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[More than the sound (and smells) of someone working in the kitchen--since Natsume seems to have taken it upon himself to help out in the kitchen sometimes--what catches Leia's attention is the grumbling. She doesn't need much context for it, with Natsume's message being fresh in her mind, and if her impression is correct, it's something she'd like to help with.]

You look busy.

[Even though she can see what he's doing, it's an invitation for him to tell her what he's doing.]

Busy! Ha!

[is what he says as he abandons the icing and walks over to her, giving her a slightly lingering peck on the cheek in greeting. this involves putting his hands on her shoulders, so there's flour there now. at least he's covered in smudges of it too, if that's any comfort.]

This is the boring part. It takes too long for a cake to bake, if you want my opinion.

Edited 2017-07-04 21:28 (UTC)

[It's only a slight comfort, as she looks down at her shoulders and frowns at the flour smudges all over her shoulders. Her frown, at least, is slightly tempered by the kiss to her cheek]

You're making it for Takashi, I assume?

Course I am. Can you believe the nerve of that kid?

[he goes back to his most recent concoction, going after the homemade icing with a spoon and far too much enthusiasm.]

I mean, bring it up or don't. I feel like an ass for not keepin' up with it.

[he lifts the spoon, staring at the sugary goop sliding off of it with a frown before resuming his stirring.]

And after all that he's gonna say he doesn't want anything. Well, he's gettin' a cake. And he better be a good boy and blow the candles out and make a wish, too.

[his grumpy tone is a touch at odds with the nature of his complaints, but that's never stopped han before.]

I feel bad for not knowing, as well. Did he mention it last year?

[because natsume can say it's not important all he likes, but Leia begs to differ. Especially if he's going to announce to everyone that he had a birthday after the fact.

She watches as Han messes with the icing for a moment, before turning toward one of the drawers and pulling out a bottle of food coloring. Not that she knows what he's going for here, but making it a brighter color might help things look less goopy.]

Try adding more of this.

Oh, he mentioned it. On the day of with no warning.

[gee, he sure is doing a great job stirring this stuff. no aggression being taken out on the spoon and bowl at all. just normal, really fast, stirring. but he does reluctantly pause and tip the bowl toward her, like, add what you want. it's not like this stuff can look worse, right?]

But that was like...three years ago? Two years ago. It was a long time ago for me! Can you expect a guy to keep up with stuff like that?

[totally normal, fast stirring that totally doesn't result flecks of frosting on Leia's face. Totally not.

After wiping some of those flecks off her face, Leia adds a few drops of food coloring as Han stirs, so the color of the frosting evens out and brightens into something a bit nicer to look at.]

He said it was actually three days ago. We should keep a note of it somewhere, just in case.

Oh, I'll just jot it down in my social calendar.

[he says it sarcastically, but then he realizes that leia probably actually has something like that, so he tacks on more sincerely:]

Hey, you should write that down in your social calendar.

[leia purses her lips, exhaling sharply in annoyance at that sarcasm. Because that's a genuine helpful suggestion, she isn't here to deal with that sass.]

Thank you for such brilliant advice, Flyboy.

[her tone probably couldn't be drier if she tried. So let's change the subject from that annoyance--]

What were you planning on doing with the cake? Decoration wise, I mean.

[he winces a bit to himself, but lets that potential budding argument go in favor of talking about literally anything else.]

Uh..."Happy Birthday Takashi".

Do you mind if I help?

[since the baking aspect is clearly on its way to being finished, and she knows she'd be of little help there in the first place. She'd like to help some if there's room for her to do so.

And though it's not related to Natsume in the most basic of senses, his refusal to tell them when his birthday was before it happened reminds Leia of another person who stubbornly refuses to share basic information about himself with her. So she adds on, a few moments after that question--]

Have you figured out when Ben's birthday would be on this planet's calendar?

Why not? Your writing probably looks better than mine anyway.

[he's never had much need to write things out by hand, at least not since coming here.]

I haven't given it much thought. When did we celebrate yours, again?

[he remembers baking the cake, but it's been a while. longer, technically, for him.]

Edited (but u are tho) 2017-07-06 19:33 (UTC)

Luke and I worked out that it would be the fourth of Ochta [November] here.

[she remembers the cake, and actually getting to celebrate a birthday with Luke with both knowing they were siblings. It was a good birthday, the best one she'd had in years probably.]

Ben's isn't too close to yours, so...

[he shrugs, apparently not that concerned about it.]

Maybe I should just ask him. He must've had at least one pass since he's been here.

[She wants to say something about how she could ask Ben, and how she probably would ask regardless, but--with a slight pang of jealousy--she realizes he's far more likely to tell Han than her. But that's not something she wants to share, so she just nods. Because more important than being jealous of Han's relationship with their son--which is a good thing, she's happy that Ben talks with him--is finding out more about Ben in general.]

I think that's a good idea.

[And just as important--]

What about you?

[he blinks at her, somehow not quite getting what she means.]

I said, I'll just ask him.

[he says it uncertainly, like, he just told her what he would do, why does she need to know again? the idea that she might be asking after his birthday does not even occur to him.]

[she furrows her brow at first, before it dawns on her that they're having two separate conversations between her question and his answer. Realization creeps into her expression, and Leia regards Han for a moment before continuing, this time deciding to be more clear with her question.]

What I meant was, you and Chewie never celebrated any birthdays when it was just the two of you?

Oh. Uh, no, actually. Chewie's a little old for all that, y'know?

[he scratches at the back of his neck, feeling a little sheepish that he missed the point that badly.]

It might be hard to fit that many candles on a cake.

[his response, immediately jumping to Chewie rather than his own birthday, is telling. It's not as though she assumed he put much importance on his birthday, given what she knew of his early life. It's more that her suspicions are confirmed, that he's either just not interested in it or that he doesn't know when his is.]

Did you ever want to?

[celebrate, that is.]

[he shrugs and turns his attention to the oven, ostensibly checking on the cake but more realistically stalling as he begins to wonder if he's going to get roped into some kind of celebration himself.]

I never really saw the point. Don't even know the proper day for it, for one thing.

[he grunts out the answer as casually as possible, fiddling with the stove so he doesn't have to see her face. it's more awkward to talk about this than he expected it would be, or maybe that's just because he was just grumbling about natsume's similar attitude.]

[And there it is, the answer she expected to hear, especially after everything he'd already said at this point. It's no surprise that Han doesn't know when his birthday would be, it's more that... as sad as it is, in a way, it's nice to have that confirmation.

He may not be looking at her, but her attention stays on him while he's messing with the stove as if trying to guess what he's thinking.]

You must have had one at some point since we've been here.

[Her tone is gentle, not wanting to put him on the spot or make him more uncomfortable than he seems to already be.]

Technically, sure.

[disappointingly, the cake is not ready to come out of the oven yet, so he turns back to her as he tries to think of something else he can do with his hands to make him look more casual about this.]

Had a couple back home, too. It ain't a big deal.

[he'll just.......wipe his hands with a towel. that's a manly thing that men do.]

[Casual or obviously not casual, Leia won't call him out on that, not at the moment. She doesn't want him to get defensive, not just because it'd ruin both of their moods, but also because it'd ruin Natsume's cake. No one wins when Han and Leia argue.]

It doesn't have to be a big deal. What you did for me and Luke last year was perfect.

[And what he's in the middle of doing for Natsume this year.]

[he finally decides it's safe to give her his full attention again, offering her a gentle smirk.]

So you want an excuse for more cake, huh? Should've known.

[That just gets Leia to roll her eyes, the awkward atmosphere effectively gone, as far as she can tell, from that one quip.]

For your birthday, I'd have to make the cake. I'd be the one doing the hard work.

[Which is to say, if she just wanted more cake, she'd just buy it. Less work that way.]

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