Stardust ━━ Star Wars

━ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝘅

      Leia watches with an expression on her face that's not quite sad, but still a little mournful; seeming lost in old memories before she offers a few closing words.  "May your marriage be blessed, always," she says once the rowdy group quiets down, "and may the Force be with you for all your days."

     The newlyweds make their way down the aisle between the groups of Resistance personnel and other guests from the Yavin colony who had come out to show their support. Poe clasps hands with both of his friends when they pass him by, pressing kisses to their cheeks and squeezing their shoulders affectionately. His face hurts from smiling by the time the rest of the crowd begins to disperse, slowly making their way towards the reception area that had been set up in the grassy clearing closer to his father's house. However, the smile on his lips dies when he locks eyes with a familiar someone standing across the aisle from him.

      Poe can't look away and he almost wonders if the universe is trying to kill him because he swears that he's never seen someone so beautiful in all his life. With her hair pulled back and a few loose strands escaping to frame her pretty face, Indira Beren looks lovelier than any angel could ever hope to be.

     Somewhat dazed, Poe realizes that it's the first time he's seen her wear a dress. It makes his head spin when he thinks about it — the fact that, for as long as he's known Indira, the two of them have been caught up in the middle of a war; almost always dressed in uniform, never allowed anything close to a normal life. He swallows thickly, knowing then that he wants nothing more than to survive all of this — to grow old, to get married, to watch sunsets and sunrises every day, to have a house, to start a family, to see the girl that he loves wear a hundred more dresses — and he knows that he wants to do it all with her.

      Once again, Poe's thoughts drift to the ring around his neck and in that moment, it feels more like a noose than a necklace. He hates the selfish flash of desire that burns through his mind, leaving him with a thought he'd done his best to deny from the very first moment that he heard the news about his two friends getting married. It's an ugly thought — one he isn't particularly proud of — but no matter how happy Poe is for his friends, he can't keep himself from wishing that it'd been him instead.

     As he holds Indira's gaze, Poe has to wonder if it's just wishful thinking and his mind playing tricks on him, showing him what he wants to see, or if she really does look as wistful as he feels. There's something that looks an awful lot like longing in her red-rimmed eyes before she breaks his gaze, turning to give the great Uneti tree one last lingering look before she's dragged away towards the reception area with her friends.

      Poe stands there by himself for a few moments longer, stuck to the spot as he watches her form grow smaller and smaller in the distance. Eventually, two people sling their arms around his shoulders and he finds himself caught in the middle of Finn and Rey as they chatter away enthusiastically. Poe throws an arm around the smalls of their backs, content for a moment to play the middleman between them.

      "I've never been to a wedding before," Rey is saying.

      "Neither have I," Finn replies and it makes Poe's heart ache; the way it does every time he is reminded of the abuse and abandonment his two friends endured during their childhoods — so different and so cruel compared to his own privileged upbringing. "It was nice."

     "Nice," Rey echoes before nodding in agreement. "Yes, I think I would want my wedding to be like that someday."

      Finn makes a choking sound before attempting to turn it into a cough. "And, uh, who exactly will you be marrying?" He asks, striving — and failing miserably, Poe might add — for something that resembles casual nonchalance.