Small Favours
(Poe Dameron x GN!Reader)
Summary: "You'd honestly expected that to be the end of it.
No, really--
You could count on one hand the number of times you'd ever seen the Commander on base before that day; so running into his droid had been more an accident than anything else.
You'd noticed an issue; you'd solved it. The whole thing should have realistically been a pleasant anomaly in your otherwise straight-forward life as a mechanic....
Well, in theory, at least."
Notes: Much like with my last post, this was just an old bit of writing that's been collecting dust on my Ao3 for years... I've been working on some new drabbles for the first time in forever, though, and felt like putting up some of the older stuff might motivate me to finish those; so enjoy! And, again, please pardon the lack of editing lol! :)
"See? That's the fun part: he never even needs to know." The words came out slightly garbled, consonants slurring around the tool held between your teeth.
A series of incessant beeps followed your assertion.
You snickered.
"Well," Free hand skimming along the shapes to your left, you drawled, "Then just say you don't know how it got there."
The droid opted for a long 'whirr' at that.
Your brows furrowing, you kicked yourself backwards to visually inspect where your hand had been.
One beep.
Gaze flickering down past your nose, you gave a light-hearted huff, yanking the screwdriver from your jaws before turning again towards the BB unit.
"Thanks, bud."
You moved to fasten the last few bolts.
"Listen, your gyro-unit needed replacing anyway. The sensor was shot-- which, yes, he would have noticed sooner or later; but It would be irresponsible for me to just leave you like this when there's such an easy fix." You reasoned.
"Besides, he would have taken you to a service droid and all they can give you is the standard issue," You drew back, voice lowering to an exaggerated, stage-whisper, "And between you and me, the range on those things is downright archaic."
Wrist twisting one final time, you moved a foot or so away to survey your work.
"Might as well just cart you off to an antique stall at that point-- And we can't have that, now can we?"
A pause. Then, a reluctant noise of agreement.
You spun around, retrieving BB-8's missing outer panel before returning to him.
"Lovely! Then we're on the same page: the commander never finds out; you get a much-needed upgrade--"
The piece now back in its proper spot, you tossed your tool back on the table, grinning.
"--Everybody wins!" The phrase was punctuated with a flourish of your hand, followed by a decisive clap, "...Ready?"
With a confirming beep from the droid (accompanied by the few, excited movements he could accomplish on such a small surface) you pushed the button that lowered your work-table
The moment he was once again at your feet, the unit hit the ground...
Well, not 'running', but certainly 'rolling.'
He eagerly zipped about the room, a flurry of mechanical motion and high-pitched sounds that told you your work had been more than successful.
It warmed your heart.
...And also moderately raised your blood-sugar. Because, cute or not, the droid was more-or-less a loose cannon in a room full of very fragile tech.
"Okay, okay--" you chided, palm raising to smother your chuckle, "Don't go breaking the merchandise, kid."
Feet pushing you towards the doorway, you hit the keypad and directed the BB unit towards it with light encouragement, "C'mon; I've kept you cooped up too long. Go wreak your havoc."
BB-8 wasted no time, looping twice around you with appreciative chirps before promptly racing off down the hall.
Your eyes rolled, arms crossing in feigned exasperation. Ultimately though, the upward quirk of your lips betrayed your clear affection.
"Yeah, yeah. You're welcome, buddy."
.
You'd honestly expected that to be the end of it.
No, really--
You could count on one hand the number of times you'd ever seen the Commander on base before that day; so running into his droid had been more an accident than anything else.
You'd noticed an issue; you'd solved it. The whole thing should have realistically been a pleasant anomaly in your otherwise straight-forward life as a mechanic.
...Well, in theory, at least.
It seemed that, practically speaking, the universe had other plans; because, not two days later, the orange droid had been back to your station to visit. And, well, that had allowed you to notice the chip in his paint.
That kind of thing only took a minute to remedy. So, really, where was the harm?
Then a week after that you'd happened upon a new processing chip that you were sure would be perfect for him.
That one was a no-brainer too; I mean, the thing would just go to waste otherwise.
And, if an optics upgrade followed that, who could really say? Certainly not you.
Around a half of a year later (and with about thirty different upgrades you'd long since stopped rationalizing), you had come to just accept the droid's presence in your life.
"I think you're just paranoid." You remarked one day, scrolling through your schedule for the week, "There's no way he'd even notice."
If he was capable of expression, you were sure BB-8 would be leveling you with an unimpressed one as he trailed alongside you.
Pushing your data-pad back into your pocket, you both rounded the corner to the section of hall containing the cafeteria. "Okay, fine:" You relented, "No disco lights. But, don't come crying to me when you're finally ready to live a little."
A couple of somber-sounding beeps filled the air.
Laughing, you reached an open doorway and looked to check how long the line for the caf machine was.
"Have you at least considered the blasters--?"
You then found yourself frozen.
BB kept rolling, but slowed, turning to face you in light of your sudden stillness.
Commander Dameron, among several other pilots, were sat at a table in the center of the room.
Now, it wasn't as if you'd been purposefully avoiding the guy up until that point. In fact, you hadn't even properly considered the possibility of you meeting, really; Dameron was practically the poster-boy for the entire resistance, for kriff's sake. And you were...
Well, just you.
Even if, admittedly, you'd grown pretty attached to his droid, the Commander had always just seemed like a hypothetical, third-party that you'd been working under the nose of.
So, entering the room with BB-8 at your side to find him actually, physically there...?
It was a bit of an unexpected reality check.
And, ultimately, it was one that saw you promptly turn tail and run out of there.
.
The following morning as you approached your station, you were somewhat surprised to find a familiar, orange sphere waiting for you at the door.
Residual embarrassment from the previous day warmed your cheeks. Still, you tried for a sheepish smile, nonetheless.
"Beebs," You called, "To what do I owe the pleasure, buddy? You're not due for another day or two."
Only one chirp was the droid's reply.
Your brow quirked upwards, "Uh... Okay...?"
Now further perplexed given the vague nature of the droid's response, you made a slow move for the door, "Listen, you know you don't need an excuse to visit me anymore right? I think we're a ways past--"
And you're hit with quite the case of deja vu.
Because, upon entering the code to your door and seeing it open, you're immediately rooted to the spot.
Two cups of caf sat in the middle of your work station-- Which was cause for some concern given no one other than you and a small, handless machine really went in there.
But, arguably more alarming was the person holding them, sat casually in your chair as if he owned the place.
"Morning!" He chirped.
And you found yourself once again gawking at Poe Dameron.
.
"You planning on running from me this time?" The pilot smirked. He pushed himself off the wall before handing you your cup, sidling up next to you as you walked towards your station.
You rolled your eyes.
"First off, flyboy:" You drawled, accepting his arm as he offered it to you, "That was one time--"
"Twice." Poe cut in matter-of-factly, "You did it twice. In less than twenty-four hours, mind you."
"The first time doesn't count! You didn't even see me!"
"Doesn't mean it didn't happen. Besides, I'm pretty sure I felt it." His face contorted into a look of feigned distress and he moved his free hand to rest over his heart. "Heartbreak will do that to a guy, you know?"
"Once again," Your elbow playfully dug into his side and he broke, allowing a soft chuckle out when he swatted your arm in return. "You wouldn't even know it'd happened if the droid hadn't have ratted me out."
You considered a moment, "And really, I'd say the second time was warranted given you broke into my shop."
"I didn't break in; BB-8 gave me the code."
"Well, then you raised a traitor."
Beaming at you, he shifted to loop an arm around your waist, "We raised a traitor." He corrected.
That got a laugh out of you, sarcasm coating your responding, "Oh, goody."
An amused hum left him in turn.
"And I wouldn't blame the droid." Poe added, "He tried to keep your secret, I was just very persistent."
"'Persistent' isn't really the word I'd use."
"Daring, then?" His arm pulled you closer to his frame with each term he offered, "Bold? Charmingly persuasive? A fool in love?"
Your face turned crimson. It was suddenly very difficult to look at him.
"Menace. I would call you a menace." You peeked back at his face, softening when your eyes found his warm grin, "...And that last one wasn't even a synonym." You murmured in feigned exasperation.
Now fully tucked against him, you felt rather than heard the chuckle leave his chest. "What are you, a thesaurus? I'm trying to seduce you; stop critiquing."
The peck he placed on your head saw you melt.
"Believe me: It's working." You admit.
The two of you slowed as you reached your doorway, the conversation lulling now that your destination was in reach.
"...Pick you up for your lunch break?" He asked eventually.
You pivoted to lift your other arm around him, resting your cheek against him in an embrace that he easily returned.
Giving a sound of agreement, you both fell into an easy silence.
Then, a smirk broke out on your face and you pushed your head back slightly to look at him.
"Y'know... I have a spare hour today... I was thinking I could finally--"
Poe quickly pulled you back to his chest with a theatrically put-upon sigh, "You're not giving our droid disco lights."
