There it was, that flicker of unmistakable attraction to him even when he was at his most insufferable. Or was that just all part of the overall Matt Silva appeal? Sometimes Lydia honestly didn't know how much of it was real and how much was just her being the world's biggest masochist, when really it was Lydia continuing to do what she did best where Matt was concerned and ignore the truth that was right in front of her.
After she first got Leia, Lydia often wondered how the princess had ever fallen for Han Solo in the first place. He was cocky, he was immature, he was a complete scoundrel in almost every sense of the word. Infuriating to the point that she had to assume Leia had forgone some sort of brain surgery in order to end up marrying someone so unbelievably frustrating with every word that came out of his mouth. It made no sense to her.
Then she met Matt, and very suddenly, she knew.
Of course, that hadn't changed anything, not at first. From the moment the reincarnate of Han Solo walked through Camelot's doors, Lydia had done her level best to avoid ever being alone with him. He brought new meaning to the word irritating, he was overly confident and loud and obnoxious so much that Lydia found herself fantasizing about the most creative ways to shut him up. Beneath her cool exterior, she was always on edge around him, and already at the end of her very short fuse.
Back then, she couldn't yet bring herself to admit that most, if not all of it, was a front. That for as much as his every word and action seemed to needle her to no end, she was still inexplicably drawn to him. Even apart from his reincarnate, she felt it. She liked him difficult. He challenged her in ways she couldn't ignore even if she'd wanted to, and the added complication of him being the reincarnate of Han Solo only made it that much harder for Lydia to ignore him after awhile.
Then she'd almost died from a gunshot wound, and she'd stopped trying entirely.
Bristling, Lydia stared back at her ex in disbelief. Just a question? He knew exactly what he was saying, and she could care less whether he accepted the promotion. What did it matter to her? Even as she thought it, Lydia felt those annoying seeds of doubt trying to creep back in, like unwelcome reminders of everything she was so painstakingly avoiding these days where her feelings for Matt were concerned. Just like old times. How was it that he was able to twist things around on her so fast?
Lydia was about to yell at him for calling her 'Princess' for the one millionth time since they'd known each other when his last words caught her off guard. That, coupled with the deliberate step in her direction, was enough that she was sure she could feel the steam actually rising from her ears. They weren't trapped in a closet this time with limited space but Lydia somehow still felt those invisible walls all around them now, keeping her feet temporarily rooted to the spot. The hazy memory of Matt pressing her into the closet door flew through her mind without permission and Lydia immediately pushed it away, grateful for the thousandth time that Matt and Han weren't able to mind read.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Lydia lied, volume still raised a few notches as he touched a real nerve. How many times over the last two years had a part of her wished she could lay eyes on him just to know that despite whatever reckless things he was doing out there and despite everything that had happened between them, that her idiot ex-boyfriend was still in one piece? Not something she was willing to confess to the neanderthal smiling smugly in front of her, still searching wildly for something, anything, to throw back at him and tip the scales.
And then, it came to her. The only hope she might have left in this rapidly deteriorating exchange. "... But if you're going to be stubborn enough to turn down every good opportunity that has the misfortune of coming your way, it's none of my business, Mateo."