Look To The Lady
Jul. 26th, 2013 08:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysonesseDream World: Millennium Falcon
"Hey, I'm not saying that I've turned sentimental. But I am trying to tell you that the future can be weird."
They were on the Falcon, sitting at the holochess table. A game session sat in pause mode. The assorted mixture of alien creatures wavered and flickered as Nalieza ran her hand through them.
Han was sitting across from her, leaning back against the bulkhead with his legs stretched out in the seat.
She poked her thumb into the top of a jhroi serpent's head. "Just because it happened to you.well, I've never been a big believer in love."
"You think that I did at your age? I didn't see any reason to. Not until recently, anyway."
"You were never in love before you met her?"
"I'm not saying that exactly. It was never like this." He shrugged. "Hard to explain."
"Ah, you really aren't a big cynic after all."
"Who said I was ever cynical?"
"You've given that impression on several occasions so far."
He grinned. "I don't call it cynicism. I call it `dealing with reality in a practical way'."
"Well, it's nice that you're such a jaded pragmatist."
Han got up and went over to the tech station, where he set about the task of looking for something.
"When did you know?" she asked.
He continued to rummage through the storage lockers. "When did I know what, exactly?"
"When did you know that you were in love?"
Han paused, then resumed his search. "I thought I hid the damned thing in one of these lockers. When we went to Ord Mantell, that's when I bought it," he said quickly.
Nalieza was taken aback by this sudden shift. "Did I say something wrong?"
He did not respond. Instead, he spent the next several minutes looking for the elusive whatever-seemed-so-important, while Nalieza distressed more of the holochess creatures by poking them and watching their images shimmer and fade out.
Finally, something was said by Han. "There it is." He leaned down and took something out of a lower storage locker.
She pressed the central button on the chess console to shut down the game. Then she got up, and moved slowly towards him. Leaning a little to the right, she tried to see what he held in his hand.
The top of a smoky green bottle peeked out of a small black cloth bag.
"Let me guess, something alcoholic," she said.
He looked at her. "Yeah, but it's not your standard rotgut." He pulled the bottle out of the bag, and held it up to the light. "This is some top shelf stuff here. Corellian brandy, from around the end of the Clone Wars. Classic vintage."
"Are you going to drink that all by yourself?"
"Not all at once." He walked over to a compartment on the far side of the room and pulled out a small brown travel case.
Nalieza shrugged. "Okay, have fun."
She turned and started heading for some other place when he called out, "Do you drink?"
She paused by the circular entrance. "I've been known to swallow some Aqua Priestess in emergencies."
"You shouldn't drink that dregsweat. Not even in emergencies."
"University students usually can't afford the good stuff." She leaned against the wall. "Once, we came up with a slogan for it. `Drink Aqua Priestess, Get Aqua Wasted'".
Han laughed. "Best description I've ever heard for the experience." He placed the travel case down next to the bottle of brandy. "I can offer you something far better. If you want to have some, that is."
"I'd like to. But how would it be possible for me to drink some here and know what it tastes like?"
"You might have to tap into my brain waves."
"On second thought, I'll pass. The idea of doing that is.bizarre. Let's just say you'll owe me a real glass of brandy someday in the waking world."
"Fine. Just more for me." Han opened the case, and pulled out one square glass. After setting the container down on the console, he opened up the bottle, and poured some of the brandy into it.
Nalieza hesitated for a moment, then walked over to join him at the tech station.
"I'm sorry about earlier," she said.
"Ah, don't worry about it. I shouldn't have been lecturing you." He picked up the glass and took a quick swallow. "Just how I remember it," he said.
"Is that good?"
"The best kind of good you can get legally," he replied, going for a long sip the second time.
Another long sip followed by a quick swallow, and then he spoke again. "Okay, since you wanted to know about how I knew, you have to consider what I was like before I met Leia. All my life, I never cared about that love stuff. Didn't believe in it. I just went with a woman when it was necessary. Otherwise, I stayed away from `em, because if I got too close.well, something too big might happen."
"What would be so wrong with letting someone get close enough to you? In the `big' way, I mean."
Han glanced at her sideways. "I could ask you the same question."
"My opinion on the matter has nothing to do with yours."
He gave a short laugh. "I disagree. Totally. If you're trying to get me to open up, then you better do the same. Remember, it's all about balance."
Solo certainly had a way of making a situation change radically within a brief span of time. To question her about...well, he did have a point. Why was she afraid? Could they both have the same fear in common?
Only one way to find out. "I don't know. The fear has always been there. As long as I can remember, anyway. Maybe it started when my mother died. Or it probably came up gradually over the years. Watching my father stay away from relationships and focusing on his career instead.because he was afraid to get close to another woman. He couldn't do that, not when he might always wonder if the woman he might fall in love with would die too early. Just like his wife."
He finished the remainder of his drink, then grabbed the bottle and poured another small amount of the brandy into his empty glass. "You're afraid of the other person leaving. That's the biggest problem."
"Is it the same for you?"
He stared at the half-full glass in front of him for a second. "I'm never afraid, kid. Just unsure."
"Uncertainty could be considered the same as fear, though."
He gave her a half smirk. "Not really. There's nothing like fear. Fear comes jumping out of dark alleys and shadowy corners. It has real sharp teeth, too."
"Hey, I'm not saying that I've turned sentimental. But I am trying to tell you that the future can be weird."
They were on the Falcon, sitting at the holochess table. A game session sat in pause mode. The assorted mixture of alien creatures wavered and flickered as Nalieza ran her hand through them.
Han was sitting across from her, leaning back against the bulkhead with his legs stretched out in the seat.
She poked her thumb into the top of a jhroi serpent's head. "Just because it happened to you.well, I've never been a big believer in love."
"You think that I did at your age? I didn't see any reason to. Not until recently, anyway."
"You were never in love before you met her?"
"I'm not saying that exactly. It was never like this." He shrugged. "Hard to explain."
"Ah, you really aren't a big cynic after all."
"Who said I was ever cynical?"
"You've given that impression on several occasions so far."
He grinned. "I don't call it cynicism. I call it `dealing with reality in a practical way'."
"Well, it's nice that you're such a jaded pragmatist."
Han got up and went over to the tech station, where he set about the task of looking for something.
"When did you know?" she asked.
He continued to rummage through the storage lockers. "When did I know what, exactly?"
"When did you know that you were in love?"
Han paused, then resumed his search. "I thought I hid the damned thing in one of these lockers. When we went to Ord Mantell, that's when I bought it," he said quickly.
Nalieza was taken aback by this sudden shift. "Did I say something wrong?"
He did not respond. Instead, he spent the next several minutes looking for the elusive whatever-seemed-so-important, while Nalieza distressed more of the holochess creatures by poking them and watching their images shimmer and fade out.
Finally, something was said by Han. "There it is." He leaned down and took something out of a lower storage locker.
She pressed the central button on the chess console to shut down the game. Then she got up, and moved slowly towards him. Leaning a little to the right, she tried to see what he held in his hand.
The top of a smoky green bottle peeked out of a small black cloth bag.
"Let me guess, something alcoholic," she said.
He looked at her. "Yeah, but it's not your standard rotgut." He pulled the bottle out of the bag, and held it up to the light. "This is some top shelf stuff here. Corellian brandy, from around the end of the Clone Wars. Classic vintage."
"Are you going to drink that all by yourself?"
"Not all at once." He walked over to a compartment on the far side of the room and pulled out a small brown travel case.
Nalieza shrugged. "Okay, have fun."
She turned and started heading for some other place when he called out, "Do you drink?"
She paused by the circular entrance. "I've been known to swallow some Aqua Priestess in emergencies."
"You shouldn't drink that dregsweat. Not even in emergencies."
"University students usually can't afford the good stuff." She leaned against the wall. "Once, we came up with a slogan for it. `Drink Aqua Priestess, Get Aqua Wasted'".
Han laughed. "Best description I've ever heard for the experience." He placed the travel case down next to the bottle of brandy. "I can offer you something far better. If you want to have some, that is."
"I'd like to. But how would it be possible for me to drink some here and know what it tastes like?"
"You might have to tap into my brain waves."
"On second thought, I'll pass. The idea of doing that is.bizarre. Let's just say you'll owe me a real glass of brandy someday in the waking world."
"Fine. Just more for me." Han opened the case, and pulled out one square glass. After setting the container down on the console, he opened up the bottle, and poured some of the brandy into it.
Nalieza hesitated for a moment, then walked over to join him at the tech station.
"I'm sorry about earlier," she said.
"Ah, don't worry about it. I shouldn't have been lecturing you." He picked up the glass and took a quick swallow. "Just how I remember it," he said.
"Is that good?"
"The best kind of good you can get legally," he replied, going for a long sip the second time.
Another long sip followed by a quick swallow, and then he spoke again. "Okay, since you wanted to know about how I knew, you have to consider what I was like before I met Leia. All my life, I never cared about that love stuff. Didn't believe in it. I just went with a woman when it was necessary. Otherwise, I stayed away from `em, because if I got too close.well, something too big might happen."
"What would be so wrong with letting someone get close enough to you? In the `big' way, I mean."
Han glanced at her sideways. "I could ask you the same question."
"My opinion on the matter has nothing to do with yours."
He gave a short laugh. "I disagree. Totally. If you're trying to get me to open up, then you better do the same. Remember, it's all about balance."
Solo certainly had a way of making a situation change radically within a brief span of time. To question her about...well, he did have a point. Why was she afraid? Could they both have the same fear in common?
Only one way to find out. "I don't know. The fear has always been there. As long as I can remember, anyway. Maybe it started when my mother died. Or it probably came up gradually over the years. Watching my father stay away from relationships and focusing on his career instead.because he was afraid to get close to another woman. He couldn't do that, not when he might always wonder if the woman he might fall in love with would die too early. Just like his wife."
He finished the remainder of his drink, then grabbed the bottle and poured another small amount of the brandy into his empty glass. "You're afraid of the other person leaving. That's the biggest problem."
"Is it the same for you?"
He stared at the half-full glass in front of him for a second. "I'm never afraid, kid. Just unsure."
"Uncertainty could be considered the same as fear, though."
He gave her a half smirk. "Not really. There's nothing like fear. Fear comes jumping out of dark alleys and shadowy corners. It has real sharp teeth, too."
