Leia stood across from Luke in the hold area of the Falcon, unsure what to expect and feeling slightly nervous.
"Ready?" Luke asked her. She took a deep breath, restoring placidity to her mind. Why was she so nervous, anyway? It wasn't as if anything bad could happen... She looked at her brother, "Ready." She told him.
"All right," said Luke, "Close your eyes and clear your mind of all thought."
Leia did as she was told, releasing thoughts with each breath she expelled. The calm void in her mind expanded.
"Good," Luke goaded gently, "Now keep your mind and heart open."
Subconsciously, Leia hands opened at her sides in a welcoming gesture, embracing the universe. And suddenly, though she was very calm, her heart began beating faster, her breathing became deeper; she felt strong and powerful as the energy of the Force flowed through her like electricity through a conductor. Yet at the same time, she felt like only a tiny star in the vast universe. She sensed Luke beside her, his Force-presence radiating from him like a warm, brilliant sun. "A Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him- or her." he said. His voice sounded from inside her head, but seemed to be all around her.
"I can feel it," she told him, "It's everywhere. It's..." she trailed off, feeling a different, yet familiar presence approaching. It was not a Force-presence, but... Before she could put her finger on it, the deep voice rumbled out, "What's goin' on?"
Leia's eyes flew open and beheld Han, leaning casually in the doorway with his thumbs hooked into the belt loops of his pants. She smiled fondly at him. "Luke is teaching me about the Force."
Han blinked in brief astonishment, then regained most of his composure. "Oh, right. Because... yeah." He came into the room and flopped into the Navigator's char. "How's that workin' out for ya?"
"Good. I think." replied Leia with an inquisitive glance at her brother. Luke nodded, smiling encouragingly. "Very good." he said, "In fact, I think you're ready for this." He unhooked the lightsaber from his belt and deposited it in his sister's hands.
Leia stared at the ancient weapon warily, then at Luke. "Really?" she asked. Even without Force abilities, Luke could sense her reluctance. "You don't want to learn?" he asked her, trying and failing to hide his disappointment. Leia had the potential to become one of the most powerful Jedi in the past century- he could feel it within her. Besides that, he had hoped that it would give them something more to bond over, now that they knew the truth.
Leia's fingers closed around the grooved, metal hilt of Luke's lightsaber. It felt unfamiliar in her grip, yet somehow... right. "No," she looked back to Luke, "I do want to learn." Her thumb pressed the button which ignited the green blade. Luke smiled and began to demonstrate basic defensive maneuvers to her.
Han watched the humming blade whirl and slice through the air as Leia mirrored Luke's movements, slowly at first, then with lethal speed. Even at a time like this, Han couldn't help but admire the princess's grace. The lightsaber seemed natural in her grip and movements, almost like it was always meant to be there, like... He shook his head to himself as Chewie walked into the room. The Wookie wharfed inquisitively at his best friend.
Han chuckled back, "After all I've seen in the past few years? 'Course I've changed my mind. But that don't mean I have to like it."
Chewie grunted in agreement as Luke retrieved a silvery globe about the size of a man's fist, and which was covered with fine antennae. The princess eyed it warily, forcibly reminded of certain instruments she'd encountered while being held prisoner aboard the Death Star. "What is that?"
"Don't worry." said Luke, "It won't hurt... if you focus."
"What?!"
Han couldn't help but laugh as Leia's eyes widened. She turned toward him with a glare. "I fail to see the humor in this." she said fiercely.
"I'm not laughin' at you, Princess." smirked Han, "I'm just rememberin' the last time I saw that thing." He shot a mischievous look at Luke, who pointedly ignored him and turned his attention back to his sister. "Forget him. Focus on letting go of your irritation. The most important thing is learning to control your emotions."
Leia shut her eyes in order to concentrate, and found it easy to restore a state of tranquility to her mind. When she opened her eyes, Luke was fiddling with the tiny switches on the orb. "Now," he said, "All this thing does is hover around and shoot stun rays at you. Use the saber to deflect them." He pressed a button on the orb's surface, and it came to life, floating in the air between him and Leia.
Drawing a deep, even breath, Leia held the humming green blade defensively in front of her. Suddenly, the orb darted to the left, while blasting a stun ray toward her right leg. She swung the saber down in time to block it, but was not fast enough for the second blast, which struck her left thigh. She jumped and gasped as the upper part of her leg began tingling as though it were asleep. Deactivating the lightsaber, she sat down hard on one of the chairs at the table. Luke used the Force to draw the orb back into his hand. Leia glared at Han as though expecting him to laugh, but he was keeping a remarkably straight face. "What?" he asked, as innocently as was possible for Han Solo to sound. "I ain't laughin', Sweetheart. This is serious stuff." She couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not, which irked her even further.
"It's all right." said Luke, "Nobody's perfect. You should've seen me on my first try."
Han finally laughed, leaning back in his chair with his fingers laced behind his head. "Yeah," he grinned, "You got it right in the-"
"I think I know what'll help you." Luke cut in strongly, "Hold on for a second."
As soon as he'd gone from the room, Leia turned to Han. "Did he really...?"
"Yup," Han nodded smugly, "Hard, too. And to top it off, he fell and landed smack-" he clapped his hands together for emphasis just as Luke returned.
"Yeah, yeah. Very funny." he said, though he, too, was smiling. He held a cloth in on of his hands, which he began to fold into one long, thick strip. "Come here, Leia."
She stood and walked over to Luke, her left thigh finally regaining feeling. He put the cloth over her eyes and tied it at the back of her head. "Don't rely on your senses to predict where it will strike; reach out and feel it through the Force."
Leia quickly pushed the prickle of panic from her mind. She needed to convince herself that she didn't need her eyes when she had the Force as an ally. And with the calm void came the enveloping presence of the Force.
Sensing her power, Luke released the silvery orb without warning. Leia activated her weapon just in time to deflect the blow directed at her chest. She blocked the second shot near her right knee. As the orb darted silently behind her, she spun around gracefully and swung the saber up to stop the ray fired at her head.
Beaming, Luke summoned the orb back to his hand. Leia extinguished the lightsaber and pulled the cloth from her eyes to see that both Luke and Han were staring at her in amazement.
"Well now I've seen everything." rumbled Han, his intense hazel eyes hungrily taking in the Force-sensitive princess like he'd never looked at her before. Leia felt herself blushing under the open intensity of his gaze, but couldn't understand why.
Luke swept his sister into a tight, excited hug. "Ben was right," he said when he released her, "The Force is strong in our family." Leia sighed and closed her eyes, chin still resting on Luke's shoulder. That was what worried her.
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Han was seated on the edge of his bed, pulling his boots off, when Leia appeared in the open doorway of his cabin. He usually kept his door shut, but tonight, he wanted to try something. "Going to bed?" she asked. Han usually kept his door shut, but tonight, he wanted to try something. He smirked to himself. He knew leaving the door open was a good idea.
"I was thinkin' about it." said Han, standing and walking over to her. He leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms, the corner of his mouth curving upward in a crooked smile. "Care to join me?"
Leia's heart raced at the thought of going to bed with Han Solo. She'd imagined it often enough, but now that it was actually about to happen, she became nervous. She'd never done this before. What if Han was disappointed? Then she thought about the way she felt every time they kissed, how wonderful his strong, manly arms around her comparatively small body; and before she knew what was happening, those arms were wrapping snugly around her while they shut the door behind her, casting the room into near darkness. As he drew her closer to his warm, solid body, his lips pressed firmly, yet ardently into hers. And suddenly, her doubts vanished. All she wanted was to be held by him, to be touched by him, to be loved by him. Han's hands roved slowly, intoxicatingly down her back, stopping just below her backside and effortlessly hoisting her up so that her hips were on level with his. Leia's breathing quickened and an involuntary moan escaped her lips as Han pressed insistently against her, his lips caressing the delicate skin of her neck. With her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, Han carried her over to the bed; and thus began what they would both consider the best night of their lives.
