Without even turning, Leia knows he is there. She can picture him standing in the doorway, slightly leaning to the left, as clear as if she was looking right at him. And of course, he'd be smirking, or at the least looking pleased with himself in some manner.

He always is.

He speaks to her as though he could get away with anything, which technically, he can't. But Leia doesn't reprimand him, she never does. It's for Luke's sake, honest.

The way he saunters about also gives away signs that he believes he's the most important man in every room.

Leia rolls her eyes. She's surprised he hasn't collapsed under the weight of his massive ego yet. It must be getting pretty heavy.

And now, he's convinced himself she loves him. As if, Leia scoffs. Of course she doesn't; that's an absurd suggestion. How could someone respectable like her, love, or even fancy, a scoundrel like him.

But part of her looks away when he accuses her of loving him, a part of her that hasn't yet denied this accusation. Right now, Leia hates this part of her, but she feels it growing and taking over her rational senses.

Leia frowns. She's meant to be strong and independent, sensible and calm. Yet she finds herself falling in love with a runaway smuggler?

No! Leia shakes her head. She's not falling in love. She refuses to even entertain that slight possibility. It's such a small one anyway, it is hardly worth thinking about. She has more important things on her mind, like trying to stay alive. Leia doesn't need distractions.

And that's exactly what Solo is. A distraction. Nothing more.

Leia manages to convince herself of this, because how could she be in love with someone as self adoring as Solo, until the asteroid field. Then, of course, she's convinced he's plain crazy. And crazy is even worse than self obsessed.

She falls into his arms, in the least romantic sense. In fact, there's nothing romantic about it at all, and she knows that, and hopes Solo knows that. With him, she's never sure.

He snaps at her when she complains, and calls her one of his many annoying nicknames for her. She hates it, but, she supposes, it would feel weird without it. She finds it a bit sweet, if she's honest.

Leia shakes herself, and pulls herself together. It's not sweet, it's incredibly irritating.

And then, when she's fixing something, he kisses her. He's her scoundrel, and she loves him.

Not that she will let on that fact though.

Han becomes increasingly awkward around her after they kiss. And yes, Leia thinks, he's Han now, not Solo.

Han's awkwardness makes Leia laugh. He was so adamant that she felt something for him, and now that he's knows it, even if she hasn't said anything, he's clueless as to what to do.

Does this mean he feels the same? Leia hopes so. After all, he kissed her.

Leia bites her lip when Han says he's going outside. She volunteers to join him instantly, without the thought even registering in her brain. It seems the obvious and logical thing to do, so she does it.

Humans want to protect things they care about. And this is how Leia is protecting Han.

She doesn't tell him this, as she knows he'd scoff, and tell his "sweetheart" that he can look after himself. Leia wouldn't believe him.

It's one of the reasons she's falling. Falling hard, and she doesn't know when she's gonna land. But the fall makes her stomach spin, and makes her feel alive.

And something tells her he's falling too.