Leia awoke to the fresh scent of flowers floating in from the gardens below. As she dressed, she couldn't help but think about her undeniable excitement the night before.
Suddenly, her feelings for Han were careening out of control. She dressed quickly, only interested in finding him. She needed to see him for some reason that she couldn't understand.
It was early and she hesitated to see if he was in his room across the hall. With her emotions running high, she was afraid of what he might think she was implying. It was a crazy thought, but she wasn't sure she was thinking completely clearly anyway.
So, why was she seeking him out then? Again, Leia had no answer for herself. She only knew that she had to find him and be near him. Must be that damn potion. She absently wondered how he was feeling as she made her way down the stairs.
She found Han in the same room as she had found him the night before. This time he looked up at her instantly, a smile spreading across his face at the sight of her.
"Mornin', Sweetheart."
"Good morning, Han. You're up early." She felt a sense of growing euphoria being in the same room with him again.
"Couldn't sleep. Guess it's those pre-bonding jitters you hear about," Han remarked, sitting down on the long sofa near the doors leading out to the garden.
The bonding!
How could she have forgotten about the bonding? Was he backing out? Leia walked toward the luxurious sofa, feeling inexplicably drawn to over to him. She was having trouble concentrating which disturbed her even more. Concentration and being able to control her mind had always been easy for her. Solo was somehow currently distracting her in a way she could not remember ever experiencing before to this degree.
"Have you changed you mind?"
"No, it's just a joke. What's the matter?" Han could see her mind was elsewhere; otherwise she probably wouldn't have taken him so seriously. She knew him better than that. Once he said he would do something, he did it – especially where she was concerned. Funny, the Princess always had a way of getting him to do things that he normally wouldn't do. Solo wondered if she knew the power she held over him in that regard. He reached out for her hand and pulled Leia willingly down to sit next to him.
Staring at the gardens beyond the open doors, she sighed. "I don't know. Nothing."
Han looked more closely at her. There was something in her expression, but he couldn't decide what.
"Have you contacted your uncle yet?"
Leia shook her head, "Not yet."
She felt nervous sitting so near to him, but it was exciting at the same time. She strove to maintain a normal demeanor. It wouldn't do for the normally conceited Captain to suspect that she had an inexplicable urge to be near him and that she liked that urge far too much.
"Well, look, he seemed pretty sure of himself yesterday. I wouldn't be surprised if the old fossil is making plans already anyway."
Leia smirked, "That old fossil is about to become your in-law." And Han was about to become her lifemate! This was not how she envisioned these events in her life. Then again, what had worked out the way she had envisioned them? No matter, she would just deal with it. It had to be done, like it or not. Right now she secretly liked it.
Han chuckled, "Yeah, more royalty, just what I need." When Leia showed no reaction to that at all, he became concerned, "Are you okay with this?"
"I have to be. Too much is depending on it," Leia said in that stoic voice she tended to use in situations like this. Truly she was just trying to control herself. The nearness of him was a heady feeling and she was overcompensating for it. Shouldn't that potion be wearing off instead of getting stronger? she thought.
"Don't sound too excited, Your Worship," Han said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
She snapped her head up to look at him, "It's not yo- I just never thought I would be getting bonded like this…" she looked away, "because I had to."
Han squeezed her hand in reassurance. If he was going through with this, the least he could do was be there for her. He tried to make light of the situation, "I guess I'm not the prince you were hoping for, huh?"
She smiled at that, "Who ever said I wanted to bond with a prince?"
Mildly surprised and heartened by her answer, Han took the opportunity to fish for her feelings on the subject under the guise of humor. "Well, I'll bet you didn't have a guy like me in mind."
'Guy like him,' she thought: gorgeous, confident, inspired, brave, gorgeous, intelligent, quick-witted, loyal, gorgeous, supremely talented pilot, tall, gorgeous… he was exactly who she would order. Leia smiled inwardly, if he only knew.
She chose a few from a second and completely opposite list that thankfully raced through her mind, "You mean an arrogant, reckless flyboy like you?"
"You're forgetting decorated hero of the Rebellion that saved your royal skin a few times and the best pilot in the galaxy. You could do worse," Han wagged a finger at her, mockingly smug.
Leia raised an eyebrow, "What about you? Did you ever think you would be bonding with someone like me?"
He raised his eyebrows and flashed his endearing crooked grin, "You mean a bossy, stuck-up Alderaanian Princess?" He had been studying the soft wave of the few strands of hair that she always seemed to leave loose around her ears. It drove him wild every time he looked at her. It gave Leia a sense of seductiveness Solo doubted she was aware of. Reaching out, Han couldn't help stroking one of the stray hairs behind her ear. "No, I can't say that ever came to mind."
Tingles shot through her body from her ear to her toes. Leia blushed and forced herself to find the gardens extremely interesting again. He did have a way about him when he teased her that made her feel opposing emotions. Instead of jumping up and distancing herself, she warred with the desire to lean into him.
With a steadying breath, Leia fought to keep her mind on the business at hand, "You realize that regardless of what my uncle thinks about us, we have to act as if we want to be lifemate bonded in front of everyone else for this to work."
"You mean like we love each other?" Han stared into her eyes, sounding dead serious about his intention behind that statement.
Leia's heart stopped, she was sure of it.
"Yes," she breathed, trying not to sound obvious in any way that she not only understood his covert meaning, but desperately wanted it to be the truth for them. She had zero idea if she was successful, but she did know she had to get out of there right now.
"I should really go contact my uncle," she declared, standing abruptly.
Solo tried not to look disappointed, "Uh, yeah, sure. You go do that. I'll get ready to leave."
Leia nodded, but said nothing, no longer trusting her voice.