"Having a Ball"
by Fan Of Han

Illustration above credited to the following website: Star Wars Jedi Divas.

~~~~~

Leia Organa read the flimsy again.

Master Luke Skywalker
In Honor of Her Highness Princess Leia Organa's Twenty-First Birthday
High Command Is Holding A Ball
You Are Cordially Invited And May
Bring A Guest

“I don’t know. Are you sure you can’t go with me? It’d be nice if you could. We could celebrate together. I mean, it’s your birthday too.”

“Sorry,” said Luke as he shook his head. “I already asked Di.”

Leia nodded. Luke and Di Procter were fellow Rogues and old friends. Which meant that Leia would have to find someone else to be her escort.

“Alright. Thanks anyway.”

Leia watched as Luke walked away and sighed. Twenty-one, her coming of age, and the High Command was throwing her a ball.

And her father wasn’t there to see it.

And she knew whose fault that was.

‘You would prefer another target – a military target – then name the system.’

‘Dantooine. They’re on Dantooine.’

And he had destroyed it anyway. Had she told them before they wouldn’t have resorted to such horrendous methods. All those lives…

“No,” she said aloud.

She did not have time for this now. There were other things she had to do and she had to do them soon. She turned abruptly and walked smack into a man who had been coming the other way. Once she had extracted her face from his chest, she looked up to apologize and was met with the one thing she did not want to see.

“Easy, Princess. I know how you feel about me but we can’t make it too obvious.”

Leia pushed herself away from him.

“Han!” she said irritably.

Han spread his hands in a gesture of innocence.

She tried to shove past him but he took her arm and spun her about.

“Hey, Your Worshipfulness,” he said, the cocky smile gone from his lips, concern replacing the laughter in his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

She stared up at him for a moment and then tried to pull away with a muttered,

“Nothing.”

“Uh-uh, Leia,” he said, pulling her back. “Tell me.”

His use of her name startled her enough to make her see that he was serious. She sighed.

“It’s my birthday next week and High Command wants to throw me a ball.”

Han shrugged.

“Better catch it then.”

She scowled and took a few steps.

“No, no, no, Leia, I was just kidding. C’mon, talk to me.”

She stared at him a moment.

“Please?”

She walked back to him and allowed him to take her hand but did not met his questioning gaze.

“I…I just wish my father were here.”

There. She’d said it.

“Oh, hey,” she heard him murmur and, to her surprise, he his long, sinuous arms about her and drew her close.

She allowed her head to rock against his chest and listened to the, somehow comforting, sound of his heart beating as he rubbed her back gently.

“Couldn’t you go with Luke?” he asked quietly. “Ain’t it his birthday too?”

She smiled.

“Ain’t it just?” she replied, mimicking him.

“Makin’ fun o’ my grammar again, huh, Princess?”

“Maybe I is, maybe I ain’t.”

He laughed softly.

“And it may be his birthday,” she continued, “but he’s already asked Di Procter.”

“Aw, never mind. There’s plenty of guys waitin’ to ask you.”

“Yeah,” she said, somewhat half heartedly. “I bet none of the ones I like’ll ask me, though.”

“How much you willin’ ta bet? Besides, it’d look a little weird if you an’ Luke both went together.”

“How?” she asked, frowning.

“You both got the same birthday. People might get talkin’, y’know? Destiny, fate, the force.”

He paused to make a ‘spooky’ noise that wouldn’t have frightened a four year old and then thought about it.

“On second thought, maybe it wouldn’t look so bad: Maybe you’re twins.”

“Ha, Ha,” she said sarcastically. “Right. And Vader’s our father.”

Han chuckled.

After a while, he stopped stroking her back and leant down to her.

“Are you alright?” he asked quietly.

His voice rumbled through his sternum and she breathed deeply, finding she enjoyed the musky scent of his skin and of the sweat on the warm, hard body she was pressing herself to.

“Yes.”

Han chuckled softly.

“You know, for a diplomat, you don’t lie very well. What’s the matter?”

She waited for him to make some jibe about her ‘always being miserable’ and wondered if she could keep from crying if he did.

“It’s not your fault, you know.”

His voice was so soft it was barely audible. But she had heard it. He had said it. She felt tears brim in her eyes and squeezed them shut should they try to escape.

“You want me to walk you back to your room?”

Leia thought for a moment and opened her mouth to say that no, she was fine, but her heart betrayed her.

“Yes, please.”

She felt his body shift a little.

Then there was a short pause.

“Uh, Leia? Shouldn’t we move then?”

Reluctantly, but quickly so that he did not suspect, she pulled herself away from him but her kept his arm around her shoulders and they set off together.

~~~~~