One-Shots: The Geek Collection

Poe Dameron - The Force Awakens (3)

"Have a good day so far?" I asked, taking a bite of my food with a fork. We had grabbed lunch from the cafeteria and snuck out our lunch trays to the lounge so we could talk without all the constant chattering and loud laughs.

"It's been alright. Just leading a few pilot training sessions. What about yours?"

I rolled my eyes. "Same as always. It's just so boring. It seems so meaningless."

"Hey, washing and buffering X-Wings isn't the worst job in the business," Poe replied, shovelling food into his mouth.

"But definitely not the most exciting."

"If you hate it so much why don't you try something else?"

I glanced at him knowingly. "You know what, Poe, I've been thinking about that..."

Suddenly he stopped chewing his mouth-full and looked at me blankly as if he knew exactly what I was going to say and was already disagreeing.

He swallowed and looked at me suspiciously. "What have you been thinking about...?"

"Well... since I'm pretty much, you know, best friends with the best pilot in the Resistance, I was kinda hoping that maybe you would sorta give me some... you know... lessons...?"

"No!" Poe shouted unexpectedly, making me jump a little. "I- I mean, washing isn't that bad is it? And flying isn't all that fun, anyway. I mean the air conditioners sometimes glitch out and it gets super hot and you know sometimes the engine smells bad and it gives you a headache and the space can get cramped and sometimes when you-"

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Poe, come on! You've given me rides before. I know what it's like. Half of that stuff never even happens and when it does it's not a big deal."

Poe looked at me with mixed emotions, something I couldn't quite make out. Nervousness? Fear?

"Trust me," I said. "It would be way better than staying here all day, cleaning ship after ship."

"I don't know, Y/N. I don't think it's quite right for you."

I gave him an offended look. "What do you mean 'it's not right for me'? Do you not want me to be happier?"

"No, no, it's not like that!"

"Then what's it like?"

"It's- it's war, Y/N!"

"Oh, so you're saying I can't handle myself out there? I should just not even try to fight?"

"No that's not why-"

"Then why?"

"Because I love you, okay?"

A few tense seconds of silence hung in the air. It was only now, as we searched each other's eyes, did I notice his pleading expression. In turn, my gaze softened. Finally, he broke the silence.

"I wouldn't be able to take it. I wouldn't be able let you put your life on the line every time you sat behind that control panel and took off. Losing you is a risk too great for me to take. I'm sorry."