—Poe

The sun was high in the sky as the afternoon wore on. Sweat lingered on my forehead after a hard days work tampering with my X-Wing. I put my heart and soul into making it perfect and suitable to my needs. Taking a step back to admire my work, I feel satisfied. BB8 lowers himself from his socket and rolls over to me.

I kneel down so I am level with him. I place my hand on his hard metal exterior and smile "You did good work today, buddy". BB8 beeps happily in reply.

"And so did you" I turn my head to see Rey smiling at me, her hands on her hips. "I knew I'd find you here" she rolls her eyes at me playfully before heading towards me.

"I can't help it" I Grin. "My X-Wing is my pride and joy" I wipe the sweat from my brow. My cheeks flush pink with embarrassment, suddenly realizing what a mess I must look like. Especially in front of Rey.

Over the past few days Rey and I had become very close. We spent most nights up talking about our past, the hardships we faced growing up and what we wanted the future to hold for us. It was refreshing to have someone to finally confide in. I had so much weight on my heart as far as my failures and flaws went. Rey helped me understand that we can't escape the past, but we can learn from it and move on. Being around her brought a sense of comfort, much like I felt with my mother. She made me feel safe, and more than anything she made me feel loved. I couldn't deny it any longer that my romantic feelings for her blossomed more and more as the days wore on.

She must have noticed my flustered expression. She grabs a nearby towel and inspects it to make sure it's clean. Without a word she walks up to me and drapes it around my neck, dabbing up the sweat that was dripping from hair line to my back. She then takes her hand and tousles my hair gently. "You certainly are a mess, Poe Dameron" She tilts her head and smiles up at me. Her brown eyes resting upon mine. My heart thumps at the sight of her so close to me.

"A handsome mess, at least" I lean my face close to hers so that our noses are almost touching, smiling gently.

"Certainly" Her eyes close and she tips her head forward, gently touching the tip of her nose with mine. I wasn't expecting such affection and it caused my throat to catch. I swallow hard suddenly feeling nervous. My mouth was only inches away from hers, and I desperately wanted to close the gap between us.

BB8 beeps sarcastically at the two of us and Rey pulls away from me. Her face turning bright red.

"Oh, why don't you get a room!" I yell back at BB8 shaking my head begrudgingly . He beeps again and rolls his head at me before turning and rolling away. I slip my hands in my pockets feeling more embarrassed. "Sorry" I mumble to Rey, not able to look at her directly. A moment of awkward silence passes between us as we think of anything to neutralize the situation.

"Uh, so I'll see you around!" Rey dispels the silence rubbing the back of her neck uncomfortably before turning and walking away.

I left out a heavy sigh as I watch her disappear into the hangar door, my heart still pounding. Rey was beautiful in so many ways and I admired her confidence and strength. She brought a light to any room and everyone around her. We had been dancing around each other for days now. Small flirtatious moments that neither of us had the guts to act upon, my impatience threatened to get the better of me one of these days.

Frustration setting in, I begin to pack my tools but can't help myself from looking towards the direction she left. Touching the tip of my nose I can still feel her soft gentle touch lingering there. I put down the wrench I held and straightened myself upright. Exhaling a deep breath I set off to find her.

The rebel base consisted on multiple levels. There was plenty of room for everyone and many more recruits. But as huge as it was, I knew the way to Rey's bunk inside and out. My legs grew heavy as I got closer to her door. Part of me wanted to hightail it out of there before I got myself into a mess I couldn't charm my way out of. Fear of rejection gnawed at the back of my mind.

I approach the door and lift my hand to knock but find myself frozen. What would I even say? "Urrrrrrgghh" I groaned under my breath.

The door opens and Rey is staring at me dumbfounded, my hand now raised in front of her face. I quickly pull it away and put it behind my back embarrassed. "Hey, Uh, Hi" I try to sound confident but ultimately end up sounding like a small scared loth cat.

"Wanna come it?" Rey replies gently, sensing my awkwardness that portrayed from my body language.

"Thanks" I take a few steps in and try to control my breath. This wasn't the first time I had been inside her room, but tonight felt different. The air felt congested and I found it hard to breath, my own nerves betraying me. Every part of me wanted to turn, grab her and declare my love for her with a passionate kiss. I needed to calm myself down.

I turn around to face her. Shes stands in front a small round mirror hung crookedly on the wall, her hands fumbling her buns to make them straight. Her face scrunches in determination as she pulls the last bun taught. I find it cute they way she inspects them to make sure they're perfect before turning towards me. "What?" She asks noticing the giant grin now plastered on my face.

"Nothing" I look away playfully.

"Oh don't play games with me Dameron" she teases walking towards me. "At least I'm trying" she points to my hair. It now dawns on me that I didn't even think to shower before barging in on her. I was so focused on finally telling her how I felt everything else was put on hold for the night.

"You've even got grease smeared across your cheek" she points to the mirror. I walk over and examine the large black line underneath my eye.

"The mark of a hard worker, if I had to say so myself" my charisma getting the best of me. I turn and smile at her as she approaches me with a wet cloth.

"Indeed" she smiles at me before turning away.

I take a moment to clean myself up as she settles herself at the edge of her bed. She pulls a book out her bedside draw and rests it on her lap. I watch her from the corner of my eye as her hands caresses the face of the book, a sullen expression on her face. The Jedi Texts. She must be thinking about Luke I conclude.

Finishing up I enter the bathroom and place the cloth in the sink, stopping to quickly fix hair with a small black comb that was nestled on the sinks edge, my comb. My heart warms at the small realization that we've become so close, as to me leaving personal items in her room represented. To others it wouldn't mean much, but to me it at least meant something, I hoped anyways.

I make my ways towards her and take a seat beside her on the bed a moment of silence stretching out quickly. I could tell she was lost in thought about the time she spent with Luke on Achtoo.

"Luke would be very proud of you, if he could see how far you've come" I whisper softly to her .

Months have passed since the battle on Crait. We faced a lot more hardships running from the first order. I watched Rey grow with the force and advance her swordsman ship with every passing day. She was becoming a strong and brave Jedi, everything Luke could have hoped for.

"You think so?" She looks up at me expectantly.

"I know so" I wrap my arm around her shoulder and pull her into a hug. She places her arm around my waist and holds me tightly letting herself feel remorse.

"Hey" I call to her soothingly. She lifts her head until our eyes meet. Those wonderful chocolate brown eyes that melted my heart. "I am so proud you too" I place my hand gently under her chin and pull her forward until her forehead rests softly on mine, we both close our eyes, letting the feeling of comfort sink in. "So proud"

I can feel her breath cool against my cheek, while the scent of peppermint flavored the air from her freshly brushed teeth. My body felt weak as I nudged my nose against hers, electricity surging through my body as our lips drew closer.

"Rey,.. there's something I need to confess" I swallow. "I've wanted to tell you for a while now" my lips now close enough to hers that made every word tickle as they spilled out almost involuntarily. My mind became so wrapped up in this intimate encounter, the line between friendship and romance became blurred. I wanted to comfort her in more ways than just extending my arm every so often, and as her body lay against my chest I didn't want to let the opportunity slip by me yet again.

"Okay" is all she replies, the tone of her voice not giving any indication of what she was feeling. She hadn't pulled away from though, which I took as a good sign.

"Both Leia and Finn always spoke so highly of you, and I couldn't wait for the day when I would get to meet you, and when I finally did as you loaded us all in to the Falcon, I could just feel it. I knew that we were going to be good friends." I take a deep breath, exhaling softly trying to slow my erratic heart before continuing.

"And over these last few months you've become more than I could have ever hoped. You've become my best friend,... and I am crazy about you." A moment of silence entrances us. I could swear my heart beat was so loud I could feel it hammering in my ears that flushed crimson red. I squeeze my eyes tight and almost don't dare take a breath.

"I just hope... I hope you feel the same" My Heart threatens to burst from my chest as anticipation and anxiety surges around me.

I feel her lips part in a smile against my own. She places her hand to my cheek before slowly gliding her fingertips up and through my tangle of curls. "You know how you once described the unbelievable feeling you get in the pit of your stomach as you race the sky in your xwing ?" She asks in a low voice.

"Yes" I reply slightly thrown off.

"That's exactly how I feel whenever I'm with you" she whispers, her smile growing wider.

I can't help but smile back before my lips press into hers, energy surging through my body. I've waited so long for this, my mind buzzes in a haze of lust and desire. I wanted to engulf her completely.

She momentarily breaks away from our kiss and scoots up fully on to her bed. She settles and beckons me over to her. Nervously I clamor over to her, by body shadowing hers. I felt like a giant looming over her but she didn't seem to mind.

"Is this okay?" I ask her suddenly feeling self conscious. I didn't want her to feel pressured into moving too fast. We had finally opened the door we both hesitated to peek behind, and despite the overwhelming urge to press forward I had her best interest at heart, always.

"More than okay" she firmly grabs my shirt collar and pulls me in for another passionate kiss. I was amazed that her desire almost seemed stronger than mine, not that I was complaining. I wanted her to want just as much as I wanted her, I needed her. I pictured this moment in my head night after night, when we would finally become whole.

Her finger tips teased the top buttons of my collared shirt. She slowly unbuttons them one by one until she's fully exposed my upper chest to the cool air.

I move my mouth from hers, towards her neck. Her muscles tighten with every move I make increasing my appetite. I can feel her flesh in between my teeth as I gently bite down. She lets out a soft moan making me flinch as my lower body quivers. The feeling overwhelmed me and instinctively my hips grind against hers. Her hands trace my sides, down until she reaches my buttocks. She pulls my hips forward begging for more.

To be Continued...