━━ CHAPTER NINE / say it again

As the sun climbed the familiar sky, Eliana was rushing to get ready. She had unintentionally overslept and was dangerously close to missing her first meeting with the First Order investors. It was important. She couldn't miss it and the adrenaline had carried her through her morning routine. She had done it in half the time she usually had to and left to head to the Senate.

But as she stormed down the Senate corridors, she ran right into the one person that she had been avoiding all week. Relya. She was dressed in a more casual manner. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders and the first thought that ran through Eliana's head was 'she looks gorgeous'. But before it could fester, Eliana pushed it down.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-" Eliana bumbled, trying to get her words out coherently but Relya cut her off with a wave of her hand.

"You're just the person I wanted to see," There was a crooked smile on her face. It used to made Eliana melt, that smile. It was still gorgeous, she could admit that but it didn't have the same effect it used to. Relya wasn't the same.

"What? I don't-" Eliana tried to keep up her identity but Relya cut her off again.

"Eliana, drop the act. Nobody is around." Eliana glanced around and Relya was right. There was nobody around. It was just the two of them in the corridor together. Back in the Senate, face-to-face. This was the worst case scenario. Not only had Relya recognised her but had approached her, intentional or not. Now, she was stuck facing her old lover with no idea how to handle the situation and the feelings that bubbled at the surface.

"Don't call me that," Eliana said. Her voice was soft, lacking any real conviction. Relya had a way of circumventing all of Eliana's emotions unlike Poe who often received the harsh end of the stick when Eliana was frustrated at him.

"Why are you here under a fake name?" Relya asked, crossing her arms over her chest. She always looked so regal, even dressed down. Her eyes were the most gorgeous shade of brown, like chocolate. Warm and comforting. Eliana snapped her gaze off of Relya's face.

"Business with the Resistance." It was a snappy response. Eliana knew time was of the essence. She didn't have the time to be distracted or to even have this conversation. She needed to leave, get to the meeting.

"Leia sent you here? Really?" There was a tone of disbelief and Eliana nodded her head. There wasn't a need to verbally respond. Eliana was looking around, checking for anyone. Her eyes were frantic. Relya knew that she needed to be somewhere but didn't have the heart to care. A conversation with Eliana was more important to Relya than wherever she had to be. "Why?" She asked. Eliana scoffed and moved her gaze back to Relya's face.

"I can't tell you," Eliana said it like it was the most obvious thing. But Relya wasn't offended. Sometimes Eliana had a tone like that, it was never malicious. She just didn't understand why people asked stupid questions. Relya had long learnt that about the brunette.

"Would you tell me over dinner?" Relya asked. It was such a smooth response and Eliana was briefly baffled by it. She sighed.

"Relya," There was a sense of exasperation in her tone but it didn't seem to be directed at Relya. It was odd. Even Eliana didn't understand how she felt. Relya had always made her emotions twist up in a tangled mess that she could never quite decipher but this was different. It was worse than it ever had been.

"You didn't respond to my invite," Relya said softly. Eliana sighed. She pushed her fingers through her hair.

"I had other pressing matters." It was an excuse. A flimsy excuse. She had hours to respond to the invitation in hyperspace with Poe but she didn't because she didn't know what to say or do. They hadn't spoken in two years and then an invite and now they were standing across from each other. Eliana was stumped.

But then Eliana just gave in to herself. Maybe dinner would help clear up everything she felt. So, she held her hand out and said "Give me your comm." It was in the softest tone she had used in years. A tone reserved for Relya and anyone else she ever happened to fall for.

"I'll send you the details," Relya said, passing her comm over. Eliana nodded and began to fill in the details for her new device. She knew this was a mistake. Poe would have her for it but she didn't have the heart to care.

"I'll see you then," Eliana said with a small smile. Relya nodded and took back her datapad. Eliana went to take off down the corridor before she mumbled a soft, "I'm sorry." Relya frowned and looked at the woman. Her head was slightly tilted.

"Don't be." Eliana nodded and then they parted ways. Eliana knew she was going to be late but still rushed as fast as she could, hoping to get to the meeting somewhat on time.

-

Eliana couldn't stop thinking. Not only had she run into Relya, she was invited to dinner. And Poe wasn't back. He had gone out for another mission, some recon and he hadn't returned. It had long turned dark and Eliana was running out of things to distract her mind with while she waited for Poe's return. It was long after he had been scheduled to return and he wasn't answering his comm. She hadn't stopped pacing.

She knew that he would be fine. He was Poe Dameron but that didn't stop the spiral. The thoughts running through her head. This mission wasn't the easiest to complete. It was an undercover op and if someone recognised him and found out what he was doing, this would blow up in their face and her meetings would be in jeopardy. Everything would be in jeopardy.

But the door suddenly opened and closed and Poe stood there. His posture was relaxed and Eliana couldn't believe him. Her face dropped at the sight of how relaxed he was. She had been worried for hours over him and he looked pleased with himself. She could have hit him. She wanted to hit him but before she could get a word in, he spoke.

"What's up with you? Something happened?" There was a genuine curiosity to his tone and all she could do was stare at him for a moment. His audacity was unbelievable.

"Where the kriff were you?" She snapped and he raised an eyebrow. He placed his bag down and pulled his jacket off, draping it over the dresser against the wall.

"Recon," He said. She scoffed and ran her fingers through her hair. She could feel herself greying.

"You were meant to be back hours ago!" She snapped. She had tried to reign her annoyance and worry in but it was hard. It always seemed to seep into her tone much to her frustration. Poe gently shook his head and pulled his shirt over his head, changing into his pyjama top.

"I got caught up." His words were followed by a little shrug and she stared at him. Her eyes briefly drifted to his bare torso but she was too blinded by her worry and annoyance to even consider admiring him.

"I was worried about you," She snapped. He pulled the shirt over his head and turned to face her. There was a smirk on his face now.

"You were worried about me?" He asked. The teasing tone returned and she felt like screaming. Why she wanted to scream was completely dependent on what she was thinking of at that very moment. Her whole week spinning in her head. Poe, the worry, Relya, the ball, his hands on her, Relya's familiar touch. Everything. It made her head hurt.

"Poe," She mumbled, completely exasperated. But he wasn't letting up. He kicked his shoes off and padded over to her. His day pants still on as he stood in front of her. His hands kept firmly to himself for now.

"No, tell me how worried you were," He said. His voice soft and she stared at him. The audacity of this man and she just had nothing to say. Her brain unable to come up with a coherent thought to convey how this all made her feel, "You scared something bad had happened?" He asked. He stepped closer and his presence this close was setting her skin ablaze. So, she stepped back and shook her head softly.

"Stop it," She mumbled as she tried to step away. But then he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him.

"I wanna hear you say it again." There was that unrelenting arrogance. That look in his eyes that made Eliana want to hit him but also kiss him. No, not kiss him. Just hit him. Just that. Nothing more. She couldn't feel anything more. But the feeling of his hand against her wrist was electric. Her skin was on fire.

"Poe..." She trailed off not being able to find the words. He cocked an eyebrow.

"Eliana." He repeated her name back to her. His grip moved from her wrist and she looked into his eyes.

"I'm not kidding. I," Eliana tried to string a sentence together but her face was red. Her whole body was on fire. There was nothing she could say. She tried again, "this is not-" But again, she was interrupted. Her mind was unable to string a coherent thought together. She was exhausted by it all.

"Maker, you're so easy to fluster. Look at you, baby," Poe moved his hand to her face. His hand cupped her face for a moment before Eliana swerved away. She stepped back, trying to put space between them. His presence was addictive and set off every alarm in her.

"You always do this," She mumbled. He then turned away and walked over to the dresser.

He took his pants off, changing into his pyjamas as he spoke, "What? Flirt with you? Make you swoon at my feet? It's all part of my charm." That teasing lilt was still there and so, she picked up her shoe and threw it. It hit him square in the back of the head and he turned to look at her, offended.

"Can you just be serious for one minute?" She snapped. He sighed and pushed his fingers through his hair.

"Okay, okay," He mumbled, putting his hands up in mock defence. Eliana smiled, her body finally cooling down after their intimate moment. It was something she should have come to expect from Poe but he was unpredictable.

"Why were you late?" She asked.

"It was more complicated than I expected. Nothing bad happened," He reassured her. She smiled, nodding her head.

There was a soft mumble of "Okay," and her questions were done. She just wanted to know that they weren't going to be discovered. Relya was already an issue. Her presence at the Senate was always going to cause issues but now they had seen each other and she had been invited for dinner, it was worse than Eliana had been expecting.

It was now just a matter of making sure that issue went away. It would be hard but Eliana knew how to placate Relya. She had spent a lot of time doing it.

"It's cute knowing you worry about me," Poe said. His voice was a little quieter but it still had that teasing edge to it. Eliana wasn't looking at him anymore. She had turned to her dresser and was picking out her pyjamas.

"Poe." Her tone was low and warning and then she felt him get closer again. She tried to ignore it but when she felt his breath on her neck, it was hard. Her whole body flushing again. He was so electric and she hated it.

"Eliana," He whispered in her ear. His hands rested on her hips and she could hear the smirk. She didn't have to see it to know it was there. Her eyes closed and she rested her hands on the dresser. She was exhausted. Exhausted by this game and by the worry he had put her through..

"Stop it," She mumbled. Poe let his hands trail along her skin as he took them away. He then stepped back.

"I'm doing my job." There was a little shrug tacked onto the end of his words and it made Eliana want to scream. That's all this was to him. A job. Another op. He enjoyed teasing her. He saw it as a little game, an objective. She hated that. She wouldn't let herself be a pawn in his game.

"You're insufferable." Genuine annoyance laced her tone as she snatched up a set of pyjamas and walked to the fresher. Poe watched as she slammed the door closed. His eyebrows furrowed. He got into bed and a few minutes later, she returned and got into bed. Her back facing him and her head buried in the pillow. He could feel her annoyance emanating off of her.

But he still approached. He shuffled over the middle of the bed and gently tapped her shoulder. He wasn't sure what he was going to say. If she had turned over, he knew he would have floundered for something to say. So, he counted himself lucky that she seemed to be giving him the cold shoulder. She shrugged his touch off and instead, cuddled up to the extra pillow. Her arms wrapped around it as she squeezed her eyes shut.

It would be easier just to ignore him so that is exactly what she did.

-