Star Wars: A Long Drabble Ago

Always There

A/N: In which I fix all pf COPL in a single one-shot!

  There would be nasty words in the morning, she knew it without a doubt. She'd wake up and walk down the corridor to hear them all muttering things about her, staring at her. All of them. But Leia wouldn't care.
  Written in his eyes, Leia saw hope and too much of it. He had hope because he knew he had her backed up in a corner. She could either give in or take the knife to her heart. But, Leia was sure, he wasn't expecting her to do what she always would. Seizing the metaphorical knife, Leia stabbed herself and told him, "I'm sorry, Isolder, but I can't."
  Prince Isolder of the Hapes Consortium gave a nervous glance to the audience around them and cracked a smile. "Why not, Princess?"
  "Because. I'm already committed to someone."
  This being a prince, Leia had expected, at the most, a flash of alarm before his shock was composed, but when the shock hit it didn't go away. His eyes wide and fearful, he showed her the ring in his hands and asked again, "Princess Leia, I am asking you to marry me."
  She looked in his eyes again and saw hope, hope that she would say 'yes', but Leia was never one to tell anything short of the truth. And she couldn't hurt Han by even pretending she was considering it. "As I am aware, but I just told you. I can't. I'm already in a committed relationship. I apologize, Isolder, for the embarrassment, but my hand is taken."
  With that, Leia hurried off from the dais and down the crowded hall as holojournalists flocked her, chasing her, yelling questions and accusations as she fled. At the end of the hall was an open door where stood Rieekan, Luke, Chewie and Han. Rieekan flicked his hand, motioned for her to hurry and Leia broke into a run, the crowd at her heels. She hurried through the door and Luke slammed it shut before any of the crowd could enter. And there before her Han was.
  "Why did you do that?" he asked, his jaw hanging from his mouth, his eyes swimming with disbelief.
  "Do what?"
  "Deny Isolder's proposal. Why did you do that?"
  "I love you," she answered, simply, shortly. Her big brown eyes staring up into his, hands slowly reaching for his waist, she waited for a response.

  After a long moment, Han nodded, taking her into his grasp, pulling her body to his. "I know," he said with a smile. A smile came to Leia's lips as well and she quickly rose to her toes to kiss him. Han accepted the invitation, but broke the union when a thought occurred to him. "We should probably get out of here."
  "Probably."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Sitting in the cockpit, in Han's lap to be more accurate, Leia rested her eyes, mentally preparing herself to watch HoloNet that night. But safe in Han's arms, she didn't fear much, not even the reports soon due and all the nasty insults she was sure to suffer. He would fend them off, protect her like he always did and everything would be okay. Something about this particular situation did make Leia feel odd, though. She had refused a proposal in defending her own relationship with Han. Somehow, refusing another proposal put some kind of deeper commitment behind her and Han's relationship, though they'd never really had an actual status to them and it scared Leia what that might do to them. Nothing about their relationship was official. They'd never dated, never courted. All they knew was that they loved each other and that had always seemed to be enough. What about now?

  Han took her hand from where it hung by his calf and intertwined their fingers, his other hand stroking hers. He planted a kiss on her cheek and told her, "I love you."

  Leia smiled. "I know."
  "And I think we have a lot to talk about."

  Oh, no. Had Han been thinking the same as her? Had he decided that this was where he drew the line and now it was all over. Leia silently panicked and she felt her face flush and her hands start to shake.
  "Commitment seems to be the big word lately."

  "It does, doesn't it?"

  "You told Isolder you're committed to me."

  "Of course I am."
  "Than, why don't we make it official?"
  A smile lit up her face and she was pretty sure she knew what he meant, but she had to be positive. "Han Solo, are you asking me to . . ."

  "Marry me? Yes. I mean, you just turned down a proposal, it seems only right I take my turn at asking now."

  Leia's smile turned into a smirk and she pushed a bit away from Han and gazed up at the ceiling. "Hm. Well, let me think about. I do kind of like you, I guess. But sometimes you can be a little . . . cocky?"
  "Stop it, Princess," Han shook his head, pulling Leia's body back to his. "You aren't fooling anyone. I love you."
  "I know. Yes, I'll marry you, Han."