Warm

Rey hates being cold

My November OTP story. 50 hour work weeks + 3 to 6 hours of sleep at night + a sick horse = this

Prompts: Camping, Touch-starved, "Are you sure?" Rated PG

Rey hated being cold.

Obviously because she had spent the majority of her life on Jakku, where the average day temperature was 44*C and it never got cooler than 25 at night, it was understandable that she would be more comfortable in warmer temperatures. But this past year with the Resistance she had been to over two dozen worlds, visiting areas that were more temperate or wet than Jakku could ever hope to be, and she should have adjusted by now.

But she hadn’t.

Manista was one of those worlds. The area they were traveling through was considered a dry temperate climate. The days were mild, with temperatures around 20 degrees, but the nights hovered around freezing, and it was then that Rey suffered. It didn’t help that they were disguised as nomadic merchants, traveling by foot across the vast steppe of the southern continent, sleeping in tents at night. Though their sleep sacks were well insulated and their camp had a central fire, Rey never slept well despite curling into a tight ball inside her bedroll, covered from head to toe.

Her lack of sleep made dealing with both the small groups of local rebels and her own companions difficult. She felt too much through the Force now, unable to control it like she should due to her exhaustion. Fortunately, her companions could handle the rebels, gently coaxing them into combining into larger, stronger groups here on their home planet, and supporting those that wanted to come back with them to officially join the Resistance. Her companions were also good at handling her moodiness, brushing off her sharp retorts and complaints with barely a raised eyebrow; it was her first real mission away from Leia and the main body of the Resistance, so they seemed to understand why she was acting the way she was. The only one who really seemed frustrated with her was the leader of their little expedition, and the one who has asked that she be included.

Poe Dameron.

Rey felt guilt flow through her as she thought about Poe, who was marching at the head of their group of eight. She had been so excited when she had learned he had talked Leia into letting her come, arguing that she needed the experience and that her feel of the Force would help them determine if the rebels on this planet were truly devoted to the cause. Rey didn’t think she’d done as good a job in that as she, and she assumed both Leia and Poe, had expected.

But she was so cold!  

At least tonight should be their last night, as they would reach the capital city of Stachen tomorrow afternoon, and would meet their ride back to the Resistance at the space port there. Rey truly believed that their group had been quite successful in helping create a more organized rebellion here on Manista, and hopefully they would be bringing back some new members for the Resistance; they had been told to meet at the port tomorrow if they wished to come join the fight. But she didn’t think she had helped at all.

They came up to a small creek and Poe stopped and looked around. He nodded decisively. “Let’s camp here.”

The group set out to put up their tents in a circle. There were six tents, as everyone but Poe and Rey had doubled up. Rey, being the only female of the all human group, had been okay with having her own tent the first night, but afterward she had regretted it, thinking that she would probably be warmer if she had another body nearby. Especially if it was…

No. She wasn’t going to think about him that way. Just because he was cute and funny and smart and nice and brave and… Poe Dameron was Leia’s second in command, her superior, and not at all interested in her. With a sigh, she pulled off her pack and started setting up her small tent. The sun was already low and the temperature was dropping. Just one more night, she thought. She shook her head as she remembered their first night, when Poe and Beaumont had started sharing stories of their camping memories as children on their respective planets.

“You mean to tell me you camped for fun?” Rey had asked.

Poe had shrugged a bit self-consciously. “When you grow up with a secure shelter but enjoy the outdoors, camping can be fun. I know you grew up with different experiences, so it’s okay that you don’t think of it that way.”

Rey tried to think of it that way. She tried to find some kind of enjoyment in it. After all, she did appreciate nature. She was far more fond of animals than most sentient species, and she loved looking at clouds during the day and stars at night. But the hard ground, the lack of solid, protective walls, and of course the cold, all combined to make this experience less than ideal.

Once the tents were set up, everyone gathered around the fire for the last meal of the day. They ate what was essentially this planet’s version of a ration pack, but Rey thought it was delicious. Much better than what she had eaten almost every day on Jakku, though not quite up to the Resistance’s standards. Every day she sat down in the common area on Base, she was overwhelmed by the choices. She had taken to just choosing whatever Poe had chosen, as he seemed to like variety and had something different every day while Finn liked the same things over and over.

The sun set, and one by one her companions retired to their tents. She watched Poe disappear in his; he was the only one other than her that wasn’t sharing with anyone. She had more than once during this excursion wished she was brave enough to ask if she could sleep with him; she was absolutely certain he was warm. But she didn’t want to give him the chance to figure out that she was attracted to him.

Before she knew it, she was alone at the fire. She added a couple more branches of wood, then sat quietly, staring at the flames, totally not caring that her face was getting hot while her back was getting cold. She felt her eyes drift shut and her mind turned fuzzy.

Suddenly, she felt someone sit next to her, their body sliding up against hers silently. She gasped softly in surprise, turning her head to look at the man. Force, she must be exhausted to have not sensed him!

“Poe!” she whispered, blinking rapidly. He was smirking at her.

“Where were you?” he asked.

“What?” she replied, confused.

He brought up his left hand to tap her forehead gently. “In here,” he said. “What were you thinking about so intently that I was able to sneak up on you?”

Rey sighed and looked back at the fire. “To be honest, I was almost asleep. But before that I was thinking that I wish I could sleep here where it’s warm.”

“Hmmm…” He shifted slightly as he held out his hands toward the fire. “I gather you haven’t been sleeping well?”

She winced. “I’m sorry…” she started.

“For what?” Poe interrupted. “It’s not your fault you can’t sleep.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m sorry I haven’t been much help on this mission. I know you expected more from me.” She couldn’t look at him. She didn’t want to see disappointment on his face.

She felt him shrug. “It’s your first real mission. It was a good learning experience for you.”

“Leia’s never going to let me go on another,” Rey told him. “She didn’t want me to go on this one.”

Poe didn’t respond, which told her he probably agreed with her but wasn’t going to say it out loud. He was silent for a while, then he nudged her with his shoulder.

“Why have you been so… off? I mean, I’m assuming it’s because you haven’t been sleeping well, but why is that? It seems to me you’ve always been able to settle in and sleep anywhere.”

Rey finally looked at him. “I’m cold.”

Poe stared at her for a while, frowning, then he blinked, shifting his eyes to the side for a split second before his brows furrowed even more and he looked back at her. “Why didn’t you say something?” he asked quietly.

She shook her head. “What would have been the point?” she asked. “It’s not like we could change anything. We can’t rent out heated rooms here in the wilderness.”

“No, but…” He stopped and drew back from her a bit, then looked away, back toward the fire, biting his lower lip.

Rey really wanted to know what he had been about to say. “But?” she encouraged.

He grimaced. “We could have had you double up with someone,” he told her. “You would have stayed warmer that way.”

Rey glanced around the circle of tents. “As appealing as that sounds, I’m not sure I would be comfortable doing that.”

“Not even with me?”

She focused on him. “I’m not sure you would be comfortable doing that.”

He frowned again. “Why would you think that?”

Rey sighed and looked at the fire again. “You never seem comfortable when you’re alone with me.” She shrugged. “When Finn is with us, you’re fine. Making jokes, telling stories. But when it’s just me, you always seem to want to be elsewhere.” She looked at him, amused to see his mouth open in astonishment. “It’s okay. I know you like Finn more than me.”

“That’s not true,” he denied immediately. “Rey, it’s…” he sighed, then licked his lips. “It’s not that I don’t like being alone with you. It’s that I like it too much.” He looked at her. “And I shouldn’t.”

“What do you mean?” she whispered. He couldn’t be saying what she thought he was saying.

“I like you a lot, Rey,” he told her, his voice soft. Deep. “More than I should.” He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them and dipped his head closer to her. “But you’re Leia’s protégé. Young. A future Jedi. And there’s a war going on.”

Rey looked at him silently for a moment, then she cocked her head. “How often to you recite those excuses to yourself at night?”

He drew back, laughing, and she couldn’t help but smile as well.

He nodded, then looked back at her, his eyes bright in the firelight. “I get cold at night, too,” he told her. “I’m used to cold, but I’ve never really liked it. Yavin IV is a warm planet, too, though a lot more humid than Jakku.” This time, it was him who tilted his head questioningly. “Would you like to share my tent with me, Rey?”

She felt a shiver run up her spine at his question, and for once it had nothing to do with the cold. The idea of being close to the man, of spending the night within touching distance of him, both excited and comforted her. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“Let me get my bedroll,” she told him softly.

“No need,” he said, shaking his head.

“Mine is big enough for the both of us.”

THE END