7Bright light illuminated the room as a gentle breeze blew through the open window. Clothes were strewn all over the floor, with the exception of a white dress that was draped over a chair. Nothing could disturb the two occupants asleep on the bed in the center of the spacious room. A loud shriek broke the slumber and awoke one of the sentients in the bed.
Leia sat up, startled, never being a heavy sleeper after the Death Star. Glancing around for the noise that awoke her, her gaze stopped on the man who was still sleeping soundly next to her - her husband. A smile crossed Leia's features, I'll never get used to calling him that. Han was sprawled out on his back. soft snores escaping his mouth. Poor thing, I must have worn him out last night Leia thought with a smirk. After not finding the source of the noise, Leia decided to try and get some more sleep as she burrowed herself in Han's side, her arm thrown over his chest. Closing her eyes, she was about to fall back asleep when another scream pierced the air. Startled, she quickly sat up, accidentally smacking Han in the process.
Han was slow to awake, despite having been slapped in the face.
"Leia…" he groggily got out.
"I'm sorry Han, I wasn't paying attention. Go back to sleep, you must be tired."
Leia bit her lip, looking pensive.
Han sat up, "What's on your mind, sweetheart?"
"It's silly, but I swear I keep hearing a-"
Another cry echoed throughout the room, causing Leia to jump. Han let out a strangled laugh, "Ah Princess, scared of a little bird?" He meant it to come off in a teasing manner but an uneasy look washed over his face.
Leia looked indignant, "A little bird made that dreadful sound?"
"It's definitely not something that I miss from Corellia. And I guess I shouldn't use the word 'little', they're a good sized bird. I remember being chased by them as a kid."
A laugh threatened to escape Leia's mouth, "You were chased by birds as a child?"
"Don't laugh sweetheart, Corellian banshee birds are a real pain in the ass."
As if knowing that it was being talked about, another piercing shriek permeated the room, sounding a lot closer than before.
"Now I know why they call it a banshee," Leia shouted covering her ears.
"Sorry Leia, guess I should have warned ya 'bout the birds."
"Well then we would have had far too normal of a honeymoon, and since when are we normal?"
"Yeah, about that, I never imagined waking up the day after I got hitched with my wife smacking me in the face," Han joked.
Leia looked sheepish, "Sorry about that."
Han laughed and pulled her into his side, "Don't worry about it, sweetheart." Han finally got a chance to properly look at his wife and noticed that she was wearing his white collared shirt.
"When did you put this on?"
"Last night, after um, after...well you know….I was cold." she sputtered out defensively.
Another laugh escaped Han, "I sure do know."
Han pulled her onto his lap, his hands caressing her face as he leaned in, kissing her. Leia's hands wrapped around Han's back, threading her fingers through his hair as an appreciative moan left her throat.
Another scream passed through the room and out of the corner of Han's eye a black and white blur flew into the room. He practically leaped two feet in the air before diving onto the floor, leaving a startled Leia on the bed.
"Han! What in the world are you do-Ah!"
With the two of them forgetting to close the window last night, busy with more pressing matters, it provided an ample opportunity for a Corellian banshee bird to fly into their room.
"Leia!" shouted Han, his call muffled and coming from under the bed?
"Han! I-" Leia was cutoff as the bird continued it's assault in the room going from the bedroom to the living room, and back again in a continuous loop.
"Leia, get rid of it!"
Leia got off the bed, kneeling down and poking her head underneath the mattress, "Han, what are you doing down there?"
Han had the decency to look sheepish, "Well, I, uh, I-"
A grin creeped up on Leia face, "Han are you scared of a little bird?" echoing her husband's own words to her earlier.
Another scream sounded in the room followed but another little yelp coming from the man underneath the bed, "Leia! Just get rid of it please."
Leia would have laughed again if not for the desperate look on her husband's face.
"Okay, hotshot, hold tight."
With that, Leia drew herself up to deal with the bird. How do I even catch a bird this large? Before she had time to further contemplate her dilemma, the bird flew back in the room heading straight toward the bathroom. Thinking quickly, Leia ran over and closed the door, trapping the bird inside. Sounds of distress started coming from the fresher as the poor creature realized it didn't have a way out. Leia's heart went out to it, not liking to see any animal suffer.
"Is it gone?" Han shakily asked, peeking his head out from under the bed.
"It's in the fresher," Leia gestured as the screams began to subside as the bird started to calm down.
"The fresher?" Han was incredulous, having rolled himself out from under the bed.
"Why didn't you get it out of our suite?"
"Well, gee Han, excuse me for not being able to catch a bird that's practically half my size while my husband decided to hide out under the bed!"
Han offered her a small smile before sighing, "Sorry, sweetheart. Did I ever tell you that I was scared of birds?"
"'Fraid not."
With that a pitter patter of feet could be heard from inside the fresher.
"Poor thing, it's pacing. Animals pace when they are in distress. I'm going to let it out." Leia went to open the door, before Han braced his arm against it, effectively stopping her.
"Leia, what part of 'I'm scared of birds' don't you understand?"
"Han, that poor thing is probably more scared of you than you are of it. Why don't you try facing your fears, I'm sure it's calmed down by now. And I'll be right here to protect you."
"My hero," Han joked.
"And don't you forget it." Leia gave him a quick kiss to his lips before Han moved behind her before she opened the door.
"You know, just in case!" Han quipped.
"Just in case," echoed Leia with a smile. "Ah, you might want to put on some clothes in case she gets too curious." she joked.
Han shuddered, "Yeah, I really don't need her poking around me anywhere." With that Han quickly slipped a pair of boxers on his body before resuming his position behind Leia.
"Ready?"
Han gulped, "As I'll ever be."
Leia pulled open the door with Han peering over her shoulder. On the floor before them stood the bird staring right back at them. She's beautiful. The banshee bird was covered with black feathers on its back and over its wings with white feathers clothing the belly and beneath the wings. The bird cocked it's head at Leia before pattering it's way towards her. Han immediately startled and made a move to dive under the bed before Leia grabbed his hand.
"It's alright. See, she's just checking us out."
Leia slowly crouched down to her knees, gesturing for Han to do the same. Han looked down at his wife before deciding to follow her lead so the bird wouldn't scream and start flying around again. The bird stood in front of Leia and let out a little chirp.
"Now that is a much more pleasant sound compared to what was coming out of you earlier." Leia timidly put out her hand and gently rubbed two fingers against the bird's head. The bird let out another chirp and rubbed it's head back against Leia's hand.
"See, she's not too scary."
Han gulped, "I guess she's not too bad."
"Here," Leia reached around her, "Give me your hand."
"I'm fine with admiring from afar, thanks sweetheart."
"Han, you'll never get over your fear this way. What if our kids bring home an injured little bird one day? Are you going to turn it away?"
"Our kids, huh?" Han quipped back with a grin.
A blush crept onto Leia's face, "Well, you know, in the future."
"Of course. When you put it like that Leia, I guess I might as well give it a try so our future kids won't be disappointed."
Han positioned himself to Leia's side and tentatively put his hand out to pet the bird. She looked at Han's hand and pittered her way over. Giving Han a long stare, she gently nudged his hand with her head while letting out a little chirp.
"Aw, see, she likes you!"
Han let out a grin and slowly petted the bird back, "I guess she does."
Leia made to get up, before Han gently grabbed her arm arm, and alarmed look appearing on his face "Where are you going?"
"To get her some food and water. She's probably hungry and tired. I'll be gone for two minutes, I'm sure you'll be fine."
With that, Leia got up, and padded her way into the kitchen, leaving Han and the bird alone. The two stared at each other before the bird got bored and sat down on the floor.
"You know, you aren't so bad when you aren't shrieking."
The bird let out a little chirp at that.
"See, that sounds actually kinda cute. But don't tell Leia I said that, she'll think I like you."
The bird simply glanced at Han before nudging his hand again. He obliged and began petting her head.
With that, Leia showed up with a bowl of fruit and water.
"I think she likes meat based on her size but this will have to do."
Leia set the two bowls down before the bird and sat down next to Han. The banshee bird immediately began eating the fruit. Han and Leia watched her eat in silence.
"Well, I guess we should let her go back outside."
Leia, to his surprise, looked disappointed for a moment. "Yeah, you're right."
They stood up and Leia let out a whistle and walked over to the open window. The large bird following her. The pair stood beside the window while Leia put some fruit on the sill to get the bird to hop on it to leave. To Han's dismay, the bird simply stared at the food before walking over to Leia's side and sitting down.
"Han, I don't think she wants to go."
"Leia, we can't keep her as a pet."
"Why not? Nobles in Corellia owned these birds as pets, if I'm remembering correctly."
Damn. She would know that. "I was kind of hoping you wouldn't have that tidbit of information."
A smirk graced Leia's features, "You're out of luck hotshot."
Han glanced between the bird and his wife, both seeming to having pleading faces directed towards him.
Sighing, Han accepted what was about to happen. "She'll make you happy?"
Leia grinned, "Yes! I always wanted a pet growing up as a child."
"What the lady wants she shall receive. I guess we can keep her. And she is kind of cute."
"Leia crossed over to Han embracing him tightly, "Thank you Han."
"You're welcome Leia."
Pulling apart they looked to see that the bird had made itself home on their bed.
"We'll have to give her a name. I feel bad calling her the bird."
"What about Maya?" he blurted out after thinking for a few moments.
"Maya…" Leia tested out. "Maya, I like it! It's very unique.
"Like you," Han retorted before giving his wife a gentle kiss.
"You know, when I imagined my honeymoon I also didn't think that my wife and I would be adopting a bird."
Leia laughed, "I couldn't imagine anything better."
A sly grin appeared on Han's face. "I can imagine a few things."
"So can I."
With that, Han lifted her up and carried her out to the living room, as the bed was otherwise occupied with a now sleeping Maya.