Saga A Princess and a Guy Like Him, Updated 7/16--H/L, short story

Title: A Princess and a Guy Like Him
Author(s): SakuraTsukikage
Timeframe: shortly before ESB (a few weeks before, maybe)
Characters: Han, Leia, Chewie, Luke
Genre: Romance
Summary: Han is having a bad day.
Disclaimer: The Flanneled One owns all.
Notes: Um. I've been wanting to write more OT stuff for a while, and this was an older fic I's posted on Fanfiction.Net but not here that I decided deserved to be resurrected. In some ways it was an earlier version of one of my Beyond fics, "Why I Care," with different characters, but it's a lot fluffier and less full of all sorts of drama than that one is, more bantery. So here it is.

A Princess and a Guy Like Him, Part One

Everything about the Alliance was annoying him today.

The planet on which they?d chosen to build their base?Hoth was Sithin? freezing, and every time he moved icy air seemed to leak in even under his heavy coat and set his whole body shivering. He hadn?t felt properly warm for weeks. The damage that last mission had done to his beloved Falcon, and the fact that the rebels were so poor even he didn?t feel right making them pay for repairs. The bounty hunter he?d run into on Ord Mantell who?d reminded him that if he didn?t pay off Jabba the Hutt he was a dead man. The sick feeling he got in the pit of his stomach when he looked at the ragtag group of fighters around him and thought about their chances against the sheer firepower of the vast and battle-hardened Imperial fleet. The reproachful look Chewie got in his eyes when the Wookiee knew he was considering cutting their losses and heading off to pay Jabba. The idealistic enthusiasm in the kid?s voice when he talked about defeating the Empire and ?bringing freedom and justice back to the galaxy? and the chilling, nauseating knowledge that Luke was more likely than not to die fighting for that cause that meant so much to him. The fact that almost all the food provided around the base was little more than iron rations, the old, beat-up technology they all had to struggle with every day, the inadequate protection from the cold provided by their uniforms (not that he wore them most of the time, but he hated seeing the kid shivering like that), their incredible shortage of supplies.

And the princess?star?s end, the princess. Her Worshipfulness. That was what got to him the most, and he knew it, even if he struggled against admitting it to himself. Everything about her seemed to get under his skin and tear up the way he?d structured his life. It?well, it just wasn?t fair. He didn?t want this. Not after Bria.

And so everything about her was annoying the Sith out of him?the way she wore those tight braids pinned primly across her head and the knowledge that he?d never seen her with her hair all loose, those thermal jumpsuits she wore that weren?t enough to keep a Kowakian monkey-lizard warm on this ice cube, let alone the princess of a dead planet who deserved better than this, the way she still flinched whenever anyone mentioned Alderaan, the way her eyes turned soft when she looked at Luke when she thought nobody noticed, the way her eyes flashed when she looked at him, how she struggled so hard not to favor the two of them when assigning missions but couldn?t quite help it sometimes, the knowledge that the Rebellion had become her new family and that if she lost them, lost Luke, it would destroy her. The fact that Han didn?t have a clue if she really cared for him or not. He hadn?t felt like this since Bria, and it terrified him.

Sithspit, did it ever terrify him.

But the truth of the matter was that Han Solo just wasn?t feeling very well, and everything annoyed him because it just made his life that much more difficult on a day that couldn?t have gotten any worse.

Chewie roared a suggestion as Han dropped the hydrospanner at his feet for the fourth time that morning.

?No, no, Chewie, I don?t want to take a rest,? Han replied, and knew he sounded snappish. ?I have patrol in ten minutes, and I wanted to get this done before then. Besides, I?m fine.? He rubb

 

Han, Han, Han, give it up, man.

He's sick but won't admit it. He likes/loves the Princess and won't admit it. He's just so darn stubborn.

Great job. Please PM me with updates.

 

This looks great! Please PM me when you update. I don't want to miss a single word!

 

Great start. I'm looking forward to more.

 

This is so well-written. You've got Han's voice perfectly! I really liked hearing his POV on everything.
I sure hope he's okay, though.

Wonderful start!


P.S. Can I please be on the pm list?

 

Ooooo! Sign me up for a PM of this one, please! It sounds so much like Han I can almost hear his voice. I can't wait to see where you'll go with this, but I hope he's ok... Great job!

~piratedreamer

 

Oh.... this is a great start! I can't wait for more. Leave it to Han to be too stubborn to admit when he's sick.

 

Poor Han I hope he isn't too sick. Great start I can't wait for more

 

Great start! I hope Han illness is nothing serious... But I hope Leia notices.

 

Poor Han, I hope the princess appreciates how he didn't want to shirk his responsibility, but he is sick, stubborn man. Somehow, I don't think he's gonna make that patrol....I hope Chewie vouches for him. Nice start, if you have a PM list, please let me know when this updates.

 

Awwww...poor Han.

He's stuck on Hoth, has unwelcome feelings for Leia and now he's sick



Could things be any worse?

I certainly hope his illness isn't serious.

If you have a PM list for this, please add me?

Looking forward to more

 

sithspit! poor han. lol i like the description of her hair being pinned primly to her head.

 

That whole paragraph made my heart just melt. Awww! Please PM me when there's an update.

 

Fantastic, I adored Han's thoughts on Leia, it was really well done. I'd love to be added to the PM list if you're planning on having one.

Great job!

 

To dianethx: He definitely is stubborn, isn't he? Thank you! I'll certainly PM you!

To VaderLVR64: Thank you! I certainly will!

To alhana_antilles: Thanks! I'm glad to hear it!

To dancing_star: Well, thank you! I'm very glad to hear it, since Han is a character I don't have quite as much experience writing. And you sure can!

To piratedreamer: Sure! Thank you, and I'm glad to hear you thought so. That's what I wanted. Thank you again!

To PonyTricks: Thanks! It is, isn't it?

To Hananiah: Yeah, I know, poor Han. Thank you!

To Golden_Jedi: Thanks! And well, she might.

To dm1: He is, isn't he? Poor Han. Yeah, I don't think he is, either. And I certainly will let you know!

To Kelia: I know, definitely. Poor guy. I certainly will!

To HeKilledYounglings: Yes, exactly. Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.

To MarasFire: Thanks! I'm glad to hear it! I will.

To Aiel: Thanks, I'm glad you thought so! Of course! Thanks again.

 

Two

Everything about Han Solo was annoying her today.

His beat-up, battered excuse for a ship, for one thing. Even after three years, she was still amazed the Falcon could fly, but that, she supposed, came at the price of Han and Chewie banging on it all the time trying to get it to work. The fact that the cocky smuggler came as a matched set with Chewie, and for all her efforts she just couldn?t understand Shyriiwook as well as he managed to without even trying. Leia was a diplomat. She was supposed to understand other languages. And yet Han seemed to speak easily as many as she did with an unconcerned fluency she could only hope to match?half the words he knew appeared to be curse words, but still. The way the image of his crooked smile and brandy-brown eyes kept intruding into her mind at the worst possible moments, usually when she was trying to think about other things, important things. The fact that he had never officially joined the Alliance, so that she could never be quite certain if he was going to stick around or not. The way he treated assignments, as if they were a request he could choose to ignore. She knew very well that he wasn?t officially part of the Alliance, he was just hanging around and helping them out, and so he had every right to choose to complete his assignments or not, but since he was here, he might as well do as he was ordered and go out on patrol!

Leia only vaguely noticed people clearing out of her way on the way to the Falcon. She supposed she was a little frightening sometimes when she got angry.

At least, these days, when she got angry at Han.

Chewbacca met her at the Falcon and growled something that Leia didn?t understand. She gritted her teeth and told herself it wasn?t Chewie?s fault. ?Where is he?? she demanded. She didn?t even bother to clarify who it was she was talking about. Chewie knew why she was here, anyway.

He whuffled, tilting his head to one side, and gestured into the ship.

?Thank you,? Leia said icily, her annoyance growing with every step, and stalked past him into the ship. She got the feeling that the Wookiee was watching her, and that only increased her annoyance.

She realized once she got to the hold that Chewie hadn?t indicated where exactly on the Falcon Han was. Leia let her breath out in a sigh of irritation and headed toward the cockpit, which was empty. As was the galley, the cargo holds, and any other areas where the Corellian pilot could usually be found. Really irritated now that she was taking such a substantial chunk of time out of her busy schedule to search for a scruffy scoundrel who couldn?t be bothered to show up on time, Leia headed for the bunks. She had a hard time picturing Han taking a nap, but she couldn?t think of anywhere else he might be by this point.

She stalked into the sleeping area and spent just enough time looking around to place the recumbent form on the bunk covered with a battered blue jacket that had certainly seen better days as that of the man she was looking for before she started in on him. ?Solo, do you realize that you were supposed to be out on patrol half a standard hour ago? We don?t exactly have personnel to spare, and your taking time out to nap isn?t a good reason not to be where you say you?re going to be. Or was your concept of time somehow skewed by all those years running spice??

Han groaned and shifted his arm so that she could see one bleary brown eye and the mussed tousle of his hair. ?Wha??? he mumbled.

?It?s time for your patrol?? Leia reminded him.

?Sith!? Han shoot up to a sitting position, only to bang his head on the metal bulkhead jutting out above the bunk. He let out a long stream of swearwords in various languages, only half of which Leia understood, and slumped forward to rest his head in his hands. ?Wha? time is?t?? he mumbled from between his fingers.

?Past time for you to be out on patrol,? Leia told him.

Han reached a hand up and rubbed his fingers over the back of his head. ?That hurt,? he said.

?That?

 

Great chapter! <First reply, yay!>

?Get off me, flyboy!? Leia panicked at the feelings and emotions rushing through her, the heat pooling in the pit of her stomach, and she pushed him off of her with a quick elbow right in his stomach. Han grunted and stumbled back, only to trip and to land unceremoniously on his behind.

?Yeah,? he announced to the air, ?she liked it.?

<Falls over laughing,> Oh that was perfect, just perfect.

Fantastic job and thanks so much for the PM!

 

Even sick, Han is a rogue. I loved that it took Leia a while to figure out Han was sick and even then he was still trying to get her goat.

He was amazingly warm. Was that all from the fever? How could he possibly be so warm when everything else on this planet was so cold?

Han buried his face against her hair and inhaled long and deeply. ?Really good,? he whispered.

?Han!? she gasped, whether in outrage or in . . . well . . . she didn?t know, but she hated how breathless she sounded.

Gotta love it. Well done.

 

Hee hee. Cool post, very funny and touching. I think even if Han was comatose he'd somehow find a way to be a scoundrel where Leia is concernec. I really hope Han gets better soon

 

Leia fought back the urge to slap that infuriating grin off his face and stalked in the direction of the cockpit and the nearest comm device.

Stupid, stubborn, maddening man.

She hoped whatever he had wasn?t too serious.

Even through her anger she was concerned. I loved it!

 

SakuraTsukikage wrote:

She hoped whatever he had wasn?t too serious.

Leia dear, you have NO idea how bad off Han is...


He's got it BAD for YOU!

"Heart"

 

Ah.... I can finally get this to work! I loved this chapter. Just like Han to be all sick, yet he can't stop flirting with Leia and making her angry.

More soon!

 

? ?m sorry, Princess,? he mumbled.

Yep, he's sick.

Oh, the possibilities!

 

To Aiel: Thanks! Glad you liked it!

To dianethx: He certainly is. Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

To Hananiah: Thank you! Yes, I think he would. I don't think he can help it .

To MarasFire: Thanks!

To I_Heart_Han_Solo: Indeed!

To PonyTricks: Yeah, I was having trouble too there for awhile. It is like him, isn't it?

To Golden_Jedi: Yep, definitely . You might have noticed it was the apology that convinced Leia, too. And indeed!

 

Definitely sick, Han would never apologize otherwise!

Even sick, he's still flirting with Leia. Despite the fever and the claims that he can't be responsible, he knows full well what he was doing.

I loved Leia's anger, then when she realized he was sick, her sudden concern. She has it bad for him, he has it bad for her, and they are both stubborn nerfherders!!!