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Long meetings had a tendency to sap your energy on their own, but a long meeting after a busy morning of repairs in the shop was enough to have your eyelids feeling like they were made of neuranium and your brain fogged worse than Umgul. This entire week had been exhausting— a Rebel force had just returned to the fleet from helping a local resistance fight the Empire on Obroa-Skai, and as a result there was a huge influx of weaponry and light vehicles that needed maintenance. The Alliance had ultimately won, but judging by the condition and the sheer amount of equipment you and your team had to work on, you could tell that it was a brutal fight. You’d been buried in work and as a result hadn’t been sleeping well thanks to the stress of it all.
Of course, you tried to make up for your lack of sleep by sneaking in naps when you could, but they were always interrupted by pages; and if it wasn’t a page, it was one of your colleagues physically coming to get you for something. Oh, the perks of being a lead tech…. Today though, you were really dragging, and you had about four hours until you had to be back in the shop. Until then, you were determined to get some rest, and to not have it interrupted again.
The sight of the bed was relieving, the quiet and the darkness of the room instantly calming. You wasted no time taking your boots and jacket off so that you could slip under the covers. The sheets were a blissful cool temperature against your skin; the mattress soft and welcoming; the familiar scent on the pillow endlessly comforting. Your eyes fell closed and your body relaxed with a long exhale. You were about to have the best nap of your life, you could just tell.
It took no time at all for your consciousness to start fading, for your brain to begin to carry you into the realm of dreams. You welcomed it eagerly.
And then your peace was completely disrupted.
You heard the door to the room open with a mechanical hiss, followed by a startled curse. Your eyes opened and you furrowed your brow in mild frustration, not bothering to turn around and greet your friend– the only person it could be.
“Force, you scared me,” you heard Luke say. “What are you doing here?”
“Trying to nap,” you grumbled in response.
“Right, but why here ?”
“My team won’t think to look for me here. Didn’t think I’d be bothered,” you said with an edge of annoyance.
Luke scoffed lightly, and you heard the door shut as he walked into the room. “My deepest apologies, for the disturbance,” he said with lighthearted sarcasm. “But you are in my room, and my bed….”
You propped yourself up on an elbow and looked at him with tired eyes. “I distinctly remember you giving me your door code and telling me that if I needed anything, I know where to find you. I’m just cashing in your generosity.”
“I’m beginning to regret that,” he said, throwing you a wry look as he walked over to the dresser.
“If you want me to leave, I can.”
He shook his head with a slight eye-roll, gave you a gentle smile. “I don’t care if you stay– I’m just giving you a hard time. You know you’re always welcome here.”
You figured he wouldn’t take issue with your intrusion of his space, but it was still nice to hear it. You smiled as Luke opened and rummaged through one of the drawers in the dresser. “I assumed you’d be busy all day, otherwise I’d have commed first,” you said as you laid back down.
“I am, I just came back here to change.”
“Meetings?”
“I was going to go get some saber training in. You can come with, if you want,” he said as he flashed you a kidding expression, knowing full well that you absolutely did not want to be doing anything .
“You’re funny,” you replied, shaking your head. You watched as he crossed the room, coming closer to where you lay on his way to the refresher. On a closer look at him, you could see some weariness in his own face. “But you could join me ,” you suggested. “Keep me company.”
Luke paused and looked at you cautiously, likely wondering where that came from. To be fair, the invitation wasn’t something you expected to have come out of your mouth so easily either. You were close with Luke– you considered him to be one of your best friends– but you weren’t that close. You couldn’t deny that you had been developing some deeper feelings for him though. And as much as you wanted to tell him, you were too afraid of ruining a great friendship. If he didn’t reciprocate, it’d make things uncomfortable very quickly.
Unfortunately for you, your sleep-deprived brain seemed to abandon all caution as evidenced by your request. You were too tired to walk it back and try to save face though. So, like any rational person definitely would, you decided to double down and commit. “You never let yourself rest. Come on, lie down for a little bit.”
That sort of surprised, careful look was still in Luke’s eyes as he studied you. One corner of his mouth twitched as if he wanted to smile, and for a moment you thought he was actually going to cave. Instead, and to your disappointment, he shook his head apologetically. “I can’t. I need to train.”
“Can’t give yourself one day off?”
“I shouldn’t,” he said.
“Five minutes?”
He let out a breathy laugh and shook his head again. “Tempting, but… maybe another time.”
With that, Luke disappeared into the refresher. You closed your eyes with a defeated sigh. You had hoped that he’d accept, but you also knew that it was hard to get him to change his mind about something he was set on doing. It was unlikely he’d adjust his plans, even for you, but man had you really wanted him to. It caught you by surprise how disappointed you were– you didn’t think you wanted his attention that much. At least he didn’t outright reject you though. A maybe was a good start.
A few minutes passed, and as you started to drift off you were made to stir yet again; this time by the mattress moving, depressing behind you. “Five minutes,” Luke said softly.
You smiled to yourself, pleasantly surprised that he’d decided to humor you after all. His presence beside you suddenly made you feel a little needy, and you pondered how nice it might be to cozy up to him. To share your warmth aboard this cold space cruiser; to have his strong arms around you; to know that he’d make sure you were comfortable, safe, and most importantly, not disturbed.
His bed wasn’t very big, hardly enough space for two people to lie side-by-side. You knew he was already close to you– all you had to do was turn over, and you’d be touching him. There was a flash of hesitance at the thought however, because you worried that you’d be crossing a boundary. Not that making yourself at home in his private quarters without notice was much of an improvement, though. For a long moment, you went back and forth between giving in to the nagging voice in your head urging you to make a move and the one telling you to keep your back to him. You wanted to touch him, and maybe he’d turn out to be okay with it. But then again, maybe he wouldn’t, and you’d make a fool of yourself. If he was okay with it though, you might finally know what it would feel like to cuddle him— something you found yourself thinking about more often than you’d like to admit. There was an easy way to find out, and you certainly could…. Maybe you shouldn’t…. But maybe….
Fuck it.
Keeping your eyes closed, you turned over and pressed your forehead to Luke’s shoulder, gently hugging his arm. You heard him let out a sharp breath almost like a chuckle, could almost hear the endeared smile on his face. “What are you doing?” He asked.
“Don’t know,” you mumbled. “Felt right.”
There was silence for a moment, and then Luke moved. He slowly slipped his arm from your hold and before the gut-punch of rejection and embarrassment came, he had brought you even closer to him. His arms had gone around you and your head now rested on his chest. You froze, feeling your face heat up and your heart skip. This was certainly unexpected, but you’d be crazy to complain. It might not have been what you expected, but it was very much what you wanted. Your smile returned and you settled against him as Luke’s fingers began to work through your hair in slow, gentle strokes. This was… nice. Really, really nice.
“I… hope this is okay,” he said quietly.
You gave a tiny nod, though it was more akin to you nuzzling into him. “More than okay.”
Everything about him was comforting– more than you could have ever imagined. His body was warm; his clothes were soft; his breathing and heartbeat calm and steady; his touch was the most soothing thing you’d ever felt. You had no idea he could be so… affectionate. He had given you friendly hugs before, but those were far different than the intimacy that this carried. This kind of closeness with him was something you’d only ever dreamed of. It was hard to believe that you weren’t dreaming right now, even. But you weren’t– you knew that. This was real. Luke was actually holding you, touching you.
You laid there for a while, both of you totally quiet, neither of you really needing to say anything. The whole time, Luke never stopped playing with your hair. You loved the way that it felt, loved how calming it was, loved that he somehow knew this was what you needed. You didn’t know how long it had been, but you thought he’d have had to get up and leave long ago now. “Five minutes, huh?” You breathed, feeling yourself fading.
“Day off might be nice,” came his soft, equally drowsy reply.
A small, smug smile crossed your face and at the confirmation that he wasn’t going anywhere, you allowed yourself to get even more comfortable. You shifted as close to him as you could, draping a leg over his and an arm across his stomach like you were hugging him. Luke pulled the sheets up to your shoulders and kept running delicate fingers through your hair. You’d never been more relaxed than right now, lying with your friend– on him, practically– in his bed. He too seemed to be quite at peace as you felt the tension melt from his body and heard his heartbeat slow just slightly. His hand eventually left your hair to trail up and down your back before his movements began to gradually slow, his touch becoming lighter and lighter. He must be on the verge of falling asleep too, you figured.
You felt like you’d won. Getting Luke to slow down and take a break was nearly impossible, and you’d managed to do it by simply just taking comfort in him. You realized that if he actually had any intentions of leaving after those five minutes were up, he wouldn’t have pulled you so close to him. In fact, based on how quickly he’d done so, any plans of his were probably over as soon as you made contact with him. Had he wanted this kind of closeness with you just as badly? The thought made you feel so warm, and you finally felt safe enough— or maybe tired enough— to speak the quiet part out loud. Not that loud, anyway. You couldn’t bring your voice above a sleepy mumble. “Y’know I like you, right?”
“I know,” Luke said easily. To your surprise, you felt him place a gentle kiss on the top of your head. You could tell that he was smiling. “Get some sleep.”