Discovering new food and meeting new people were Poe’s second and third favorite things about being stuck in this place, right behind having Leia there. He’d enjoyed spending time at Hannah’s place and hanging out at Lux with Ella. It was a nice change compared to fighting wars at home and struggling for survival in the dark version of Vallo where they had first arrived.
He was looking forward to his plans with Ella this evening. Not only was she going to introduce him to another new type of food, but she was so positive and outgoing that he really enjoyed her company and was looking forward to getting to know her better.
Since he didn’t really know anything about barbecue, he’d stopped at the store and asked a clerk there what kind of beer would go well with it, so he had a six pack of Revolution Anti-Hero IPA with him when he knocked on her door.
Ella was incredibly happy that Poe seemed to enjoy her company enough that he still wanted to come over and let her introduce him to the wonderful world of barbeque, so she’d focused and spent a good part of the afternoon prepping their dinner and getting everything cooking. By the time she heard the knock at her door, the apartment smelled amazing (at least in her opinion).
She quickly washed off her hands and hurried to let him in, greeting him with a bright smile and a quick hug. “Hi! Come on in, come on in. Let me take that.” She reached for the six pack of beer and eyed it for a moment. “Oooh, Anti-Hero, huh? I’ve never had this before. I’m excited to try it.” She gestured with her free hand for him to come inside and turned to head back toward the kitchen, putting the beers away in the fridge before getting back to work on their food.
“Mi casa es su casa and all that. Get comfy! I probably made more food than I needed to, but that’s just sort of the default when you come from a big family.”
Being greeted with a hug was a surprise, though not unwelcome at all. She was only a little bit shorter than him and fit well into his arms. Plus her enthusiasm was infectious and he smiled as he handed over the beer and then followed her into the kitchen to watch her work. “Anything I can do to help?” he asked. “I’m pretty good at following directions.”
He paused.
“Okay, I’m sometimes good at following directions,” he amended. Leia would probably argue that point.
She always did her best to treat others the way she would want to be treated, which meant lots of smiles and hugs and just a positive attitude all around. So Ella was glad that he didn’t shy away from her hugs at all -- it had taken Lucifer a long time to warm up to them, honestly, but that was Lucifer.
“No, I’m honestly almost done! Though I haven’t had a chance to really set out any plates and stuff yet? So I guess if you want to do that, they’re in that cupboard and silverware is there,” she said, gesturing to each respectively before turning back to the guacamole she was making. “Have you ever had this?” Ella tipped the mortar in her hand toward him to show him the dip. “It looks kinda gross, but it’s soooo good.”
“I don’t think so,” Poe said, looking at the green… mush in the dish she was working on. “But I trust you.” So far, he hadn’t had anything that was really bad. It was all better than the rations he typically survived on back home.
He went to the cupboard she indicated so he could get out the dishes. Fine dining etiquette wasn’t exactly a big thing in his galaxy, but he could at least manage to set a table for the two of them. “How’d you learn to cook?”
“Awww, you trust me??” she asked, beaming a little at his words before letting out a laugh, continuing to mash up the guacamole. “I promise, it’s amazing.” And just like that, the dip was finished and she took the mortar and a bowl of tortilla chips to the table, setting them both down. “Go ahead and try it. The wings still have to cook for about five more minutes.”
Because dinner tonight ended up being honey chipotle wings and grilled shrimp tacos, even if she didn’t have a grill. They were at least seared. For dessert, she made up some honey rice pudding and hoped that this would be more than enough food for the both of them -- it was probably too much, really.
“My abuela taught me. I grew up with a bunch of brothers, so she kind of clung to the fact that I was the only granddaughter and had me help her in the kitchen a lot.”
From context, Poe was guessing her abuela was her grandmother. As soon as he finished setting the table, he grabbed a chip and scooped up some of the green stuff so he could taste it. The texture reminded him a little of the rations he often ate, but the flavor was incredible and he nodded his approval.
After chewing and swallowing, he said, “Damn, that is good.” He was even more looking forward to their shared meal now, expecting that the rest would taste as good or better.
“Are any of your family here?” he asked.
Ella shook her head a little as she put together tacos, laying them on a platter so that the presentation was at least nice. “No, but I do have a couple of people I know from back home here, I worked with both of them in Los Angeles.” Which was an odd thing, not really seeing either of them every day like she used to.
“I know you have Leia here,” and that was still something she couldn’t quite wrap her head around, “but is there anyone else?” She paused then and gave him an apologetic look. “I’m still sorry about Rey. I hope she’s going to be okay back home.” Depending on when they all came from in their own timelines, she wasn’t sure.
Poe shook his head. “No one else I know personally,” he said. “Obi-Wan Kenobi is here and I grew up hearing stories about him. He was something of a hero.” His parents had raised him on a steady diet of stories about all the heroes who fought to protect the freedom and well being of their galaxy, instilling a sense of duty and more than a touch of rebellion in him from a young age.
“Rey should be fine,” he said. “We just defeated the First Order before we ended up in the other Vallo. They were… really bad.” He honestly had no idea how to explain how bad they were to someone who wasn’t from his world.
Of course Obi-Wan Freaking Kenobi was here, why wouldn’t he be? Ella had to push down the bit of nerdy excitement that wanted to come out listening to him talk about Obi-Wan and the First Order. Of course, she couldn’t tell him that she knew exactly what he was talking about, because… well, that would just be weird, right? Right.
So she nodded a little, making sure to keep her focus on the task at hand: tacos. “I seriously have no doubt in my mind that they were total jerks, and that’s putting it lightly. I’m glad you guys beat ‘em though. Bad guys should always lose.”
Once she was done plating the tacos, she carried those over to the table as well and then went to finish up the wings, making sure they were properly sauced before putting them in a bowl for them to split. “Here, smell.” She grinned at him and walked over, carrying the bowl and holding it up for him to get a whiff. “Eh? What do you think? They’re honey chipotle, so they’re sweet but will have a little bit of a kick.”
“Oh, man, those smell amazing,” Poe said, his stomach letting out a loud grumble at the mere thought of the food. “Is everything ready? Need me to do anything else?” He hoped it was time to eat.
Maybe he’d have to ask Ella for some cooking lessons if he was going to be here a while. It was not a skill that he or Leia possessed and would be useful.
“Nope, I’ve got it.” She grinned brightly, making sure all the food was set before heading back toward the fridge to grab them each a beer from the six pack he’d brought. “Dig in!” Ella said with a cheerful tone, taking a seat with a content sort of noise and savoring the moment. She even closed her eyes to say a quiet, brief prayer before starting to put food on her plate.
“If you end up hating all of this, I’m so sorry, I won’t be offended.” Truly -- cooking for other people was sometimes hit or miss, but she hoped that he liked what she made.
If the guacamole was anything to go by, Poe was pretty sure he was going to like everything. Of course, even if he didn’t love it, he would never admit that because he appreciated the effort she’d gone to. He filled his plate and watched as she closed her eyes for a moment before doing the same.
“I can’t see that happening,” he said, wondering if he should ask about the eye closing thing. After a moment, he decided against it and, instead, picked up one of the tacos and took a bite. His eyes widened and he nodded as he chewed and swallowed the bite. “Okay, yeah, that’s good.”
His approval of the food made her beam a little and she grinned, putting tacos and wings on her own plate before promptly digging in. Needless to say, she was starving after spending the last hour or two making everything for them. “Mmm, holy moly, I was so hungry,” she said with a laugh, taking another bite and letting herself go quiet for just a minute as she ate.
“I’m glad you like the food though! I’m happy to cook for you whenever.” Really, if it meant getting to spend more time with him alone in her apartment, she wasn’t going to say no. “I’m big into sharing things that I love and food is one of those things for me, plus it just makes people happy, y’know?”
Poe grinned and nodded, knowing well enough to know not to talk with his mouth full. “You may never get rid of me if you keep cooking like this,” he joked once he’d finished chewing and swallowing the bite. “The food is by far my favorite thing about this place.” Aside from the people, who were also pretty great.
“Too bad I don’t have an x-wing here,” he said. “I could take you flying. Share something I love.” He’d need a modified X-65 two-seater for that, but he’d just be happy to have anything that flew.
“There are definitely worse things in the world than never getting rid of you, I’m sure.” The words were out of her mouth before she even had a chance to really stop herself and she felt a warmth blossom in her cheeks, but she smiled through it and continued to eat, staying quiet as she chewed.
Ella perked up at the mention of an X-wing and had to force her excitement back down. “Oh man, that would be so cool! Apparently things from home can show up here, like Lux and businesses and things, I bet your X-wing could too?” The idea of actually getting to go flying in one made her giggle a little, taking a sip of her beer to try and hide it. “If it does show, I’m holding you to that offer. Just so ya know.”
“You hardly even know me,” Poe pointed out, though he was giving her one of his patented rakish grins as he spoke. He was a friendly sort of guy and she was cute on top of being nice and an amazing cook. If he ended up staying here late, well, Leia would know better than to worry.
He also appreciated her excitement about possibly going flying. “True. I mean, BB-8 is here,” he said. An X-wing would be great.
Her shoulders rose and dropped in a shrug, but she couldn’t help the smirk that was pulling at the corners of her mouth. “Eh, so? No harm, no foul in getting to know you, anyway.” In more ways than one if he was interested. She took another drink from her can of beer and gave him a cheeky grin over the edge of the can. “Plus I make a bomb ass breakfast burrito.”
Well, that certainly sounded like an offer and Poe’s grin grew wider. “Is that so?” he said. “I’ve never had a breakfast burrito before.” He had no idea what it was nor did he particularly care if it meant that he was being invited to stay the night.
“Wouldn’t be opposed to trying one though,” he added.
She wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity of having Poe frickin’ Dameron over for dinner and if he was interested in staying the night after a bit of flirting, well… she wasn’t going to deny him that. “I promise, my breakfast burritos are well worth the wait.” Ella grinned again and reached her foot out to nudge his leg playfully. “Gotta eat your dinner first though. And maybe dessert if you’re still up for that after.”
Poe hadn’t exactly expected this when he accepted Ella’s dinner invitation, but he also wasn’t terribly surprised. He knew he was attractive and charming. “Yes ma’am,” he said. “Maybe a break after dinner. Build up an appetite for dessert.” How they did that was up to her.
Well, to be fair, she hadn’t exactly expected to let herself be so forward either, but after him coming to Lux the other night and getting to spend some time with him that way, she knew she liked his company enough. Plus she wondered if letting herself have a bit of distraction with a handsome guy like him would help her with other things that had dredged up from home.
Ella was still grinning and she arched a brow at him when he mentioned working up an appetite. “I like the sound of that.” Of course, part of her wanted to joke around, keep the mood light for the time being. “Maybe we can play Twister. Or is strip poker more up your alley?” She laughed a bit. “Not that I expect you to know what either of those games are.”
“I don’t,” Poe said. “But I’m sure you will be an excellent teacher.” He at least knew the meaning of strip so he figured that game involved removing clothes which sounded like a good plan to him.
He didn’t mind keeping the mood light while they finished their meal and beers, especially since he wanted to make sure that she was okay with something casual. Relationships weren’t really his thing, largely because they were near impossible to maintain when you were either on the go as a smuggler or fighting an intergalactic war.
After everything that had happened with Pete right before she’d arrived in Vallo, casual was exactly what she wanted for the time being. Or rather, it was what she was willing to work with if the opportunity came along and here he was. “Poker might be a little more difficult to teach in one sitting,” she quipped, finishing off the tacos on her plate then before speaking again.
“But Twister might be fun. Maybe we could even turn it into strip Twister? Just smoosh the idea of the two games together.” Either way, they’d end up naked and that was her goal at this point. Not that it took an awful lot of convincing to get her naked when she was wanting to. “Or we can skip the game altogether… whatever you’re feeling.”
Since he had no idea what either game was, he was open to whatever, though he definitely didn’t need a game to get naked. He finished his dinner and leaned back in his chair. “Well, why don’t we grab a fresh beer and sit somewhere a little more comfortable,” he suggested. “And then we can see where the night goes.”
He had a good feeling about it.
Laughing a bit to herself, Ella grabbed a chip and scooped some guacamole onto it before shoving it in her mouth with a wiggle of her eyebrows. Of course she was being playful and she knew nothing about what she just did was even close to sexy, but she was hoping it would at least amuse him. “Sounds like a plan,” she said once she’d swallowed, climbing out of the chair to head back to the fridge.
She grabbed a couple of new and now much colder cans, making her way back over to him to offer him one. Once he’d taken it, she let that same hand slowly and teasingly drag her nails along the side of his neck and then up into his hair, combing through it as she passed him to head into the living room. “C’mon, hot stuff.”
Her antics absolutely amused him and Poe was really glad that he’d come here tonight. Ella was a lot of fun and he liked spending time with fun people. After the time he’d spent in Dark Vallo fighting for survival, he could use all the fun he could get.
When she ran her hand up his neck and into his hair, he reached out to grab her hip, leaning down to kiss her briefly. He pulled back, grinning again. “Thanks for inviting me over tonight.”
Oh. The grab to her hip nearly made her breath catch in her throat, but then his lips were on her own and she smiled, leaning up and into it to return it. Holy shit, you just kissed Poe Dameron. Right, right, definitely not a big deal, Ella. Nope. Keep your cool, woman.
Her cheeks bloomed in a soft pink again, but she grinned right back at him. “Thanks for coming. Over. I’m having a really good time.”
Poe thought the blush was adorable. “Let’s see if we can’t make it even better,” he said, his tone suggestive as he wrapped his arm around her waist, beer forgotten now that he was fully focused on her.
So much for the fresh beers and seeing where the night went. Ella pulled her lower lip between her teeth for a moment as she looked up at him before gently taking the can out of his hand and placing them both, unopened, on the counter top beside her. “I like the way you think.” She grinned again and then, keeping her eyes locked on his, pulled her shirt up and over her head before leaning up to steal another quick kiss. “Race ya,” she murmured against his lips before pulling away from his hold to dart down the hallway and back toward the bedroom with a laugh.