Valentine's Challenge the Third: Submission #7 by Zyra

 

I haven't written anything in many, many months, so this finally came out...

Day's End

Han and Leia quietly backed out of their children's room, confident that they were already sound asleep for the night.  The couple made their way to the living room, hand in hand, and then plopped down onto the couch in their own wave of exhaustion, taking only a moment to free their aching feet from their boots.

The room was warm and lit in a dull glow by the flames in the fireplace on the opposite wall.  Leia curled up against her husband's side as he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her in close as she said, "That was a fun but tiring day."

They'd spent the day at the zoo seeing animals from all over the galaxy.  The kids had been in heaven in spite of the fact that the excursion had left everyone in the Solo family exhausted.  Han's chest rose and fell in a deep breath before he responded.  "You're telling me.  Poor Anakin didn't even make it to the end.  I don't think he opened his eyes even for a second when I carried him home."

Leia smiled at the memory of her husband carrying their five-year-old son home and not disturbing him as he gently tucked the boy into his bed.

"Our baby is getting heavy," Han said as he rolled his shoulders a bit.  Leia liked that she and Han still referred to Anakin as their "baby" in spite of the fact that he was certainly far from being a baby anymore.  She suspected he would always be the baby to them. 

"Is he too much for you now, old man?" Leia mocked as she sat up to look at her husband. 

Han immediately shook his head.  "No way.  Not me."

She moved to her knees and pushed herself up behind him; her small hands dipped under the collar of his shirt and began kneading the knotted muscles underneath.  Han relaxed immediately under her touch, shutting his eyes and allowing her to work him over.  He had always been amazed that her grip could be so strong.  "You're so good at that," he said honestly as she massaged away any hint of aching left in his shoulders. 

"I know," she replied, her breath warm against his ear.  She slipped her hands down his chest, finding muscles he didn't even realize needed help.  "I'll give you the full treatment."

Her hands returned to his back where they seemed to move everywhere at once, slowly hitting every muscle, her touch warm and wonderful.  "I bet you did this for all the guys back on base during the Rebellion, huh?"

"Oh, absolutely," she replied, in on the game immediately.  "I had a line out my door most nights."  Her hands slipped across his collarbones and down onto his chest once again.  He couldn't help but lean back into her body. 

"Mmm... I bet you did.  I guess I should've been nicer to you back then."

"Nah," she said, leaning her head down close and pressing her lips gently behind his ear, causing him to shiver.  "It all worked out in the end, and now you get me every night."

"I do," he agreed.  "And you take such good care of me."

"Well, you do a pretty good job of taking care of all of us, so you deserve it."

He leaned his head back against her shoulder and smiled.  While he simply adored his wife, she also knew how to make him feel like a million credits by clearly showing that she loved and appreciated him.  Sometimes he still wondered how he'd not only found her, but kept her.  He turned his head toward her, seeing the gorgeous smile on her face.  "Come here," he said, leaning in as she closed the distance to kiss him.  After a few moments, she wrapped her arms around him from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder and holding him tightly.

"We don't have anything to do tomorrow, right?" he said hopefully, fairly sure that the answer was no.  All he wanted to do was stay home and have a quiet day with his family.  Or as quiet as was possible with their three, fairly rambunctious children.  Although more often than not he found their antics endearing.  He hadn't spent much time around kids since he was one and before having any of his own, and he was continually astonished at how intelligent they were at such a young age.  They also possessed an incredible ability to make both of their parents laugh.  It almost made up for all of the trouble they tended to cause.

"No, tomorrow we're free.  Nothing until that senate dinner next week."

He felt his muscles tense again under Leia's fingers, and it did not go unnoticed by her.  "I know you don't love those events."

"No, I don't," Han agreed.  It had been obvious from the time he'd been asked to start attending such events on a regular basis that they were not his favorite.  "But having a gorgeous woman on my arm makes them a lot more tolerable."  Truthfully, he'd gotten used to them at this point.  Usually he was able to enjoy them for what they boiled down to for him: a nice evening out with his wife.  There had certainly been an adjustment period in the beginning, and he hadn't quite felt like he belonged there.  But as the years went by, he stopped caring so much.  And Leia had always seemed so proud to have him by her side.  He always loved the way she looked at him when he was dressed up.  And of course she was no slouch in formal wear, either.

She leaned in and kissed his neck a few times in appreciation.  "I enjoy showing you off, too, flyboy.  There's dancing at this one, too.  I know how much you love that."

Her hands hadn't stopped working the muscles in his shoulders, sending a shiver down his spine.  "I love any excuse to hold you.  Especially in public."

"Oh, do you?" she said as she climbed out from behind him to sit sideways in his lap, her arms wrapped around the now much looser muscles in his neck. 

"Mmmhmmm..." he said just before she leaned in to kiss him.  He broke away after a few moments and lifted Leia to her feet before standing and taking her hands.  "Come here."

She had a confused smile on her face as he pulled her over to the middle of the dimly lit room, illuminated only by the glow of the skyline outside of the large window and the glimmer from the flames dancing in the fireplace.  "What are you..."

She trailed off as he pulled her close, one hand at the small of her back and the other with his fingers entwined with hers.  He grinned at her knowingly, seeing the reflected light sparkling in her brown eyes.  Releasing her for only a moment, he reached to the knee-high table in next to them and grabbed a remote, setting it back down quickly and pulling his wife close once again as the soft music began playing in the background. 

Leia's smile grew wider as they began gently swaying to the lovely tune.  "Did you have that all planned out?" she asked.

He shook his head.  "Nope, came up with it just now."

"Very smooth."

"I thought you might like it."

"I do," she said with a smile before leaning her head against his chest. 

He leaned down and kissed the top of head, their bodies still swaying gently to the music.  He couldn't remember the last time they'd danced barefoot in the living room for no reason, but he made a mental note to try and do it more often. 

His eyes were closed and he was only really aware of the feel of Leia's body against his and the familiar smell of her perfume.  But the almost hypnotic tones of the music were interrupted by Leia's voice.  "I think we have an audience."

It took Han a moment to remember where he was as his eyes opened up to see Leia looking past him.  He turned to see their twins, Jacen and Jaina, dressed in their pajamas with their sleepy faces peeking timidly from behind the couch.

"Is anything wrong?" Leia asked, her voice calm and slightly concerned.  Their kids were generally good sleepers thanks to typically very active days, so seeing any of them out of bed, especially after such a long, tiring day, was not a common occurrence without good reason.

Jaina shook her head.  "We're just really thirsty, and then we heard music."

"You're thirsty, huh?  Well, let's see if we can fix that," Leia said as she walked over to their kids and led them over to the sink.  Han followed, turning on the faucet while Leia grabbed a couple of glasses from the cabinet and handed them to her husband. 

The twins gratefully gulped down their water and Jaina finished hers first before handing the glass back to her father.  "Do you guys always dance after we go to bed?" Jaina asked.

Han and Leia both laughed.  "No, sweetie," Leia said.

"Why," Han asked, "do we look like we do?  Are we good dancers?"  His young daughter smiled and nodded, making him wonder how long it would be before she stopped looking up at him with such admiration.  "What about you, Jace, do you think Mom and I are good dancers?"

The boy shrugged and tilted his head a little before replying, "Eh," indicating the fact that he was less than impressed.  The mischievous, crooked smirk on his son's face reminded Han so much of himself it was almost scary. 

Han and Leia laughed once again as Han looked up to his wife.  "Harsh critic, this one," he said.

"All right," Leia said as she took the now empty glass from Jacen's hand and placed it on the counter.  "I think it's time for everyone to go to bed."

The twins offered no resistance as Leia took each of their hands and started leading them back to their bedroom.  Han followed slightly behind after pausing to shut off the music and turn out the light in the fireplace. 

They crept quietly into the dim room, careful not to awaken the still sleeping Anakin.  Although Han suspected that Chewbacca could enter the room and let out his loudest roar and the boy wouldn't even stir. 

With the twins safely tucked in once again and satisfied with the obligatory repeat goodnight kiss, their parents left the children's room, hopefully for the final time that night.  Han threw an arm around his wife and led her down the hall to their bedroom. 

Once inside, Han crawled onto the bed and collapsed on his stomach, Leia following to lie face to face next to him with an arm draped across his back.  "They are pretty cute little people, even if they do make me tired," Han said, his voice slightly muffled against his pillow.

"They're good kids," she agreed.  "I think they had fun today."

Her hand was rubbing lazy circles on his back.  "What about you?  Did you have fun?"

She nodded against the pillow.  "I always have fun with you and the kids."  He raised an eyebrow skeptically.  "Well, almost always," she amended.

"That's what I thought," he said as he turned onto his side to face her and pulled her in close enough so that their noses were nearly touching.  His fingers brushed a few stray hairs away from her eyes, barely visible in the dark room.  "Well, I had fun, too.  I might even keep you guys around for a while."

He could see her smile and feel her warm breath as she let out a little laugh.  "Don't get all mushy and sentimental on me," she said as she ran her fingers through his hair.  "We both know that's not your style."

"No?"  She shook her head.  "Well, what is my style?"

"Something like this," she said before leaning in to kiss him, slowly at first until her hand slipped to the back of his head and pulled him in deeper, making him suddenly feel a lot more awake.  Before they got too carried away, she leaned away from him.  "What do you think?"

"I think you know me pretty well."

"I do love your style.  And I love you."

He kissed her once more before replying, "I love you, too.  And I'm going to do something else that is very much my style," he said as he slowly rolled on top of her.

"I was hoping you'd say that," she responded before he leaned down to kiss her, something he never grew tired of.

If there was a more perfect way to end the day, he didn't want to know what it was. 

Valentine's Challenge the Third: Submission #6 by Claire1976

Overdue Modifications

 "So, are you planning on telling me what's been bothering you since we left Coruscant?" Leia asked curiously. She leaned forward from her seat in the Millennium Falcon's cockpit to regard her husband of just three weeks as best she could. He’d been fidgety, and somewhat distracted for the past few hours, and Leia was determined to get whatever it was out of him.

"Bothering me? Why should there be anything bothering me?” Han replied, feigned surprise evident in his voice. He sheepishly turned his head, wanting to avoid catching her gaze, even from the corner of his eye.

Leia suppressed a smile. "Because I know you, flyboy, and there's definitely something up. You have that, I don’t know, shifty kind of look about you.”

"Shifty? Who me?” Han shot back innocently, jabbing a finger at his chest. ”Nah, I'm perfectly fine.”

Inwardly Han was saying a silent prayer to all the Corellian Gods that his new wife wouldn't continue to pursue this line of questioning. Maybe he was acting a little weird, but with very good reason. He had prepared a little surprise for her before they left Coruscant a few hours earlier, and wasn’t ready to share it just yet. If he could hold out for a little while longer, then it would all work out just as he had planned. Unfortunately though, he was starting to realise that he was probably going to lose this particular battle. He knew Leia well enough by now to know that like a Krayt Dragon with a fresh, meaty Bantha bone, she wasn’t going to drop it anytime soon. He had a really bad feeling about this.

Leia turned to the towering Wookiee occupying the seat adjacent to Han. "Chewie, I'm not imagining this am I? There's something a little strange going on, isn't there? He isn’t himself today."

Chewbacca gave a short, rather abrupt sounding bark, and turned his head to look at Han.

"See, he agrees with me.” Leia exclaimed, sitting back and folding her arms in defiance.

Han regarded his Wookiee companion with a frown. "Thanks pal, take her side why don't ya.”

"He's not taking anyone's side, Han.” Leia was quick to point out. “But clearly, Wookiee's  share a woman's perfect intuition, not to mention the fact that you're an absolutely terrible liar.”

"I am not!!” Han cried, swivelling round in his chair. His mouth dropped open, and a hurtful expression crept onto his face, as Chewbacca let out what sounded like the Wookiee equivalent of a deep belly laugh.

"You see, that just proves my point.” Leia said, trying hard to suppress her own urge to chuckle.

The huge Wookiee growled excitedly, his long furry arms flailing frantically above his head.

Han swallowed hard. “Don't everybody rat on me at once.”

Chewbacca snorted indignantly. 

“Yeah, laugh it up, fuzzball.”

Han heard Leia sigh. ”Well, I'll give you some time to have a little think about what's been bothering you. I'll go take in a nice sonic shower, and then maybe change into something a little more comfortable." She leaned forward and gave Han a quick kiss on the cheek, before turning to exit the cockpit. Pausing for a moment in the hatchway she added, "Oh, and Han, I will get it out of you when I come back."

Han swivelled back round and looked nervously across at Chewbacca. ”Do you think that was a threat?"

Chewbacca roared in agreement.

"Women, huh? Yeah, I don't get 'em either, buddy."

Han turned his attention back to the course he had been plotting when his heart sank. He suddenly realised that if she went into their cabin to use the sonic shower she would unwittingly discover the surprise he was saving for later. He had to stop her from going in there, and fast.

“Leia, wait, you can’t go in there." He called out.

“Why not?” her inquisitive voice came back.

Han had to think really quickly. ”Um, because it's a real mess."

Leia reappeared in the hatchway, frowning at him. "A mess? But it was perfectly fine when we got back from honeymoon, and that was only a week ago." She folded her arms and regarded him intently. "The Falcon’s been docked ever since, so what’s been going on?”  

“Modifications, just a little something that needed to be done." Han replied, flashing her the best smile he could muster under the circumstances.

“So tell me, what is it?”  Leia asked, the curiosity growing in her voice.

“Somethin….nice.”

“Nice? Hmm, I’m not sure we share the same definition of nice." Leia replied with a wry smile.

Han gave her a cheeky wink. “Trust me on this one, sweetheart.”

Leia shook her head, and suddenly looked worried. “You know I get nervous when you say that.”

Han tried to reassure her, by turning to his Wookiee companion for back up. “There’s no need, right Chewie?”

The sound the Wookiee made at that moment was somewhere between a laugh and a snort, and Leia could tell by the somewhat bewildered look on her husband’s face that what he had said did not amuse him. “Hey, enough of that.” Han snapped back.

“So, when do I get to see this nice thing in our cabin?” Leia enquired, sounding somewhat  hopeful.

“I was hoping to keep it a surprise for later.” Han’s smirk was more than a little suggestive.

“I’m not sure about that. You’ve told me more than enough to get me intrigued. So, you’re just gonna have to show me, now aren’t you?” 

The Wookiee howled uncontrollably. Han raised his hands in surrender. "Ok, ok, you win. I'll show you."

Leia, looking more smug than the pitten that caught the womp rat, gave Chewbacca a little wink as she turned to exit the cockpit. Han followed quickly after her.

"You have him wrapped around your little finger there, don't ya?" Han remarked.

Leia didn't reply, but instead flashed him her very sweetest smile.

Han came up behind her and placed his hands over her eyes.

Leia giggled, "So this is some kind of game now?"

"You can see it, but only when I say. Want you to keep your eyes shut. And no peeking." He instructed. "You got it?"

"Ok, let's just get on with this."

They reached the access hatch to the cabin that they both shared, and keeping one hand firmly over Leia's eyes, Han stretched across to hit the entry switch with his other hand. The door whooshed open and Leia's nostrils were instantly filled with a light floral scent that seemed somewhat familiar.

“Ok, you can look now.” Han announced.

Leia opened her eyes, and for a few moments she was rendered totally speechless by the sight before her. The cabin was bathed in soft flickering light from an arrangement of various sized candles adorning each of the corners. They cast a gentle, romantic glow across the small room and highlighted the oversized bed, piled high with soft pillows and cushions, that had taken the place of the old battered bunk that had been there ever since Han had first acquired the Falcon. The brilliant white silk sheets shimmered in the candlelight and were scattered with an array of large crimson petals, which Leia instantly recognised as belonging to the fragrant Ladalum flower, native to her home planet of Alderaan. Now it made sense why the smell was so familiar to her.

“Well, what do you think?” Han enquired after a few moments of stunned silence.

“It’s... a…bed.” Leia stuttered, aware that her mouth was hanging open.

She felt Han’s arms encircle her waist from behind, pulling her into his embrace and then his sweet, warm breath close to her ear. “A real bed. No more cramped, squashy, single bunk.  A proper, double bed. I figured I owed it to you after all this time.”

Leia couldn’t help but giggle. “You aren’t kidding after four years of sharing that shabby old bunk with you.”

“Couldn't have my Princess slumming it forever in a smuggler's bunk, now could I? But you gotta admit, it was damn cosy in there. But hey, less of the shabby!"

“We certainly had some good times," Leia said with a wistful smile. "But you can’t say it was comfortable and I think I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve almost fallen out of that thing.” She marvelled again at the sight before her and wondered how Han had managed to pull off something so thoughtful, and so beautiful.  "Oh, Han, it looks lovely. It’s just perfect. "And, the flowers, they're...they're Ladalum petals."

"Consider it a belated wedding gift from me." Han whispered through her hair as he moved it aside to kiss gently behind her ear.

“Silk sheets too?”

“The finest Alderaanian silk, no less.” Han said, with a hint of smugness.

 

Leia was overcome with emotion. He had done all this, just for her? Han had never been the most romantic man in the galaxy, but occasionally he would surprise her with an unexpected gift, which was always greatly received, but this was something else. Alderaanian silk and Alderaanian flowers? Where did he find them? After considering that for a while Leia decided she probably didn’t want to know, and was just content to enjoy this wonderful surprise and not dwell on it too much.

“Thank you, it really is so beautiful.” She said, feeling the beginnings of tears welling in her eyes.

"What was that you said once?” Han pondered. "I do have my moments...not many of them…"

"But you do have them.” Leia finished. "And you certainly do, don’t you?" She turned to him and reached up, gently cupping his cheek. He caught her hand it and brought it to his lips, closing his eyes and kissing it tenderly before giving her a heartfelt smile.

"It's a shame though you didn't think of this before the honeymoon.” Leia remarked. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Ah well, it was the honeymoon that finally made me realise just how much we both needed this. Think we finally wore that old bunk out."

“You aren’t kidding about that.” Leia chuckled.

Han raised an eyebrow. ”So....you wanna try it out?”

"I'm not tired.” Leia grinned back, knowing exactly what he was playing at.

"I don't remember saying anything about sleeping." He said huskily, inching closer to her.     

"Oh really, so you have something else in mind?” 

"A new bed has to be broken in, just to be sure, right? Make sure it's good and sturdy.”

"Well...that sounds like a..."

Before she could finish the sentence Han was scooping her up into his arms. His face covered in a mischievous grin. Leia was unable to contain her laughter, giggling like an excitable teenager. Han reflected for a moment as he carried her the few short steps to the bed, how glorious the sound was. Her laughter was so infectious and without doubt the most wonderful sound he had ever heard. It was complimented so perfectly by her beautiful, radiant smile, beaming from her face, that melted his heart every single time.

“Han, what are you doing?” Leia cried.

“It’s only proper I carry my new wife to her new bed, isn’t it?”

“Is that a Corellian tradition?” She asked.

“Nah, I just made it up."

 

He placed her gently in the centre on the large bed, her body sinking ever so slightly. The silky softness enveloped her as he fell down rather clumsily on top of her, and this time the uncontrollable laughter came from both of them, and they held each other until the merriment subsided. Han eventually pushed himself up and hovered over her, his crooked grin shining down at her. Then for a few moments they just swam in the depths of each other's eyes, locked into one another's souls.

"I love you, you know.” He said softly.

"I know, and I love you, too."

Han lowered himself down and kissed her hungrily, passionately, as if he never wanted to stop. She eagerly returned the kiss, bringing up her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer. With an overwhelming sense of urgency, she found herself ruffling up his hair and wrapping her legs tightly around him as she did so.

In the cockpit Chewbacca chortled to himself. He didn’t expect the newlyweds back for quite some time.