A/N: Please read and review!

I took a break due to writers block to start a third Star Wars fic, 'Secrets of Endor', which focusing on Han and Leia in the deleted scenes of Return of the Jedi. If you like their relationship, and ONLY their relationship, take a read. I am so thankful for the wonderful reviews it has gotten so far!

That being said, I'm sorry this is short. I've had a long day but wanted to get something out there for you. The story line finally came to me, so I'm ready to write more!

IV

Thankfully for Luke, Mon Mothma had granted him the front of the search parties for Princess Leia. Although the rest of the Alliance had been in a panic after the leader announced they could not locate the Princess, Luke wasn't worried. He felt Leia's presence somewhere in the frigate – she wasn't far.

The first day didn't go so well. No one had spotted Leia. The second day seemed more promising. She felt closer than before to Luke.

Skywalker made his way down the corridors of the Star Base, backtracking to the four bunk rooms his group was housed in – her presence was strongest when he was there.

Ducking into her space, he found nothing. Closing his eyes, the young Jedi Knight attempted to focus on her core. He pictured the Princess in his mind – nothing. Surely she hadn't learned to grasp the ways of a Jedi, so she couldn't mask where she hid.

Her bunk looked clean, as though it hadn't been slept in. The blanket was ruffled, but refolded neatly. Leia clearly hadn't gone through her drawers, either. The room looked untouched except for the pressed pillow.

Suddenly, Luke felt a small tug from the hallway. Something was calling to him. Something was telling him to look elsewhere. Leia was close.

When Luke stepped into the hallway, a figure stood at the doorway next to his own bunk. A woman's figure, young, with her hair tucked tight under what looked like an old Imperial Naval unit's helmet, punched a code into the bunk. Han's bunk.

Luke used his Jedi abilities to focus on her heartbeat. "You don't want to do that," he called calmly, trying to will her not to go into his lost friend's room.

She froze.

Luke tried again. "Who are you?"

Skywalker detected a strong presence from her, similar to Leia's, but she looked nothing like the Princess. Something was off. This girl wasn't as hopeful or balanced as Leia was. She was quiet and fragile.

Judging by her dress, Luke would swear the girl was from Corellia. Her pants bore the similar infamous blood stripes that Solo wore. They were blue, like the ones he wore when he took on the Death Star with Luke and Leia. She had a beige shirt on top, which looked too big on her, but leaving it tucked into her pants allowed it to fit her form a little better. No shoes – the girl was obviously from the Alliance. Had Han been seeing someone other than Leia?

"You do not want to go in there," Luke tried one last time.

But the girl wasn't weak minded.

Leia. Luke was relieved as she turned to face him. But how hadn't he known?

"I thought you were leaving," Leia whispered.

Her face looked sunken, as though she hadn't slept in days, and her voice was raspy, probably from lack of fluids. It had been about two days since he had last seen Leia.

While Skywalker responded, he tried desperately to reach out to her in his mind. There had to be a reason why he couldn't feel her today. Had something changed? Had he lost his Jedi abilities somehow?

"I've been searching for you." Luke was calm.

"Well, I'm right here," she retorted.

Luke looked at her in disapproval. "The entire Rebel Alliance has been searching for you, Leia," he told her. "Where have you been?"

She faked a smile and pushed the button to enter the code she punched into Han's lock. "You mean why couldn't you find me?"

"No."

Leia knew when Luke was lying. She had felt the connection between them in Cloud City, even if she hadn't fully explained it to her friend.

She turned to Han's room, ignoring the mess of his clothes she left lying about. It was unlike her to house such a mess, but she didn't even remotely resemble the Princess or Senator Luke used to know.

The Jedi followed her into the room, gazing around at the mess. He allowed the doors to shut behind her and watched as Leia took off her helmet and set it in one drawer beneath Han's bunk. He had never seen it before, but he understood. Solo was once an Imperial Naval pilot before he met him. It was why he became a smuggler. Why he was always on the run.

Then, Luke remembered how Leia had received his contact in Bespin. "You feel it, too, don't you?"

Leia stopped in her tracks, keeping her face hidden. "Feel what, Luke?"

"Han's alive."

Tears slowly came back to Leia's eyes, but she didn't let them take over. Luke had spoken the words she hadn't allowed herself to say out loud yet.

Luke continued. "He's out there, Leia. They'll find him."

She turned her head to the side, but kept her body facing away from the Jedi Knight. "I know this isn't my place, Luke," she began.

Skywalker stopped her, internally pressing his calm core to hers though the small space. "You love him."

Leia forced herself to ignore the statement, no matter how accurate it was. She decided to sit on the edge of the bed and let her hair down – she wouldn't be leaving again any time soon, especially if the entire fleet had been searching for her.

"You'd be surprised the places Han used to hang out when he wanted to hide from me on Hoth," she told Luke. "I picked up a few tricks."

Luke studied her. She appeared to not want to say more, so he didn't press. He reached out, hoping to touch on what was in her mind. Briefly, he was able to glimpse the ships the frigate had on deck. Had she been taking time off in the maintenance wing? Solo could have taught her how he fixed up the Falcon. Maybe he had been practicing her own skills in an attempt to stay close to the smuggler. She was obviously doing all that she could to hold on to him right now.

Pushing the images aside, Luke focused on his mission. He had to report her to Mon Mothma before the Alliance began to worry too much…if they hadn't already.

For a second, Skywalker felt a wave of anxiety come off of the Princess. Then, a second of hopelessness, and then her poise returned.

Flustered, Luke reached out to Leia again. He felt nothing now. Nothing since she let him feel her doubtful sorrow. Then, it hit him. She had learned to mask her feelings. Whether she did it intentionally or not, Leia had developed her skills past connecting with Luke to pushing him out.

Her head snapped up as though she read his thoughts.

"I can train you, Leia," he offered sincerely, showing he wanted nothing more than to help her.

Her eyes narrowed. "Luke, my place is here. I'm not a Jedi."

"You can be," he pressed.

She shook her head, but Luke didn't accept her dismissal. "You're empty, Leia." He read her easily. "You're doubting you'll see him again, but I know that isn't true."

"How? How do you possibly know that?"

"The Force, Leia," Luke told her.

"I told you, I'm no Jedi," Leia snapped.

"The Force is strong with you, too," he assured her. "You heard me in Bespin. You came back for me. And you can feel him, too."

"Han's gone, Luke," she yelled at him, silencing his argument.

Skywalker kept his lips pressed together. Leia immediately showed her soft side, for she let her shoulders sink and her face flushed right in front of him as she sat on the bunk.

She looked down at her – Han's – clothes, and tugged the shirt out from her – Han's – pants. Frustrated, she let her eyes fill with water again as anger heating up her blood.

"He's gone," she repeated, still fussing with the shirt. She tugged and tugged, becoming violent with it, until finally, it was loose. She settled down, then looked up at Luke, embarrassed. "He's gone."

Luke felt unsure of what to do, but decided a hug for her was best. They were close, and he couldn't let her sit there, hurt. He sat next to her on the bunk and pulled her into a friendly embrace, trying to calm her in ways outside of the Force.

She wept into his chest, something she rarely did in front of anyone else. Not even when Alderaan was destroyed did she cry. She waited until she was alone in her cell on the Death Star to do that, just as she waited until she was alone in Han's bunk two days prior.

"He's coming back, Leia," Luke whispered, closing his eyes to try to read her again. A wave of sadness washed over him, becoming too much to bare, so he gave up. "He's coming back."

He would promise it, even if it meant staying to find him himself.