Chips Are Down (Star Wars, Lando/Han, #630)
Title: Chips Are Down
Fandom: Star Wars
Challenge: #630 Chips
Pairings: Lando/Han
Rating: PG
Words: 494
Lando drops another couple of credit chips on to the table, raising the pot. It’s not much, only a few hundred. But Han’s wry smirk, the way he leans back in his chair and throws an arm across the back, it’s a very particular kind of tell.
Han uses bravado the same way Lando uses a smooth demeanour and clever words, so it’s no easy thing to read through that cockiness - it’s a well-practiced mask. If this were a serious game, Han would be doing a better job at hiding his thoughts. But this is a friendly game, to pass the time if nothing else, and Han is relaxed and apparently carefree about letting Lando see his predicament.
“You’re out?” Lando asks, letting it be a question rather than a statement, and he already knows how Han will react. The spread of Han’s hands, the unaffected shrug, the wide grin; all so familiar.
Han’s letting him see this, is making himself practically transparent.
Which means the man has something else up his sleeve.
“I’m out,” Han agrees. He shifts, leans forward, elbows on the table. Smile taking that innocent edge Lando knows so well, which means what’s coming next is anything but innocent. “Out of chips, that is. But maybe I’ve got something else of value to you.”
Ah, there it is. It’ll be trouble, whatever Han’s offering. A cargo he can’t shift, something too dangerous, too hot. Something he needs gone in a hurry, something Lando knows better than to accept, but will be interesting enough to make him consider it despite the warning sirens.
“What are you offering?” Lando asks, shuffling the deck absentmindedly. Keeping his voice business-like, despite the hint of playfulness in his eyes.
Han sits back in his chair again, head tilted, smile darker now, eyes hooded. “How about my mouth?”
Lando’s hands don’t twitch around the cards. He doesn’t blink, doesn’t suck in a quick breath. He’s a professional gambler; he doesn’t let his emotions show that easily. Despite that, Han still looks at him like he can see the way Lando’s pulse just sped up.
So it’s that kind of trouble. It’s always been Lando’s favourite kind.
He inclines his chin towards the pot. “You think it’s worth that much?” Lando questions lazily, just to get the sharp bark of Han’s laughter.
“Lando, you’re getting the bargain of the century here.”
Lando swallows down his grin, sabacc-face firmly in place, and begins to deal.
He wins, same way he’s been winning all night. Han doesn’t look the slightest bit disappointed.
Lando stands, crosses around the table. Han turns in his chair, just as cocky and assured as ever, pressing into Lando’s palm when he cups Han’s jaw. Eyelashes fluttering a little when Lando strokes his thumb over Han’s lower lip.
“You gonna be quiet and let me inspect the merchandise?” Lando deadpans.
Han smiles hungrily around the finger Lando presses between his lips. A bargain, indeed.
Fandom: Star Wars
Challenge: #630 Chips
Pairings: Lando/Han
Rating: PG
Words: 494
Lando drops another couple of credit chips on to the table, raising the pot. It’s not much, only a few hundred. But Han’s wry smirk, the way he leans back in his chair and throws an arm across the back, it’s a very particular kind of tell.
Han uses bravado the same way Lando uses a smooth demeanour and clever words, so it’s no easy thing to read through that cockiness - it’s a well-practiced mask. If this were a serious game, Han would be doing a better job at hiding his thoughts. But this is a friendly game, to pass the time if nothing else, and Han is relaxed and apparently carefree about letting Lando see his predicament.
“You’re out?” Lando asks, letting it be a question rather than a statement, and he already knows how Han will react. The spread of Han’s hands, the unaffected shrug, the wide grin; all so familiar.
Han’s letting him see this, is making himself practically transparent.
Which means the man has something else up his sleeve.
“I’m out,” Han agrees. He shifts, leans forward, elbows on the table. Smile taking that innocent edge Lando knows so well, which means what’s coming next is anything but innocent. “Out of chips, that is. But maybe I’ve got something else of value to you.”
Ah, there it is. It’ll be trouble, whatever Han’s offering. A cargo he can’t shift, something too dangerous, too hot. Something he needs gone in a hurry, something Lando knows better than to accept, but will be interesting enough to make him consider it despite the warning sirens.
“What are you offering?” Lando asks, shuffling the deck absentmindedly. Keeping his voice business-like, despite the hint of playfulness in his eyes.
Han sits back in his chair again, head tilted, smile darker now, eyes hooded. “How about my mouth?”
Lando’s hands don’t twitch around the cards. He doesn’t blink, doesn’t suck in a quick breath. He’s a professional gambler; he doesn’t let his emotions show that easily. Despite that, Han still looks at him like he can see the way Lando’s pulse just sped up.
So it’s that kind of trouble. It’s always been Lando’s favourite kind.
He inclines his chin towards the pot. “You think it’s worth that much?” Lando questions lazily, just to get the sharp bark of Han’s laughter.
“Lando, you’re getting the bargain of the century here.”
Lando swallows down his grin, sabacc-face firmly in place, and begins to deal.
He wins, same way he’s been winning all night. Han doesn’t look the slightest bit disappointed.
Lando stands, crosses around the table. Han turns in his chair, just as cocky and assured as ever, pressing into Lando’s palm when he cups Han’s jaw. Eyelashes fluttering a little when Lando strokes his thumb over Han’s lower lip.
“You gonna be quiet and let me inspect the merchandise?” Lando deadpans.
Han smiles hungrily around the finger Lando presses between his lips. A bargain, indeed.