A/N: I know it's been an embarrassing amount of time since I last updated, though I'm not sure how it's almost been three years. I do apologize, but know that I kept thinking how I needed to update and finish it off, but life does get in the way. Please be patient with me. I do promise it will be finished. I hope you enjoy!

Despite himself, Han was enjoying dinner. He may not be the most sentimental man, but he knew how to socialize. The distance from people was of his own choosing, though his tolerance of others was higher when he knew he wasn't going to be sticking around. Over the years, he had learned the hard way that people were prone to disappoint you if you gave them enough time.

One weekend here and there with men and women whose passion for flying and defying authority mirrored his own, was something he could even get excited about. With one eye on the princess, sitting upright, her legs crossed under the table, careful to maintain eye contact and give the appropriate responses to those in which she was conversing, Han helped himself to another tankard of beer. If Chewie were here, or even if the princess were paying him any attention, they would have tried to dissuade him with a judgmental glance or shake of the head. It was only his second and with how everyone else was behaving, he was having a mild night.

Over the past few hours that they'd all been communing, Han had met quite a few soldiers, including Riekkan, who had quickly established himself as another father figure to Leia. Though the man's kindness and respect had never hesitated, it was clear to Han that with every word and action, he was being carefully considered.

During the conversation between Bail and Leia regarding how much Riekkan could know about her and Han's true relationship, Han had only been half-listening, instead preferring to think of his ship and how nice it would feel to fly far away from Alderaan and its royalty. All he needed to know was the end decision, which was that it was better to keep the secret to as few people as possible, no matter how much they trusted the man. In Han's meeting with the man, the pair had been introduced and it had been explained to Riekkan that Han could be trusted and would go wherever Leia went, both for the purpose of their relationship and Leia's well-being. There had been mention that it was lucky in a way that they had fallen in love when they did because it also acted as a convenient cover for Leia's involvement with the Rebellion. Sitting with him now in person, without Bail or Leia, Han felt as though the man could see right through the charade, but was too polite to call them out on it.

Riekkan had only a few minutes to spare before he made his way through the crowd and out of the mess hall. Han watched him leave before turning his attention back to the princess. Her arms, that had been wound tight around her once she had finished her rations, were now moving animatedly about as she spoke with a group of soldiers. Noticing the eager-eyed Luke Skywalker standing close behind her, nodding along with every word, seemingly unblinking as he watched her, Han thought it was in their best interest to play his part a little more actively. It didn't bode well for their relationship if he sat back impassively as his fiancée rambled.

Standing up from his seat, Han stretched and listened to what Leia was saying. He allowed her to continue on her spiel for a few moments about what she suspected civilian opinion on the Empire and the war was, before nudging the man who had introduced himself as Wedge out of the seat closest to Leia and threw his arm around her. For her part, she didn't break her speech or acknowledge his presence, but he did feel her tense once they made contact. Smirking, he pulled her closer against him, noting that Skywalker's face had now turned to a frown. He was contemplating testing his limits, to see how much he could get away with before Leia pushed him away from her and took off running, but he found he was enjoying the drum of her voice.

It wasn't so much the content that she was discussing, but the passion and fervor for which she intonated. Han suspected that when she was talking about the Rebellion, it was the closest to the real Leia that she ever revealed. There was a nice rosiness growing in her cheeks that he felt suited her, a distinction between the simple, pure white clothes she so often adorned.

He was studying an intriguing curl that had fallen out of her braid, so tempted to reach out and touch it, when she stood up and sent him nearly flying off the bench.

"Oh, so sorry, dear. You mustn't have heard me. I've got that meeting I was telling you about earlier. Most everyone else is sticking around here if you want to stay."

Her voice was sweet in the sick way that made Han's stomach growl with interest. He enjoyed their banter, particularly when she initiated it.

Finding his balance, he stood to face her full on, looked down, and smiled, mischief in her eyes. He hoped her stomach dropped too.

"I think I've had my fill actually. I'll just come along with you."

"That won't be necessary."

"But princess, I've just arrived, and there's so much I need to learn about our cause."

"I hardly think a short meeting would be sufficient enough to offer you a decent explanation of the cause. Spending time here, with the people who are deeply involved, especially with your skill set, would be far more beneficial."

"Our cause. What's yours is mine, sweetheart. Remember? We're in this together."

He could tell she was holding back a scoff. Instead, she said, "There's a lot I need to catch up on for our cause and there's simply not enough time at the moment to fill you in."

"Sounds to me like you're trying to skip out on me."

"That's exactly what-"

But then she noticed that they were still surrounded by an eager, interested crowd. With a deep breath, she collected herself and smiled.

"I just meant that we had a long day and I'm certain you've had a full serving of information slammed at you since the beginning. I thought you would better enjoy yourself in a more relaxing environment, but by all means, darling, please do join me."

Han couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face, watching her grow flustered, panicked, and faux-adoring all at once. The rosiness had turned into a full blush. Taking her hand, he guided her out of the mess hall and steeled himself for when they would be alone and she wouldn't have to put on a show. He was looking forward to it.

"I've just got to get a few things off the Falcon, Han, if you want to wait here."

"No way I'm letting you anywhere near my ship alone, princess."

"Don't you mean our ship? What's yours is mine."

"Sure, sweetheart, we can go back to the ship." His voice grew louder as Leia's eyes grew bigger. "Just can't keep me there for too long or we'll be late for our meeting. Sneaking away like this, honestly, I expected more."

Storming away from him, he followed eagerly.

The man was incorrigible. Leia hadn't anticipated that it would be even more difficult to pretend that they were a couple in love at the Rebellion because she thought it would be easier to keep away from him. With all of these people surrounding them, she hoped that Han would be less bored, therefore less inclined to follow her around with his taunts and teasing. Instead, he seemed revitalized by this change of pace, and perhaps the loss of the presence of her father, and was making a sport of getting her to blush.

She was afraid that he was seeing her blushes as ones of excitement or interest, when it was born from frustration and anger. During the moments when they were alone, safely tucked into the Falcon, she made it a point to show that she had no patience for him.

At the meeting the night before, Leia had been impressed with his presence. At first, when Han proved that he would not be content to just sit and listen, she had been afraid that he would try to turn everything into a big joke. Despite herself, she found his comments and perspectives were fresh and meaningful, so different, yet well-intentioned, for the cause. It was as though he belonged there with the rest of them.

She made it a point to allow him a pass later on for the way he had acted in the mess hall. The meeting, as it always did, ran later than was intended, particularly because there were so few times they could all meet in person, without the risk of outside forces. When they broke up and said their goodnights, Leia accepted Han's hand and walked back with him to the ship.

"Not sleeping with the ranks?"

"Dinner is one thing, but I can't expect them to change things up and make room for me every time I come. It's tedious. Besides, I'm certain everyone is sleeping."

The yelling and laughter lingering down the hallway from the mess hall betrayed her.

Han chuckled but didn't say anything.

"Fine, I prefer to sleep in a normal bed. I know that's horrible because here they are every day of the week slumming it for the Rebellion, risking their lives, sacrificing comforts, and the princess, who comes on her off days from her castle and her canopy bed, can't bring herself to slum it with them."

"You said it. sweetheart, not me."

"I know what you're thinking."

"It's exactly what I would do."

"That only makes it worse."

The man they recognized as Wedge walked past them with a woman, both giggling and running off away from the crowd of the mess hall. Leia felt Han pull his hand out of hers and wrapped it around his shoulders.

"Ah, young love. See? It's not all bad for 'em. And it wouldn't be good for a princess to sleep in close quarters with such promiscuity. The Falcon is your safe haven."

"They'll write on my tombstone, 'death by Falcon.'"

"At least they'll never figure out you're with the Rebellion."

"I shouldn't be laughing about such serious matters."

"It's late, I won't hold it against you."

Looking up at him, she sensed that he was as sleepy as she was. His eyes were drooping and she found that the only way they were able to make it back to the ship was by leaning on the other. It was comforting in an odd way. As a diplomat, she knew there were deeper intentions and feelings to people that they didn't always show, but Solo was still surprising her. It was a skill almost, how quickly he could turn from an egomaniac show-off to a considerate leader of sorts. She just wished his antics weren't always aimed at her.

Her voice was softer than she intended, as though she was sharing a secret. Part of it must be it because if he hadn't taken her by such surprise and perhaps if it wasn't so late, she wouldn't have said it at all.

"You were good in there, Han."

All he offered was a raised eyebrow and half a smirk.

She continued, "I didn't think you had it in you, talking about matters like that. With such…knowledge."

"Yeah, well, I'm a smuggler. I get around. You tend to see the worst in people and if you can't recognize it for what it is and how to get around things, then you won't last long here."

"I sometimes feel that the Rebellion is taking too careful an approach. I understand that there's so much at stake, but if we keep waiting for the Empire to strike, then we'll never know how to react in aggressive situations."

There was the smirk again.

"Are you saying I'm right?"

She wanted to roll her eyes. "Hardly. I'm merely implying that you made a few strong points that I believe would be in our best interest to further consider."

"You've got a lot to say."

"And you always have something to throw right back at me."

They had made it back to the ship. In the darkened area, with just a few rays of light reflecting off of it, Leia didn't find it quite as ugly as she usually did. Han was plugging in the code and was half-way up the ramp, but she hesitated. It felt different, more personal to go back onto the ship, as though something had changed between them.

In time, perhaps even in the next few minutes, she was certain that he would say something to aggravate her, causing her to deny that she was even considering this, but she found that when he wasn't acting like a nerfherder, and sometimes, even when he was, she quite liked his company. There was a trust building between them, which she figured was a good attribute to have in a bodyguard. He also didn't treat her the way everyone else in her life did, with such reverence.

Even in the Rebellion, she was still treated as a princess. People waited for her to speak to them first, they were fearful of maintaining eye contact, and paid closer attention to how they were acting. They weren't themselves around her. Winter, who was her closest and oldest friend, was not quite as bad, but there were times when even she acted as though there was a barrier between them, as though Leia was on a pedestal. The harder she pushed to get away from such a stigma, the more people seemed to latch onto it.

Han, with his innuendos and inappropriate remarks, however infuriating, made her feel as though she were a person, not just a figure. It was confusing, sobering, and exciting all at once.

"Hey, princess!" His loud voice barked down at her, pulling her from her reverie. People walking back to their quarters or out for a stroll turned their attention towards her.

"I'm ready for that alone time you were so looking forward to."

When she was certain the blush was gone from her face, Leia pulled herself together and walked back up the ramp, finding him standing there with a giant smirk on his face. She went to bed without a word to him.