Han grabbed a rag and attempted to scrub some of the ingrained grime off his hands. It was a hopeless cause. The Falcon was a greasy old girl. Working down in the shadowy recesses of his first love always gave him a sense of peace and purpose. And it was quiet. His mind switched off as circuits and wires took over.

Han sat up and rolled his stiff shoulders. Not right now though. A certain dark eyed princess kept straying into his thoughts. Just knowing she was somewhere on his ship was enough to keep breaking his mood and make him think more…. carnally. How can one fleeting kiss with a prissy little politician throw me so much? Just what is it about her that gets under my skin?

Gods he loved arguing with her. And the last sparring match they had was a beauty. Barbs had flown back and forth like blaster shots. Eyes lit up with fire. Leia triumphantly slipping in the last word. A Wookie snorting at Han's expression as the door slammed behind her. End of undiplomatic discussion.

It was the only time Han got to see the human side of such an enigma. For someone so young she was always so smooth, so closed. This was why, he reflected, he baited her. She had to let off steam somehow. Han caught himself grinning. There were other, even more enjoyable ways…

"Han? You down there?"

A decidedly feminine voice echoed and bounced around the bulkheads from above. Han stood up in the cramped access passage and dropped the forgotten rag almost guilty. Since when do hardened ex-smugglers daydream?

"Miss my company already Princess?"

"Hardly. Get up here will you?"

Hmm, round two so soon? "Nah. You come here."

"Just do it will you?"

"What's the hurry? Got a memo from your rebel committee reminding you to be a right royal pain in my arse for the second time today?" There. That should get the ball rolling.

A huff from above. "This hydro spanner is the wrong size. Bring your tools up."

"Listen Your Royal Bossiness, if you need my tools that badly – you come down to me."

Silence. Then a long exasperated sigh. "Why do you have to make things so difficult?"

Because you like it? Because I like it? Because it's the closest I can get you to without having you in my arms and…. ah, well yes, already done that. Somewhat.

"Where's the fun in following orders? You should try it sometime."

A pair of scuffed boots appeared at end of the passage above him. Huh. She has such small feet.

Leia crouched down and rested her elbows on her knees. Her eyes unsuccessfully searched for his in the darkness below. "Captain Solo?"

So we're back to calling me Captain now are we?

"Keep your hair on, I'm just finishing up. Why don't you come down and give me hand Sweetheart?"

Another sigh. She did that a lot around him.

"Only if you stop calling me Sweetheart."

Han felt his lip curl as he watched Leia sit and then swing her legs over and into to the inner bowels of the ship. Even when doing something as mundane as lowering herself into a 6foot hole, she was graceful and lithe. She's looking better.

The enforced restrictions of regular meals, sleep and repairs on the Falcon during their long trip to Bespin had filled out her face and - Han swallowed slightly - figure, nicely. The smudges of weariness and strain that were a constant presence when they were hidden on Hoth had faded from under her eyes. Deep space travel suited Leia.

There was a dull metallic thud and both boots were now on his level. She was wearing his favourite outfit. An old, stained shirt of his with the sleeves rolled up several times, her snow pants and boots. Glossy dark hair parted and pulled back neatly into a loose braid, a few tendrils escaping to fall around her pretty face, framing her lips.

There was a slight spring in her step. She's happier too. So am I. I've never felt so…

"Where are you? I can't see a thing down here."

Han had touched that face, kissed those lips and held that small body close to his. But only briefly. Too briefly. And she'd decided to pretend it never happened. He leaned against a pipe and watched her slowly stride towards him, peering through the darkness.

"Keep coming."

Leia finally spotted him and stopped short, hands on hips.

"Happy making me climb all the way down here, Hotshot? How can you work in the dark like this? I've fixed the - Umph!"

Han had slipped an arm around Leia's waist and pulled her close.

I want her. I want her to want me. I've waited long enough. I want to kiss her and kiss her and then… well.

"What the hell are you doing?'

"Calm down. I was just about to show you!"

"What does this – Umph!"

Han cut her off again – this time with his kiss. It was quickly becoming how they would always do this. But it was vastly different from their first kiss, which had been all about trembling, drawn out anticipation and beginnings. This one was about unleashing what Han hoped they were both feeling right now. Intense frustration, excruciating longing and releasing a hell of a lot of pent up tension. Three years worth.

After an initial freezing and endearingly half-hearted squeak on Leia's behalf, her mouth softened and they melded together. Their arms winding up and around one another.

Han felt his mind shatter with pure pleasure. Kissing Leia was exceptionally perfect. Her lusciously yielding lips were burning into his. The womanly softness of her body was pressing into all the right places. She was so warm and so…Leia. He could get drunk on this – Essence Of Leia.

The kiss escalated rapidly. Their breaths were coming faster and synchronised with sheer delight, wet heat and frantic need. Han's hands traced Leia's tiny waist, her hips and eventually, Oh yes... the sweet smooth curves of her backside and thighs. He drew her shirt up and dipped his hands under it, running them over the silkiest most sensual skin, hissing with barely restrained lust, slanting his lips again and again across her incredibly addictive lips. He felt his control slip further as her tongue tentatively traced his. Necessity forced Han to finally lift his face and they both took a deep, ragged breath and locked eyes. Mutually stunned by what had just happened.

Suddenly, Leia pushed herself away with a slight groan and took a step back, touching her fingers to her mouth. She looked almost shocked. Her chest rising and falling unsteadily, her eyes anxiously flicking to and away from Han's. He watched her mouth open to protest and he pushed back a rush of anger.

No more denying what they were feeling! From the moment they met – this was inevitable. That wasn't a chaste kiss. Far from it - and he wanted more. So did she.

"Don't you dare. Come back here." His command was raw and harsh with need.

Leia's eyes snapped back to his and she unconsciously licked her lips. Oh Gods… she's going to kill me.

Han took another sharp breath and tried to calm himself.

"Sweetheart…."

Leia's chin turned up and she raised an eyebrow. THIS was why he loved her. Even when they were losing themselves in one another, she still had the sassy gumption to put him back in his place. Han bit back a grin. What a woman! Honest. He must be honest. She deserved nothing less.

"Leia…let me show you how I feel about you."

There was an agonising pause while she took this in. "How you feel?"

"Yeah." He kept his eyes pinned to her face trying to catch her eye. Come on darling. Trust me and what we have here. She was so close but so far away.

"Han… I...," She paused again, but this time she looked up and directly at him. Into him. In the silence of her regard, Han had never felt so exposed, so vulnerable. Then he heard a whispered, "Okay."

"Okay. You - what? " He ran a hand roughly through his hair in confusion. Surely it couldn't be that simple?

This time, she was the one who shut his mouth, realising he must look embarrassingly gobsmacked.

Smooth going Solo.

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

She didn't say this with regal princess bravado. She said it calmly - as Leia. Han was clueless to what it was that convinced her, but he'd take it and think about it later. He let out a sigh of relief.

Thank Gods.

Han's heart started beating again as he yanked her back where she belonged. That first taste had only made him hungrier. There was a feast before him and there would be no halt to the proceedings from now on. She said yes!

Leia. Oh Leia. He ran his lips down her neck and over the delicate soft skin of her collarbone while he urgently tugged her hair free from its bindings. As it tumbled around them in one luxurious long sheet, he swept shaking hands up underneath the shirt again to graze his thumbs just under her breasts. She shuddered in response. So beautiful. Too much. And yet, not enough.

He pulled the shirt up and over her head and the beautiful lines of her torso were revealed in all their glory, ribbons of hair spilling over white shoulders. As Han snaked his arm back around her slim waistline, his breath hitched as she quite deliberately tilted her head and arched her back in sultry surrender, holding his eyes to hers. Han felt a primal growl escape from his throat.

He slowly trailed a line with the back of a finger, his eyes following, down the side of her neck, across and between full cups of her simple white bra and then over her softly rounded stomach. Han discovered, that no matter how badly he wanted Leia, he also had the strongest compulsion to savour her. This woman pulled a previously unknown passionate tenderness from him. It's about what I give.

Leia was now humming with want and this time she wasn't holding back. She reached out and impatiently pulled him free from his own shirt, carelessly dropping it to one side and then quickly gliding small hands over his now bare and well-built chest, arms and back. They both quietly moaned when skin finally pressed against skin and they shared another long, deep and drugging embrace, Han's hand tangled in her hair, the other caressing a firm breast.

More. With a grunt, Han lifted Leia, his hands now cupping her backside, her legs automatically circling his waist as he pushed her back to the bulkhead wall. Her mouth was now above his. She angled it towards him in an unspoken invitation, her gaze full of euphoric need, adoring the beloved face that was looking up at hers from amongst the shadows.

She was everything in opposite. Petite but powerful. Feminine but forceful. Innocent, but older than her years. She was his, he realised, body and soul. And he was hers.

Han smiled ironically. Who would've thought I could be such a romantic sap?

"Ah Leia," he whispered hotly into the pink shell of her ear, tracing it with the tip of his tongue, "This will be good, my darling. So good."

And he kissed her again.