Chapter Seven

The sun was starting to set by the time Prince Solo found his Jedi escort on the balcony, admiring the pink-orange evening sun. They had arrived at the Naberrie residence a couple of hours ago, and Solo was beyond content. First off, his legs ached from walking for almost three days straight. Second, the Naberrie house was more like a palace, to be honest. A smaller one compared to his, of course. And lastly, the residence was in one of the most romantic places on all of Naboo. He was going to be with Leia for who knows how long, and he was anxious to see if their relationship would progress, or they would continue to do their foolish dance of becoming close, then pushing each other away. Han reluctantly guessed the latter.

"Hey," The Corellian called out, taking a couple steps towards Amidala-Skywalker.

She visibly jumped, bringing a grin to his face. "Dammit, Solo, don't scare me like that!" She spun around and glared daggers at him, but her frown was soon replaced by a small smirk upon looking at his goofy smile.

"I thought Jedi could sense everything around them," He pointed out, sidling up beside her and leaning against the railing.

"Yeah, well, you caught me off-guard," She muttered, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. The gesture was useless, however; the gentle evening breeze sent her hair flying in all directions, encircling her face. Skywalker decided to change topics. "You like it here?"

"It's beautiful," He admitted, nodding his head, though his eyes were constantly drawn back to the young Jedi. The prince couldn't get the picture of her by the waterfall out of his head. The way she closed her eyes and threw her head back, drinking in the sunlight, leaning on her knuckles for support, a faint smile etched on her face. He had memorized every curve of her body, every place he saw a water droplet resting on her skin. And Kriff, he thought, inwardly cursing and kicking himself, he had been so close to having her, too. But for now, that memory was the best he was going to have. "How long do you think we'll be here?"

Amidala shrugged. "Could be a couple of days, a couple of weeks…" She trailed off, tracing the uneven patterns on the concrete railing. The Coruscanti gave him a funny look. "There's nothing much here, you know," She teased, throwing his words back at him.

"I know, I know," He sighed, running a hand through his shaggy hair. "Is there a transport near here?"

"We're pretty far from the cities," Leia said slowly, choosing her words carefully. She knew very well that Han wanted to blast off of here as soon as possible, and, because of his short fuse, she didn't want to set him off. "But with most landspeeders, it only takes a few hours to get to Theed,"

"So let's go now," He commanded, an insistent tone in his voice.

"Han, we just got here," She protested. "My aunt and uncle haven't seen me in ten years. They wouldn't appreciate it if we left already," The look in her eyes begged him not to argue.

The Corellian drew himself up to his full height. "You do as I tell you," The Jedi's mouth fell open, her eyes widened. "Your mission requirements were to keep me safe wherever I went. And we're going to Theed,"

"Kriff, Solo, do you ever think?" She exclaimed, following him to the main hallway. "You're just like my mother," Leia grumbled, remembering the stories her father told her about Naboo and Geonosis.

He ignored her cursing. "You have to do what I say," He repeated, grabbing his stuff from his bedroom while Skywalker stared at him disapprovingly from the doorway.

"And if I refuse?" She challenged, taking a step towards him.

He froze at the thought. Lowering his voice, he gaped at her. "You wouldn't,"

"Remember, Solo?" She smiled sweetly at him. "I'm full of surprises."

"Do you think Leia's killed Han yet?" Chase asked his older brother. They were lounging on the couches, enjoying the quiet afternoon on Coruscant. Their parents were out, so they had the house to themselves. It was one of life's small joys, Luke thought happily.

"Nah,"

"What about Han killing Leia?"

Luke opened one eye and stared at his younger brother. "Please. He wouldn't have the heart," The blonde rested his hands behind his head and sunk deeper into the couch.

"What do you mean?" Chase pressed, cocking his head to the side.

Luke sighed. "What I mean is that Han's totally in love with our sister,"

The brunette's eyes crinkled at the corners. "You think?"

"I know,"

"How can you tell?"

"It's pretty obvious," Luke commented, crossing his ankles.

"How come I haven't noticed?" Chase demanded, furrowing his eyebrows.

His older brother gave him an exasperated look and shook his head, his shaggy hair flying. "Please, you still haven't noticed that Gaerial has a huge crush on you,"

The younger Skywalker looked away from his older brother, a slow grin spreading across his face. "She does?"

"Han, please," Leia practically begged, watching as he pulled his clothes he had managed to hang up earlier from their hangers. "Don't do this,"

"I do what I want," He muttered, brushing past her.

"And what good has that done you?" Skywalker asked calmly, her wide brown eyes boring into his hazel ones. She laid a hand on his arm, instantly relaxing the Corellian prince. "Just wait a couple more days, okay? I'll try to get my uncle to drive us,"

Solo swallowed visibly, his eyes fixed on her hand laying on his bicep. "Uh, yeah, okay," He nodded his head and met her gaze. "I…I guess I overreacted a bit," Han stammered, intoxicated by the girl's touch. It burned right through his jacket and into his veins.

She smiled at him, humour in her shining eyes. "Quite an understatement, dontcha think?"

He smiled back and let out a soft chuckle. "Okay, fine," He noticed her arm was still resting on his arm, as if it was the most casual and natural thing in the galaxy. "I'll stop complaining about the delay," He declared.

"Good," Leia nodded her head once. Seemingly reluctant, she released her grip on Solo. She jerked a thumb over her shoulder and shrugged. "Guess I should go unpack," The Jedi shoved her hands in her pockets and waiting for a few seconds, as if she expected the prince to add anything else, before walking out the door.

"Hey, Leia?" Han called after her.

"Yeah?" She replied, stopping at the doorway. He wanted to grab her in his arms and kiss her, to hold her, make love to her…he inwardly shooed away those thoughts. No matter how much he wanted that, how much he wanted her, it wouldn't happen.

He settled for taking things slowly, no matter how painful it was. "Wait for me? We can have breakfast together, maybe?"

Leia leaned against the doorway and smiled at him. "Sounds nice."