Chapter 2

The store was one of the most exclusive and expensive of Coruscant. It had shiny, black marble floor, thick velvet red curtains and exquisite furniture. A mellifluous Twilek greeted them with a graceful bow.

“Ah, Baron Calrissian, how nice to see you again!”

“Aleen, old chum, long time no see!” Lando patted the other's shoulder cordially. The Twilek bowed once more as he recognized Luke.

“Jedi Knight Skywalker, I am honored with your presence in my humble stablisment.”

Luke barely had time to respond with a silent nod before Lando dragged him to a couch.

“Aleen, we need your help. Jedi Skywalker is having problems with his... companion. His Corellian companion”

The Twilek's thin eyebrows raised significantly.

“Ah! I see... it's Hiding Time, isn't it?” and, as Lando nodded gravely, the eyebrows lowered impossibly down in a sympathetic expression. “Poor thing... Do not worry, Aleen will help!”

As Aleen clapped his hands twice, a bunch of shiny pink copies of Threepio swarmed in, bringing boxes and packs of all possible sizes and colors.
Costumes. Toys. All kinds of aphrodisiacs. Holos.
Luke's eyes grew wide as saucers while Lando and Aleen enthusiastically presented the products.

“This is real great, you put in his...”

“But...”

“You can ask him to rub this part on your feet while he...”

“Han doesn't like the...”

“... electric impulses to the sensitive parts of...”

“I don't think...”

“...and it will make him come like a supernova!”

“Stooop!!!”

“I'll tell ya, Chewie... Never thought it would hit me so hard.”

Han was working on his comp terminal while talking. Chewbacca was just staring, amazed, at how fast and sure the Corellian's hands danced on the keyboard. The Wookie had never seen his friend dive so fiercely into bureaucratic work.

“The last time I had it I was with Vonda... She left me a month after it started, said I'd become... what were the words she used... an-unbearably-boring-sorry-excuse-of-a-mate. Remember that?”

[It was shortly after we met. I remember I thought how your race could have survived enough to develop a civilization with such a physiological hindrance.]

Han stopped typing and gave an offended snort.

“Well, we did it great, thank you very much. After all, life is more than sex.” and he resumed typing with impressive speed.

Chewie shook his head, completely baffled. To hear Han say that... would Hiding Time hit harder as they get older?

“I'm sorry for Luke, of course.” the Corellian stopped typing again and leaned back on his chair with a disheartened sigh. “He says it's OK but, you know, he's young and full of stamina... it must be hard for him.”

[I heard there were very simple ways of interrupting Hiding Time...]

“You heard it wrong, pal. I've seen some guys doing it... using aphodisiacs and all but this is no good. If I did it, I would lose Luke for good.”

[Why?]

“When you do aphrodisiacs during Hiding Time the effect is multiplied. You get wild and lose control. Totally. Absolutely.” Han touched the holopic on his desk, the only personal belonging he had in his office. It was Luke standing in front of a pond in Ishlarra, with a lovely, dazzling smile. The kid looked so damned happy there, blue eyes wide, face glowing like a two-year-old brought to a park for the first time...
“You know Luke. He has very little experience with this kind of thing. I'm his first male lover, for the Goddess' sake! And being a Jedi doesn't help anything in these matters. If he saw me wild... I mean, really, really wild, it would scare him to death... or disgust him to no end, which would be even worse.”

The young Jedi drew a deep breath. His cheeks were purple and he was trembling a little. Whatever composture he tried to keep had crumpled. It was embarrassing enough that Lando knew about his and Han's predicament but to have all those... things exposed under his nose, considering his... um... needy state... it was too much!
The Twilek blinked, looking slightly baffled.

“Yes?”

Luke sighed and held his head with both hands, trying to get a grip on himself and be sensible.

“Thank you for... um... all this, but isn't Hiding Time a natural process in Corellian's physiology? Is it right to interfere with it?”

“Dear Luke, if nobody interfered with Hiding Time Corellia wouldn't be so prolific.” Lando gestured to Aleen. “Bring us some drinks, old chum. I think Jedi Skywalker is a little distracted.”

“Of course, how unconsidered of me! It's his first time here, isn't it?” Aleen waved to the nearest droid who immediately left the room and came back seconds later with three elegant crystal flutes and a bottle of some bright red drink. The Twilek kept talking apologetically meanwhile. “I know that the Jedi of old didn't use to seek the pleasures of sense but since Baron Calrissian told me you had a companion I thought modesty was unnecessary.”

“It's alright. I just... don't have much experience...” Luke shook his head trying to clear it. “But this isn't the problem! What I wanted to say is, Han never said it was possible to... to take him out of the Hiding Time using this kind of things. I understood it was something inevitable and impossible to change.”

“Inevitable? Yes. Impossible to change? Absolutely no.”

“How come he doesn't know? I mean, don't you think if it were that easy he would...”