A/N: Thanks to those of you who have reviewed this story so far. Getting a response to a piece is always lots of fun. I hope you continue to enjoy it!

The View

The two Government Security agents trailing behind her were out of uniform in order to blend in better with the clientele of the lounge where Leia was meeting Lando and his wife. It had been some time since she had been out in the city and while she was fairly certain she wouldn't be recognized, that the lounge itself had tight security, and that her combat training and holdout blaster could take care of any problems, she didn't want to take any chances.

The establishment Lando had chosen was predictable – trendy, exclusive, and situated on the top floor of one the tallest towers in Coruscant's upscale entertainment district. As she rode the transparisteel turbolift with the security agents and the tower's security droid, Leia took in the view of the vast urban environment. She didn't particularly like Coruscant and had already decided that when her appointment was up with Mon Motham's term as Prime Minister she would leave the planet. Still, the view was beautiful at night.

As the turbolift approached their destination, the two-hundredth floor, Leia allowed herself a moment to feel weary. When she had gone home to change into something more appropriate for drinks with Lando Calrissian than her black conservative daywear, she had nearly collapsed on her large bed. The idea of going back out after the day she had was almost too much. Seeing Han especially had taken more out of her than she expected it would. The man who had been a vivid but distant memory, buried beneath years of transitioning the galaxy to Republic governance and a good number of other men, was now alive and pulsing in her mind like a newborn star, in her present and no longer in her past.

The droid opened the turbolift and they exited into a dim lobby. With only a nod, the tall blonde human female at the door lead Leia to a dark booth near the tall windows overlooking the district. The only light in the corner came from the bright lights of the cityscape outside and low, orange illuminators on the tabletops. Her security detail took seats at the bar in the center of the lounge, keeping her in their line of sight. As she and the blonde host approached the secluded booth, she saw two figures melt out of the shadows.

"Well, what do we have here?" Lando rose from the booth as the host departed with another nod, "Coruscant has certainly let you blossom, Leia."

She extended her hand, which the former general took and kissed, "Flattery won't get you anywhere, Lando. I'm still the best shot you know."

He smiled and gestured to the woman sitting on the bench he had vacated, "Leia, may I introduce you to my wife, Mii Wng. Mii, this is Leia Organa. Minister of State."

Leia extended her hand to the willowy human woman with long glossy black hair spilling over her liquid silver dress. For the first time since she'd known him, Leia didn't feel frumpy in the company of Lando's associates, "It's a pleasure, Mii."

"Please, sit, Leia. I may call you Leia, correct?"

"Of course," she slid into the booth and reached to key in a drink order on the electronic menu.

Mii placed her hand on Leia's, "No need. We have bottles for the table."

"How big do you expect this party to get, Lando?"

Pulling an expensive glass goblet out from a compartment under the table, he only smiled and poured her a drink.

"Finest in the galaxy," Lando spun the bottle around to show Leia the label.

Leia nodded and took the goblet from him, "Some things never change."

"You know I'm never one to skimp on luxuries, Princess."

"Only the best for Lando Calrissian."

Mii leaned around Lando to smile, "I hope that includes me?"

"Of course, beautiful."

Leia shook her head, "Always the charmer, too."

The conversation took a natural break, and Leia found her eyes wandering back out to the view. So much had changed on the planet since the Alliance had broken the Empire's tight grip. Mesmerized by the streams of passing traffic, her mind flashed back to the way free Coruscant had first looked from the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, flying low over the gray cityscape as dusk fell. Chewbacca had been in the lower gun turret, and she had been in his seat next to Han. They swung low over the Senate building and Han had reached over and grasped her hand –

"So," Mii's voice broke through her thoughts, "how did the two of you meet?"

Leia turned back to the couple, a bit unsettled by the turn her thoughts had taken, "Your husband hasn't shared this story with you?"

"Hey, hey – it wasn't exactly my proudest moment, I admit."

"We met during the Rebellion, when he was administrating Cloud City at Bespin. The ship I was on got waylaid after the Rebellion defeat at Hoth, and we stopped there for supplies. Unfortunately, the Empire intervened and we escaped together."

Lando shook his head, "Darth Vader was trying to capture her brother, Luke Skywalker."

"Wait," Mii smiled, "I didn't realize Luke Skywalker was your brother, Leia."

"Twin."

"I'm sorry I don't know my history very well. I've never really had a head for it. I think in shapes and colors, not in people and dates."

"Don't sell yourself short, honey," Lando reached around Mii's shoulder and caressed her arm, "Leia, this lady is one of the most critically acclaimed young architects in the galaxy."

"You're that Mii Wng? Your work is beautiful."

The older woman blushed slightly, "Thank you, Leia. That is high praise from Alderaanian royalty."

"You know, the Alderaan Memorial Fund will be looking for a architect soon to design its headquarters building on Coruscant. I would like to suggest your name to the director, if that is the sort of project you would be interested in being involved with."

Mii's eyes lit up, "I would have to have more information, of course, but really, I would be honored."

"Consider it done," Leia took a long sip of the dry wine, "Now, how did the two of you meet? Last time I saw you, Lando …"

Lando smiled at Leia's knowing look, "Mii can probably tell this story better than I can. Excuse me a minute, ladies."

He slid by his wife in the booth and Leia noticed his attempt at a brief, inconspicuous intimate touch. Mii giggled and swatted his side. As Lando moved out of earshot, Mii leaned toward her conspiratorially.

"I never thought I'd be bonded to any one man. Life was too much fun, if you know what I mean," Delight rippled across her striking features, "But Lando keeps things interesting."

"How long have you been together?"

"Nearly five years. Crazy, I know. Lando's friend, Han, introduced us. He was seeing one of my friends at the time and, well, that didn't work out – she said he was afraid of commitment or something – but, anyway, Lando and I did."

Leia watched the small orange holoflame of the illuminator flicker in the center of the table, "I guess romance can sweep any woman off her feet."

In her peripheral vision, the Minister of State caught Mii cocking her head, "You and I both know that isn't true. It's the person, not the romance."

"Then maybe your friend was wrong about that friend of Lando's. Maybe he wasn't afraid of commitment. Maybe she just wasn't the right person."

"That's probably right."

Leia couldn't hold in the sudden snort of bitter laughter.

"What?" Mii looked wary.

"Nothing. Well, no," Leia pulled her thoughts out of the darkness, "I've been the 'right person to a good number of men, but they've just never been the right person for me."

"Lando and I know so many great men who would die to even meet a woman like you."

Leia shook her head, "No, no, please. I appreciate the thought, but no. I don't really understand why everyone thinks I need to be seeing someone. Just this morning my brother was trying to get me to go on a date."

Clearly chastised, Mii leaned back into the soft leather of the booth, "I didn't mean to be presumptuous. I just assumed that the Republic bureaucracy is full of old men."

"It is," Leia smirked and shook her head.

"Did you and Lando ever sleep together?"

Leia raised her eyebrows at Mii, "Seriously?"

"Oh, come on, it isn't really unbelievable."

"We didn't. I was … in a relationship at the time."

"Oh. During the Rebellion? Really?"

"It wasn't the best idea. He proposed to me the day we liberated Coruscant. I told him no."

"And," Mii poured more wine into Leia's goblet, "You still regret it."

"Only when I think about it. But it was the right decision at the time – it feels like it was lifetimes ago – and anyway, I've moved on."

Mii glanced over Leia's shoulder, "Looks like Lando is finally coming back. Gods, he was probably greasing his hair in the refresher. I swear, that man takes longer to get ready than I do."

Leia tried to turn around to get a look at Lando, but her sightline was blocked by the back of the booth. Mii touched her bare arm lightly, still looking behind her.

"Looks like he picked up some company."

"Who?"

Mii didn't have time to answer as Lando appeared around the side of the booth with none other than Han Solo. The architect reached out across the booth with both hands to clasp Han's hands.

She smiled, "It is so good to see you, Han."

"Good to see you too, Mii," but Han wasn't looking at Lando's wife. He was looking at Leia.

"Oh, my manners – Leia, this is Lando's old friend, Han Solo. Han, this is Leia Organa."

Leia sighed, "We know one another."

He slid onto the seat next to her and, true to form, scooted just a bit too close.

"That's an understatement. But you don't need to be so excited about it, Sweetheart."

"What's there to be excited about?" She adopted the bored haughtiness that had served her so well in a former life to mask the rapid beating of her heart.

He leaned toward her to whisper low in her ear, "I have some ideas."

He knew what he was doing: unbalancing her. To suppress the shiver that involuntarily brought warmth to every corner of her being, she tried to think of that last terrible fight, the Falcon lifting off into the gray Coruscant morning, Chewbacca's rage, the scores of other women he must have slept with over the years, his disrespectful attitude at the meeting today. Anything to blot out the potency of the man whose breath she could feel in her hair.

She twisted to look into his face, "Don't be so sure you still know what makes me excited."

Looking at him and playing his game were mistakes; it just confirmed that the years hadn't diminished their chemistry. The electricity between then had been there from the moment they met in the Death Star's detention block and had never faded. Why should she expect it to be gone now? As if reading her thoughts, his eyes crinkled in a smile, brightening his handsome face. It surprised her again how little he had aged.

"That's the best white I've ever seen you in," he made a vague gesture toward her dress, "Coruscant agrees with you."

"Lando said the same thing, but I really can't wait to leave."

"Never liked it either."

She hid behind the lip of her goblet as she took a drink, "Well, that's one thing we agree on."

"There's a first time for everything."

Talking to him was too easy. She was letting herself slip into their familiar banter; just like one never forgot how to shoot a blaster once one learned, Leia hadn't forgotten how to spar with Han Solo. She didn't like it.

"You two seem to know one another quite well," Mii broke in.

Before Han got the chance to embarrass her, Leia addressed Mii, "We met during the Rebellion. He helped rescue me from the Death Star."

Mii's eyes grew wide and Lando remained silent, "You were on the Death Star?"

"I was."

"So you've known one another for almost twelve years?"

"We fell out of touch some time ago."

Han smirked, "That's one way to put it, Sweetheart."

The bonded couple across the table exchanged looks.

Mii covered a large yawn and pushed slightly on Lando's arm, "Hey, doll, I don't want to break up the evening, but I think we should maybe go."

"I am getting pretty tired, beautiful. Not as young as I used to be. These two," he gestured to Han and Leia, "Clearly have a few late nights left in them, though."

"Our company not interesting enough for you, huh?" Han leaned back and crossed a booted ankle over his knee, nearing touching Leia's thigh. She moved a few centims away to avoid contact.

"I think the two of you are more interesting to one another," Mii smiled. Leia could hardly believe how utterly in the dark Lando's wife was as to her history with both of these men. Had they never even talked about her?

She couldn't be left alone with Han, "You know, it is very late and I have meetings that begin at dawn. I should really go, too."

"But I just got here!"

"I'm sure you could figure out some way to entertain yourself."

Lando and Mii were already heading toward the door, and Leia stood and was about to signal her security detail when she felt a hand on her lower back.

"Sweetheart. Wait."