StarShawty21

The next few days that went by were uneventful...except that you couldn't get Luke out of your head. Him crashing your stargazing ritual had proven to be the nail in the coffin of your growing crush on him. You found your thoughts drifting to him much more frequently than before, each time noticing something different about him to admire.

Although nothing exciting had happened since then, both of your busy schedules had prevented you from being able to spend any time together. Crossing paths only during mealtimes or when leaving for or returning from a mission. You had gone out to stargaze a few times, secretly hoping that Luke would show up again. But so far, nothing.

You were starting to worry that this crush you had on him was one sided. Maybe he was just being nice that night, not flirting. But that kiss on the cheek? That couldn't have been nothing. It still brought a soft smile to your face every time you recall it. And it hadn't gone unnoticed by you that sometimes when you (discreetly) glanced in his direction, you found him already looking at you. He'd look away quickly every time, but there would always be a soft smirk on his face. Like he knew he'd been caught but didn't really feel embarrassed by it.

As you made your way back to your quarters from a meeting, your thoughts distracted you from your path and suddenly you were colliding with someone walking the opposite direction. As your shoulders bumped together, your hand came up to steady yourself against their chest. When you looked up, you were met with the same blonde hair and blue eyes you'd been thinking about too much.

"Oh Maker, I'm sorry. I was too lost in thought, I should've been watching where I was going," you sputtered. Quickly pulling your hand away from his chest like he had burned you.

"That's okay! Really, don't worry about it. I wasn't looking where I was going either," he said with a kind smile.

"You heading out for another mission?" He asked.

"For once, no actually. I just got out of a meeting and now I have a free day. Practically unheard of, huh?" you joke.

"That's an interesting coincidence actually, I have the rest of the day off too. Looks like we both got lucky," he chuckles.

"That's so nice, I'm glad you're getting some time off. You deserve it," you say while mentally punching yourself for being so corny.

A few seconds of awkward silence pass before you both start heading in separate directions again, throwing a polite "enjoy your day off!" to each other.

You walk about ten feet away before you hear Luke call your name from behind you. You turn to face him again and see that he's stopped in his tracks, looking rather sheepish. You walk back in his direction, noticing that he looks like he's working up the courage to say something.

"You know I wasn't joking about what I said the other night, right? You know...just us? I haven't had any time this week or else I would've said something sooner but if you want to go stargazing tonight- well, if you want me to come- I'll be there," he stops meeting your eyes as soon as the proposition leaves his lips. Glancing towards his feet instead.

You don't miss the way he corrected the end of his request, like he wanted to make sure you wanted him there. It's impossible to hide the smile creeping onto your face. As if you'd ever say no.

"Well, I did offer to help you with some good distractions," you say with a smirk, hoping he remembers as much of your conversation that night as you do.

"That you did. I was hoping you wouldn't just be all talk," he says, a teasing lilt to his voice.

"All talk? Why I never! I'm a woman of my word," you exclaim with an offended expression that quickly dissolves into a smile.

"I guess I'll see you tonight then? Same time?" he smiles.

"Sounds good, Skywalker."

He rolls his eyes in exasperation. "Again, just Luke!"

"Oh Luke, where's the fun in that when it's much more entertaining to tease you?" you ask with a wink. Having absolutely no idea where your sudden boldness came from.

Hoping you don't embarrass yourself further, you start walking back to your quarters. As he turns to walk back to his, he quickly yells over his shoulder, "I'll try not to sneak up on you this time!"

You try to suppress a laugh as you turn a corner, finally able to let out a breath now that you're not so close to him anymore. You feel giddy with excitement thinking about getting to see him again tonight.

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The next few hours pass by painfully slowly. With no plans to occupy you, you are left to just sit and wait for nighttime to come. Even eating dinner with your friends does barely anything to distract you from the butterflies in your stomach.

But eventually, the sun finally starts to set. And you're standing in front of a mirror in your quarters looking over yourself one last time. You wanted to look good for him, but not so good that he realized you had been thinking about it. Subtle...that's what you're telling yourself.

You wring your hands together nervously the whole walk to your X-wing. You've been excited all day and now the nerves are kicking in. Will you say the wrong thing and make it awkward? Does he even actually like you or is he just being friendly? Your thoughts whirl in your head until you realize you've made it to your ship.

You take a deep breath to steady your nerves and start climbing the ladder, getting situated on the wing like usual.

Ten minutes go by with no sign of Luke. You will yourself to stop overthinking it. He's just running late. Maybe something came up and he's on his way now.

After another ten minutes, embarrassment starts to creep in. Maybe this was just a big joke on you and he wasn't actually coming. But just as you're about to sit up and make your way down, you hear a faint jogging approaching you.

You sit up, glancing over the edge of the ship to see Luke coming towards you. The tension loosens in your body, realizing that he was still coming.

"Hey! I am so so sorry. I was supposed to be on time, I really was. A friend of mine asked me to help with some repairs on his ship, and I kept telling him I needed to go but he wouldn't listen. I really am sorry," he says as he makes his way up the ladder and next to you on the wing. You can hear the sincerity in his voice, can tell he feels guilty.

"I was a little worried you weren't coming! But you made it, no worries," you shrugged. He could tell you were hurt by it more than you let on, but chose not to ask about it. Not wanting to pry.

"Of course I was coming. I've been looking forward to it all day. I was actually hoping I would run into you before today but I just kept being needed elsewhere," he sighed. His eyes held that same sincerity his voice did. It was so intense, so real, that it made it hard to meet his eyes sometimes. As if he could somehow see into your soul if you looked for too long. Or you would see his. Both made you nervous. You'd never met someone so...genuine. It was a little jarring sometimes.

"Sounds like they've been keeping you busy then? You destroy a Death Star and suddenly everyone wants to recruit you?" you say as you look at him with a shy smile.

"Something like that. I have...specific abilities. I don't know how to describe it, I don't want to sound crazy. But there are some things that need to be done that I specifically have to do. I feel responsible to do it all, no matter how tired or overworked I feel," he says quietly. You want to ask what all of that means, but you can sense he isn't ready to share more than that.

"I can understand that. That sense of responsibility can get heavy when what you're fighting for is so important. If we don't work hard now, what will our future look like?" You glance up to the sky, taking note of the stars for the first time that night. Being around Luke does that to you. You become blinded to everything else because he is what shines brightest.

You see him turn his head towards you out of the corner of your eye. It doesn't take long for you to turn your head as well. You can't quite name the look in his eye. He looks entirely invested in your words. Like you're the only thing worth giving his attention to.

"What does the perfect future look like to you?" he asks curiously.

"I don't really know. I guess I haven't really thought about it that much. I've been so focused on just making it through one battle after the next. It's hard to think about the future when you're just trying to put one foot in front of the other," your lips form a tight smile that doesn't reach your eyes.

"That's true. We've been fighting so long that it's hard to imagine a world where we aren't," he says.

A few seconds of silence pass before Luke speaks again, wanting to lighten the mood.

"C'mon though, there really isn't anything you're looking forward to once this all dies down?" He bumps your shoulder with his and smiles.

"Well, I am looking forward to seeing my family again. Since I joined the rebellion I've only been able to visit them a handful of times. I almost didn't have the courage to join. I didn't want to leave them. But I figured I'd be doing more for them by being here, you know?"

"You have a big family?" He asks.

"Extended family, yes. Lots of cousins. We're not as close as we were when we were kids though. I mostly miss my siblings, and my parents. We used to do weekly game nights, right up until I left. We'd all take turns cooking dinner, and then we'd spend hours playing games. When my little brother would burn the food we'd all pretend not to notice," you say with a small laugh, suddenly realizing your eyes are getting misty.

"That's really sweet. They way you talk about them- I can tell how much you love them. How many siblings do you have?"

"Just two. My brother is quite a bit younger than me and then I have an older sister. What about you? I don't think you've told me much about your family," you say.

"I actually grew up with my aunt and uncle. No siblings, just us three really. They took me in after my parents died. I think I might've told you that we were moisture farmers? So a lot of my childhood was working alongside my uncle, and helping my aunt. It was a lot of work, but it kept me busy. Until I got restless and decided to join the rebellion," he said with an amused smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry about your parents. It sounds like your aunt and uncle were good to you though?"

"Oh yeah. My uncle was a pretty stern man. No funny business with him, most of the time at least. But he was dependable, and all he wanted to do was take care of his family. He believed in working hard for what you had. He had his soft moments though. My aunt was very nurturing though. I never knew my real mother, but I don't feel like I missed out on having that type of motherly care. She loved me like I was her own. I'm lucky to have had them," he said with a reverent smile. You could see his fondness for them in his expression, his admiration and gratefulness too.

"When I was little, if I did a really good job helping my uncle that day, my aunt would teach me how to make a new kind of treat. We would have dinner, and then she would stay up late teaching me some of the recipes her mother taught her when she was little. She taught me how to make Choclime Twists, which are still my favorite. Although, I'm not very good at making them on my own," he laughed. His eyes were bright with joy in remembrance of the memories of him and his aunt.

There's an aura of calm around you both. What felt like a heavy conversation at first has turned into something deep, something meaningful. Both of you aware that these aren't things you'd talk about with just anyone.

"She sounds amazing. And your uncle. It sounds like they were lucky to have you too," you say as you nudge his shoulder playfully.

He smiles brightly at you for a moment before ducking his head in embarrassment as he nods.

"Maybe in exchange for this stargazing stuff, you can teach me how to make those Choclime Twists sometime," hopefulness bleeding through your voice. Wanting more than anything to have another reason to see him again.

"I would love to teach you," he says quietly as your eyes meet.

A few seconds pass as you realize how close the two of you have gotten. Sitting side by side so close that your legs are pressed together. Neither of you move away.

You start leaning in unconsciously. Eyes closing as he meets you halfway. Your lips meeting with a gentle press. You can feel his lips curving into a soft smile against yours as you feel his hand come up to rest against the side of your face. Both of you tilting your heads to deepen the kiss just slightly.

It only lasts a few seconds before you pull away. Your eyes are still closed, letting out a breath of air before you open them again. When you finally do you're met with Luke, smiling at you sweetly. His hand still resting on your cheek. Eyes shining with wonder.

"You know, I'm starting to think that you're really good at distracting me," he teases. You can't fight the blush forming on your cheeks or the grin making its way onto your face.

"Maybe that was the goal," you smirk before leaning in to peck his lips again.

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He helps you down from your ship and walks you back to your quarters in a comfortable silence. Your hand firmly in his the whole way. Both of you giddy with the realization of your mutual feelings. He keeps sneaking glances at you as you walk, and then quickly turning away with a shy laugh when you meet his eyes. Riding the high of finally knowing how the other felt. Him wondering if you had any idea how long he had had his eye on you.

When you finally reach your door, he stops and turns to face you with a sweet smile. Still holding your hand in his.

"Does this mean I can see you again soon then?"

"You know, I have a busy schedule but I think I might be able to make that happen," you joke while giving his hand a squeeze.

"Good, because you're all I'm going to be able to think about until then. Like I said, distracting," he says, taking a step closer to you, your chests meeting softly.

You wrap your free hand around his neck and lean in to kiss him one last time. His other hand coming up to rest on your waist. It's quick, but affectionate. Sweet as honey.

He rests his forehead against yours for a moment as he pulls away.

"Goodnight Star Girl," he whispers as he gives your hand one last squeeze before pulling away completely and heading back to his room.