A/N: No money is being made off of this. Seriously, who would pay me? Most names and places are the property of George Lucas and Co., and it's pretty obvious what the other aspects of the story are that my own deranged mind came up with.

Rags to Riches

Chapter 1

Leia Organa Solo clutched her husband's arm as they strolled down the pristine cobblestone streets of New Alderaan. The backdrop of snow-peaked purple mountains and yellow dasabi flowers was beautiful, especially today with the cloudless, vibrantly blue sky. They had recently moved here, the location that the Alliance had chosen for the new planetary government. New Alderaan had been a virtually unpopulated planet, much like Hoth and Yavin Four, and the new Republic had decided to reincarnate the Alderaanian civilization there. New Alderaan (under a different name) had served as a rebel base for a time during the war, and it only made sense to establish the new government away from "tainted" Imperial soil; New Alderaan served as a symbol both for new beginnings and as a reminder of the evil of the Empire.

Leia was a senator in the new Alliance senate, and enjoyed her job immensely. Her dashingly handsome husband kept her from working too hard, and kept her grounded. They had been married shortly after the Alliance victory at Endor, and their love for each other strengthened them both, which in turn strengthened the new government. They served as a living symbol of what the Alliance had been fighting for – two people from completely different backgrounds were able to look past titles and backgrounds and see each other for who they really were. Part of what the Alliance had been fighting for was the recognition that it does not matter what someone looks like or has done in the past, it only matters what is inside.

Leia glanced over at her husband and saw that he had been watching her. He watched her a lot now, especially since they had been married. She sometimes wondered if he were checking for a sign that he was dreaming, that he would wake up some day to discover that this wonderful life they shared had just been in his mind. She felt that way sometimes too, especially since Han had been frozen in carbonite. Each morning when they woke up in each other's arms they would sigh with relief, knowing that they would have at least one more day together.

Han cleared his throat, and Leia turned so that she was looking into his eyes. His eyes were so intense; pools of hazel that incessantly saw through her oftentimes-tough exterior and into her very soul. His eyes were his best feature, she thought. They were what had kept her going through those painful months of waiting following Bespin; in the carbonite chamber his eyes had told her that he loved her, not his words. Leia had not been lying when she said, "I know" after he had confessed his love for her in the bunker on Endor: she had known it since the moment she looked into his soul-bearing eyes at Cloud City.

"Hey Sweetheart, I was just thinking about something," Han drawled in his low, sensual, Corellian accent.

"What is it, Han?" Leia asked brightly, snapping out of her trance.

"I was thinking that maybe we could go on a vacation for a while. Ya know, we never really had a honeymoon. Away from the government, that is. And since the Alliance government is all settled now, I thought that maybe we deserve a break for all our hard work," Han suggested with a hopeful smile.

"Oh, Han, I love that idea!" Leia exclaimed, showing off her dazzling white teeth with a heartfelt smile. "I'm sure the government can live without us for a little while. Where were you thinking about going?"

"I was thinking maybe we could go to Corellia. I've seen a lot of your culture now, on this planet, and I thought that maybe you'd like to see mine," said Han.

"Oh, of course I would, Han. I've never been to Corellia, and it would be very interesting to see what it was like for you to grow up there," Leia responded.

"Yeah, well, I can't say that you'll be pleased if that's what you're looking for. I didn't exactly live a wholesome childhood. Both my parents were gone, and sometimes I had to do whatever it took to stay alive, even if it went against my morals," Han replied solemnly.

Leia knew this information all too well, and wanting to ease her husband's sudden depression, said, "You had morals?"

Han scowled, but Leia saw that her jibe had done the trick. The tension left him suddenly, and he was eager to respond in his own playful banter.

"Yup. I had em' til' you came along."

"So wanting to take your money and leave, instead of fighting for the good of the galaxy, were your good morals?" Leia asked.

"I never said they were good morals, just morals. When you and Luke came along you guys brainwashed me into feeling compassion and ethics. Man, you guys really corrupted me," Han said with a grin.

"Well I certainly don't feel any remorse. Come 'ere," Leia said as she pulled him into a kiss. Han wrapped his strong arms around her and responded emphatically to the kiss, deepening it and causing people to glance at them quizzically as they passed by. Leia felt her desire for her beloved grow with every second. After several minutes her passion grew to the boiling point, and she used all the willpower she had to break the kiss and whisper into his ear.

"Flyboy, if we don't get to our room soon, I'm going to be displaying some very undignified behavior in the middle of the street."

Han grinned slyly when he heard his diminutive wife speak these words, and a gleam sparkled in his laughing eyes.

"Well, sweetheart, what're we waiting for?" He asked in a louder voice than Leia would have liked.

Leia glared at Han for a moment for his blatant behavior, but quickly shook off her annoyance as she grasped her husband's arm and began pulling him toward their apartment.

"Waiting is not an option, Hanny-boy," Leia said.

Her husband shook off his annoyance at her name-choice, as he was more than willing to comply with her demands.