Aris

Poe has to sort through his feelings for a certain young Jedi while he and his team visit a marketplace on Aris.

Written for Tumblr's Year of the OTP Event. The February prompts I used were: bed sharing and 'it made me think of you.' Rated teen for mentions of sexual arousal.

The planet Aris was about as mundane a planet as could be found in the Outer Rim. It was mostly covered in temperate rainforests, though there were a couple of large oceans and an expanse of open grassy steppe in the southern hemisphere. Poe rather liked the oxygen rich forests that surrounded the village of Radekton; though much cooler than his home of Yavin IV, the humidity and the vibrant plant life were still comforting. The green ferns and towering trees with huge trunks were beautiful, and from what he understood, most of the wildlife that inhabited the forest were harmless.

There also was nothing special about the people who inhabited the planet, which were mostly human. Aris had strangely never developed a sentient species of its own, or if it had, they had long ago departed the world en masse. Aris and its residents hadn’t even been unique enough to catch the eye of the Empire years ago, and while the Republic had had an ambassador there, after its fall Aris was essentially forgotten, just as a lot of planets in the Outer Rim were ignored… unless they had something that would benefit the Empire financially or militarily.

While the New Republic had sent delegates to the planet after the war, there had been little change on Aris itself, and most of the population wasn’t even aware that the New Republic was no more, though rumors of the First Order and their Empire-like terror were spreading.

It was a fine place for the Resistance to hide for a while.

Leia and her survivors had settled, temporarily, near an area full of cliffs and rocky overhangs on the coast of one of Aris’ oceans, a full three-day journey away by landspeeder. Leia herself had been determined to visit this grand marketplace to get a feel for the people here, so she, Poe, Rey, Finn, Chewie, and BB-8 had taken their only two working speeders and driven all the way here, not wanting to attract attention by landing a ship nearby. They had camped during the nights on the journey, with Chewie getting his own tent while Rey shared with Leia and Poe with Finn. It had almost felt reminiscent of when Poe went camping with childhood friends in his youth, as he and Finn couldn’t seem to stop talking and joking and laughing until they both fell asleep. Finn didn’t have a lot of fun stories from his youth, so Poe tried to remember anything and everything humorous to share with his friend.

They had finally arrived at the village of Radekton just before the noon hour and had spent the last three hours taking advantage of the market’s bounty.

Poe wandered down the center aisle of the colorful outdoor marketplace, comfortable in the duster-like coat that a great majority of the natives wore. It helped that the long outerwear covered any weapons he and his companions were wearing, including Rey’s lightsaber. Well, it was actually Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber, Poe knew, and probably really belonged to Leia now, but she more often than not had Rey in charge of it.

His eyes found the two women who were never far from his thoughts. They were both standing at one of the booths, and Rey appeared to be haggling with the human man behind the table showing off his wares. Leia was watching her with an amused expression. Chewbacca, who was never more than an arm’s length away from Leia when she went anywhere away from the safety of their base or the Falcon, watched the people around them, his blue eyes always moving as he scanned the area. Unfortunately, he stood out, but there were a handful of aliens around, so other than a few curious looks nobody seemed overly bothered.

“I think Leia’s impressed with Rey’s bargaining,” Finn said at Poe’s side. He was watching the two women and the wookiee as well, a small smile on his face.

“Well, I’m sure Rey has plenty of experience,” Poe responded, focusing on the younger woman. She was laughing at something the vendor had said now, and Leia was also smiling. Poe knew that part of Rey’s Jedi training included learning how to deal with people of all species and temperaments with a positive attitude and kind authority. Poe knew Rey was already mostly there, as she was a naturally open and amiable person, but he also knew she had a temper, and Leia would need to work at teaching Rey how to control it in sensitive situations. Poe had been on the receiving end of Rey’s ire more than once, and while he would easily admit it was usually his fault, what he wouldn’t admit was that he usually did whatever it was that made her angry intentionally.

He couldn’t help but enjoy verbally sparring with this bright, beautiful woman. He loved how her jewel-colored eyes flashed, how her freckled face turned rosy, and how she stood tall, facing him toe to toe. And sometimes nose to nose. She was simply perfect.

And not the one for him.

He stopped his musings when he noticed that Leia had stepped back away from the booth and was listening to her commlink intently. Chewie stood about half-way between her and Rey, who was still talking animatedly with the booth owner. She had a box in hand now, though he hadn’t seen what the vendor put in it. She tucked it away inside her duster, then nodded to the man once more with a smile before turning to look at Leia, who was grimacing at whatever she was hearing over the comm.

The General looked up and made eye contact with him through the crowd, then motioned with her head toward an area off to the side where there were few people. Poe nodded, then looked at Finn, making sure the younger man had seen Leia’s non-verbal request as well. Finn bobbed his head and the two started forward toward the area Leia had indicated, BB-8 following. They all met up and created a loose huddle, with BB-8 squeezing himself into the middle.

“That was Kaydell,” Leia said, keeping her voice low. “It appears that Minister Chenchillo has decided against joining us and will not be bringing the four Y-Wings he promised.”

Poe groaned, closing his eyes and shaking his head. “Why am I not surprised?” He had never liked the Ishi Tib and had been against making a deal with him in the first place.

Leia gave Poe a disapproving look at his sarcastic comment, but she didn’t defend Chenchillo. “Kay thinks he still wants to make a deal, but he’ll only talk to me. I told them to send a shuttle, but to land it well north of here.” She looked at Finn. “Finn, I’d like you to come with me back to the base. He seemed very impressed that you were once a stormtrooper, and maybe we can use his interest in your past to our advantage. Chewie can drive us to the rendezvous, then he can come back here.” She focused on Poe. “You and Rey can keep making friends and impressing the locals for the rest of the day and into tomorrow, then head back to base.”

“Why can’t we all just go back on the shuttle?” Rey asked.

“We can’t abandon the speeders,” Poe told her. “We need to keep every vehicle we can right now.”

Rey nodded in understanding, then looked back at Leia. “Do you want us to bring anything back to base?”

“As much of a variety of foodstuffs as you think the speeders can carry would be much appreciated, I’m sure,” Leia answered. “The three of you should get a room at the hostel overnight,” she added. “Take advantage of a real bed and shower for once.”

Poe watched as Leia headed back to where they had left the speeders, Finn at her side and Chewie following protectively, then he looked at Rey. “Should we get some supper while we wait for Chewie to come back?”

Rey looked thoughtful for a moment, as if she was seriously considering his question. Finally, she shrugged. “I could eat.”

Poe snorted. “Of course, you can. When can’t you eat?” He smirked at her expression as he turned away. “Anything and everything,” he continued.

She smacked him on the arm as she followed him. “Rude!” she snapped, but he could see the humor in her eyes as he looked over at her.

Suddenly, he noticed something different. He stopped short, turning to face her. “You’re wearing earrings!”

Rey stopped and one hand came up to fiddle with the Beryllius and pearl hoop clip in her right ear. “I just bought them,” she said self-consciously, not looking him in the eye. “I suppose they look silly…”

“No, no!” Poe told her quickly, reaching up to grasp her wrist gently and prevent her from pulling the earring off. “I think they look good.” She looked up, finally meeting his eyes. “Pretty.”

“Really?” she said softly, one eyebrow raised in disbelief.

“Yes, really,” Poe confirmed with a nod.

Rey drew her lower lip into her mouth, biting it gently, and Poe felt his body react startingly fast to the unconsciously sensual action. Knock it off, Dameron, he told himself, shifting his stance and once more glad he was wearing a duster. “Let’s eat.”

Rey nodded, looking relieved, and they headed back into the center of the marketplace. They quickly agreed on a stand that sold traditional bantha burgers as well as breaded tip-yip strips. They found a place to sit in the area fenced off from the main marketplace and fell into an easy conversation as they ate. They were just about finished with their meal when Poe became aware that the sun was no longer shining.

He looked up at the sky, checking the cloud cover, and was a bit surprised when he realized just how dark those clouds were. He heard an increase in the sounds coming from the marketplace and turned to see many of the vendors closing up shop. While he had grown up on a world were rain was a very common occurrence, he understood why these people were rushing to beat it; the rains on this part of Aris were cold, not the tropical rains he was used to.

His comm chirped and he picked it up, acknowledging Chewie. “Hey, buddy. I hope you’re close. It looks like rain.”

Chewie informed him that the rain had already reached him and he had quickly set up his tent almost a kilometer outside of the village rather than try to close the canopy on the speeder; he didn’t fit ‘inside’ it when it was closed.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay there for the night?”

Chewie assured him that he was on high ground and that he would be more comfortable in the tent than in a human sized bed anyway.

“All right,” Poe nodded. “We’ll see you in the morning. Have a good night.”

Chewie wished both him and Rey a good night as well, then disconnected.

Poe looked back at the sky. “We should get to that hostel and get our rooms,” he told Rey, who had been listening to his conversation with Chewie intently. She nodded and they stood, disposing of the food trays in the recycle bin behind the public lavatory.

As they moved away from the marketplace, which had emptied out amazingly fast, and toward the center of the village where they knew the hostel was, it began to sprinkle. Without thought, Poe picked up his pace and Rey followed suit, her long legs allowing her to keep pace with him easily. Just before they reached the inn, it began to pour rain, and it was cold! Poe pressed the panel and the door slid open, allowing them both inside the lobby before they got too wet.

The older man behind the desk gave them a big grin. “You beat it!”

“Barely,” Poe laughed back as he stepped up to the desk. “We’d like two rooms for the night.”

The man’s grin fell as he glanced between Poe and Rey. “I’m afraid we only have one room available,” he told them, his expression apologetic.

Poe just stared at the man, his eyes wide, on the verge of panic. “I’m sorry?” he huffed. “One room?”

The innkeeper nodded.

“Are there any other hostels in town.”

The man shook his head. “Sorry, no. Most everyone that comes from out of town for the market usually bring their own sleeper vans, so we’ve never needed more than one hotel.” He shrugged. “It just happens to be extra busy this week.”

Poe finally looked at Rey who had been standing quietly watching the conversation with big eyes. He bit his lip as she looked at him. “We could make a run for the speeder and see if we can get our tents up,” he told her.

Rey looked out the window that was next to the door they had come in. “We’d get super wet and cold and no fire to warm us up.” She looked back at him. “I’d rather stay in a room. I’m okay with sharing if you are.”

Poe felt his whole body tighten and he reminded himself that Rey was most likely too innocent to understand why the thought of sharing a bed with her was… not the best idea. However, he was an adult and in control of his emotions and physical reactions, and he sure as hell didn’t want to go out into that cold rain. He turned back to the innkeeper. “We’ll take it.”

The man nodded and grabbed the key card for Room 160 while Poe counted out the required amount of credits, then he and Rey turned down the hallway.

The room was small and tidy, with a tiny ‘fresher off to one side and a large window overlooking the bed.

The one bed.

It wasn’t small, really, but it certainly wasn’t large, either. BB-8 made a beeline toward the little charging station, plugging himself in and settling in for the night; he hadn’t charged himself since they left the base, so that was his priority. As Rey moved into the room, pulling her sling bag off over her head and setting it on the floor in the far corner of the room, Poe stood in the doorway looking at that bed. Rey moved to the window and peeked out, then turned and smiled at him.

“You can see the marketplace from here,” she said. “Even in the rain it’s so colorful!” She must have noticed his silence and his tight expression. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” he said as he stepped fully into the room, closing the door behind him. “I’ll sleep on the floor,” he mumbled as he pulled his own bag over his head, laying it next to the wall in the gap between the ‘fresher and the bed.

Rey frowned, looking at the floor, which had carpet but looked far from comfortable, then at the bed. “Why?” she asked.

“Well… the bed is kind of small,” he explained, shrugging.

“It’s not that small,” she argued right back, making her way toward him. “I promise I’ll shower before bed so I won’t stink,” she joked. “If you promise to do the same, of course.”

Poe gave a soft laugh. “It’s not that. I…”

Her expression softened. “What?” she gently pushed. “Are you afraid I’ll try to steal your virtue?”

That made him laugh outright. He rubbed a hand down over his face. “I guess I’m making a mountain out of a scurrier hill, aren’t I?”

“Even if I thought you had any interest in me, Commander, I trust that you would never pressure anyone into a physical relationship.” She cocked her head, her expression serious. “You’re far too honorable.”

“I… thank you.” He paused. “I guess?”

She laughed softly, then moved to grab her bag again. “In fact, I think you’re so honorable, that you’ll let me have the ‘fresher first!” She skipped past him into the tiny room, laughing.

Poe couldn’t help but laugh with her, then he took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the bed, trying not to listen to the sound of running water coming from the shower and trying even harder to not imagine Rey in that shower. She may consider him honorable, and she was right in that he would never force himself on anyone, but she was wrong in thinking he had no interest in her. Honorable or not, he was not looking forward to the night ahead.

When she came out a short time later, she was wearing what he had seen her wear before when she slept: an oversize tunic that came down almost to her knees and had long, loose sleeves. It was as unsexy as nightwear could be, and yet he couldn’t stop thinking how tempting she looked, with her hair down and wet from the shower, and her feet bare. She glanced at him as she passed, giving him a small smile, and he grabbed his bag and headed in to the ‘fresher for his own quick shower. When he emerged wearing his normal sleep pants and tank top, she was already curled up in the bed, facing away from him.

She turned to look at him over her shoulder. “You don’t mind if I sleep in this side, to you?” she asked quietly. “I’d like to be closer to the window to watch the rain.”

“Of course I don’t mind,” he responded, then he looked down at what was to be his half of the bed. A small box sat there. “What’s this?”

Rey looked over at him again, and this time there was a bit of pink on her cheeks. “I got it at the marketplace earlier,” she said. “It made me think of you.”

He reached for the box, and as he did so, she added quickly. “If you don’t like it, that’s okay.”

Poe wanted to scoff. As if he wouldn’t like anything gifted to him by this woman. He carefully opened the box. Inside was a small golden figure of an X-Wing. A T-65B from the looks of it. The fighter that won the Rebellion, he always joked.

“The man said it was pure aurodium,” Rey said. “But it doesn’t seem heavy enough. Maybe aurodium plated? Anyway, I got it for a good price.”

This is what he had seen her and the vendor haggling over? A gift for him? He felt his heart clench. “Thank you, Rey. It’s beautiful.”

“You’re welcome.” She gave him a quick smile and turned away.

Poe set the box and figure on the small table next to the bed, then reached to turn off the light. “Goodnight, Rey.”

“Goodnight, Poe.”

He flipped the switch and made his way back to the bed, his eyes adjusting quickly to the dark. He climbed under the covers, turning his back toward his companion and settling as best he could. The bed wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t the most comfortable thing he’d ever slept on, either. For a while, he thought this arrangement wouldn’t be as bad as he had thought when he felt sleep pull at him. But while he was on that mysterious border between sleep and wakefulness, he felt her shift behind him, and the smell of her soap or shampoo or whatever else she had used during or after her shower filled his nostrils.

He woke with a start, completely and utterly aroused.

Dammit. This is exactly why sharing a bed with this woman was a bad idea. It wasn’t the first time her nearness had caused this reaction in him, but this time he couldn’t walk away. He closed his eyes tight and tried to focus on what kinds of foods they should gather up tomorrow. Who liked what and what would be easiest to transport back to their temporary base. Things that wouldn’t spoil quickly, obviously. Canned goods, fruits and veggies, breads. Loloberries. Rey loved loloberries.

Rey.

He could hear her breathing. She wasn’t sleeping. She shifted again and sighed. A rather tremulous sigh, he thought.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly.

“I’m sorry,” she replied. “I’m keeping you awake.” She did not sound sleepy at all.

He turned onto his back and looked at her, only to find she was also on her back, staring up at the ceiling. “What’s wrong?”

She half shrugged, then shook her head. “I just… I’ve never shared a bed with anyone before. It’s… not like I imagined.”

Suddenly curious, Poe turned to face her and pushed himself up on his elbow, his head propped up by his hand. “Never?” he asked. “Not even on Jakku?”

She looked at him, shaking her head negative. “Sharing sleeping spaces with other scavengers meant the possibility of waking up with all your belongings gone. Or your throat slit.”

“So, you never had partners or teammates?”

“No.”

“What about Finn? You trust him, don’t you?”

She gave him a wry look. “I do. But I’m not going to give Rose a reason to be jealous. She’s kind of in love with him, you know?”

Poe laughed. “Yeah, I know.” He contemplated her for a moment, watching as one hand gently picked at the knuckles of her other hand. She was nervous. “We already established that you trust me,” he said. “So, why are you so uneasy?” It couldn’t be for the same reason he was uncomfortable.

She shrugged again, then without looking at him said in a voice so soft it was almost a whisper, “It seems weird to be lying so close to you and not be touching you.” She licked her lips. “But I don’t know why I feel that way.”

Poe thought he knew the reason. “You’ve always slept in a state of vigilance,” he said, keeping his voice low. Relaxed. “You’ve never truly allowed yourself to count on someone else to look out for you. You want that security. That sense that someone else will help protect you.” She was looking at him now, her eyes wide. “And maybe you just want to be held close by someone you… trust.”

“But maybe… maybe I won’t like it.”

“Only one way to find out.” Poe lay back down completely, rolling onto his back but keeping the arm he had been leaning on outstretched toward Rey in invitation.

She watched him for a moment, her expression wary. She took a deep breath and turned toward him, shifting closer to him. She tentatively placed her head on his upper chest while he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Her body was as tight as a bow string.

“It’s just like a hug,” he told her. “And I know you’ve given and received plenty of those.” He felt her take a deep breath and her body relaxed a bit. “The only difference is you don’t have to let go so soon.”

He felt her huff a soft laugh, then she shifted her body closer and seemed to melt into him. “I love hugs. I don’t get enough of them.”

“You love touch,” Poe corrected her. “Especially affectionate touch.”

“Does that make me needy?”

He shook his head, though he knew she couldn’t see. “No more than it makes me needy. I crave touch, too.”

“But you’ve had it most of your life, haven’t you?”

“Yeah,” he breathed. “My parents were very touchy-feely, especially my mother. My dad still gives the best hugs today.”

“That’s how you got to be so good at hugs,” she said, her words muffled as she snuggled her face into his shirt. “Thank you, Poe.”

Poe just smiled and tightened his arm around her shoulders, bringing up his other hand and grasping her elbow gently, his thumb absently rubbing along the soft, loose material of her sleeve. She was warm, her body a tempting mix of soft and strong, her scent sweet and alluring. And yet…

Well, he couldn’t say he wasn’t still feeling arousal, but it was overpowered now by the desire to make sure this woman felt safe. Comfortable. Not alone.

He breathed in deep, closing his eyes as he felt her breathing slow and knew she was entering sleep. He felt sleep pull at him as well, and he let it come. He didn’t know what would happen in the morning, whether she would pull away from him in the night or if he would be unable to hide his attraction to her come daylight. And it didn’t matter. Tonight, they were at peace, and Force knew there was little enough of that in their lives. He would take it, enjoy it, and look back fondly on this moment in the future.

And he would remember it as the day he fell head over heels in love with a Jedi on Aris.

THE END