Rey asks her best friend Poe to pretend to be her boyfriend at a family reunion, creating internal chaos and confusion.
Damerey Fic Challenge - Ficlet
Prompt: From a Certain Point of View
“So, when did Poe become your boyfriend?”
Rey paused a moment as she raised the glass of punch to her mouth, then quickly took a sip. “Well, he’s always been my ‘boyfriend’,” she said. “From a certain point of view.”
Her aunt Leia lifted her brows in incredulity. “Okay,” she continued. “How long have you been dating him?”
Rey glanced at the man they were discussing, who was currently talking with her cousin Ben on the other side of the yard. “We just started,” she said. “We’ve been friends for so long and we haven’t been seeing anyone else for months, so we decided why not give it a try?” She gave her aunt the brightest smile she could to hide her lie. “And so far so good.”
“Hmmm,” Leia hummed, her look unconvinced.
Rey was telling the truth… mostly. She and Poe had indeed been friends for a very long time, ever since college, where she had met Poe Dameron through her pseudo brother Finn Calrissian. She and Finn had grown up together and were practically family, as her father Luke and uncle Han both shared ownership of Northern Tier Forest Products with Finn’s father Lando. Though a few years younger than Poe, they had hit it off immediately, sharing many of the same interests and having the same dry sense of humor.
Rey gave her aunt another smile, not about to admit that she had been dreading this reunion for weeks because she was so very tired of her father and Leia pestering her about being alone. Rey had dated a handful of times during her college years, but since starting her career in journalism, she had had little time to date and her one serious relationship had ended badly. Her friendship with both Poe and Finn was enough, even if Finn was mostly a no-show now that he was in his own serious relationship with Rose Tico.
Moving off to the side under the shade of a weeping willow, Rey continued to watch the group of people around her. The Skywalker family was a fairly large one, if only by the fact that so many close friends through the years had been ‘adopted’ into it. Not only were her father’s parents, Anakin and Padmè in attendance, but their good friend Ben Kenobi, her cousin Ben’s namesake, was also here today. He had been Leia’s mentor when she had started her journey in politics, not to mention being both Luke and Leia’s Godfather, so he was as close as any blood relative. Han Solo, her aunt’s husband, had also invited his best friend and fellow retired pilot Chewie. The large, gentle man had been one of Rey’s favorite people growing up.
Then there was Poe. While Poe had met a few of her family members through the years, he had never had to deal with the whole kit and kaboodle like he did today, and it was her fault he had to. It had been a spur of the moment idea to ask him to come today and pretend they were dating. She had remembered his shocked expression, then the unfocused, almost contemplative look he had given her after he had gathered his wits. She was positive he would say ‘no,’ so when he said ‘okay,’ it had been her turn to be shocked.
She watched as he moved comfortably around the yard, chatting with people he had met before and people he had just been introduced to today with an easy-going confidence she wished she could emulate. She took notice of the way his curls blew gently in the slight summer breeze, the way his chocolate eyes crinkled at the corners when he laughed, the way his eyebrow rose expressively whenever someone said something that caught his focus. While he was personable and open, there was still an air of mystery and ruggedness that surrounded him, aided by his thick beard stubble and tight jeans.
As she watched several of her single female relations watch him, she couldn’t help but feel a bit possessive. This man had been her rock for the last several years, and today was no exception. He had done everything from picking her up at parties when she knew she was too drunk to drive back in college to letting her literally cry on his shoulder after her bad break-up last year. He was always there to offer her advice when she asked or just to back her up on a decision she had made against the advisement of her parents. That wasn’t to say that he always agreed with her. He had done his fair share of arguing with her about issues that they differed on, and more often than not he managed to get her to admit that she had been making decisions without all the facts. He kept her grounded, and in return, she helped him think outside of the box.
It hit her at that moment that she would be lost without him. It wasn’t just his friendship and support that she depended on, but his very essence. He was, to use a cliché, her other half.
She was in love with him, she thought in a panic, and she knew without a shadow of doubt that he loved her.
Her breath caught, and she became aware that he was looking at her from across the yard, a worried look on his face. Feeling her cheeks heat, she turned on her heel and headed around the corner of the house. It was a silly idea, thinking she could get away, because almost immediately she heard him come up behind her.
“Rey?”
She turned on him. “How long?” she gasped.
He frowned, worry written all over his face. “How long what?”
“How long have you been in love with me?”
His face softened and he swallowed. “A while,” he said in a broken whisper.
“And how long were you going to wait for me to figure out I loved you?” she asked.
He blinked rapidly. “As long as it took,” he answered.
Rey let out a soft sob and threw herself at him, burying her face in his neck, letting her tears fall. Poe wrapped his arms around her tightly and she felt him nuzzle the hair behind her ear.
“I’m sorry I took so long,” she whispered.
She felt Poe smile and shake his head softly. “You’re just in time.”
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