Summary: Let's face it, it usually doesn't take three years to turn sexual tension into some kind of a relationship, rebellion or no rebellion. Here's my take on the real reason why our beloved couple was still fighting once ESB begins.

A/N: There's a fair bit of smut in the beginning of this story, so consider yourself forewarned. I expect that to change in future chapters as the story progresses, so consider yourself warned of that as well:) Oh yeah, I almost forgot: I don't own anything. Everybody belongs to GL and many thanks to him for creating this galaxy for us to play in.

Unexpected Detours

Okay, it's probably all my fault. I should've known better than to dare him to kiss me. Maybe dare isn't quite the right word. I fought my way into a kiss. Of course, all we ever do is fight, so if we were going to end up kissing, then I should've known that that kiss would begin with a fight.

"Ice princess! Just because I don't throw myself at every breathing, male, biped who happens to cross my path, you assume that I'm frigid. How typical."

"Assume? Typical? Listen, I know a cold woman when I see one and you're pretty much the coldest woman I've seen yet. I bet the last brave man who dared touch his lips to yours is still in bacta trying to heal the frostbite."

I remember immediately responding with something witty like "humph". Then, my brain caught up and I hurled back: "I'm certain that a little frostbite is better than the critters that your last conquest is still trying to get rid of. Or maybe your last conquest doesn't mind sharing her bed with all types of vermin. After all, she would have shared it with you."

By then, we had abandoned our repairs to the confrontation: shoulders squared, feet braced wide, hands on hips, eyes blazing. At the time, I was sure it was anger that had caused the sparks. Looking back on that moment, I realize it was more.

"Listen here, princess. Just because I'm not frigid doesn't mean that I sleep around. Just because I happen to enjoy the company of the opposite sex doesn't mean that I'll sleep with any breathing, female biped. I certainly would draw the line at you."

"Oh, and what makes you think that it would be you drawing the line, flyboy? The nine hells would have to freeze over before this ice princess would even consider so much as a kiss from the likes of you."

"Well, if anyone could freeze the nine hells, princess, I'm sure you could."

I remember standing there silently, searching my mind for another barb, refusing to back down, refusing to let him win. I remember getting distracted by the curve of his lips and watching them twist into the familiar lopsided grin, almost as if he had discerned the shift in my attention.

"Or maybe the reason you wouldn't consider a kiss from me is because you know that it would melt you, and the ice princess would be gone."

The edge of his voice had disappeared, the tone had dropped an octave or two. I remember feeling as if I had actually been caressed. I was so distracted that I hadn't realized that our fighting postures had relaxed until his hand cupped my chin and his thumb stroked my lower lip. His soft touch sent shivers along my spine and I might have been completely lost to his touch if I hadn't looked away from his lips and into his eyes. There, I didn't find tenderness or desire or even lust. No, the only emotion reflected in his hazel depths was arrogance.

I had summoned my inward control to tamp down the desire that had surged unexpectedly through my veins. I forced as much steel in my voice as I could muster. "You wouldn't dare."

He had ignored my steel, keeping his voice soft as velvet. "You should know that I'm a gambling man."

"You're right. You do like your games. I suppose you would dare, but it wouldn't do a thing. If I were made of ice, it would take more man than you to make me melt."

I remember seeing the anger flash again in his eyes, just seconds before he tipped his head forward, sealing our lips in a forceful kiss. His hand had slipped from my chin as our lips met, tangling in my hair, crushing me to him. We had parted before the kiss deepened and I fought to keep my emotions from showing on my face. I think he had mumbled something about frostbite and was about to turn away when I had grabbed his face with both hands, pulling him into our second kiss with as much force as he had begun the first. I held him fast, deepening the kiss, touching my tongue to his, feeling the heat of his body through his thin white shirt as he wrapped his arms around me, pressing our bodies together.

I released the pressure of my hands then, only to move them to wrap around the warmth of his torso. Searching for more of his heat, I tugged at his shirttails, releasing them from the waist of his pants. Once beneath his shirt, my hands stretched upward, gliding slowly from his narrow hips, along his ribs, around his back. His muscled hardness was exactly as I had imagined and the silky smooth texture of his skin did things to my body that I'd rather not admit. His hands slid to cup my buttocks, pressing our bodies together intimately. The faint groan that I heard had to be coming from him, although I remember feeling the sound at the back of my throat.

He broke the kiss a second time. "I think you might be starting to get a little warm, princess."

The husky tone of his voice alone was enough to inflame my desire, but I refused to let him know it. "It takes more than just a kiss to make me melt, Captain."

He nuzzled against my neck, nipping at my earlobe. "Don't worry, I plan on doing a whole lot more than kissing." His lips brushed against my cheek as he whispered his intentions.

"You wouldn't…"

"I would," he countered before sealing my lips in another searing kiss. My senses were assaulted as he ground his pelvis against mine. The throbbing at the juncture of my thighs had grown more and more persistent until the next thing I knew, my legs were wrapped firmly around his waist, our naked chests pressed together and he was carrying me to his quarters.

In seconds, it seemed, the remainder of our clothes were strewn about the cabin and I was laying on the bed, admiring the pose he struck as he stood at the foot. The desire that coursed through me had prevented any shyness, driving me to rise to my knees before him. Wrapping one hand around his manhood, I had used the other to pull his head down for another kiss. His lips had left mine, tracing a path down my neck and, cupping my breast for access, he captured a nipple firmly between his teeth, causing me to cry out in pleasure. His other hand had urged my hand away from his throbbing shaft. Releasing my breast, he pushed me down on the bed. His fingers had danced through my folds, finding my center hot and wet and ready to receive him.

"Gods, Leia. You're gonna kill me."

Lost in the desire he had stroked to a near peak, I reached for him, pulling him forward, begging him to enter me. His tip pushed until it barely rested inside me and my hands grabbed his tight buttocks, urging him further still. Finally, he drove forward and I had cried with the pleasure of it, whimpering as he pulled out slowly, only to cry out as he slammed inside me again. The pace he set had brought me tantalizingly close to the edge again and again, until I begged for the release he denied me.

"Please, Han, please."

His pace quickened then, his own groans mixing with my cries until finally I felt the explosion rip through my center and race through my body right to my toes. My climax had rippled through me and I had been lost to it. My body calmed slightly yet still sung from the after effects. His thrusting had become less controlled, more urgent and the after-effects seemed to become before-effects as his body slammed into mine. I had tried to pull him in deeper, wrapping my legs around his waist, gripping his shoulders with my nails, desperate for the release again. Almost as if sensing my desperation, his hand had dipped between us, teasing deftly as I spiralled upward once again. I had almost missed his orgasm, so lost was I in my own. But, I hadn't. I felt those last urgent thrusts and then his hot seed had spilled inside me. The pure satisfaction I had felt was echoed in the expression on his face. Then he had collapsed on me, his weight too much for his arms to support any longer. His head rested next to mine, his breathing ragged in my ear.

'Oh gods, what have I done?' I remember lying there, surrounded by the musky smell of sex, Han's weight crushing me into the mattress, his breathing still ragged in my ear, as the realization entered my consciousness. 'I just had sex with Han Solo, the man I despise, the man who despises me, the man who just made me feel better than I have ever felt in my whole life.'

'But, that doesn't matter,' I had continued my internal debate. 'I don't just have sex with someone because it feels good, just because, even now, I feel better than I have in ages. I don't have sex… I make love or I would make love if I was with the right man.'

Han must have started to notice my growing discomfort and shifted his position, rolling so he rested on his side, his right hand propping his head up so he could look down on me while his left arm remained draped across my waist. He had traced patterns below my ribcage as I studiously ignored his face, tracing instead the steps that had led me to his bedside.