twelve_not_fourteen | The odds of hitting your target go up when you aim at it.

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The odds of hitting your target go up when you aim at it.

No matter how good you are at something, if you challenge yourself against enough people, you'll find someone who can best you. Even if you have all the talent in the galaxy, nobody is going to be successful one-hundred percent of the time. It's an unfortunate aspect of life that we fail.

You can label those thoughts as pessimism or realism if you like, but it doesn't change it's truth. And the good thing is that, in recognizing you can't be the best at everything all the time, you can come to realize that the whole rest of the human race is on that ship with you. What ends up making the difference is striving to be better and being well rounded in what you can do. There's no shortage of aspiration in Han. He's not the 'resting on his laurels' type.

Which brings us to the explanation of why he's been spending the last few nights in Nexus bars learning to play darts of all things. Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Boy mentions being interested in bar games. Girl says darts seem like fun. Boy spends all his spare time over the next few days learning how to play darts, naturally.

It could have been fun to learn how to play together and, no doubt, that's the route a lot of people would take. Not Han, though. It's so deeply ingrained into him that he needs to prove his worth, that he couldn't very well go into this occasion without some practice. Even though it's just for fun. Just an excuse to get closer to somebody. He has to be the best that he can be in the few short days he has to learn the skill. Besides, he rationalizes to himself, it will be good if someone knows the rules to the games before they try to play.

Thock. Thock. Thock.

The sound of the metal tipped darts pelting the sisal fibre board is the same every time. In some ways, the game likens itself to other kinds of marksmanship. A lot of the work is done in adopting a good stance each time and being consistent.

The hours melt away faster that he realizes.

Unlike playing cards, which requires observation and thinking to play well, he can mostly zone out here. For him, it's kind of relaxing. He's not a champion dart player after two days and he's pretty sure Barton would handily outclass him in a game, but he's gotten pretty good. He tends to hit in the wedge that he's aiming for more often than he misses.

Although they never specifically agreed upon a time or even a specific place to reunite, he trusts the May Queen to find him. The morning was clear and no doubt a goddess has a lot to accomplish in a day, so he waits until the sky begins to turn dark before he heads to an establishment called 'The Pitch and Roll'.

It starts to rain just before he gets there, but it's one of those warm refreshing ones that you tend not to mind getting caught in too much. For now. It looks to him like it's going to really start pouring soon. A good evening to spend inside somewhere. He's glad he brought a good jacket; it's light brown in color and leather. If it's still raining when it's time to walk to the Falcon, he'll be glad to have it. The rest of what he's put on in terms of his clothing is the standard for him - black pants with a yellow decoration along the side seam and a white long sleave shirt.

He doesn't see Frea when he arrives and so, he'll walk up to the bar and order an ale for himself while he waits.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The touches of his lips come in all varieties. Some in the form of quick pecks. Some in the form of slow and deep tastes of her skin. He trying to keep each one a little different than before. They're each like a fingerprint, some semblance between all of them, but no two are exactly the same.

"It's not that, darling." Though the extra dose of sweetness is noticed and appreciated, especially when fingers find excuses to touch his hair. He's smiling in between the kisses. "I just like you a lot. That's all."

Edited 2016-08-07 12:09 (UTC)

They say that variety is the spice of life. Right now, she's inclined to agree. The prickling of anticipation between his kisses is a wonderful torment. It's hard not to wriggle more beneath him while he's doing that. She's not trying to distract him, exactly; distraction might lead to his stopping and she certainly doesn't want that.

"Mm. I like you too. A lot." She turns her head in hopes of catching his lips in a kiss. If he doesn't let her have it, she'll have to find another way to vent these urges. "We could see each other more anyway if you want."

She won't find him frequently trying to deny her the chance to kiss him. It's always fun to tease once in a while, but he's a little wary of doing as much. He's worried he might tease and hurt her feelings. Or that something not meant to tease at all will be interpreted as such. It only matters because Han likes her so much. The idea of doing something to mess up what they have is ... worrisome.

"I don't want to keep you." He murmurs between their shared kisses. "... but I would like to see you more."

Case in point: she knows he doesn't mean it to hurt, that she can't be kept, that she has responsibilities... but the idea that he doesn't want to keep her stings. The feeling is tamped down as soon as she recognizes it. Foolish, stupid thing to feel. His wanting that would only lead to pain for them both.

Besides, there are kisses, and that's a much better thing to think about. That's where she focuses her attention until she's certain she can speak without betraying herself. When she does speak, her words are strung out between more kisses. "I think that can be arranged. Especially with such a nice incentive."

It's not for lack of wanting. Certainly, he'd love to sweep her off of her feet and have her all to himself - apart from occasionally relinquishing her to her friends. He'd especially love to take her to see the kinds of nature that you might only see in small parts of the Nexus spread out over entire worlds in his galaxy. Kashyyyk and the enormous trees. The pristine mountains of Alderaan. The gorgeous lakes of Naboo. The beaches of Togoria. Anywhere. Everwhere.

But it wasn't a realistic thing to want knowing who she is and he already knew the pain of what it was like be weighed against a person's 'duty'. He'd come up short with Bria. Han can't help but feel like if he ever pushed Frea in a position to choose (not that she probably could), he'd be coming up short again.

"I'd like that a lot." He says in reply. At this moment, he's not even entirely conscious of the way he seems to be shifting subtly to line his hips up better with hers. "I like every arrangement that brings us together."

It isn't as if she'd have a choice. Abdication isn't an option. She hadn't counted on meeting people she'd want to stay with so much...

Sweet summer child that she is, she believes he would never lie to her. When he tells her something, she takes it as gospel truth. It's a wonderful gift he's likely to ruin one of these days when she catches on, but for now, she trusts him completely.

Frea smiles up at him, pleased and promising. His movements haven't gone unnoticed and she's moving beneath him to get ready to meet him. "Me, too. So what're you waiting for?"

He's been trying to be relatively honest with her. He's definitely been more in the habit of telling the truth in the Nexus than he has at other times in his life with Verity around to see through everything. Maybe he exaggerated a little around the beautiful spring deity, but he doesn't feel like he's told her a significant lie. Admittedly he has presented himself, his work and his flaws to her in a way that he thinks she'll find palatable, but that's sort of ... what the beginning of a romance is, isn't it?

It's certainly what the beginning of a romance is like with Han, anyway, and he's been more forthright with her than most.

"I dunno." How's that for honesty? "I guess I feel like I should be offering you more than a few slick lines before were throwing off each other's clothes."

And yes, he's still hesitating. He ought not to for that much longer, though.

Verity is an excellent influence on him. Maybe Frea will bake her some cookies...

Mostly, she'd understand the little exaggerations and smoothings-over. Everyone wants to present themselves in the best possible light, and goodness knows, she's doing the same thing. Maybe the things she's hiding aren't any better or less bad. It'll be something for them to navigate another time.

Right now, she's liking this honesty. It makes her giggle again. "It's a nice thought, sweetheart, but uh..."

She lifts her head so she can whisper a very important secret in his ear. "We're already naked."

That's not going to help, honey. Verity does not want your cookies. And we're pretty sure she doesn't want you to give Matt any more cookies either.

She gets to have another laugh. It's a light, pretty laugh that sparkles like sunlight when it hits a clear lake. It's a laugh he never minds hearing and it generally has a positive effect on his good humor. He's even smiling slightly when she gets to telling him the 'secret'.

In mock surprise, he looks down at the two of them, as if to confirm that 'yes they are naked'. Then he waggles his hips slightly, which, considering how nicely they've been lined up together, has his part rubbing against hers in a way that feels awfully nice. It's actually something of difficult challenge to not take it any further right then and there.

"Mmmm. Your right." He murmurs in that deep and sweet tone that his voice sometimes adopts. "Anyone this close and this naked around the divine power and beauty of Lady Frea can't help, but succumb to their natural instincts."

And with that, he kisses her deeply and arches in the way that he needs to. The penetration is nice and slow because that's what he wants. Every inch to be felt by both of them. The two of them shall do as males and females in nature have instinct to do.

Ooh, that hip-waggling will get them into trouble if he's not careful. And even if he is. Basically, they're in trouble. Much too late to stop now. Normally, she'd be giggling at the play-acting; but there are more overwhelming things on her mind making her moan instead.

He is so good at making her feel good.

"Please do," she whispers as his lips descend on hers. Slow and steady, they say, wins the race; right now, it's winning him more of her moans, half muffled against his lips and thrumming in her chest. Her arms close around him to hold him close, hands splayed across his back. She'll try not to scratch him (much).

When he's finally filling her she lets out a breath and arches up against him. Right now, it seems proper to have every part of them as close together as possible. Their lips meet and part and meet again in a counter-rhythm to the one he's setting with his hips. She's not particularly musical, but percussion she could probably handle, given how easily she picks up his beat and how readily her hips will move to it.

[[Is this level of depth okay for you this time around? I wanna get to the part where they talk and knowing these two, they'll give me other chances to write about 'the act'.]]

They must have been meant to make good music together and honestly, this feels like a song that Han might never get tired of. He could practice for hours and be a very happy, if a bit tired, man. If her body be an instrument than he should like to become a master player. He, in turn, would not hesitate to give her numerous opportunities to play with him.

They also happen to have consistency together, at least as far as Han can tell. This coupling goes as well and as long as most of the others. This one just happened to be in his place, which doesn't actually make him as comfortable as you might think. Yes, it's his turf. And their heap of mattresses and nest of blankets are perfectly comfortable to him, but ...

He doesn't really indulge in these pleasures on his ship. Can't say it's never happened, but it's rare. She finds little and big ways to be exceptional to him, which is amazing, but also a bit scary.

And he does sort of like the way their sounds reverberate through his Millenium Falcon and mesh with the faint cadence of the rain.

After what feels like a good lengthy expression of intimacy between them, Han finishes. He doesn't try to hold back the transition meant to take place, since it hasn't been an issue before. And with Frea he has the added benefit of not only satisfying physical needs with the act, but ... certain emotional ones as well.

[Just fine bb. Like you say, there'll be plenty of chances for other things later.]

Whether they were 'meant' for it or not, this is their song now, and it's her favorite. It's already perfect and yet she, too, craves the chance to practice with him over and over again. Like with jazz, there are so many possible variations on the theme. It will be exhausting, but good art comes only at a price.

Frea has no complaints when he finishes. Quite the contrary. She's had her fun and is in the lovely spot between contentment and overstimulation: everything's hazy and glowing and glorious. Feeling his completion so soon after her own makes her purr like the cat who got the, well. There's no rush, but when he's done she draws him down to lay with her. On top of her, if he wants, or beside; wherever he ends up she'll be tucking herself against him.

"Wonderful," she breathes against his skin once they're settled. "Thank you."

Meant as in they make a good harmony? Together they are in tune? Or perhaps he's just so egotistical that he thinks every woman that catches his eye was meant for him. He says and does just enough to make you wonder if he believes his own hype.

"It was." He says with a bit of that roguish smile touching his lips. "I don't see why you'd want to thank me, though." There have got to be so many people out there that compare to what he can offer her that if anyone of them should be thanking the other ... it should be him thanking her. "I like to think we both get something out of it."

He grabs one blanket that he can reach that isn't wedged underneath both of them to draw up around them. He's decided that curling up against her side is exactly where he wants to be.

Edited 2016-08-09 16:12 (UTC)

Their harmony does make a lovely tune. Upbeat and something you can dance to. Summer Jam 2016. Gods help them if they start believing their own hype.

She loves that smile. Right then is when the realization hits her. It's a lovely feeling, knowing love like that. Fingertips trace lightly over his smile, yes, even while he's talking. She just can't get enough of it right now. "Oh, definitely. But you were the one doing most of the work this time. And I'd hate for you to think I'm inconsiderate."

Him curled up at her side? Yes, please! Frea stretches an arm out so he can use her as a pillow, and once he's settled she arranges herself around him. She nuzzles into his hair with a contented sigh once they're settled and the blanket's wrapped around them. "Cozy?"

He doesn't seem to be at all put off by the touch of her fingers to his lips and the offering of support is too nice to pass up. Why on earth would he want to pass up any excuse to put himself close to her? He can't think of a good reason to at the moment, but there probably could be - here's hoping they're unlikely and rare.

"I think you're fine." As opposed to inconsiderate, was the intention of his words. He does also think she's good looking. Of good quality. Any interpretation of the way those words are assembled would probably fit. He still feels so damn good that his head is fuzzy. She won't find him spouting off his slickest lines right after sex, generally speaking.

To her question of coziness, his reply is a soft murmur of ascent. With them so wrapped together at the moment, she can probably feel it coming from his vocal cords as much as she hears the answer. "Are you?"

The intention is understood well enough, if the contented sound she makes in answer is any indication. Conversational skills will return to them in time. There's no good reason to rush themselves out of the bliss they're feeling in the meantime. Words will come, and thoughts, and feelings, and they have plenty of ways to express themselves in the meantime.

"So're you." Considerate, handsome, worthy, deserving. All of it, punctuated with a kiss to a spot on his forehead straddling his hairline.

"Mm-hmm." He gets a little squeeze of thanks; asking was nice. "Lovely and warm."

Warm is important. So are secrets. Not for the having but for the knowing. So... "Tell me a secret?"

Why is it that his mind immediately drifts to something terrible when she asks to know something about him that no one else does? There must be something to tell her that didn't involve the grim of growing up on the Trader's Luck, the sordid details of his work or the heartbreak of Bria.

The hand attached to the arm that keeps her close strokes over the soft of her skin. Han's combing through his memories for anything that he can think of to tell her about himself that won't kill the mood.

"I've never cut my hair short. Not by my own decision." He says finally. Han is taking his time in the telling of it. It's not a complicated story, it's just that his mind is just moving slowly. "For a few years I was in the military and I just had to do what they told me."

"But anyway, even when I was going to desert planets and I'd think. Man, I bet it would be nice to cut some of this. I still didn't. And I think it was because of this Wookiee, she looked out for me, for a lot of years ..."

"She always told me I looked good scruffy."

Edited 2016-08-09 20:39 (UTC)

Frea doesn't mind the lull in the conversation. It gives her time to look around properly and see what she can learn about him from his surroundings. What does and doesn't fill a living space can be so telling.

When he starts to speak her attention returns fully to him; the fingers that had been idly stroking his back now start to move in patterns meant to soothe. The idea of his having been in the military gets a little rumble of a giggle from her. As close together as they are, he can hear that and feel it both.

"You do. I like your hair this way." To prove it, she gives his hair another nuzzling. "Hmm, my turn. I guess... I should admit, I've never done this indoors before. This is a first."

He has to wonder why the thought of him being in the military was giggle worthy for a moment. He can't tell if she thinks the idea of it is endearing to her or impossible to picture, but that's what he usually expects from people who come to realize that about him. He's not ultimately going to ask. Han is reasonably sure whatever the cause for her little laugh was not meant to be at his expense.

Captain Solo melts into Frea's touches. It somehow seems to make it easier to talk about Dewlanna as she does. It's among the only times he's ever spoken about her and not felt a lump well up in his throat.

"First time doing the unspeakable inside, huh? I think most of my type prefers it this way."

While it's on his mind, he has a question to ask. One he sees as simple but important.

"Hey darling, I've been meaning to ask how old you are."

A little of both, and mostly... "It's hard to imagine you taking orders well."

But the giggle is not, is never, at his expense. She hopes he'll come to understand, to truly believe, that anything she takes is given back and then some. When he makes her laugh, she wants to make him laugh too. Every kiss is returned with interest. Anything he gives her, she wants to share.

It's good to be able to talk about the people loved and missed without revisiting the grief. Remembering shouldn't lead to reliving. She doesn't know, but she'd be pleased to help if she did.

"Yeah, but it has its charms. It's very soft." And mattresses are a little bouncier than the ground. It's something she might experiment with later.

"Hmm?" Total stalling tactic, that sound. "As old as my tongue, and a little older than my teeth. Why?"

She raises a good point about authority and the seeming problems he has in conforming to it. And ultimately it was disobedience that got him thrown out of the Imperial Navy, but out of his defiance, he got the best friend anyone could ever have asked for. It was a great trade.

"I didn't." Solo confirms, leaning in to press a kiss on her cheek. "Probably has a lot to do with why it didn't last."

When it comes to being out in nature versus being indoors for matters of intimacy, his preference is still inside. Although, he must admit that Frea aways seems to find places that are far more comfortable than he'd expect them to be.

His question. Han thinks he could frame it in such a way that she'd feel guilty if she didn't answer and Han does want to know badly enough that he'd considered a couple of ways to ask about the information. However, now that they're talking about it and he can see she doesn't want to just tell him the way she often does with his other questions, it makes him want to back down.

He knows how he feels about certain things she might want to ask that he wouldn't want to talk about.

"I guess I just want to know you better." He says with a shrug. "The same reason you might find the fact that I don't cut my hair short interesting. We don't have to talk about it, though."

Edited 2016-08-10 12:25 (UTC)

That does sound like an excellent trade, and an excellent story. Maybe he'll tell her about it someday. Right now, she's humming happily at the kiss and turning her head to give him one back on his forehead. "Can't say I'm sorry you're not a soldier anymore. I prefer you the way you are. Scruffy hair and independence and all."

He could guilt her into telling him things, yeah. And then she'd not want to see him as much. Not a good trade, she doesn't think--and hopes he would agree. But as it is, this isn't a refusal to answer so much as an inability. His answer to the rebuttal makes her hesitate and think.

After three breaths, she quietly admits, "I don't know."

He's gotta be judicious with the feel good stories. Han only has so many of them.

"More of a pilot than a soldier." He says without thinking. Then when he does start thinking about it, he has to wonder if the distinction matters all that much to her. "I flew in a one person starship, usually against other people in one man starships."

They killed each other just as dead as the troopers, though, in the end and the idea of him doing anything that makes her not want to be around him as much would be something he would consider an awful trade. He hopes he never ends up in that kind of exchange with her.

"It's not that important." He soothes. Not so much that it's worth stressing her out. Absolutely not worth rubbing her the wrong way over it. Han rubs the back of his hand (it's less rough than the palm) along the line of her jaw gently. "I'm about to be twenty-eight, I think."

Edited 2016-08-10 20:25 (UTC)

They can make more together.

"Oh." He's right that she doesn't immediately see a difference, but he does, so she's going to try to find it. "That must take a lot of extra training and skill?"

Is that it? She hopes that's it. If he flies as well as he plays darts, he must be the best pilot in the galaxy. That's her take on the sitch, anyway. Still, she's glad he's out. She thinks he must be safer that way.

"Mm." His hand is thanked for the lovely touch with nuzzling. She'll nuzzle and nose his hand until she can kiss the back of it. "So young. I would have thought you'd need to be older to be a captain."

Her lips move next to kiss his palm. He might worry it's too rough for her, but she has no such concerns. "I don't think I can answer any better either way, but did you mean how many springs have their been, or how old I was before I became this?"

Do TIE\LN pilots have better training and more skill than stormtroopers? For the most part, yes. But it's not as if he wants to turn an otherwise nice conversation that they could have into one of what the military is like where he comes from.

"Well, yeah, that." He says with his lips twisting into a cocky smile. "I also don't want Brienne to think I'll be any kind of challenge for her in hand to hand combat. That's not the kind of military training I got."

He feels older than the years he's lived and she appears young to him. If he had to guess her age on her physical looks, he'd say about a decade younger than him. "You can vault yourself right up through the ranks where I come from when you own your own ship. That's not to say a captain and the person who own a ship are always the same, but a lot of times they are."

When it comes to her age, Han would be content not to talk about it anymore. The truth was, he was trying to see if telling him about her age would parlay into a conversation about a life before the one she lives now. One only hinted at before.

"If I had what you said before right ... and I only get so much of this magic stuff so maybe I'm not, I thought you said it was your first spring as the Queen."

Edited 2016-08-11 01:35 (UTC)

How unreasonable of you. Wanting the notifications to show up on time. Or at all.

I know. Bad me. I'll show myself out.

They seem to be back now?

Yeah karzilla just posted they fixed it. :)

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