Wednesday, January 25, 2017

2017 Valentine's Challenge Submission #2 by Kelleher


Leia twirled her finger in the soft hair on Han’s chest as he dozed in post-coital satisfaction. Seeing the corners of his lips turn up in response to whatever he was dreaming, she grinned. She was pretty confident that his dreams were about the last few hours.  A small wave of pride swept over her…

That’s right, flyboy.  We may have been making love for only a few days, but I’m a fast learner.

She reflected that her fast learning was due to Han’s patience as well as much as her desire. He’d been a surprisingly tender lover, his strong arms cradling her while he whispered words of passion and love that made her feel like there was nothing in the galaxy but the two of them.  Only today had she found herself becoming comfortable with this sensual part of her being – the part he seemed to know better than she did – and able convey in her lovemaking the deeply primal desire that she felt for him.  Han would never say it, but she knew he must have been thrilled that they could now begin to revel in the long-suppressed…well, she guessed, the word was lust…that they had for each other.

Lust, she grinned. Lust was a charged word on Alderaan, carrying with it the implication of an out-of-control sex drive that could be used for good or ill, and something that she’d been quite sure, until Han had walked into her life, that she’d never feel or act upon. Tonight had proven her wrong about that in the best of ways.  Lust, she decided, is just fine if you are also immeasurably in love with person who drives you mad with desire…

She traced Han’s strong shoulder and collarbone.  He’d proven her wrong about so many things, and she had the feeling he probably always would.  That would have annoyed her coming from anyone else. But she was quite sure that life would always be filled with surprises when Han Solo was around.

My Han.

My scoundrel.

My husband.

She softly kissed his shoulder as she snuggled into the crook of his arm and dozed off to sleep.

******************

Han woke up to see Leia sleeping peacefully, her hair cascading down and half-hiding her naked breast.

That, he thought, is a view I could stare at forever.

He reached out to stroke her cheek, and then he smirked as their amorous adventures of last night came to mind.

That was kreffing amazing.  I think my eyes rolled back in my head. Repeatedly. I knew it wouldn’t take her very long to decide to exert some control here…and like I thought, I was lost in her the second she did.

There were a lot of women in his past. Probably too many.  At least more than he ever wanted to admit to Leia, although she’d said more than once that the past was the past.  Back then, loving someone had never been part of the equation.  Too risky, too revealing.  Sex had just been another thing you did – a really fun thing, sure, but a thing that didn’t carry a hell of a lot of meaning.

Now, if he were being completely honest, a part of him felt as new at this as Leia was. Suddenly, sex meant something, and that changed everything.

I wasn’t prepared for that, he reflected. I hadn’t realized that every time I’m with her, I’ll feel like I’ve done something that’s damn great at expressing desire, but also expresses love, and trust, and permanence.

It should have unnerved him.  It WOULD have unnerved him, even a year ago. Now? He welcomed it all, welcomed every change that their love had wrought without him even noticing it. He was sure there were more to come; life would always be filled with discoveries when Leia Organa was around.

My Leia.

My Princess.

My wife.

He reached out to trace the freckles that had adorably popped out on the bridge of her nose over the last few sun-filled days of their wedding trip and then leaned into kiss her as her eyes fluttered open, because he couldn’t wait another moment.

20 comments:

  1. Thank you for this. This is kind of exactly what I was looking for when I suggested the challenge, just both of them being happy and content and feeling equally lucky to be with the other.

    I love the idea that Han feels as new to it as Leia, because it's different now. I also love when Leia thinks about how lust is a good thing as long as you are also "immeasurably in love with that person."

    Very sweet all around :)

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  2. Oh, this is blissful! Such a warm, intimate scene. Han's sentiment at the end is just sublime; hanging on as long as he can to let her rest, but ready to swoop in and kiss her the instant her eyes flutter open. Romantic perfection. <3

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  3. So cute! I love that Han can admit he's had a few women before, but Leia is different because he actually loves her and that makes the whole experience actually mean something. I loved this!

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  4. So sweet! Love this. I always thought even though he had a past he'd feel like it was new and different because it was Leia. Really good read.

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  5. Oh I love it! How sweet! Like, this could be an outtake from your multi-chapter ( which I am still eagerly hoping you'll update.) You can totally feel the LOVE between them. Whoo hoo! Great job!

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  6. Oh my heart!
    Gorgeous story. Blissfully romantic and sweet, yet manages to relay such meaningful and heartfelt sentiment. Love it!

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  7. Here's where I fall on my sword for beta'ing myself:

    The sentence should be:
    He’d been a surprisingly tender lover, his strong arms cradling her while he whispered words of passion and love that made her feel like there was nothing in the galaxy but the two of them.

    *falls on sword*

    Thanks for your comments! (And yes, LoveThis! I know, I know, I need to update that fic. I'm just, as someone else said, being held captive by Darth Life).

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  8. For God's sake. I think everyone is out to kill this fandom in the past two days with envy. Kelleher, this was lovely. Just so wonderful, simple but poignant. It is inviting and so satisfying.

    You know the thing about little pieces like this? They are TOUGH to write. It's hard to craft a piece that mirrors itself so well and just leaves the reader happy and in a better mood. Your careful language and conciseness is really wonderful here. Amazing work!

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  9. Oh, this was so short and sweet and really made my morning when I first read it. I especially enjoyed Leia's confidence and her reflections on how her relationship to lust as an Alderaanian has changed, and Han's reflections on how his relationship with sex has changed too. That ending was just right. :)

    I was eager to see what you might write this year, as I really like your past V-Day Fic in which Leia tells a feeling-like-he-has-failed Han she is in fact pregnant. It was nice to see you do pure sweet fluff, as I liked your previous angst (which had a nice fluff ending but) and it was cool to see you do such opposite takes on a V-Day Fic. (I mean, I know you wrote them at least a year- maybe more?- apart. But you know.)

    (And KR has it exactly- short, apparently "simple" pieces like this aren't easy!)

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  10. Aww... So freaking adorable!! This makes my heart happy. :D

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  11. This is wonderful! I love this. So sweet and romantic. I like how there is no dialogue and only their inner thoughts. Really good job :)

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  12. This is elegantly simple, sweet and sexy. I love the nuances in the reflection of their feelings. Very very well done. Congratulations and thanks for sharing.

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  13. Kelleher, love the parallel points of view. Very sweet, sensual and filled with love.

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  14. Kelleher, love the parallel points of view. Very sweet, sensual and filled with love.

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  15. Deeply romantic. I like their same train of thought

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  16. LOVE the shifting viewpoints on the same thing, especially han's surprise at the depth of his feelings and how different it was from past experiences and how he wasn't prepared for it. So deeply emotional and beautiful.

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  17. I love it when Han and Leia are married. Lovely little fic.

    Fav line:
    "Suddenly, sex meant something, and that changed everything.
    I wasn’t prepared for that, he reflected."

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