[Short Stories] - [Valentine Stories](2)

“Lando’s busy on Nkllon.” Han was keeping one eye on the comet. “You know that.”

“You wont tell me?” Leia slipped her hands under the hem of his tunic and playfully ran her fingers up his back. “You’re sure?”

“Well, I’m…”

Leia dug her fingertips into the flesh behind his shoulders.

“Pretty sure,” Han said. “I think.”

The comet was the size of an Endorian moon now, and he was begin ning to worry that his pilot’s eye had gone weak. The different rates at which the head was obscuring the surrounding stars suggested it was approaching at an angle, but unless the stars on the right stopped disappearing-and soon-the comet would not actually miss the resort.

“Uh, Leia?”

“No-I’ve changed my mind, Han.” Leia lowered her hands and, one arm still wrapped around his waist, turned to look at the sky. “I dont want to know how you arranged this.”

“But…”

“Sshhh.” Leia touched a finger to his lips. “I just want to look. It makes me wish we could forget everything back on Coruscant and stay here forever.”

“You don’t say?” The approaching comet was a large as a bantha now. Han glanced toward the empty stairs, trying to estimate how long he could keep his real secret-that he may have miscalculated the comet’s trajectory-before they would have to make a mad scramble for the evacuation shelters. “I just might be able to arrange that.”

Leia leaned her head against his shoulder. “If only you could.’

“Oh, I could…” The comet grew so bright that its radiance lit the whole dome and there were no stars visible around it at all. Deciding that things were starting to get dangerous, Han pulled Leia out of the corner. “In fact…”

The white spike of an antitail finally appeared in front of the head, and the entire comet began to angle across the dome-away from the resort. Han exhaled in relief, then put on his best lopsided grin and turned to Leia.

Leia looked puzzled. “In fact what, Han?”

“In fact…” Han waited while the comet drifted over their heads to the other side of the dome, then said, “You’re going to be really impressed with what I’ve arranged next.”

Leia cocked her brow. “Pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

Han nodded. “I have a reason.”

The asteroid entered the comet’s tail, and billions of tiny dust grains exploded against the resort’s particle shield. Space above erupted into a glittering veil of micro-flashes.

“Okay, I’m impressed,” Leia said. “Really impressed.”

“That was nothing,” Han said. “This is what I was talking about.”

He drew Leia close and lowered his lips to hers. She pressed herself tight against him and returned the kiss passionately, and that was how they remained until a loud cheer from atop the stairs interrupted them.

Han opened an eye and, finding an audience of two dozen comet watchers leering down at them, broke off the kiss. “Leia?”

“Yes, Han?”

“Maybe we should go back to the Falcon after all.”

Leia took his hand and started for the stairs. “Han, I thought you’d never ask.”