"Another?" Han asked, leaning down behind her, running a hand lightly down her throat, tipping her head back with the side of his thumb. His nose trailed slowly down hers and he kissed her, delaying any response.The party had broken up well over an hour ago. And now, with the children, they finally had the rest of the night to themselves. Leia had started the long cleanup process when Han had returned from the bedroom, a small navy box in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. He had herded her gently away from the momentous mess littering the kitchen, with the promise that it would all still be there in the morning. The place was a disaster by any standard: balloons, streamers, empty glassware and small white china plates strewn across every available surface. But he was right – it would keep."Mmm... please." Smiling lazily back at him, Leia curled her bare feet under herself and settled further into the deep-set sofa, listening to a mid-rim soul band coo softly around them from the in-ceiling speakers. The heels she had bought especially for tonight had been discarded hours ago, kicked off somewhere in the dining room - locating them was another task for tomorrow.Han leaned over her then, picking up the discarded wine glass off the dark wood side-table and placing a kiss on her bare shoulder. Tilting her head to the side to encourage the gesture, she pulled her hair across her neck, gathering it away. They hadn't been like this for a while. Hectic schedules, coupled with the ever growing commitments and complications which came along with raising three small children, meant they had learned to cherish moments like this. Moments which, as both of them would attest to, came around far too seldom.
He kissed her lightly again before standing and moving over to the bar on the far side of the room.
The living area they sat in was a large one, and secretly the reason Leia had pushed to buy the apartment in the first place. With room enough for three growing children, two offices and the master bedroom complete with a large ensuite which was tucked away with grandeur at the top of a curved staircase. But to Leia, the openness of the living space, with the full length windows and conversation pit complete with a built in holo projector and in-ceiling sound - which opened out to the dining room and kitchen, added something to this space which no other home had offered. Han had been pulled in by the large balconies, one on the main floor featuring sliding glass doors which opened seamlessly to an enclosed outdoor lounge and the smaller private deck off their bedroom – which in this particular district was something few apartments had. His insistence their children (and himself) be able to actually get outside on a daily basis was paramount. The large soaker tub in the master ensuite helped seal the sale further.
The memory made her smile. Their first home. Well, as a family at least, the unwelcoming ultra-modern bachelor pad they had landed in after the liberation hardly counted as a "home". She had been nearly desperate to leave the overwhelming feeling of confinement and utility for the comfortable, welcome openness their new apartment held.
Clinking glassware could be heard over the soft sultry jazz now playing overhead. The hi-ball and wine glasses were a strange memento as well, bought before they were even married, at an auction several levels down on Coruscant. They were also rather Imperialist in design, but Leia had loved them. Handcarved and label-less; from an unknown artist in one of the colonies, the set was simple in design and every glass a slightly different size. Often commented on by guests, the glassware had become an unintended conversation piece.
The bar was set against the full height transparasteel wall which ran the full length across the back of the living room, it offered a breath taking view of the city as guests helped themselves to any number of fine reserves which Han had collected over the years, and was secretly very proud of it. The bar itself was antique of unknown heritage. They had picked it up off-world and lugged the damn thing back with them. Bought originally to be the centerpiece in Han's office, they had managed to drag it into the living room and there it was staying – at least until his office was finished.
It was a bit eclectic, Leia thought, as she watched her husband pour from decanters they had received as wedding gifts. She smiled, biting lightly on her lower lip, thinking of their wedding. They had left straight afterwards, desperate to get away. Returning, weeks later, to chaos. Gifts has taken over, cluttering the apartment, piled everywhere. It had taken them days to organize, open and catalogue everything. Having not bothered to – on top of not really having the time - they had received a fairly bizarre assortment of gifts, most of which they kept; among those were the various bar pieces from all corners of the galaxy as well as a strange metal sculpture, they had wrongly believed to be an ornament, until their first anniversary when the thing lit up and started to chime at midnight, the noise reverberating around their small bedroom; scaring the daylights out of both of them – it now lived in Han's unfinished office.
Tonight though, despite the beautiful lights of the city glittering around them and the hypnotic stream of traffic across the sky, Leia appreciated a far greater, private view. Han stood in front of the bar, tall and sure, white tailored shirt cutting a sharp contrast against the lights of the city laid out before him. He had been relaxed that evening, and after the last few challenging weeks, it was a nice break for both of them.
