I understand your frustration, everyone. But, don't blame me, it's not my fault Han and Leia are so stubborn ;) Well, maybe it's my fault a little bit, hee hee :)

###

Han stood in the circuitry bay, contemplating rewiring the lower panel. He needed to keep busy and get his mind off the woman he swore to stop thinking about. He couldn't seem to accomplish that, so doing some work on the Falcon would be a good distraction.

Heavy footsteps plodded from the corridor and he didn't need to turn to know it was Chewie. "Hey!" he called.

The Wookiee welcomed him back to Yavin and didn't hesitate for a moment before asking how it had gone on Naboo.

"Fine," he grumbled.

Chewbacca was slow to respond and Han knew him well enough by now to know that his piercing blue eyes were on him. Finally, he roared a question.

"Nothin' happened." The short bark of a reply just raised his hackles further. "I don't wanna talk about it!"

Chewie huffed something under his breath about cranky smugglers and Han returned to remove the panel he had been contemplating. Just as he dismissed his hairy co-pilot from his mind, another, lighter pair of footsteps resounded in the corridor. Irritated, Han looked up to see Luke striding towards him, wearing an uncharacteristic angry expression.

"What's up, Kid?"

"You took Princess Leia to Naboo." His lips were turned down in a pout and his eyes were stormy.

He grunted an affirmative, deciding that today was not his day.

"Why did you do that?" He took a few steps closer to Han.

"I dunno, Kid, I've been asking myself the same question."

"Were you trying to make time with her without me around?"

Han eyed the younger man as if he'd lost his mind. "What're you talking about? Why wouldn't I want you around?"

"Because you wanted to be alone with the Princess," he accused.

Although Luke had guessed at his motive for the trip, Han had hardly been trying to get Luke out of the picture. "Listen, cause I'm only gonna say this once. I was not trying to get rid of you. I took Her Holiness to Naboo to see her mother and that was it. I wish I'd never done it, cause she's a royal pain in the ass."

The hardness faded from Luke's features. His eyes fell to the deck, then back to Han. "Oh…sorry."

Han grunted acknowledgement, bent down, and removed the lower panel.

"You could've told me you were going," Luke said morosely.

"It was spur of the moment."

"Well…how was it? She was happy to see her mother?"

"Yeah." He stared at the inner workings of his ship and appraised the situation. Finally, he yanked at the tangle of wires and pulled the ends off. "Chewie, get me some tri-color wiring."

Chewie hooted and left to do Han's bidding.

"I guess you didn't have a good time on Naboo." Luke sounded almost pleased. Han looked up to find him smiling quietly at the deck.

"I don't think the words 'good time' and 'princess' go together."

"So, why did you take her?"

"Nothin' better to do." He removed the last wire and stared into the panel, wishing the younger man would drop the subject.

"What happened? What was so bad about it?"

Han sighed and stood to face him. "What happened is what always happens. Her Highness is impossible. Just like every other woman I've ever met."

Luke's chin rose a notch. "She's nothing like the women I've known," he said defensively.

"That's cause you've spent your whole life on Tatooine. What've you met? Ten women in your life?" He flashed a lopsided grin. "Trust me, Kid. Women are all the same."

"I think you're just cynical."

"Maybe I am. But, that don't mean it's not true."

"I guess this means you won't be taking her back to Naboo."

Han saw the glimmer of hope in Luke's eyes. "Not if I can help it. That was the second worst mistake I've ever made."

"What was the first?"

A flash of chain around his neck came to mind, and he could almost feel it digging into his flesh. "Don't ask," he mumbled.

"You need help rewiring?"

"Nah. There's no room for two in that panel."

Chewie returned with the spools of wire, placed two on the floor, and handed the lead of the other two Han, unrolling the wire as his pilot sat on the deck to attach it to the lead.

"What's Naboo like?" Luke asked.

"Green." He nodded towards a nearby tool box. "Hand me that cutter."

Luke examined the box, came away with the wire cutter, and handed it to Han. He cut the wire, threaded through, and began to attach the other side. Something suddenly sparked, sending a slight shock up his arm. Han fell back with a curse.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked in unison with Chewie's concerned bark.

"Yeah," he growled. His head was clearly not in the right place for this. He picked the cutter up from the floor and hurled it at the tool box. It bounced off the side and clattered to the floor.

Chewbacca growled at length.

"Yeah," Han muttered. He could probably use a break. He stood and shook his head as if to clear it.

"I'm going to go see the Princess," Luke said. "You wanna come with me?"

"I'd rather wrestle a rancor."

"What's a rancor?"

"Never mind. See ya later, Kid." Han wound his way through the corridor and down the ramp. He surveyed the hangar, which was mildly busy with people fixing or maintaining fighters. What he really needed was to get away from everyone right now. Luke's accusations had not improved his mood. Without a backwards glance, he made his way towards the gaping doorway that led outside.

For a moment, the breath of fresh air lightened him. Then, he remembered the last time he had been outside the temple. With Leia, just before they departed for Naboo.

If only he could turn back time and refrain from taking that little trip. Then again, he wouldn't know what a stuck-up bitch he was dealing with.

His eyes lit upon three speeder bikes parked beside the stone wall. Now, that was his idea of a distraction. With a sudden spring to his step, Han sauntered over to the bike and hopped on. Fortunately, it was unlocked, which was good, because he didn't want to have to hotwire it.

With a grin, he placed his feet on the rails and gunned it forward at full speed, disappearing into the trees.

###

Gliding to a stop, Han had to admit that it had been far too long since he had last ridden a speeder. Far more reckless and dangerous, it had been even longer since he had ridden a swoop. Although a starship was best of all, there was something incomparably exhilarating to piloting something in the open air. Wind in his hair, the trees whizzing by, the only sound that of the engine…it was easy to forget all else.

Feeling infinitely better, he hopped off the bike and strode towards the entrance to the hangar. As he passed by a huge stone wall, he heard someone say his name. He stopped to see if someone were calling him then realized that someone was talking, not to him, but about him.

"He brought the princess back from there today," a man's voice was saying on the other side of the low wall.

"Why did he get to take her?" asked another male voice.

"Cause she owns his ass." A harsh laugh followed these words.

Something dark and ugly sunk and burrowed into Han's stomach. Maybe they didn't mean what he thought they meant.

"Yeah," the second voice sneered. "He has to obey his master."

Fury swirled through Han, burning and smoldering to a boil. He closed his eyes, feeling a sudden violent rage that clenched his hands to fists. He breathed in slowly through his nose and released it, hot and steaming, through his mouth. He couldn't recall ever being so angry.

"Hey, would you turn the Princess down?"

He didn't wait to hear another word. With a hard step in the other direction, he stalked towards the nearest staircase and took the steps two at a time.

###

Catching up on the work she had missed during the past three days, Leia scrolled through the datapad at her desk, focusing entirely on the present.

They had received so many new recruits since the Battle of Alderaan, what they currently needed most was supplies. Food, medical supplies, weapons, ships…they needed pretty much everything.

The only course of action for weapons would be to raid a factory. Listed before her were the logistics of the possible targets. Leia had been tasked with the decision of which would be the easiest to hit.

Their best bets were either BlasTech or Intessia Tech. As Leia looked over the plans for the Blastech warehouse, the door to her office hissed open unceremoniously.

Surprised at the intrusion, she looked up to see Han's face, contorted in anger. He slammed both hands on the desk, causing her to startle and sit up straight in her chair.

"Who did you tell?" he bellowed.

She blinked up at him. His eyebrows were lowered to just above eyes that held a demonic glare. His chin jutted out beneath lips that were stiff and tight. He positively radiated hostility and, in the wake of her surprise, Leia was instantly brought to a swift anger.

"What are you talking about?" she asked harshly, standing behind her desk and refusing to allow him to intimidate her.

He stood up, spine rigid. "Who did you tell about us?"

"Us?" she demanded. "There is no us." He had made that much clear earlier today.

For a moment, his brow twisted in confusion. In that moment, with his eyes widened and his mouth open, he almost looked like a little boy. Then a sneer replaced the innocent expression. "That's not what I mean! I mean what happened on Nar Shadda. Our 'arrangement.'"

The pieces fell into place. That. "I haven't told anyone," she said coldly.

"Yes, you did!"

"I did not. What makes you think I did?"

"I heard some of the pilots joking about it. How you 'own my ass.'"

Her jaw went slack. It took her a moment to form words. "I assure you," she insisted regally, "that is not something that I shared with anyone."

"Then why did these guys know all about it?" His finger pointed stiffly to the door.

Her teeth ground tightly together. "If you remember," she gritted out, "there were others with us that night on Nar Shadda."

A slow shift overtook his features. The tightness of his jaw loosened and the anger faded to uncertainty and annoyance. "So, you didn't say anything?"

"No."

His posture relaxed, shoulders lowering. "I don't like being the subject of gossip."

"Neither do I," she said stiffly. "Will that be all?"

He seemed to want to say more, but he only nodded, looking doubtful. Leia sat back down, silently seething, and returned her gaze to the datapad. When he made no move to leave, she looked back up at him, expression guarded and austere.

"Is there something else I can help you with?"

He paused, seeming to think. "Does Luke know?"

Dread flitted through her. He was the last person Leia wanted to see her in such a dreadful light. He was so sweet and earnest, so trusting. And, although she did not enjoy his obvious idealization of her, she did not want him to view her as someone who would own a slave.

"Not that I know of."

He nodded brusquely, still looking troubled. Leia warred with herself over whether to question him. After the aggressive way he had stormed in, she was angry at herself for even caring. She damned herself before finally speaking.

"What is it?" she asked quietly.

He hesitated. "You know, the kid thinks the suns rise and set on you."

Her lips tightened. "What's your point?"

"Maybe you should tell him before someone else does."

She contemplated this. Every time she turned around, Han Solo surprised her.

"First you don't want him to know. Now, you do. Which is it, Solo?"

He grimaced. "I don't, really. But, if you tell him, at least he'll get the truth. If he hears it through the underground, who knows how the story will be twisted."

He was right, of course. With the anger gone from his eyes, his expression more sedate, she was again distracted by the curve of his lips and the charm of the scar underneath it.

She sighed deeply. "Okay. I'll tell him." Or perhaps she could just rip out her fingernails instead? That would probably be more enjoyable.

He gave a curt nod, stared at her grimly for a moment then whirled away and disappeared through the door.

Leia remained fixed on the door after it closed. She would never understand Han. He was the most capricious being she had ever met. She needed to put him out of her mind. And the only way she could accomplish that would be to avoid him. It was the only foreseeable course of action.

She wrenched her attention away from the erratic Corellian and focused fully on the datapad on her desk.

A half hour later, she had made her decision. Intessia was going to be their target. It was located on Bindi, in the Bindari system, was closer to the Core than BlasTech, and had less Imperial traffic.

Feeling confident about her decision, she was ready to discuss it with her father over dinner. She sent him the file and locked her office for the day.

In the mess hall, Han's tale of gossip returned to her, and she was hyper-aware of anyone looking her way. She did not appear to garner any unusual attention and began to wonder if perhaps Han were not simply paranoid.

After procuring dinner for both of them, she jabbed the controls with her elbow to open the door to Bail's office. He sat at his desk and his head rose from the datapad before him. His grim expression was quickly replaced by a tired, yet warm smile.

"I assume you haven't eaten." She gestured towards the tray in her hands with an incline of her head.

"You assume correctly."

She smiled and placed the tray on his desk as he moved his datpad aside. These moments with her father kept her sane. It was the one semblance of normal life she could cling to. She couldn't imagine living through daily life with the Rebellion if he were in exile with her mother. She would have no one. Taking a seat across from her father, she distributed their plates, moving the tray to the floor beside her.

"I wish I could have gone with you to Naboo," he sighed, before taking a bite of the tasteless food on his recyclable plate.

"I know. We wished you were there as well." With an internal grimace, Leia began eating, forcing the food into her mouth, knowing she needed to eat. It was difficult to return to eating food that was so unappetizing.

"One day. At least you were able to bring some comfort to your mother."

She smiled, feeling suddenly sad, missing her more now for having seen her. Her eyes lowered and she steeled herself to ask the question that had been haunting her. "I was surprised to find out Solo was bringing me to Naboo."

His expression was a mixture of confusion and pleasure. "I was rather surprised when he suggested it."

A tiny smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She quickly suppressed it.

"Solo is an interesting man."

Leia thought that interesting might be a gross understatement. Better words might be: exasperating, confusing, unpredictable…

"He is," she agreed simply. Their earlier conversation came back to her and she suddenly lost the slight bit of appetite she had built up. She poked at her food with the fork and bit her lip. "Solo told me about something he overheard earlier."

Her father looked up curiously.

"He heard talk. About me owning him as a slave." She grimaced down at her plate.

"Has he mentioned it to anyone?"

"No. He was very angry about the fact that anyone knows."

Bail sighed. "I doubt Antilles would disclose this information. It must have been Broan. Well, there's nothing we can do about it now."

She nodded agreement. "Han thinks I should tell Luke. Before he hears it from anyone else." When she looked up, her father was watching her carefully.

"You really care for this young man, don't you?" he asked with quiet seriousness.

Instantly, Leia felt her defenses rise, embarrassment coiling tightly in her stomach. "Not particularly," she replied coldly. "He's rather arrogant."

Surprise widened his eyes. "Really? I don't get that impression at all."

"Perhaps he has yet to show you his true colors. He's quite impossible."

"I can't even imagine Skywalker being impossible."

Leia blinked, chagrined at the misunderstanding. "Oh…Luke. I thought you meant Solo."

He laughed softly. "Solo. Right. I see your point about him. But, I do think there is more to him than meets the eye."

She refrained from responding.

"But, Skywalker," he continued. "He has become a friend to you?"

Her demeanor softened. "Yes. Luke is a good friend. A bit innocent of the galaxy, but very committed to taking on the Empire."

"He seems to have a very high opinion of you."

Was this the theme of the day? "I've noticed," she said dryly.

"Just be careful." His tone was gentle.

Leia cocked her head to one side. "What do you mean?"

"He's very impressionable."

"And?"

"What I'm trying to say is…" He paused with uncharacteristic awkwardness. "Don't get caught up in the way Luke looks at you."

Leia's mouth fell open and, for a moment, she was at a loss for words. "What are you trying to say?"

He sighed. "What I'm saying is that, just because you might have a connection with someone that does not automatically mean it should be romantic in nature."

What was going on? First, her mother's words about Han, now her father seemed to think she was attracted to Luke. "Not that it's any of your concern," she said stiffly, "but Luke and I are simply friends."

He hesitated and Leia couldn't remember the last time he had been so tentative when speaking to her. "Just…don't let him think it's more than that."

"Are you implying that I am leading him on somehow?" Her cheeks were warm, whether from mortification or anger, she wasn't sure.

He released a soft whisper of a laugh. "No, not at all. But, we all have enough on our plates without any complications. And romantic entanglements always bring complications."

"Why the sudden concern with my love life?" she asked in a clipped tone.

"I only want to be certain that you remain focused."

"Have I ever been unfocused?" She raised an eyebrow.

He indulged her with a knowing smile. "No. You have not."

Leia had an odd feeling that there was something beneath the surface of this conversation, something her father was not telling her. She couldn't decide what that might be and it nagged at her. Never before had either of her parents appeared concerned about her possible romantic interests.

With a mental sigh of frustration, she shifted topics and tried to forget about it altogether.