Too many this time to list personally - but thanks again for all the lovely reviews! I started this story with a one-shot in mind, but they have really encouraged and inspired me to keep writing and expanding Han and Leia's frontier…so to speak.

Chapter 5: Han gets all inwardly perspective.

Here we go again… _

Han woke with a jolt and blinked wearily in the yellow glow of the lights in the control panel. He had obviously dropped off again manning the Falcon. Thanks to his…extra curricular activities aboard the Falcon, he hadn't had much sleep lately and took to dozing during his shift, relying on the warning system to wake him if need be. He'd been dreaming of Tatooine again.

Tatooine. That hazy brown ball of dust and distant memories. A life now long gone. But the blinding heat, sweat soaked clothes and grime, the scum that walked the streets and fed off misery, could never truly be forgotten. He had been part of that. Dreams had an odd way of bringing the past back to haunt.

Within the humming solitude of the cockpit, Han rubbed his grainy eyes and thought back with grim humour to that time when he lived without a care or fleeting thought for anyone but himself. It had suited him. If he didn't care, he had nothing to lose. He lived a life that was a study of detachment. No responsibility, no commitments. Nothing but his ship and the perpetual pursuit of pleasure. Be it swindling, credits or women. Especially women.

Han liked women. He liked them tough and gung-ho. He liked them sweet and demure. He liked them dirty and mean. All of them. And they liked him. He quickly learned how to seduce, please and leave because it entertained him playing the conqueror. Cocky but always in control. Across all aspects of his life for that matter. If he wanted it – he got it by any means possible. It was as simple as that. Women included.

Not this one.

After she fell into an exhausted sleep in his bed, Han had drifted his gaze down to the woman in his arms. This one was different. He loved this one. With every cell in his body. And he'd worked hard to earn her. Everything that he thought was so stupidly important to him, was stripped away and replaced by this small female human being, curled up and around him.

Leia. She may as well have curled herself up into his heart and taken permanent residence. It almost frightened him how much power she now had over him. Almost. He had given her everything and laid himself bare. But for the first time in his miserable excuse for his life Han felt…home.

He had actually said the words and she didn't run. They were words he had never uttered to any living being before. They hadn't once crossed his lips because he had never known love. He knew grudging affection, he knew friendship for mutual benefits but this love stuff? This was something different altogether. His newly acquired insight understood it had little to do with reciprocation: he would love Leia no matter what she felt for him in return, but love him she did. He was certain. She had said with her tears, her body and her kisses. Most of all, she said it with her eyes.

To Love. What a strange thing.

How long? How long had he loved Leia?

Reflecting over the past 3 years or so, Han smiled fondly recalling the first time he laid eyes on her. He was a little distracted by the endless wave of storm troopers and blaster shots bombarding him in the detention block to properly check out the recently freed occupant of Cell 2187. But even then, his interest was definitely piqued.

She was tiny, but even swathed under all that white fabric, still noticeably feminine. Exuding an energy and spark that instinctively recognised and connected with his. Her cool head countering with sassy sarcasm, shot back his barbs effortlessly. Dark eyes full of intelligence and wit, looked oddly out-of-place with her youthful complexion and kissable lips.

For someone who had immediate Imperial execution impending, she had artfully brushed it off as soon as she stepped out of her cell and into the carnage. She immediately took charge and expected to be obeyed. It was…sexy but disconcerting.

Yep, from the start Han could say he was pretty much a goner. The cosmos must have aligned and deigned to bestow him a mate. His match. But it took him years to admit it. Years to go about it the right way. Years to grow up.

She refused to be seduced. At first, Han didn't think twice in employing his usual tried and trusty game plan and bag of flirty tricks. Laying it on thick. Automatically activating his plethora of cheeky winks, smirks and swaggers. Crowding her personal space and assuming she liked it.

Hey, she was a classy babe right? It would be fun not to slum it for once. But Leia, although definitely curious in a flustered and forcefully dismissive way, was actually immune to his charms. Shrugging off, sometimes ridiculing all his advances. She really didn't want him. Not that way. Not on his terms.

She had instantly seen right through him and it secretly shook him to the core. For the first time he felt…fake. No woman was worse off for sleeping with him and no woman had ever knocked him back. But this one did. At first he thought it was because she was too full of princessy pride and priggishness. Too conscious of her status and appearance to rough it with a space pirate.

But the honest part of Han knew this wasn't the case. She wasn't a prude. She was worth more. She knew this and she had her reasons. So, surreptitiously, Han went on reconnaissance. Just for future reference, he reasoned. Who was this woman who had the gall and resistance to turn him down?

It didn't take long. He instinctively knew that Leia Organa was a warm and giving woman. The way she lit up around Luke's boyish enthusiasm for living life on the edge and responded to Chewie's openly affectionate regard was evidence enough. However, her concern, private personal grief and strident self-inflicted responsibility for every injured fighter, every fatality, was above and beyond.

With a sinking sense of unfamiliar shame, he soon realized she worked to the bone and always put herself last. Toiling late into her designated sleep cycle, hunched over logistics, organizing endless drills, forgetting to eat. Looking paler and thinner as the Empire closed in.

She'd had such a struggle - was still struggling - yet retained a thin and unwavering core of strength that almost awed him. She gave all of herself. Her time, her youth, her innocence. And she never once cracked. Because she truly cared. She was ferociously independent and one of the bravest most stubborn human beings he'd ever meet. In short, her own worst enemy.

The woman needed loving, Han concluded. Lots of it. In every possible way. By someone who actually cared for and understood the person underneath the veneer. Someone who could take her away from herself, tapping into and nurturing the part that had yet to be awakened. She was so captivatingly ripe. So intricately beautiful. And it was a crying shame that she hadn't been loved, really loved before.

He could tell. He could tell by the way the men around her treated her. They revered her and they respected her. They looked to her as an answer and a leader. There was a reason he nicknamed her 'Your Worship'. That's exactly what they did. Worship. Completely oblivious to the fact that there was a lovely young woman standing right in front of them who needed to laugh and cry and be held from time to time just like every other woman. Idiots.

The more Han thought about it, the more he didn't like the thought of anyone but himself being that idiot. Most disturbingly, not for his own gratification. For hers. To see her freely reveal the girl he had discerned was just under the surface. The one he only caught glimpses of when the façade slipped and she was unaware. Just making the sides of her lips curl up with a smothered laugh or grin when he slipped her a sly remark was enough to make his day.

Yep, reflected Han, by the time he caught himself half way in, he was downright gone. But this wasn't some fly by rendezvous. No sir. This was some serious bantha shit. A smuggler and former Senator and Princess from Alderaan. Who'd have thought? Good one Solo!

But he'd be damned if he was going to do something about it until she met him at least half way first. She was unquestionably interested or she wouldn't have bothered to retaliate with such zeal when he provoked her. Their legendary bouts in the command center had almost resulted in things being thrown on more than one occasion. It amused Han when he noticed no one stooped to intervene or rein him in. This was obviously considered 'Non-Rebel Alliance Business.' Personal. Just between them. He liked that.

Once, during a particularly diverting shouting match, they both stopped mid-insult and looked round, finally realizing they had cleared the room. The door and resulting silence shutting them in was unnerving. Without an audience it was all the more real and Han severely tempted to just grab her and kiss her.

Looking down upon her, attacking him in full flight, she was an irresistible and bewitching enticement. Her short sharp breaths made her breasts rise and fall as small fists clenched tightly on her hips. Eyes flashing sparks with barely restrained fury and vitality. Milky white cheeks flushed with exertion, berry red lips unconsciously pouting as she strived to find the words to strike back, were hell on his libido and hard on his… blaster belt.

Funny how people falling in love are sometimes the last to know.

They fought in jest - mostly on his behalf. Never vicious but always honest. Maybe a bit too brutally he conceded. But they both respected and demanded that from one another. And it was good for her to get angry. Sometimes she was so damned diplomatic it was a wonder the woman didn't burst a blood vessel. Anger was unresolved grief and Leia had endured and survived four lifetimes worth, losing everything and more close to her.

So, she was interested, just not enough to do something about it. Even when he shoved it in her face while they stood in the icy corridor the last time he tried and failed yet again to leave Hoth. Funny that. No matter how many times he was about to set off, something held him back. After awhile he knew he was kidding himself. He found ways to stay.

So Han patiently waited. And waited not so patiently. Stirring her up to help them both let off steam. Volunteering for jobs that he knew, she knew he could do with skill and not have to check up on. Craftily intervening on the sly to make sure she delegated without knowing it. Amongst the Alliance, Han found himself in the unusual position of being well liked, even respected. He had learned how to talk people into things without his usual sly subterfuge.

Before he could stop and think, he had gotten himself into a routine of raising his hand for, among other things, covert supply runs and leading patrols. While shrewdly avoiding officially signing up, he slowly became something better and wiser than a mercenary loner with a Wookie as his only companion. It made him feel uneasy, this helping business, but in a good way.

She was right of course. He was 'More than about the money.' She forced him to see that. She had held a mirror up and shown him to himself. And now he could look back and feel worthy.

Being the consummate gambler that he was, Han had never been so glad that he took such a huge risk in that cargo hold. It could have backfired just as easily. But that first tentative kiss told him it was time. They wanted each other but she had to take a leap and trust him. Thank gods it had paid off handsomely. She was now inextricably tethered to him and he to her. They hadn't talked about Jabba. There was a silent agreement that the time they had now was simply about being together. Getting to know each other and exploring a different kind of fireworks.

Han stirred in his chair, rousing himself after being lost in his musings yet again. Leia also gave that gift. She made him look inwardly.

His love.

Like dull punch to his gut, he had a sudden and compelling urge to find her and touch her again. Make his thoughts tangible and affirm that this all wasn't just one long, glorious daydream.

She was working somewhere on the Falcon. She enjoyed manual labor just as much he did. Using her hands instead of negotiation to solve mechanical glitches that didn't answer back or have feelings. The satisfaction of a job well done.

Han stood swiftly and stretched. They were closing in fast towards Bespin. Very soon this little oasis of sleep, love and work would be over. He would go to her. He would show her again how much he loved her. Before things would change.

Biting his bottom lip with anticipation and hesitating only momentarily to flick a few switches on the panel in front of him, Han stalked through the winding corridors of his ship. His home. Searching for his woman. The thrill of his impulsive and primordial intent was building with every step. He stopped at the cargo hold and heard the spark of the welder doing its job. How apt. She was working where this all began.

Slipping down silently through the multitude of pipes and bulkhead braces, Han felt his heart beating strongly as he scanned the darkness and set eyes on her.

Her back was to him, bent over in concentration. After one last spark of the welder, she dropped the eye protection mask and checked her work, a petite hand wrapping around a pipe to keep herself steady while rising up on tiptoe to check over the back of the console, her delicate profile and lips pursued daintily during inspection. Long hair pull back into a messy bun. So beautiful. Han felt his blood heating just watching her. He could watch her for years, touch her for years and never tire.

He roved his eyes over her form. Gods he loved her body. He loved it in his bed, in his galley, in his cargo hold and most of all, up against, wrapped around and under his. And he loved the person it contained. Fiercely. If anyone even tried to hurt her, he'd blast them to smithereens and ask questions later. He was astounded at the force of how much he wanted to protect her, make her his again.

Still, Han paused to muse, he couldn't play all his cards straight away.

"So, this is where you've been hiding hey?"

Leia jumped slightly and turned around. He was rewarded with sultry smile.

"Did you want something Captain?"

Feigning ignorance at the twinkle that must have been in his eye, she held his gaze a moment longer than necessary and slowly turned back to the console and her work. Ignoring him!

With start, Han realised it was an echo of their first kiss. This time however, they both knew exactly where it was going and how it would end. But that didn't make it an iota any less exciting.

Moving up intimately behind her, Han rested a hand above her head and leaned in, breathing the sweet tang of her essence. Bending slowly and barely touching the delicious skin and tiny hairs that feathered along the elegant curve of her neck with his lips he whispered,

"I can think of a few things."

"What things?" Although her reply was steady, her enchanting tremor let him know she was just as affected.

He slid both hands around her waist from behind and pulled her back to rest against his chest, his arms surrounding her, hands holding them firmly in place, teeth nibbling on the shell of her ear, just where she liked it.

"How about this?" He rocked her gently to and fro. Letting her feel his pounding heart and mounting excitement.

As her head automatically tipped back against his shoulder, she sighed as they rocked,

"What about Bespin? We must be close…"

"Hmmm?"

He felt the ache grow hotter and harder as he plunged hands under her shirt and stroked the fine soft skin and curves now arching into them. Her breath sucking in sharply with his at the sensation. Gods what this woman did to him.

"Shouldn't we… ummm… oh, yes right there….be getting… ready to dock soon?"

His lips were now assaulting her neck with warm, wet hungry bites and kisses. His body was aching intensely, now in overdrive, pulsing for her as he pushed against her.

"Chewie will take over soon." More urgent kisses. "It's called… auto pilot for a reason."

His hands were tracing everywhere, possessing, seducing and treasuring. His foot neatly parted her legs, forearms encircling and hitching her up by the hips to rub against the evidence of his need for her.

"But…oh….".

"Come on darling. It's my chance before you meet another scoundrel."

He smiled victoriously as he felt the last thread of her half-hearted resistance fall away. Initial sparks of desire had now flared up and erupted as they submitted to this relentless and voracious need.

With Leia still facing away from him, Han gently lifted her and sank them both to his knees. Skilfully placing her feet on either side of his hips so that her backside pressed firmly in his lap, he hurriedly grabbed her wrists with one hand while keeping her as close as possible with the other and dexterously looped them around the back of her head. Her torso was now gracefully curving back like a bow for his pleasure and perusal. He wanted her naked. Now. Han felt for the gap of her shirt, ripping a few buttons off in his haste as he roughly parted it, adoring the way her heavy breathing and gasps matched his own.

Suddenly, she wrenched herself up and away, turning around to face him and creating a monumental chasm between them.

"Wait."

That old creeping doubt crawled back under his skin. There in front of him a classic 'Her Royal Highness' look that he hadn't observed in a while. The 'I Want' look. One of gritty determination and stalwart stubbornness. Han swallowed nervously.

"What?"

In the darkness her eyes had taken on an arresting feline quality. Like his, her breathing was still labored with unleashed passion as she fought for restraint.

"This is the last time before Bespin?"

"Yeah?"

He felt a wave of sheer relief wash over him as a devilish smile played over her face. Then his gut fell out from underneath him as she watched him watch her slowly shed her shirt, let the long sheath of her hair tumble down and crawl on all fours towards him before kissing him like she knew all his secrets. Which she did.

After teasingly pulling her luscious lips away, she lifted a hand and pushed him back until he was reclining on his forearms, gazing at her in bemused adulation and unbridled curiosity. As she dipped her head and distractingly kissed the base of his neck, behind his ear, across his eyebrow, she made his jaw drop even further as she purred,

"Well flyboy. Since we're back in the cargo hold…I believe it's high time you get some tender loving care."

She cleverly retraced her path, flicking her tongue against all the places she had just discovered

"Hmmm? Don't you?" She purred again.

Can't talk. Brain gone.

All he could do was gape at her in wonder and pure lust as Leia smirked in triumph.

Atta girl!

Of course she would turn the tables on him! As she settled herself on top off him, wriggling and distracting in nicest way possible, proceeding to focus all her attention to opening his shirt and kissing over every part of him, he forced himself to process that this WAS real. This was his reality. He was crazy in love with a princess who had turned his life upside down, inside out, back to front and made everything before he met her meaningless. Dust.

He had won this wonderful woman. She was his…she had always been his, from the moment she stepped out of her cell and into his world. And she was now doing wicked things he'd only dreamed about her doing.

Oh gods…she's amazing. Oh my love. My darling….

Somewhere, somehow he'd done something right to deserve her. Han had never considered himself spiritual. But just before he slipped into the endless bliss of becoming one with Leia again, he uttered a silent and ever-binding vow…

Thank you.

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