweetheart, how are you today?"
" Not a whole lot better." Her voice still sounded terrible. "Were you sleeping on the couch?"
"Yeah, sorry. I wanted to make sure I got enough sleep before this photo shoot. You were snoring pretty loud again."
"That never stops me from staying in bed with you."
"Hey, now. That's just part of my charm."
"That's easy for you to say. You don't have to listen to it." She let out a few hacking coughs, and he went to the 'fresher to get her a glass of water.
"Here you go. Maybe I should call Rena and tell her we should reschedule."
"I forgot. Was that supposed to be today?"
"Yeah, we talked last night, she's coming in about two hours. She doesn't have to, though."
"Han, I think I'd rather you just get this over with. It would probably be a good idea if we minimize any more of your talking to this Rena person."
"Princess, are you starting to get jealous?"
"Don't press me, Solo. I'm sick and irritable. And you better get cleaned up and make yourself presentable. I don't want those readers seeing what a mess you can be when you first roll out of bed. Or the couch, I guess." She reached up to run her thumb along the stubble on his chin.
"If you say so. But you know, the better I look the more women are going to be fawning all over me when they see the pictures."
"Don't count on it. I plan to make sure they emphasize the fact that you are happily married. And also that any woman who tries anything is going to be reminded of how skilled your wife is in hand-to-hand combat."
"I love it when you get violent. And I love your new sexy, sultry voice. I'd kiss you if you weren't so germ-infested."
"Just shut up and go take a shower."
"Sure thing. I'll be back." Han left the room, almost having forgotten what he might have to deal with once Rena arrived.
Leia was once again half asleep against her pillow, her head pounding. It was so rare that she caught some sort of virus, but when she did, it was usually enough to knock her out for a few days.
She was also annoyed that this magazine article had come about when she wasn't quite herself. Why in the universe had she allowed Han to make such a decision on his own? There couldn't possibly be any good that could come from it, except maybe the fact that Lando would not have been chosen.
Now, she didn't mind if Han knew that she thought he was the sexiest man alive, but that didn't mean that she wanted strangers thinking of him that way. She also wasn't sure how big his head might get once this article was released. Surely his male friends would only make him live to regret it, making fun of him every chance they got. But she was starting to worry that maybe when all of these women started looking at him differently that maybe he'd start looking back, and not so much in the casual sense.
Well, that was ridiculous, wasn't it? She and Han had vowed to be faithful to one another, and she knew she would never do something like that to him and she had always trusted him enough to be certain that he would never do something like that to her. The fever must've been making her slightly delirious.
But what if Han was right about this Rena person? What if she was really coming onto him? Then again, did it matter? Han surely wouldn't act on anything. But if Leia did sense her flirting with Han, she was going to make sure to offer her a beverage. One that included just a little bit of royal, germ-infested spit.
Han emerged from the 'fresher then, wearing nothing but a white towel wrapped around his waist. His skin was glistening with moisture, accentuating the taut muscles underneath, and his wet hair was sticking out in all directions. If that wasn't the image of the sexiest man alive, she didn't know what was.
He rummaged through his top drawer, taking out a pair of his white boxer-briefs. Without the slightest hint of modesty, he dropped the towel and slipped his underwear over his muscular legs, the cotton material fitting snugly against him and outlining every shape underneath. It was a visual Leia had experienced countless times, but she found herself staring at him like a teenager. Unfortunately, she was fairly certain that the pounding in her head and the aching of the rest of her muscles were going to prevent her from acting on the impulses triggered by a few other, very specific parts of her body.
She was snapped out of her gawking trance by another attack of coughing that burned her throat and increased the pain radiating at her temples.
Oblivious to her prior stare, Han picked up his towel off of the floor and turned toward her. "That doesn't sound too good. Did you take any medicine yet today?"
The coughing finally subsided a bit once she had another sip of water. "No, I was hoping to avoid it for at least a little while. It makes me too sleepy, and I want to at least be awake enough for our guests this morning." She got a good look at him facing her, and suddenly felt that if this particular image were to be in any magazine, her husband might never be able to go out in public again without being mobbed by females.
"Well, let's try something a little different. There's an old Corellian remedy that doesn't involve drugs. Just give me a minute."
He walked out of the room in his bare feet, and she wondered what he possibly might be returning with. She took a moment to use a tissue to blow her nose once again and winced as the tissue touched the now-raw skin surrounding her nostrils. She didn't want to know what she looked like given her current condition.
Han returned with a small glass of copper-colored liquid and she looked at him skeptically as he held it out to her. "Here, drink this. But get it down fast or it might not go down at all."
She took the glass from him. "What is it?"
"I'll tell you in a minute, just trust me."
She decided not to argue for once and she opened her mouth and tossed back the liquid. Somehow it made it down her throat before she felt the burning and started coughing once again, enough this time to make her eyes water. Between coughs she managed to sputter out, "What was that?"
He took the glass from her hand, sat next to her on the bed and rubbed her back soothingly. "Whiskey."
"It's 7:30 in the morning! And that's your big Corellian secret? I should've known it involved alcohol."
"Hey, I wouldn't have given it to you if I didn't think it worked." His warm hand was still rubbing up and down her back, and she felt the burning finally starting to subside. It was nice of him to try to be so helpful, she just wasn't so sure that a shot of hard liquor was what she needed right now.
"That was terrible. Now I remember why I don't drink it. Will you help me get up? I suppose I've got to get cleaned up here, too."
"Sure." He stood and offered his hand as she slowly sat up and put her feet on the floor. She immediately felt dizzy and reached up to hold her head in her hand.
"Are you sure you're up for standing in the shower? I could draw you a bath, if you want."
He really could be sweet when he wanted to be. "Yes, I think that's probably a good idea." She rested back against the pillows once again while Han retreated to the 'fresher and she heard the water running to fill the large, whirlpool tub.
A few minutes later, she heard the water stopping and he returned to help her into the bathroom. She was absurdly over-dressed, but she had been experiencing chills and had been forced to layer herself in an oversized sweatshirt and old sweatpants. For a moment she caught their reflections in the mirror and thought of the absurd contrast between their current appearances.
He helped undress her, and uncharacteristically he never interjected with any sort of sexual comment. Maybe he was just preoccupied with holding her upright. She shivered when she was finally completely exposed, and he helped to ease her into the hot, soapy water. Resting her head back against the porcelain, she almost instantly felt the tenseness in her muscles easing, and she shut her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of the hot water enveloping her body and breathing in the moist steam rising out of the tub. She couldn't resist the sigh that escaped her lips.
"Better?" Han asked.
"Much. Thank, you."
Stepping over to the sink, she watched as Han filled his palm with shaving cream and smoothed it over his face before bringing the blade up to shave. He owned an electric razor, but had always said that he preferred the old fashioned method, as it left his skin smoother. Leia appreciated it as well, not just for the end result, but for the image it was providing her at the moment.
Once he was satisfied with his work, he splashed some water over his face and blotted it dry with a towel. He then seemed to notice her stare. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you're starting to agree with the idea that I'm the sexiest man alive."
"I never said I didn't agree, I merely thought maybe it wasn't a good idea to broadcast it to the public so I can keep you all to myself."
"Sweetheart, you don't have to worry. No matter how many of these new women who start throwing themselves at me, I'll still come home at least most nights."
"Careful, nerfherder. I'll let you get really used to sleeping on that couch."
He gave her his usual lopsided grin and walked over to sit on the edge of the tub. "Here, let me wash your hair."
She didn't even respond, she simply shut her eyes and enjoyed the sensations of Han's fingers massaging her scalp as he rubbed the shampoo in her hair. The soothing motions nearly lulled her to sleep, and she was starting to feel like being under the weather and letting Han take care of her maybe wasn't such a bad thing. Although it was also making her slightly suspicious that he was only doing it because he was feeling guilty about something.
"All done." Han's voice startled Leia, as she had nearly been soothed into sleep. "Ready to get out and get dressed?"
"Do I have to?"
"I could always leave you in here to hide from our visitors and turn into a prune."
"Oh, fine." She opened her eyes and sat up. Han had stood next to the tub and reached down to grab both of her upper arms to help her ease out of the water. "I don't know how cheerful I'm going to be when they get here, though."
"Leia, cheerful was never really your thing anyway."
She was reminded of her headache as she stood upright, and she chose not to respond. Once she was out of the tub, Han wrapped her up in a large, white robe and ran his hands up and down her upper arms before leaning down to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. "All right, you think you can manage for yourself now? I've got to get dressed."
Looking at him then, still wearing only his underwear, she kind of wished he wouldn't. But there was no time for that now, and she was certainly in no condition. She silently cursed her useless immune system. "Sure, thanks."
"Are you hungry yet? I can make you some breakfast in a few minutes if you want something."
In spite of not having eaten much the day before, she still had zero interest in food. "No, I don't think I want anything."
"You sure? Maybe just some juice or something? You can't just not eat, Leia."
The return of his overbearing bedside manner was starting to get on her nerves again. "Really, I'm fine. But sure, maybe a glass of juice if it will make you feel better."
"Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes."
Leia slowly walked back into their bedroom and sat on the bench in front of her dresser and mirror. Oh, Gods, I look horrible! She thought to herself. She wondered what people were going to think when they saw that the sexiest man alive was married to a tired, pale, red-nosed princess with dark circles under her eyes. And surely they were going to also be impressed with the volume of fluid oozing out of her nostrils.
With a sigh, she decided to grab a few more of those decongestant pills to see if they might help any. Even if her nose stopped running she was sure she would still be able to impress anyone with her hacking cough. This is not going to be a good morning.
