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

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."

[brave_heart_verity]

Walked right into that one, huh?

She doesn't expect he'll be teasing her, no. If nothing else, she doesn't think he'd get on her about it while she's got his gun, that's just asking for trouble with the wrong person.

"Mm-hmm." Yes, she remembers it's cold out, so she'll pull on her coat and a slouchy hat made of scraps of yarn from other projects. The reds and grays and blues all seem to work. She wonders if she should make him a hat...

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han has shrugged into his heavy jacket. He's forgoing much of the rest of the cold weather gear, face coverings and the like, because he wants to be able to actually talk to her while they're out there. Sure it's cold, but it isn't Hoth cold out there.

When Verity seems to be appropriately covered, he will guide them to an access ladder that will lead them to the roof of the ship. He also will go first up the ladder because the door at the top is a little heavy. The Captain himself, grunting at the effort it takes to release the locking mechanism and slide the thing open.

[brave_heart_verity]

It's cold, but they don't have to stay out in the cold for long. Ver waits at the bottom of the ladder until he's got the door open and is through before following him up. There's a moment's pause between reaching the top and climbing out while she gets a look at the lay of the land. A tumble up here might end up with her falling completely off the ship, and that is not her idea of a good time.

At least it isn't snowing at the moment; they've got a clear view and a good chance of enough warning of a weather shift to get back inside.

"This is a great view."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

It's true. If you fall off of the Millenium Falcon, you're gonna have a bad time. It's pretty massive though. Not like standing on a star fighter that's meant for one.

Han offers his hand to help her up. "It is." He says with a faint smile.

[brave_heart_verity]

"Thank you." She'll take his hand and the offered help gratefully. "You must get to see so many amazing things from here."

Not that the Nexus is without wonder, but. "And you're never homesick because it's right here with you."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"Well, more often inside the ship then out of it, but yeah." He says thoughtfully. "I've seen more then I could have imagined when I first dreamed of flying."

There's no part of this ship that Han doesn't feel completely at ease with. It someways it feels like a very extension of the man himself. He knows every noise that it should (and shouldn't) be making. He knows where every secret compartment is. It's not really an exaggeration to say his ship means everything to him.

Considering all that, 'home' feels like a pretty apt descriptor. He doesn't really say anything to that, but he nods, with perhaps a touch of emotion in his eyes.