A/N: So, thanks to this Tumblr post, I noticed for the first time ever that someone appears to be working on top of the Millennium Falcon while Leia is handing out orders right before the Battle of Hoth and also said someone appears to stop what they're doing to watch her as she speaks before starting their work up again. So. Uh. This is that moment. And making it fit a prompt required a bit of stretching, but I feel like it still works :D.

The base was chaotic, but Han managed to stay out of the fray, intent on ignoring the activity on the ground. They were almost ready to leave, or at least as ready as they had time to be what with the Empire headed straight for the entire operation. Chewie was putting the finishing touches on one of the the auxiliary engines while Han welded down a piece of the hull that had come loose on the top of the ship.

He was supposed to be giving the hyperdrive a once-over, but he was sure he'd have time for that once he got the piece of metal secured. The small section of hull wasn't technically dangerous as it was, but it caught in the wind and affected their speed. It had been driving him crazy the past couple of flights, and Han wanted to get it taken care of before they started toward Tatooine.

He pulled his face shield down and aimed the welder at the loose edge, watching as sparks as bright as lightning erupted from the tool. He almost didn't see her, focused as he was on the offending flap of duratseel, but once he caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't look away. She was busy, as usual, and wore that somber expression he had come to associate with troops being sent to almost certain death. A group of pilots circled around her and Han imagined she was handing out orders.

He didn't realize he had halted his work at first, didn't notice the cessation of the miniature lightning storm at the end of his welder or the lack of hot air blowing back at him. It wasn't until a gust of cold wind took him by surprise, causing him to almost drop his tools that he realized he was staring, and then, he couldn't stop.

He didn't like the way they were leaving things. That final conversation in the med center had been an absolute disaster, though Han wouldn't take full responsibility for how things had ended. Leia had known exactly what she was doing when she kissed Luke like that, and as far as Han was concerned, he had given about as good as he got.

Though, it was possible…maybe….that he had antagonized a bit more than she had. He hadn't been able to help himself, though. After those merciless digs she'd managed to get in when he had first announced his departure, he was on the defensive. She certainly couldn't have expected anything else when she went around denying things they both knew to be true.

She knew…she knew how he felt, had all but admitted her own feelings before that mishap on Ord Mantell, and now she had the gall to deny—

He couldn't think about that. Not now, not when he was on his way out.

Her voice didn't carry far enough for him to hear what she was saying even with the welder off, but her tone filtered up through the cacophony of the busy hangar, and he could tell she meant business. Hands planted behind her back as she moved from pilot to pilot, her stance spoke of a sort of controlled authority that was unique to her. Pacing around the circle, handing out orders to pilots twice her size, she looked—

He couldn't think about how she looked. Not when they were on their way out.

Still, the attention she commanded was impressive.

When Klivian interrupted with some objection, she smoothed everything over with another command. Han couldn't tear himself away as she wrapped up the short interaction. It was, after all, most likely the last time he'd see—

He couldn't think about that, that was for damn sure.

He hadn't allowed himself to spend much time ruminating on the fact that he likely wasn't coming back. He was attempting his usual method of tackling the next step without much thought about what came after. Unfortunately, the next step might very well be his last and—

Not that, either.

He lowered his face shield and started the welder back up as she turned toward him, not wanting to give away that he had been watching her. He imagined she knew, anyway. She always knew. It was borderline infuriating how often she had caught him looking at her over the past year, though it had only been very recently that the act of catching him seemed to put her in a bad mood.

She walked past the Falcon even though it was several meters out of her way if she was heading straight back to the Command Center. Her gait was fast, faster than legs as short as hers had any right to be, and Han wondered for what had to be the thousandth time just how she walked so damn fast. When she stopped all of a sudden and turned, he couldn't help but stare again.

She lingered a moment, most likely certain that he was fully focused on the welder spitting sparks in front of him. Big, sad, brown eyes focused on him and she wilted a bit, the rigid posture that had been her constant companion lately suddenly seeming under threat. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but stopped herself, shaking her head and walking quickly away from the ship. Han watched her hazard a final glance back before she disappeared down the icy corridors of Echo Base.

He paused his welding again, willing her to backtrack, to turn the corner she had just disappeared behind, to come back so they didn't leave things entirely shattered. After several impossibly long seconds spent watching the corner, she still didn't appear.

Han turned his attention back to the welder. They were leaving things broken, then, and he—

He couldn't think about that. Not when he was already on his way out.