Eye of the Beholder
Disclaimer! Star Wars is not mine. I do not own anything related to star wars.
Poe and Finn had finished loading some supplies a few hours ago and were then taken to their rooms. Leia had sent them clothes for the ball and the two were grateful. Finn had never been to one before and was eager to head out. He had been given white pants and a white long sleeve shirt with a collar that reached an inch up his neck. To complete his attire, he was also given a long navy blue jacket with silver buttons on the right side of his chest and a pair of blue boots that go up past his calves.
Poe on the other had something similar style to his normal clothing. He was given black pants and black boots with silver trimming along the sides. The cream colored shirt he wore was paired with a black jacket. Unlike Finn he left it unbuttoned and had his shirt slightly open, revealing a little bit of his chest. He had his hair combed back but some of his thick locks would not be tamed.
The resistance pilot had been to a ball once when he was a young teen. It was a celebration for a major battle that was won when his parents fought along Luke Skywalker. He found it to be boring and the girls were practically throwing themselves at him. None of that has changed though, except this time there was Rey. When Leia had told him about the celebration he jumped at the opportunity.
He had made his mind up. Poe was going to tell the young woman how he felt and he was going to do it tonight. Finn and Poe had just arrived at the ball room and where waiting for their friend.
Finn was stuffing his face full of delicious food when he spotted her. Rey was walking down the entrance stairs with Leia when she caught Finn staring at her. She gave him a smile and some of the fish appetizer he was chewing escaped from the corners of him mouth. With one hand he grabbed a napkin and spit out the contents in his mouth. His other hand immediately shot out to grab Poe's sleeve.
Poe turned around to ask him what he wanted when he saw the direction Finn was gawking in. The moment his eyes landed her everything else faded away. He stepped forward, meeting her and the general in the middle of the dance floor. Forgetting what he was going to say, he just stood there staring at her for a good twenty seconds. It wasn't until Rey reached out for him and asked him if he was okay when he snapped out of it. "You look beautiful. Not that you don't look beautiful all the time, because you are beautiful every day, but today you look more beautiful than anyone I have ever seen. I just wanted to say I think you lo-"He stopped his rambling noticing that Rey was smiling ear to ear and that General Organa was snickering at him, placing a hand over his shoulder.
"Now would be a great time to ask her to dance." She said giving him a wink. "Now if you will excuse me Rey, I hear some of that Naboo fruit salad calling my name." Not wasting another moment she was gone.
The two that were left behind blushed profusely. Poe held of a hand and looked her in the eyes. "Can I have this dance?"
"Of course." She said placing her hand in his. He moved his other hand to her lower back and enjoyed the feeling of her bare skin under his fingertips. Rey had put her other hand on his shoulder and they began to dance. She fumbled a little bit and stepped on his feet once or twice but he didn't care.
"Sorry, I have never danced before." Rey said feeling more confident in her steps.
"For someone who has never done it before, you are doing very well." He would definitely have a few bruised toes tomorrow but it was worth it to be this close to her, touching her and holding her. They had somehow managed to dance to the outside balcony. When the two noticed where they were they stopped dancing but didn't let go of each other.
Rey looked out at the night sky and then down below at the gardens. "You were right, Naboo is absolutely beautiful." She reached out and touched the stone railing. Poe looked around but his gaze landed on her.
She looked over at him and smiled. He placed his free hand on top of hers on the rail. "I do believe this is the part where I say something like "You are absolutely beautiful." And as cheesy as it is, it would be one hundred percent true." Rey cheeks burned at that and she tilted her head downward. Poe wasn't having any of that. He uncovered her hand and lifted her chin. Once she was looking at him, he ran his fingers along her jaw and ended up cupping her cheek.
"What are we doing?" Rey says just above a whisper. Poe doesn't know where to start but decides that all he really wants to do in this moment is to kiss her. She puts her hand on his chest and leans in while her other hand snakes around his neck and into his hair. Their noses are touching and the tension is boiling over. Poe closes the gap and claims her lips in a slow passionate kiss. Both of their eyes are closed and Rey can feel blood rushing in her ears. After a few moments they pull apart and rest their foreheads against each other.
Poe opens his eyes and decides that now is the time to tell her the truth.
"I have never actually dated anyone before." Rey's eyes open and she leaned back to give him a questioning look. "The woman that was telling people that I was dating her and having sex with her was lying. I have never dated her and I have no interest in her." He searched her eyes for some kind of response. It took her a few moments to process what he was telling her.
"Okay but why would she tell people that?"
"There are rumors about me that make me desirable apparently. I never corrected them because I didn't care. Rumors are rumors and they never stopped me from doing my job but now they are interfering with this relationship. That girl had told her friend that we are together to get attention and to make other guys jealous. I set people straight and I told them the truth."
Rey's smile widened. "Relationship? What exactly is our relationship?"
Poe thought for what felt like forever. "I can't be just friends with you anymore. I want more and I think you do too."
"I want more too, but I have never done any of this before." She really did want to be with him and the only thing that was originally holding her back was the courage to tell him how she felt. Now she worried that her inexperience was going to ruin things before they began.
"I just told you that I have never dated anyone before, we will be doing this for the first time together." Poe said and then it dawned on him. "Sex, you're also worried about sex." He took a deep breath as he saw her nod slightly. He couldn't lie to her. Even though he had no experience with dating, he did have some random hookups and one night stands.
"Look, I will not lie, I do have some experience with sex but I have never made love. We can wait however long you need to. I won't pressure you and I mean it." He said calmly and looked her in the eye so he knew she understood. She bit her lip, trying to decide if she wanted to say something or not.
"I love you." Rey finally let the words pass her lips. She had gained the courage to tell him and wanted to hit herself for not saying it sooner.
Poe smiled and kissed her harder this time. Rey clung to him as if they couldn't live without each other. Needing to breath they separated for a moment. He took this opportunity to voice his feelings.
"I love you too. I am madly, crazy, can't imagine my life without you, in love with you." She giggled a little bit and wrapped both hands behind his neck, playing with the curls at the base of his head. "So does this mean that you're my girlfriend now?"
"Yes and I will wear that title with honor and pride." She announced and pecked him on the lips. The two continued their star gazing, periodically taking a break to make out. They stayed out there all night until they noticed that people were leaving and decided that they should depart as well.
Neither one wanted to separate. They had just figured things out and all they wanted was to hold onto one another. BB-8 came looking for them and that's when they kissed goodbye and went to their chambers to retire for the night.
BB-8 looked up to Poe when they reached their room and beeped a few times. Poe looked down and gave the droid a big smile. "Don't worry BB, I have a feeling that you will be seeing a lot more of her from now on.
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