Disclaimer: I may not own this, but it's sure fun to play with.

Also, to anyone following my other story, The Invitation, I will update it soon - got sidetracked by family stuff, then it got too wordy and I had to edit it, so I had to put it down for a little bit. I promise a new (sexy) chapter within the month.

I actually found this story when I was writing that new chapter. This story is shorter and will be complete in a couple of chapters. Rated T for now, but M in the next 2 chapters.

Oh, and it again follows the AU because that's when I wrote it. I believe Zolo77 called it Lucas' Universe (LU) and I would like to adopt that to my stories as well - as George intended! (I thought that was the perfect way to put it - thanks Zolo77 if you read this.)

LEIA'S VERY BAD DAY

Leia Organa Solo sighed deeply as she looked around the council table. The Friday morning meeting was running into its second hour, thanks to Admiral Ackbar and Borsk Fey'lya's bickering over a recent visit to the planet of Farina. Several times Mon Mothma had tried to steer the meeting back to order, but then one of the two would begin again. Perfect, Leia thought. The week had been filled with awkward, tense meetings with the Farins, late nights negotiating contracts, after-hours gatherings for visiting dignitaries and the like, and she'd hardly seen her husband since he'd gotten back from another short contact mission a few days ago. All she wanted when she got home tonight, was to have dinner, take a nice, hot, bubble bath, and watch old holovids. And she planned on doing all of those things with Han.

As Senator Fey'lya started to babble again about some minor point of contention, Leia's over-worked mind began to wander. She envisioned herself and Han in a tub of steaming bathwater, glasses of wine left forgotten on the floor tiles, their naked, soapy bodies entangled and writhing against each other… Suddenly she was jolted her out of her little daydream by the mention of her name and she blushed at having been caught unawares, desperately hoping there hadn't been a lustful smirk on her face. Mon and several others scowled at her and by the time the meeting ended an hour and a half later, she'd been yelled at about the terms of agreement, accused of inaccurate research on the Farins, and assigned the task of negotiating another contract. Any romantic notions had been swept aside by the beginning of a headache starting in the back of her eyes. And she had yet to meet with Threkin Horm regarding Alderaanian business before lunch. Whenever that would be.

Around two o'clock that afternoon, Leia finally got a few minutes for lunch. She slumped into her office, head pounding, and had her assistant bring her a small Ciralian salad and a large diet purple fizz. The telecom buzzed on her fourth bite and she had half a mind to ignore it when she realized it was Han. Nice to know the Force is good for something, she thought and answered the 'com. All the weariness of the day (so far), and the throbbing around her eyes began to ease as Han's handsome face filled the little screen on her desk.

"Hey, sweetheart. I tried to call you a couple hours ago. Busy day?" he asked, wearing his familiar lopsided grin.

"Aren't they all? I'm so glad you called and that it's Friday. How'd you know to call me now?" Just looking at him made her feel better. She actually found herself smiling back, which was unusual after a meeting with Threkin Horm.

"Had your assistant call me when you got in. Uh, listen, Lando dropped by. He's got some business here the next couple of weeks. Chewie and Luke and I are checking out his new pleasure yacht. You should see it. It looks like something out of those old Chiz Mordagon go-go holoflicks from years ago. See?" He rotated his 'com around to give her a look. She saw a lot of shiny chrome, aqua colored vinyl, and a white shag rug.

Leia gave a short laugh and rolled her eyes. "That's Lando all right."

Back in view, he grinned, "Yeah. Well, just wanted to let you know the guys and I were going to hit the town tonight, maybe set up a sabacc game or something, so I'll be out kinda late." Faintly, somewhere out of her line of vision, she could hear Lando say, "Han Solo has to check with the wife? What is the galaxy coming to?"

"Oh," Leia said, suddenly feeling deflated. "Okay." She tried not to sound too disappointed. Before they got married, they'd both agreed that they loved the life they had together and they didn't want to change it or each other. And she refused to be one of those clingy, high-maintenance wives who nagged and demanded her husband's undivided attention all the time. So if Han wanted a guys' night out once in a while, she wasn't going to stop him. No matter how bad her day was going.

Han dropped his smile, his hazel eyes searching her brown ones. "We didn't have plans, did we?"

"No, honey. It's . . . it's been a long day. I've got another meeting this afternoon, a couple of debriefings, and I still have some reports to review. You go. Have fun. But not too much fun," she said attempting to sound glib, but when she saw his look of concern, she added, "I mean it. Really." She tried not to squirm or look away as he studied her for a moment more.

"You okay?" Han cocked his head, assuming his smug who-do-you-think-you're-trying-to-fool look, squinting his eyes a little for good measure.

Leia hesitated. I can't hide anything from him; he knows me too well, she thought with a mixture of affection and exasperation. She let out a breath and said evenly, "I'm fine. Just . . . tired. There's so much going on here, I guess I'm a bit stressed out." Her eyes drifted down to the mess of flimsies on her desk for a second, but she looked up quickly and added with a wan smile, "But I'm not upset, if that's what you're thinking. So, you go out with the boys and have a good time. But don't do anything to get yourself into trouble, and don't get my brother drunk. And tell Lando, I heard him."

Han broke into a smile and shook his head. "No promises, Princess. You and I both know the chances of me getting into trouble are pretty good, and as for Luke, he's a lot of fun when he's drunk." This time, she heard Luke's muffled voice exclaim, "Hey!" in the background.

Leia laughed, "Yes, I remember the last time. Am I going to have to ask Chewie to keep an eye on all of you?"

"Ah, there's my girl," Han drawled. "You know, you could come with us, cut loose, have a little fun."

She smiled at him and shook her head fondly and thought, Only Han Solo would invite his wife to tag along on a guys' night out. That was just one of the many reasons she loved him so much. "I appreciate the invitation, but tonight I really just feel like going home and watching an old romantic holovid while I soak in the tub."

Han tilted his head and quirked his lip, thinking. "Okay, sweetheart," he finally said. "You go home and relax. And don't let them rope you into another late night again – you need to take some time for yourself, too, you know."

"I know, I know," she said, feeling her headache beginning to creep back, this time behind ears and around her jaw. "I'm leaving at six. Seven at the latest."

He frowned. "Leia," he warned, drawing out her name with a low, disapproving growl.

"Okay, okay, six. Sheesh," she relented.

Han, still dubious, raised an eyebrow. "Promise?" He knew her all right.

"I will, if you promise not to get out of hand and keep my brother relatively sober," she countered with her own raised eyebrow and smug look. She could hear Luke say, "For goodness sake, I'm a grown man! I can get drunk if I want to!"

"I just walked right into that one, didn't I?" Han said, shaking his head and chuckling. "Well played, Princess. Fine. I'll behave . . . as much as I can. And I'll do what I can about Luke, but you know how he gets when we go out." Again, Luke's voice sounded in the background, saying, "Oh, come on – I'm a Jedi for crying out loud!"

At this point, Han looked over toward Luke's voice and said, "Kid, we all remember what happened at the Blue Paradise Lounge the last time you got drunk. Now, personally, I thought it was funny, but apparently Leia did not. (Luke's voice was muffled.) Then I'll remind you: You hit on some blonde chick using that Jedi mind trick of yours, but missed and got the guy sitting next to her to agree to go home with you instead. He followed you around all night buying you drinks, telling you what killer eyes you have, and asking to see your lightsaber. If Leia hadn't sent me and Chewie into the 'fresher after you, I don't know what would have happened. You had jumped onto one of the sinks and were trying to kick him using some weird, wounded crane pose. Chewie finally had to deck the guy and drag him out of there. The guy was relentless, Luke! He was a big boy – he wasn't gonna take no for an answer! Then, you disappeared and we couldn't find you. Suddenly, you're up on stage singing karaoke until you got sick and then you passed out on the way home. Chewie had to carry you up to our apartment to sleep it off. And your sister made me undress you! She even found his number in your pocket when she put your clothes in the autovalet. (Luke said something else while Lando laughed.) Yes, she did - his name was Danny! (Luke's voice again.) I'm sure he was a nice guy, and you do have killer eyes, but I was not jealous, for kriff's sake! Oh, nice. Nice, Luke, is that a Jedi hand gesture? Did Obi-Wan teach you that?"

Leia snickered softly and when Han turned his attention back to her, she said, "You have to admit, Luke does have a nice voice."

"Don't forget about the killer eyes," he quipped. "Alright, look, you get home on time tonight and I'll make sure we don't end up in the news tomorrow, deal?"

There was a knock on Leia's door and Mon's voice called out, "Leia? Meeting's in three minutes."

Leia rolled her eyes. "Yes, it's a deal, but I've got to go now, honey. I'll see you tomorrow. I love you."

Han's lopsided grin reappeared and he winked. "I know. I love you, too." This elicited a hoot, an "Awww" and "Isn't he dreamy?" from Chewie and Lando and Luke, respectively. Just before he clicked off, Leia could see Han give them all a dirty look and a hand gesture of his own.

After clicking off her own telecom, Leia put her elbows on her desk, closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples for a minute. Just a few more hours, she reminded herself. Then she opened her eyes, sat up, and took a deep breath. After she gathered various flimsies and her datapad from her desk, she tossed the rest of her meal in the trash and snatched the diet purple fizz to take with her to the meeting.