All aboard the Millennium Falcon were busily attending her in her most desperate hour yet--Captain Han Solo, copilot Chewbacca, the golden droid-wonder See Threepio, and the once-Imperial-senator and forever-Princess Leia.

On his way to the supply box in the Falcon's hold, Han's eye was caught by the sparks of a macrofuser in the otherwise dark maintenance access area. The Princess was repairing a wall valve there.

'It's definitely romantic in there,' Han observed. 'Hang on, sweetheart. Make that repair last long enough for me to give this to Chewie, and I'll be right over.'

"Sir, I don't know where your ship learned to communicate, but it has the most peculiar dialect. I believe, sir, it says that the power coupling on the negative axis has been polarized. I'm afraid you'll have to replace it," said Threepio, standing in front of the main control panel.

Carrying a wire coil, Han walked over to the panel to confirm Threepio's news.

"Well, of course I'll have to replace it," said Han, half for appearance's sake with Leia so close by, half just to be contrary to the droid. He then strode over to the ceiling compartment where Chewbacca was working.

"Here," Han began, handing the coil up to his copilot. "And, Chewie," he continued as the wookiee dropped his head down and roared inquisitively. Han stole a glance back at the droid then returned his gaze upward. "I think we'd better replace the negative power coupling," he finished in a lowered voice then swiftly walked away.

Turning, Threepio thought he heard Han say something. Looking up at the ceiling compartment, he decided he didn't trust his circuits given the rough ride he'd been on lately.

With his stomach dropping and heart beating double-time, Han approached the access area and saw Leia was still working there.

'There may be a Force yet,' thought Han in relief as he watched her petite form wrestling with the valve.

'OK. Remember--be nice. Help her.'

He took one last moment to enjoy the view from a distance, then stepped up behind her, wrapping his arms around hers to grasp the valve and further encourage it to its proper position.

Startled first by his presence and then by the impropriety of it, Leia reflexively shoved him back with an elbow.

"Hey, Your Worship--I'm only tryin' to help," Han said in self-defense.

Too consumed by her battle with the valve, though, the Princess couldn't bring herself to begin another battle with him. "Would you please stop calling me that?" she asked in a simple tone, one Han never heard her direct toward him before.

'Did she just say 'please'? This is looking good.'

"Sure, Leia," Han replied casually, using her first name for the first time in the three years they'd known each other.

"You make it so difficult sometimes," she continued.

'Sweetheart, I was just thinkin' the same thing about you a couple hours ago,' he thought to himself, then admitted aloud with a self admiring smile, "I do, I really do." Then a thought leapt to his mind. "You could be a little nicer, though. Come on--admit it. Sometimes you think I'm allright."

Leia stepped away from the valve, calling a truce and licking a sore spot on her hand.

Han had noticed she'd pinched it between the valve and the wall and, inspired, began moving toward her.

"Occasionally...maybe...when you aren't acting like a scoundrel," she replied.

'Are we actually having a conversation here?' He had reached for her hand and was massaging it, surprised at the softness of her skin. 'What did you expect, space jerk? She's royalty, not a mechanic.'

"'Scoundrel'? 'Scoundrel'?" he repeated with a smile spreading across his face, his heart leaping at the pet name Leia had just given him. Not able to contain this much encouragement, he let the Corellian in him take over. 'Charm her. You remember how to be charming, don't you?'

"I like the sound of that," he continued. 'She really is tiny.'

"Stop that," said Leia, taking a step back, uncomfortable with both his touch and proximity.

"Stop what?" Han feigned confusion, buying more time close to her, more time to figure out what he was doing here.

"Stop that. My hands are dirty," she replied.

"My hands are dirty, too. What are you afraid of?" Han chided, enjoying the effect he was having on her.

"Afraid?" she repeated, now in a corner, and no longer able to control the course of this increasingly unprecedented and bewildering conversation.

"You're trembling," he continued, moving steadily closer to her, taking a more serious tack. He was going to kiss her.

"I'm not trembling," she said, hypnotized now by his closeness. He had never looked more handsome than he did at this moment. Were his eyes hazel?

'She's absolutely lovely,' Han thought as he stood closer to her than he ever had before. 'Are her eyes darker than her hair?'

"You like me because I'm a scoundrel," he intonated, his face moving mesmerizingly near hers, slowly but surely closing the space between them. "There aren't enough scoundrels in your life."

"I happen to like nice men," she managed, recovering herself despite their increasing proximity.

'Thanks for reminding me, sweetheart. Be nice,' Han thought to himself.

"I'm a nice man," he replied aloud, their lips centimeters apart now. Yes, he was going to kiss her.

"No, you're not. You're..."

He finished her sentence by pressing his lips to hers, his stomach and heart somersaulting at the sensation of her lips, the feeling of space finally closed between them.

As the kiss continued, he realized she hadn't pushed him away. 'This is incredible. I'm actually getting somewhere!'

And when he felt her run a hand through his hair and grab hold of it, he stopped thinking altogether, his blood ran hot, and he imagined her hair down and lilting as...

Just then he felt a mechanical tap on his shoulder, accompanied by a mechanical voice.

"Sir! Sir! I've isolated the reverse power flux coupling!" See Threepio proudly announced, oblivious to what was happening between his mistress and Captain Solo.

Out of respect for Leia alone on both feelings, Han's controlled lust turned to controlled rage as he slowly, painfully--with a look of sheer disbelief on his face--broke away from the Princess, turned to Threepio, and enunciated "Thank you. Thank you very much" without one milliliter of gratefulness in his voice.

"Oh, you're perfectly welcome, sir," the droid replied cheerily, still quite pleased with himself as he backed out of the access area.

Awash with new and conflicting emotions, Leia took the opportunity while Han's back was turned to slip away from the access area. When he turned back, she was gone. With a grimace, he watched her disappear toward the cockpit. For a moment he stood motionless.

'Well, that was amazing...does she feel the same? Is that why she's running? She did respond...but maybe she was thinking of someone else. Maybe she's thinking of him now, too.'

The image of the last time he saw Luke and Leia together--Leia hugging and kissing Luke before he got in his snowspeeder during their escape from Hoth--leapt to his mind. That time Luke and Leia disappeared alone together for several hours during their trip to Vandalia always nagged at him, too. Oh, he was always sure to observe their interaction, just to see how far their relationship was progressing. Jealous? Of course, though he'd never admit it. He could never bring himself to compete with Luke--felt too much like a big brother to him. Besides, he had always counted on Luke's lack of follow-through to ensure he never got too far with the Princess. But Luke was getting sharp. Hell, he was commander of Rogue Squadron now. As for himself? He was just a smuggler hiding out from a price on his head. Leia was little older than a child, but he was too old to fool himself. In the love department, ten years made a galaxy of difference.

'Dammit, I've got to do more than just kiss her. We've got to talk.'

But Threepio's news demanded he talk with the droid and Chewie right now. There was work to be done on the Falcon. Things were progressing all around, though. Han stepped back into the hold, a cautious smile on his face. 'My luck just had to get better.'

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You Do Have Your Moments
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