When Leia arrived back at their apartment she found that Han had still not returned. Completing her usual night time routine in the 'fresher, she slipped into their bed and grabbed her datapad to review notes for her meetings the next day.
Later, realizing she had fallen asleep, Leia awoke and found that her datapad was the still the only thing lying next to her in the bed. Her reading light, which she was sure had been on, was turned off. She crawled out of the bed and walked out to the living area.
His feet hanging off of the side of the couch was the first thing she saw. None of the furniture in their living area was long enough for the tall, hard-headed Corellian. Not even your furniture accommodates him properly.
She walked around the sofa so that she could see him. He was lying on his back and his hands were folded over his chest forming an X. The site startled Leia for a second as she thought he looked like a corpse. Finally realizing by his body position and lack of coverings that he must be cold, she quietly went back to their room, grabbed a blanket, returned to the living room and covered his body. As the warmth of the blanket settled on him, she watched as he turned to his side and relaxed his arms. Again, she felt a pang of guilt for what she was putting him through, and she turned around and went back to bed for the night. The rest of her sleep was difficult and restless.
The next morning Leia's alarm woke her up. That was a very unusual occurrence for her. Her late night and restless sleep made for a very tired princess. As she turned off the alarm and flung her legs over the side of the bed, she remembered just what had kept her up the night before. Quickly sliding off of the bed she headed for the living room. It was immediately obvious that Han wasn't on the sofa any longer. Walking into the kitchen, she noticed the kaffe had been brewed and there was a dirty cup sitting in the sink. He had left already.
Her heart sank. She couldn't believe that he was letting this come between them. She could not have been clearer about her feelings for him. She had expressed her commitment to him vehemently. But what about your actions? Leia knew better than anyone that perception was reality to most people. Thinking about her current situation she once again cringed at the callousness of it, especially from Han's point of view.
She glanced at the chrono and realized that she had better get to the office; she had several meetings on her agenda this morning. Leia made it to the office without incident and quickly fell into her normal routine. She was quite distracted the entire morning. If one more person asked her about Han she thought she would scream. Replying to a holomail, she was startled when her assistant chimed in on her office comm, "Councilor Organa, Prince Isolder is here for your lunch meeting."
What? She had totally forgotten about their lunch meeting. She had agreed to it when it had been the only available time on her calendar. She had agreed to it when Han was still speaking to her and sharing her bed. Wondering how she could justify sitting down to lunch at a city café with a man that had proposed to her days ago while Han slept on her sofa the night before, Leia dropped her head into her hands. Well there's no getting out of it now, Organa.
Pushing herself up to a standing position, she let her assistant know that she would be right out, not feeling comfortable with inviting Isolder into her office. As counterfeit as the proposal was, it almost automatically implied an intimacy between the two of them. Leia suddenly felt nervous and self-conscious at the thought of being alone with him, and then she thought of Han. How would she feel if the shoe was on the other foot? That would never happen…and therein lies part of your problem.
She steadied herself and exited her office. Greeting Isolder coolly, she could tell that her behavior confused him. Before he could ask her, she offered that they eat at the dining hall on the first floor of her office building. She felt that it was less likely that they would be seen there and it would preserve the atmosphere of a meeting more than a public café would. He hesitantly agreed and offered his arm to her as he spun on his heels to leave the reception area. She turned to her assistant and feigned some important remark, leaving Isolder to drop his arm and her assistant wondering about her employer's state of mind.
After several failed attempts at small talk prior to their food being delivered, Isolder began again with, "What is wrong, Leia? You seem different than the last time we spoke. Have I done something to offend you?"
If he hadn't offended her already, the casual use of her name was doing a pretty good job of it. She calmed herself down and responded, "Nothing is wrong, Prince Isolder. I am just very busy and I usually don't take the time to leave the office for lunch." For anybody but Han.
"Your work is very important to you. That is commendable. That is one of the many things I admire about you."
Now, Leia hadn't dated much in her younger life and her and Han's courtship could hardly be called normal, but she was pretty sure she could recognize a pick-up line when she heard one. This was one. The fact that Isolder may not have been in on the planning of this little political maneuver may be a moot point as it seemed perfectly clear to her now that he was joining in on the game.
She thought of her conversation with Mon and of all the politically correct ways she could handle his remark. Then she thought of Han and just what kind of response Isolder truly deserved from someone who was in a committed relationship like she and Han were. She took a deep breath and responded, "Prince Isolder, I feel I must be brutally honest with you at this point."
Before she could continue he interjected, "Is this about the General?"
The General? She did not appreciate his tone or the way he referred to Han like a piece of furniture that unfortunately happened to sit in her apartment. She answered him firmly, "Yes, this is about Han," using his name as a not-so-subtle indication of their relationship. "We are in a committed relationship and I'm afraid the proposal your mother has made to the New Republic will never come to fruition." There, you said it! Why don't you feel any better?
"Leia, this general has been a hero to your alliance. I understand that. He was also a distraction for you during the horrors of your Rebellion crusade. But you must see how inappropriate it is for you, the last remaining member of the House of Organa, to trifle with a character of such questionable esteem. You must recognize the absurdity."
She was frozen. Her body felt like it had been left outside on Hoth after the shield doors closed. He had reached across the table and he was stroking her hand with his. His comments were too much for her to process at one time. She was almost morbidly impressed that one person had single-handedly insulted her, her lover, her family, her home planet and the Rebellion in a few short sentences. Isolder had trampled on everything that was anything to her, something that it had taken even the media several years to accomplish. I wonder if I throw up on him if it would even the score?
He was smiling at her and she was completely at a loss for an appropriate response to his actions. She was sure she must've looked mortified and shocked, so his pleasant demeanor was unnerving. She felt the situation spiraling out of her control as she looked past Isolder's shoulder to see Han and Chewie stopping at the window outside and looking in at her. She quickly pulled her hand from Isolder's as Han turned and walked away.
Chewie stood and looked at her and she thought she would explode under his disapproving stare. The trance between them was broken as Leia turned to Isolder, who had apparently been speaking to her, "…mean to be so frank with you, but I feel it is my obligation and duty -"
She stood up abruptly, causing him to stop speaking. Her eyes were searching for Chewie or Han on the street outside as she absently responded to his words, "I am not surprised by your sentiment, Prince Isolder. If you will excuse me, however, there is somewhere that I need to be."