The trip home from Jabba's palace; Return of the Jedi.
Han was still drowsy from the hibernation sickness. Getting in his bunk, he held onto Chewie for support. After Leia freed him from the carbonite, he felt fine, that was until the ride home. And ever since they left Tatooine, he'd been throwing up all the time, and he was extremely weak.
Chewie roared softly. [You alright cub?]
"Yeah Chewie, I'm good."
[Let me know if you need anything.]
"I will. Thanks for coming after me."
[Thank the princess.]
Han nodded. "Can you tell her I'd like to see her?"
[Yes cub.]
Han turned towards the cabin door as Chewie left, waiting for Leia to come. After a few minutes passed, he seemed to lose hope.
Rolling over towards the wall, Han tired to force himself to sleep. Being up all the time wasn't helping him. But he wanted to see Leia.
As he drifted off, he was kept awake by the sound of the cabin door opening. Anxiously, he flipped over, rewarded with the sight of the princess. She was holding a bowl of soup and wearing one of his long sleeve shirts, and a pair of his pants with the Corellian blood stripe.
"How you feeling?" She asked, reaching behind herself to hit the button that would close the door.
"Horrible."
"I know Han," she whispered, setting the bowl down on the edge of his bunk. "I know."
He tried to sit up, but she placed her hand on his chest, stopping his advance. "You need to rest. Rest will help you get better."
Han leaned his head back on the pillow. Her hand made its way from his chest, up to his cheek, and eventually began to push his hair back behind his ears. "I made you some soup," she whispered. "Maybe this will stay down."
Leia helped him prop himself up. Sitting on his lap, she began to feed him. "Lemme see the bowl!"
"No, you're going to spill it and burn yourself."
"Leia-"
"Han it's only me. Let me take care of you for once."
He nodded, allowing her to spoon feed him again. Part of the reason he was so weak was that whatever he ate, he threw up. Being frozen in carbonite took a toll on him, and now his body wasn't used to food.
"Alright, take a break," she said, putting the bowl on the floor.
"But I'm hungry!"
"Han, you're body's not used to food. Let's see if this goes down."
Leia had been making every possible thing with the supplies on the Falcon, all of which he couldn't keep down. But maybe the soup would.
Han laced his fingers with hers. "Why'd you come for me?"
She stretched her legs out next to his head, as he placed his big hands on her knees. "Leia?"
Leia thought for a moment. "Because I had to. Not because I was being forced to, but because I love you."
"You really do?"
She nodded. "Yes. And a hell of a lot."
"Leia-" but he was stopped by the feeling of queasiness. Rolling to his side, she jumped off as he leaned over the side of the bunk.
Han was ready to throw up for the 10th time today. Leia's small hand rested on his shoulder, and the queasiness went slowly away. "Seems like the soup didn't want to come up yet."
Leia helped him sit up before feeding him more soup until he finished the bowl. By the time he finished the soup, she noticed he began sweating profusely.
Putting her hand on his forehead, she wasn't surprised that he was burning up. "You feel feverish."
"I'm not surprised," he mumbled.
"Oh Han," Leia whispered, kissing his forehead gently. "Why did they have to do this to you?"
"I'll be back."
She returned with a canteen of water. "Drink this, you need all the fluids you can get."
Leia held his head up as he drank the water. "Better?"
Han nodded, although his lips still felt parched. Taking the canteen from her, he was able to hold it high enough to drink more. When he was finished, he handed the empty canteen back to her.
Leia went back out of the cabin, taking the dishes with him. "Are you-"
He stopped when she walked back in. "You should get some rest," she said.
Facing him, Leia gasped. "Han you're still sweating!"
"I know. I feel so cold, but at the same time, I'm sweating."
"Definitely a fever," he heard her say as she grabbed a few more blankets from the compartment above him.
"Now I know you're not going to like it, but you need more blankets."
"What!?"
Putting her hand on his forehead once again, she reported, "you have a nasty fever. It's going to help to just sweat it out."
"Alright," he agreed, allowing her to cover him with more blankets.
Once Leia was finished, she planted a quick kiss on his lips. "Goodnight Han, I love you."
"I love you too Leia," he whispered before kissing her again. After spending nearly a year in the carbon freeze, he longed for the taste of her gentle kisses.
As she was about to walk out, he grabbed her wrist. "Leia!"
"Yes Han?"
"Will you stay here?"
She nodded. "Of course."
Han smiled as she kicked off her boots and jumped over him to the other side of his bunk. At first, they kept their distance, due to his fever, but it was broken when he pulled her against his chest.
"Thanks for coming after me min larel."
Leia raised an eyebrow. Min larel. She couldn't remember what it meant. In all of her years studying other languages, she never heard 'min larel.'
"What's 'min larel' mean?" She asked.
"Min larel is Corellian for my love," he answered.
"I didn't know that."
"I know min larel," he smiled.
Han felt Leia's arm wrap around him as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Goodnight Han."
"I love you," he whispered, gently kissing her again.
"I know."
