A/N: Hello! I'm back with another AU! This was a rough one. Not the story, but finding the time, energy, and mental soundness to write it! I admit, though, it got me through some tough times these last two months.

A couple of things you need to know before we start. For the purposes of this story, Luke and Leia are NOT related! I am NOT a fan of 'kissing cousins,' so for the first time in any of my stories, Luke and Leia are not brother and sister, therefore Rey and Ben are NOT related!

Second, I hope you appreciate my generous use of romantic tropes in this one. Seriously, I think I covered almost all of them, and I didn't even intend to! This story was already 'written' in my head long ago, and it wasn't until I started physically writing it down that all the tropes presented themselves: childhood friends, friends to lovers, fake dating/marriage, one bed, slow burn, angst (of course)… you might find even more. I guess that's just the way my mind works! Anyway, I hope you find some fun and originality in the familiar concepts. I had a blast writing these two, and as I tend to do with every story I write, I fell for them both very hard. As always, there will be a happy ending.

Enjoy!

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Summer

Under the Cottonwood Tree

"I'm going to marry you when we grow up."

Rey Skywalker's voice was soft but determined as she looked over at her best friend, who was lying on his back with his arms behind his head. They were under the big cottonwood tree next to Jakku Creek, the same one they had been spending time under since they were toddlers. Back then, Poe's mother Shara would bring them here; she babysat Rey a lot in the early days as Rey's mother had died when she was only a newborn. Shara would read to them under the tree, and eventually they had begun reading out loud to her. When they had been old enough, the two children visited the tree by themselves, reading, writing, fishing, daydreaming. Now, one year after Shara's untimely death, they still came often to their favorite place.

Poe Dameron scoffed at Rey's words. "No, you're not!" he argued. "I'm not ever getting married!"

"Yes, you are," Rey snipped back, grabbing a handful of grass and throwing it at him. Though a few months younger than Poe, both their fathers had often remarked how mature Rey was for her age. Usually this was said when Poe had done something naughty. Rey didn't feel very mature right now, though.

"Besides, we can't get married," Poe told her in a matter-of-fact way, sitting up and brushing the grass off of his chest.

"Why not?" Rey demanded.

"We're best friends," Poe answered.

"So?"

"So, when best friends get married, they stop being friends."

Rey scrunched up her face. "That's not true, you dweeb!" she disagreed. "Who told you that?"

"It's just a known fact," Poe stated, nodding his head sagely, trying to look older than his eight years.

"Your parents were best friends, weren't they?" Rey asked. Then in a softer voice, she said, "I think mine were."

Poe was silent for a while, contemplating Rey's words.

"I don't want to hurt like my dad is," Poe whispered. "So, I'm never getting married."

Rey didn't bother telling him that they would still feel that same hurt if one of them should die, married or not. Instead, she looked at the dark-haired boy sitting next to her under 'their' cottonwood tree and said in an unyielding voice, "I'm going to marry you, Poe Dameron. Just you wait and see."

XXX

Twenty Years Later…

Rey Skywalker pushed through the door of the run-down dive on the outskirts of Aldera, her eyes adjusting quickly to the dim light inside. She focused on the far end of the bar, then strode across the hardwood floor, her heels clicking loudly. She knew she looked very out of place in her black satin and tulle mini-dress, but at the moment she didn't care about all the people staring at her. Only one person mattered.

Sliding onto the bar stool next to that person, she nodded at the bartender. "Rum and Coke, please," she told the older woman. Then she looked at the man hunched over next to her nursing a Whiskey Sour. This morning, he had looked immaculate, his hair perfectly styled, his tuxedo fitted and sharp. Now his hair was a disaster and his wrinkled tux was missing the jacket and tie. He looked at her finally, his eyes clear but fatigued.

"This is a new place for you," Rey told him as she accepted her drink. "Trying to hide from me, now?"

Poe Dameron shook his head. "I knew you'd find me." He took a deep breath and lifted his drink. "How mad is she?"

Rey shrugged, taking a sip from her glass. "No more than the other three women you left at the altar." Though her voice was soft, her tone was scathing.

Poe groaned, set down his drink, and dropped his forehead down onto his folded arms. "What is wrong with me?"

Rey stared at him for a moment. "I've been asking myself that question for a decade," she finally said, sarcasm heavy in her voice.

He lifted his head and glared at her.

"What?" she asked, responding to his look. "It's your own fault. You find a beautiful woman who worships the ground you walk on, not to mention your wallet, you convince yourself you love them, you spoil them rotten, you propose after dating them for less than three months, then suddenly you remember you swore you would never get married." She shook her head. "I guess it's good you recall that fact before the wedding instead of after. Good for you, anyway."

"Well, you could maybe try and stop me before I get this far," Poe groused, taking a gulp of his drink, his face screwing into a grimace as it went down.

"Poe, I'm not your keeper," Rey argued back, then grimaced herself. Just following him here to this bar made her a liar of sorts. While she might not be able to change Poe's mind when he was set on something, stupid or otherwise, it always seemed she was the one left cleaning up after him. "You need to stop looking for your mom in these women."

He looked at her, his eyes wide. "I'm not!" he exclaimed. "I'm looking for…" he stopped suddenly, his eyes narrowing. Then he shook his head and looked back down at his drink. "My mother has nothing to do with this."

Rey tilted her head at him, wondering what he had been about to say. Looking for what? She sighed, taking another large sip of her drink. "We should probably go," she told him. "You've got a few people to reimburse for their time today." Musicians, caterers, the minister…

Poe nodded, then looked up at the bartender passed by. "Can you put her drink on my tab?"

Rey had been reaching for her purse and she looked up, surprised. "He come here a lot?" she asked the woman.

"A time or two," the woman nodded, a smirk on her lips.

Rey looked at Poe, her eyebrows raised.

He shrugged. "What? This is the only place in town no one from Organa Enterprises comes to. Sometimes I need to get away."

Rey tilted her head at him. "It's amazing Leia hasn't fired you, yet."

Poe snorted. "She'll never fire me," he grumbled. "She grooming me to take her place."

"Keep pulling shit like you did today and she'll disown you and give the business to Ben."

"And it will be bankrupt in less than half a year," Poe retorted.

Rey couldn't argue. Ben was many things, but a businessman was not one of them. He took after his late father, more creative and artistic than intellectual and focused like his mother. Poe had begun working at Organa Enterprises right out of college, quickly rising from Junior Architect to Vice President in the span of six years. Leia often said she knew from the day he graduated from Coruscant University that he would someday run the company, but that didn't mean she coddled him. If anything, she pushed him harder than anyone else in her employ.

The two best friends slid off their barstools and slowly made their way toward the exit.

"You know," Poe said, his hands in his pockets. "If I wanted to make sure I stay on Leia's good side, I should marry you."

Rey stopped and glared at him. "In your dreams, Dameron."

He laughed, then reached for the door, holding it open for Rey to pass through.

Never noticing how hard Rey worked at controlling her breathing and slowing down her suddenly racing heart.

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