"You want me to what?!"
"Marry me," Poe repeated. "But not really. And just for a year."
Rey sat looking at him aghast. For twenty years she had imagined Poe saying those words to her, but not like this. And not for this reason. Taking a deep breath, she looked back down at the paper he had given her just before 'popping the question.' She scanned the document as he continued talking.
"We'll have to go out a couple of times, just the two of us, to plant the idea in people's minds that we're more than friends. We'll play it off as if it was inevitable. That we were destined to marry. Then we can have a quick courthouse wedding." He was pacing in front of her, his expression getting just a little more worried the longer she stayed silent. "It'll be good for you to get out of that damn apartment. I know the only reason you stay is because you refuse to move back in with your father and your job doesn't pay you even a quarter what you're worth. You can have the guest room, but we'll dress it up to look like you share my room with me. You'll get a share of Organa Enterprises when it's over and I'll make sure your savings account will always be loaded." He paused and swallowed. "You'll never want for anything ever again."
Rey finally looked at him. "So basically, you're offering to be my Sugar Daddy," she said, unable to keep the snark out of her voice. "Only with a fake marriage to start it off."
"Well," Poe stuttered. "The marriage will be real. I mean, it has to be. But not real." He shrugged. "You know what I mean."
Rey glanced back down at the paper. "It says here the share can be sold after ten years. Why don't you just let Ben take it? He'll keep you as VP and then sell it to you when the ten years are up."
Poe shook his head. "I don't trust him to do that!" he argued. "He and Armitage Hux are good friends, and Hux wants control of this company as much as I do. You really think he won't talk Ben into turning on me and giving him the share instead?"
"He wouldn't do that!" Rey said.
"Do you not remember how much of a manipulative prick he was in High School?" Ben had been a year behind them.
"He's changed," Rey reasoned. "He's grown up."
"Meaning I haven't?" Poe groused.
"In a lot of ways, no, you haven't," Rey pushed. She took a deep breath. "What about my personal future?" she queried. "What if I want to get married in the Church? I can't do that if I've been divorced."
"Not an issue," Poe countered. "If the marriage isn't consummated, then an annulment is a piece of cake." He paused. "You, ah, aren't thinking about someone, are you?"
She wished his slightly worried expression was jealousy, but she knew better. She pursed her lips and shook her head. "No. And nobody will be thinking about me if I'm 'married' to you."
"It's only for a year!" Poe exclaimed. "We won't even be thirty yet when this is over. You've got plenty of time!"
Rey's heart was still thudding in her chest and it was getting harder and harder to keep her nerves hidden from him. "This is insane," she muttered.
"Rey, you're the only one I trust enough to do this with," he pleaded. "You know very well I can't commit for real. Not in six months, anyway."
"And Leia must have known that!" Rey argued. "Why would she do this to you?"
Poe shrugged and sat down heavily on the couch. Beebee, his ginger cat, jumped up immediately and asked for pets. He complied almost automatically. "I don't know," he whispered. He took a deep breath and looked at her with pleading eyes. "Please, Rey. I don't know what else to do. I can't lose Organa Enterprises."
Rey felt her heart stutter. She didn't want that, either. She knew how much Poe had given of himself to this company, and how much he loved it. But the idea of marrying him, of pretending to be his loving and loyal wife, all while knowing that for him it would all be an act, a farce…
"What about your personal life?" she enquired suddenly. "How am I supposed to feel if you find some pretty little thing to spend the night with? However discreet you might be, someone is liable to find out."
Poe shook his head. "No! Fake or not, I'll be faithful to those vows. I won't cheat on you." He tilted his head. "I'll expect the same consideration from you."
Rey snorted. "Not a problem," she mumbled. She hadn't had a lover since her break up with Ben. It just wasn't possible for her to enjoy sex without love, and unlike Poe, she didn't fall in love at the drop of a hat.
Poe nodded, and Rey told herself the relief in his eyes was her imagination.
They were silent for a while, then Poe said softly, "Well?"
Rey wanted to say 'no.' Oh, how she wanted to. This whole situation was bound to make her miserable. Ten years ago, she would have had hopes that this sham would lead to something more. That maybe Poe would suddenly realize he loved her as more than a friend, and there would be no annulment. But any hope that he could love her that way had been destroyed ten years ago; he looked on her as a sister, his best friend. Nothing more.
But he would always be more to her, and she couldn't let him down.
She nodded. "Okay," she whispered.
His grin was huge as he stood and walked over to where she was perched on a stool next to kitchen island. He reached for her hand. "Let's do this, partner!"
She took it, then looked him in the eye. "Don't make me regret this, Dameron."
"I won't. I promise," he told her, his smile becoming soft, his eyes warm and affectionate. He squeezed her hand softly, and she felt her heart squeeze right along with it.
XXXXXX