Chapter Text
Ben cracks one eye open, wincing at the small slither of light shining through the living room curtains. His head is pounding and he screws his eyes shut, unable to cope with the onslaught of sunlight. Truthfully, he doesn’t remember going to sleep. The last thing he remembers is throwing up in that damn potted plant.
He casts his mind back to the rest of the night, wincing as he sits up slowly on the sofa. What the hell happened? There’s too many blanks.
He thinks there was Twister. He knows there was alcohol.
He distinctly remembers dancing with his mother. Talking to his grandfather. Reading Pride and Prejudice on the windowsill.
And–
Shit.
Oh fucking shit.
Kissing Rey. In front of his brother. And his entire family.
What has he done?
Feeling absolutely mortified, Ben clutches his head in his hands. How could he have done that? To his brother? To Rey? Jesus Christ, he’s a monster. He shuffles his way into the kitchen, carefully trying not to jostle his sore head, and grabs some painkillers out of the cupboard, washing it down with a glass of water. Not that he deserves his pain to be alleviated.
He’s really fucked up this time.
The clock reads 6am. It’s Christmas Day. He knows Poe will be down soon – he’s always acted like a big kid when it comes to the holidays – and his grandmother and mother will be down soon after. Ben contemplates sneaking out of the house, going back to college and just leaving a note behind. Can he do that? Or would that make him look even worse?
He really doesn’t want to be here when his family come downstairs.
He makes his decision and grabs his car keys off the hook on the wall, ready to make a break for it. He’s just about to reach the front door when a clatter of footsteps on the stairs stops him in his tracks. He’s so tense that his shoulders are practically touching his ears. The floorboard creaks behind him and he knows he’s been caught.
“Where are you going?” a voice asks. Ben doesn’t need to turn around to know it’s Poe.
Shit. “Um.” He can’t think of any reasonable excuse. “I was just going for a drive,” he says lamely. He shuffles around to face his brother, mouth twitching downwards when he sees the suspicious expression on his face.
“At six in the morning?”
Ben looks away. “Sure.”
“Right.”
They stand in awkward silence.
This is definitely the worst moment in Ben’s entire life. And that includes the time he asked out his high school crush in front of everyone and she threw a drink in his face.
Poe yawns sleepily, rubbing the edge of his yellow Sesame Street pajama sleeve across his eye. “You want some breakfast?”
Ben hesitates. How bad would it look if he just left now? With Poe as a witness? Pretty bad, he concludes. He doesn’t really think he deserves breakfast, though. “I’ll pass.”
“C’mon,” Poe grins. “I’ll make bacon. We can celebrate being the first ones up. Remember we used to always wake up first on Christmas Day?”
He remembers. “No thank you.”
His brother frowns. “What is your problem this morning? It’s Christmas! Cheer up.”
Not wanting to seem ungrateful, and not wanting his brother to hate him even more than he probably already does, Ben sighs. “I’ll have some bacon.”
“That’s the spirit!”
They head into the kitchen, pots and pans clattering against every available surface. Just as Poe is frying the bacon and Ben is making the toast, his mother and grandmother join them, chatting animatedly. His mom’s always been a morning person. Ben hates it.
“Merry Christmas, my two beautiful boys,” she says, kissing both of them on the cheek. “I’ll have some bacon, Poe.”
“Merry Christmas, mom,” Poe sings happily.
Ben busies himself with buttering the toast, feeling absolutely miserable. He just doesn’t want to be here – he’s fucked everything up with Poe and Rey. He feels the nerves bubbling up in his stomach at the thought of Rey coming downstairs, the smile dropping from her face as she spots him. She probably won’t want to talk to him. She’s probably disgusted.
Ben should really go back to college.
A light touch on his waist gives him a fright, and he turns around to see his mother wrapping her arms around him.
“You’re unhappy.” She rests her head on his chest. He awkwardly puts his arms around her, squeezing her tightly – he’s not exactly a cuddler. “I can sense it. It’s coming off you in waves.”
“I’m sorry.”
She releases her hold on him, turning his body around so that he faces her. “Don’t apologize for your unhappiness, Ben,” she says. “How can I make things better?”
He sighs, turning away from her. He begins buttering pieces of toast, desperate to escape the conversation. “You can’t. No one can.”
“Is it about Rey?”
The hand he’s holding the knife in stalls before he can reach the butter. “I’m just really stressed about my dissertation,” he snaps. “And no one is giving me peace to do it.”
Why is everyone adamant to talk about him and Rey? It’s starting to bug the shit out of him. Can’t he just be left in peace? Why does his mom want to try and set him up at every opportunity?
He can feel his anger building up, curling around his limbs like a rampant flame as he grips the knife tighter in his hand. He wants to punch something, or stab someone, or both. His mother, clearing sensing the rage crackling within him, places a delicate hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles against the material of his t-shirt.
“It’s okay,” she says. “I understand.”
They share a brief look, and Ben knows that she recognizes his worries are not just about his stupid dissertation. He takes a calming breath, counting to ten in his head. His mother breathes with him, watching him intently while using the techniques they both learned years ago at the anger management classes he was forced to take. He had a rough childhood when it came to his temper, and his mother always made sure that she was with him every step of the way – she even came to his classes sometimes just to understand what he was going through.
He doesn’t want to be angry. He doesn’t want to ruin Christmas for his family. “Do you want some?” Ben asks lamely, holding up the soggy piece of toast he had been buttering a couple of minutes ago.
His mother grins at him and holds her plate out. “If we eat quickly, we can do presents.”
“Before the madness commences.”
“Did I hear something about madness?” Poe interrupts, snatching a piece of toast out of the toaster and giving Ben an exaggerated wink.
Leia smiles, taking her plate and setting it down on the table beside his grandmother. “Ben and I were just talking about cooking the Christmas dinner.”
Poe groans. “I’m definitely staying out of the way.”
“Why?” his grandmother frowns. “We need every member of this family to help.”
Leia nods her head in agreement. “Or else it won’t work.”
“It’s like a damn military operation,” Poe grumbles.
Ben sits down at the table beside his brother and hands him the salt, watching with fascination as he practically uses the whole shaker on his bacon. The boy is definitely going to an early grave.
Half way through eating his bacon, Rey and Finn spring through the door eagerly.
“Merry Christmas everyone!” Rey grins enthusiastically.
There’s a chorus of “Merry Christmas’” in return as they both pull out chairs and join them at the table. Ben ducks his head, staring intently at his now-cold bacon and refuses to look at the girl across the room. God, he hates his life.
When the family are finished eating, and after Han and his grandfather have wandered downstairs, they move into the living room to open presents. Luke stumbles in a few minutes later, coffee in hand – the man has never been a morning person.
Reaching under the tree, Ben gathers the presents and hands them out dutifully. Poe and Rey begin tearing into theirs immediately, which is understandable – since Poe was younger he would always be overly excited on Christmas morning, ripping into his presents with more vigor than Ben’s ever seen. He thinks it might have something to do with him being adopted. Maybe Rey is the same.
Ben opens his presents, unsurprised to see that everyone has gotten him books, or smart clothes. His brother has gotten him a calligraphy set. Being the way he is doesn’t leave much room for imagination, and he routinely gets the same presents every year. Not that he’s complaining. He always finds use for the things he receives. And the calligraphy set is really cool – his brother knows him so well. Ben ignores the twinge of guilt he feels at this revelation.
He gets to his last present, which he guesses must be Rey’s gift from the way she’s looking at him with anticipation, biting her lip excitedly. He notices the present isn’t in the usual shape of book or clothes, and he shakes is softly. When it makes a rattling sound, he tilts his head, looking at her with confused expression. It’s pretty big.
“What–”
“Open it,” she interrupts.
So, he tears into the wrapping paper, eager to see what she could have possible gotten him. When he finally gets the luminous pink sparkly paper off, he stares down at the present in awe.
“Oh my god,” Ben laughs.
She’s gotten him a miniature skee ball game.
“Now you can practice,” she says. “And maybe next time you’ll beat me.”
Ben feels along the side of the game, basking in it. This is definitely the coolest present anyone has ever gotten him. “Rey, thank you,” Ben says, picking up one of the miniature balls. “This is amazing.”
“I really got it for my benefit,” she teases. “If you practice, I’ll finally have some real competition.”
He smiles softly, smitten with his present – no one ever gets him things like this.
After they finish presents – Rey had been delighted to receive her tacky ornament, promising she’ll cherish it forever – his mom orders them all into the kitchen.
“Right boys and girls, playtime is over,” his grandmother shouts, frantically pulling out pots and pans from the cabinets.
“Han, you’re peeling potatoes,” his mom orders. “Luke, you and Anakin are making the apple pie.” She starts ransacking the fridge, getting all the ingredients needed. “Poe, you’re setting the table,” she says, turning around to look at him. “Finn, your job is to make sure Poe doesn’t touch any of the knifes, or food.” At Poe’s indignant “Hey!”, Leia waves a dismissive hand. “In fact, just keep him out of the kitchen entirely.”
“What would you like me to do?” Rey asks.
“You and Ben cut up all the vegetables,” his mom replies.
Great, now he’s going to have to spend the morning hip-to-hip with Rey. He’s one hundred percent sure his mom planned that on purpose.
There’s no room in the kitchen whatsoever, all the space taken up by the older family members doing the more important jobs. So, Ben and Rey take themselves over to the living room couch, perching down on the sofa to peel the vegetables.
They carry out their jobs in silence, tension building sweetly between the two. Ben is super aware of every move Rey makes, and he watches her out of the corner of his eye. She’s still in her pyjamas, cute fluffy ones with kittens on them. Ben thinks she’s never looked better.
“So,” Rey says after a while. “Are we going to talk about last night?”
Ben panics. “What’s there to talk about? I got drunk and threw up in a plant.”
Rey snorts, peeling her carrots a little more forcefully. “I don’t know why you keep avoiding the subject,” she mutters. “We kissed. Was it bad or something?”
His head snaps up, and he looks at her confusedly. “It wasn’t bad,” he says. “It was amazing. You’re amazing.”
“Then what’s the problem?” she asks.
“It’s just not right.”
“I don’t understand,” she snaps. “You want me, but it’s wrong? Why?”
His hand stills on the vegetable peeler. He really doesn’t want to be having this conversation, but he knows he owes her an explanation at least. “Listen, I can’t deny that I like you,” he whispers. God help him if Poe were to overhear.
“I feel it too.”
There’s a ringing in his ears. She likes him? “You do?”
She stands up, brushing loose strands of carrot off her pajamas. It really shouldn’t be sexy but Ben definitely thinks it is. She plops herself down beside him on the couch, taking his hand into hers. “Ben, you are literally hotter than the sun,” she says solemnly. “Like, hot burning.”
What? She thinks he’s hot? He’s never been called hot in his entire life – most girls don’t really see him in that way. Poe once said that he was “unconventionally attractive”. Whatever that means.
“Wait, are you flirting with me?” Ben asks.
Rey rolls her eyes. “Have been for the past couple of days but thanks for noticing.”
“You have?”
She laughs, dropping his hand. Ben mourns the loss immediately; however, it’s short lived – she trails her hand up his arm, stopping just before the sleeve of his t-shirt. He shivers at the contact, and Rey shifts closer to him. They’re so close that her breath fans over his face, the minty smell of toothpaste lingering near his lips. He looks down at her, and the way her pupils are blown wide.
He really wants to kiss her.
He’s going to kiss her.
The air around them is charged and he can feel his heart racing against his chest. He lets his fingertip dance across her bare leg, watching in wonder as it leaves a trail of goose pimples behind.
“I’m so glad Poe brought me home for Christmas,” she huffs, biting her lip.
And suddenly, it’s like a bucket of cold water has been dumped over his head.
Poe.
His brother.
His brother’s girlfriend.
He feels sick. He’s the worst human in the world. And just like that, the spell is broken.
“I can’t do this to Poe,” he blurts, springing away from Rey before he can do, or say, anything stupid. “He’s my brother and we’ve been through a lot together.” At Rey’s confused expression, he continues. “You understand that I would never do anything to betray his trust?”
“No, I really don’t understand now. Is there something I’m missing?”
A throat clears from behind them. They swivel their heads around to see his father standing there, eyebrows raised. “Ben?”
God, he hopes his father hasn’t heard any of that conversation. “Yeah?”
“We need you to come and get the custard off the top shelf. You’re the only person tall enough to reach it.”
Ben rolls his eyes, standing up from his spot on the couch. In a way, he’s kind of relieved that Han interrupted the conversation. Although, a selfish part of his brain tells him that Rey feels it too, and if he were to make another move she wouldn’t say no. Could he do that to his brother? This is the first girl Ben’s ever liked. The first girl he’s ever been truly attracted to.
A part of him wants to be selfish.
A very large and dark part of him wants to say fuck it – he wants her, she wants him, why care about people standing in the way?
But as he’s passing from the living room into the kitchen, he spots a picture on the wall from summer fifteen years ago. Han had taken them both fishing – Poe had loved it, while Ben had despised being outdoors all day. Poe, well aware of Ben’s hatred of the outdoors, had given him his last reese peanut butter cup. It may sound like a small act of kindness, but it was the first summer Poe had come to live with them, and Ben wasn’t exactly adjusting well to the thought of sharing his mother and father’s attention. But Poe had been persistent, worming his way into Ben’s life and heart. Now, he can’t imagine a life without his little brother.
He can’t do this to him.
He needs to get over Rey.
***
The cheesy Christmas album is on again when they all sit down for dinner. Ben has been placed directly across from Rey, and truthfully, he can’t stop sneaking glances at her. So much for getting over her.
He’s digging into his turkey when his mother and grandmother snort with laughter, drawing everyone’s attention to them.
“Boys,” his mother calls from the other end of the table, glass of wine in hand. Ben thinks she’s probably a little drunk already. “Remember Rose Tico and Phasma?”
Geez. How could Ben forget? Phasma was his childhood best friend who lived around the corner from him – they were as thick as thieves, never going anywhere without each other. However, they had drifted apart when Ben left for college, and Ben hasn’t seen or spoken to her since. Rose was Poe’s friend as a kid – the two of them were always following Ben and Phasma around, trying to get them to play. Ben would never let them join in, though.
“Yeah?” Poe asks, popping a carrot into his mouth.
“Well, they’re dating now!” Leia laughs. “Rose’s mother told me. Isn’t that a coincidence?”
Ben’s eyes widen. He can’t shake the image of Rose as anything other than a small girl who trailed after them all the time, never mind as girl who’s dating his childhood best friend.
“It feels like just yesterday your mother and I were running after the four of you in diapers,” his father adds, smiling thoughtfully.
Poe scoffs loudly. “As if Ben would ever let Rose and I play with him.”
“Maybe you could get together again?” Leia suggests. “You could introduce them to Finn.”
Poe sends his mother a perplexed look, and Ben can feel Finn stiffen from beside him. It’s probably not a bad idea – Ben would love to hear the story behind Phasma and Rose getting together.
“Uh, yeah I guess,” Poe shrugs casually. A little too casually.
Ben watches with fascination as his brother fidgets anxiously in his seat, staring down intently at his dinner. What the hell is wrong with him?
His mother frowns, glass of wine stopped just before her lips. Sensing the tension that has fallen over the table, she sets her glass down gently. “Is that a bad idea?” she asks. “I just thought you would have something in common.”
“Uh yeah,” Finn jumps in. “That would be cool. I’d love to meet your childhood friends.”
“See,” his mother says. “Finn’s okay with it.”
This dinner has just taken a very strange turn.
“I don’t know if they really have anything in common anymore,” Ben smirks, trying to diffuse the tension. “Phasma went on to do biochemical engineering.” He crunches down hard on a piece of parsnip. “You’re doing sports science. Is that even a real subject?”
Poe kicks him under the table, hard, making Ben clutch at his leg. “Ouch.”
“Don’t be fucking rude,” Poe smirks.
“Boys! No fighting at the table,” his mother scolds. She narrows her eyes at them, making sure the bickering has stopped before she begins talking again. “Anyway, I didn’t mean college,” she continues. “I meant that you’re all gay.”
What.
Poe chokes on his carrot, coughing loudly.
The table descends into silence.
Ben looks around, completely lost. He notices the way Finn’s grip on his knife tightens, and he can see his knuckles turning white with the force of it. Rey sips at her wine awkwardly, leaning as far back into her seat as possible.
His mother is looking around the table with a confused expression on her face. “What?” she says into the silence. “Have I said something wrong?”
“Gay?” Poe splutters, taking a large gulp of his wine to wash the carrot down.
Finn clears his throat. “I’m actually bisexual but thank you for the shout out.”
“You’re very welcome, dear,” Leia says, beaming at the other boy.
“Gay?” Ben repeats. “Gay?”
“Yes, Ben,” his grandfather says sharply. “You don’t have something against the gays, do you?” He’s looking at Ben with narrowed eyes, daring him to say anything negative about his brother. “I mean, it definitely wouldn’t be my choice in life but you can’t blame people for their decisions.”
Ben shakes his head. “I’m sorry, I’m not following.” He snaps his head around to face Poe, bewildered. “Gay?”
Poe’s mouth opens, and then closes again immediately. “I didn’t–”
“You’re gay?”
His father sighs exasperatedly, downing his whisky in one. “Yes, Ben. For the thousandth time, gay.”
“I didn’t realize you all knew,” Poe says lightly. As if their mother hasn’t just dropped a bombshell at family Christmas dinner.
“Oh honey,” Leia says. “Of course we knew.”
His grandmother, still eating her meal, snorts loudly. “You’re not exactly subtle.”
“Right.”
“Gay.” Ben laughs loudly, startling the table. “I can’t believe this.”
“You have a problem?” Finn says, glaring daggers at him.
Ben shakes his head and leans back in his chair. “No, this is amazing.”
If Poe’s gay, that means he’s dating Finn. Which means he’s definitely not dating Rey.
Best. Christmas. Ever.
“I thought you knew,” Poe says, clasping his hands together on the table. “I literally told you in the shops.”
Realizing how stupid he’s been, Ben’s face cracks into a full-blown grin – the first genuine smile he’s had since he arrived at the house. “I thought you were talking about Rey.”
“Rey?” Poe laughs. “You thought I was dating Rey?”
Ben glances at the girl, watching as her frown turns into a look of comprehension. She gives out a rambunctious laugh, hitting her hand against the table. The table watches on bemusedly as she throws her head back.
“Oh my god,” she says, once she’s calmed down. “That’s why you haven’t made a move.”
"I guess Rey and gay sound the same," Luke suggests innocently, shoving a roast potato into his mouth.
Everyone ignores him. Ben can't help but stare at Rey, mouth agape. She smiles at him, big and bright, and he feels his heart stutter in his chest. He can’t believe this is happening. He can’t believe this is his luck. They stare at each other. Ben’s unsure what he could possibly say in this situation. He wants to ask her out. He wants to say something witty. But she’s smiling at him in a way that renders him unable to say anything, never mind something clever that’ll sound cool.
“Ben,” Leia says, interrupting his anxiety-ridden thoughts. “Use your words.”
“Um,” he stammers, trying to think of a way he can ask her out without sounding like a total weirdo. “Me. You.” He can see his father put his head in his hands, clearly exasperated, but Rey is watching him patiently.
“Yes?” she prompts.
“Um –”
He’s extremely aware that every single person at the table has their eyes fixated on them both.
“Date?” Rey finishes for him, smiling brightly and relieving him from any further embarrassment.
Ben nods his head enthusiastically. “Yes.”
“Thank god that’s over,” Luke says, tearing off a piece of turkey from his fork. “Can we go back to dinner now?”
“I can’t believe you all knew I was gay,” Poe laughs. “I can now play Britney Spears without anyone judging me.”
“I will absolutely still judge you.”
Poe gives him an unimpressed look. “You better watch yourself, brother. Now that you’re about to start dating my best friend I could make your life hell. I’ll reveal all the embarrassing stories from when we were kids,” he smirks. “Remember the life guard incident?”
“You wouldn’t.”
Poe grins mischievously. “I would.”
“Oh, I definitely want to hear about this incident,” Rey grins.
“Maybe one day,” Ben coughs.
She winks at him, and the family goes back to their meal, talking amongst themselves. He looks around the table, marveling in the relaxed atmosphere that has finally settled over everyone. He watches Poe talking to his father and notices the way in which his shoulders have lost the tightness they held for the past couple of months. He looks lighter than he ever has, with an easy smile on his face.
Ben’s never been prouder of his brother than he is in this moment.
The fact that he’s not actually dating the girl of his dreams is a nice bonus.
Said girl watches him over the rim of her glass, smiling coyly at him. He smirks down at his plate when he feels Rey’s foot touch his under the table.
Maybe it’s not so bad being home after all.
***
Epilogue - one year later.
“I don’t know why you’re freaking out. He’s obviously going to say yes.”
“He might not!”
Ben gives Poe an unimpressed look, but he can’t help feel a little sorry for him – his brother is sweating profusely, pacing up and down Ben’s bedroom floor. Ben and Rey had come up to his room to get some alone time away from the family – being around them at Christmas time had become even more maddening now that both brothers had significant others. But alas, alone time was not meant to be. Poe had barged in moments later, interrupting a heavy make out session on Ben’s bed.
“Poe, you need to chill,” Rey says, fixing the buttons on her shirt and trying to pat down her ruffled hair.
Ben smirks, leaning back against the headboard. He watches Poe pace for a few more seconds before he takes pity on him. “Listen, dude. Finn is downstairs for the second Christmas in a row. He’s listening to our parents’ embarrassing stories about you. He helped dad put up the Christmas lights on the porch. He’s going present shopping with mom and gran tomorrow.”
“So?”
Rey sighs exasperatedly. “So,” she says slowly. “You’re going to ask him to marry you, and he’s going to say yes.”
“I can do this.”
“You can do this.”
“I’ve got this.”
Ben stands up from his place on the bed and walks over to his brother. “You’ve got this,” he says, slapping him on the back. “He’s going to say yes.”
“If he doesn’t I’ll blame you.”
“Fine,” Ben says, rolling his eyes. “But he will.”
The trio make their way downstairs. Poe and Rey are immediately beckoned by his father – apparently, they need to help him diffuse an argument between his uncle Luke and his grandfather. Something about politics that Ben definitely doesn’t want to get involved in.
“Sweetheart?” his mother calls from the kitchen. “Can you help me with something?”
“Sure.” He wanders into the room, shouldering off his jumper and plants it on the back of one of the chairs.
His mother peaks her head around the door frame, making sure they’re alone before she spins around to face him. “Is Poe going to propose to Finn?”
Shit. Busted.
Poe didn’t want the family to know until the last minute – god knows they wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret. The whole family, including Finn, would know before the day was out.
“Um, yeah,” Ben says reluctantly.
“When?”
“Christmas Eve. At the party.”
“And he wasn’t going to tell us?”
Ben winces. “He was. He just didn’t want the rest of the family finding out until it was absolutely necessary. You know what they’re like.”
His mother hums thoughtfully. “I guess that’s reasonable.”
He lets out a sigh of relief. “I can’t believe Poe is getting married.”
“And what about you?” she asks, eyebrow raised.
Ben looks at her suspiciously. “What about me?”
“When are you going to propose to Rey?”
“I don’t know.”
“Have you thought about it?”
Ben hesitates. “A little.”
His mother squeals delightedly, clapping her hands together. “My two babies, all grown up,” she says.
Suddenly, there’s a loud crash from the living room. Oh god, what’s happening in there? Has Luke and his grandfather’s fight gotten physical? He wouldn’t put it past them.
“You better go and see what’s happened,” Leia says, frowning disapprovingly. She goes back to making tonight’s dinner, leaving Ben to deal with the drama in the other room.
He jogs into the living room, bracing himself for an onslaught of arguments and shouting matches. What he doesn’t expect to see, however, is Poe crouched down on one knee, staring up at Finn with a hopeful expression on his face. Finn has clearly dropped his mug, bits of glass scattered around the living room floor. Ben takes in the scene – takes in his father’s face, wide with shock. Luke and Anakin’s argument has clearly been forgotten as they stare at the couple in the middle of the room. Rey is busy snapping pictures with her iPhone. His grandmother is reading a magazine, completely uninterested.
Finn, evidently unable to speak, makes an unintelligible noise in the back of his throat. He then launches himself at Poe, throwing his arms around his neck.
“I take it that’s a yes, then?”
Finn unhooks his arms from around Poe, staring into his face with so much love that Ben needs to look away. “Of course it is, dummy.”
After everyone has congratulated the newly engaged couple, Ben and Rey leave them to it, laughing when they hear his mother shouting at Poe and Finn for not waiting until she was at least in the room.
“I thought he was going to do it on Christmas Eve?” Ben asks Rey when they’re safely in the comfort of his room.
“Well, he was,” Rey grins. “Until we got into the living room and had to break up the fight between your uncle and grandfather.”
“I fail to see how that’s a romantic setting.”
“Oh, it’s totally not,” she smirks. “But Finn said something cute to diffuse the argument and then Poe just got this look on his face and before I knew it he was down on one knee.”
“Totally a spur of the moment thing, then?”
“Totally.” She straddles him on the bed and kisses him deeply, making Ben groan. “I think when you know it’s the right time, you know.”
“Yeah,” Ben says, gripping the back of her head and pulling her into another kiss.
He thinks he knows exactly when the right time is.
Well, if Poe isn’t proposing on Christmas Eve, he may as well.