Saga - ST Unspoken (AU),OCs. For the OTP "Things You Said" challenge

Title: Unspoken
Author: divapilot
Genre: romance
Summary: OCs Breha Solo and Blue Akahai come to an understanding about how to proceed with their growing love for each other.


Note: written as part of the OTP challenge, “Things you said after you kissed me.” The story must be all-dialogue, and may not exceed 500 words. (This clocks in at 492 words.)

Notes on OCs: Breha Solo is the younger child of Han Solo and Leia Organa. She has spent the last eight years as the neglected wife of Armitage Hux, and she has recently escaped their emotionally abusive marriage. Blue Akahai is the medic who has been caring for her since her escape.

Note on chronology: this scene takes place in the timeline of The General’s Wife, immediately after their first kiss, at the end of chapter 16 .


***

“I’m - I’m sorry, Breha. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why? What’s the matter?”

“You’re too vulnerable right now. Your mother’s sick, you’re clearly exhausted...I should have just let you rest and not done...that.”

“You mean kissed me?”

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t mind, you know.”

“And you’re emotionally vulnerable. You haven’t had a chance to recover psychologically. Your husband--”

“Ex-husband.”

“Ex-husband still has a huge influence on your feelings. You need to know yourself first before you can get tangled up with someone else.”

“I’m not fragile. I have a pretty good grip on my emotions. Besides, maybe I don’t want another man to tell me how I should act and what I should be feeling.”

“No! I didn’t mean it that way. I only meant that...That maybe I was rushing you. And I don’t want to rush you.”

“Rush me into what?”

“Into feeling things you aren’t ready to feel. Into a relationship you aren’t ready to have. I don’t want you to feel like you have to reciprocate if you aren’t ready to…”

“To what?”

“Oh, Breha. I’m no good with words. Look. I know that your marriage was a nightmare. Those years with Hux must have shredded your self-esteem. I know what it’s like to go out into society after being locked away for so, so long. I know what it’s like to feel people’s eyes on you, judging you. And there isn’t anything you can do, because you can’t change the past. So I get it, and I would never rush you into taking a step in a completely new direction unless you felt ready for it. You need to be Breha Solo again, and not just General Hux’s wife.”

“If you’re thinking that I should be single for a while before getting romantic with someone else, trust me: our marriage was never a union. I’ve been on my own for years. It’s...been lonely. Even when he was around, it was lonely.”

“I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I’m used to hurt.”

“You shouldn’t be. You should be used to joy, and respect… and love.”

“I know. And I feel that, Blue. I can feel it from my mother, and I can feel it from you. It’s nice.”

“That’s why I wouldn’t disrespect you by kissing you without your permission first.”

“Who said I didn’t give you permission?”

“What?”

“You noticed. I know you did. The way I looked at you. The way I put my hand here, on your chest, and I felt your heart flutter beneath my hand, just like it’s doing now. The way I lifted up my face towards yours.”

“I didn’t want to presume…”

“Blue, not everything has to be said outloud. I said yes. You heard it. You heard it in the way I breathed. In the softness of my touch.”

“You said yes?”

“I did. And Blue?”

“Hmm?”

“For the record, I’m still saying yes, yes. Yes.”

 

SQUEE! SQUEE! His wanting her to be ready and sure and her assurances that she isn't fragile, is more than ready and willing for a true loving relationship -- came through exquisitely in the dialogue!

 

This is heart-warming. And I thought I cried enough for today after watching the online ceremony of the Dutch king, his wife and other people in Amsterdam today. Remembering the Dead of WW2.

But well, now at least I have cried for happiness. Thanks!

 

Lovely! It made me sigh!
Your OC's feel very real.

 

Great work!
Always nice to see more of these two, Breha really deserves every bit of happiness she can get after the hell she went through.

 

A brief P.S. because when I heard this by the divine Sarah Vaughan this pairing just fit:

 

What a gentleman and what a lovely story. Even though I don't know the characters I could still get a sense of who each person was, and where they'd come from and what they value. That was lovely.

 

Thank you for your response! Blue loves her so much he is willing to wait for her. He wants her to come willingly into the relationship and not feel manipulated into it. But Breha has grown from the traumatized woman he met, and she is rediscovering how to assert herself. They are both ready for this now.

Thank you, AzureAngel! I'm glad this resonated with you. These two have been through so much, a moment of happiness and love is well-deserved.

Thank you very much! I appreciate your compliment!

Thank you! In this relationship, ironically it's Blue's awkwardness and his tender attention to her needs that wins her heart. Without even realizing it, he does the one thing that makes her hopelessly in love with him: he humbles himself to her. His patience and nurturing create the space she needs to heal. For him, she's so unlike anyone he's ever met that he's afraid he doesn't deserve her. (They both have abandonment issues...) Their relationship is built on respect and consent, something neither of them really got much of in the past.

Thank you! and CONGRATULATIONS to you for being a co-winner in this challenge!

Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed this!

Thank you, @Anedon! I appreciate it. Breha has had a tough time of it, but Blue is her peace and her safety. They both deserve the happiness they work so hard to make with each other.

Thank you so much for that beautiful song. What a voice! As I was writing this story ("The General's Wife") there was a song that I kept in the back of my mind because, to me, really said what I felt this relationship really meant. I hope you like it.
"You Matter To Me" by Sara Bareillis (Perf Jessie Mueller and Drew Gehling, from the musical "Waitress.")

They both needed someone who felt that they mattered.

Thank you so much! You get the nuances here, Finds - he is sympathetic and empathetic to her experiences. He truly understands what she went through, more than anyone. The humiliation, the lack of control over what happens to you, the imprisonment -- he's seen it all. He knows. He has compassion for her without pity, and he understands how precious respect and consent are to her because he knows what it meant for him.
And who doesn't love a good Ulysses reference? Yes I said Yes I will Yes! These two have been told NO so many times, have had their agency ripped from them, have been left helpless to the cruel whims of others. They deserve a chance to be allowed to make their own decisions, to own their YES, so that it can be given freely and lovingly.
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful response!

Thank you! In the story in which this scene takes place, both characters come from backgrounds where they have been deeply hurt in the past. His gentleness comes out of his deep respect for her. In another situation it would be overdoing it, or even annoying, but he doesn't want to do anything to her that would make her feel uncomfortable. It goes beyond simple consideration; he values consent above everything for both his religious views and from his own personal experience. He would never do anything that she wasn't fully on board with.

Thank you to everyone who stopped in and read or replied. Thank you also for choosing this work to be the co-winner (along with Mira_Jade's story "Know This By Name") for the OTP "Things You Said" challenge!