A/N: Sorry this is a little late, life's been catching up a bit. I hope it was worth the wait- this is the last chapter, by the way, but I'm hoping to post other stuff soon. Thanks to everyone who's read (and hopefully enjoyed) it, your comments mean a lot! x

Some people fight, some people fall
Others pretend they don't care at all
If you wanna fight I'll stand right beside you
The day that you fall I'll be right behind you

- Mcfly, Heart Never Lies

It wasn't the first time Han had seen Leia asleep.

The first time had been on the Falcon, when Han was still half-convinced he was living in a dream, flying to Yavin 4 from the Death Star. He'd found her passed out in the navigator's chair, mouth slightly open and blissfully unaware of the galaxy. At the time, still not acknowledging his feelings about her, he'd left her alone and tried not to look.

But now, watching through the transparisteel of the medical room's window, he was able to take her in properly. Even lying there in the bed, which made her look even smaller than usual, she seemed untouchable. More delicate than usual, but somehow just as strong as she always looked. Like a fighter.

And gods, she was beautiful.

He almost didn't want to enter the room, afraid of waking her. Maybe he should just come back later, after Riekaan and Luke. But by some unknown force, the urge to check on her was too strong.

Just for a few minutes, he told himself as he opened the door. Then I'll go.

He shut the door behind him. When he turned back, his eyes were met by hers.

"Hey," Leia greeted weakly. She wasn't quite sitting up, but it was obvious that she was alert and had a little life in her. As he moved across to the bed, her eyes followed him.

Han took a seat on one of the chairs by the bedside, careful not to knock the bunk. "Hi. Sorry if I woke you."

Leia shook her head. "I was just resting."

"Are you... are you okay?" he was hesitant to meet her eyes, keeping them fixed on his hands, which he was wringing with increasing apprehension.

In reply, Leia gestured to the IV stand by the bed. "They're pumping anti toxins into me like anything, and I've got a banging headache... but yes, I'm okay."

"Good."

She didn't reply, and as Han didn't know what else to say, he remained quiet. For a long moment, the only noise in the room was the soft beeping of the IV and the sound of Han's hands grinding against each other.

"If you're wondering," she spoke into the silence. "I'll just say they're never giving me sleeping pills again."

Reading between the lines, he nodded slowly, although the comprehension made his next words stick in his throat. "Good."

It evoked a half smile from her. "Sorry."

"Me too," he replied with a little shrug. "I'm an idiot."

"I never expected to hear that from you," she teased gently.

"Well, it's the best excuse I've got."

"Mind if I use it? Because I think I'm a pretty big idiot, too." She gestured to the IV again. "And you had your reasons for how you were. I shouldn't have asked."

"No. No, you were worried. It's not your fault I'm not as trusting as you." He seemed to prepare himself. "You want to know what's up."

It wasn't a question, so Leia didn't feel obliged to answer. All the same, her silence was as much of a reply than any words.

"Well, it's just being on a ship with so many people again. It reminds me of when I was a kid- I used to... well, I guess work, on a trawler ship. And-" He shook his head. "There was only one person on that entire ship who cared about me. Well," he smirked a little. "I say 'person'. She was a Wookiee. Dewlanna."

"You'd rather not remember her," Leia prompted gently. "It hurts."

He nodded his thanks. "She saved my life... and they shot her."

"How old were you?"

"Nineteen," he raised his eyes, and saw that she had the same thoughts as he did. "I guess that's another thing we have in common."

Even if it was losing parents- or the closest thing to parents- when they were just out of childhood.

"There's a lot of things we have in common, isn't there?" Leia asked.

"More than I'd like to admit."

She laughed quietly. "My turn?"

It took him a moment to understand. "I thought it was just what that survivor said."

"Well, it was. But also..." she bit her lip. "It would've been my father's birthday yesterday."

Han was momentarily speechless. "I'm sorry. You should've said something."

"It's okay."

He could see her trying, but obviously failing, to smile through the pain. Her obvious heartache made him suddenly desperate to hold her in his arms and never let go.

Instead, he reached out and ran his thumb over her hairline, only gently in case it hurt her. He'd never touched her like this before, but it didn't feel wrong, and Leia didn't say anything either. Han wasn't really sure what that meant.

They stayed like that, in silence, for a while; at some point Leia shut her eyes, and Han found himself watching her lips. He tried to drive away the impulse to kiss them.

Because he wanted to. Gods, he wanted to.

"You're not always an idiot," Leia finally murmured. "Sometimes I think you may be the only person in the galaxy who understands me."

"If that's the case, I feel sorry for you." He quipped, trying to pull the conversation back to what he knew.

Her eyes opened and found his. "I don't know why."

He bit his lip, knowing that if he stood here any longer he wouldn't be able to resist that urge anymore. Straightening, he let his hand move from her forehead to rest on the pillow next to her cheek.

"Hey, look," he started. "That pact we made? On the Falcon?"

"The one we didn't keep to?" Leia asked with a wry smile.

"Yes," his lips quirked slightly sheepishly. "We've got to keep to it."

Colour returned to her cheeks as she gave another laugh. "Deal."

He knew he could leave it there- though at the same time he knew he couldn't, because if he did he was pretty sure this would happen again. So he didn't leave it there, but instead found himself talking again.

"This can't happen again, okay? It's already happened twice, and, well... I don't want there to be a third time," that had been the easy bit. "And I'm not just saying this because I don't want whatever happens to be my responsibility. It's 'cause... well, I..."

"You don't hate me anymore?" Leia suggested.

He hurried to defend himself. "Hey, I never hated you. You annoyed me, sure, but I never hated you. No, what I was going to say was-" he shook his head a little. "I'm starting to feel like we're friends."

"Weren't we friends after Yavin?"

"No. Then we were more like allies. I think now we're friends. That is," he was finally able to look her in the eye. "If you're okay with that?"

Leia seemed amused that he thought she'd feel otherwise. "Of course."

He'd inadvertently leaned closer while he'd been speaking, and forced himself to stand up. "I'll be back soon, but I think the kid's pretty anxious to see you."

For once, Leia didn't look more eager for Luke's presence than his. "Okay. And Han? We're friends."

"Forever?"

There it was again- that beautiful half smile that Han could feel himself mirroring even now.

"Definitely."

He nodded to her once more, and then made himself leave. As he walked down the corridor, he didn't even try to wipe that lopsided grin off his face.

And he didn't try to ignore the warmth he felt swelling in his chest.

END