Star Boys - A Skysolo Story

Chapter 8 - Serious Conversation

"Solo! Open up!" Leia called, knocking instistantly on the man's door. She heard a groan from inside followed by some slow and reluctant shuffling. The door slid open, revealing a disgruntled Han.

"What the hell do you want, princess? Come to confess your love for me?" He said, mockingly. Leia held back the urge to punch him and his sneering grin.

"May I come in?" She asked, gritting her teeth. She had to keep reminding herself to be civil. She had extensive experience dealing with hard-headed foreign diplomats, but she had never met anyone who got of her nerves quite like Han Solo.

"Be my guest!" the man said, holding out his arm and motioning for her to enter. The door slid shut behind them and Leia took a moment to observe Han's quarters. Dirty clothing and empty rum bottles were strewn around the floor. She had to weave through the debris in order to reach a chair.

"Your quarters are disgusting," she said, moving a shirt off the chair and sitting on it.

"Charmed as always, Leia." Han said, rolling his eyes. What did she know? He knew other guys on base with rooms far messier than his own. Besides, he could never find things when his quarters were clean. Leia began to fiddle with a blaster sitting on Han's desk.

"We need to have a serious discussion."

Han grabbed the blaster from her hands. Angry women with weapons made him nervous. He had too many bad experiences through the years to not be cautious.

"About what?" He asked, placing the blaster in his hip holster where it belonged.

"Luke" She said, now meeting his gaze. He looked away, blushing. Did Han know he was such an open book? Leia was honestly surprised Luke hadn't caught on to his affections. "I know your feelings for him go beyond friendship."

Han turned away and began to pick up clothes off the floor. He needed something to do. A reason to not look the princess in the eyes. She would know if he was lying if she could see his face.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said, tossing a few shirts onto his bed. "I'm not like that, princess. I'm not a frea-"

"Hold your tongue, Solo, before you say something you regret. I'm 'like that' and you'll kindly refrain from referring to me as 'freak'." Leia said, defiantly. Enough people had already called her names because of who she was. She wasn't going to let Han do so as well. She cringed, remembering a few specific instances that still bothered her.

Han nodded. Leia seemed to know about his feeling for Luke already. Was there really any point in hiding it?

"And what if I do? Like the kid, I mean." He asked, finally meeting her gaze.

Leia sighed. Han was in over his head. He obviously had no experience dealing with romantic feelings for men.

"Han, you'd just be confirming what everyone on base already knows."

Han jolted up, looking absolutely terrified. Leia almost laughed. It was humorous to see the usually confident smuggler in such a vulnerable position.

"Luke knows?"

"No." Leia said, "But he likes you as well. He told Chewbacca."

Han looked at Leia in confusion. Since when where her and his copilot so close? He couldn't remember a time he'd seen them say more than a few words to each other. He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to worry about that.

"He told Chewie? A fat lot of good that does me! Why hasn't he said anything?"

"I could ask the same of you. He's worried you won't return his feelings because of his age."

Han fell back on his bed. Luke was worried about something as petty as age? They were both adults! Still, if it was something Luke was worried about, he would have to find a way to ease that.

"What do I do?"

Leia wanted to laugh yet again. Han Solo was asking for advice from her? She found herself already making grand plans to lord this over him in the future. Still, she didn't quite know what to tell him. Most of her romantic experiences had been with other women. Men were a whole different battlefield. Of course, she wasn't about to let Han know that.

"You...You need to show him that you don't care! Maybe flirt with a few of the younger guys on base?"

Somewhere in his gut, Han felt as though this was a bad plan. Still, the princess seemed to know a lot more about same-sex relationships than he did. For once, he would have to trust her.