Will of the Many~ Poe Dameron

Content

Look closely at the present you are constructing. It should look like the future you are dreaming...

-Alice Walker

Serena turned her hand over on her knee and looked at the worn leather along the creases of her palms. The gloves had served her well, surviving several years of clenched fists and lashing out in anger. She ran a finger along a crack in the black leather, it traced the long horizontal crease along the top of her palm, just under where her fingers bent. It was the weakest point, having suffered through bend after bend, she couldn't blame the glove for wearing out. 

"Is your life really so boring that you would rather look at a glove than talk to people?" Poe's voice pulled Serena from her hyper fixation on her glove. 

She looked up just as Poe scooted behind the second row of seating towards her. He had two to-go cups without lids so she could see the steam rising from them. 

"Maybe the people here aren't worth my conversation," She countered as she reached out to take the dangerously full cups from him. Her fingers momentarily over lapped his, but her trusty gloves stopped her from feeling anything other than the heat through the cups. "Two cups of coffee? Late night last night?" She asked as she waited for him to sit next to her before she handed them back off. 

He took one cup, but pushed the other back towards her. "Actually, that one is tea, for you."

Serena's eyebrows knitted together as she pulled the cup towards her to look over the lip. The sweet scent of earl grey wafted towards her and made her stomach growl. 

"How did you-"

"You act like I'm blind and deaf," He chuckled as he took a small sip of his black coffee. Serena watched carefully for the moment the coffee touched his lips. He winced and lowered the coffee to his knee. "I see how you practically fall asleep in these things-" He looked towards the slow filling auditorium.

Serena looked around too to see people sitting several rows behind her while the seats all around her remained empty. She pretended not to be hurt by it. 

"I thought a little tea might help get you through another meeting." Poe sent her a crooked grin as he went back in for his overly hot coffee. 

Serena watched him shamelessly. Again, she had the aching feeling that she wrote Poe off all wrong. Sure, he was reckless and impulsive, but he also noticed small details and cared enough to put in effort. Poe was many things, but a simpleton wasn't one of them. He was far more complex than she originally gave him credit for, and each time she spoke to him she found herself wanting to unravel each complexity and dissecting it to find out what exactly Poe Dameron was made of. 

"Thank you," Serena realized she hadn't extended her gratitude. "I drank my first cup a few hours ago and I can already tell it wasn't enough." She gave an awkward laugh as she looked down at the brown liquid. The sugar created little swirls of bubbles moved to form unintelligible shapes along the surface of her tea. She pulled the cup closer to feel the steam rise to her cheeks. She closed her eyes and took a slow, deep inhale of the tea. Her time at the Resistance base had solidified one thing for her, there was nothing quite as calming as tea. 

Poe watched Serena enjoy the small steam. He never thought the same woman he met eleven months ago who threatened him would find such pleasure in something as simple as tea. She had softened in ways he never imagined possible, but still kept a strength about her. She wasn't hard, but she was strong and he never knew the difference until he met her. It was an important difference, and one he would remember for the rest of his life. 

Poe was so drawn in by her, he didn't notice General Leia take her podium, and with Serena's eyes closed she didn't either. 

It wasn't until Leia cleared her throat that either of the looked ahead.