Leia glanced around warily before leaning down to fill her canteen from the fresh spring below. She licked her lips in anticipation as she watched the water flow into her canteen. She stood and swiped her sleeve across her forehead, which was damp with perspiration. The heat was stifling, practically sucking the breath from her lungs. She thanked the Force that they had stumbled upon this fresh water before making camp nearby. They still had some fresh water rations, but who knew how long those would last?

The strike team that Han was leading had been searching this hell hole of a planet for a week now, following up on a tip that a major Imperial Warlord had a base located on it. So far, their efforts had been fruitless, but the tip had come from a very reliable source. And so, the search continued.

Leia heard the rustle of leaves behind her and had her blaster in hand before her possible attacker could have blinked. She relaxed as Han made his way through the thick foliage.

He grinned and Leia's insides fluttered the tiniest bit. "That was pretty quick, sweetheart." He paused, hands on hips. "If it were anyone but me, you could have downed them real quick." His grin turned smug. "Of course, you couldn't have outshot me."

Leia hid her amusement behind a smirk. "I don't know, I've gotten pretty good. I think I may be able to give you a run for your money."

Han snorted. "Not even in my sleep," he retorted with a dismissive gesture. Before Leia knew what was happening, Han had stepped past her to the edge of the water and was peeling off his damp shirt.

She raised her eyebrows when he bent to remove his boots. "What are you doing?"

Without a backwards glance, Han dropped his pants and lowered himself into the water, a harsh intake of breath escaping him at the sudden coolness. He dunked his head under and resurfaced, exhaling a quick stream of water. "C'mon in," Han urged, smiling mischievously. "It's very cooling."

Leia sat down primly beside Han's discarded clothes. "I'll pass."

"Suit yourself!" He disappeared beneath the surface again.

As he came up for air, Leia sniffed the air daintily. "What is that smell?"

"Smell?"

Leia leaned over Han's clothes. She wrinkled her nose. "I think it's your boots." She scooted away, lip twisting in disgust.

"Hey," Han answered sharply. "We've been tromping through this jungle for days; smell your own boots. I bet they don't smell much better."

"I'm glad I filled my canteen before you decided to take a bath."

"Yeah. But Chewie had that little rodent down here before, and I think it took a dip." Han raised his eyebrows as Leia glanced at her canteen, trying to decide if he was kidding.

"It's not a rodent."

"Well, whatever the little hairball is, I don't know why Chewie's gotten so attached to it; carrying it around on his shoulder like it's his pet or somethin'."

Leia watched as Han climbed out of the spring and shook the water from his body. "Hey!"

Han just grinned and dripped.

Leia couldn't help but admire the muscles of Hanss body, as well as his other assets. She tried to ignore the stirrings they caused. "Aren't you at all concerned that someone's going to come along and see you?"

"Well, you're the only woman on this mission, and I'm pretty sure the guys have all seen what I have." He bent down and retrieved his datapad from his utility belt. Tapping it a few times, he glared. "I swear: this thing malfunctions so much, it might as well be the Falcon's hyperdrive."

Leia laughed out loud, receiving a chilly glare from the naked General. He sniffed loudly, a sound that had become irritatingly common to Leia's ears of late. "I don't know what it is I'm allergic to on this planet, but I sure wish Doctor Timou was here to give me some medication or somethin'."

Leia smiled softly, suddenly finding his gruffness endearing. "Maybe you're allergic to Chewie's pet."

Han grabbed his pants and tossed her a dubious look. He slid up the fastener and crouched down in front of her. He gazed at her, his expression suddenly placid. "Have I ever told you how adorable you look with no make-up?"

Leia's eyes dropped, her cheeks flushing slightly pink at the unexpected compliment. She recovered quickly and replied with a teasing air, "Well, the jungle isn't really the place for my cosmetics bag."

Han placed a gentle finger under her chin and tipped her face to his lips. The kiss was soft, gentle..in spite of the lack of hygiene, Han still tasted wonderful to her. Leia pulled him closer, savoring these few moments of privacy. When Leia slipped her tongue between Han's lips he growled deep in his chest, something Leia felt more than heard.

Han broke the kiss, resting his forehead against hers, eyes closed tightly. "It's been a while," he breathed into her hair.

Leia couldn't have agreed more. "Too long."

He pulled back, struggling to compose himself. "When we return to Coruscant."

"Oh yeah..." Leia's smile was full of promises.

Han grinned, gave Leia one last kiss on the forehead and turned to pick up his utility belt. As he fastened it, a small plastic bag fell to the ground. Leia scooped it up as Han spun around.

"What's this?" Leia examined it as Han made a grab for the bag.

"Nothin'."

The sheepish look on his face only intrigued Leia further. "Nothing?" She held the bag out of his reach.

"Yeah, just gimme." He grabbed for it again, but Leia spun around and unzipped the fastener.

"Not so fast, flyboy. What are you trying to hide from me?" she teased. Upom further inspection, the contents appeared to be some flimsiplast. Nothing could have possibly surprised Leia more. She looked at Han, her eyes questioning. "Is this a book?"

Han placed his hands on his hips, eyes flickering all around, everywhere but at Leia. "Yeah, well, it's not a book, not really." He scowled at the ground.

Carefully, Leia removed the flimsiplast from the bag and saw that it was indeed bound, albeit crudely, like a book. It looked to her like a primitive version of a book, nothing one might actually be able to purchase. It was made up of small pieces of flimsiplast of varying sizes. Leia flipped to the middle of the "book" and was startled to see her own handwriting. Her eyes flew to Han, begging for an explanation. He quickly grabbed the book from her hands, glowering.

"All right, it's just something I put together."

Leia wasn't even certain what to ask next.

"I took some of the notes you've left me, so I could keep them with me when I'm away...from you." His tone was so defensive, one would have thought he had been caught committing a crime.

Slowly, Leia's features melted from confusion to enlightenment. She smiled wide, disbelieving. "You made a book out of my love notes?"

"Yeah, well..." Han trailed off awkwardly.

"Can I see it?"

Slowly, looking miserable, Han handed the small book to Leia. She took it reverently and Han turned to pull on his boots. He grabbed his shirt and shrugged into it, turning back to Leia.

To his chagrin, she was holding open a page that he had stuck a leaf in as a bookmark. He cringed.

Leia read the short note, remembering the passion filled night that has inspired it. Her eyes misted over and she gazed at the man she loved, who could sweep her off her feet in the most unexpected of ways. She closed the book, took a swift step towards him and threw her arms around him. "I love you, you nerfherder."

Shrugging off his embarrassment, Han hugged her back, smiling in spite of himself. "I love you too...your royal highnessness."