Chapter Text
Poe grinned when he saw Rey at the end of the press line.
Ever since their press junket interview dropped the previous month, buzz around Macbeth seemed to grow exponentially as its premiere neared. Critics and entertainment reporters began to pay small artsy film attention and as it currently stood, the film was poised to be the breakout hit of CIFF.
There was a strong argument to be made that Rey’s interview had a lot to do with getting it all started., so it was pretty understandable—at least to Poe anyway—why he was practically bursting with joy by the time he reached her.
Rey looked very different than the last time he’d seen her, dressing up for the premieres that she had been attending all day. Though he had enjoyed seeing her in a more casual setting when they unintentionally saw Falstaff together, he could not deny that he also enjoyed seeing her while they were both “at work,” a microphone in one hand and note cards in another, looking very much in her element.
Because she was.
“Look at you all dashing in that suit.” She greeted, giving him a cheeky grin as he walked up to her, “Not afraid to mix patterns, I see…”
Poe chuckled a little, remembering that morning’s discussion about whether or not having a striped tie paired with a textured shirt under a tweed suit was too much, but Kare—his stylist—had insisted that he would pull it off. He knew Kare’s ‘I told you so’ would be imminent upon her watching Rey’s greeting once the press line interview aired, but he found himself thinking that he would wear all of the patterns in the world at once if it meant that he would always be greeted by that smile. While Poe wouldn’t have called their April interview overly formal, he was quickly finding out that he greatly enjoyed this side of Rey’s interview style. She was feeding off the energy of the organized chaos around them and being as bubbly and personable as she could possibly be to get the most out of a three-minute press line interview. It was fascinating to observe.
“You showed up to the premiere in style.” Rey continued giving him an exaggerated once over for the sake of the camera that had been set up opposite them when he hadn’t immediately responded to her comments.
Right. Work.
“I mean...” He trailed off gesturing at Rey, who was wearing a crushed velvet jumpsuit and was a level of glam that made Poe think that it should be her posing for photos and interviews on the other side of the partition, “I’m not the only one.”
“I try.” She commented, giving her hair a fake fluff with her hand that held the note cards—the two of them chuckling good naturedly and as they settled into their interview rhythm.
“When we last spoke,” Rey began, her voice still bright, but clearly getting down to business, “you told me that this was the role you’re the proudest of. How does it feel knowing that in just thirty minutes, the first major audience is going to see it?”
Poe smiled, knowing full well that when they truly last spoke, they’d talked—at length—about Milk Duds.
“It honestly feels great. This movie…it means a lot to me. It’s personal. I put so much work into it—everyone did. The cast the crew—I mean…everything from the set design to the costuming…it’s just all incredible.” He gushed, as he gestured around him.
“We all worked really hard to make sure everything was right.” He continued, “That every little detail was accounted for—down to the lighting and sound…or rather, the absence of lighting and sound in some scenes. You’ll understand what I’m talking about in thirty minutes.” He reassured her when he realized, to some degree of horror, that he was babbling.
To her credit, Rey just nodded encouragingly, “What was filming like with everyone so passionate about their work, so dedicated to making sure everything was just right like that?”
“It was honestly one of the best sets I’ve ever worked on and I really think that passion, that dedication comes through on screen.” He replied, parroting her words back to her as she had done with him, silently thanking her for the rescue.
Boy, was she good.
The rest of their interview went without a hitch, Rey seeming to sense his nerves as the seconds passed and kept her questions light, having discretely dropped her note cards down next her. Poe didn’t even realize that he’d gone over his time until he saw Snap impatiently wave at him from a few feet away.
“I think I am being summoned.” Poe noted with a wry smile.
“I mean, it’s only your movie premiere.” Rey shrugged, playing along.
“Probably shouldn’t be late, then.”
“Probably not.” Rey grinned as she stuck out her hand which he quickly accepted, “Poe. A pleasure.”
He was still grinning by the time he walked over to an exasperated Snap.
“You always run long with her.” Snap commented as they walked into the theater.
Poe looked over at his friend, inexplicably defensive, “I hardly think that two instances count as ‘always,’ and besides, the last time turned out great!”
Snap just looked over at him and gave a look that indicated he was skeptical of that statement at best, “Just…be careful.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re implying.” Poe remarked as casually as he could knowing full well that Snap saw right through it. Snap was his friend first, his assistant second—which was exactly what Poe wanted. It kept him grounded. But it was in moments like these that Poe questioned having an assistant that—quite literally—knew everything about you.
Including your tells.
“I’m sure you don’t.” Snap replied with a good natured eyeroll, giving Poe a clap on the back before handing him a bottle of water and making the switch back to professional mode, “Alright, you go through there. I’ll see you back here once it’s over so you can do a quick outfit change before the after party.”
“Thanks, Snap.” Poe said as he adjusted his tie, “And tell that wife of yours she was right about the patterns.” He added as he quickly straightened the tie he had previously argued was ‘too much,’ “Can’t wait to see what she has in store for the evening look.”
Snap grinned, “You’re going to need to eventually learn that she is right about everything. It’ll make life much easier for you. Trust me.”
With a final grin and a wave, Poe turned and headed into the theater.
Three hours later, Poe made his rounds throughout the private lounge that had been reserved for the premiere’s after party. He had to admit that Leia had really outdone herself with this event. With buzz building around the small indie flick, she worked with the studio increase the party’s budget to make a point: that small independent films are just as viable as big franchise blockbusters.
He met with the handful of reporters who had gotten press passes to the party, giving them quotes for their reviews that would be released the next morning.
Everyone he talked to had only positive things to say about the film and his performance, but he learned long ago that there was a certain level of duplicity that could be expected from people in this industry. It wasn’t uncommon for someone to give you a glowing review to your face, but their written words would be entirely different.
All except for one—and hers was the only opinion he truly wanted.
It took him a couple scans of the room, but he eventually found her talking to Dr. Cassian Andor and Dr. Jyn Erso, two of the history and literature consultants Leia had hired to ensure the film’s accuracy. Because of course Rey would be talking to Shakespearian scholars in a room full of celebrities and Hollywood executives. And from the looks of it, she was keeping up with the notoriously intense couple.
Poe quickly found out during the film’s pre-production phase that if you got either of them started on a topic, you would be in for a passionate lecture. Rey, it seemed, was not only taking in their lectures with rapt attention but giving a few of her own with the couple a no less attentive audience.
He waited a few minutes for them to finish their conversation, not wanting to interrupt what he was sure was an incredibly nerdy conversation before he approached. Rey spotted him immediately and grinned.
“So...” He started, holding his hands out in surrender, “What’d you think?”
“I think...” Rey started before pausing, scrunching her nose as she made an expression that indicated she was choosing her words carefully.
That she wasn’t sure she should say what she truly wanted to say.
Poe’s heart sank a little, but he kept his smile in place.
“Whatever it is, I can take it.” Poe softly encouraged, bracing himself for Rey’s criticism.
“I think you’re going to win the Oscar this year.”
Poe blinked.
“What?”
Rey fixed him with a look of disbelief, “Poe...that was...your performance was so incredible. Just the nuance you gave to the duality of that role...and the rest of the cast, Zorii Bliss, my god was she an incredible Lady Macbeth.”
Poe watched as Rey gestured wildly as she continued to tell him the many things she enjoyed about the film, but all he could bring himself to say in response was, “You liked it?”
‘Very eloquent, Dameron.’
Rey rolled her eyes, but the effect was lessoned by her laugh, “I loved it.”
Poe felt an immense relief that he couldn’t quite define when he heard those words. This had been one of his favorite projects from start to finish, arguably his best work to date—did Rey really think it was Oscar worthy??—but hearing that Rey had liked, no, loved, the movie had been more important to him than he had realized. It was a realization that Poe did not have the time to unpack at the moment.
“I honestly spent twenty minutes after the premiere working to get into another screening tomorrow morning.” Rey continued as she looked at her phone before shoving it into her purse, “I want to be able to view it and not take notes the entire time.”
Poe raised an eyebrow at that last comment and Rey sighed before taking a small but well used notebook out of her clutch. Of course, Poe thought to himself as he smiled at the sight of the worn looking Moleskine.
“May I?” he asked.
Rey slowly handed over the book, looking almost embarrassed, “My handwriting isn’t usually this sloppy. It’s just that there was a lot to sort through during the film and—"
Poe’s eyes widened as he flipped through a surprising number of pages that were filled to the brim with quick notes, questions, and even a few hastily made sketches that Rey had made as she watched her assigned films during the weekend. In true Rey fashion, there were tabbed sections for each film, but Poe quickly noted that the designated section for Macbeth contained significantly more pages than the others.
“You had…a lot of thoughts.” Poe commented as he quickly flipped through the pages, even though he wanted to examine this window into Rey’s mind for much much longer.
“All of them good.” She quickly pointed out as he handed the notepad back, “Poe...I‘m serious. I say this as a dear dear friend and fellow Milk Dud enthusiast.” Poe chuckled at her dramatics as she continued, “Yours is going to the performance to beat this year and...I have a feeling that no one is going to even come close. I said as much in the CIFF round-up that I posted forty-five minutes ago.”
“That’s...wow. I don’t know what to say.” Poe sputtered, suddenly embarrassed by her praise, “Thank you. That’s…a pretty big compliment.”
An awkward but not unpleasant silence fell between them as Poe searched for something to say and trying not to think too hard about what else was in the round up Rey wrote.
“So…” he began, inwardly cringing at the lame conversation transition, “What all have you seen this weekend?”
Much like during the press line interview, if Rey noticed his floundering, she didn’t show it and began to tell him about the other films that had premiered at the theater she covered. A couple of which were ones that were on his list to see once they hit theaters. He was glad to hear that Rey had enjoyed them and was only slightly jealous when he heard the list of who she had interviewed that weekend.
“You know, Amilyn Holdo is actually quite funny.” Rey remarked as she finished telling him about the newest cerebral sci-fi thriller from Rebel Productions, “I know she does all these serious and intense dramatic roles—and without revealing any spoilers, her new film plays to all of her strengths as an actor—but she is such a genuinely delightful woman.”
Okay, maybe Poe was more than slightly jealous.
“She’s on my list of people I would love to work with.” He sighed wistfully.
“I can make that happen you know.”
Poe turned to greet Leia who was no doubt beginning to wonder why the lead actor in her latest film was not mingling more with the Hollywood powers-that-be after its premiere. He was technically on the clock and one glance at his watch told him that he had spent…kriff, thirty minutes chatting with Rey about everything except for his movie.
Maybe Snap did have a point.
In Poe’s defense, Rey hadn’t really pressed him for sound bites or last-minute quotes to add to an updated edition of her CIFF roundup—which he was definitely reading the first chance that he got—so him being off topic for so long could hardly be considered his fault.
Right?
Catching Leia’s eye, he knew instantly that he was so very wrong.
They got lucky with the press build up to the premiere—Poe had taken a calculated risk with giving Rey the Starkiller scoop, hoping that it would draw attention to the rest of the interview and it had worked. Now, they really needed to hit the ground running with good reviews and more media buzz over the next week so that when Macbeth began its limited release, the momentum of the film would hopefully continue to build, and it would expand to more theaters. Part of that involved him making the rounds this evening—talking to critics and big names in media, having conversations about the film that were in a more casual setting, but no less important.
Poe hoped he didn’t look too chastened when he moved to make the obligatory introductions, “Leia this is Rey Smith from Niima Entertainment News. Rey this is—”
“Leia Organa-Solo.” Rey finished for him, quickly moving to offer her hand in greeting sounding…starstruck. She flashed Leia her megawatt smile, the one that was as genuinely disarming as it was sincere. “Hello! It is an absolute honor to meet you.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Leia jokingly scoffed as she shook Rey’s proffered hand, giving the young reporter a more thoughtful examination, “Niima Entertainment News…I really enjoyed your sit down with Dameron over here.”
Poe watched with thinly veiled amusement as Rey’s jaw dropped at the compliment. He didn’t know why Rey was so surprised—he did tell her that when they had seen Falstaff. Leia, who disliked press junkets and rapid-fire interviews more than Poe, had commented on how she had liked Rey’s interview style—how she had made the most of her allotted time with him, making her ten minutes with Poe feel as though it had contained the information of a hundred.
It was then that Poe got a brilliant idea.
He just hoped that Rey would trust him and more importantly, that Leia would take the bait.
“Rey’s actually seeing Macbeth again tomorrow morning before she heads back to L.A.” Poe commented trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.
Rey quickly looked over at him in panic, her eyes widening a little. Poe gave her what he hoped was a reassuring nod.
‘Trust me.’ He pleaded with her silently.
Leia looked from Poe to Rey, blatantly curious, “Really?”
“Well, tonight I was busy taking notes throughout and…I just want to view it again to experience it…” Rey paused, returning her gaze to Leia’s, “Experience it without having to jot down an idea or two that I need to include in a review or article.”
“An idea or two?” Poe grinned, “You practically filled a third of a notebook.”
Leia arched an eyebrow at Rey who simply held up the Moleskin she had yet to put back in her purse.
“May I?” Leia asked, unknowingly mirroring Poe’s actions from earlier as she held out a hand.
Her face a bright crimson, Rey handed over her notebook for a second time and Leia thumbed through her notes. Poe tried to catch Rey’s gaze, to let her know that this was a very good sign, but Rey watched intently as Leia flipped through the pages much like Poe had done earlier but with a much more discerning eye.
“When’s the showing?” Leia asked, her eyes never leaving the pages as she turned them.
Rey shifted her weight from one foot to the other, “Ten o-clock tomorrow morning.”
“And when does your flight leave?”
“At three.”
Leia looked up, fixing Rey with a considering gaze, “It’d be tight, but how would you like to do a thirty-minute sit down?”
For the second time in as many minutes, Rey’s jaw dropped, “I…I would absolutely love it, but I wouldn’t have time to prepare—”
“You have everything you need here.” Leia interrupted as she handed Rey her notebook, “And here.” She concluded as she gestured at Rey’s head.
Poe couldn’t help but smile as he watched the exchange.
“I’ll make the calls to set it up.” Leia stated with a wave of her hand before she turned to walk away, her blackberry already in her hand, “See you tomorrow, Rey. It’ll be nice talking to someone who’s not a complete bantha brain.”
And with a wink casually thrown over her shoulder, she was gone.
After Leia had completely disappeared into the crowd, Rey turned to Poe, completely stunned, “What just…?” She closed her eyes to take a deep breath but was just as at a loss for words when she opened them, “Did that really just…?”
“Yep.” Poe grinned as Rey looked at him, bewildered. He watched in amusement as the gears began to turn in her head, the shock of meeting Leia Organa-Solo—not to mention landing an interview with the elusive director—beginning to wear off. In fact, Poe was fairly certain that Rey was already mentally structuring her interview outline.
His thoughts were confirmed when Rey’s expression turned apologetic.
“Go.” He chuckled, gesturing in the general direction of the exit, “Those notecards of yours aren’t going to color code themselves.”
Rey rolled her eyes at him once more before they gave their good-byes and Rey turned to leave.
Poe watched her exit the lounge before he turned to get back to work mingling, a smile never leaving his face for the rest of the evening.
Five days later, Poe was scrolling through the article Rey had written from her interview with Leia that Snap had sent over immediately upon its publication. The article was mostly a summary of the video interview that had released two days prior—which Poe had already watched—but the same effortless charm and easy rapport that Rey seemed to cultivate with everyone she interviewed came through in her writing as well.
Poe hadn’t been lying when he had told her that he knew how much effort went in to making interviews seem effortless and Rey had seemingly done the impossible—she got Leia to laugh twice throughout the interview. Something he hadn’t seen her do on camera in well over a decade. Sure, the interview was not without the trademark Organa snark and witticism sprinkled throughout, but Leia actually looked like she had been enjoying herself.
As though he had conjured her with his thoughts, Leia’s caller ID image replaced the article on the screen of his phone. Poe had barely put the device to his ear when Leia began to talk.
“Have you seen it?” She asked, straight to business per usual.
“Yeah, I am reading the article now.” Poe replied, “If I didn’t know any better, it seems as though you were actually having fun during an interview.”
“That girl has a gift.” The director chuckled, “I just got the latest presale metrics…Poe, we’re on track for a $70 million debut next week. They’ve added theaters in nearly every state.”
Poe sunk into the nearest chair.
“What?”
“We went into CIFF with incredible buzz and we’ve had nothing but favorable reviews since, but that girl is something else. Her coverage has been nearly as effective as our marketing campaign. I have connections over at Niima and her CIFF Macbeth videos are some of NEN’s top performers. That girl got Shakespeare trending on Twitter, which I am told is quite the feat.”
“I’ve been told that too.” Poe smiled.
“Next time, I am sitting down with that girl for an hour.” Leia mused before she took a sip of something—probably her third cup of coffee that morning—but Poe knew a dramatic pause when he heard one.
She was clearly gearing up for something.
“Nice work, Dameron.”
Poe blinked.
“I’m not sure I—"
“Let’s not pretend you didn’t set that interview up at the party.” She interrupted, “Despite your talent as an actor, when you’re not on stage or in front of a camera, you’re about as subtle as a freight train.”
Poe let out a surprised laugh, “Yeah, well, I’m just glad it worked out.”
“Oh, I think it more than worked out.” Leia agreed with a chuckle, “Do you think a case of champagne is too much to send as a thank you?”
Poe thought for a moment before the perfect gift idea popped into his head.
“I think I have something better in mind.”