maskormenacelogs | closed; pyjama party

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closed; pyjama party

WHO: Poe and Leia (and potentially Finn if he wakes up and wanders into the living room)
WHERE: Nonah #005
WHEN: After this the night that Anakin showed up at Leia's house
WHAT: pyjama party
WARNINGS: "feelings", sexual tension and aladdin

Poe wasn't nervous, exactly. Worried, yes. Frustrated, definitely. Pacing - oh. Yeah. Apparently he was pacing. So after he put his comm away, he headed to the kitchen to make popcorn.

Vader - Anakin - worried him. Worried him more than he even admitted to himself, despite, or maybe because of, Luke's request to give him a second chance. To treat him like any other person that Poe didn't happen to know would eventually be the right hand of the Emperor, murder a lot of the Jedi and then enslave a galaxy. It was just really, really hard to forge that.

Almost as hard as it was to wrap his head around Leia.

He'd been getting better at it. He had started to imagine Leia the way she was here, when he was thinking about her, rather than constantly referencing the Leia he knew back home in his head. He wasn't sure if that meant he was accepting where he was, or if he was starting to forget the crisp edges of his life back home, as neither option held a lot of comfort for him. It was more that he was starting to see them as two different people, in exactly the way that he was trying, and failing, to separate Anakin and Vader.

It didn't help that Leia - well - she stirred weird feelings in him. Not things he could easily put a pin in, stick to a wall, and walk away. He wasn't shy about his sexual attraction to people, had slept with people he'd flown with before, people he considered friends, or people he'd just met. The physical attraction was, while distressing at first, the least of his concerns. She was a gorgeous human being. She had been when he'd known her back home, but she had also been as old as his mom and his boss and in a different plane of existence, and here: here she was firmly in <i>his</i> plane of existence. So noticing that she was beautiful was par for the course. Basically every imPort here was gorgeous. It shouldn't have been a big deal. So he thought he'd get over it.

But the feelings didn't go away. He couldn't tell if they were romantic or platonic or hero worship or somewhere in between - they were a jumbled mess that he was trying very hard not to think about to much. He reasoned: he would get over it. He reasoned: her future husband was here. He reasoned: he was just confused because of time travel and common causes and common passions and common interests and -

Damn, but he just wanted to be around her all the time.

So he'd invited her to his house like an idiot to watch a stupid movie all because of some stupid joke about a man on a carpet. It was a blatant excuse to spend time with her, and a probably-blatant attempt to protect her from Anakin. (She would not be impressed, if she knew he thought she could use the protection. It wasn't her fault that he wanted to protect everyone.)

So despite knowing that he was basically doing this like an idiot kid who just wanted to be near his crush all the time, he was determined to make sure that she didn't feel like that's what this was. The last thing she needed was some hair-brained pilot messing things up in an alternate universe where she and Han could have a chance at a relationship that wasn't framed by planets blowing up and people being encased in carbonite. No. Whatever his feelings were, they didn't matter as much as the fact that she didn't need them. What she needed was a friend, someone she could rely on. And that was what he was going to be. Period.

So when she showed up, he was wearing his JETS! pyjamas, which were covered with little cartoon fighter jets from a cartoon that he didn't even watch, just collected all the memorabilia for. He even made sure to wear the shirt, despite the fact that usually he only wore the bottoms around the house. He made popcorn, he set up the tv room, he got some beer if she wanted and some lemonade if she didn't, and he waited. When she showed up, he opened the door with a broad grin.

"Welcome to Base Zero, your highness."

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Leia's pyjamas were pink loose pants with green dinosaurs on them and a cotton white mini shirt that just reached her hips, baggy off one shoulder with a silly looking dinosaur on the left breast peeking out of the pocket. The pants could only be seen when Poe had opened the door as she wore a button up sweater and had a backpack on. It was definitely another different look for the princess turned general. She smiled as he greeted her, amused by the little fighter jets on his choice of sleep wear.

Could be worse, they could've all been in their basics.

"Base Zero, it's an honor to be here." Leia had her hands in the sweater pockets as she stood there on his front step. "Captain Dameron." She did a bit of a turn then to show him the backpack and had to reach up to brush aside some hair that'd come loose at her cheek, still smiling. "I've brought the goods. Is Finn still asleep?"

Asking about Finn helped, in a way. It helped her not think about how Poe looked while grinning so widely at her, or the way his hair fell onto his forehead, sitting dark against his skintone. It helped with the nerves she was telling herself to ignore, Luke's earlier teasing about crushes and whatnot sitting at the back of her mind.

"Yup. You want to play a prank on him? That's always entertaining." The grin only widened as he stepped back to let her in, before gesturing to the coat rack and offering to take the backpack. He led her through to the living room, complete with new sofa after he'd destroyed the old one in an accidental fight with Hux.

"Though I know he's exhausted so it's probably best to let him sleep." The fondness in his voice was unmistakable, and he glanced back towards where Finn's bedroom was. Part of him really, really wanted to wake him up. It was a lot easier to ignore weird feelings when Finn was around, regardless of what they were. But he also knew his friend had a long day and a longer one tomorrow, so he didn't give in to that particular urge.

"They've got him working with kids every day, which sounds about 100 times more effort than my job."

Edited 2017-10-21 23:35 (UTC)

"If he's in need of rest then we won't wake him. Taking care of children everyday, I can't imagine going from the life of a stormtrooper to child sitting and chasing them around all day is an easy job."

She'd allowed him to take her backpack but she'd kept the sweater on, unbuttoning it if anything. It could be draped over the back of the couch if need be and she got too warm.

"No, but I think he much prefers his current gig," Poe agreed with a laugh as he set Leia's bag down on the coffee table and then continued into the kitchen, quickly returning with popcorn.

"Though considering how much he hated being a stormtrooper, that isn't saying much. Have I told you the story of how we met? Because it's pretty good."

He sets the popcorn down (shoving a handful in his mouth) and flops down on the couch. "Find anything tasty on your way here?"

"I'm sure it's much more excitable. And safer. It could be a good thing. I've heard of the conditions one undertakes in becoming a stormtrooper. Youth and innocence lost, the Empire takes so much away, corrupting as it goes." She shakes her head and sits on the other side of the couch, legs folding and tucked half under her.

At his question she looks over to the backpack. "I did stop at one of those convenience stores. I believe the clerk suggested chips and there might be a bag of what he called 'trail mix'?" Her brows furrow for a moment and then she looks over again. "I haven't spoken much with Finn but I would like to know more."

"As far as I know, he barely remembers his family. The First Order stole children from their homes so that they wouldn't have to compete with any other training that the kids might have already gotten."

He leans over and opens up the bag, pulling out the chips and the trail mix to put them with the popcorn.

"He saved my life." He says this while offering her a giant grin, because this is one of his favourite stories, as well as one of the most recent ones, and he is happy to retell it. "Was pretty sure I was done for - got captured by Kylo Ren on Jakku while on a mission. Managed to get BB-8 to escape, but couldn't get out myself." Couldn't wasn't really the word. He wouldn't leave. "There were too many innocent people dying. I wasn't really expecting to go up against Ren, though. Stopped a blaster bolt right in the air, I've never seen anything like it. Anyway, I got taken back to the ship. No idea how long I was interrogated, kind of lost track of time." And he's not getting into the details on that one.

"So I'm passed out, bleeding everywhere, strapped to this chair, and suddenly this storm trooper comes in - okay - and I'm like, 'Oh, great, I guess it's time for my execution now', only half way down the hallway he pulls me into a corner and tells me he's rescuing me and asks if I can fly a TIE fighter."

"You've mentioned him before, this Ren..." Leia shifts on the couch, sweater tucked closer around herself. It wasn't cold in the living room but something about the description... "You said he had a red lightsaber, before, that he was a Sith. Do you have any other information on him besides that he's dangerous and works against us?"

Ah, so he was no stranger to torture. What kinds of missions had her future self put him through, she wonders.

"Can you? What was it like?"

He wet his lips, frowning. "A little. Luke would know more, though. Not - the Luke here. The Luke back home. He trained him, originally, before Ren betrayed him. As far as I know, he's not actually a Sith - not like the way that Dooku talks about them, anyway. He's obsessed with Darth Vader, and he--" He lets out a breath, his expression turning dark. "He can pull things out of your mind, whether you want him to or not."

He shakes it off, though, because he would much rather talk about the bright side of that story - meeting Finn, escaping - then try to remember the worst thing that had ever happened to him. He just can't keep information from Leia, when she asks him.

"Uh - yeah. Turns out I can." He's still trying to shake off the dark memories, but he forces them back with a bemused smile. "I can fly anything, remember? Wasn't exactly the smoothest ride in history, what with the fact that it was still locked into its recharge port. So they got a good bunch of shots at us while I figured out how to break free from that. And then one TIE up against a Star Destroyer, so they also got a few shots out that way. Managed to land it, though. Named Finn on the way down - He'd never had a name before, they just called them by numbers. FN-2187. So, Finn. We crashed on Jakku after the Star Destroyer took out the engines. I jetisoned him before we hit - had to make sure one of us survived. I had no idea what happened to him, after that, until he miraculously shows up, my astromech and a girl named Rey who was one with the Force in tow. He'd finished my mission for me, brought us the map to find Luke, and was even wearing my jacket." He was definitely smiling now, very fond. "He must have gone to the TIE after I crashed it, to look for me. I told him to keep it. It suits him."

"But isn't that..." She lets herself trail off to let him continue; get the good stuff out of the way, go back to the not so good stuff when it's a better time.

"Does it? I haven't seen him in it, unless it's not here with him. I think that it's a good thing that you gave him a name. A new identity to go with a new life. It fits." A gentle smile curves her lips. The name certainly suited him, and Leia liked the way it sounded. "Rey... A Force user? Is she here with Finn?"

Some of the mix was reached for, as she leaned forward for a handful.

"I want to go back to what you said earlier, about Ren. Why is he..." Does she even want to say it? The thought leaves a sour taste, as always, in her mouth, which she tries to change with the sweetness of candy. "His obsession with Darth Vader, why? And how do you mean he can pull things out of our mind? Why not just call him a mind reader? I know that Luke can...sense things. The same as me."

"It isn't with him, I don't think. He got ported here from the med bay back home." Which is an entirely different depressing story and one that he is happy to not go into when she brings up Rey. He shakes his head.

"No. I haven't seen her. Trust me, if she shows up, I'll let you know. You guys seemed to click back home - I've no doubt you would here, too. And I don't think you'd be able to pry her away from Luke as soon as she knew he was here."

He took the break to toss some more popcorn into his mouth, until she started asking about Ren again. His shoulders sagged a little, though his expression didn't change.

"He doesn't sense things. I mean, I'm sure he does, but that's not how he gets information. He takes it. He pushes himself into your mind and you can feel him in there as he tears pieces out of it. It isn't passive." His face is mostly blank, his voice oddly bland. "It's basically an advanced torture technique, but it works better than any torture I've seen otherwise. You can't lie, can't redirect. He rips open your mind and takes what he wants."

Leia hesitated, rolling a red chocolate candy between her fingers. "She's taken to Luke? And you said she knows the force? Are they...? Is he...?" She had to lean forward, brows raised. "Is there any relation?"

She was trying to put the timelines together; from now until the point where Poe was from, there should be plenty of time for Luke to start a family if she and Han were married and ...old.

The description sounded terrifying. Leia fell quiet and looked down at her bandaged hand, the last of the candy going into her mouth.

"No one should have that kind of power."

"Not as far as I know. She hasn't met even met him, yet, but you sent her to Luke when we got the map. Seemed right. She's just - special. She even fought Kylo Ren, and escaped, with both her and Finn. Alive. Wish I could have seen it. I owe her a big one, for that. Maybe if she ends up here, I can pay her back for it."

He doesn't look at Leia when she says it, just shrugs his shoulders.

"No. No one should."

Force knew he still had nightmares about it.

When he falls quiet, Leia follows along. Is that silence a comfortable one? Probably not. She takes in a soft breath and her swallow is thick, hard to go down.

"I told him." Her thumb presses down into her palm. "Earlier, when he was at my house. About everything he did to me."

It took him a second to catch up - somehow he'd already pushed Anakin to the back of his mind. He was out first and forefront, now.

"That must have taken a while." The irony is thick and he immediately regrets it.

"... I can't imagine it was an easy conversation."

She's picking at the edge of her bandages when he makes that first comment and she gives a soft snort, her smile making a brief appearance.

"He...offered to train Luke and I. That was before the conversation turned ugly."

That was - not exactly what he expected to hear. He almost says 'train you in what', but the context quickly answers his question. The Force. Train Leia in the Force.

About a thousand different feelings go through his head then, and so his response is a few seconds delayed.

"What did you say?" His expression has settled on a worried frown, because that sounds like a bad idea. He doesn't ask about the ugly. She'll tell him, if she wants to.

It is a bad idea, one she's completely against.

"I asked him how he expected us to trust him. He could've led us down the path to the dark side."

The worry in his expression was lost to her as she kept her gaze downcast.

"He then offered to teach just Luke so then Luke could train me."

"I'm not sure 'could've' is even the least of it," he said mildly. So much for trying to keep ubiased. But this was Leia, and he couldn't very well not give her his honest opinion.

"Luke's had training from others, at least, like Obi-wan, right? But yeah I - I wouldn't touch that with a forty foot pole, to be completely honest. There's gotta be a better way to learn." He frown deepened. "... It's too bad Meera isn't here anymore. She could have trained you. I'm about as Force Sensitive as a rock, so I wouldn't even know where to start, but - I know enough to know that Anakin Skywalker is not the person you want training you. Or anyone."

"He did, yes." She looks up then, this time catching the frown. "And no, he's the last person I would choose. But what are my other options? Luke isn't fully trained."

"He can at least get you started. Getting lessons from Anakin basically sounds like asking to learn how to force choke people."

He leaned back into the couch cushion with a sigh.

"I mean - there are people here who have powers too. Not the Force, exactly, but - a man named Charles Xavier taught me how to use mine."

She frowned. "Don't say that. Lessons from him would be troublesome at most but maybe...maybe it could come in handy." She shouldn't have to mention any names on who it would be useful against.

"Charles Xavier... That name sounds familiar. I'm not sure though. If he isn't trained in the Force then how could he have any knowledge of it?"

He gave a shrug. "Hey. I'm not going to stop you, if that's what you want to do." He can't quite stop the amused smile coming to his lips, despite smothering it, as he says: "Being able to choke someone from across the room would be useful, you're right."

"And I don't know for sure, but, apparently where he's from a lot of people have powers. Completely different ones, from person to person. He was a teacher, there, so he set up something here to teach people too. So that people could control their powers. Mine was giving me endless headaches, at the time. He really helped."

"It would be foolish of me to turn to him for help, even if he were the last Jedi in this place. I wouldn't dream of it."

She nodded and stretched out a leg, accidently bumping his, quickly murmuring an apology. "I think I remember you telling me about him, how he'd helped you with your...carpet problem."

Poe laughed, he didn't even flinch when she bumped him.

"Not exactly. I mean - he helped - but it was with the other stuff that he was helpful. Like the television."

He turned his head to nod towards it. "Hey, Bud, turn on for me, would you? Yeah, I know the remote is right here, I'm just proving a point."

The Television flickered to life.

"Before I worked with him, it was like everything around me was talking non-stop. Now, at least, I can block most of it out unless I want to hear it."

Leia started where she sat, straightening. She looked between him and the television. "And you...didn't even use the Force? It just heard you and did as you told it to?"

That was impressive.

"Yeah. They don't always, though. Sometimes they argue, or whine. You can turn off again, bud."

The television flickered off again.

"But anything that has moving parts? I can talk to it. Even the broom. Though the broom really, really doesn't like to say much more than how badly it wants to sweep my floor. So you can see why stuff would get annoying, fast. I wish it was the Force - but no, just another bizarre power this place decided to bestow on me."

"At least you'll have a clean house." Her smile was cheeky. This time the nudge she gave his leg was on purpose and she reached for another piece of candy.

The cheeky smile she gave him made him grin back like a little kid, returning the nudge as he leaned back further into the couch and propped his legs up on the coffee table.

"I'll have you know my room is spotless," he informed her, still grinning. Force. Get a hold of yourself, Dameron. It was just difficult to not just be honestly happy to be around her. "Though I may have convinced the Roomba that self determination was important, so it isn't quite as hot on vacuuming as it used to be."

"The Roomba? Is that a secret name for your room...?" A brow arched and she popped the candy into her mouth, amused while she chewed.

He laughed again, shifting as he did so, and if it meant that his leg ended up resting against hers a little, so be it.

"No, no. I mean those little house droids that everyone has. The AI is pretty simple, but mine has been learning a lot faster, since I can talk to it."

She was relaxed to a point that at first, Leia didn't quite notice the closeness. She felt the warmth of him against her leg through their thin pants, yes, and it relaxed her further, but then Luke's voice was at the back of her head to remind her to not to be so naive.

"Then that's a good thing. For you. Does this Roomba look anything like a house droid?"

"Mostly it just looks like a disc on wheels," he said, amused, as he reached for more popcorn. He didn't seem to be trying to get any closer, but he also seemed perfectly content to be where he was.

"Here, let's see-- X-celsior! You around, bud?" There was a pause and then the sound of something rolling on hardwood floor, before the Roomba appeared.

"Hey bud, this is Ge- sorry - Princess Leia Organa. Leia, X-celsior." The Roomba made some beeps and Poe laughed.

"Where did you-- he says 'down with the monarchy, rise of the roomba' -- yeah, you're hilarious, bud, sorry to disturb you." The Roomba beeped again and then rolled away.

She laughs and watches it go. "'Down with the monarchy', huh? He certainly has character."

"Sorry." He gave her a rueful smile as he settled back into the couch. "He's taking the rebellion idea to some interesting extremes, these days."

It was getting harder and harder to ignore the way that she was pressed against him, the warm radiating between them. If this was anyone else - or at least, almost anyone else - he would have already slid an arm over her shoulders, pulled her closer--

But she wasn't anyone else, and damn it Dameron, you promised yourself that you were going to be a good friend. So instead he just grabbed the popcorn so that he could put it in his lap and stop having to reach for it. "You want to see this movie, or do you want to hear more gossip about robots?"

Easy access, she liked that. She wouldn't have to keep reaching to the table every time she wanted some of the candy she was beginning to enjoy.

"Right. I'm here for this video you had mentioned." Leia went to dip her hand into the bowl on his lap. "Is it long? I keep wanting to call it a holovid. Calling it a 'movie' seems...bizarre."

He raised the bowl when she reached for it. He was a gentleman, after all, or at least trying to be one.

"It's about an hour and a half. And it's not a holovid, or anything close. It's not even - Well, it's not filmed, exactly, they call it a cartoon. The music is great, though. It still isn't as great as a holovid, but nothing here really compares to the ones I grew up with anyway."

"A cartoon... Why do they call it that?" If it wasn't a movie or a holovid then it was a cartoon. This place and its ways were still a little strange to her.

It was nice of him to raise the bowl up for her, her handful was full of more of the popcorn than anything else.

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closed; pyjama party

strangles rl—

Careful life needs to breathe too you know!!!

curbs it!!

gently picks it up and brushes it off and gives it a sandwich

>(

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Unfortunately Xavier is dropping, i think, but poe doesn't know that sob

That's too bad ;;

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This is basically the psl set up

gently makes it worse

https://youtu.be/oKOtzIo-uYw

Re: https://youtu.be/oKOtzIo-uYw

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