Poe Dameron somehow has returned. (poe_hotdameron) wrote in crownplazaic, @ 2021-01-01 14:36:00 |
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Life day was exhausting. It had started off great, but for right now, she was just ready for it to be over. She delivered gifts, some more enjoyable than others, ate festive foods and found her lightsaber in the box under the tree. It wasn’t just Life Day if she were honest with herself, but everything that had happened leading up to it. She just wanted to melt into darkness for a bit and not exist, not feel, not anything. The room was empty. The lights were off and she was tempted to just take a nap. Just a short one before heading out again. Rey didn’t have many attachments before BB-8 and Finn rolled into her life. Now she had so many. And while the hotel had started off an easy place to just live, now things were becoming complicated. She rolled onto her side and curled up. ---- Life Day was exhausting. Christmas too. Funny that they were on the same day-- or around the same time. It was hard to tell, exactly, since time was tracked a little differently here. It just made for everything feeling very busy. Or maybe it was the appearances of so many new people that made it feel busy -- Kylo Ben, Phasma and Solo. It made things -- well. It was a lot. Between that and the mall, the sudden flurry of shopping, not just for christmas but for themselves, and this month had been more tiring than most. Rey actually slept when she got exhausted and a bit stressed though, where Poe just waited to vibrate apart when no one was looking. Today, though, had been good. And he’d definitely gotten some sleep in, too. It was a pretty rare thing for Hux to let him stay and Poe had taken advantage, nose tucked against his collar bone and limbs tangled for as long as he’d been allowed. But the hotel worked in shitty ways, and Poe had left before he was forcefully ejected. Annoying and bittersweet as it was, it was better that way, because then he could bring his gifts with him -- the scarves, and the fancy knife set. And the star projector. Which he didn’t didn’t hesitate in moving to set up once he’d gotten into the room, set his other things down on the bed he’d claimed as his own, but only used half the time anyway. It wasn’t long before the little lights were dancing on all surfaces of the room. He really did like it a lot. “You awake?” He asked, even as he toed his boots off, wriggled out of his jeans and then sat on one side of Rey’s bed. --- Rey loved Poe. She really did, but she'd almost drifted off when he'd arrived. She'd expected him to just go about his business and maybe crawl in beside her and they'd end up spooning, but then he was asking if she was awake. The noise she made was not a happy one. It was followed by a sleepy, "I am now," punctuated with a groan. "Did something happen?" she murmured. If he needed her, she wasn't going to shut off completely. ---- And Poe loved Rey. Which was why he knew when he should or should not wake her up. She was grumpy when she was overly sleepy and stressed, some new kind of difficult that was usually less cute than it probably sounded. Usually it worked itself out with enough cuddling and naps. But sometimes waking up was worth it. The way the stars of light were brightening the room in a romantic and mysterious sort of way -- well. Worth it. “Yeah,” he said, but it wasn’t urgent, no need to stress out. “Look at my gift. S’for you too.” It came out a little dreamily, because Poe wasn’t even going to bother hiding what was on his mind this time. “Ar--Hux said you helped.” -- Look at my gift. He'd told her and she just sighed, because he was excited and sounded happy. Then he said it was for her too. The explanation as to why was what made her open her eyes. It was blurry at first, but when it came into focus, she pushed herself up to a seated position. Then she tucked her knees under her as she looked around. Her mouth hung open as tears started to well at the corner of her eyes and her breath hitched. He said he didn't want to disappoint her and she didn't know what he'd meant at the time. She was clearly stunned. "He gave this to us?" she asked with a small laugh. --- See? For all they were different, Rey and Poe were a lot alike in some ways too. He’d had a similar reaction -- maybe a little less outwardly awed, but close. He’d certainly touched into that slightly overwhelmed area of his emotions before he’d backed out and decided to go with something more primal. The situation was different. But still good. Poe leaned forward too, hands circling his own ankles, thighs against his chest as he tilted his head up, catching the stars before looking over at Rey again. “Yeah. Us.” Finn too, but Poe doubted he’d want to hear about the finer details of their new night light. Best not to mention it. “Said you helped think of it. They aren’t our stars, but they’re some, and they’re -- nice. Like being up there a little bit.” He knew she did, but he asked anyway. Because it wasn’t necessarily completely about the star projector. “You like it?” -- "He wanted to get your present just right," she said as she continued to look up at the stars splayed across the wall. "He said..." there was a pause there, as if she wasn't sure she wanted to say it. After a long beat, she finished the sentence. "Poe, he said he didn't want to disappoint me." Rey had been cold in her response to him and would have felt bad about it if they hadn't become closer in the weeks since. Slipping off her feet, she leaned against him where he sat on the bed. "This is incredible." Hux had done this with just her saying she missed flying. It was like a view from the cockpit, wasn't it? "This isn't something I was expecting at all. He wouldn't tell me," she started before letting out another laugh, "he wouldn't tell me what his idea was." --- “That’s generally how surprises work,” Poe said, turning her explanation over in his head for a moment before simply nodding about it. What Rey got from this was probably something different than what Poe did, but it was obvious that Hux cared at least about what Rey thought of him. It was a good effort, Poe thought. Especially since he wasn’t going anywhere. “So. You’re not disappointed,” Poe hedged a little, like he was looking for something more, even though he didn’t really know what. He released himself from his compact positioning, flopping back on the bed and tugging at Rey’s elbow to come along. --- "I don't think I could be if I tried," she answered him honestly. Feeling the tug at her elbow, she fell back with him. Rey rolled onto her side, pulling his arm underneath her head as she curled into his chest. "He's really something else." Despite everything he'd gone through and everything he'd done, the man did not fail to surprise her at every turn. It strangely gave her hope that she could do the same. "Did he like the presents you got him?" --- Poe shifted how she silently requested, arm supporting her head and curling around her as much as was possible. This was nice. It was always nice. Poe liked cuddling more than most, maybe? He was just a romantic at heart and took it when it was offered. Well. From people he liked a lot anyway. He didn’t cuddle with anyone he wasn’t emotionally attached to. “He is,” Poe agreed, closing his eyes. “I love him.” And if it was weird to punctuate that sentence by kissing her temple, Poe apparently didn’t think so. But he moved on, as if he weren’t ready to take commentary just yet. “And yeah. He liked them. Now everyone’s got a hot jacket.” --- Rey was less surprised by Poe's confession than she was about her feelings about it. She wasn't upset. She felt like she should have been, but she wasn't in the slightest. She actually felt strangely relieved? Hux clearly cared a lot about him and she had found herself not only invested in Poe's happiness, but the former First Order general's as well. Feeling his lips to her temple, she simply closed her eyes and breathed deep. She loved the feel and smell of him, although it was now mixed with another, a scent she'd become used to. It was Hux all over him. "Oh? You managed to guess his size right then?" --- It never really occurred to Poe that he might smell like anything other than himself when he came slinking back into their room most days, but Rey never seemed to complain. Even now they were just curled around each other like normal, he had no reason to consider it. “Yeah. I’m good at that. Yours fits perfect too. Just a bunch of cute people in leather coats. It’s my thing. You’re gonna have to deal with it.” He rolled over a little, until he was snuggled up almost too close, nose pressed playfully against her chin. “Still tired?” --- For someone who valued his freedom, the fact that he'd decided to not-so-subtly lay claim to them, amused her. She'd wear the jacket. It did miraculously fit and she liked the color. The bright orange reminded her of the resistance flight suits. She shifted with him, arm slipping more snug around his waist when he turned to face her. "Aren't you? We've had a really busy day," she fussed, before pressing a kiss to his nose, and leaned in a little more to steal a proper one from his mouth. "You especially," she said with a little nip. "How are you even still going?" --- “Dameron magic,” Poe said with a grin, scrunching his nose cutely over the kiss before stealing a real one. Seemed an awful silly thing to not have one, particularly under all of their artificial stars -- surely a new permanent fixture to their room at night. “I am tired,” he admitted after a beat where he inhaled and it turned into a snuffle. “Staying up was worth it.” Technically, it was past the day off at this point, and he had slept a few hours already, but it had been a busy day. “Happy Christmas, Rey.” |