The steam had clouded the small mirror above the sink and nearly engulfed the entire room by the time Nyra stepped out of the fresher. The hot water had felt heavenly against her tired muscles, and she was reluctant to step out of the scorching spray. It had been three days since her awkward moment in the hangar with Poe. Three days since they'd spoken. Three days since she'd slept properly.
She grimaced at the dark bags under her eyes as she wiped the condensation from the reflective surface, repressing a sigh at the splotch of grease she had missed below her ear. Metal fingers twisted around her dripping locks, clicking, and whirring as they tightened to wring out the excess water that trailed across her shoulders and down her back. She moved on muscle memory alone, scrubbing the stubborn spot from the side of her neck with the edge of her towel before moving to dress. She knew she was in for another sleepless night, and had simply resigned herself to wait until the night came when she simply passed out from exhaustion. At least she would get some rest, and then maybe Rey would stop looking at her like that.
She had just wandered into her quarters, forcing the image of a familiar pair of warm, brown eyes from swimming in her mind when a quiet knock sounded from the other side of her door. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she moved to answer with a tired sigh.
"Not now, Rey, I'm just about to- "
The face that stared back at her as the door slid open stole the words from her throat, her mouth gaping open as it struggled to form new ones. Poe watched her for a moment, as if hoping she would speak first and relieve him of the feat himself.
"Hey… " he mumbled after a moment of tense silence, peering up at her through his mess of hair.
She blinked back at him, gripping the edge of the doorway with white knuckles as she swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat.
"Hey… "
He shifted uncomfortably as his eyes darted from her face to glance around the hallway.
"Look… " he began, wringing his hands together "I know it's been a weird couple of days, but I just- "
He stilled with a sigh, scrubbing his hands across his face before dragging them through his hair. He looked as tired as she felt.
"I just really missed you."
His voice was so soft she wasn't sure she had heard him correctly, the unspoked plea in his eyes confirming she had. She nodded numbly, stepping aside to allow him to cross the threshold. The familiarity of the gesture made her stomach clench. Trembling fingers keyed the door shut before curling in on themselves, nails cutting into her palms.
"Whatever Rey said to you I'm- "
"No, no, it's not about that."
She shot him a look over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow, not quite brave enough to turn to him fully yet. He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck absently.
"Not saying I didn't deserve it," he conceded sheepishly.
The heavy, awkward silence that followed made her nauseous. It had never been this difficult to be alone with him.
"Look, Ny, what happened in the hangar… It wasn't… what you think."
The pang his fragmented words and unwillingness to look her in the eye sent through her chest made her just angry enough to face him, but not enough to fight the urge to tug her right sleeve down over her wrist. The gesture didn't go unnoticed, and she faltered at the unmasked guilt swimming in his eyes. She squirmed under his gaze, fixed intensely on the metal appendage, desperate to break the trance but incapable of putting the thoughts darting wildly around her head into words.
"You… you don't honestly think I could… "
His hand twitched in her direction, and soon he couldn't fight the urge to reach for her. She stood frozen as his warm fingers slid across her cool palm to entwine with hers.
"Then what?" The words came out harsher than she had intended, snapping his eyes to hers as she fought to keep from responding to his touch.
She wanted answers.
"You're supposed to be my best friend. What could you possibly have to hide from me?"
He grimaced, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth as his eyes screwed shut.
"Again, not what you think."
"Dammit Poe," she hissed, yanking her hand free from his. "Just tell me the truth."
"The truth?!" he half shouted, the maniacal look that twisted his face startling her still. "Alright, the truth. You do things to me, Nyra. You're my best friend, and when I'm around you I can't breathe. I can't think. The past three days have been torture. It wasn't the First Order keeping you from me, it was me. My complete inability to process the way you make me feel, let alone tell you. And this?" He reached forward again, taking advantage her shock-induced trance her to grasp her hand once more. "I can't even begin to explain what this does to me."
A shuttering breath passed through his parted lips as his eyes clouded over, pupils blown wide.
"How it makes me think things best friends aren't supposed to think about each other."
She swallowed thickly, hypnotized by the intensity of his stare, feet moving of their own accord to step closer.
"What it does to me…physically… "
She halted, eyes trailing shamelessly down his torso. His confession sent waves of exhilaration buzzing through her, flooding her head, making her dizzy. Suddenly his face was inches from hers, free hand brushing the hair from her face.
"How it makes me wonder what it would feel like against my skin."
He raised their joined hands, manipulating his grip to press her palm to his face. His eyes slipped shut as the cool surface met his flushed skin, head tilting forward to press against her forehead.
"I'm in love with you, Ny. I don't know when it happened, but I can't hide it anymore."
Her mind reeled, desperately scrambling to process the sudden turn of events through the tears that slid down her face.
"Please say something," he whispered, face scrunching, hands clinging onto her as if he were afraid she would run from him the way he had run from her.
His words snapped her out of her daze. She brought her flesh hand up to slide up his chest to curl around his neck, thumb tracing across his jaw.
"It's about damn time, Dameron."
She didn't give him the chance to respond, lurching up onto her toes to capture his lips with hers. He responded immediately, giving himself over to the mounting desire that had built deep in his chest as he pulled her against him. Her hand slid to the back of his neck, fingers twisting in his thick, dark hair, tugging against his scalp deliciously and earning her a deep moan that was swallowed up by her mouth. The object of his desire dropped from his face to tug at the hem of his shirt, the cold kiss of her fingertips sending shockwaves of lust that coiled deep in his groin and loosening his grip already failing grip on his self control.
"You might not want to do that," he groaned against her mouth, sucking in a sharp breath as she nipped lightly at his lower lip.
"You said you wanted to know," she murmured suggestively, flattening her palm against his abdomen, the fabric of his shirt bunching on her wrist as she traced the planes of muscle that stretched across his torso.
He pulled away just enough to look at her, eyes searching her face, hot breath fanning across her neck.
"I love you, Poe," she breathed, and he jolted as her fingers slid under the waistband of his loose-fitting black pants. "But I'm done waiting."
Booted feet thudded softly against the smooth white floor of the winding corridor, BB-8 bustling along just behind. The overly-enthusiastic little droid had come spinning into the hangar with a high-pitched whistle when his master had failed to show for dinner, and Rey had nearly thrown her tools back into their box as she leapt into action when he beeped out that Poe had departed their quarters in search of Nyra.
Blood pounded in her ears as she beelined down the familiar path to her friend's room.
"Don't worry, BB-8, we'll find him," she ground out, coming to an abrupt halt as she reached her destination.
"Nyra?" she called, raising her fist to pound on her door. "Nyra, it's Rey. Look, I know Poe came to find you. Is everything okay?"
Silence.
She knocked again.
"Ny?" Voices drifted from the crack at the bottom of the door, and she strained her ears to make them out. "Is he still here? I swear if he- "
The feminine cry that sounded from the other room sent her leaping from the door as if it had burned her, a violent shade of red creeping up her neck and onto her cheeks.
"He's fine, 8, let's go"
She whirled on her heel to dart down the hallway, not taking too much stock in exactly where she was going, simply determined to put space between her and the very intimate, very private moment she had nearly intruded on.
"I promise," she cooed tightly to the droid that still hovered, unconvinced, by Poe's last known location. "I'm sure he appreciates the concern, but trust me when I say he'll appreciate your absence more. This is one thing I'm sure he can take care of just fine on his own."
Shaking her head against the images that flooded her mind against her will, she couldn't help the sly grin that tugged at the corners of her mouth.
"At least he better."
