Morning Run

A.N. Here is a little Han/Leia goodie for y'all! It's been tumbling around in my head for a while. Feel free to review, and most of all, enjoy! As always, neither Han, Leia, the trees of Yavin IV, or the invention of running belong to me.

Han Solo thrashed restlessly in his bunk for what he though was the hundredth time, his sheets tangling around his legs. With a frustrated grumble and a few curse words, he wrestled himself out of the blankets, threw them to the other side of his cabin, and swung his legs to touch the floor.

"What time is it?" He moaned, his calloused hand moved over his unshaven face and up into his unruly hair. His other hand moved to position the chrono into view, the time reading, "04:30." Another two hours until he needed to get up. And it had already been six, long hours that he had been awake, since the second his head hit the pillow.

"Guess I'm not sleeping tonight. Or this morning," Han said as he slowly got up and moved to the fresher. He figured he could work on the Falcon for a couple hours, as long as he didn't wake Chewie.

Han exited the Falcon into the hangar as quietly as possible. As he started to examine the ship's interior, a familiar silhouette appeared at the edge of the hangar, facing out towards the jungles of Yavin IV.

Now distracted from the Falcon, Han began to approach the figure in the distance. Her hair was tied in one, long braid down her back, and she wore a light blue jumpsuit. Han had seen her at the awards ceremony with a hairstyle not too different and a radiant white gown, but something about her now was infinitely more beautiful.

He sauntered up to her side and said, "Good morning, Your Highness."

Leia Organa jumped a little at his sudden presence, and her face turned into an immediate scowl.

"What are you doing here, Captain Solo?"

"Couldn't sleep. Had images of you keeping me up all night," he said with a mischievous grin.

Leia rolled her eyes and started to stretch her thighs.

"I could ask the same about you. Why in all the planets' names are you up at 04:30 in the morning?"

"Unlike some people," Leia cast a disparaging glance Han's way. "I have a million things to get done during the day, so I start my day early to make sure I can. While there are no distractions."

"So you don't sleep?"

"Not as much as most." Leia started to do some lunges. Han walked over and crouched down to Leia's height.

"Thinking of me? Been keeping you up?" He flashed a smile and set his hazel eyes on her.

He expected Leia's eyes to turn fiery and for her to snap at him like the many times he's flirted with her before, but instead her face fell a little and her deep brown eyes grew sad.

I wish, Leia thought. "No, just other things." Han's face fell too and she abruptly stood up and broke their gaze.

Han felt like an idiot for bringing up Leia's negative feelings, and images of the rubble of Alderaan floating past the Falcon's cockpit flashed through his mind.

"So what are you doing?" Han asked, gesturing towards her stretching, and hoping to change the subject. "It doesn't necessarily look like work."

"Well, all of the work I can do on my own is miraculously done, and I realized that I haven't gone for a run in ages."

"A run?" Han's eyebrows shot up. "Why do you want to run?"

Leia could sense judgment in his tone and quickly snapped to face him.