THE QUIET

CHAPTER ONE

This damned uniform blouse was too small; that didn't bode well for the jacket. The trousers fit okay; a little snug in the seat, but well enough. He could sit without splitting them. And they had been fitted with piping of both of his hard-earned Corellian bloodstripes. The red and the yellow adornments were a nice touch. But not enough to make this getup worth wearing. Fancy uniforms just weren't his thing.

Han Solo was attending his first official high-level government function and he was to do so in the uniform of a General of the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

That's what they were doing tonight; they were restoring the Republic. With dinner and with dancing, with stuffy uniforms and political hyperbole, they were preparing for the business of governing. Han thought that's what they had done two years ago on Endor and Zhotta 3, but apparently the formation of a provisional council and the establishment of a permanent government were not the same thing.

The Empire had all but dissolved, and recently the fledgling New Republic had moved themselves into the traditional seat of government. Was moving in, that is. Coruscant had fallen to the forces of the New Republic just over a month before, and since then the Provisional Council had met daily in order to prepare for what was happening tonight. Delegations from each of the member worlds represented on the Provisional Council as well as those from every world without known Imperial sympathies had been invited to Coruscant to take part in the formation of the permanent government. A Constitution had been written, and now it had to be ratified. It was time to become the New Republic that they had declared. It was a giant step toward peace in the galaxy. In fewer than six months, the New Republic Senate would open its first session.

Han found it strange that he even cared. In his old life, replacing one regime with another would scarcely have affected him. He might not have even noticed. But in his new life he was going to be greatly affected by it. He had fought with the Alliance in their hope of defeating the Empire and bringing democracy back to the galaxy. He had fought to defend the rights of the New Republic Provisional Council to govern, and to heal the wounds that the Empire had left in its wake. And now those wounds were healing and democracy was returning. And Han Solo was going to be a part of it. He was going to be a part of it starting with his first ever State Dinner.

He would have declined the invitation if it had come from anyone else, but this occasion was to be something more than Han Solo's debut into polite society. This was his first chance to appear at a State occasion with Leia. Even though their mission to Bakura had included in an official dinner of sorts, it wasn't quite what this night was. He'd been her pilot and her bodyguard; he'd been beside her officially. Tonight he was going to be there in a different capacity altogether, and he had a mind to be sure everyone knew what that meant by the time the night was over. Members of the Provisional Council had certainly been aware that they were close, but this would be the first time they'd really had their relationship on public display. Tonight they would be in the presence of friends, colleagues, people who had seen them together a hundred times and perhaps had no idea that they were actually together. And they would be in the presence of dignitaries, soon-to-be Senators and diplomats from across the galaxy.

Hence the need for the dress uniform.

Han had warned her that he was going to be bad at this; he was as sure of that fact as he was that his collar was too tight. Where had Leia gotten his measurements, anyway? But there was nothing on this planet or any other that would keep him from walking into that ballroom with her on his arm tonight. This was too important a night for them.

It wasn't that they had kept their relationship (love affair?) a secret, exactly; but there had not been any real occasion for them to be together in an official capacity- not like this. How surprised was Mon Mothma going to be, or General Madine, or Admiral Ackbar when they got an eyeful of ex-smuggler and notorious scoundrel Han Solo entering the ballroom with the princess on his arm? He loved the fact that Leia wanted him to be her escort for the evening. He loved that Leia loved him. But he had no love for politics and the underhanded games that went along with it. And he wasn't exactly find of the uniform, either.

The door chime rang. Damn. Who could that be? He wasn't expecting anyone, and furthermore, any interruptions would likely keep him from being on time to meet Leia. Being late to pick her up for their first official appearance together would not likely sit well with her. The last thing he wanted was for this night to be less than perfect. He was going to have a tough enough time following protocol during the fancypants dinner that the idea of doing anything within his control that might make her mad was enough to make him think twice about answering his door.

This was important to her; everything about this night was important to her. How hard had she worked and for how long, to see these things that were beginning to come to fruition? Leia had her heart invested in these proceedings and in the potential of the New Republic. But more than that, Han knew, she had her heart invested in him.

She needed to know that he could love this life. She needed to know that he could stand stuffy dinners and party manners and everything else that that he would have to stand if they were going to make anything of a life together. It was easy to be in love when you were two of a tiny faction; when you were fighting for everything every minute and doing so side by side. But things had begun to quiet, and now Han and Leia faced different challenges. They had fallen in love with and as their most extreme selves, and now they had to learn to live with each other in much less extreme circumstances. They had both said they wanted just that; a life together in peacetime, but they had yet to experience a real test of what that life might be like.

Tonight was going to be that test.

Han stumbled through his little apartment to grumble face to face at whoever was at his door. He hoped it was nothing more than another one of his neighbors trying the wrong apartment. Some of them had only come to Coruscant three days ago with the members of the Provisional Council, and all the doors in the Bachelor Officer's Quarters looked remarkably alike. More than once a neighbor from next door or one floor away had tried Han's door thinking it was his own.

Han would have preferred staying on his ship. He had been on Coruscant since the day after the battle that had won the planet to the New Republic he'd part of the detachment sent to see to it that the old Imperial government buildings were properly pacified before the Provisional Council came down from space. The governing body wanted to assure that they would be issuing invitations to a welcoming planet and a functioning infrastructure.

Coruscant, it turned out, had needed little in the way of pacification, but still the military had spent countless hours sweeping the Imperial Center for bombs, bugs, and booby traps. Han hated the work. It was tiresome and tedious and just a little bit boring, but he knew that he'd been chosen for the assignment for a reason. General Rieekan knew that Han would leave no doubts as to the safety of any place in which Leia would be spending time. Solo was sure the old General had figured that out some time between Han's having rescued Leia from the first Death Star and his having dragged her bodily out of the command center on Hoth.

Chewie had declared no interest in bomb sweeping and had been staying with the Falcon in the hangar bay on Coruscant. More was broken aboard the old freighter than usual, and the Wookiee had made it his personal mission to get it fixed. Han realized early on that staying with Chewie on the ship was not only impractical, but bad for morale. The men under his command weren't fond of his quartering in his old civilian digs. So between that fact and the gentle encouragement of Leia and General Rieekan, he had agreed to taking quarters in town with the rest of the military.

Han pressed the switch plate and watched as the door swished open.

He had to consciously keep his mouth from falling open. It was Leia at the door. And she looked spectacular.

He'd barely seen her since she'd come to Coruscant, and he hadn't seen her at all in the month preceding it. She'd been hustled to a meeting the minute her shuttle had landed in the Imperial Center and they'd had a grand total of less than fifteen minutes in each other's presence since. For the month since the victory at Coruscant, they had only seen each other via the holocomm— and the few stolen moments the past few days had granted them had served only to remind Han of just how much her physical presence could affect him. Where he stood right now, he could barely contain himself.

"Are you going to invite me in?" Leia asked, looking past him into the day room of his cramped quarters. She had caught him by surprise, she could tell; but that had been her plan all along. He hadn't invited her over. In the three days she had been planetside, he hadn't invited her. Perhaps he didn't want her to know where he was living.

It was curious to her that Han had suddenly seemed content with sleeping alone, and she had become more than a little bit concerned that the pressure of being in her life had given him second thoughts. As Han stepped back and allowed her access to his apartment, it occurred to her that it may have been less her life and more his quarters that was to blame for their estrangement. And it wasn't as though she had invited him to her place.

"How'd you find me?" Han asked Leia as the door closed behind her. He hadn't told her where he was billeted, as the place was not much to look at and he would much rather have finally seen her rooms tonight. Honestly, though, he didn't care right now. All he could see in this moment; all he could think about was that she was here. Leia was dressed in her gown for the party and Han had never ever seen her look so perfect.

Leia was beautiful when she was face down in the mud in a trench with blaster fire flying over her head. She was beautiful in hand-me-down fatigues with dents in her helmet and boots that were two sizes too big. She was beautiful first thing in the morning with tousled hair and sleepy eyes and creases in her face from her pillow. But that was a private beautiful; one only Han had the privilege of seeing up close.

Tonight she was a kind of beautiful that could be seen from space.

Her dress might have been blue… but it might have been white. It had an off-the-shoulder neckline that came to a deep-v in the front, showing more cleavage than Leia normally displayed in public. The bodice was fitted perfectly and clung to her shape in a manner that made Han's fingers itch to grab hold of her. And yards of the billowy iridescent vine silk cascaded from the dropped waist and pooled under its own weight where it just grazed the floor. She was wearing soft leather gloves that came halfway to her elbows and had crystal buttons at the wrist with the same fiery iridescence as those around her neck and adorning the diadem in her hair.

"You look amazing," he finally managed to say. Han felt a lump in his throat as he looked at her. What had he gotten himself into? He had seen Leia dressed up a precious few times, but he had never seen her looking so much like royalty. He was going to make an idiot of himself; at the party or before, he was going to do something to blow this… he was just sure of it.

"Thank you," Leia said back to him, moving further into the room. She was thrilled at the look on his face. It had been a month since they'd been alone together behind a closed door and it pleased her greatly that he seemed so affected.

"No, I mean it," Han said back to her as he headed across the living room. "You look…" he couldn't think of another word. 'Amazing' had been the only one. Han cleared his throat as he tried to clear his head; he still needed to get dressed. He walked past her, through the still-open door to the bedroom and back to his dresser and mirror, where he again started to fiddle with the buttons on his shirt.

"Are you all right?" Leia asked, following him into the bedroom and sitting on the foot of his unmade bed. Han frowned at himself in the mirror. Her exquisite gown and flawless coif made his meager quarters seem that much more inadequate.

"I was until you walked in, princess," he teased, turning to face her so the mischievous smile on his face would be evident enough to keep her from taking that comment to heart. Han gave up on his button for the time being and crossed to stand in front of her. Han leaned over until his face very close to hers, placing his hands on either side of the mattress where she sat. "But now I'm going to spend the entire night distracted by wondering where to find the zipper in that dress."

"It doesn't have a zipper," she whispered in his ear as she brought one gloved hand to the back of his neck and steered his lips to hers for a slow, deliberate kiss. Wow he had missed those lips. How he could have survived for a whole month without this…? His head was still spinning with the intensity of her kiss when she let go of him and slipped off the bed to stand beside him. Han looked up at her and stood up again himself, shaking his head to clear the cloud she had just created in his brain.

Without a word, Leia stepped slowly toward Han's little dresser. She was pulling her gloves from her fingers as she went, and once she had them both in her hand she daintily draped them over the lip of the open top drawer. Han was torn between being embarrassed at the untidy state of his bedroom and intrigued at Leia's removal of clothing; even if it had been only her gloves. She stood beside the dresser and shifted her feet; it didn't take Han long to figure out that she'd slipped off her shoes beneath her dress.

What was she playing at?

"No zipper, eh princess?" he said to her, slowly moving toward where she stood. Leia shook her head.

"Doesn't need one," she answered him, smiling at Han with mischief in her eyes. Oh, he loved that look. That look meant she was up to something; and any time Leia was up to something, he was likely to benefit. "The liner has some stretch to it," she elaborated, "given the proper encouragement, it'll just slide right off." Han's eyes got wide and he ran his hands through his hair. He'd gotten a haircut for the occasion and figured there was very little he could do to mess it up at this length.

"Did you have to tell me that?" He asked, his voice betraying his exasperation. She had come in here after an entire month of celibacy and gotten him all kinds of hot and bothered and now he was going to be expected to put on this damnable costume and be polite to dignitaries all night without giving in to the temptation to sneak her off somewhere and give that dress its 'proper encouragement'!

Leia was frowning at him. Either he didn't get what she was insinuating, or he didn't like it. Hoping for the former, she took a step toward him. If he didn't understand how come she'd shown up early and unannounced, then she would just have to be more obvious. "Saves you valuable zipper-hunting time," she said back to him. Han took her by the elbows and shook his head.

"You come in here and you give me a tutorial on how to get you out of your ball gown and then you expect me to sit at some big dinner party and behave myself all night," he whined. "It's not fair." He shook his head again and let go of her. "It's mean," he added. It was Leia who shook her head now. She chuckled softly under her breath as she took hold of Han by his shirt tail.

"Check your chrono, flyboy," she teased, undoing the few buttons he'd managed to fasten on his uniform blouse. "We've got lots of time before we need to go." Han's eyes grew wide. Was she serious? She looked so perfect; was she really willing to risk rumples in that dress and tousles in her hair for a tryst before the banquet?

"Don't tease me," he begged. If she wasn't going to follow through, then he would rather she not even flirt; not until later anyway. Three hours of politicking was going to be miserable enough without adding immediate sexual frustration to the mix.

"I wouldn't do that," she assured him. Leia had undone his blouse entirely and had now moved on to removing his cufflinks.

"So you really came here to…" Han's head was spinning. This was a little bit out of character for her.

"To help you get dressed," she finished his sentence for him, her lip curling into a knowing smile.

"But you're going to undress me first?" he asked, finally willing to just play along. Leia nodded.

"Better to start from scratch," she asserted. His cuffs now undone, Leia moved around behind him and slid the crisp linen shirt from his shoulders carefully. She hung it neatly by its collar from the corner of the open dresser drawer before dropping the silver cufflinks onto the dresser's surface. Han grabbed her by her elbow then and pulled her to him with a little more force than he really intended. And then he kissed her. He kissed her hard and he kissed her greedily.

"I've missed you," he confided, running his hands over her shoulders, past the wispy fabric of her sleeves, and down her bare arms.

"Do you think I've missed you any less?" Leia asked, pulling at the tail of his undershirt until it came free of his trousers. "I wasn't sure I could stand the whole night with you unless this came first," she confessed. Han helped her off with his undershirt before bringing his hands to the where the bodice of her gownmet the sleeves. He barely had to coax the silk from her arms before the entire thing fell to the floor, revealing a very scantily clad princess. Her tiny lace panties matched her dress, and Han sucked in an intense breath at the sight. He'd seen Leia in her underthings before, but she had seemed to have a preference for opaque bodysuits and military-issue skivvies. This was a whole new look for her and he liked it. He liked it a lot.

"I love this dress," Han exhaled as he eyed her greedily. Any garment that looked that good on her and came off her this easily was one that he approved of wholeheartedly. Leia smiled at him. His eyes were bigger than she could ever remember seeing them. She stepped sideways, over the pile of silk that was her ball gown and around behind Han, until she could wrap her arms around his waist and press her breasts to the bare skin of his back.

"I'm glad you approve," Leia said back to him as she rubbed her hands up and down his chest and arms. "I'm glad it still fit," she added, kissing the skin between his shoulder blades.

"Where did it come from?" Han asked, leaning his head back as he reached behind him to try and touch her.

"It seems the Alderaanian Consulate had most of my things packed up for an eventual museum exhibit," Leia explained, bringing her hands to the waistband of his trousers. "Someone found the crates in the basement of the embassy and had them brought to my apartment."

"Remind me to thank them," Han said back to her. He let himself enjoy the moment that Leia unfastened his breeches before turning around to look at her. He brought his hands to her face and kissed her again as she pushed his trousers from his hips. Leia broke the kiss very suddenly and stepped away from him. Han could tell that his confusion was clear on his face by the smile that she gave him. Leia placed her hands on his shoulders and shoved him playfully. He tripped over his trousers, which he had completely forgotten were around his ankles, and fell sideways onto the bed. Leia waggled her eyebrows at him as she bent down and pulled his pants over his bare feet and shook them out.

"My dress won't wrinkle," she told him, "but your uniform will." Leia folded his trousers carefully and draped them over the dresser drawer beside her gloves.

"And we couldn't have that," Han joked. He enjoyed the view immensely as she made her way back to where he was laying.

"Absolutely not," she answered, smoothing the thick wool one last time before turning her attention back to Han. "Now," she asked, climbing onto the bunk toward him, "where were we?"