Title: Bury Me Deep Inside Your Heart.

Pairing: Luke/Han. Slash.

Rating: T, may become an M.

Summary: Luke's always had feelings for Han, but he deals stoically with Han and Leia as a couple. What happens when it begins to consume him, when he can't fight it anymore?

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, or parts of the story. They belong to George Lucas, regardless of how much I'd like to own Luke Skywalker. Haha.

Author's Note: This is not my first slash, but my first Star Wars slash, so bear with me.

Chapter Six

"Thank you so much, Mr. Lars. You've done us a great favour."

I had stayed the entire night outside in the rain, crying to myself and regretting every action from the night. When I had come inside in the morning, Han seemed tense and he had been avoiding me in a way that he obviously thought wouldn't be too noticeable. Cliegg hadn't hinted at all that he heard what happened in the night, so I was doing my best to act as if everything was normal. It was after we had some breakfast with the small amount of food that Cliegg owned that Han insisted we leave, and I agreed completely. We would have to return to Leia and Chewie, and set off for Naboo as quickly as possible.

"It's no problem, Luke. What's family for?"

"I owe you so much, just for the information you've given me."

"Nonsense. Good luck with everything."

"Thanks. I'll try to visit sometime in the future."

That was the truth, too. I intended to visit him again, feeling glad that I finally had another family member to talk to than Leia. As much as I loved my twin sister, and she was the closest person I could ever have within a family, sharing my blood and my birthday, I enjoyed having someone else as well. Han was also like family to me, but after what had happened the previous night, I didn't know if we could return to that anytime soon. He was still avoiding my glance as he stepped out of the house, though I was determined not to anger him anymore, so I attempted not to look at him at all. The Force knew I wanted to, badly.

"You keep the canteen. I won't need it."

He didn't make any notice that I had said anything. I didn't want to share the canteen with him if he wasn't even going to acknowledge me, and I was making sure that he wouldn't try. There would be nothing worse than being snubbed by him to face, if I had chosen to ask for the canteen or offer the canteen to him. We wet out down the road, heading back toward that town where we had come across the Toydarian and had our lunch. It was much earlier in the day than the last time we had passed through, so not many people were out. There was mud everywhere though, some bits still wet, and I hadn't expected to slip until I had.

"Damn mud..."

Straining slightly, I pulled myself off the ground. I was incredibly weak, probably from all the energy I had let loose in the night, but that wasn't about to stop me from traveling. Han didn't even turn around or stop when he heard me fall, and it was angering me greatly. There wasn't much I could do, though, so I just pretended as if I hadn't noticed. The temperature was still mild because it was morning, and because of the moisture that still remained in the sand, and apparently would remain for several days. Even when we were an hour outside the town, it began to heat up, but it was still fairly mild compared to usual.

"Not much longer now."

We weren't even halfway there yet, but I spoke to myself to assure that I would continue going. I needed the will to continue in order to even try in this state, this weak state. Han was beginning to notice my ragged breaths, but I forced myself to keep walking, and he hadn't yet spoken to me so I hadn't cared much that he noticed. Stubborn and a little bitter, I was forcing myself to play his game - to ignore him as he ignored me. It became easier to do so as the heat rose and I began to have even more trouble walking. By then, I could notice that Han was starting to worry, because he actually turned to me and spoke hesitantly.

"Kid...take the canteen. You need to rest."

He was speaking the truth, but I wasn't about to let him have the satisfaction of winning. It was immature of me, but I cared little. I just continued to walk, sweating profusely and breathing becoming painful, Han's worried eyes on me the entire time. Regardless of his anger, at himself and at me from the previous night, he still worried about me like the best friend that he was, but I didn't want to give in to him. My chest began to tighten, my head was pounding, and I knew I should've stopped to rest and have some water, but I couldn't bring myself to. Han could sense my pain, though, probably because it was all over my face.

"Luke, you have to stop. You're going to kill yourself if you keep going."

"No. I'm...not stopping."

"You're in pain! I don't care what you're trying to prove, stop and rest, please!"

Shaking my head, I kept going. The ex-smuggler had actually reached for my arm, but I jerked away, causing myself more pain than I was already feeling. I was unsure of why this walk was so painful, I'd never experienced pain like that, other than the intense pain of losing my right hand. Everything became slower and slower, I could not walk very fast anymore, and I could hear Han attempting to make me stop, but it didn't do anything. All sound was leaving my ears, fading out as if I had just turned the volume down on the world. It caused me to worry when my vision began to blur, too, and I felt myself falling.

The last thing I had seen before everything went dark was Han yelling and dropping to catch me.

*SW* *SW* *SW* *SW* *SW* *SW* *SW* *SW* *SW* *SW*

"Luke, are you alright? Luke, are you awake?"

I recognized that voice, and figured I must've been dreaming. As I opened my eyes slowly, I noticed we were in a dark room, but I could make out the shadow sitting beside me. Leia was there, just as I figured she was because she had been speaking to me. It took a moment for me to register that I was in a bed, wrapped up, back at the little inn where we had begun our journey. How had I gotten there? I was feeling absolutely horrible, my head and throat were in pain, and my chest was still tense though not as much as before. Turning over to face my sister better, I clutched my head slightly before asking her anything.

"Leia? What...how...?"

"Be calm. You're a little ill, it seems you've got a cold. Han said you spent all night in the rain?"

"Uhh...yeah..."

"That'd be why. Just lay back, it will feel worse if you got up."

Considering I had grown up on the hot planet, I never had to worry about getting a cold. I had heard of them, though - the only sickness that one could not be vaccinated against, the one that took over your body for a certain amount of time. Leia was stroking my hair, and I could fear that my head was wet, as if I had been sweating a bit while in bed. Perhaps I had gained a fever at some point? I didn't feel that bad, so if I had, the fever had obviously vanished or lessened since then. It felt so weird and awkward to be so ill, so weak, because I had never felt like this in my entire life. Though one question still weighed on my mind, considering we weren't even close to the inn when I had supposedly passed out in the desert.

"Leia...how am I -"

"Here? Han carried you back. He said it wasn't far, but he was so worried."

Wasn't far? He had obviously bended the truth a little when he explained it to Leia, because we hadn't yet reached our halfway point when it happened. Han would have carried me for hours in the desert, and I suddenly felt back for ignoring him during the walk. If I had decided to be a little more mature, we could have stopped and rested, and this could have been prevented, or at least discovered before I passed out. I could feel that I was wearing less clothing, and could only assume that either Han or Leia had half-stripped me and put me to bed. Groaning, I clutched my head again, still feeling the pounding nature of it.

"You'll be feeling pain for a while. Just relax, you need to get better before we go anywhere."

"Naboo...that's where we need to go..."

"I know. Somewhere between his frantic panicking, Han found time to tell me."

So Han had been frantically panicking, all because of me? I felt even worse then for having been so rude to him, even if I had been doing the same thing he was. I had been dealing with my feelings for years, but Han may have just whimsically responded my behaviour in the night. He had plenty of reason to feel angry and guilty, especially since he was with Leia. Obviously he cared more for me than I assumed, though, as even as best friends, I never imagined he'd carry me for hours and panic over my illness. All of a sudden, Leia stood up, still stoking through my hair, and smiled to me lightly.

"I'll send Han in, he's been waiting for you to wake up."

I wanted to nod, but I knew I couldn't because of the pain in my head. My sister turned her back and left the room. It was clear to me that I was in the small room, the room that Chewie had used in our first night. The only reason I could figure for that was so that I'd get the proper rest while ill, and not infect anyone else in the process. It was a minute or two before I saw the door creak open, and a shadow came into the room, very obviously Han. He seemed nervous, from what I could tell in the dark, and I was certain that even after everything, he hadn't forgotten what we'd done. Sitting in the seat Leia had previously occupied, he looked at me.

"Are you feeling any better, kid? I'm sorry that had to happen to you."

"I'll survive...it just hurts, but I've been through worse."

"It isn't right. This is all my fault. If you hadn't slept outside, then..."

He was mentally beating himself up for it. It didn't matter that I had taken the first step, that I had started we had done, but he was feeling horrible for having let me stay the night in the rain. If only he had known that I'd spent the night crying, he probably would've felt worse. Personally, I hoped that he had no idea. From what I could see of his face, he was torn with emotional pain, and I was afraid to say anything and possibly make it worse for him. Funny that I'd be the ill one, laying in bed, yet I didn't want to make anything worse for those around me. His hands were clasped, and he was squeezing them together.

"Luke...I swear, I will do anything in my power to make this better for you...I don't want you to hurt..."

I was unsure if even he knew what he was talking about. He couldn't possibly know of my feelings for him, so he had to have been speaking about the illness. My head throbbed, my chest was still constricting, and I felt like I had swallowed a lightsaber that hollowed out my throat and left it burning. Of course he had to be speaking of the illness. Before I had the chance to ask him anything more, he stood up and stalked out, as if he could not bear to remain in the room. Leia had returned in no time, looking confused but also looking concerned, and I was unsure of whether it was for me or for Han. She seemed to push that back as she returned to stroking my hair.

Somehow, I felt that if Leia knew how I truly felt, she would be completely supportive of me, no matter what.