Valentine's Day Challenge The Third: Submission #4 by TooOldForThis

Mini-Vacation

Leia looked at him like he had three heads.  “Han,  we can’t just leave like that.  I’ve got meetings tomorrow,  and the day after,  things I’m supposed to do.”

“Funny, Princess…  But I don’t see any shackles around your ankles.   Why can’t you just take off for a couple of days?”  

“Because,“ she replied as she crossed her arms across her chest,  “responsible people don’t just drop what they are doing because they feel like it.  If I’m going to take a few days off, I need to make sure that everything is taken care of before I go.” 

“The problem, Your Highness, is that everything will NEVER be taken care of.  There will always be something that’s left to do.   Sometimes, you have to draw the line and just go.”  

Leia stared at Han.   Could she do this?  Just take off for 3 days without clearing it with anyone first?  The idea was deliciously tempting.  It had been forever since she’d done anything spontaneous.  And he did have a point, there would always be something.    But the proper, responsible part of her brain was making her feel very guilty. 

Truth was, she’d been feeling stressed and down for months.    If she was willing to be honest with herself, it was because her work was boring her to no end.   She did like parts of it and she was good at it, but after living a life on the run in the rebellion,  a 12 hour a day desk job, following processes and listening to people who couldn’t make up their minds about what they wanted, had become tedious.    She was tired of listening to people argue.   She needed a distraction. 

Han placed both hands on her shoulders and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.  He looked her in the eyes as he said, “Don’t worry, Leia.  The galaxy will still be here when you get back.  You need to get away and I’m going to take you.”

Leia wasn’t completely sure he knew it, but when Han looked her in the eye and was completely sincere,  she would usually agree to just about anything he was suggesting.  Between his eyes and the way his lips moved, she was jelly in his hands.    Leia sighed and then offered a wicked smile.  

“Okay.  I’ll face whatever when we get back.   Let’s go.”

“That’s my girl,“ and he gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

Leia settled into the co-pilots chair as she, Han and the Falcon left Coruscant behind and headed into space.    She still didn’t feel completely right just taking off.   She felt a little better because she’d convinced Han to let her comm her secretary and have her clear her calendar for the next three days.   

So at least people wouldn’t be showing up at her office door all day long.  She’d told her secretary that she’d been unexpectedly called off-planet.  When her secretary had started asking questions about where she’d be and how she could be reached, Han had grabbed the comm out of her hand,  said “Sorry, that’s confidential,“  turned it off and threw it to the back of the closet.  

“So, just where are you taking me?” she asked as she tried to see what coordinates Han was putting into the nav computer.

“Uh, Uh, Uh,” he said, smiling.   “I’m not giving up my secrets just yet”.    The nav computer beeped and Han said “Sit back, Sweetheart.  We’re jumping to hyperspace.”

Han pulled on the lever and the stars started to streak by them until the view outside the cockpit window was just a blur of space and streaks of light.

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At some point during the hyperspace jump, Han had said that he wanted to make a quick repair since they had time and Leia had decided to go lie down.     Funny how taking a nap had become something that she looked forward to.  Ridiculous, really.  She wasn’t  three years old anymore, but there it was.

Leia awoke to Han gently kissing her cheek and telling her that they’d come out of hyperspace and she’d better strap in somewhere because it was going to get a little tricky to get where they were going.  She started following him to the cockpit, but he told her it was a surprise and had her stay in the lounge at the nav station. 

Han wasn’t kidding.   He was an expert pilot, so she felt completely safe,  but the Falcon rolled, swooped and tossed her around so much, she was glad that she hadn’t just eaten.     When the movement stopped, Leia waited for several minutes before unhooking the safety straps  venturing to the cockpit. .   

“Thanks for the warning! “ she quipped as she entered the cockpit.  “That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for the start of a relaxing vacation.  Did you NEED to fly like a drunk stormtrooper”   

Han was still in his pilot’s chair, flicking off switches.   He turned to her and looked hurt.    Standing up, he reached over her head, flicked a few more switches and then put his arms around her waist.    

“I did not fly like a drunk ANYTHING.   It’s a little tight getting in here, so I had to make a few maneuvers, that’s all.   Be happy I gave you a warning.   It will be worth it.  Trust me.”   Han gestured out the cockpit window.

 Leia looked out the window.   They were somewhere that she didn’t recognize.   There were no cities or settlements in sight.   Instead, what Leia saw was a canyon or rather several canyons filled with natural stone spires, arches, and pillars of a reddish orange color.  They looked like hundreds of statues, just waiting to come to life.    The Falcon  was nestled under a rocky outcropping that was deep enough to give the feeling of being in a cave.  The sun was setting somewhere behind them and it made the whole area glow.   It was stark, tranquil and completely beautiful.

“Where are we?  This is magnificent.”

“Sorry, that is classified, Sweetheart.   Let’s just say that this is a good place to go when you don’t want anyone to find you.”

“And how do you know about it?” she asked, raising one eyebrow, and placing her arms around his waist.   She had a feeling that she knew what the answer was already.

“I might have had to hide out here once or twice in my smuggling days”, he said sheepishly.

Leia smiled.  “So no one will find us?”   She was starting to like this place more and more. 

“Nope.”

“And there is no civilization around?”

“Not really.  There is a little settlement outside the canyon,  but no one will find us here and we don’t need to go anywhere if we don’t want to,” he said smiling slightly and pulling her closer.

“So what can we possibly do for 3 days?” she said, looking as innocent as she could.

Han knew the game she was playing and he’d hoped that bringing her out here would bring out this side of her.  It had been too long since he’d seen it at home.

“Well, Your Highness,  I think we start out with something like this”, he said as he brushed her hair off her shoulder and placed gentle kisses down the side of her neck.

“Mmm, that seems like a good idea,” Leia murmured as she turned her head to give him greater access.

Han pulled back, flashed his trademark crooked smile and said huskily, “I’ve got lots of good ideas Sweetheart.”

“I’m sure you do, flyboy”, Leia responded as she started unbuttoning his shirt and ran her hands across his chest.     After pulling the shirttails out of his pants so that she had greater access to his skin, Leia lifted her head and her mouth was captured by Han’s in a slow, deep, probing kiss.

They made their way out of the cockpit, through the lounge and back to the Captain’s quarter’s.  It was slow going as they stopped to explore each other’s tongues, and unfasten, then discard bits of clothing.  By the time they reached the cabin, there was little clothing left on between them.

Han backed Leia up to the bunk and gently pushed her back until she was lying down on her back and he was on top of her.   As many times as they’d made love, he never got tired of the feeling of having her in his bunk on the Falcon.   The ship was his domain and making love to Leia in his cabin wiped out just about any fantasy he had imagined back before he’d offered to take Luke and Kenobi on that fateful trip.

He expertly removed the remainder of his and her clothing and slowly made his way up and down her body using his mouth and hands to erase any thoughts that Leia might still be harboring regarding work, the New Republic or anything except him.   When he’d driven her to distraction and had her begging him to finish what he’d started, he finally relented and slowly gave her what she’d been begging him for.    She came crashing down around him and he finally stopped holding back and released himself as she gripped his biceps and they both cried out in ecstasy.

They held each other for several minutes after their climax, spinning back to reality.   When Han finally rolled off her, their breathing had returned to normal.  Leia snuggled under Han’s arm draped around her shoulder and tried to touch him with the whole length of her body.

“So there is nothing to do around here but hide out?” she finally whispered.

“Not a thing.”

“And no one is going to find us here?”

“They haven’t yet.”

“Well then, I see no reason that I’m going to need any of the clothes that I packed,” she softly said as she leaned on his chest and stroked his cheek.

He smiled at her in return and pulled her up to meet his lips with hers.  “I love you, you know.”

“I know,” she replied.   “Thank you for bringing me here.”

“My pleasure, Princess.”

Leia smiled and gently kissed his lips.   “Yes, it will be, Flyboy.  It will be.”