Hidden Thoughts of Laughter

Poe helps Rey fine tune her Force abilities.

Written for the March Year of the OTP Challenge. Fluff, post-The Rise of Skywalker. Prompts: "What are you doing with that?" and Major Character Death (Kinda- Refers to Leia)

“What are you doing with that?”

Poe’s incredulous sounding voice made Rey jump guiltily. She turned her head to look at him as he came up behind her, his eyebrows high and a smirk on his face. She looked back to the ground in front of her, where a human sized dummy lay. It was made to look more or less like an average sized human male, with flexible arms and legs and neck, and a torso that could twist. At first glance, it could easily be mistaken for a real person, until one got close enough to see the exaggerated smiley face painted on the front of the head.

“You know, if you were that desperate for male companionship, you could have just asked me.”

Rey felt her face heat at Poe’s insinuation. She turned and reached out, swatting at him. He ducked back, laughing.  

The dummy was used mostly for testing newly acquired vehicles and equipment. Its weight and physicality were meant to simulate a living being, and sensors were installed to tell how much heat and pressure was being delivered to the fake body. The poor dummy had been used and abused by the members of the Resistance for well over a year now, but it was still in fairly good shape. A testament to its builders, Rey supposed. Now that the war was finally winding down, with the remnants of the First Order scattered across the galaxy, the manikin wasn’t used nearly as much as before the Battle of Exegol.

“No, really,” Poe continued. “What are you doing?”

Rey sighed. “I need to refine my ability to control dormant bodies with the Force,” she said, looking back down at the dummy. “I can pick up inanimate objects easy enough, but humanoid bodies are different. They… move.” She grimaced, knowing her explanation lacked clarity.

But Poe, as usual, seemed to understand. “You have a hard time controlling the appendages?” he asked. “Legs? Arms?”

Rey looked at him, taken aback by his perceptiveness. This man had confounded her dozens of times in the almost two years she had known him, and that itself shouldn’t surprise her anymore. “Yes,” she answered. “If I focus on the torso, where the majority of the body’s weight is, the legs and arms just hang. Even worse, the head can drop, which can harm the neck. If the person is awake, they can control the rest of the body, but not if they are unconscious.”

Poe nodded, looking down at the dummy, which she knew he called ‘BiggBrave,’ then cocked his head. “You know…” he started, glancing at her. “As realistic as this dude is, you would do better to practice on a real person.”

“Are you volunteering?” Rey was teasing when she said it, but she was immediately sorry when he nodded vigorously.

“Yep.”

She sighed. “Poe,” she said, her voice exasperated.

“What?” He gave her his patented wide-eyed look of innocence.

She knew it was a lie.

“You don’t want me to practice on you.”

“Why not?” he pushed, putting his hands on his hips. “I can control my arms and legs and head until you tell me not to. That will give you a chance to ease into controlling everything.”

“Yeah, but…” she stopped and swallowed. “You really trust me that much?”

“You’re not gonna drop me, that I know for sure,” he scoffed. “I know how powerful you are. Remember Rey, I’ve seen you take down a kriffing TIE Silencer with just your lightsaber and the Force, not to mention you floating yourself around here,” he waved his hand, indicating the clearing around them, “when you meditate.” He focused on her. “I trust you. I always have.”

Rey remembered back to Pasana and the Force jump that helped her take down Kylo Ren’s ship as he tried to run her down. Poe had been the only witness to that event. “Yeah, but I also exploded a ship that day.”

“You think you’re gonna make me explode?” A grin slowly grew on Poe’s face. “I’d like to see you try.”

“Poe!” She swatted him again, this time making contact with his arm, trying not to laugh or blush. The inuendo from him had become more frequent of late, and she wasn’t quite sure how to take it. Was it a running joke, or was he really interested? She had absolutely no experience in flirting, so she wasn’t sure, but Jess had indicated more than once that Poe was attempting to ‘court’ Rey. Rey had no clue what that entailed.

“Come on, Sunshine,” Poe continued, his expression encouraging. “It’ll be fun!”

Rey felt a tingly sensation sweep over her at Poe’s use of that nickname. He’d used it before with her, and every time it made her feel special, because she knew he didn’t call anyone else ‘sunshine.’ At the same time, she tried to remind herself that he gave everyone nicknames, and it wasn’t more or less significant than anyone else’s. “You just want to float,” she accused him.

He shrugged and grinned again. “Hey, it’s almost as good as flying!”

Rey finally let herself laugh, shaking her head in exasperation. She took a deep breath.  “Okay, let’s try it.”

Poe looked almost giddy as he pulled off his jacket and rubbed his hands together. It was still early in the morning and the heat of the day had yet to begin. “Okay, do you want me to sit? Or lay down?” He moved around BiggBrave and turned to face Rey, his eyebrows raised in question.

“Uhm, just sit on that rock over there,” she told him, motioning toward one of the boulders on the far side of the clearing. She still did most of her meditating and lightsaber practice here, the place where Leia had done most of her training. She knew with the war’s end approaching and a newly formed government trying to establish itself on Ralltiir that her time on Ajan Kloss was limited, so she tried to enjoy this planet she had come to love as much as possible.

Poe moved to sit on the rock and Rey followed. He turned to face her as he sat down, his chocolate eyes focused on her, confident and excited at the same time. Just like he looked before heading out in his X-Wing, Rey thought.

“Ready?”

He nodded.

Rey brought up her hand and closed her eyes, drawing the Force into her. She felt its familiar presence as the power grew, and she let it fill her, feeling a sense of peace and joy come with it. That had always been the feeling she had concentrated on, even as a little girl, not knowing at the time that it was the life force around her that gave her that awareness. And that power.

Though she could see him in her mind’s eye thanks to the Force, she opened her eyes to look at Poe, then used her hand to motion upward. The Force obeyed her, and Poe slowly rose up from the rock.

“Whoa,” he said softly, his eyes getting huge as he looked around him. She could tell he instinctively wanted to grab for something to keep from falling, but he controlled the action, reminding himself it wasn’t necessary. Rey would keep him from falling. However, she kept him about a meter above the ground and she brought him up over the grasses of the meadow, away from the rocks, for her own peace of mind.

“I’m going to move you so you’re horizontal with the ground, now,” she told him, wanting to make him aware of what she was doing at all times.

“Okay,” he muttered. He sounded a bit breathless, and his expression was one of pure delight.

She repositioned his body so that he looked to be lying in the air, face upward. He brought his arms up and laced his fingers together over his chest, and he kept his neck muscles tight, keeping his head from dropping down, but he was letting his legs dangle. Biting her lip, Rey focused on those legs, and slowly they straightened, aligning themselves with his body.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Poe said with a smile, his head turned toward her.

“Yeah, but the bigger the object, the easier it is for me to focus on it and add it to what I’m already doing.”

“Are you calling my legs big?” he quipped.

Rey felt a smile tease her lips. “Possibly.”

He was staring at her, one eyebrow raised. “I’m not sure if you’re complimenting me or not.”

“Oh, it’s definitely a compliment,” she responded immediately, then cleared her throat in embarrassment when he smiled. “Okay, let your neck relax so I can try and bring your head into alignment. Gently!” she added. “Don’t just drop it.”

He snorted a laugh. “Worrywart.”

He did as she asked, and Rey turned her focus to his head. Slowly it lifted. “How does that feel?” she asked.

“Like you put a pillow under my head,” he told her. “It’s so weird. I feel comfortable, and yet my mind is always aware that there is nothing underneath me and wants to tense up and grab something. It’s a subconscious thing.”

Rey nodded, understanding exactly what he was saying. “But you feel it, don’t you? The Force.”

“Yeah,” he breathed. He turned his head to look at her again, a blissful look on his face.

Rey couldn’t help but smile. Leia had been the one to tell her that she was convinced Poe was Force sensitive, just like her husband Han had been. Not in the way she and Rey were, or even Finn (Leia had always suspected he had potential), but in a way that heightened their instincts and their reflexes. It’s why they were such good pilots. Knowing this, Rey believed that while Poe may not be able to control the Force like a Jedi, he could still recognize it and accept its control over him.

“Okay, let’s try your arms,” Rey continued.

Poe faced upward again, then let his arms drop down so that they were dangling. Starting with his right arm, Rey lifted it. “Can you still move it?” She didn’t want to take full control of his limbs; the memory of Kylo Ren completely freezing her body with the Force still haunted her, and she knew Poe had experienced the same paralysis.

In response, Poe wiggled his fingers. “Yeah,” he told her. He lifted his arm upward. “It’s like I can move it away from the pressure you’re exerting on me, but not into it.” He looked at her again. “I don’t feel trapped, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Rey nodded. She concentrated on his other arm and found it even easier. She began to realize that she didn’t have to fixate on one aspect of his body, but that she could control different parts at the same time. She allowed her mind’s eye to once more kick in, this time without closing her eyes, imagining what she wanted and telling the Force through that imagery what to do. She started walking around the clearing, letting Poe glide along with her. Beside her, in front of her, behind her. He watched her, able to move his head easily to follow her movements. There was no fear or confusion in his expression or his aura, and occasionally he reached out to touch a bush and once he reached up to grab a leaf from a tree they were passing under as they navigated around the clearing.

Rey stopped in the middle once more. “I’m going to lay you down on the ground, now, then pick you up again, okay?”

“Yep,” he told her.

She concentrated again, making sure his body touched the ground gently, then she released him completely from the Force. She took a breath, then carefully ‘grabbed’ him once more, this time lifting him up into the air without letting his head, arms, or legs droop.

Poe grinned. “You got it!”

Rey smiled as well.

“Now, make me do a summersault like you do.”

“What?!” Rey huffed a laugh.

“Whenever you end your meditation, you do a little flip down to the ground,” Poe explained.

“How often do you watch me meditate, Dameron?”

“Uhm… a lot.”

“Oh, really?” Rey said sarcastically. Carefully, she brought Poe’s booted feet upward and walked toward him. She focused on his thighs, letting his lower legs hang down, so she could continue to bring his body up, like she did with her own when she flipped. This would allow his legs to fall underneath him naturally when his body spun over and help him to land on his feet. Only, once she had him almost completely upside down, she paused. She stepped closer, his face level with hers now. “Still having fun?” she asked. She meant to tease, but the question came out softer than she had planned.

He reached out with his hand and touched her face lightly, giving her a soft smile. “With you, Sunshine? Always.”

Without letting herself think, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. It was awkward, but Poe still responded, his soft lips moving over hers. She stepped back and he grinned.

“Okay, my body is so confused right now,” he told her. “My blood wants to rush to a certain area, but it’s trapped in my head.”

Rey laughed. “Sorry!” She stepped back and completed the action she had started, letting Poe’s legs come all the way over and dropping him softly to his feet. She released him completely and without even giving her time to relax, he turned and stepped forward, grasped her shoulders gently, and leaned in to kiss her.

With a soft moan, she slid her arms up and around his shoulders as he moved into her fully and enclosed her in his embrace. Rey reveled in the warmth of his body and in the softness of his lips. Oh, how she had fantasized about this man for the last several months, very much convinced he had no interest in her. Picking fights with her, teasing her, bossing her around… he had always made her so mad. But then he would comfort her, compliment her, smile at her with his brown eyes warm and inviting. She had been so confused.

But not anymore. As she opened her mouth under his gentle onslaught, there was no more wondering whether or not he wanted her as much as she wanted him. His warm tongue told her how much he wanted her.

She pulled away, breathing hard, resting her forehead against his. “You must have really enjoyed yourself,” she whispered.

He grinned. “Yeah,” he drawled. “I did.” He cleared his throat. “When we get to Raaltiir…”

“We?”

“Well, I’m not letting you go alone. Finn and BB-8 would kill me.”

Rey smirked at him.

“When we get to Raaltirr,” he continued, unfazed. “I think we should get a place together.”

“You do, huh?”

“Mm-hmm,” he hummed, nodding.

“It’s a bit… fast, isn’t it?”

“We have a few weeks to get used to the idea,” he told her, nuzzling her nose with his.

“Mmmm… I’m not used to sharing a bed,” she told him, her whole body beginning to heat up thanks to his closeness.

“We can start getting used to that now, too.” He backed away from her, but grabbed one of her hands in his. “I don’t have anything planned for today. Do you?”

“You mean, you want to… now?” Rey felt a flare of excitement fire through her. But fear, as well. She’d never done this before.

He recognized her anxiety immediately. “Only if you want, Rey,” he said softly. “Maybe I am going too fast. But I’ve wanted you for so long, I can wait a little longer.”

Rey looked at his earnest expression. “How long?”

He shrugged self-consciously. “Crait?”

She couldn’t help but laugh, and he smiled again.

“Come with me and I’ll show you how big my legs really are,” he quipped.

“Your romantic invitations need some work, Dameron.”

He laughed, but then squeezed her hand softly. “I promise, we’ll go at your pace. You want to stop, we’ll stop. Anytime.” He cocked his head. “Do you trust me?”

She squeezed his hand back. “I trust you. I’ve always trusted you, Poe.”

With her body tingling with excitement and anticipation, Rey walked with him back to the base.

THE END

Fan Art by @sonotpractical on Tumblr

Ain't Nobody Else Like You - Cass Elliot

You're my first and second place

The smile that's on my face

You're my hero and my little boy blue

You're my early mornin kisses

A thousand answered wishes

Ain't nobody else like you

You're the love song that i sing

Yes you're my everything

The man who made my dreams come true

You're my hidden thoughts of laughter

My happy ever after

Ain't nobody else like you

You're the love song that i sing

Yes you're my everything

The man who made my dreams come true

You're my hidden thoughts of laughter

My happy ever after

Ain't nobody else like you

And i'd simply like to say

I love you

Thank you for the happy girl you see

You may not be perfection

Ah but honey you're close enough for me