Friday, February 10, 2012

Bakura Pillows - A Missing Moment/Valentine's Story by JZHanFan

Here's a Missing Moment/Valentine's Story combo submitted by JZHanFan.

It takes place during "Truce at Bakura" which is the EU book that follows ROTJ and answers the question of just what happened with all of those inflatable pillows... 

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"He took her hand and tugged her around the freestanding divider of crates. She set her cup beside his.
"I – " he stopped. Leia looked down into a nest of self-inflating pillows. "Chewie – " Han growled. He dropped her hand. "I guess that's a little blatant. I never should've trusted a Wookiee."
Leia laughed. "Chewie set this up?"
"Wait till I tell that big wet-nosed furball – " Still laughing, she braced herself against a bulkhead and shoved him over backward. He caught her hand and went down flailing."
- from "The Truce At Bakura" by Kathy Tyers


They fell together into the surprisingly soft pile of pillows.
Leia, who'd landed in an awkward sprawl across Han's lap, struggled to sit up, but her efforts were thwarted by the arm he threw around her waist, pinning her in place. Laughing, she surrendered to the inevitable and let him tuck her more comfortably into the curve of his shoulder. Her head lifted and she nudged his chin expectantly.
Quite pleased with this development, he brought his hand up to caress her cheek and moved in to kiss her. Unfortunately, his motion set the pile of pillows wobbling dangerously, and before either of them had time to adjust, Solo found himself abruptly dropped through a gap onto the deck below.
He gave a yelp of pain as his elbow cracked against the metal plating and a tingling spread, rapidly, down his arm to his fingers, radiating from the point of impact. Cradling his arm, he opened his mouth to bellow some choice words about his co-pilot's poor choice of materials, but the laughing mouth of Princess Leia silenced him completely.
For several long moments there was nothing but the taste of her lips and the soft weight of her body as she pressed tight against him.
"Hey," he growled, breaking their kiss and pressing his forehead to hers. "Just what do you think you're doing, Princess?"
"I think," she whispered back, blowing out a long, shaky breath, "that I am getting your attention."
"Oh, you have my attention, all right." His hands closed around her backside and guided her hips so she could feel the extent of his arousal. "You have, " - he began to kiss his way down her neck - "all of my attention."
"All of it?"
"Mmm hmm. Every bit. How about you? Do I have your attention?" His fingers were working at the buttons of her jumpsuit, and she lifted her hands to help him. Her flesh was warm and soft beneath his hands, and his palm closed, urgently, around one firm breast. Expertly, his thumb teased her nipple erect and she gave a small cry, arching her neck.
"Oh, yes," she breathed. A loud hiss of air escaped from one of the pillows as they shifted about and the mood broken, she suddenly began to giggle. "You sure know how to pick a romantic setting, Solo."
"This isn't exactly what I had in mind," he shrugged, apologetically. "Chewie sort of… ran with it."
"Just what did you have in mind?"
"I dunno… something more, subtle?" He frowned at her amused expression. "Look, I just… I wanted you to see I was serious about making time for you… for us. Making room for you in my life."
"Making out with me in your cargo hold," she added, still amused.
"Well, if you insist," he grinned, tugging the tails of his shirt free of his trousers.
"Keep your pants on, hot shot," she retorted, catching his hand as he made a move toward his belt. "I am not doing this here."
"Where, then?" he asked, unable to keep the plaintive note out of his voice completely.
"I don't know," she sighed, "just… not here. Not now. Not with Luke and the fleet out there battling, who knows what… while we hide out."
"This isn't hiding out. This is me doing my job, which is keeping you safe."
"That's not why you're here," she began, and he cut her off.
"They didn't pick me for my diplomatic skills, sweetheart. I'm here because I want to be. Because you matter to me."
"As much as your precious ship?" She wanted the words back as soon as she'd said them, but he didn't seem fussed.
"More," he said, solemnly, without hesitating.
"Better not say that too loud," she muttered, "she might hear you."
"Are you jealous of the Falcon?"
She looked embarrassed all at once. "Maybe." Lifting a hand, she displayed her thumb and index finger, held close together. "A little."
"Why?" he asked, simply.
"I don't know… because she's been with you for so long... because of the way you look when you talk about her. It's like… I'll always be second best."
"Hey," he said, more serious than he'd ever been. "Don't talk like that. She's my ship, and they don't come better than the Falcon... but you? You're my princess. You don't ever need to worry about being second best."
"Do you think she's jealous, of me?"
He gave this serious consideration before answering. "Nah. I think she likes you. You two girls have been through a lot together."
"I hope you're right," she said, touched by this display of sentimentality, even if it was directed at the Falcon. "I hope she likes me, because I plan on spending a lot of time with her Captain."
"A lot, huh?" Once again, he wasn't entirely able to conceal the hopefulness in his voice.
"Yes," she laughed. "But I was sort of thinking along the lines of the bunk in the crew cabin and not a pile of pillows in the hold."
"You're joking. The crew cabin's not private, Chewie sleeps in there, too."
"It's more private than the lounge. Doesn't the door lock?"
"Course not. The fresher's in there. Why would we lock the door?"
"Honestly, Solo. How in space did you manage before now? Surely you don't lock Chewie out of the ship?"
"Not exactly, but... well, Chewie knows when to make himself scarce for a couple of hours. And I don't always bring girls back to the ship." He winced as he realized how that sounded. "I mean… a lot of times we'd go to her place."
"Her place?" Leia suppressed a giggle at this mental image. "What, in the women's barracks?"
"No," he said, stiffly. "In port, I mean."
She flushed, abruptly understanding just what sort of women he meant. "You are hopeless, you know that, don't you?"
"Yeah, but that's why you love me."
"I don't think that was it."
"No? What was it then? My amazing personality? My winning looks?"
"No, but I'm sure there was something..." He silenced her with a kiss and when they came up for air, she finished her sentence with a smile. "Yeah. That."
Then his mouth was on hers again, and for a very long while, they didn't talk at all.


"Without hesitating, Chewie swatted the comlink. It beeped from Han's shirt pocket… "What?" …
"Uh, oh," Leia said softly against his shoulder. She pushed up to her feet.
"Okay, Chewie, we'll be right there." Han made sure it sounded more like a threat than a promise.
- from "The Truce At Bakura" by Kathy Tyers

11 comments:

  1. Not the missing scene from Truce at Bakura that you immediately think of, so well done for daring to be different. This works really well in-between the passages quoted from the book. It's very believable, and unlike some of Tyers childish dialogue at various points in the book, yours actually really sounds like the Han and Leia we all love!!

    I do actually believe that their first did occur during this novel, but during the more infamous missing scene later on. Because of this I was a little worried when you wrote about Han "rising to the occasion" and I thought "Nooo, it can't happen until later on", but as always, they got interrupted.

    I like the bit about Leia being jealous of the Falcon, and Han trying to reassure her. A contrast indeed to how Tyers presents his attitude towards Leia and Falcon in the book.

    Hell Jz, you should have just written the whole damn book you know!!!

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  2. I was reading this story while waiting at the hairdressers. They called me right at the part when Leia was getting Han's attention. It took me a minute to remember where I was. Loved the story and I agree with Claire1976, it fit in so well with the rest of the novel (and that you should have written the book). I liked in your earlier story (After the Battle) where Han goes takes a speeder to see Vader's ashes and how it is mentioned in Truce at Bakura. You've got a whole theme going here. If you take requests, would love for you to write the missing moment when Han and Leia went walking and they talked and........ it's been hard to find time alone....... or the other infamous missing moment.
    Thank you so much for your talents and stories.

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  3. grrrrrrrrrr WTF? that's the THIRD time I've managed to lose the entire post by bumping the mouse. I think someone has reprogrammed a mouse button on me to do "back". aaaaaaaargh.

    anyway. stay tuned on ff.net, THE missing moment is coming soon.

    don't worry, Claire, I am with you on WHEN it happens. it's funny because when I first read Bakura I thought it must have happened in this missing moment. I actually spent a lot of time trying to imagine it, and later trying to write it (this was in my pen-and-notebook stage). It was much later that I settled on the other moment and for me it fits my little personal vision of the post Jedi universe.

    Seams2Be, I just might have to fill in that missing moment that you mention (we walked, we talked...) - I've got a good idea in my head what went on there and how it might have led into THE moment. hmmmm...

    By the way, today's background has always been my favorite movie image, so I'm especially tickled to see it today behind my very own story. The GWTW pose on this poster is what cemented Han and Leia as the ultimate romantic pair to me as a starry-eyed teenager. They have all the passion of Rhett and Scarlett but none of the foolishness. ahhh...

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  4. I have to agree. It was wonderful and ties in nicely with your other story. They are so cute together. Nicely done.

    It's funny you mention the missing moment of their talk. I happen to think about that yesterday.

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  5. jz, would love to read your take on the later missing scene, definitely. Glad I'm not the only one who believes their first time happened in this. There's several things I don't like about the novel but I have always believed this is when it happened. It's the scene when Han is looking pleased with himself that seals the deal for me. Especially the little Exchange with Luke.

    Yes love love love this movie poster, by far the best SW poster ever. But why is yoda there, he isn't on any version I've seen before.

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    1. Just read in The Making of Empire that for the original posters yoda was removed from the artwork to keep him a secret prior to release of film in theatres. Maybe this image is from post release promo material?

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    2. Interesting bit of trivia Jz, thanks for that.

      You know I really need to buy that book. It seems like total sacrilege not to have it.

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  6. JZ, have to totally agree on the background picture. I can remember seeing it as a young teen and being so excited that Han and Leia were going to be a "couple" and that Leia had a different hairstyle (hey I was thirteen or fourteen). Can't wait for the follow-up stories. Let us know when you put them up on ff.net

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  7. Yep, best poster ever. I never made the GWTW connection, but, hey, I was only 10 at the time.

    Can't wait to read the other missing moment.

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  8. I'm sorry for being so late to comment. I've had an exceedingly busy week. I love this missing moment. And I love the conversation. Great using the Falcon coming between them as a way for them to really express what they mean to each other without being overly mushy. I do love that Han doesn't hesitate to say that she comes before the ship, or that she is a little jealous. It's just too bad they were interrupted! Great job!

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  9. Okay, even though I posted this one, I never commented on it! I really liked the way you handled this missing moment and can def see it happening in this way. Love the conversation regarding the Falcon and that Leia wants to be with Han but probably not in the cargo hold! Great job on the dialogue and interaction. :-)

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