FIC: Fix Up 2/3 - [Han/Luke]
Woo-whoo! Is that how you spell woo-whoo? Never mind. Woo-whoo! I got the next chapter of fix it down. And it only took... what? two weeks. Yeah, you know me. A speed demon of the writing world. Honestly, I can not understand how some people manage to get chapters out in a week flat or less. I love them for it, of course, because I would hate having to wait for the next chapter but still.... How do they do it?
Author: Stephanie
Title: Fix Up 2/3 - Crazy but Cute
Fandom: Star Wars
Pairing: Luke/Han
Rating: Pg-13
Disclaimer: I not only stole Lucas's characters, worlds, and ideas but managed to grab a few lines of his script on my way out the door as well.
Summary: Han is way to smart to let himself form attachments. But attachments and sex are two entirely different matters.
If there was one thing that Han had learned in all his years in space it was that attachments don't pay off. Make that two things. One, never leave the ship without a blaster and a good, strong drink; and two, attachments don't pay off. Not for guys like him. Maybe somewhere out there some guy was happier at home with a family or better off with someone always by his side, but not Han. Han wasn't a hero, a romantic, or an all-round good guy. He was a smuggler, one of the finest in the Galaxy, and he didn't have any use for something that didn't pay.
Well, that settled that.
Still, he could feel himself growing attached to the kid and that was deeply unsettling. It wasn't anything to worry about. Nothing serious. He wasn't about to claim he couldn't live without Luke by his side, because being that wrapped up in someone was just crazy and not Han's style at all. However, he could feel himself getting used to the kid's presence. Sure, he was annoying, moody and tended to over react to everything Han said, but maybe Han said half the things he did just so Luke would pout and argue with him. The kid was definitely determined, no matter how meek he might look at times, and that was something Han had to respect that, even if he didn't agree with a word the old man was telling Luke.
Why was he still thinking about this? Han sat down in his captain seat, readying the ship to leave hyperspace. In just a few moments they would pull into an Alderaan spaceport and then - poof - no more Luke. The thought left him feeling vaguely uneasy and that was what had led Han to remind himself about the reason for his lack of attachments in the first place.
Not counting the Falcon or his co-pilot, of course.
Two was enough. No need to complicate matters any further. So what if the kid was - it almost pained Han to think this - endearing. What did being endearing ever do for anyone? Han had never let himself find out and he figured now wasn't a good time to start. Not when he was about to abandon the kid and some older than dirt, crazy, old man and never look back.
That's the plan then, Solo.
"Stand by, Chewie, here we go. Cut in the sublight engines." Han steadied the ship. He and the Millennium Falcon were so in tune with each other, at least when his baby wasn't shot up by imperial cruisers, that he could have pulled this move in his sleep. It was a good thing, too, because his mind wasn't exactly on flying as he emerged into Alderaan's air space. It was still back in the lounge with his passengers - passengers he should have left stranded on Tattooine, even if they had offered a princess's reward for the flight. His ship had been shot up pretty badly though and after paying off Jabba, there was hardly going to be a penny left.
That's it, Solo. Concentrate on the money. Not Blue Eyes back there. No time to get attached.
No time at all. Alderaan was approaching, and pretty soon the kid would be a distant memory and Han would have a load of credits.
"What the...?" Han tightened his grip on the controls as the Falcon gave a violent jolt, making the earlier shaking seem like mere trembles. However, this time Han didn't have to search out the problem. "Aw, we've come out of hyperspace into a meteor shower. Some kind of asteroid collision. It's not on any of the charts."
Chewbacca growled something about the shields that Han missed as another quake passed through the ship. Wasn't this just his luck? First, what seemed like the entire piloting control system gave out under imperial fire and now the equipment that had managed to remain unscathed was being damaged by asteroids. Han trusted his ship to the last, but not even he was cocky enough to believe the Falcon could stand much more of this without giving out completely.
I would add control for clarity.
Seconds later, Luke entered the bridge, grabbing onto the back of Han's seat to keep himself steady as the meteors continued to pound into the ship. "What's going on?" he demanded.
Han would have rolled his eyes if he weren't so busy trying to keep his ship intact. What's going on? What does it look like, kid? Even some nobody teenager trapped on a desert planet for his whole life should have been able to recognize an asteroid field. "Our position is correct, except...no, Alderaan," Han said, scanning the equipment for some sign that it was faulty. No matter how bad it got Han had never taken a wrong turn, not unless it was on purpose. The Falcon took a few more hits before Han could steady its course. He glanced at the charts again actually hoping he'd misread them. The coordinates were right, but they had landed the ship in the middle of a meteor shower with no Alderaan in sight.
"What do you mean?" Luke asked. "Where is it?"
"That's what I'm trying to tell you, kid. It ain't there. It's been totally blown away." Everything checked out perfectly except that where a planet should have been, there was nothing but debris.
"What? How?"
"Destroyed," Ben said, walking into the cockpit looking unshaken as usual. Han half growled. He was trying to keep his ship together and figure out what was going on out in space and they were using the cockpit as a meet up center. Great. Why not invite the droids in as well? It could be a farewell party for the Falcon. "By the Empire!"
Han scuffed. "The entire starfleet couldn't destroy the whole planet," he said, ignoring what he had said earlier about the planet being blown up and the obvious evidence that Alderaan was, in fact, missing. "It'd take a thousand ships with more fire power than I've-" Han cut off as something entered the Falcon's radar screens. It was small, but it was definitely moving and not with the erratic jumps of a meteor. "There's another ship coming in."
"Maybe they know what happened."
It didn't sound likely to Han that anyone who knew how Alderaan had become a bunch of flying rocks in space would stick around to tell anyone about it. The old man was apparently thinking along the same lines. "It's an Imperial fighter."
*If he's right, we're in even more trouble,* Chewie growled.
"Yeah, yeah," Han muttered, about to add that the old man was clearly delusional and paranoid about the whole empire thing if he thought they could make an entire planet disappear, but at that moment a TIE fighter exploded onto screen.
"It followed us!" Luke cried, getting caught up in the old man's paranoia. Han bristled at the accusation. Nothing followed his ship. Especially not some short range TIE fighter. It couldn't have tailed the Millennium Falcon that far without a companion of some sort.
"No. It's a short range fighter." One of the first sensible things the old man had said yet.
"There aren't any bases around here," Han pointed out. "Where did it come from?"
"It sure is leaving in a big hurry," Luke said as the TIE blasted past them, not even taking a hit at the ship (which Han was more than thankful for - his poor baby had been through enough that day). "If they identify us, we're in big trouble."
"Not if I can help it." All right, maybe his pride was still a little hurt from being accused at dropping his cargo at the first sign of imperial ships - like it was his fault he was boarded - but he wasn't about to let some TIE turn him in. "Chewie, jam its transmissions."
"It'd be as well to let it go. It's too far out of range."
"Not for long..." Han turned the power up on the engines, fighting his way through the last of the asteroid field until he had a clear view of the smaller ship.
The TIE had size as its advantage, and it was definitely traveling faster than the Falcon, but Han didn't have to catch up with the ship, only get in range. That he could do easily. It was time to see if those thousands of credits worth of upgrades hadn't been wasted.
"Look at him," Luke cried, braking Han's concentration just as he was seconds from pulling in range. "He's headed for that small moon." Han actually looked up from his station. Alderaan didn't have any moons, and they couldn't possibly be close enough to Teilis to be coming up on one of theirs.
"That's no moon!" the old man claimed. "It's a space station."
"It's too big to be a space station." Han watched the giant orb as they drew closer. It was big enough to be a small moon at the least, and it was shaped to look like one as well. But the closer they got, the more Han could make out turrets too straight to be natural, and the craters weren't craters at all but long, deep crevices built into its surface. It was like someone had taken a moon and covered the entire structure in metal and battle stations.
"I have a very bad feeling about this," Luke said, breaking the almost hypnotic silence that had fallen over the cockpit as the massive space station came into view.
"Yeah, I think your right," Han muttered, tearing his eyes away from the station and getting ready to get himself and his ship as far away from it as possible. "Full reverse! Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power."
Solo set the ship to reverse as Chewbacca started up the support engines. The Millennium Falcon lurched as all its energy went towards escaping, but other than the violent sway, there was little sign that it had done anything at all.
"Why are we still moving towards it?"
"We're caught in a tractor beam! It's pulling us in!" This is what he got for transporting passengers. Avoid imperial entanglements. What could have possessed Han to say yes after that? Money was going to be all but useless if he got his ship quarantined. He didn't even want to think about what would happen to him. If these two were worth as much energy as the empire seemed to be putting into capturing them he was in serious trouble.
"But there's gotta be something you can do!" Luke whined.
"There's nothin' I can do about it, kid. I'm in full power," The ship was trying to fight the station's tractor beam but all it was doing was hurting the equipment. "I'm going to have to shut down. But they're not going to get me without a fight!"
Han turned around, ready to meet the imperial guards at the doors. Hells if he was going to just sit back and let himself get captured. They might have caught his ship, but he was going to get a shot at a few of those boys before he let them lay a hand on it.
Han was halfway out of his seat when a warm touch settled onto his shoulder accompanied by a feeling of tranquility. Han shook his head to help clear it away, and soon enough the sentiment had vanished back to wherever it had come from.
"You can't win," Ben said, his hand still resting on Han's shoulder, which was inexplicably making the Corellian feel uncomfortable. His instincts were telling him that if he dropped his guard the crazy old guy would pull something - which was crazy considering Han had all the advantages physically. "But there are alternatives to fighting."
"Like what?" Han growled, shrugging his shoulder out of Ben's grasp. He shot the old man a suspicious look as he wrapped his fingers tightly around the blaster hanging at his hips, his eyes daring Ben to try and tell him what to do. Ben held his gaze, looking utterly unshaken by Han's threat, which only served to annoy Han further. This was Han's ship and the only person allowed to give orders was him, dammit.
Between them, Luke's eyes went wide. "They're pulling us in!" The kid exclaimed, leaning over Han to point out of the observation window and nearly knocking the pilot back into his seat as he did so. Han cursed, breaking eye contact with the old man to catch himself on the back of his seat.
"Tell us something we don't know, kid," Solo spat, but he could see what Luke meant. The port doors were opening and if they didn't do something soon they weren't going to stand a chance. Han looked back at Ben, who was watching all this with that same calm expression he had been wearing since they first meant up at the Cantina - and wasn't it just as annoying as ever?
"Do you have somewhere we can hide?" Ben asked. "They're likely to search the ship. They probably already know that this is the same ship that left Mos Eilsey." Han rolled his eyes, giving an over dramatic sigh as he lolled his head back. All this trouble for twenty thousand credits he was probably never going to get a chance to see?
"We're almost there," Luke warned, leaning even further over Han, almost close enough to press his face up against the glass. Han followed the kid's eyes to a group of Storm Troopers standing guard at the port. He did a double take, swallowing past a small lump in his throat. Whatever these two had done, they had managed to seriously piss off the empire.
Maybe, just maybe, it would be best to listen to the old guy, just this once, because Han really wanted to get out of this mess with his life, if not his ship. "Yeah, I've got-"
At that moment the ride got a little rougher. The Falcon entered the station, jerking as the tractor beam pulled it to the ground. Han tightened his hold on the back of the chair, keeping himself from falling into the seat It might have worked had Luke not given a small yelp and nearly tumbled onto the control panel. Without thinking, Han reached out to grab hold of the kid. The next jolt sent him back into his seat with a painful thud and a lap full of Luke.
Han growled again, reaching behind him to rub his back which had met the armrest. This brought him into closer contact with Luke - who was struggling to get himself upright again having fallen sideways across Han. Luke was now hovering over Han's lap and had managed to angle himself to see through the cockpit window and out onto the troops below.
Wasn't it just Han's luck? Here he was in the hands of the imperial army, transporting a bunch of wanted rebels, having escaped from capture just hours before, with a warrant on his own head and now his body decided what he really wanted, more than money, freedom, and a really stiff drink, was Luke to stay exactly where he was.
"What was that?" Luke asked. Thanks to the Goddess, the kid had other things on his mind (like the fact that we're about to be arrested?) and hadn't noticed anything. You old pervert. Keep your mind on the job.
"Come on," Han said, grunting as he half lifted Luke off him. Chewie gave a displeased growl as the kid almost landed on his lap but Han shot him a look. Now was definitely not the time to be complaining. "They're gonna be boarding any second now."
Ben nodded and stepped aside, allowing Han to hurry out to the corridors with Luke at his heels. Honestly, didn't the kid ever get tired of being so damn enthusiastic?
"Where are we going?" Luke asked, nearly colliding with Han, who suddenly stopped to keep himself from crashing into R2. The astrodroid gave a few whistles which Han was pretty sure meant absolutely nothing.
"What my counterpart means..." Han rolled his eyes as the gold droid appeared from around the corner. Without listening to another word he shoved past it, heading towards the entryway, leaving the others to follow him and hopefully stop their yapping. The subtle hints apparently went right over the robot's head. "...Is that he believes we maybe in some amount of trouble. It seems your ship-"
"Nah, really?" Han snapped. He kicked at one of the floor tiles, breaking it away from the rest with the tip of his boot. "Thanks for stating the obvious, metal head. Now get in there." Han drew a little pleasure from pushing the slightly confused and still chattering C-3PO into the hold. Turning around, he looked at the shorter droid. "You, too," he said, motioning to the open floorboard. The thing gave a few more of those overly annoying beeps and whistles.
"Be careful with that one," Ben said, appearing from behind the corner along with Chewie. "He's very important."
If Han were slightly less sane, he would have sworn the next whistle from the small 'bot actually meant he was proud of himself. Han shook his head. His mom had been right. All this time in space was going to drive him mad. "Hey, Chewie, help me out here, would ya pal?"
Together Han and Chewbacca managed to lower the little droid into the hidden storage space. Han said a quick prayer, hoping that they had dropped the whistling one on top of the talking one, because as annoying as the astrodroid was, it was nothing compared to the protocol droid, who seemed to take great pleasure in talking as much as possible.
"Stay quiet down there!" Han called down as Ben dropped himself into the hatch. He moved the floor plate back into place as Chewie opened another up. The wookiee looked down into the dark hold and growled.
*I hate tight places,* Chewbacca complained.
Han rolled his eyes. "Better than the jail cell they have set aside for us, buddy." Chewie agreed, hopping into the hold. "And just remember, you're the one who thought it be such an ingenious idea to play passenger line," Han added once his friend had disappeared into the deep compartment.
Han looked up and found Luke staring at the doorway. "They're coming up," he said as the hatch began to open. Han reached across, grabbed Luke's arm and pulled the kid back towards him.
"Well then, hurry up," Han suggested, shoving Luke down with Chewbacca. He took another glance at the entry, which was now partially open. He could hear the troopers getting ready to board his ship and do who knows what to it, trying to find Luke and the rest of them.
Force, Goddess, or whatever the hell there may be up there, don't let them hurt my baby, Han thought before jumping into the hold and closing the lid tight over their heads.
It was dark. Han blinked a couple of times trying to let his eyes adjust from the bright corridors of the Millennium Falcon to the sudden lack of light. There wasn't so much as an emergency bulb down in the hold, however, and all the blinking in the world wasn't going to do anything. Han shifted uncomfortable, reaching out a steady hand to try and find a wall of some type. This was not the kind of situation a guy like him liked to be in. He hadn't lied to Ben when he told the old man he depend one hundred percent on himself and his skill. Some good that was to him when he couldn't see anything.
Solo's fingers brushed against a clump of rough fur, followed by a low mewl. "Shh," Han whispered. Chewie didn't answer.
He moved backwards a few steps before knocking into something warm. "He-" Luke protested, and Han nearly threw his hand over the kid's mouth. As it was, he couldn't see the kid, so he ended up catching him in the throat instead. Still, Luke cut himself off. Even in the dark, Han could tell everything had gone completely still. Above them was the sound of heavy boots. Han held his breath, and beneath his fingers he could feel Luke's pulse speed up. The Storm Troopers were right above them, one of them ordering the others into pairs to check the entire ship.
As the noise faded away Han let his shoulders slump and the air raced from his lungs. Next to him he could hear Luke do much the same. "Are they gone?" Luke whispered, voice quiet enough that Solo had to strain to hear it.
"A few more minutes," Han replied. "We'll wait until they come back. No sense in hiding if we're just going to pop up the second they're done searching my ship."
There was a few more seconds silence before Luke spoke up again. "Han?"
Honestly, he was almost as bad as that gold mouth they'd brought with them. Was there no such thing as hiding back on Tatooine? "What?" Han snapped, maybe a bit too fiercely considering the circumstance. He could feel Luke jump ever so slightly and instantly felt a twinge of guilt for being so hard on the kid. "What?" He repeated, softer this time. No need to frighten the boy more than he already was.
"Do you think you could..." Luke trailed off, moving around a bit like was nervous. Han really wished he could see the kid's face right then to figure out what was going on. As it was, he just stayed completely still and waited for Luke to finish his thought. "Do you think you could let go of my neck?"
"What?" Han asked, frowning in confusion - not that the kid could see any better than he could in the pitch-black compartment. "Oh," Solo was glad it was dark and the kid couldn't tell he was slightly embarrassed. Right, his hand was still resting against Luke's neck, well almost on his chest now. It's not like he had forgotten, but the touch was the one thing keeping him aware of Luke and it had been all too easy to exchange his sight for the sense of touch.
Solo didn't apologize, but started to move his hand away from Luke's neck before pausing. Here they were in total darkness waiting for those damn troopers to finish searching his ship - and who knew how long that was going to take - with nothing better to do than keep completely quiet. Luke couldn't see Han, had probably figured out by now than Han couldn't see him either. Solo had already managed to grab the kid's throat, proving that his aim in the dark wasn't all that great. It wasn't like Han was going to get either of them hurt. If the worst came to worst, Luke would get angry and insulted again. What was a little fun at the kid's expense?
Well, Han reminded himself of all the other times in the last few hours he managed to get under the kid's skin. What was some more fun at the kid's expense?
Solo moved his hand, but not exactly away from Luke. He loosened his grip on the kid's neck, letting his hand fall away from the exposed skin and brush against the rough material of Luke's tunic. His palm traced a slow path down Luke's chest, pausing for a second over his heart. Han could tell it was his heart because even without pressing hard against the boy's body he could feel the erratic beating. He left himself give a cocky half grin, knowing full and well Luke couldn't see his expression. He wasn't even to the best part yet and the kid was already fired up.
Han let his hand ghost down further, taking a straight path that could almost be excused as him just dropping his hand and not thinking about it, only his touch was just a little too firm and much too slow. Han added a little more pressure as his palm came to rest on Luke's thigh. He could feel the kid's muscles tighten as he drew in a small, chocked breath.
There was a thundering sound of boots overhead.
Solo dropped his hand away from Luke's warm body. Through the darkness and over the sound of a Storm Trooper's communicators he could hear Luke's heavy breathing. Han was still smiling that over confident grin. He figured Luke would slap it off him if he'd been able to see it but there was no way Han was going to apologize for having his fun. He remembered what had happened the last time he'd tried to apologize to Luke and didn't feel up to having the kid snap at him again. He still wasn't sure what had caused Luke's last outburst.
Thinking about that made him thankful that the Storm Troopers were right above them. Luke couldn't do anything that might draw their attention to the floor. Not even the kid was that crazy.
Han said a small prayer of thanks that the kid wasn't that crazy.
"No one in the bridge," One of the voices above head said.
"All right then. The ship is clear. It must have been a decoy," another one (sounding almost identical) replied. Han closed his eyes - not that it made any difference - as the sound of the boots grew dimmer.
*They're gone,* Chewie growled, though he was still being much quieter than usual. Han couldn't blame him. They were used to being in life-or-death situations but sitting docked on a giant battle station while hiding from the empire wasn't exactly their normal routine.
"Okay," Han said, stepping sideways away from Luke. "Let's get out of here."
The Corillian felt above his head until his hands found the smooth metal of the floorboard. "Got it, Chewie?" he called, receiving a positive yowl, "On my count."
Han closed his eyes the second the floor was removed, light quickly flooding into the blackness of the hold. With another heave the metal plate was completely removed. Across from them the old man and droids emerged as well.
"Boy, it's lucky you had these compartments," Luke said, not quite meeting Han's face. The boy's cheeks were a slightly brighter shade of red than Han ever remembered seeing them.
"I use them for smuggling," Han explained. "I never thought I'd be smuggling myself in them. This is ridiculous. Even if I could take off, I'd never get past the tractor beam." Solo bit down on his lower lip, recalling how even from far out he hadn't been able to fight the pull of the station. No way was he going to get out of here without a fight. Hiding had only bought them a little time. He should have blasted those Storm Troopers when he had his chance. No, he'd listen to the old fool who thought he could get them out of this mess without a fight, it seemed.
"Leave that to me," Ben said on cue.
"Damn fool. I knew that you were going to say that!" Han spat. He wasn't feeling very congenial at the moment and it was probably a good thing that the man was old and there was a floor panel between them or Han might have started throwing a fist. Sneaking around an imperial battle station was not his idea of a good plan, and leaving their only chance of escape to some old guy Han didn't trust and fully believed to be mad, was even more unsettling. Still, it didn't seem like he had much of a choice. Solo would be the first to claim he was best at what he did, but what he did didn't include impossible getaways from the port of imperial arms stations.
"Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?" Ben asked, lifting himself out of the hold. Han shook his head as he watched the old man help the annoying golden droid out from the smuggler's hold.
*I say you're all fools,* Chewbacca cried, getting himself out of the compartment and going over to lift the smaller robot out as well.
"Well, good looks, great pilot skills, can't have everything buddy," Han retorted.
Ben shot him a look but otherwise ignored him. "Let's hurry. It won't be soon before Darth Vader realizes we're here."
Beside him, Luke's eyes lit up. "Darth Vader's HERE?" He asked, sounding way more excited then he should in Han's opinion. The space pirate had heard enough about the Emperor's accomplice to know that no one should be excited to meet up with him, especially not when that someone was on the run from the empire.
"All talk and propaganda," Han said, as Luke in his hurry to climb out of the hold managed to fall back in. Han didn't bother stopping a cheeky grin as the boy glared up at him. "Another follower of that crazy voodoo of yours."
"Perhaps," Ben said, sounding noncommittal on the subject. Han wondered if the guy ever got worked up over anything. "Anyway, we must hurry," Ben added, pulling his hood up and giving a small wave to Chewbacca. "Come over here and help me, my friend," Ben said, going over to the hatchway. Han had a bad feeling about what he was going to be wearing in the next few seconds.
"A hand?"
Han blinked, looking down. Luke was staring up at him, arms crossed over his chest and head tilted to the side so that Han could see his pout. His blue eyes were flickering up at Han, not bothering to hide his annoyance.
"What?" Solo asked, mildly confused. Was the kid actually talking about what he did down there? Han had to give him some credit. He figured the kid would be too embarrassed to ever bring it up.
"A hand," Luke repeated, holding up one of his own. "Up."
Oh. A hand.
_____________________________
"And you're going to be a help to the rebellion," Han scoffed, reaching down to take hold of Luke's hand. Luke growled, propelling himself off the floor as Han pulled him out of the compartment. It was a good thing Luke was too annoyed with Han to be embarrassed at the moment, because being too short to get himself out of a hold definitely qualified as humiliating. Right then, however, he was more concerned with glaring or ignoring Han than anything else.
He was trying, honestly trying, not to think of what had happened just moment earlier. Unfortunately, it was rather hard not to. Especially with Han helping him, his hand linked with Luke's, warmth spreading down Luke's arm and through his body.
It had to have been an accident, Luke repeated to himself for the millionth time in that minute. It was dark, no one could see. There were all these good, innocent reasons why Han had run his hand down Luke's chest, past his stomach and onto his thigh, pressing into him. Yes, tens of thousands of good reasons.
Then again, nothing about Han struck Luke as bring particularly innocent. Certainly not his smile, with his lips curling, showing his teeth as though he were about to bite, and definitely not the way he was pulling Luke to his feet right then. Luke was fine now, perfectly able to stand on his own, and he didn't need Han's hand on his hip to steady him as they both stood up. He didn't need Solo wrapping his arm around Luke's waist, resting his hand on the small of his back and letting it slip a few inches either.
Luke swallowed a yelp, barely stopping himself from jumping back and straight into the hold. Han smiled one of those smiles that made him look more than a little dangerous.
"I think they have a height requirement to fight against the rebellion," Han added with that all-too-cocky, half grin on his face.
Luke's mind tried to catch up with everything that was happening. It was almost as if Solo wanted to get himself snapped at again. Luke wasn't going to fail him, either. "Well at least-"
"Over here," Ben called, cutting Luke off before he could go into another one of his tirades. "And stay quiet," he added, huddling around the entryway.
Han rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered, removing his blaster and joining Chewbacca. "I never had this much trouble smuggling spice."
Luke stood where Han had left him, the cold air from the ship surrounding him now instead of Han's nice, soft heat. He was going mad. There was no other explanation for wanting a man like Han Solo. Totally, utterly mad.
Luke jumped at the sound of gunfire. He looked over to the entry, where Han and Chewie were standing over two Storm Troopers.
"Luke," Ben called again, holding up the mask of one of the troopers. Luke looked at him curiously, wandering over to where Han was already stripping another one bare. Ben handed him the mask. "Put this on," he explained, helping Luke with the rest of the uniform. It was uncomfortable but then again, what did one expect from a suit made to protect not to bend? Luke wasn't used to such heavy clothes. All his outfits were made for the deserts of Tatooine in loose and breathable materials.
"It's too big," Luke exclaimed, pulling the sleeve up so that he could get his fingers into place. Ben had to help him with the other arm. Close by, he heard Han give an amused snort as he put on his own uniform. Luke's glare was slightly hindered by the fact that Ben had slipped his helmet on.
The second the helmet fell into place, a voice rang over the intercom. "TX-four-one-two. Why aren't you at your post?"
Han signaled to follow him out of the ship. Luke gave a curt nod, falling behind the smuggler. He felt a shiver of excitement pass down his spine as he stood in the entryway, getting his first real look into the giant battle station that had captured the Millennium Falcon. His first time off Tatooine and he was about to set foot into an imperial station, dressed as a storm trooper, to try to vandalize a tractor beam, in the hope of escaping and joining a rebel fleet. Uncle Owen would not approve. Aunt Beru would be in tears, worried sick, as her boy started down the walkway.
Numbly, Luke watched Han signal something to the tower. For a pirate, he sure was being helpful. Part of Luke knew it was just because he wanted to get out of this situation alive preferably with his ship so he could get his money and be off, but that part was being oddly silent right now. Maybe that part of Han was being quiet right now too, and maybe he was doing it to help, because part of the captain wanted to make sure they got there safe and not just so they could hand over his payment.
Luke shook his head, waiting for the face of the commanding officer to disappear from the window. He wasn't having romanticized thoughts about some scoundrel who didn't look a bit out of place among the trash of grimy spaceports. He could care less if Han was acting out of greed. So what if maybe - just maybe - Han had managed to make him feel something down in that hold. None of that mattered and Luke shouldn't have been thinking about it.
Luke pouted, glad no one could see him through the heavy helmet. He shouldn't have been thinking about how much he enjoyed Han being close to him. Definitely shouldn't have been thinking about how good Solo had looked when he'd smiled down at Luke, arm resting around his waist and eyes practically glowing even as he insulted Luke. He really shouldn't have been considering that Han might have alternative motives for helping them out, nor should he have been hoping that one of them some how involved him.
Luke sighed, following the rest of the group as they headed up the corridors. It was official. Uncle Owen had been right about space doing strange things to people. Only one day away from Tatooine and already Luke had gone utterly mad.
Author: Stephanie
Title: Fix Up 2/3 - Crazy but Cute
Fandom: Star Wars
Pairing: Luke/Han
Rating: Pg-13
Disclaimer: I not only stole Lucas's characters, worlds, and ideas but managed to grab a few lines of his script on my way out the door as well.
Summary: Han is way to smart to let himself form attachments. But attachments and sex are two entirely different matters.
If there was one thing that Han had learned in all his years in space it was that attachments don't pay off. Make that two things. One, never leave the ship without a blaster and a good, strong drink; and two, attachments don't pay off. Not for guys like him. Maybe somewhere out there some guy was happier at home with a family or better off with someone always by his side, but not Han. Han wasn't a hero, a romantic, or an all-round good guy. He was a smuggler, one of the finest in the Galaxy, and he didn't have any use for something that didn't pay.
Well, that settled that.
Still, he could feel himself growing attached to the kid and that was deeply unsettling. It wasn't anything to worry about. Nothing serious. He wasn't about to claim he couldn't live without Luke by his side, because being that wrapped up in someone was just crazy and not Han's style at all. However, he could feel himself getting used to the kid's presence. Sure, he was annoying, moody and tended to over react to everything Han said, but maybe Han said half the things he did just so Luke would pout and argue with him. The kid was definitely determined, no matter how meek he might look at times, and that was something Han had to respect that, even if he didn't agree with a word the old man was telling Luke.
Why was he still thinking about this? Han sat down in his captain seat, readying the ship to leave hyperspace. In just a few moments they would pull into an Alderaan spaceport and then - poof - no more Luke. The thought left him feeling vaguely uneasy and that was what had led Han to remind himself about the reason for his lack of attachments in the first place.
Not counting the Falcon or his co-pilot, of course.
Two was enough. No need to complicate matters any further. So what if the kid was - it almost pained Han to think this - endearing. What did being endearing ever do for anyone? Han had never let himself find out and he figured now wasn't a good time to start. Not when he was about to abandon the kid and some older than dirt, crazy, old man and never look back.
That's the plan then, Solo.
"Stand by, Chewie, here we go. Cut in the sublight engines." Han steadied the ship. He and the Millennium Falcon were so in tune with each other, at least when his baby wasn't shot up by imperial cruisers, that he could have pulled this move in his sleep. It was a good thing, too, because his mind wasn't exactly on flying as he emerged into Alderaan's air space. It was still back in the lounge with his passengers - passengers he should have left stranded on Tattooine, even if they had offered a princess's reward for the flight. His ship had been shot up pretty badly though and after paying off Jabba, there was hardly going to be a penny left.
That's it, Solo. Concentrate on the money. Not Blue Eyes back there. No time to get attached.
No time at all. Alderaan was approaching, and pretty soon the kid would be a distant memory and Han would have a load of credits.
"What the...?" Han tightened his grip on the controls as the Falcon gave a violent jolt, making the earlier shaking seem like mere trembles. However, this time Han didn't have to search out the problem. "Aw, we've come out of hyperspace into a meteor shower. Some kind of asteroid collision. It's not on any of the charts."
Chewbacca growled something about the shields that Han missed as another quake passed through the ship. Wasn't this just his luck? First, what seemed like the entire piloting control system gave out under imperial fire and now the equipment that had managed to remain unscathed was being damaged by asteroids. Han trusted his ship to the last, but not even he was cocky enough to believe the Falcon could stand much more of this without giving out completely.
I would add control for clarity.
Seconds later, Luke entered the bridge, grabbing onto the back of Han's seat to keep himself steady as the meteors continued to pound into the ship. "What's going on?" he demanded.
Han would have rolled his eyes if he weren't so busy trying to keep his ship intact. What's going on? What does it look like, kid? Even some nobody teenager trapped on a desert planet for his whole life should have been able to recognize an asteroid field. "Our position is correct, except...no, Alderaan," Han said, scanning the equipment for some sign that it was faulty. No matter how bad it got Han had never taken a wrong turn, not unless it was on purpose. The Falcon took a few more hits before Han could steady its course. He glanced at the charts again actually hoping he'd misread them. The coordinates were right, but they had landed the ship in the middle of a meteor shower with no Alderaan in sight.
"What do you mean?" Luke asked. "Where is it?"
"That's what I'm trying to tell you, kid. It ain't there. It's been totally blown away." Everything checked out perfectly except that where a planet should have been, there was nothing but debris.
"What? How?"
"Destroyed," Ben said, walking into the cockpit looking unshaken as usual. Han half growled. He was trying to keep his ship together and figure out what was going on out in space and they were using the cockpit as a meet up center. Great. Why not invite the droids in as well? It could be a farewell party for the Falcon. "By the Empire!"
Han scuffed. "The entire starfleet couldn't destroy the whole planet," he said, ignoring what he had said earlier about the planet being blown up and the obvious evidence that Alderaan was, in fact, missing. "It'd take a thousand ships with more fire power than I've-" Han cut off as something entered the Falcon's radar screens. It was small, but it was definitely moving and not with the erratic jumps of a meteor. "There's another ship coming in."
"Maybe they know what happened."
It didn't sound likely to Han that anyone who knew how Alderaan had become a bunch of flying rocks in space would stick around to tell anyone about it. The old man was apparently thinking along the same lines. "It's an Imperial fighter."
*If he's right, we're in even more trouble,* Chewie growled.
"Yeah, yeah," Han muttered, about to add that the old man was clearly delusional and paranoid about the whole empire thing if he thought they could make an entire planet disappear, but at that moment a TIE fighter exploded onto screen.
"It followed us!" Luke cried, getting caught up in the old man's paranoia. Han bristled at the accusation. Nothing followed his ship. Especially not some short range TIE fighter. It couldn't have tailed the Millennium Falcon that far without a companion of some sort.
"No. It's a short range fighter." One of the first sensible things the old man had said yet.
"There aren't any bases around here," Han pointed out. "Where did it come from?"
"It sure is leaving in a big hurry," Luke said as the TIE blasted past them, not even taking a hit at the ship (which Han was more than thankful for - his poor baby had been through enough that day). "If they identify us, we're in big trouble."
"Not if I can help it." All right, maybe his pride was still a little hurt from being accused at dropping his cargo at the first sign of imperial ships - like it was his fault he was boarded - but he wasn't about to let some TIE turn him in. "Chewie, jam its transmissions."
"It'd be as well to let it go. It's too far out of range."
"Not for long..." Han turned the power up on the engines, fighting his way through the last of the asteroid field until he had a clear view of the smaller ship.
The TIE had size as its advantage, and it was definitely traveling faster than the Falcon, but Han didn't have to catch up with the ship, only get in range. That he could do easily. It was time to see if those thousands of credits worth of upgrades hadn't been wasted.
"Look at him," Luke cried, braking Han's concentration just as he was seconds from pulling in range. "He's headed for that small moon." Han actually looked up from his station. Alderaan didn't have any moons, and they couldn't possibly be close enough to Teilis to be coming up on one of theirs.
"That's no moon!" the old man claimed. "It's a space station."
"It's too big to be a space station." Han watched the giant orb as they drew closer. It was big enough to be a small moon at the least, and it was shaped to look like one as well. But the closer they got, the more Han could make out turrets too straight to be natural, and the craters weren't craters at all but long, deep crevices built into its surface. It was like someone had taken a moon and covered the entire structure in metal and battle stations.
"I have a very bad feeling about this," Luke said, breaking the almost hypnotic silence that had fallen over the cockpit as the massive space station came into view.
"Yeah, I think your right," Han muttered, tearing his eyes away from the station and getting ready to get himself and his ship as far away from it as possible. "Full reverse! Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power."
Solo set the ship to reverse as Chewbacca started up the support engines. The Millennium Falcon lurched as all its energy went towards escaping, but other than the violent sway, there was little sign that it had done anything at all.
"Why are we still moving towards it?"
"We're caught in a tractor beam! It's pulling us in!" This is what he got for transporting passengers. Avoid imperial entanglements. What could have possessed Han to say yes after that? Money was going to be all but useless if he got his ship quarantined. He didn't even want to think about what would happen to him. If these two were worth as much energy as the empire seemed to be putting into capturing them he was in serious trouble.
"But there's gotta be something you can do!" Luke whined.
"There's nothin' I can do about it, kid. I'm in full power," The ship was trying to fight the station's tractor beam but all it was doing was hurting the equipment. "I'm going to have to shut down. But they're not going to get me without a fight!"
Han turned around, ready to meet the imperial guards at the doors. Hells if he was going to just sit back and let himself get captured. They might have caught his ship, but he was going to get a shot at a few of those boys before he let them lay a hand on it.
Han was halfway out of his seat when a warm touch settled onto his shoulder accompanied by a feeling of tranquility. Han shook his head to help clear it away, and soon enough the sentiment had vanished back to wherever it had come from.
"You can't win," Ben said, his hand still resting on Han's shoulder, which was inexplicably making the Corellian feel uncomfortable. His instincts were telling him that if he dropped his guard the crazy old guy would pull something - which was crazy considering Han had all the advantages physically. "But there are alternatives to fighting."
"Like what?" Han growled, shrugging his shoulder out of Ben's grasp. He shot the old man a suspicious look as he wrapped his fingers tightly around the blaster hanging at his hips, his eyes daring Ben to try and tell him what to do. Ben held his gaze, looking utterly unshaken by Han's threat, which only served to annoy Han further. This was Han's ship and the only person allowed to give orders was him, dammit.
Between them, Luke's eyes went wide. "They're pulling us in!" The kid exclaimed, leaning over Han to point out of the observation window and nearly knocking the pilot back into his seat as he did so. Han cursed, breaking eye contact with the old man to catch himself on the back of his seat.
"Tell us something we don't know, kid," Solo spat, but he could see what Luke meant. The port doors were opening and if they didn't do something soon they weren't going to stand a chance. Han looked back at Ben, who was watching all this with that same calm expression he had been wearing since they first meant up at the Cantina - and wasn't it just as annoying as ever?
"Do you have somewhere we can hide?" Ben asked. "They're likely to search the ship. They probably already know that this is the same ship that left Mos Eilsey." Han rolled his eyes, giving an over dramatic sigh as he lolled his head back. All this trouble for twenty thousand credits he was probably never going to get a chance to see?
"We're almost there," Luke warned, leaning even further over Han, almost close enough to press his face up against the glass. Han followed the kid's eyes to a group of Storm Troopers standing guard at the port. He did a double take, swallowing past a small lump in his throat. Whatever these two had done, they had managed to seriously piss off the empire.
Maybe, just maybe, it would be best to listen to the old guy, just this once, because Han really wanted to get out of this mess with his life, if not his ship. "Yeah, I've got-"
At that moment the ride got a little rougher. The Falcon entered the station, jerking as the tractor beam pulled it to the ground. Han tightened his hold on the back of the chair, keeping himself from falling into the seat It might have worked had Luke not given a small yelp and nearly tumbled onto the control panel. Without thinking, Han reached out to grab hold of the kid. The next jolt sent him back into his seat with a painful thud and a lap full of Luke.
Han growled again, reaching behind him to rub his back which had met the armrest. This brought him into closer contact with Luke - who was struggling to get himself upright again having fallen sideways across Han. Luke was now hovering over Han's lap and had managed to angle himself to see through the cockpit window and out onto the troops below.
Wasn't it just Han's luck? Here he was in the hands of the imperial army, transporting a bunch of wanted rebels, having escaped from capture just hours before, with a warrant on his own head and now his body decided what he really wanted, more than money, freedom, and a really stiff drink, was Luke to stay exactly where he was.
"What was that?" Luke asked. Thanks to the Goddess, the kid had other things on his mind (like the fact that we're about to be arrested?) and hadn't noticed anything. You old pervert. Keep your mind on the job.
"Come on," Han said, grunting as he half lifted Luke off him. Chewie gave a displeased growl as the kid almost landed on his lap but Han shot him a look. Now was definitely not the time to be complaining. "They're gonna be boarding any second now."
Ben nodded and stepped aside, allowing Han to hurry out to the corridors with Luke at his heels. Honestly, didn't the kid ever get tired of being so damn enthusiastic?
"Where are we going?" Luke asked, nearly colliding with Han, who suddenly stopped to keep himself from crashing into R2. The astrodroid gave a few whistles which Han was pretty sure meant absolutely nothing.
"What my counterpart means..." Han rolled his eyes as the gold droid appeared from around the corner. Without listening to another word he shoved past it, heading towards the entryway, leaving the others to follow him and hopefully stop their yapping. The subtle hints apparently went right over the robot's head. "...Is that he believes we maybe in some amount of trouble. It seems your ship-"
"Nah, really?" Han snapped. He kicked at one of the floor tiles, breaking it away from the rest with the tip of his boot. "Thanks for stating the obvious, metal head. Now get in there." Han drew a little pleasure from pushing the slightly confused and still chattering C-3PO into the hold. Turning around, he looked at the shorter droid. "You, too," he said, motioning to the open floorboard. The thing gave a few more of those overly annoying beeps and whistles.
"Be careful with that one," Ben said, appearing from behind the corner along with Chewie. "He's very important."
If Han were slightly less sane, he would have sworn the next whistle from the small 'bot actually meant he was proud of himself. Han shook his head. His mom had been right. All this time in space was going to drive him mad. "Hey, Chewie, help me out here, would ya pal?"
Together Han and Chewbacca managed to lower the little droid into the hidden storage space. Han said a quick prayer, hoping that they had dropped the whistling one on top of the talking one, because as annoying as the astrodroid was, it was nothing compared to the protocol droid, who seemed to take great pleasure in talking as much as possible.
"Stay quiet down there!" Han called down as Ben dropped himself into the hatch. He moved the floor plate back into place as Chewie opened another up. The wookiee looked down into the dark hold and growled.
*I hate tight places,* Chewbacca complained.
Han rolled his eyes. "Better than the jail cell they have set aside for us, buddy." Chewie agreed, hopping into the hold. "And just remember, you're the one who thought it be such an ingenious idea to play passenger line," Han added once his friend had disappeared into the deep compartment.
Han looked up and found Luke staring at the doorway. "They're coming up," he said as the hatch began to open. Han reached across, grabbed Luke's arm and pulled the kid back towards him.
"Well then, hurry up," Han suggested, shoving Luke down with Chewbacca. He took another glance at the entry, which was now partially open. He could hear the troopers getting ready to board his ship and do who knows what to it, trying to find Luke and the rest of them.
Force, Goddess, or whatever the hell there may be up there, don't let them hurt my baby, Han thought before jumping into the hold and closing the lid tight over their heads.
It was dark. Han blinked a couple of times trying to let his eyes adjust from the bright corridors of the Millennium Falcon to the sudden lack of light. There wasn't so much as an emergency bulb down in the hold, however, and all the blinking in the world wasn't going to do anything. Han shifted uncomfortable, reaching out a steady hand to try and find a wall of some type. This was not the kind of situation a guy like him liked to be in. He hadn't lied to Ben when he told the old man he depend one hundred percent on himself and his skill. Some good that was to him when he couldn't see anything.
Solo's fingers brushed against a clump of rough fur, followed by a low mewl. "Shh," Han whispered. Chewie didn't answer.
He moved backwards a few steps before knocking into something warm. "He-" Luke protested, and Han nearly threw his hand over the kid's mouth. As it was, he couldn't see the kid, so he ended up catching him in the throat instead. Still, Luke cut himself off. Even in the dark, Han could tell everything had gone completely still. Above them was the sound of heavy boots. Han held his breath, and beneath his fingers he could feel Luke's pulse speed up. The Storm Troopers were right above them, one of them ordering the others into pairs to check the entire ship.
As the noise faded away Han let his shoulders slump and the air raced from his lungs. Next to him he could hear Luke do much the same. "Are they gone?" Luke whispered, voice quiet enough that Solo had to strain to hear it.
"A few more minutes," Han replied. "We'll wait until they come back. No sense in hiding if we're just going to pop up the second they're done searching my ship."
There was a few more seconds silence before Luke spoke up again. "Han?"
Honestly, he was almost as bad as that gold mouth they'd brought with them. Was there no such thing as hiding back on Tatooine? "What?" Han snapped, maybe a bit too fiercely considering the circumstance. He could feel Luke jump ever so slightly and instantly felt a twinge of guilt for being so hard on the kid. "What?" He repeated, softer this time. No need to frighten the boy more than he already was.
"Do you think you could..." Luke trailed off, moving around a bit like was nervous. Han really wished he could see the kid's face right then to figure out what was going on. As it was, he just stayed completely still and waited for Luke to finish his thought. "Do you think you could let go of my neck?"
"What?" Han asked, frowning in confusion - not that the kid could see any better than he could in the pitch-black compartment. "Oh," Solo was glad it was dark and the kid couldn't tell he was slightly embarrassed. Right, his hand was still resting against Luke's neck, well almost on his chest now. It's not like he had forgotten, but the touch was the one thing keeping him aware of Luke and it had been all too easy to exchange his sight for the sense of touch.
Solo didn't apologize, but started to move his hand away from Luke's neck before pausing. Here they were in total darkness waiting for those damn troopers to finish searching his ship - and who knew how long that was going to take - with nothing better to do than keep completely quiet. Luke couldn't see Han, had probably figured out by now than Han couldn't see him either. Solo had already managed to grab the kid's throat, proving that his aim in the dark wasn't all that great. It wasn't like Han was going to get either of them hurt. If the worst came to worst, Luke would get angry and insulted again. What was a little fun at the kid's expense?
Well, Han reminded himself of all the other times in the last few hours he managed to get under the kid's skin. What was some more fun at the kid's expense?
Solo moved his hand, but not exactly away from Luke. He loosened his grip on the kid's neck, letting his hand fall away from the exposed skin and brush against the rough material of Luke's tunic. His palm traced a slow path down Luke's chest, pausing for a second over his heart. Han could tell it was his heart because even without pressing hard against the boy's body he could feel the erratic beating. He left himself give a cocky half grin, knowing full and well Luke couldn't see his expression. He wasn't even to the best part yet and the kid was already fired up.
Han let his hand ghost down further, taking a straight path that could almost be excused as him just dropping his hand and not thinking about it, only his touch was just a little too firm and much too slow. Han added a little more pressure as his palm came to rest on Luke's thigh. He could feel the kid's muscles tighten as he drew in a small, chocked breath.
There was a thundering sound of boots overhead.
Solo dropped his hand away from Luke's warm body. Through the darkness and over the sound of a Storm Trooper's communicators he could hear Luke's heavy breathing. Han was still smiling that over confident grin. He figured Luke would slap it off him if he'd been able to see it but there was no way Han was going to apologize for having his fun. He remembered what had happened the last time he'd tried to apologize to Luke and didn't feel up to having the kid snap at him again. He still wasn't sure what had caused Luke's last outburst.
Thinking about that made him thankful that the Storm Troopers were right above them. Luke couldn't do anything that might draw their attention to the floor. Not even the kid was that crazy.
Han said a small prayer of thanks that the kid wasn't that crazy.
"No one in the bridge," One of the voices above head said.
"All right then. The ship is clear. It must have been a decoy," another one (sounding almost identical) replied. Han closed his eyes - not that it made any difference - as the sound of the boots grew dimmer.
*They're gone,* Chewie growled, though he was still being much quieter than usual. Han couldn't blame him. They were used to being in life-or-death situations but sitting docked on a giant battle station while hiding from the empire wasn't exactly their normal routine.
"Okay," Han said, stepping sideways away from Luke. "Let's get out of here."
The Corillian felt above his head until his hands found the smooth metal of the floorboard. "Got it, Chewie?" he called, receiving a positive yowl, "On my count."
Han closed his eyes the second the floor was removed, light quickly flooding into the blackness of the hold. With another heave the metal plate was completely removed. Across from them the old man and droids emerged as well.
"Boy, it's lucky you had these compartments," Luke said, not quite meeting Han's face. The boy's cheeks were a slightly brighter shade of red than Han ever remembered seeing them.
"I use them for smuggling," Han explained. "I never thought I'd be smuggling myself in them. This is ridiculous. Even if I could take off, I'd never get past the tractor beam." Solo bit down on his lower lip, recalling how even from far out he hadn't been able to fight the pull of the station. No way was he going to get out of here without a fight. Hiding had only bought them a little time. He should have blasted those Storm Troopers when he had his chance. No, he'd listen to the old fool who thought he could get them out of this mess without a fight, it seemed.
"Leave that to me," Ben said on cue.
"Damn fool. I knew that you were going to say that!" Han spat. He wasn't feeling very congenial at the moment and it was probably a good thing that the man was old and there was a floor panel between them or Han might have started throwing a fist. Sneaking around an imperial battle station was not his idea of a good plan, and leaving their only chance of escape to some old guy Han didn't trust and fully believed to be mad, was even more unsettling. Still, it didn't seem like he had much of a choice. Solo would be the first to claim he was best at what he did, but what he did didn't include impossible getaways from the port of imperial arms stations.
"Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?" Ben asked, lifting himself out of the hold. Han shook his head as he watched the old man help the annoying golden droid out from the smuggler's hold.
*I say you're all fools,* Chewbacca cried, getting himself out of the compartment and going over to lift the smaller robot out as well.
"Well, good looks, great pilot skills, can't have everything buddy," Han retorted.
Ben shot him a look but otherwise ignored him. "Let's hurry. It won't be soon before Darth Vader realizes we're here."
Beside him, Luke's eyes lit up. "Darth Vader's HERE?" He asked, sounding way more excited then he should in Han's opinion. The space pirate had heard enough about the Emperor's accomplice to know that no one should be excited to meet up with him, especially not when that someone was on the run from the empire.
"All talk and propaganda," Han said, as Luke in his hurry to climb out of the hold managed to fall back in. Han didn't bother stopping a cheeky grin as the boy glared up at him. "Another follower of that crazy voodoo of yours."
"Perhaps," Ben said, sounding noncommittal on the subject. Han wondered if the guy ever got worked up over anything. "Anyway, we must hurry," Ben added, pulling his hood up and giving a small wave to Chewbacca. "Come over here and help me, my friend," Ben said, going over to the hatchway. Han had a bad feeling about what he was going to be wearing in the next few seconds.
"A hand?"
Han blinked, looking down. Luke was staring up at him, arms crossed over his chest and head tilted to the side so that Han could see his pout. His blue eyes were flickering up at Han, not bothering to hide his annoyance.
"What?" Solo asked, mildly confused. Was the kid actually talking about what he did down there? Han had to give him some credit. He figured the kid would be too embarrassed to ever bring it up.
"A hand," Luke repeated, holding up one of his own. "Up."
Oh. A hand.
_____________________________
"And you're going to be a help to the rebellion," Han scoffed, reaching down to take hold of Luke's hand. Luke growled, propelling himself off the floor as Han pulled him out of the compartment. It was a good thing Luke was too annoyed with Han to be embarrassed at the moment, because being too short to get himself out of a hold definitely qualified as humiliating. Right then, however, he was more concerned with glaring or ignoring Han than anything else.
He was trying, honestly trying, not to think of what had happened just moment earlier. Unfortunately, it was rather hard not to. Especially with Han helping him, his hand linked with Luke's, warmth spreading down Luke's arm and through his body.
It had to have been an accident, Luke repeated to himself for the millionth time in that minute. It was dark, no one could see. There were all these good, innocent reasons why Han had run his hand down Luke's chest, past his stomach and onto his thigh, pressing into him. Yes, tens of thousands of good reasons.
Then again, nothing about Han struck Luke as bring particularly innocent. Certainly not his smile, with his lips curling, showing his teeth as though he were about to bite, and definitely not the way he was pulling Luke to his feet right then. Luke was fine now, perfectly able to stand on his own, and he didn't need Han's hand on his hip to steady him as they both stood up. He didn't need Solo wrapping his arm around Luke's waist, resting his hand on the small of his back and letting it slip a few inches either.
Luke swallowed a yelp, barely stopping himself from jumping back and straight into the hold. Han smiled one of those smiles that made him look more than a little dangerous.
"I think they have a height requirement to fight against the rebellion," Han added with that all-too-cocky, half grin on his face.
Luke's mind tried to catch up with everything that was happening. It was almost as if Solo wanted to get himself snapped at again. Luke wasn't going to fail him, either. "Well at least-"
"Over here," Ben called, cutting Luke off before he could go into another one of his tirades. "And stay quiet," he added, huddling around the entryway.
Han rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered, removing his blaster and joining Chewbacca. "I never had this much trouble smuggling spice."
Luke stood where Han had left him, the cold air from the ship surrounding him now instead of Han's nice, soft heat. He was going mad. There was no other explanation for wanting a man like Han Solo. Totally, utterly mad.
Luke jumped at the sound of gunfire. He looked over to the entry, where Han and Chewie were standing over two Storm Troopers.
"Luke," Ben called again, holding up the mask of one of the troopers. Luke looked at him curiously, wandering over to where Han was already stripping another one bare. Ben handed him the mask. "Put this on," he explained, helping Luke with the rest of the uniform. It was uncomfortable but then again, what did one expect from a suit made to protect not to bend? Luke wasn't used to such heavy clothes. All his outfits were made for the deserts of Tatooine in loose and breathable materials.
"It's too big," Luke exclaimed, pulling the sleeve up so that he could get his fingers into place. Ben had to help him with the other arm. Close by, he heard Han give an amused snort as he put on his own uniform. Luke's glare was slightly hindered by the fact that Ben had slipped his helmet on.
The second the helmet fell into place, a voice rang over the intercom. "TX-four-one-two. Why aren't you at your post?"
Han signaled to follow him out of the ship. Luke gave a curt nod, falling behind the smuggler. He felt a shiver of excitement pass down his spine as he stood in the entryway, getting his first real look into the giant battle station that had captured the Millennium Falcon. His first time off Tatooine and he was about to set foot into an imperial station, dressed as a storm trooper, to try to vandalize a tractor beam, in the hope of escaping and joining a rebel fleet. Uncle Owen would not approve. Aunt Beru would be in tears, worried sick, as her boy started down the walkway.
Numbly, Luke watched Han signal something to the tower. For a pirate, he sure was being helpful. Part of Luke knew it was just because he wanted to get out of this situation alive preferably with his ship so he could get his money and be off, but that part was being oddly silent right now. Maybe that part of Han was being quiet right now too, and maybe he was doing it to help, because part of the captain wanted to make sure they got there safe and not just so they could hand over his payment.
Luke shook his head, waiting for the face of the commanding officer to disappear from the window. He wasn't having romanticized thoughts about some scoundrel who didn't look a bit out of place among the trash of grimy spaceports. He could care less if Han was acting out of greed. So what if maybe - just maybe - Han had managed to make him feel something down in that hold. None of that mattered and Luke shouldn't have been thinking about it.
Luke pouted, glad no one could see him through the heavy helmet. He shouldn't have been thinking about how much he enjoyed Han being close to him. Definitely shouldn't have been thinking about how good Solo had looked when he'd smiled down at Luke, arm resting around his waist and eyes practically glowing even as he insulted Luke. He really shouldn't have been considering that Han might have alternative motives for helping them out, nor should he have been hoping that one of them some how involved him.
Luke sighed, following the rest of the group as they headed up the corridors. It was official. Uncle Owen had been right about space doing strange things to people. Only one day away from Tatooine and already Luke had gone utterly mad.