He was late and he was doing it on purpose. Leia just knew it. She couldn't believe his nerve. She had their next few days, every outing, every tea, every meeting, every single public appearance, planned out to the last parsec. He was ruining everything.

If she hadn't been so upset, she might find it comical how she went from finding him tolerable one second to hating him the next. It had to have been him who had saved her father that fateful day. Had it really only been two days before? She couldn't believe it. Leia felt like she had been dealing with Han Solo's antics forever.

Leia was just about to go drag him out of his room herself when he came lumbering down the palace steps and into the foyer.

She turned on him, offering her best glare. His response was a low whistle and a seductive leer. Balking, she tried to keep her composure.

"Captain Solo, are you finally ready?"

His cheery tone was meant to mock her and she was infuriated by how much it annoyed her.

"Yes, sweetheart. I just got caught up talking with your grandmother. Seems to think we've chosen the wrong place for dinner. Says we should go somewhere cozier for lovebirds like ourselves."

Han pointed casually behind him and Leia picked up on his signal. She would have to be more careful at being civil towards him. Grandmother was always lurking, having been so deeply invested in their relationship.

He was beaming, but she kept her cool. "I'm sure that we will have plenty of time to try Grandmother's suggestion at a later date. But really, we mustn't cancel plans. They're expecting us."

"Oh, no. We mustn't." Han walked down the last few steps and stood in front of her. Giving a little bow, he stuck out his arm. She accepted, but the strength with which she grabbed him showed just how much she appreciated his words.

He laughed all the way into the hoverlimo. When they got in and the driver shut the door, Han and Leia pulled apart immediately and sat at opposite ends. Leia made sure the shield was up between them and the driver before turning on him.

"You are an incorrigible human being."

"Thank you."

"That wasn't meant as a compliment."

"I know."

Leia sighed. "What took you so long?"

He was looking out the window as the hoverlimo started to pull away from the castle. "Dunno. Had to do my hair."

"Your-" She was about to go into a long, tedious rant at how his hair should not take that long when she noticed the smirk on his face. "You think you're so funny."

"I am funny. You need to relax, sweetheart."

"Did we not discuss this earlier? I do not have ti-"

"Listen princess. Sure, you don't have time for such trivial matters like blah blah, I get it. I mean, you need to learn to take a joke."

"Perhaps I just don't find your humor very funny."

"Perhaps you don't, but at least I'm tryin' to get along."

"Well, I'm just sorry I am putting you in such a dismal situation. What would you have me do?"

"Relax."

If Leia could roll her eyes any higher, they would be lost in the confines of her head. They didn't speak for a long time. Continuing her breathing exercises taught to her when she felt overwhelmed, she took five breaths and looked back up at him.

If it were possible, though Leia refused to admit it, Han looked even more handsome each time she saw him. He was wearing the same dark pants from the press conference, but thank the gods he had changed his shirt. The dark green button-up shirt was a nice compliment to his hazel eyes.

She clucked her tongue when she saw how he was sitting. With his legs spread casually apart, he rested one elbow on the edge of the door. He was staring out into the darkening Alderaan, looking deep in thought. She didn't know he had it in him.

"Captain Solo-"

"Call me Han."

"Right, sorry. Han, I think we should try harder to be nicer to one another. Perhaps I will try relaxing a little more if you could tone down the humor a notch."

Han shrugged his shoulders.

"I also think it vital that we get to know one another much better. Imagine how it would look if one of us were asked what the other's favorite color was and we had no idea!" She paused, but he offered no response. "Could you at least look at me and pretend you are involved in this conversation."

Han looked at her out of the corner of one eye and smirked. "Red."

"Excuse me?"

He turned to look at her directly. "My favorite color's red."

"Oh, right."

"I find it often looks best on women."

This time, she caught the humor in his tone. Leia refrained from speaking and just shook her head in annoyance. Breathe in. Breathe out.

"Of course. Why should I expect for you to answer such a simple question with a simple answer?"

"Like to keep you on your toes."

"These next few months are going to be long."

"They could be fun, ya know?" He put a hand up to stop her and continued. "I know, I know. We got a disguise to stick to and runs to make and all this important business with taking down the Imps. I get it. But if we're supposed to act in love, it'll be a hell of a lot easier if you don't look like it's physically hurting you to even stand next to me. Let alone touch me."

"If there is no cause for touching, then why must we touch?"

He leaned forward. The look in his eyes was dark, but not menacing. Challenging almost. "Cus when you're in love, sweetheart, you don't need to sign a contract to touch. You do it cus you want to."

She stared at him, mouth openly slightly, unable to turn away from his gaze.

After a moment, she spoke, "I thought I acted appropriately at the press conference."

Han sat back against the seat. "Sure, you were more than appropriate. But that's a fixed thing, princess. You can't fix and plan every single moment of the next few months between us and our supposed romance. Just let things happen and it will seem more natural."

"I'm afraid of 'just letting things happen' when it comes to you."

Han laughed in a genuine sort of way. The first time she didn't feel as though he were judging or mocking her. She found she liked the sound.

"That's a good motto to stick by."

The silence this time was comfortable. They still had a way's to the restaurant and Leia felt herself relaxing, but only a little.

"So tell me, Capt-Han, tell me something about yourself."

He turned again from looking out the window. "What do you want to know?"

"Anything a prospective wife should know about her husband."

"Wouldn't that be up more your alley?"

"My past relationships have been with princes and sons of delegates or senators. Everything I need to know is out on the table and everything worth knowing is swept under the rug."

Han quirked an eyebrow at her. "Born and raised in Corellia."

"Who were your parents?"

"Don't know. Let's just say I have an interesting past that we don't need to get into specifics about. I joined the Imperial Navy when I was old enough and left as quickly as I could when I realized I wasn't meant for politics."

It was Leia who now raised her eyebrow, questioning him. "In what ways?"

"We disagreed on a few things and I found I preferred to be living on my own."

"But you're not really alone."

"Are you trying to psychoanalyze me?"

Leia laughed. "Hardly, that would take much more time than a several minute car-ride. I'm just suggesting that Chewbacca's presence in your life does not coincide with wanting to be 'alone.'"

"He's more like a shadow."

"I disagree."

Han didn't respond and Leia felt the casual mood drifting from the air. She tried another tactic.

"Tell me more about your ship. The Millennium Falcon?"

Han did not smile, but his demeanor brightened considerably. "My girl. Haven't seen her in awhile, thanks to you."

Leia frowned. "Although two days is not something you should already be moping about, I suppose I'll need to inspect the ship that I will be entrusting with my life. If she's anything like her captain, I'm in for a volatile ride."

Han was beaming.

She continued, "If all goes well tonight, then I guess we could stop by for a visit."

"Are you bribing me into behaving myself?"

Leia's answer was short and blunt. "Yes."

Han nodded. "Good, just wanted to be sure. You can guarantee you're in for quite the dinner tonight."

"I'm just tingling with excitement."

"You need to learn how to keep your emotions in check." They smiled at each other. Leia coughed slightly and turned away.

Looking out at the trees sweeping in the wind, she looked back at him. "I think you'll find Alderaan to be a beautiful planet. I know the palace itself is impressive, but you don't really get a true feel for it until you're out in the public gardens."

"Is that where we're walking tonight?"

His tone indicated that he was less than excited for such an event. Leia smirked.

"Yes. Even though it's dark, the night air won't be too cool."

Han sighed. "I'll tell you what, princess. I've been back and forth across this galaxy to every planet you can imagine, and I gotta admit that I can't think of one that's quite like Alderaan."

It was barely a compliment as he didn't say anything overwhelmingly positive about it, but Leia was touched. She didn't speak for a long moment, she couldn't speak.

"Yes, well. We try."

"Now if we could only do something about that corrupt government, we'd be in great shape."

Leia's eyes narrowed. "Just what are you insinuating?"

Han straightened up in his seat, humor evident in his eyes. Leia didn't take kindly to people insulting her political intentions.

"First of all, one of your people tries to assassinate the king."

"That can happen anywhere. Even the happiest people have an unhappy one in the bunch."

"And it takes an outsider to save him."

"Lucky for him, unlucky for me."

Han laughed. "Then there's the major romantic cover-up between a princess and a space pirate. That's just playing with people's heart strings."

"You can trust that the situation is not ideal on either side."

"And finally, the princess is risking everything, including her own life, the life of her family and friends, of her entire planet, to go up against an unstoppable force."

Leia stared at him for a long time. He didn't break eye contact and even though there was still a glint of humor in his eyes, he wasn't smiling.

"It's for the greater good of the galaxy and that force is not unstoppable. And for the record, that cover-up of which you speak, and of which you are involved, is set in place to protect them."

"Not you?"

"I myself am insignificant in the long run. If I must sacrifice, so be it."

"That's an awful big thing to say for someone so young."

They sat in silence the rest of the way, each contemplating the other. When they got to the restaurant, they glanced at each other before glimpsing out the window. People were lined up on the street, cameras flashed from every corner. Han's hand circled around the blaster on his holster, more out of instinct than anything else.

He turned towards Leia. "Alright princess, three things to know. One, Chewie's around here somewhere trying to remain inconspicuous. Difficult for a wookiee, I get that, but he's got a way about him that even I don't see coming sometimes."

Han waited for her to indicate that she was listening. Leia nodded.

"Two, remember that I'm supposed to be here as your lover. Let me act the part of bodyguard. I'm sneakier than you and I know how to keep an eye on suspicious things while acting casual."

She rolled her eyes, but nodded again.

He was looking at her, but did not continue. Leia sighed. "And?"

Han gave her a serious look. "And, three-" He paused again.

Exasperated, she prodded, "What?"

Laughing, Han said, "Relax." He grabbed her arm and helped her out of the hoverlimo to their adoring fans.

Dinner was quiet. Most of the other diners had started off staring and whispering to themselves about the princess and her new betrothed, but after awhile, things settled down.

Han and Leia found it was not difficult to engage in conversation. He talked more about his ship, she discussed what it was like growing up as a child of royalty. Han mentioned just a little about an old female wookiee who helped raise him, and Leia countered that she too was adopted.

In-between courses, they held hands and gazed at one another in adoration, albeit false, over the soft glow of the candles. It must have been the wine, but Leia felt like she was enjoying herself more than she had in a very long time.

It seemed like Han was charming and easy to talk to when he thought it was in his best interest. Unfortunately, this was not consistent and Leia was never sure what the next word out of his mouth would be. Just when he caught her off-guard with something nice, he'd follow it up with an innuendo. It was thoroughly disorienting.

Nonetheless, when dinner ended, Leia was not dreading the walk. It was actually something she was looking forward to. Making their way out of the restaurant and across town, they came to the front gates to the public garden.

The castle garden at home was beautiful, but this was her favorite spot in Alderaan. It often gave her a chance to come into the town and remain unnoticed. There were plenty of small spots she could go and hide, basking in the sun and fresh air, listening to the people bustling around, clearing her mind after a vigorous argument of politics between delegates.

Stepping inside, Leia turned shy. She didn't know what to do with her hands. As though anticipating her hesitation, Han reached for her and grasped it gingerly. Walking hand-in-hand, Leia pointed out all the statues of old deceased relatives and monuments. Telling him about the history of Alderaan always seemed odd to her because it was so connected to her, yet so distant. She told him about all the different plants she knew from various planets, and he even offered some of his own knowledge.

They stopped in front of the vast fountain, the thing Leia found most magnificent about the garden. Water spouted from everywhere. When Han pulled out two credits and handed one to her, she didn't know what he was doing at first. When she realized, she broke out laughing.

"Children do that, Han, not adults."

"C'mon, princess. No one's too old to make a wish. Here, I'll go first."

He closed his eyes and frowned in concentration. Leia watched as his lips formed wordless thoughts. After a second, he tossed the credit into the bank of the fountain, opened his eyes, and smiled.

"Your turn."

"What did you wish for?"

His smiled widened, in devious fashion. "I can't tell you or it won't come true."

Leia rolled her eyes, hesitated, but then closed her eyes and tried to come up with a wish.

I wish for more nights like these, for everyone.

She took a deep breath and dropped the credit into the water. Leia didn't open her eyes until a few moments later. When she opened them, she found Han looking at her with a strange expression on his face.

"What?"

"Nothing."

She sighed. "Seriously, what?"

Han shrugged his shoulders with a laugh. "You worry too much." He pulled her to him and they started walking back towards the exit. "Now can we please go and see my ship?"