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

[twelve_not_fourteen]

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.

Comments

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Well, he certainly aims to please. And not just himself, but her too!

Why indeed would he try to hold back his smiles? It's a question worth asking, but not one with an easy answer. He wouldn't have one if she asked him as much. On a conceptual level he knows that he's no more or less deserving of happiness than anyone else, but it's not as if logic dictates behavior. Or response.

"You don't think so." He says with a brow raised at her. Han himself guessed she'd be on one end of the spectrum or the other - a natural or not very good at all. The complete absence of a response to her dominant hand is noted and ... well, no need to rearrange her stance if it doesn't matter what hand she'd throwing with. She's in a pretty good posture already.

"Not even with someone like me to show you the ropes." As if he were some great teacher. How funny.

He will not hesitate to put his hands on her if necessary to adjust her stance. In fact, more of it is just him settled behind her with his hands on her hips murmuring in her ear what he wants her to do. Just an excuse to touch her again. It's been almost two whole minutes since one of them had their hands on the other, after all.

"Your feet should be shoulder width apart. You weight mainly on the front foot, while the back one provides the balance. Keeping where your standing and the way you're standing consistent is important."

[maydayqueen]

He hasn't missed that mark yet!

He's no Vulcan to live by logic alone that's the wrong franchise, but neither is he undeserving of happiness. But he's not the type to talk about things, she's noticed that already. She'll have to lead by example, and with so many smiles to spare for him, that shouldn't be too hard.

"You're very distracting," she points out with another of her easy smiles, "even with an excellent teacher, I don't know how much of the lessons I'll retain." Her aim is true, but she'd have to focus, and there are better targets for her attention. The unflinching way he reaches for her, the fact he'll hold her like that, and how very nice his warm breath feels against her skin are all proving her point. Eyes closed and smiling, she leans back toward him and her empty hand moves to cover one of his.

"Mm-hmm." Is she even listening? Her feet do shift into the stance recommended but she'd still rather lean her head back against his chest.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Let's face it. If there was such a thing as an anti-Vulcan, it might be Han Solo.

As for distracting, she's not the only one feeling that way. He almost doesn't want to show her anything more because staying just like this? It would be alright with him. She has a way of making him feel at peace. The noise and bustle of the Nexus just seems to ... diminish around him when she's there to focus on.

Right now he's only dimly aware that there still in a tavern, for instance.

What he needs from her right now is a kiss. He'll lean in and offer one of those to share with her. It's her fault for just standing there and being all kissable. How was he supposed to resist?

... though, eventually, it occurs to him that he's still holding darts and that was why they were here. Mostly because he managed to prick himself in the abdomen with one. There are apparently drawbacks to forgetting about your surroundings entirely. Who knew?

He winces a little bit and shakes his head.

"This is how I want you to hold the dart." He says getting himself back on track. He takes his hands regrettably off of her to illustrate, but is still behind her. "Three fingers around this bronze colored part of the dart called the grip. The idea is that you'll be keeping the dart held straight while your arm is making the throwing motion."

[maydayqueen]

Kisses shared are quite possibly the most perfect use of their time. She's happy to share a kiss with him, turning just enough to meet him at a good angle. The noise and bustle around them hardly matters to her when he's near. They might be attracting a bit of an audience with all this pretty people kissing, but that doesn't bother her either.

It takes her a moment to realize what happened when he pulls back wincing. But when she does, he gets a sympathetic look. Poor dear. They'll be more careful about kissing while holding pointy things. She'd kiss it better, but, well...

"Hmm?" Oh. Right. Darts. And no more being held, how lamentable. She focuses on his hand, studying his hold on the dart before holding hers up to mimic it. "Like this?"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"Just like that."

Now, he does walk out from behind her so that he can show her the arm movement of throwing the dart. He shows her the motion without actually throwing the dart once and then, Han will offer his tutelage.

"I wouldn't lean too far forward or too far back. Don't hop. Don't bounce. Let your arm do the work and remember, kept the dart level and facing forward as you aim at the board."

Solo then throws a dart at the board for real. The movement is crisp when he does it. Focused. Not a lot of unneeded movement in the action. Just a good solid throw. He hits the inside of the 18 wedge close to the bullseye. He has a second dart though, which he'll throw because it will be good to watch one more time. The second one hit in the 10 wedge, again, he's tantalizingly close to the bullseye.

In his defense ... he is throwing the darts off center. Frea is still occupying the middle of the lane.

[maydayqueen]

There's no need for him to be defensive about his performance. She thinks he's doing splendidly. Each throw gets an approving sound from her and when he's done she touches his shoulder lightly. "You're doing so well, now I'm certain I won't keep up. I hope my forfeits for losing every game won't be too strenuous."

Her hand lingers on him for a moment more before she glances over at the dartboard. She lifts her hand, rolling the dart between her fingertips while she considers before she draws her hand back and snaps her arm forward. If it were a game where the force of impact mattered, she'd probably win. As it is, she hits the 12 between the rings and seems delighted to have hit the board.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

And yet, he'd wonder if he was really terrible at this, if she would heap praise upon him anyway. Frea has that sunny disposition and is generally positive as far as he's noticed. There hasn't been a lot of reasons not to be with the two of them together.

What Han notices is that she throws the dart more like the way he would throw a bladed instrument. Deemphasize the accuracy in favor of making sure the object hits somewhere and sticks. There's power in her throw too. He's almost sure that he can see her dart wedged deeper into the board than his are, even from all the way back here.

Which makes inclined to tell her that throwing it so hard will tire her arm out, speaking of strenuous. And then he finds himself wondering if she can be fatigued in the same way that he can. She sleeps, so, he'd guess that she would.

"Good thing the stakes are pleasant for both sides." He murmurs with a sly smile. "We can save our sense of urgency for something other than the game."

With that thought, he walks up to the board to fetch the darts and hands all three to her when he returns. "Couple more throws to get the hang of it?"

[maydayqueen]

Of course she would! She'd be sweet and encouraging and would celebrate his efforts. They could be terrible at it together and it'd be adorable. Furthermore, she's pretty sure he likes her positive attitude.

She knows what she knows. Darts may not have come up in her life much, but throwing blades, yes. She's better at that than she ever wants him to know. Nature is red in tooth and claw but he doesn't need to see that. Not from her.

"This is true. Somehow, I get the feeling we'll both be winning." Is it wrong that she admires him walking away so very much? Because she does and she doesn't try to hide it. He's so wonderfully handsome.

"Thank you." She takes the darts and takes her practice throws. Her aim isn't any better by the end of it, but she's not throwing as hard as the first time. She did notice it was a bit more effort than necessary for the game.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

He does. She might have to cajole or coerce him into admitting how much he likes her sweetness, but he does.

Frea is hardly the first woman to cast an amorous glance at Han. Nobody is going to fit into everyone's ideal for handsomeness, but it's obvious that the Corellian was put together very nicely. There's the sum of him, too ... it adds up to more than the value of the parts. He's got something and it's hard to quantify.

As it is, Han slinks back to the table. He's sipping on his brew and watching the May Queen take her next series of throws. His mood and spirits lifted by the company. Darts are a nice game too because there's going to be a whole lot backs turned and not much to do, but admire watching the other walk.

Expressive face that he has, when he's not trying to be guarded, you can see the moment where he has a thought that hadn't occurred to him before. This is one of those moments. "Do you like or not like being compared to spring?"

[maydayqueen]

He's a very needy lover. Lucky for them both she's got so much to give. In a way, it's good for her to have someone so eager for her attention who's an appropriate level of grateful for it.

There's no doubting that he's got something, all right.

Frea's not posing for his gaze and her clothes don't cling enough to make her figure obvious, but he knows what's under there. The hints and reminders should be all he needs (and all he wants, in a place like this), and there's something to be said for watching the woman he adores wearing his clothes.

Her first response to the question is to hum thoughtfully, and she thinks about it while she retrieves the darts. They're offered to him along with her answer. "Do you like being compared to yourself?"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Under those clothes is a body that is the examplar for young and vibrant female beauty. He could spend an entire lifetime crisscrossing galaxies and he's convinced that he would never find one that compares. She is startlingly gorgeous. Sometimes he can't even believe how anyone could be so lovely.

Considering that, it's a good thing for Han that she didn't pick anything that hugged her body tighter and that she doesn't strike provocative poses. A very good thing, because it would take only the barest suggestion for him to want to engage with the spring queen the way virile males in nature do around a healthy female. Even trying to be mindful of his attraction to her might not be enough, but he's going to try to behave himself. It's his intention to. At the moment.

Shaking his head at her, he insists, "it's not the same." He takes the darts from her and a moment to think on why. "I don't reperesent anything greater than myself. I hold no domain over anything except Han Solo."

[maydayqueen]

Practice. She'd attribute it to practice and let him figure out if she's serious or not.

It's good for both of them, or at least, for their dart game. He doesn't need much practice hitting her bullseye but she's happy to give it to him anyway. Keeping in practice is important, and so much fun. But for now, they really should try to wait and be calm. Show that they can have a relationship that isn't entirely sexual. Or something like that.

"I think you're pretty great." She's smiling when she says this, but that doesn't detract from the weight of the words or how seriously she means them. "But if you'd prefer the simple answer, then yes, I like it. It's nice to be thought of as something lovely."

Han: 261, Frea: 301

[twelve_not_fourteen]

By now she's likely to have warmed up. Maybe she's even dried off from where the rain had touched her. The thing is, she looks good in his jacket. Real good. And the Captain doesn't want to see her take it off anytime soon. It says all kinds of things, to him and everyone who might observe her in it, subtly.

Things that he likes to think are true.

"I know you do." Han says, looking into her eyes as if he might find answers to questions he wants to ask in there. He's half tempted to point out something he's been turning over in his mind for the last couple moments, because his question is more than just about whether she minds being compared to a season known for its beauty ... but it might not be the best time and place to have that talk.

"You should know that I think you're great too."

Han glances over to the board. Maybe start the first game. They've not got any particular reason not to. "So we're going to play 301. You start at 301 and count down to 0 exactly. You can't begin scoring until you hit somewhere in the double ring."

With that, Han approaches the board and hurls some darts at it. His first hits just outside of the 20 wedge. The second a single 20 in the center of the wedge. With the last dart, he hits his double. He'll walk up to the chalk scoreboard and draw out a chart for them to keep track.

Like a good sport, he brings the darts back to her when he's done filling out the score.

Han: 261, Frea: 301

[maydayqueen]

It's true that she's warm and mostly dry now, but she's so comfortable in his jacket and with what wearing it says about her. They're nice things and largely true. And their evening will likely go better when they're not interrupted. So, if he doesn't mind, she'll keep wearing it until it stops smelling like him to her and it starts smelling like her to him.

"Thank you." Hearing that he knows how she feels, at least a little, makes her smile grow. Her gaze meets his easily and she rests a hand on his arm. A comfortable, little way to make it clear he's with her as much as she's with him. There are answers in her eyes, but he has to ask the questions. Otherwise, how is she supposed to know which ones he's ready to hear?

Oh, but that would require talking, wouldn't it?

"Okay." Counting down exactly? They may end up waiting at the end to hit just the right thing. Ah, well, them's the rules. She steps back to wait by the table while he takes his turn, cheering softly when he hits his double, having a drink of lemonade before taking the darts and her turn.

"Thank you." She's tempted to give him a kiss every time he does something sweet like that, but they'd never finish the game if she did.

Her throws aren't so good. She can hit in or near the 20s, but she can't quite get that double the first round. When the last throw is done she shrugs; it doesn't bother her. "Ah, you see? You're much better at this."

She'll fetch the darts for him, twisting slightly before coming to a stop in front of him so her skirt flares out and brushes his leg. She never promised not to flirt.

Han: 202, Frea: 301

[twelve_not_fourteen]

It does require talking and far too often he is guilty of being a man who avoids his emotions and crime lords he owes money to. On the other hand, in the same way this bar is probably not the ideal place to get too lost in physical displays of affection, he doesn't believe that it's the best place to have a deeply personal discussion either.

He's banking on the fact that when the darts are over, they'll head off somewhere quiet together.

"I'm alright." He says casually. "I wouldn't put money on my skills yet." Leave it to Han to set the bar for success in such a way. He'd sooner put a stake in his accuracy with a blaster or in a sabacc tournament.

The turn and brushing of her skirt against his leg gets noticed, though. There is the game going on and the bar around them, but his attention is mainly on her. It's not as if he's tried to hide it. That distinctive grin of his spreads over his lips and Han finds himself settling his hand over her's and not the darts. For a moment. Touching, because he can.

After a moment or so, he'll take his darts and head back to the board. There's no need to aim for doubles anymore so he'll aim for the center of the board. He hits the single fifteen, the single nineteen and the single bullseye. And The Captain will mark his score and return the darts to the May Queen when he's finished.

Han: 202, Frea: 256

[maydayqueen]

True, there's a time and a place for things. So long as he makes the time to be in that place eventually, she won't bother him about it now. But she does hope they get to have that conversation someday.

"Is that when it's serious? When money's involved?" There's a hint of distaste in her voice. Money is so... well. Boring. Spending a lifetime chasing it sounds like a literal Hell to her. She doesn't entirely understand why or how it's become so important.

But there are better things to think about right now, like that grin and the touch of his hand. Knowing they can get away with these things, even in a place like this, has a special appeal. It's a moment worth savoring.

She returns the favor when he returns with the darts, letting her hand rest on his before taking the darts from him. He gets a smile before she turns her attention to the board. Her first throw is still off the mark, but the second hits the double twenty, and her third hits the five near the bullseye. It's unlikely she'll catch up at this point, but that's okay.

After she's marked down her score she brings back the darts with a question. "Have you decided how many you want when you win?"

Han: 139, Frea: 256

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Money is important to Han. It's unfortunate, perhaps, but it's true. He almost wants to be defensive about it too. To point out that most societies are driven by commerce and his is no different. Make an excuse that keeping a ship maintained, especially one as old as his, isn't free.

And yet, when she says those words, with tones of disdain in a voice that's otherwise been so sweet to him ... he just wants to crawl under a rock somewhere.

"I ..." He ends up ducking his head away to compose himself. "... sometimes."

However, the touching is good to follow up after that moment. He can touch her and know that her opinion hasn't been irreparably tarnished what's going on between them. It's not as if she ran off. She's even still smiling him. Still offering him touches in return.

"Hrm?" He says, so wraped up the preceeding thoughts he nearly missed her question. "Oh, you're so sure I'm gonna win, huh? I think in this case it might be fun to leave it up to the debtor to decide what's sufficently paid."

With that, Solo takes another turn and gets a score of 63 for the round. He makes tally of it and returns the darts to Frea when he's finished.

Han: 139, Frea: 190

[maydayqueen]

Money's important to most people, and for good reasons. But she's not most people and she doesn't understand. Nobody's explained it to her yet. She sees the horrible things some people do in the name of 'wealth' and 'the bottom line' and that, she disdains. Not Han. His reaction draws her up short. Her eyes widen in surprise and concern, and remorse when she realizes she's hurt his feelings.

"Hey... I'm sorry." His dislike of talking about feelings makes her wonder if he'll tell her what's wrong, but she needs to apologize anyway. If they get to talk about it later, even better; she'd rather know what she's apologizing for.

"Yeah, pretty sure." Frea glances at their scores before continuing. "That's generous. I hope you know what you're getting yourself into..."

He gets another smile when he brings back the darts, and this time she takes more than a moment to enjoy being close to him before taking her turn in the game. This round, she scores a 66, but she has a lot of catching up to do still. Well, she would if she were worried about winning. Being in charge of the debt sounds too appealing to worry about that.

Han: 66, Frea: 190

[twelve_not_fourteen]

He doesn't even realize that she might need to know more. Not at first. Not until he looks into those blue eyes and sees her seeking something. And she definitely seems concerned at his reaction. It's been a while, he thinks, since anyone cared that much about what he was feeling in a given moment.

"It's fine." He says. "Money. You're right about it, in a way. Wrong about it too. I trusted the wrong people and I have a lot of debt to pay off now. Plus, I grew up a have not, you know ... it effects the way you think of it."

That probably only helps her understand so much, but at least he's given her a glimpse. That's worth something and by now, she probably knows that it's not easy for him to self-disclose. "Sometimes you wonder if you're running after it too hard, but there ain't nobody handing things out to me. I have to get it how I can or I'm ..."

He doesn't finish the thought.

Still, if there's any retreating by Solo, it's into those gazes and the moments of being close together. It might be complete stupidity, but he trusts her to be fair and kind to him.

When it's his turn, he scores a 73 for the round. He takes note of his score on the board and brings Frea the darts.

Han: 66, Frea: 167

[maydayqueen]

It does make her green eyes blue when she makes people sad. People she likes, that is. Han is undoubtedly in that category. She listens to his explanation intently, though without fully understanding. But that's not so odd since he stopped so abruptly.

Still, it's enough to give her ideas. She always wants to be fair and kind to him. Kind more than fair, right at the moment. A kiss when she realizes he's not going to finish that thought is a good start to the kindness, and there will be other things later.

"I'm sorry I don't understand these things." For the first time in... well, possibly ever, she truly regrets not understanding this part of mortal life. It's not a pleasant feeling, having to choose between her morals and her affection for him. But it's also not his problem.

There are many things for her to think about, later. In the future, when she can focus on them.

"I don't want to hurt you by not understanding." She can admit this much without having to think about it more. "My life is... not like other people's. I know it makes things difficult sometimes. Please be patient with me?"

Patience is a big favor to ask, she knows. She doesn't press for an answer, letting him take his turn with the darts and not saying anything until he's ready to talk again. But her low score is a good sign of how distracted she is now.

Han: 66, Frea: 167

[twelve_not_fourteen]

[[Aww, sorries for mucking that up. I thought for sure her eyes were blue for some reason.]]

No, he doesn't really want to say any more on the subject of money. It's perceived importance made her balk on its own. If he kept talking he'd likely get to a point where he'd need to explain what he does with that spaceship of his and he's got the suspicion that revealing that he often ran drugs for a crime lord won't sit well with her either.

If he doesn't chase credits as hard as he can, some bounty hunter is going to drag his ass back to Jabba where he will be very lucky if he gets off with just torture.

He can't see himself enjoying that conversation.

Han takes another slug from his beer and watches Frea's round go badly. He's gotta wonder if playing darts, nice a distraction as it might be, is what the should be doing right now.

"Do you want to get out of here, sweetheart?"

Han: 66, Frea: 167

[maydayqueen]

((No worries. I forget half the time too.))

Understanding might mean she doesn't balk anymore. And the bounty hunters might be surprised if they tried to bother him while she's around. But it's a safe bet she wouldn't like that he does things that hurt people, no. Probably for the best he make sure she never find out about that.

The question is met with a surprised blink before Frea sets the darts down on the table and wraps her arms around him. "No, I'm sorry, I'm having fun. This is a fun game." The smile she turns up to him is far too sincere for her to be trying to put one over on him. "I mean. Not that I'm not looking forward to where we're going next, but. We don't have to rush."

Han: 66, Frea: 167

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Getting in with the Hutts was among the worst ideas he had. That much was pretty obvious now, a little less so at the time. If he could go back and do it all again, he would have made a few different choices.

"No reason to be sorry, Frea." He doesn't bother to hide the back that he's pleased to see that she still wants to throw her arms around him and smile. If she had felt more like abandoning the game in favor of, you know, talking about some of this stuff ...

He settles his hands on her hips. Following that up, Han goes in for a kiss. That's gotta be one of the top ways to reassure someone that everything's alright, right?

"Just didn't want you to feel like we had to stay if you didn't want to."

Han: 66, Frea: 167

[maydayqueen]

Hindsight is often a cruel tease in that regard. Making us all see what we could have done better, if only...

His relief fuels her own. It'd be so sad if a misunderstanding had been so irreconcilable that he didn't enjoy her affections anymore. As much as she does want to talk about it, a return to normalcy between them is welcome as well. And perhaps it's good for both of them to have a little time to sort out their thoughts on the matter first. She suspects some of her questions will be better saved to ask someone else, to avoid leaning too hard on anyone.

His hands and his lips are welcome visitors. Frea lifts herself up on her toes to meet the kiss with a pleased sigh. It's an extremely effective way to reassure her all is well.

"Mm. That's nice, thank you. So's the offer. But let's finish the game at least before we go?"

Han: 1, Frea: 167

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"It is a good thing to finish what you start."

And yet, he's the kind of man who lets things go unresolved. One of those things he does, perhaps, knowing that it's not really the way he should be behaving. Hardly the only thing that he does anyway, knowing he's better off not.

One more kiss for her cheek before he reaches for those darts. He gets his toe to the line and makes a few well placed throws at the board. A single five, a single ten and the double bullseye. This brings Han down to a score of one, which he'll mark on the board before bringing the darts back to the May Queen.