A/N: This little morsel is in honour of our dear friend Zyra. Uh, we mean Zee-ra. Whatever. You're wonderful! Happy birthday with lots of love. - JG & ED

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Paint and Passion

By Justine Graham and Erin Darroch

"What about this one?" Leia asked, lifting the paint chip to Han's eye level and giving him a quizzical tilt of her head. "Tatooine Sand. Do you like it?"

Han gave the sample a cursory glance and then offered a half-hearted shrug. "Not really," he said as he leaned back on straightened arms. Stretching out long legs, he crossed them at the ankle and eyed Leia with a faint smirk. "Reminds me of the mud flats on Lothal."

Sitting opposite him, cross-legged on the carpeted floor of their unfurnished bedroom, Leia narrowed her eyes. "You're not being especially helpful with this task, you know."

"Well, Princess, that's prob'ly 'cause we've been at this for over an hour, and we're no closer to making a decision than when we started," he groused good-naturedly. "Why don't we just forget it, and leave the walls the way they are?"

"We can't leave them," she said, tossing the unwanted card down amongst the dozens of other rejected chips scattered around them on the floor. "It's only builder's paint; it needs a proper coat, and it has to be done before we get any furniture delivered—including that gigantic bed we just ordered. So, we need to come to an agreement on something. How about this?" she asked, picked up another chip and offering it up for inspection.

"Nah, that's worse than the last one. Looks like something that should be spread on agri-fields, not painted on the walls."

Leia turned the card over to read the back. "It's called Spiced Caf," she informed him.

"Sweetheart, it's brown," Han said pointedly. "They can call it whatever fancy name they want, but it's still brown, and I don't like brown." Reaching down, he snagged a card at random and then held it up and waggled it while giving Leia a look of pure incredulity. "I mean, look at the names on these damn things. This one's called 'Sea Breeze'. How is that even a color? It ain't even visible." With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the sample onto the growing pile of rejects and gave his head a doleful shake.

"I suppose if it were up to you this entire apartment would be painted starship grey," Leia mused mildly, browsing through the remaining paint chips.

"Somethin' wrong with grey?"

"Well," she replied, "there are warm greys and there are cool greys, so I guess it depends on—"

"Seriously?" Han swiped a hand over his face, looking decidedly pained. "Colours…. are warm? And cool?"

"Yes, seriously." Leia smirked. Tipping forward, she balanced on one outstretched arm while shuffling through the colour-coded stacks with her free hand. "Look," she urged as she straightened up once more. "This one's warm," she said, displaying a card in her left hand before showing the one she held in her right, "and this one's cool."

Obligingly, Han sat forward and squinted at the offered samples. He stared for a moment, mouth hanging slightly open, and then gave himself a little shake. Sitting back, he waved a careless hand in Leia's direction. "I don't get it. Just pick one. Whatever you want."

Leia hummed over the two colors for a moment longer, then tossed both into the rejection pile. "On second thought," she said, "I don't think grey will work at all. Too clinical."

Han released a long-suffering sigh.

Leia bit her lip against a smile. "I'm thinking...maybe a shade of green, the color of life? Something light-reflecting and pale…"

"Are there warm greens and cool greens?"

"Hm, let's see…."

"Leia." Han's tone was bone-dry. He slapped a hand down on the stack of green sample cards and gave her his sternest glare. "I was joking."

"But it's a good question," Leia protested, tugging another of the sample cards from beneath his flattened palm.

Han rolled his eyes and then rolled away, flopping onto his back with a defeated grunt and throwing one arm up over his face. "I'm goin' for a nap."

Leia snorted. "You don't take naps."

"I do when I'm completely bored out of my mind."

"Fine. If that's how you feel about it, why don't you go down to Miku's or The Five Sails and get us something to eat?"

"Why don't you just pick a color and then we'll go out to eat," he countered, lifting his arm and peering at her with a hopeful expression.

"It won't take much longer...there aren't many colours left on my short list," Leia muttered, gazing down at the half-dozen cards in her hand that she had arranged in the shape of a fan as if she were playing a round of Sabacc. "If you don't want to help choose, you could gather up the rejects and put them in the recycler."

"That I can do."

Sitting up and then shifting into a crouch, Han began to pick up the swatches that were scattered across the plush cream-coloured carpeting. He had only collected a small stack in one hand when he suddenly paused and sat back on his heels.

"Huh."

Out of the corner of her eye, Leia watched as he lifted one of the cards close to his face, appearing to study it intently.

"Something wrong?"

He angled a sidelong glance at Leia, cut his gaze back to the card, and then reverted to her once more. Meeting her curious eyes, he flipped the card around so she could see the pale shade for herself. "This one's called Shimmersilk."

"Yes, and I've seen it already. Too pale for the lighting in this room, I'm afraid."

"Yeah, but it looks familiar. Reminds me of somethin'." Reaching out, he touched the edge of the card against her bare forearm and gave a little grunt. "See? Same exact shade." His eyes lit up with a mischievous sparkle. Glancing down at the stack of cards in his hand, he began shuffling through the deck with obvious purpose, a hint of a smile playing about the corners of his mouth. "I bet there's more. Hm, let's see…" he mused as he selected another card. "Oh yeah. Your hair is definitely Homogani Dream." Shuffling forward on his knees, he edged closer and held the card against the heavy braid that trailed down over Leia's shoulder. "No wait, it's Brandywine. Definitely Brandywine."

"This is not helping."

"Sure it is." Flashing a playful leer, he stretched out one hand to remove the remaining sample cards from her grasp before tossing them blithely over his shoulder to send them fluttering to the floor. "It's helpin' me not be bored anymore."

Startled by his sudden movement, Leia leaned back a little, and then dropped back onto her elbows as he advanced—still clutching his own stack of cards—to position himself between her bent knees. She grinned up at him, recognizing his tactic for what it was, but enjoying the attention nevertheless. His hazel gaze roamed over her reclining figure and when his eyes met hers once more, she could see the telltale hungry gleam there.

She arched a querying eyebrow. "I thought you wanted to speed up this process, Hotshot, not slow it—."

"Shhh-shhh," Han interjected, his brow furrowing in exaggerated concentration as he sat back on his heels between her thighs and began rifling through the stack of paint samples once more. "Tryin' to think, Princess. Now, your lips..." He extended a card and held it up next to her cheek, his eyes roving thoughtfully between the colour swatch and Leia's mouth. "Cambylictus Berry? Ugh, no, that sounds a little weird."

"Han…."

"Wait, I got it," he said, tossing the chip to one side and plucking another from his array. He examined the colour swatch for a moment and then turned his eyes back to Leia's mouth. "Kessinnamon Roll. Yeah, that's it." His gaze lingered on her lips, his eyes darkening with growing desire. "Sounds pretty sweet, Princess. Care to let me...have a…taste?" As he spoke, he set down his collection of cards and leaned in with an impish twinkle in his eye, planting one hand beside her as he began moving forward, gradually easing her body backwards with the advance of his own.

Despite the fact that the sun was setting on yet another day in their empty apartment and they still hadn't finalised the details of decor, Leia found herself unable—or at least unwilling—to resist Han's playful proposition. Succumbing to the gentle pressure of his body coming to rest against her own, she sank onto her back and reached up to guide his mouth down, smiling into their first sweet kiss. His lips were soft and warm, and still faintly laced with a hint of Crathulan spice from the lunch they'd shared a few hours before. She let her tongue flicker against the smooth flesh and was rewarded with a low groan as he opened his mouth a little wider and met her overture with a more heated response. One passionate kiss soon led to another—and then another—and within moments they were making out in earnest. Leia wrapped her arms and legs around his long body, holding him fast in her embrace as he dragged his lips from her mouth and began kissing his way along the line of her jaw.

"Mmm-mmm-mmm," he murmured into her ear, sending a rush of tingling warmth straight to her core and out to every limb. "I think Kessinnamon Roll was a pretty good guess."

Leia laughed. "You do have a keen eye for colour, Flyboy," she mused. "I'm almost disappointed you're not going to show off more of these impressive new skills."

"Who says I'm done?" Halting his nuzzling of her neck, he then propped himself up on one elbow and brought his free hand up between them. With a lascivious grin, he flashed a single card that he held trapped between thumb and forefinger. On it was displayed a palette of several shades of rosy pink.

Leia blinked, nonplussed, and reached to take the card from him. "Which one are you looking at?" she asked, tilting the back of the chip to the fading light in an effort to read the faint Aurebesh names printed on its surface.

Han arched an eyebrow. "Blushing Bouquet," he replied.

"I see. And that's a match for….what? My tongue?" she queried, widening her eyes at him in what she hoped was a convincing display of innocence.

Han laughed as he reached down between them. In one smooth move, he slipped his fingers under the loose hem of her tunic and then ran his hand up to cup one Dramassian silk-covered breast. He gave her rapidly stiffening nipple a gentle flick with the pad of his thumb. "Not your tongue."

Leia's breathing hitched and every nerve ending in her body quivered in response. "I don't know," she said as she studied the card, doing her best to sound unaffected. "Blushing Bouquet looks a bit too light to me. My guess is the one next to it. Sparklemint Pink."

"How much you wanna bet I'm right?" he said in a suggestive drawl.

Leia considered the opportunity. "Well…," she said at length, "if you're wrong, you have to stop fooling around and actually help me choose a decent colour for this room."

"Deal." Han replied promptly. "And if I'm right?"

Leia smirked up at him. "Isn't being right its own reward?"

"Nah-ah-ah, Princess. I want a prize."

"Such as?"

"You know what."

Leia's stomach fluttered. A laugh bubbled up, unbidden, as it dawned on her what sort of prize Han would be angling for in this context. With some effort, she straightened her features and tried to summon her sternest tone of voice. "No way."

"Yes way. And it's goin' right up there." He punctuated each of his words with a jab of his finger upwards toward the ceiling.

"We'll see about that," Leia said coolly.

"Yeah, Princess," Han intoned, reaching for the hem of her tunic and, with her help, tugging the garment upward and over her head. He tossed the top aside and sent his avid gaze roaming unabashedly over her body. His handsome face crinkled up in a delighted smile. "Yeah, we'll see."

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The End