Fame and Fortune

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-one

Morning, two days later

The holo-viewer, set on mute, played noiselessly in the background as Leia finished braiding her long hair. She was sitting in front of a mirror in Han's bedroom, still mulling over the dinner from two nights ago. Leia shook her head in amusement at the memory as Han stepped out of the refresher, a towel wrapped around his waist, a smaller one in his hand as he dried his hair. After the dinner, when they had arrived back at the estate and retired to the privacy of their bedroom, Leia had teased him mercilessly over the attention he'd received at the restaurant.

"Aren't you worried about catching some fatal disease with all those germs you must get kissing dozens of females?" she had said to Han, only partially joking.

"Nah, I've already had a fatal disease once and I'm pretty sure I've used up my quota," Han had replied, sounding unconcerned over the possibility. "Probably immune by now to everything kissin' related." He looked at her with a glint in his eye and asked, "Jealous?"

"I don't know. It depends.

"Depends on what?"

"On how much tongue you give them."

That remark had left Han speechless for a few seconds, but he recovered fairly quickly. "Tongue? Are you kidding me? I told you they sometimes bite me, Worship. If I don't have my tongue then my income is gone... in a painful and bloody flash."

Leia had laughed, even though the mental image was pretty gruesome. "What do you do about them sticking their tongue in your mouth?"

Han made a disgusted face and gave a negative shake of his head. "I keep my teeth clamped, Sweetheart. Gotta draw the line somewhere."

"I'm so glad to hear it," Leia replied dryly. "Now, come here and stick your tongue in my mouth."

"Promise not to bite?"

"I promised not to bite hard enough to draw blood."

"Good enough," Han had said agreeably. And that had pretty much ended their conversation for the rest of the night, much to Leia's pleasure.

Drawn back to the present at the sight of a nearly-naked Han, Leia called over her shoulder, "Darling, you're wearing a towel? You don't have to be modest on my account."

Han laughed and was about to pull the covering away when he stopped short, staring at the holo-viewer, his entire face and demeanor suddenly shifting from playful to serious. The Princess twisted her torso to see what he was watching that could have caused such an instantaneous change, and immediately saw what Han was looking at so intently. It was a holo of Han and Leia inside the restaurant. Actually, it was more of a holo of just Han, looking a bit strained as he had his arm around a female fan, and both Han and the fan were posing for a holo-still. Leia was standing slightly behind him next to Luke and Mara, a vaguely miffed expression plastered on her face.

The scene went back to the reporter, someone known to both Han and Leia as a sleazy snoop named Nexx Turner, a skinny human man with a shock of bright orange hair gracing his head. Even back when Han was still General Han Solo, he and Leia had run-in's with Turner, who seemed to always appear at whatever public function Leia attended with Han, sticking a holo-cam in their faces and demanding to know details about their love life. More than once Han had wanted to blast the thin, pale man with his DL-44. Leia had never allowed him to do it, much to Han's chagrin.

"Turn on the sound," Han ordered, probably more harshly than he intended.

Leia grabbed the control off the dresser and pressed the volume control to the 'on' position. Turner's whiny, high pitched voice filled the bedroom.