Playlist:

❶ "Shootout in the Cell Bay/Dianoga Medley"—A New Hope OST

⊘ Silence

❷ "Han Solo and the Princess"—The Empire Strikes Back OST

❶ Leia clutched Han as they ran, his large hand encompassing her dainty fingers. Dust swirled around the couple while they sprinted toward the Millennium Falcon. 

I finally get a quiet moment and some decent food over at that cantina, and then this happens. Han Solo, when we get out of this mess—Leia gasped as she pushed over the table and raced down the cantina's ramp.

Han jumped as laser fire swept his ankles. His head grazed the swinging sign of Pablo's Pawn Shop.

"What's going on?" She ducked as a bolt shot past her ear.

Han clenched her hand tighter, dragging her across the tarmac. "No time to explain." He pushed her up the ramp before running to the cockpit. "Just get in there." 

The green Rodian proprietor poked out his long snout and swiveled his saucer-like antenna toward the couple. His suction-cup fingers squeezed the trigger of his assault blaster while his gang of degenerates fired at the Falcon.

"What did you do?" Leia craned her neck out the cockpit viewport. "They're shooting at us."

Han leaned over to the copilot's station and stabbed a few buttons. "Nothing the shields can't handle."

"Oh, yeah, what about that?"

"What?" Han's eyes widened as a Trandoshan lifted an electromagnetic pulse launcher.

When the humongous lizard grinned, it revealed pointed teeth—similar to the toothy necklace around its collar. The alien aimed down the barrel and squeezed the trigger.

"Strap yourself in. We're taking off." Han flicked four switches and pulled on the yoke.

The Falcon's lights flickered as the shields absorbed the first wave. A frightful explosion of golden sparks rushed over the cockpit.

"Shields at twenty, Han." Leia's fingers dug into the console as she bit her lower lip. "One more hit, and we're done for."

She toggled a switch to open the hidden guns on the belly. When the Falcon lurched upward, she fired at the pirates. One flew backward on impact, and the others scattered for cover on the dock.

"Aim at their ships."

Leia adjusted her sights and targeted the nearest vessel, then shot. Her quarry erupted into white and red particles, bursting into a golden plume that shook the Falcon. The explosion encompassed the freighter's hull as it climbed through the debris.

A second ship deflected the laser bolts, the shields absorbing each detonation as the engine thrust grew brighter.

The princess bit her lip and swiped a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Han, this one's firing up his engines. Do something."

"Once we make the jump to hyperspace, we'll lose—"

The navicomputer clanged an alert.

"Hang on!" Han yelled.

Another ion blast approached the Falcon, the waves pulsing larger the closer it reached. He throttled the hyperdrive levers. The view changed from a dark star field to long pinpoints, settling into the welcoming blue geometric planes of hyperspace.

⊘ He smirked at his wife as he swiveled in his chair to her. "Told you we'd lose them."

Leia raised her eyebrows at him. She shook her head and left the cockpit with a huff.

"Now what?" He tracked her down the corridor to the lounge.

She sunk to the acceleration couch and crossed her legs, glaring at him. "I was hoping for something a little more romantic than outrunning bounty hunters and pirates on our honeymoon." She swiveled her head and raised her eyebrows. "When you said we'd travel the galaxy, I didn't expect it to be a trip down smuggler's lane."

Han sat beside her, playing with a wisp of hair that escaped her braided crown. He whispered in her ear. "It was worth it. Trust me."

"If you say so."

❷ "Trust me." Han ran his finger from the base of her neck to her wrist. With his other hand, he pulled something out of his pocket.

Leia rotated her head, eyes popping wide at an ornate necklace dangling from Han's fingers. When its herringbone design glinted in the harsh lighting, she skipped a breath.

"For you."

She shook her head, pushing his hand away. "You think I'm going to wear stolen goods? I'm a senator."

"Look at it."

Leia turned her head, examining the piece. She put her hand behind the jewel, lifting it. Intricate yellow zlato formed the base of the necklace with deep red indranil stones sparkling along it. In the center, a gigantic teardrop of a perfect indranil hung. She exhaled a long sigh. "The Fire of Hope. How did you ever find this? It's been gone . . . fifteen years."

He smirked at her as she fingered the gems. "Being a scoundrel has some benefits. Hondo bragged about the job for years. And only one person could afford to buy it."

"Gardulla the Hutt."

"And now it's returned to its rightful owner." He lifted the necklace, undoing the clasp and hanging it around her neck.

"No, I can't wear this. Only the queen—" Leia bit back the tears as she remembered the last time she saw these jewels hanging on her mother, Breha, the Queen of Alderaan.

"Last I checked, that's you." He fastened the heavy pendant around her neck.

"I've never been coronated, Han. And, besides, I prefer 'senator.'"

"To me, you'll always be royalty, Your Highnessness." He ran his tongue across her lips.

Leia pulled away and tilted her chin. She narrowed her eyes. "Well, you'd better take me to Hosnian, or I'll reactivate Threepio for the rest of the trip."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me." Leia winked at him.

"Hosnian it is, but first—" He lifted her from the couch and carried her to the captain's quarters. "I'd like to see you in this necklace . . . and nothing else."

Leia grabbed his lower lip in a playful bite before mashing hers to his. "You scoundrel."

Did you know . . .

● Han and Leia's honeymoon lasts two months. No Chewie, no Threepio (well, a deactivated Threepio), no Artoo, no Luke. Just the two of them . . . and pirates on their tails.

Tell me what you think . . .

● What do you think is Han's love language?