Just got back from vacation and here is the next chapter :) The last scene in this chapter was inspired by a comic cover.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They were still skittish around each other, in spite of their recent truce. As Leia scrounged a decent meal for that evening, Han entered the galley for a glass of water.

"Hi," she said quietly as she stirred the bowl in front of her.

"Hey." The grunted reply came out low before he raised the glass to his lips.

She watched the smooth skin of his throat as he swallowed, the bobbing motion holding her gaze. It was amazing the way she noticed things about him she had never noticed about anyone before. Like his hands. They were so large and masculine, the palms slightly rough from a life far less refined than hers had been.

After downing the entire contents, he placed the glass on the counter and peeked into the bowl in front of her.

"Mounder potato rice," he muttered in a dull voice, lashes low against the rims of his eyes.

"You have so much of it," she replied with a hint of amusement.

"After this trip, I'm never eating it again." His eyes rose to hers. "Well, you've got a new skill. Maybe when you get back to the Rebellion you can be the new mess hall cook."

Her chin lowered, eyes rolling up high to still maintain eye contact. "I'll pass, thank you," she countered dryly.

One side of his mouth quirked upwards. "You're better than whoever they had on Hoth. You should think about it."

Leia's hand shot out to strike him playfully on the chest, pleased to have any excuse to touch him.

He smiled in a roguish manner and leaned against the counter. "You miss having all those servants around doin' stuff for you?"

She was a bit surprised by the question and gave it a moment's thought. "Just the cooking." She glanced at him with a wry grin.

"You don't miss having three people to dress you?" The baiting gleam was in his eye, but it lacked the nastiness of days past.

"I dressed myself, thank you very much." She decided it was best not to mention that she did indeed have help with those cumbersome gowns for special occasions. They were a struggle to get into.

"You've come a long way from the spoiled brat I met on the Death Star."

"I was not spoiled," she insisted stiffly.

His expression was sardonic. "Oh c'mon. I've seen holos of that palace you lived in. Don't tell me you weren't spoiled."

She felt her cheeks warm with sudden embarrassment. Spinning towards the bowl on the counter, she spoke quietly. "I was very fortunate." That familiar sense of loss rose like ghosts from a distant past.

He huffed out a derisive breath. "I'd say handed everything you could ever want on a silver platter."

Her body tensed. "Yes," she said brusquely. "Well, that just shows how quickly one can lose everything."

Several beats passed. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Leia returned to mixing. "It's fine." She spared him a quick glance to find him staring at the deck. "When did you see holos of the palace?" From the corner of her eye, she saw his eyes raise to her.

He seemed to hesitate. "Looked on the net." His voice was sheepish.

She smiled internally. "Why did you do that?" She turned to face him.

Something seemed to war within him. "Just curious."

Gazing at him inquisitively, she watched him seem to squirm. "So. What did you think of it?"

Seemingly taken aback, his eyes grew a bit wide. "It's big."

"Yes. It was big." She felt oddly disconnected from the conversation. "And quite lovely." Feeling oddly expectant, she couldn't decide what she might be waiting for from him. The air thickened.

"It was just you and your parents?"

Leia was a bit surprised by the question. "Yes."

"Lotta space for three people."

She didn't dare mention the servants. "Some generations of Organas had larger families. The house was not always so empty. And often, my aunts would visit and stay with us."

"You had a lot of aunts?"

It occurred to her that this was the most normal conversation they had ever shared. "Three." She smiled sadly, memories deluging her. "I loved my aunts, but they never thought I was quite proper enough."

"You?" he asked incredulously. "Weren't proper enough?"

She smiled a bit mischievously. "Hard to believe?"

"Yeah." He was grinning, clearly amused.

For some reason, his surprise pleased her. "I was always doing things that were decidedly 'unprincesslike.'" It had been so long since she had spoken of her family, her past. It had always been so painful. Somehow, it now brought comfort.

"Like what?"

"Well," she began slowly. "When I was very young, I never wanted to wear dresses. They got in the way of running and climbing."

He chuckled and she grinned in return before continuing. "Father and Mother indulged me, allowed me to wear whatever I wanted as long as it wasn't a special occasion. But then my aunts would come over and act horrified by how I looked." She raised her voice and instilled a falsetto. "This is no way for a princess to behave! March upstairs and change into something more befitting a princess!" In her mind, Leia could see them all so clearly, standing in the great room, appalled. For a moment, she was seven years old again, and the present fell away like an umbrella of autumn leaves.

Han's voice intruded on her thoughts, bringing her back to the immediate. "So, you were a rebel at a young age."

Her eyes rose to his and they were smiling together. "I guess so." She laughed lightly. "It was their life's mission to turn me into a proper princess."

"What about their own kids?"

"My cousins? They were all boys. I was the only girl."

"How'd your parents get to be the lucky ones who had the only girl in that gene pool of boys?"

"I'm adopted," she said matter-of-factly.

His mouth rounded to a circle of surprise. "You are?"

"Yes."

He was momentarily speechless.

"What?" Leia asked coyly. "Didn't catch that in your little research project about me?"

He looked momentarily embarrassed, caught in the act, and Leia felt a small sense of triumph.

"I suppose it's not written about as much as when I was young. I was referred to as the 'adopted princess,' for the longest time. It irritated both Mother and Father. Eventually, the media stopped mentioning it. I suppose it was forgotten."

"Why did it annoy them?"

The question surprised her. "Because, to them I was simply their daughter. 'Adopted' was irrelevant."

His expression remained puzzled for a moment before he seemed to shrug it off. "So, who were your real parents?"

She gave him a sharp look. "My 'real' parents were the people who raised me." That question, phrased that way, had always rankled her.

He sighed with a roll of his eyes. "Okay, sorry. I mean, who were your biological parents?"

A familiar flicker of discomfort flitted through her. It always popped up when the question of her parentage rose. She never understood why it caused her a sense of unease. "I don't know," she confessed. "I was an orphan of the Clone Wars." Her eyes stared into the distance at nothing, old feelings stirring. "I have this…sense of my mother," she whispered. "An almost-image…I've always felt that if I could just focus a bit more, I would be able to picture her…but the image never quite clears." Often, Leia wondered if the memory were merely wishful thinking. When she looked up at Han, he was staring down at the counter, eyes dark and disturbed. "What's wrong?"

Abruptly, he snapped out of it. "Nothing."

She watched him as he shifted his feet self-consciously. "And what about you?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you." She flashed a smile. "I know nothing of your life on Corellia."

A glower fell over his features. "Not much to tell." He shrugged.

The warmth flowing between them chilled as he played his usual game of evasive maneuvers. She had hoped they were past that. She suppressed a sigh. "Did you grow up near Coronet City?"

"More or less."

What exactly did that mean?! There was never a straight answer from this man. She refused to display her annoyance. "I went to Coronet City once," she continued, as if he hadn't just shut her down. "With my father, for a trade agreement."

"What'd you think?"

"It was busy. Not as busy as Coruscant. But, busy."

"Yeah, it's no Coruscant. Nothing quite like that."

"I'm not overly fond of Coruscant."

"Why not?"

"It's too much. There's no quiet, it never stops. And there's no nature, unless you go to a fabricated park. But they are few and far between." She remembered the sense of wonder that filled her as a small child, as they descended to Coruscant from the night sky. Lights glittered from every surface and, as a young girl, she was initially enchanted. It looked like the night sky, filled with stars. Once morning came, it all looked quite austere and ugly.

Han shrugged in return and it occurred to Leia that this was the most she had spoken about her past since going underground with the Rebellion. Maybe Han and I have more in common than I realized, she thought wistfully. She wished she could draw him out, make him talk to her.

"I saw a holo," he said very quietly, deep voice sending an unbidden shudder through her.

Her pulse quickened. "A holo?"

"Yeah." He rubbed a hand over his chin. "You and your parents."

An odd mixture of sadness and pleasure combined in her chest.

"Founding Day," he added quietly.

That sweet, lovely gesture of his came back to her. The atmosphere grew heavy, the pang in her chest more profound. "That was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me," she whispered.

His brow furrowed for just an instant before understanding fell. He almost seemed to blush. "I doubt that." His shrug was self-effacing.

An impulsive hand reached out to touch his arm. "I mean it. It was."

His lashes covered his eyes as his glance followed her hand. Returning to look at her, he swallowed. "C'mon. With all the expensive stuff you've been given in your life?"

"Those are just material things. They aren't what matter. As you see, it can all be gone in an instant."

Gazes intent and serious, they stared at each other. Leia felt as if she were falling into the dark depths of his eyes. Drawn helplessly closer, the fingers at his arm rose to brush against the scar on his chin. Touch still drifting lightly, she saw his eyes fall shut, lips part. One finger gently traced his lower lip, flames darting up her arm into her core.

With startling suddenness, he stepped back, eyes springing open forcing her hand to lower. Swift disappointment flooded her, tightening her throat.

"Leia," he began in a hoarse voice, eyes averted. "I want you. I'm not gonna deny it." He paused, expelling a deep breath. "But I don't want you like this." His gaze finally joined hers. "You belong to someone else."

Angry with herself, she looked to the floor. He was right, of course. She knew it, was never unaware of it. Yet, every time she was near Han, nothing else seemed to matter. Not Benny, not their perilous circumstances, not even the Rebellion.

With a low sigh, she forced a question forth. "Did you ever want me to belong to you?" When he did not answer, she looked up at him through her lashes, stomach clenching in anticipation of his response.

His eyes held hers captive. She was surprised he did not look away as he so often did.

"Yes," he replied, low and rough.

A tidal wave threatened to wash her away. That one admission battered her. Why? Why did Benny have to find her now? She wanted to beg Han to whisk her away and marry her before Benny could truly claim her. Wouldn't it be too late then?

But she knew it was a ridiculous notion. Han would never marry her. And Benny could force an annulment. Yet, she still couldn't help but wish it.

Her lips were trembling but her voice managed to come out steady. "I wanted it too."

He sighed and closed his eyes, anguished.

She wanted nothing more than to touch him again. "We were stupid to wait so long to admit we wanted more from each other."

His eyes opened with a sheen of anger. "What would it matter?" The vulnerability had fled, leaving a deadness to his gaze. "It'd just hurt more."

Hurt…not too long ago, she never would have believed it was possible to hurt Han Solo. As he left the room, she stared after the evidence that she had done just that.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Leia had taken to spending any spare time she had following Han around and helping him whenever he allowed it. And she had a lot of spare time. As a result, she was learning quite a bit about ship repair.

Initially, Han seemed irritated by her persistent company. Eventually, he accepted it. Now, Leia thought he actually enjoyed having her close by.

She had found it impossible to stay away from him, wanted to drink in every drop of his presence while she could. It felt as if she needed him in order to breathe, which honestly scared the hell out of her.

"What are you doing now?" Her legs dangled over the side of the access pit as she peered down at the top of Han's head.

"Just replacing a few fuses." His voice was deep and slightly muffled.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Nope."

His head bobbed up momentarily as he placed the old fuses on the deck then quickly lowered back down. She watched his fingers deftly slide the new fuses into place. He always worked with such precision, such confidence. The inner workings of a ship seemed like a mystery to Leia, complex in spite of the little knowledge this ship had allowed her.

"Where did you learn so much about ship repair? You could probably build your own from spare parts."

"Picked it up along the way." A hint of a smile was present in his voice as he checked the circuits below.

Of course, he would provide no real answer. "It seems to come so naturally to you."

"Well…" He paused for long enough that Leia thought he would say no more. "I did learn some in the Navy," he finally finished.

A small beam of hope glimmered inside her, as it did any time he gave her the tiniest glimpse of his past. She tried not to show her enthusiasm for the topic. "Oh, yes. The Academy makes you take all those classes."

"Yeah. Most of 'em are damned useless. But, a few of 'em were worth my time."

"Did you know anything about fixing starships before that?"

"A bit."

"How did you learn?"

"I knew a guy." He paused to close a compartment then looked up at her. "Fixed starships." He hauled himself up on the other side of the pit and sat on the side, facing her.

Leia smiled, sublimely pleased at the sudden release of information. "He taught you?"

His expression remained impassive. "Not so much taught me as…let me hang around and annoy him by asking tons of questions."

She tried to picture a young Han Solo, ingratiating himself upon this mechanic, eager to learn the inner workings of a starship. It was somehow difficult to imagine him as anything less than a full-grown man. There was so much more she wanted to know, but she had to tread lightly.

"Did you fly before the Navy?"

"Yeah." His gaze drew inward, as if remembering.

"What did you fly?" she asked softly.

He remained, staring into space for a moment, then seemed to snap back to himself. The spell was abruptly broken. "A few things." He shrugged and stood on his side of the pit. He looked down at his grease-streaked hands. "Gonna go wash up." He strode purposely from the room.

Leia's eyes followed him until he was out of sight, a slight disappointment tugging her down. The moment was over, but still, it was the most he had opened up about his past, and she was grateful for the glimpse into where he had been.

OOOOOOOOO

It was getting harder and harder to keep his distance. Every time he turned around, she was there. Han both loved and hated it. Never before had he been pulled so completely in two different directions.

As he sat in the co-pilot's seat, disconnecting wires on the console, he forced his eyes from sliding in her direction. She was sitting in the navigator's chair, watching him and sipping a cup of kaffe. The mug she had brought him was set aside on the floor by her feet.

"And what is that you're rewiring?" Leia asked.

The sound of her voice still sent a flutter through him. Damn her. "Hyperdrive indicator light."

"It's broken?"

He allowed a quick peek at her. She was curled up in the chair, mug in both hands. "Yeah. It shoulda lit up and let me know the hyperdrive was malfunctioning."

"I see."

He removed the wires from the back of the light and tossed his head in the direction of the tool box by her feet. "Hand me that string of wires."

She was instantly sitting up and the wires were in his hand in a flash.

"Microfuser," he requested.

She handed it to him, along with his goggles. Placing them over his eyes, he fused the wires to the back of the light, aware of her watching him as the tiny, blue flame blurred the metal and wires together.

He gave her back the fuser and goggles and their hands touched, lingering for just a moment too long. That familiar, electric current ran through him, causing him to take a steadying breath. He turned back to the console and his hands were just the slightest bit unsteady.

It was getting harder to resist the undertow that dragged him towards her. The lure was drowning, hypnotic, robbing him of self-control a bit more each day. It was so much more than wanting to sleep with her, which seemed so beside the point. The arousal was there, always there, but the surrounding feelings were possession, adulation, something emotional and desperate that he couldn't possibly name.

But what price would come with giving in? Leia was clearly very willing to succumb to what they both desired, it was in her eyes every time she looked at him. It exuded from her skin, like pheromones taunting him.

He felt himself weakening, his defenses battered and crumbling. He didn't want to give in…and yet he did. Gods, this woman was slowly killing him.

With automatic motions, his fingers finished reattaching the button. He flicked a few switches to test it out, but it remained dark. With a frown, he banged the panel.

"Not working?" Leia asked.

Was she mocking him? He ignored her and tore apart the wires again. Chewing on his lip, he tried to concentrate on only the repair. He actually managed to forget Leia's presence for several minutes as he pulled apart other components to check the wires.

With a frustrated sound of disgust, he dropped the mess of wires to the floor. His kaffe cup slid into his field of vision.

"Or would you like something stronger?"

He looked at her to find she was smiling sympathetically. It almost made him smile back.

"Maybe I should put something stronger in the kaffe," he suggested with a twist of his mouth.

Leia laughed lightly as he took the mug from her hand and downed half the contents.

"You know, I thought I would drink less kaffe on this trip," she said before draining her cup and placing it on the floor by her seat. "Since I'm less active than I have been in…probably forever. But, there's so little to do, I find myself drinking even more. Then, I have all this energy and nothing to do with it."

Han could think of a few ways to burn off some energy. And kill some time in the most delightful way. He stared down into his mug and said nothing.

"And, after all that kaffe, I can't fall asleep at night," she continued. "So, in the end, I'm not getting any more sleep than I usually do." She gave a slight shrug of her shoulders.

He couldn't claim to be sleeping any better, but he could hardly blame it on the kaffe. There was too much to worry about. And Leia was the most tortuous distraction.

"So, for once you can sleep, but you can't."

With a short nod, she indicated that he was correct.

"You need to be more active," he suggested.

"Oh, okay." The sarcasm was already dripping from her voice. "I'll get a team together for spirit racing." A saccharine-sweet smile punctuated the statement.

He responded with a slanted grin. "Sign me up." They shared a moment that made his heart jump.

"If only it were that easy."

"It could be," he said with a shrug.

"I suppose the teams would be even if it were Chewie and me against you. Average out our heights and we probably come out even." Her voice was dry but she was still smiling.

"We don't need teams." An idea sprung suddenly. "We could race."

Her eyes shifted to disbelief. "You're practically an entire person taller than me. That's hardly fair."

He suppressed a chuckle. "You can have a head start."

Her brow drew up. "Where would we race? Through the corridors?"

"Sure." His lower lip jutted out.

The idea was visibly running through her mind and she licked her lips, a movement Han was highly aware of. She glared at him suddenly.

"You're not going to cheat, are you?"

He grinned more genuinely than he had in a while. "You think I need to cheat to beat you?"

Both their competitive natures had kicked in now. "Okay. You're on."

Han stood swiftly. "All right. Let's start in the engineering bay."

She followed him silently, a new sense of purpose in the air between them. As they passed Chewie in the main hold, his eyes followed them curiously.

Inside the engineering bay, Leia crossed her arms over her chest. "So, how much of a head start do I get? Your legs are a lot longer than mine, so make this fair."

He made a show of eyeing her up and down as he rubbed his chin. "I dunno. You're short, but I've seen you run, you're pretty fast."

She aimed one eyebrow at him and lowered her head. Han burst into a quick grin.

"Okay, Princess," he said, still smiling. "I'll start back here by the sublight engines." He stepped backwards until he was right against the engine covers. He tipped his head towards the doorway to the corridor. "You can start just past my cabin door, right before the portside corridor."

Arms still crossed, a suspicious glint in her eye, she made her way outside the doorway and peered towards portside. "Okay," she replied slowly. "What route?"

He traced it out in front of him with one finger as he spoke. "Around the portside corridor, through the main hold, around the ring corridor, down the cockpit access corridor, and first one in the cockpit wins."

"What are the stakes?" she asked without batting an eye.

Surprised, it took him a moment to respond. A slow grin spread across his visage. "Name it." He placed his hand expectantly on his hips.

Her brow wrinkled and her eyes sharpened as she thought about it. She bit her lower lip thoughtfully. "If I win," she began with deliberate precision. "I get to ask you five questions that you have to answer truthfully. No lying, no excuses."

He didn't like the sound of that. But he didn't plan to lose. "Okay," he agreed, stepping close to her and standing at his full height. He offered an arrogant smirk. "And if I win…" The smirk slowly receded. "I get to ask you five questions that you have to answer."

They stared at each other, serious and intent now, possibilities circling around them. If nothing else, perhaps he could get some answers once and for all.

Her hand stuck out towards him to seal the agreement and Han shook it, warm skin against warm skin.

"You've got a deal," she said with a breezy air. "I look forward to my interrogation of you." A tiny smile tugged at her lips.

"Too bad you'll be the one under interrogation."

"You wish."

"I know."

"Okay, Hotshot. Let's do this." With raised eyebrows, she spared him one last glance and spun into the corridor.

Han stuck his head out and watched her take her position just past his cabin door. With one leg hunched forward, she looked back at him. "What are you waiting for?"

He grinned. "You call it, on three." She nodded and he got into position in front of the sublight engines. If it were anyone but Leia, he would expect his opponent to cheat. But he knew her honor would never allow it.

"One!" Her voice bounced from the corridor. "Two!" A long pause left him waiting and wondering. "Three!"

With a long-legged leap, Han vaulted himself through the doorway. Leia was already out of his sight line. He passed his cabin in a few quick strides, rounded the portside corridor, and at the entrance to the main hold, he saw Leia mid-way through the room. His heart was racing and it picked up its tempo at the sight of her. He was dimly aware of Chewie as he spun to face them, most likely wondering what the hell they were doing.

Chewie and the hold rushed out of his field of vision in a flash as he pumped his legs to catch up. As he came up behind her, her long braid flying towards his face, he couldn't help the grin that overtook him. At the cockpit access corridor entrance, he was immediately behind her and could hear her rapid breath, as loud as his own, the sound of her footsteps pounding more lightly than his, making double time for each thud of his own.

The rush of adrenaline fueled him and, in that moment, nothing else mattered or even existed but Leia and himself. The exertion and rivalry sent a burst of joy through him that he hadn't felt in far too long.

Almost at the cockpit entrance, he was close to overtaking her in the narrow space, but she was darting down the middle of the corridor, leaving him little space to pass. Making a split-second decision, he burst forward and grabbed her around the waist. She let out an outraged shriek and they both tumbled through the entrance to the cockpit, Leia folded in his arms as his side slammed hard into the back of the navigator's chair.

They were both breathing hard, laughing, and she made no move to leave his arms.

"You cheated," she breathed up into his face, smile beaming even as she chastised him.

He couldn't help but grin back just as broadly in return. She felt so soft and warm pressed against him and he wasn't sure if she were pushing into him or he was pulling her closer.

"You were the one cheating," he chided.

"I don't cheat." She was indignant yet still smiling as she tipped her head back, lips now close.

"You blocked my way or I woulda passed you."

"I did not."

He placed his hands flat against her lower back and slid them up, drawing her closer. Absorbed in her, drifting on a high of adrenaline and Leia's nearness, nothing else mattered in that moment.

"Give it up." He lowered his voice to a deep, almost-whisper. "I won."

Her tone quieted in response and she raised one challenging brow. "You did not win. If anything, it was a tie."

His smile faded to a more serious expression as her lips drew him infinitesimally closer. Why had he been fighting this? Regardless of what would happen after they reached Bespin, this was inevitable. He couldn't resist her, Gods help him.

"So, what happens now?" he whispered, watching her eyes lower to his lips then rebound her gaze to his.

Had she brought her mouth nearer to his? Or had that been his doing? "We both win," she breathed before closing the scant millimeters between them.

There was desperation in the joining of their lips, mouths clinging together with a deep need to be closer. Han's eyes were tightly shut, closing out everything but the feel of Leia in his arms, tight against his body, as if she were made to reside inside him. In that instant, it was right; perhaps it was all that was right in the galaxy.

His tongue caressed hers and the only sound was muffled breathing and a quiet whimper from Leia. The soft sound sent desire roaring through him and he tightened his arms around her, grinding his hips against her.

As he lost himself to the heat of her, he felt her hands slide to the bottom of his shirt and tug it from his pants. Then, her fingers were hot, gliding over the skin of his back and it was a bliss that he had missed even more than he had known.

Her mouth yanked away from his and her hands left his back to unfasten the front of his shirt, her tongue playing along the v-shaped opening as she dragged it lower.

He groaned and cupped the back of her head as her hands threw his shirt entirely open and slid along his ribs, sending a shiver through him.

"Missed you…so much," she whispered against his skin, punctuating the statement with a kiss mid-sentence, as if she couldn't keep her mouth off him long enough finish an entire thought.

Han moaned in response, gripped her hair tightly, and pulled her head back for a scorching kiss. It grew quickly frenzied as he slipped a hand inside her shirt.

"Captain Solo!"

Han and Leia jumped apart as if a shock had jolted between them. Neither had heard the door whisper open and Threepio's sudden voice sent alarm shooting through them. He was vaguely aware of her straightening her clothing as he simply stood, breathing from both excitement and the start. For a quick second, he closed his eyes, trying to refrain from dismantling the droid on the spot. When he opened them, he spun to face the mechanical irritant.

"What?!" he growled plaintively.

Oblivious, Threepio began chattering. "Chewbacca sent me to let you know that he has finished replacing the transfer circuits. I have a run-down of the process. Circuit number three was faulty so…"

Han's mouth fell open and he just stared at the droid as he continued. This had to be a joke. The duo had spent the entire trip sending Threepio back and forth between them on random, pointless errands. The game had turned into a bit of a contest over who could interrupt the other and annoy them the most.

But this timing was just cruel. He would make the Wookiee pay. Han snapped his fingers together as if a realization had just dawned. "Ya know, Goldenrod, I have a very important assignment for you."

The droid stood up straight, a sudden glimmer of excitement taking over. "Yes, Sir?"

"Go into the music system, set it to the highest frequency. Then, play a steady stream of musical tones on a loop. Highest frequency, don't forget. Oh, and don't tell anyone. It's a surprise."

His golden head canted to one side. "Whatever for, Sir?"

Han shook his head vigorously. "It's top secret. Classified. Get moving." He gestured towards the exit.

Still seeming perplexed, the droid shuffled from the cockpit, mumbling to himself.

"Won't that hurt Chewie's ears?" Leia asked softly from behind him.

He spun to face her, hands planted at his hips. Her cheeks were flushed, lips slightly swollen from their rough kisses, shirt opened to offer up a generous portion of cleavage, strands of hair coming loose near her ears. She was breathtaking, had never looked so sexy and enticing.

"That's the point," he grumbled.

She frowned as the truth of their situation returned to haunt him. He took a deep breath, blood still racing through his veins, thoughts and emotions now anarchic and dazed.

"Leia…what are we doing?" he asked, suddenly serious.

Her eyes went instantly wide and sober. Less than half a meter lay between them but it seemed suddenly like light years.

"Han." Her voice was deep and husky. "I can't stay away from you. I can't not touch you, not be drawn to you. And, honestly, I don't want to."

Her words gutted him. Surely, she could see it in his eyes. He looked to the floor and took in a deep breath. "How are we supposed to do this? And then you just…" He couldn't say the words. "Go on and live your life?" His eyes remained on the floor and she was silent. When he looked up at her again, she too had her gaze on the deck.

"I don't know," she finally whispered.

Opposing feelings clashed inside him. He wanted her…Gods, how he wanted her. But, what would it cost him?

She met his gaze, reached out to take his hand, and stepped closer to him. Her movements were hesitant, as if she were afraid of frightening off a skittish animal. Han felt himself slowly melting. That was what her nearness, her touch did to him. Keeping her at arms' length seemed to be his only defense. Once he allowed her close, allowed any bit of intimacy between them, he was helpless to resist her.

She squeezed his hand and he tightened his grip in return, garnering a small smile from her. He was unable to smile back.

"What if…" she began hesitantly, eyes flitting away and back again. "What if we simply call a truce? We can just be close…we don't have to jump into bed."

We don't? he thought wryly, holding back a ghost of a smile. He gave her a sober nod.

Taking his other hand, she stepped closer and smiled up at him. "This feels good," she said pleasantly, referring to their joined hands.

Han thought that what they were doing earlier felt considerably better, but decided to keep that to himself. The situation was convoluted, confusing, and he honestly didn't know what was best for either one of them. He nodded again. "I think the most important thing to remember," he began, deadpan. "Is that I won the race." He had learned long ago that when he did not want to discuss something, a joke was the best deflection. And with Leia, it was best to make a joke that pissed her off.

A frown drew all her features down. "You…? No, you did not!" She dropped her hands from his and placed them indignantly at her hips.

And there she was, that woman who constantly challenged, allured, and maddened him. She was as familiar to him now as his own reflection.