fulfilling a promised lesson on the fine art of blasting things ...

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Walking back to the Millennium Falcon through the Nexus has gotten a little bit easier each time.  The first time, it took him more than an hour to get back despite the fact that his ship has always been parked about a thousand yards away from a path that leads to the forum.  The shiftable nature of this place makes no walk to and from anywhere as straightforward as it seems, but you can get used to it.

 

For a while, he cleans up the areas that he thinks both he and Verity are likely to be in for a while - the cockpit and the lounge especially, but also near the entry ramp and the living quarters.

 

He did promise lessons on how to fly and in due course, he will get her into the sky with him ... but he's still doesn't have a ton of fuel yet and the priority was always teaching her how to use the blasters.  So he's pulled four weapons out of the storage lockers, completely disassembled them and cleaned them.  He also discharges all, but one, of the plasma magazines.

 

They get placed them on top of the holochess board, which, sadly, is among one of the biggest flat surfaces available to him on the YT-1300 and then, he takes a shower and slips into a light weight pair of pants.  It seems to take a long time for him to drift off in the small bunk that he's claimed for himself.  The sound of the winter wind skips across the surface of his ship and makes a low howling sort of sound.

 

This is one of the reasons it's always preferable to put your ship in a proper hanger, but, when you're Han Solo, you work with what you got.  After a few hours he wakes up, not knowing what time it is, until he opens the entry ramp and looks outside.

 

It seems too early for her to arrive.  The sun hasn't even reached the apex of it's path yet, so he decides to lay back down.  Leaving the ramp down for her to facilitate her letting herself in. 

Comments

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han removes the stability strap from his holster, engages the safety of his weapon and removes the pistol. Carefully, he hands the gun for her to examine with the barrel pointed down at the floor.

What she notice right away, if she's detail oriented, is that even though this one is fully put together, it's nearly as light the shell of a blaster she was touching before. There is also a different scope on it. There are a few things different on the inside as well, but she won't notice that from just observing it.

"All by myself." He says with a slight nod.

[brave_heart_verity]

The pistol will remain pointed at the floor the whole time she's holding it, and not pointed at their feet either. She suspects that would hurt.

"It's light." She notices the scope too, but it's the weight that really impresses her. "If you'd ever be content with a desk job, you'd be an excellent engineer. And a dangerous one."

Back home, he would have built himself a suit of high-tech armor and... well, she hopes he'd have been a hero. If for no other reason than he doesn't deserve to be stuck around people like Boomerang and the Chameleon.

"Is there much recoil on these?"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han Solo behind a desk?! You might as well clip the wings off of a bird, lady.

"Helps when you're trying to draw your weapon as fast as you can. Every ounce matters." He points out. If she's impressed with him, he can't really tell, but, he wasn't necessarily expecting her to shower him with praise over making his gun slightly easier to pick up.

"Hardly any. Not on weapons this small."

[brave_heart_verity]

That would be a crime.

There's a moment before she responds; thoughts of her home sweep her up into times and places that will never be. It can be hard to escape. But she comes back with a smile and a nod. "So I've heard. It's impressive."

She offers the blaster back to him. "But on some of the larger ones?"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

He would find it interesting that she could see him as a superhero, or hope for it anyway, if he were from her world. As it is, he doesn't know what she's thinking, all he knows is that she's smiling at the moment.

The smuggler's hand settles against hers, seemingly uninterested in the gun. It's a gentle touch and he doesn't bother to try to say a clever line, thereby spoiling the moment. When it feels like he should, he will take replace the gun into his holster.

"There are some extra large caliber artillery weapons that have something of a kick, but they're more used for wartime purposes." We're taking weapons big enough to put holes in starfighters. Nobody is going to be trying to handle one of those without a mount, though.

https://youtu.be/YMhZ18EmlFA

[brave_heart_verity]

He could be if he wanted. She can't fault him for not wanting it, she turned down her chance at the fame and glory and hid in her apartment instead.

Sometimes, she thinks they only let each other really see their true selves in these silent moments. Words are a way of protecting themselves that they're both too skilled at. Her smile grows and softens when his hand rests on hers. She looks up just before he moves again, wondering what he's thinking.

"Ah. Not something I'm likely to see, I suppose."

Yeah, that song nails it.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"I hope not."

Skipping around Imperial's in his way is one thing, but Han's certainly not hoping for war. It's bad for business. Among other things.

"I feel like once again there's less to teach you then I thought."

It's on the playlist. :)

[brave_heart_verity]

"Me too." She's seen enough.

It takes a special talent to look amused while rolling her eyes. "Oh yes, how terrible that you're not the one putting your toes at risk teaching me how to handle weapons. I'm sure I'll have to find some way to make it up to you. If it makes you feel better, I'm going to be almost entirely clueless when it comes to moving a vehicle in three dimensions."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"So what's going you so driven to become a well trained solider, huh?"

At this point, it's clear that she's spent a lot of time learning about weapons. He's got some idea that the two of them, her and Samus, run pretty vigorously together. You gotta wonder if she's preparing for something at a certain point.

[brave_heart_verity]

Oh.

They have to talk about that, do they? Ver looks down, suddenly withdrawn without having taken a step away.

"Because when the world ended, nobody came for me." Her voice is small, flat, empty. This is just how it is, nothing personal. "So I have to be able to take care of myself."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

He's not sure what kind of answer he was expecting, but he instantly regretted asking. Though, it's certainly a feeling that he can empathize with. The feeling like there's nobody to rely on but one's self.

"Hey."

He's reached out to tilt her jaw up without even thinking about how it's probably not the right move to make with his skittish tauntaun till after he's done it. He's looking pretty deeply at her with those brown eyes of his too.

"I know it hurts, but ... it made you into someone who impresses the hell out of me."

[brave_heart_verity]

It's not a feeling anyone should understand.

She doesn't flinch away from the touch. That's a victory. She tries to give him a smile, but it's a feeble little thing. Just at the moment, she can't fake it. She can't fake the surprise, either. "Me? Impressive?"

She knows he means it, but clearly she has no idea why.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Considering how some of his touches have been met before, he does consider it a victory. Although, now that he has her attention, he's not exactly sure where to go from here.

Well, it's hardly the first time Captain Solo was making shit up as he went along.

"Yeah." He murmurs, offering a bit of a smile back. "I thought I was gonna be spending all this time trying to get you up to speed and, here you are knowing most of what I have to say."

[brave_heart_verity]

Be careful what you wish for, Captain Solo. Because this time, it's got her very observant gaze laser-locked on him.

She'll try smiling again; it's a better attempt this time, but still not quite there. "Well. It wouldn't do to waste my captain's time."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

It's fine that the smiling still isn't there, in fact, Han tends to smile a lot when he's not really feeling it in his heart. Maybe it's all the sabbac, but, he's actually developed some skill at hiding the way he feels when he wants to.

He's still got his hand on her jaw doesn't he? She hasn't knocked it away yet, so that's something. He turns his hand over and very softly traces a little of her jawline. His hand is a little rough, especially on that side, but after a moment or two he lets it fall away.

"No moment that I've been with you has felt like a waste of time." He assures her. "Maybe we'll put together one of those blasters. Shooting things always makes me feel better."

[brave_heart_verity]

A good poker face is an asset in his line of work. It's not a skill that comes naturally to her, and so much of the ability she'd developed seems to have vanished in the wake of things. But maybe that's a good thing for him. Ver doesn't flinch away from the caress but she also doesn't lean into it. It's lovely; her eyes close and she's smiling now, but she's trying not to encourage him too much.

See? All out in the open and perfectly understandable! (Anyone who believes that might want to buy this bridge...)

Ah, now there's the real compliment, the one that makes her smile and blush and feel fluttery inside. She's not sure how to respond so she'll move on to the part that isn't making her feel funny. "Oh, does it? Good to know."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

With her? He's kinda surprised he got away with that much. Though there is certainly a part of him, perhaps a large part of him, that wants to double down on displays of affection, it's at the risk of alienating the only person he feels really close to here. Is that a risk he thinks is worth taking? For what? Perhaps a stolen kiss ...

Nah.

Time to collect the chips and see how the next few hands go.

"Any one in particular catch your eye?" He means the guns. Which one (or perhaps ones) they might go out and fire, if she's inclined.

[brave_heart_verity]

It's a little bit of a surprise for both of them. Her friendship is often demonstrative, but usually she needs to be the one to act first. He must be wearing her down. This isn't a bad thing, she needs to learn that everyone gets a turn making the rules.

She looks over the blasters before admitting, "The little one. The holdout?"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

She has met him at a good age. He's not been Captain Solo for so long that he's used to being in the position of being the authority (or more often, presumed authority). Otherwise, he might just expect that she should go along with whatever crazy thing he's thought up.

And really, Han sometimes benefits from a strong sensible voice to reign him in.

"The holdout." He says with a nod. As he picks up each component of the gun, he tells her what it is and where it goes - barrel, gas cartridge, power pack.

"Careful, the holdout has no safety and no stun setting." He murmurs, as he hands her over the ready blaster. "Of all the guns on the table, she has the shortest range, but, if that's the one that's calling to you, that's the one I want you to shoot."

[brave_heart_verity]

He's met her at a good age too: old enough to know what she does and doesn't want, mellowed enough to not sock him if he tries to kiss her when she isn't ready for it. And potentially screwed up for life thanks to Loki's touchy-feely idea of platonic friendship, but, can't win 'em all.

She watches with her arms folded loosely in front of her. It's not the defensive posture he's seen before, just a comfortable way to stand. Occasionally she interjects with a question or clarification about what he's doing, but mostly she's quiet and attentive.

Aaaand then he tells her there's no safety. Guess what isn't her idea of a good time anymore? "No safety? That doesn't seem like a good idea."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"It's lacking many of the features a larger gun has."

There's just not the space to build a restraining mechanism into a weapon that's so small. He senses her hesitation though, and thinks perhaps a substitution is in order.

"What about mine?"

[brave_heart_verity]

"I'm not going to deprive you of your favorite gun. But the one like it, maybe?" Because this one is being put back down very carefully. It's small and that's great, but she doesn't trust herself with weapons that could go off at any time like that.

It's a survival mechanism.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

You have to handle a holdout very carefully. To be able to carry it with any reasonable amount of security, it needs a custom holster, of which, Han has two and you have to pull on the trigger pretty hard to make it actually discharge; but, he could see how it would make a person not used to holding weapons uncomfortable.

"I ain't giving it to you, Ver." He assures, as he removes the gas and the power from the holdout. "Just offering to let you fire it."

[brave_heart_verity]

It seems like the sort of thing she needs to work her way up to.

"I..." She didn't mean it like that. She'd figured it was just to try out one time. Trying to explain that seems like it'd lead to conversational circles they'd rather avoid. "That would be nice, thank you."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Are you kidding, if there's one thing Han takes seriously, it's blasting things. Does he really seem like the kind of guy who would make fun of her handling his ... piece?

Besides. It's the next lightest weapon to the holdout in the vicinity.

"Grab your coat." He murmurs, as he goes off to grab his. "It's cold out."