TOY SOLDIER [IX] ▸ Poe Dameron

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE [XXI]

WE WERE A TANGLE OF LIMBS IN THE MORNING. I FELT WARM LIPS AGAINST THE CURVE OF MY SHOULDER, INCOHERENTLY MUMBLING WITH SNORES.

She was buried close to me, flush against my bare chest, sleeping soundly. I felt my heart twitch.

I felt the heat of the rays hit my skin, filtering in through the room's single window. My muscles shifted in all this warmth, stirring gently and fending off the threats of sleep. Yes, how nice it would be to sleep in, but that would be rather greedy of me, wouldn't it? There was work to be done.

As I rose, I felt her stir as well, eyelashes fluttering open against my skin, revealing her dark brown eyes. As they were hit by the sunlight, they radiated with more warmth than usual. They had a sleepy quality about them, the pupils changing to the light and I could see the stars in her eyes as she gazed up at me. There were galaxies, expanses of space beyond even my wildest dreams, places I hadn't explored yet, however tempting it was now. Her breath was soft, her lips parted open as she drunk in the image of me.

There was so much she could say. So much that needed to be said.

But we didn't talk about it.

"Your hair's messy," was all she said with a soft laugh, reaching up and running her fingers through my disheveled bed head. I let out a throaty chuckle, smiling down at the girl entangled in my arms. I could sense how nervous she was by the way she spoke. "You sleep well?"

"Better than most nights," I admitted with a wry, bashful smile. "Could you tell?"

"Well," She scrunched up her nose and grinned. "I'm not going to lie, I don't have much to compare it to, it's not often that I have someone nice to sleep next to."

"No shit?" I mock-gasped softly. She laughed at this, swatting me playfully. I caught her hand, laughing too, daring her to act. Her breath hitched, falling silent for a moment, but suddenly the trademark Alya devilish smirk spread over her lips.

God, this girl was up to something. She'd be the death of me, that much I knew.

She flipped me over at once, catching me off guard, straddling my waist, planting her hands firmly on my chest.

"I win." She announced with a victorious grin on her face.

I laughed, my hands flying to her waist. Her eyes widened at this touch, growing to the size of saucers.

"Is this okay?" I asked, fumbling with words, suddenly uncertain of myself, my grip slipping away.

She only nodded, rolling her eyes despite the pink flush in her cheeks. "I swear, Dameron, don't make me smother you."

"Don't act like you haven't done worse."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She smiled innocently, her sickly sweet words dripping with tantalizing poison.

"Oh, yes, because it isn't like the first time I met you, you shot me."

"I believe I punched you, not shot."

"Ah, you're right." I joked wryly, smacking a hand to my face with exaggerated admittal of defeat. "That's so much better. I shouldn't have doubted you, you would never."

She stuck her tongue out at me. "I would never."

I suddenly flipped her back over, eliciting out a squeak of surprise. My haunches curled over like a lion with its prey, gazing down at her vulnerable frame.

She looked beautiful splayed out on those sheets. It made me wonder, what the hell was I doing? We didn't have anything, I didn't think, she was supposed to be an annoying trigger-happy revolutionary that I had to put up with for the sake of the mission, I wasn't supposed to be gazing down at her like this, questioning my sanity and thinking of how beautiful she was. I wasn't supposed to be wanting to kiss her. I mean, that hadn't exactly worked out so well the last time.

Such a strong-willed personality, but I didn't find myself repulsed, instead I found myself intrigued.

Intrigued by the way her chest rose and fell like a rose in bloom, the way her back arched, the way freckles painted her lovely skin, the way her brown eyes shone with excitement, and the way her breath caught. She had been caught, caught in my grip. She had realized that she was captured with no likely chance of escape, but she didn't seem to mind. She had allowed herself to become vulnerable.

I had been vulnerable last night. Whether I wanted to or not, I had taken a leap. A leap right into her arms.

I felt differently about Alya now. I didn't know what to make of her, what to make of this- this feeling was all new, but I found myself curious, drawn to her. I had acquired my first taste, the first exposure. Now, I only wanted more of her. More of her enticing scent and her alluring touch. I was becoming greedy.

"Oh my stars, what the fuck-" erupted a voice from the hall all of a sudden. Both of our heads whipped, eyes wide in fear, and saw Sabik looking a mixture of horrified and angry in the doorframe. One hand flew to his mouth, the other was clenched in a knuckle-white tight fist.

Ah, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. This looked really bad.

I felt the air knocked out of my chest as Alya's hands quickly pushed up and shoved me off of her.

"Get the fuck out, Sabik!" She protested, but of course he didn't move. Her mind was spinning, panicking, and it was hard not to watch with amusement as she scrambled about the room. She clumsily clambered off of the bed, but quickly realized she wasn't wearing pants. I saw Sabik look away, his face red hot with shame. Alya quickly grabbed the sheets to herself, wrapping around, and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door after her.

Which left me and Sabik.

A nervous sweat rose to my forehead, but there wasn't anything to be ashamed of, was there?

Looking into Sabik's furious eyes gave me less and less hope. The familiar Poyterian flames burned there, too.

"Listen," I managed to say, swallowing dryly, holding up hesitant, defensive hands. "I can explain."

•••
A/N: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) can you rlly explain it though, poe, or are you just gonna keep denying your feelings huh
this is a little bit of a shitty filler but whatever. might edit later. besides, the fluff was much needed after last chapter's emotional toll.
anywho, hope you enjoyed!! be sure to vote and comment if you did!! new update on thursday!
xx Natalie
ps. so yeah i changed the title! i hope this doesn't confuse many people, it just pertained more to the overall theme than the old one did.