Kinetic - Part One

Rey and Poe are stranded on a hostile planet with no way to contact the Resistance. While being pursued by both First Order stormtroopers and a local mob gang, they connect in a way neither of them expected.

Rated NC-17 for sexual content and language. Post The Last Jedi : Canon Divergent

It all happened so fast.

One minute, they were bickering, like usual. The next moment, as soon as Poe reverted back to real space, the insanity began.

Rey was sitting in the gunner seat of the ancient ARC-170 Starfighter while Poe was piloting, and she couldn’t see ahead of them as easily as he could, but while the planet Soelea was clearly visible, so was the First Order Light Cruiser. And the four TIE Fighters that immediately began rushing toward them. They showed up on her HUD within seconds, and Rey scrambled to find the weapon controls in the unfamiliar ship.

“Uhm, Poe?”

“I know! I know!” He swung the old starfighter around in a big sweeping turn. “Are your weapons good?”

“Yes,” she said through clenched teeth. “I told you we shouldn’t jump directly to the planet. We should have reverted outside the system.”

“Intel did not have any First Order ships anywhere near here!” Poe argued.

“Well, they probably got the same information about the A-wings we did and just showed up!” Rey countered.

“Are you good to fire?” Poe growled. She could almost feel the anger and adrenaline pouring off of him.

“Yes!”

He pulled the ship around, this time in a tighter turn than before, and suddenly they were facing the TIEs again. Rey didn’t hesitate and opened fire. The TIEs followed suit, but two of them exploded before any of their bolts even came close. Poe jerked the fighter upward almost ninety degrees and Rey was thrown back in her seat as the inertial dampers worked to compensate for the sharp move. The TIEs separated, one of them following them up, the other going ‘under’ them.

Poe did a loop, pushing the old fighter so hard Rey swore she could hear it groan, and soon the one that had gone ‘under’ them was in front of them. Without waiting, Rey fired, and the TIE and its pilot became space dust.

The fighter jerked suddenly, and Rey knew the last TIE had finally found its opening. “Kriffin’ hell!” Poe hissed. Alarms sounded all throughout the ship and Rey glanced around, trying to see if there was anything she could do to fix whatever had been damaged. Though the armor on these old birds was strong, this particular bird was almost fifty standard years old. “I know I said I missed BB-8 earlier,” Poe shouted. “But now I really miss him!”

BB-8 had been on a fact-finding mission with Finn and Beau Kin when the intel about the A-wings had arrived. Leia knew Poe would have to go, and she would have preferred sending Finn and BB with him to Soelea, but she didn’t want to wait for them to come back, so she had grudgingly sent Rey. Rey had been excited by the prospect of leaving their temporary base on Umbara for an actual mission, but Poe had been more than a little grumbly about the whole affair.

“Hang on!” Poe yelled over his shoulder, then Rey felt her body fall forward against the harness as he essentially slammed on the ‘brakes.’ The TIE rushed past them, barely missing them. Rey huffed out a breath as she straightened in her seat, aimed, and fired. Poe didn’t miss a beat as the TIE disappeared, diving for the planet, away from the cruiser and the possibility of more pursuit. The alarms continued to shriek throughout the cockpit.

“What’s wrong with it?” Rey shouted, unable to tell what systems were affected from the gunner’s seat. “Will you be able to land?”

“Land?” Poe asked, his voice sounding a bit higher than normal. She noticed that happened when he was stressed or angry. “Uh… yeah, I can land it. Not sure it’s going to be very pretty, though.”

“So, we’re crashing, is what you’re saying?” Rey challenged. She heard the whine of the engine as they dropped closer to the planet.

“Well,” Poe responded, his voice more conversational now. “I’m crashing. You’re ejecting as soon as we get into atmo.”

“Wait! What?” Rey looked around the cockpit desperately. “No! You are not ejecting me!”

“Yes, I am!” he argued. “Get your oxygen on now, just in case I misjudge.”

“Poe! No!” Rey was panicked now. If he ejected her but not himself… “Only if you follow me and don’t try to land this thing!”

“We need as much of it intact as possible, Rey,” he told her, his voice still calm. “The parts may come in handy if we find those A-wings.”

“How are we going to find those A-wings if you’re dead?” Rey snapped.

“Rey! Oxygen! Now!” His voice was harsh. “That’s an order!”

Grimacing, Rey pulled out the mask and turned on the oxygen unit on her chest. As she attached the mask to her helmet, she grumbled, “You’re not my superior, Dameron.”

She heard him laugh. “See you on the flip side, Sunshine!”

Suddenly, air was rushing around her as the canopy above her popped off and she was propelled out of the starship with force, the ion engines in the ejector seat screaming. Pain shot through her left thigh, but it was quickly erased from her mind as adrenaline took over. The engine’s cut out and the seat began to fall, only to slow suddenly as the parachute attached to it opened. Thank the Force this old ship had been kept functional in every way, she thought as she gathered her wits and began searching the sky around her for the fighter. It was hard to miss as the back end was completely on fire. It was a good thing they hadn’t brought along a third person for the rear gunner seat!

“Poe?” she gasped into the mask. The comm should still be working. “Poe?” she said again, louder, watching as the fighter continued to plunge toward the planet beneath her. “Poe!” she screamed. “Eject, dammit!”

The fighter dove into the trees, vanishing from sight. She focused on that area, grabbing her multitool from her pocket. Another stab of pain from her thigh shot through her, and she looked down to see blood seeping from a slash in the leg of her flight suit; she must have caught it on something when she was ejected. She looked back up to where she had last seen the fighter, more concerned with that than any injury to herself. She opened the compass on the multitool and made note of the direction the ship had gone down from where she was descending. Soon, she reached the treetops, and she could see nothing else but the jungle surrounding her.

The repulsors on the seat turned on automatically as she neared the ground, their sensors tripped. Slowly, the chair floated to the ground. It had barely touched the loamy soil of the jungle floor before Rey had unbuckled herself and was scrambling out of the seat. She hissed as the pain in her thigh grabbed her attention again. She stumbled a bit, but then held up the compass, noting the direction she had seen the ship go down. She had no clue how far away it was, but her mission now was getting to it and Poe; she had to make sure he was okay. Her heart raced at the thought of anything happening to him. While she had not bonded with him as closely as she had with Finn and Leia, she still considered him a friend and trusted him beyond measure. He was also essential to the Resistance, both as a leader and pilot, but also as an inspiration for others.

Her leg screamed at her again, reminding her she was hurt. With a frustrated huff, she knew she had to attend to her own injury before she set out to find Poe. Then she would pray to any deity who would listen that he was alive and well.

******

For more than a few moments, Poe thought everything was going to work out. His angle of descent was perfect, the flaps were doing their work and making sure he didn’t pick up speed, and the trees when he reached them helped slow him even further. He was heading for what looked like a clearing and when the belly of the ship hit the earth, he was convinced he had it made. Then a huge rock formation appeared on his left. The nose hit just hard enough to make the ship jerk and spin, and Poe felt the rear of the ship come around completely until it crashed into the rock wall.

He sat stunned for a moment, then immediately opened the canopy, pushing it physically when it was too slow. He unbuckled his harness and stood, pulling off his helmet as he looked behind him, shocked to find most of the ship completely obliterated. His heart raced as he thought what might have happened if he hadn’t ejected Rey when he did.

Rey. He checked the comm, unsurprised to find it out of commission, then hurried to grab the emergency pack, tossing in as many rations as he could. He also grabbed the medpac, throwing it in the bag, as well as a couple of collapsible canteens. He didn’t worry about water. He knew Soelea had more than enough natural water sources throughout the jungle portions of the planet, which was most of it. Though the water had a high iron content, making it appear orange in color, it was safe to drink. He pulled out his multitool and let the compass orient itself to the planet’s magnetic field, then headed in the direction he had seen Rey’s ejector seat go down.

He felt a sense of urgency, and he kept telling himself that she was okay. He had heard her yelling into the comm for him to eject as she floated down. She had sounded worried. About him. Of course, she was worried, he told himself. She worried about everyone. Rey had one of the biggest hearts he had yet seen in a human, and knowing how she was raised made it even more amazing.

He had been hiking through the jungle for a good forty minutes, trying to remember as best he could everything he had read about the flora and fauna of Soelea, when he finally had to stop. He pulled off the pack, then stripped his flight suit off of his upper body, which was already dripping with sweat, leaving a simple grey tank top on his upper torso. He tied the arms of the suit around his waist, then yanked the pack back on and resumed his march, checking the compass as he moved. This planet’s heat and humidity rivaled Yavin IV’s during the summer months, he thought. It had been a while since he had had to deal with this kind of climate.

He walked for another twenty or so minutes when he felt the undeniable feeling of being watched. He stopped, carefully looking around him. Predator or prey, he wondered? His hand dropped to his blaster. Suddenly, he knew it was neither. Or both, depending on your point of view.

“Rey?”

Immediately after he spoke her name, she limped out from behind a large tree.

“I didn’t see the orange right away,” she huffed, motioning toward the flight suit still covering the lower part of his body. “I wasn’t sure it was you.”

Relief flowed through him, and without thought he moved toward her and enveloped her in a bear hug. He felt her tense up, and was reminded that the young woman was still a stranger to affection, but that just made him hold her tighter. She was just going to have to get used to it.

She relaxed after a moment and he felt her small hands settle on his back as she hugged him in return and he smiled. Progress. After a moment, he moved back, unsurprised to see her cheeks a bit red as she also stepped back.

“Are you okay?” he asked, looking down her slim form. He immediately caught sight of the blood on her leggings, an orange strip from her discarded flight suit wrapped around her thigh. “Kriff!”

Rey looked down at what he was observing. “I must have caught it on something when I was ejected,” she said softly. “It’s pretty deep.”

Poe slid the pack off of his back and moved toward a downed tree. “Sit down,” he told her. “I’ve got bacta.”

As she hobbled over to the log and sat, Poe grabbed the medpac out, then moved to squat in front of Rey. He untied the makeshift bandage and winced. There was a deep slice in her thigh a good six inches long. “This is going to need stitches,” he told her.

Rey looked at it assessingly. “It’ll close,” she said matter-of-factly.

Poe frowned at her. “Not very quickly. And it’ll leave a hell of a scar.”

She shrugged. “Not my first.”

Taking a deep breath, Poe tried to relax. “Rey, please let me stitch it.”

She looked a bit startled. “You… you can do that?”

He nodded. “I’ve done my fair share of field medicine,” he told her. “I tend to work a lot with injury-prone people.”

“Either that or you just crash a lot,” she said, a devilish smirk on her lips.

“Ha ha," he responded dryly. He leaned back to open the medpac, making sure he had everything he would need, then he glanced up at the wound again. “Uhm…” he started, then looked up at her face. “You’ll need to…” He motioned toward her leggings, making a downward motion with his hands. “Strip,” he finished, feeling his own face heat. What the hell, he thought? “At least down to your knees,” he added.

He watched as she swallowed, then nodded. He moved back a bit as she stood, then he focused on the medpac again, fiddling with it while she took off her holster, then pulled her leggings down and sat back on the log. When he looked at her again, she had gathered up her gauzy wraps and pulled them into her lap, covering herself modestly. He wondered briefly if she had underwear on.

Stop it! He chastised himself. Not your concern. He cleared his throat and moved closer to her again. As he focused on the fresh injury, he noticed several thin white scars on the inside of her knee; he didn’t even want to imagine the injury that had caused them. He pulled out a disinfecting wipe and began to clean the wound, muttering a soft ‘sorry’ when she hissed at the sting. He used another wipe to disinfect his hands, then slathered some numbing gel over the wound. He gave that a few seconds to work, then opened the suture pack. Carefully, he began to stitch the wound.

Though he was focused on the job, he could still feel Rey’s gaze on him. Not on what he was doing, but on him. The back of his mind raced as he wondered what she was thinking as she looked at him. Poe didn’t consider himself abnormally vain, but he did take pride in his appearance and he knew he was considered handsome by most human standards. But he also knew he probably wasn’t too appealing right now. He was sweaty and probably stank. His hair most likely was suffering from helmet-head, and he could feel his curls plastered to his skull from sweat. He hadn’t been this self-conscious since he was a teen.

He finished the last stitch and grabbed the tiny shears to snip off the end of the suture. He snagged a bacta patch, and as he turned toward her leg again, he caught her scent. Sweat, jungle, and… her. Rey.

Suddenly, without any other provocation, he became completely and embarrassingly aroused. He quickly placed the bacta patch over the now closed wound, then blindly grabbed a field wrap, glancing down at himself as he did so. Thank the Force he had tied the top of his flight suit around his waist, as the bunched-up fabric now hid his body’s reaction. It wasn’t the first time this had happened around Rey, but he’d always been able to walk away before. Not this time. He wound the wrap around her thigh, securing it with the self-adhesive end, then moved back again. “All done,” he muttered as he began putting the medpac back in order. He could see Rey stand and pull up her leggings out of the corner of his eye.

“Now what, Commander?” she asked softly as she buckled her holster.

Closing the medpac, he stood and moved to put it back in his bag, then he grabbed up the multitool again. He called up their coordinates with the GPS, then oriented it with the town of Galadnt, where they had been planning to land when they came to Soelea. He faced east, relieved to feel his body finally settling down. “Galadnt is over one hundred klicks that way,” he told her. “However, there is a small village just ten klicks this way.” He turned to face north. “I think it’s worth it to go to the village first and see if we can find transportation or a way to communicate what happened to the Resistance.”

Rey nodded. “Okay. Sounds good.” She tilted her head at him. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah!” Poe responded quickly. “Of course, I am.”

“Let’s go then.” She turned north, still limping slightly, but obviously more than ready for a hike.

With a sigh, Poe followed.

******

Rey walked along, feeling the subtle pull of the new stitches in her thigh, glancing up now and then toward the sun to make sure she was still going in the right direction. She heard Poe following behind her, easily keeping up with her swift walk. He was unusually quiet, and she assumed it was because he felt, as she did, that they needed to move quickly to find transportation before the First Order caught up to them; she was pretty sure there were already search parties out looking for them.

She took a deep breath, trying to settle the strange feeling of unease that had overtaken her back in the clearing, an unease that had nothing to do with the crash or the First Order. It had everything to do with the man behind her.

The more time she spent with Poe Dameron, the more confused she got. When she first met him, she had felt confident she knew all about him; BB-8 couldn’t stop praising his master from the first day she had met the droid, and while Rey once thought it was because the BB Unit had been programed to say such things, she had quickly learned that BB-8 had not been programed by Poe at all. Like many she had met in the Resistance, he had allowed BB-8’s personality to develop on its own by not allowing any memory wipes. Everything BB-8 ‘said’ about his master had been learned over time, and his loyalty had been won, not programed.

After Rey had finally settled in with the Resistance, she had learned from others that they shared many of the same opinions about the pilot as his droid did; he was well liked and respected, despite his behavior on the Raddus just before the Battle of Crait. Even Leia seemed to have forgiven him for his attempted mutiny, reinstating his rank shortly afterwards. He was friendly and personable, but could still be serious and take command with ease. He had taken both Finn and Rey under his wing almost immediately, making sure Rey especially felt wanted, that she knew she was more than the token Jedi of the Resistance.

But even as she saw Poe and Finn develop an amazingly strong bond, she still felt different around the Commander. She trusted him, she respected him, she enjoyed being in his company, but she could never relax around him like she could Finn, or Rose, or almost any of the other members of the Resistance she had become friends with. She often thought it was because of their shared connection through Kylo Ren and the torture they had both undergone. But as time went on, she suspected that had nothing to do with her feelings.

Just these past couple of hours proved to her it was much more than that. While she knew Poe had a reputation of being the best pilot in the Resistance (Finn loved to talk about witnessing this fact on Takodana), she had personally never seen him in action… until today. His instinctive reactions as they had fought off the TIEs had more than impressed her; he had not only been quick with his maneuvers but he had seemed to trust her to follow up on them, making sure they were in the proper position for her to fire and knowing she would. His medical abilities also impressed her today. His ease with the medpac, his steady hand as he cleaned the wound and prepped it, the picture-perfect stitches.

But it was how she felt as she watched him stitch her wound that confused her the most. She had been studying him while he was focused elsewhere. She had made note that his eyelashes were incredibly long, that he had grey hairs coming in with the black in his beard, and that his lips looked impossibly soft. The tank top he wore let her see that he was much more muscular than she had thought; she usually only saw him in his flight suit or a jacket. And then there was his hair, his thick, dark hair. It had been flattened by both his helmet and sweat, and she itched to run her fingers through it and fluff it back out to how it usually looked. The urge to do so shocked her; she had never desired to make physical contact with another being simply for the pleasure of it.

She was so focused on her thoughts that the subtle hum in the Force that she associated with living beings startled her when she finally recognized it. She slowed and felt Poe come up close behind her, stopping when she did, the front of his bare shoulder brushing the back of hers ever so slightly.

She could feel his intense gaze on her. “The village?” he asked softly.

A strange warmth infused her at his question. His trust in her ability to read and use the Force had never been questioned. At first, she thought it was because he had witnessed her moving the boulders to free him and the others on Crait, but she knew that he had been raised with a certain respect for Jedi history and had been witness to the power of the Force even before he joined the Resistance and started working with Leia Organa.

She nodded, then glanced over at him, her gaze meeting his for a second before she looked away; he was so close! She stepped away and turned to face him, glancing down at his flight suit. “You should probably ditch that,” she told him. “We don’t want to advertise that we’re pilots.”

He glanced down at himself with a frown. “Uhmmm… not gonna happen,” he said, looking back at her. “I’m not wearing pants.” He shrugged, his grin both full of humor and self-depreciating.

Rey rolled her eyes. “Dameron!”

He laughed. “Hey! I’m not exactly stick-thin like you are,” he argued. “I don’t have a lot of extra room in this flight suit.”

She couldn’t help it. She looked down just below where the arms of his suit had been tied around his waist. Feeling her face heat, she quickly looked back over her shoulder toward the village. “Well, we’ll just have to swipe some trousers for both of us, I guess.” She motioned to her own leg. “This blood isn’t exactly hard to miss.”

When she looked back at Poe, his eyes had narrowed and he was looking at her speculatively, but then he nodded. “Alright, Jedi,” he said, a smirk appearing on his lips. “Let’s see you scavenge.”

******

Poe could see the flash in Rey’s eyes as she acknowledged his challenge. She turned away from him slightly, giving him a side-eye, then with a smirk of her own she spun around and started walking away from him, moving parallel to where he assumed the village was. He followed, not even trying to keep his eyes from sweeping her form. He had been trying unsuccessfully ever since they had started this journey; she was just too beautiful to not admire, back or front.

Rey started working her way through the brush toward the village, and soon he could see buildings and hear voices. She slowed and crouched down a bit, and Poe followed suit, keeping his eyes and ears focused on his surroundings. Though he knew she had an advantage over him due to her Force sensitivity, he also knew his own senses were keen and he trusted them almost as much as he trusted Rey. She continued to move parallel to the buildings, ducking down whenever a being came into view. He realized they were moving along the perimeter of modest yards attached to humble dwellings. This must be one of the residential areas.

Eventually, a larger building came into view. Rey inched forward right up to the edge of the treeline, squatting down and focusing on it intently. Poe moved up quietly behind her, kneeling down and focusing on her. He looked at the building, then back at her. What was she looking for? A couple of Trianii came out of a doorway, chatting away with each other. They stood in the shade provided by the second story porch for a moment, then wandered off. They were carrying satchels. Poe realized the building must be a hostel of some sort.

Rey nodded her head, then glanced back at him. “Wait here,” she said softly, then without waiting for a response from him, she took off and sprinted across the short grass to the building. Poe’s mouth dropped open in wonder as she jumped up, easily reaching the bottom of the railings on the porch, then pulled herself swiftly up and over the barrier. He honestly couldn’t tell if she had used the Force or if she was just that strong. He was impressed either way. He saw her move to one of the windows, place her hand on it, shake her head slightly, then move to the next window and repeat the action. This time she nodded, opening the window and disappearing inside. He realized she had been ‘feeling’ each room to determine if there was anybody inside.

The next several seconds were agonizingly long, and every strange sound caught his attention and made his heart beat faster. He surveyed the area around the hostel, ducking back when a large humanoid of a species he wasn’t familiar with strode around the corner and headed for the door. He looked up at the window Rey had ducked into and unconsciously started mumbling, “Stay inside. Stay inside. Stay inside.” The creature stopped at the hostel door, stomping his feet to knock imaginary dust off of his boots, then entered. Almost immediately, the window on the second floor opened and Rey slipped out, a bundle under one arm. She walked carefully over to the rail and looked over, glancing at Poe as she did so. The door underneath her opened again and she ducked down. Poe clenched his teeth as he watched three humans and a rodian crowd out the door, laughing and shoving each other good naturedly. They loudly walked down the path toward the main part of the village.

Rey slowly stood straight again, looking off toward where the group had gone, then she focused on him. He swallowed, then glanced quickly around the area. When he saw no one, he looked back at Rey and nodded. She nodded back, then without missing a beat, she jumped over the railing and let herself drop down to the ground. Poe’s breath caught, forgetting for a moment just what this woman was capable of. A normal human would break a leg jumping that far, but Rey landed softly on her feet and ran toward him, a smile on her face. As she ducked into the brush, she grabbed his arm and pulled him up, dragging him further into the jungle. He followed with a huff of laughter.

She stopped about a hundred yards in. “You realize that wasn’t really scavenging,” she said on a laugh. “That was outright stealing.”

“Bullshit,” Poe told her as he stopped to face her. “How many credits did you leave behind?”

She swatted him on the arm. “Don’t ruin my reputation!”

“Rey,” he drawled. “That is your reputation.”

She flushed and thrust one of the garments under her arm toward him. “They’re going to be too big,” she told him. “But I thought better that than too small.” She shook out the beige-colored leggings she was still holding. Glancing at him, she turned her back and started to unbuckle her holster and slip out of her half-boots. Feeling heat rise in his cheeks, Poe did an about face and proceeded to do the same. The brown trousers she had swiped for him were indeed too big around the waist, but were long enough and comfortable looking. As he pulled them up, he glanced behind him. Rey was already replacing her holster.

“You didn’t happen to grab a belt, did you?” His holster wouldn’t work and might in fact actually drag the pants down.

Rey looked at him, her eyes wide. She glanced at the waist of his trousers and became thoughtful. Suddenly, she grabbed up the end of her wrap and started ripping along the edge of it. Using her teeth, she tore the strip off completely and handed it to him.

With a soft laugh, he nodded, taking it and threading it through his belt loops as Rey stepped back into her boots. Soon, he was also ready to go. They stuffed Poe’s flight suit and Rey’s bloody leggings into the brush and started walking along parallel to the village again, intent on entering the village from the opposite side.

They came to a road and started following it into the village. “So, what’s our story?” Rey asked.

“Speeder broke down on our way from Stronio to Galadnt,” he told her. “We just need a ride or a vehicle to rent.” He glanced at her as they walked side by side. “How many credits do you have left?”

“Plenty,” she responded. “Did you bring any?”

“Not that much,” he admitted. “I really wasn’t expecting this.”

She huffed. “Really, Dameron,” she groused. “You need to be better prepared.”

He looked at her, trying not to smile. “Why should I when I have you as back-up?”

She looked back at him, her eyebrows arched high. “I didn’t think you even wanted me on this mission,” she argued. “Now you’re happy I’m your back-up?”

He shrugged. “I’m always happy to have you as back-up, Rey,” he said. “It’s just that Finn and I work well together, like we can read each other’s minds. We have yet to have an unsuccessful mission together.” He looked around them as they began to enter the village.

Rey was silent for a while, then she said softly, “Well, I think we’ve been doing okay.” She paused. “Other than crashing, of course.”

Poe looked at her again, noticing she was looking down at the road in front of them, her expression pensive. “Yeah, Sunshine,” he answered, his own voice soft. “We’ve been doing good.”

Rey looked at him sharply. “Why do you call me that?” she asked.

He opened his mouth to answer, but loud voices coming from a building off to their left caught his attention. Saved by the cantina, Poe thought to himself. He hadn’t meant to let his personal nickname for Rey slip out. Again.

They stopped and looked at the tavern, then looked at each other. “Let’s hope the owner of these pants isn’t in there,” Poe muttered.

Rey giggled, then they headed for the door.

******

As they entered the cantina, Rey gave Poe one more glance. She had noticed the moment of panic in his eyes when she asked about the nickname, then the relief when the noise from the bar caught his attention. She would let it slide. For now. She looked about the room, immediately aware of the silence that began to grow as they moved toward the bar; the loud chatter and laughter that had been occurring when they entered dying as all eyes turned toward them. Rey felt Poe tense up in reaction, but he continued to walk casually toward the bartender. He was a charmer, she knew, and could put almost any being at ease with his relaxed, friendly demeanor, but she had a feeling that kind of attitude wouldn’t work in this place. Fortunately, she could tell Poe recognized that fact, too. Leia had always said he could read a room and change his approach when needed.

Poe laid his arm on the top of the bar and nodded solemnly at the blue skinned Chagrian. “Greetings,” he intoned quietly. “Our speeder broke down about twenty klicks south of here and we were wondering if there was any way we could hitch a ride to Galadnt?” Simple question. Quick. To the point. No reason to try and make friends when it was obvious strangers were not trusted here.

The Chagrian stared at him for a moment, his blue eyes intense, then he raised his chin. “We don’t have any commercial transports here,” he growled. “But there may be someone heading that way who could help you out.”

Rey felt an immediate sense of relief, and she didn’t bother to wonder if it was her own or what she felt coming from Poe (when has she become so in tune to him?) or both.

Poe nodded. “Any way we can get the word out and find that someone?” he asked, his voice still soft, non-confrontational.

A loud voice from the other side of the room prevented Poe from getting an answer. “How much for the woman?”

Rey turned her head to look at the big burly human male with blue spiked hair who had spoken. He was with a group of other human and humanoid men and they were all watching Rey with interest. She felt herself tense again and wished, not for the first time, that she had been able to bring her staff. Instead, she casually moved her right hand closer to her hip, closer to her blaster.

Poe had also turned to face the speaker, and she heard a deep chuckle coming from him. “Sorry, friend. The woman owns herself, so talking to me isn’t going to help you.” He glanced at Rey, humor mixed with concern in his gaze. “And I highly doubt she’s interested in your credits.”

The man huffed. “Everyone is for sale if the price is right,” he grumbled. He looked at Rey again, his gaze sweeping her form, his expression lewd. Rey had been propositioned many times before. She had been threatened, been offered money and food for her ‘services,’ had been looked at and treated like she was property her whole life; this man was nothing new to her. However, it was the first time she had been treated like this since she had left Jakku, and it made her heart hurt a bit to be reminded that the First Order wasn’t the only scum in the galaxy.

“Well, I know for a fact that you couldn’t afford me,” Rey told the man, trying to keep her voice firm without being too antagonistic. “Nobody here could.”

Another man, this one a little less gruff than the first one but still mean looking, replied, “Is that so?”

Rey looked him right in the eye. “Yes.”

Poe stepped forward, his hands up in a placating gesture. “Look, fellas,” he said. “We’re just looking for a ride to Galadnt. Or even a transport to rent or buy.”

The second man, who was still glaring at Rey, spoke. “I don’t think you could afford it,” he said, repeating Rey’s words back at them. He tilted his head, glancing at Poe. “A trade might be possible, though.” He looked back at Rey, a smirk on his lips.

Rey looked at Poe, wincing as he dropped his hands, sighing and rolling his eyes. He frowned at the man. “Not gonna happen.” He looked back at the bartender, who just shrugged noncommittally, then he looked at Rey. “Let’s go. We can find a ride in town.”

The man snorted. “Good luck with that.”

Rey allowed Poe to take her elbow and escort her out. She kept her hand close to her blaster, but other than watching her with vulgar expressions, the group didn’t do anything threatening.

Poe shook his head as they left the building. “Well, that was pleasant,” he mumbled sarcastically. He looked around them. “Think we should go door to door or just do some more stealing?”

“I’d really rather do this legit,” Rey told him. She glanced back at the cantina door. “But then again, if we could find something that belonged to them…”

Poe chuckled. “Yeah, I could go for that.” They continued walking down the street, looking around at the few people that were out. A handful of women and children moved about, but they were furtive, eyes down, as if they were scared. One woman glanced up at them, her eyes haunted. They widened a bit when she saw Rey, fear flashing briefly, then she looked away again and hurried on her path.

Rey stopped suddenly and Poe turned to look at her, his brow furrowed. “What is it?”

“There were no women at the hostel,” she said. “Or children.” She looked around her again. “Nor any in that bar.” She looked back at Poe. “I feel their fear,” she whispered. She opened herself up to the Force, letting the emotions of those around her fill her. “It’s as if this whole village is afraid, especially the women.”

“Afraid of those men in the bar?” Poe asked, stepping closer.

Rey shrugged. “What’s going on here?” she asked quietly.

Poe glanced around them once more. “Normally, I’d be reminding you that most planets here in the Outer Rim still have communities that are patriarchal, where women are seen as the weaker sex. But this is something different.”

There were loud voices behind them and they both turned back toward the cantina. The man who had challenged Rey was standing just outside the doorway, watching them, and the others were filing out behind him, laughing and pointing toward them. A female Trandoshan and her offspring, seeing the men step out of the bar, started moving faster as they passed Rey and Poe.

Poe stepped even closer to Rey, bringing his mouth up close to her ear. “We need to get out of here. Now.”

“Agreed,” Rey replied. “But we can’t walk to Galadnt.” It would take days to traverse that distance.

Taking her arm gently, he turned her away from the bar and the men still watching them. “Then let’s go do some more scavenging.”

******

Poe didn’t need the Force to tell him that they were being followed. At least two of the men from the group in the bar were walking along behind them, chatting to each other and laughing as if they just happened to be going the same direction as Poe and Rey. But every time Poe looked back, the men were watching them, and they weren’t hiding that fact.

“Poe?” Rey’s soft murmur made him look at her, and she gave a very subtle nod, looking ahead of them and slightly to the left. He turned to where she was looking just in time to see a young human male duck behind the corner of the building he had been peeking around. “He wanted us to see him,” Rey whispered.

Poe halted suddenly and grabbed out his multitool. Rey also stopped and looked at him curiously. Instead of stopping, the men behind them turned a bit and wandered across the street, where they stood in front of the business there and faced each other, their heads turning to look at Poe and Rey from time to time.

“Any suggestions on how to lose our shadows?” Poe said softly, keeping his focus on the multitool in his hand.

Rey opened her mouth to answer, but stopped and looked sharply down the street in the direction they had come from, her brow furrowed. Poe was about to ask her what was wrong when the sound of blaster bolts and shouts could be heard. Poe also looked, then watched as the two men who had been following them took off at a run back down the street. Suddenly, Poe and Rey had been forgotten.

Without hesitating, Poe grabbed Rey’s hand and took off for the corner they had seen the young man. She ran easily along with him, and once they rounded the corner, they both skidded to a stop, face to face with the person they were looking for. The tall young man was younger than Poe had first thought, his hair almost bleach blonde and his eyes a bright blue. Those eyes were wide and frightened, and Poe immediately brought up his free hand in a placating gesture. “It’s okay,” he said. “The guys following us were distracted.”

The kid nodded, relaxing a bit. “Probably another fight at the bar,” he said, his voice scratchy. “That happens a lot when they all get drunk.” He shrugged. “Which is every day lately.” He paused and shuffled his feet nervously. “Are you guys with the Authority?”

Poe knew the name of the governing body on this planet was the Soelea Planetary Authority. He shook his head. “No, we’re not,” he told the boy honestly.

The kid’s expression fell.

“What’s going on here?” Poe asked. “It’s pretty obvious that something is wrong in this little town.”

The boy swallowed. “They call themselves the Schism,” he said. “They’ve always been around these parts, running spice and maintaining bars and brothels. But then the Republic died.” He sighed and looked down. “After the Hosnian System was destroyed, they took over. Everything.” He looked at Rey. “They take women and little kids they deem ‘pretty,’ and use them in their brothels. Young men are drafted into their little ‘army’ and any older men that resist are either sent to their new refining facility or killed outright.” He shuffled his feet again. “They’ve taken over almost the whole planet, but the Authority still has control in the capital. I keep hoping they’ll come protect us.” He shrugged helplessly.

“Why aren’t you a part of their army?” Rey asked, her expression sympathetic.

The boy huffed a laugh. “I’m too weak. I have Kanju’s Disease. It’s not contagious, but sometimes I have trouble breathing and the coughing gets to be too much.” The sound of more blaster bolts could be heard and the boy winced. “I was really hoping you were from the Authority.”

Poe sighed. “Sorry, kid. There’s nothing we can do about your situation, but we can get the word out to people who might be able to help once we get off-world.” He glanced at Rey. “And we’re working on getting a… safer government.”

The boy looked confused for a moment. Then his eyes brightened. “You’re with the Resistance?”

Just then, two younger children, a boy and a girl, both as blonde as the first kid, ran around the corner breathing hard. They looked startled when they saw Poe and Rey, but then they focused on the older boy. “It’s the First Order!” the little boy cried. “Moor wasn’t happy to see them and they got in a firefight!”

Poe looked at Rey and saw her worried expression as she looked back at him. “They’re looking for us,” she murmured.

The two littles turned to them with wide eyes.

“Who’s Moor?” Poe asked the older boy.

“He’s the leader of the Schism here in Moonbright,” he answered. “Why is the Resistance here?”

“The Resistance?” the little girl gasped.

“We had business in Galadnt,” Poe answered. “The First Order shot us down.”

“So, you need to get to the capitol?”

Rey nodded. “Yes.”

The kid sighed. He looked over at the younger kids. “My brother and sister are both almost old enough for the Schism to take. We were going to run off and live in the jungle. Our dad made sure we knew how to live off the land. But maybe we can help you first.”

“What about your mother?” Rey asked, her expression showing the concern Poe was feeling. He didn’t like the idea of these kids on their own in the jungle, but at the same time he understood why that was preferrable to the alternative.

“She died last month,” the little boy whispered.

Rey looked at the older boy. “You’ve been taking care of them alone since then?”

The kid nodded.

“You’ve done a good job,” Poe told him. They looked healthy if a bit tired. Force knows too many children in the galaxy had to learn early how to take care of themselves too soon. He looked at Rey, knowing she had been one of them.

The boy gave him a small smile, then nodded off toward the jungle. “Follow me. I know how you can get to Galadnt.” He took off into the trees, his siblings following. Raising his eyebrows at Rey, he waited for her nod, then grinned. Why was he not surprised that they would end up depending on kids to get out of this mess?

They had been jogging behind the children for about half a kilometer when a small house appeared in front of them. Instead of going to the house, the kids led them around behind it, to a smaller garage. The boy threw open the big doors and stepped inside. Rey and Poe followed, and Poe felt his breath catch at what he saw.

Sitting in the middle of the garage was an old Imperial 74-Z speeder bike. There were several parts scattered all around on the floor, but his trained eye couldn’t see anything unfinished with the vehicle. He looked at the boy, his eyebrows raised in question.

The kid waved at the stuff on the ground. “I leave the parts lying around so if anyone stops by, they think I’m still working on it.” He shrugged. “It’s been finished for months.” He looked at Rey, then back at Poe. “I want you guys to have it.”

“Won’t you need it when you leave?” Rey asked.

The kid shook his head. “We don’t need anything that fast, and it’s too loud. We’ll do much better on foot.”

Poe didn’t like the idea of taking the one vehicle these kids had, and he liked even less their plan of heading into the jungle on their own. But how could he say ‘no’? He looked at Rey and saw the same concern on her face. With a grimace, she reached into her slingbag and pulled out her money pouch. She counted out a generous amount of credits, then handed them to the young man. “You probably can’t use these in the jungle, either,” she told him. “But at least you’ll have them if you need them.”

The younger children looked on in awe, but the older boy just nodded sagely. “Thank you,” he said softly.

“Go back into town,” Poe told them. “Let people see you. They’ll think we stole this speeder.”

The boy nodded. “We’ll leave after nightfall. They’ll be so busy looking for you guys, they probably won’t notice we’re gone for days.”

Poe hoped so. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Magnus,” he said, then looked at his brother and sister. “Tallulah and Jet.”

“Poe,” he replied, then nodded at Rey. “And this is Rey.” He frowned. “Thank you, Magnus.”

“When the Resistance beats the First Order and the Republic is reestablished, things will get better, right?”

“That’s the plan, kid.”

“Uh-oh.”

Tallulah’s soft exclamation pulled Poe’s attention back outside the open doors. A plume of smoke could be seen coming from the village.

“Go!” Poe told the kids. “Stay safe!”

Grinning, the three children turned and ran back toward the village.

Rey shook her head. “I don’t like leaving them.”

“Neither do I,” Poe agreed. “But what else can we do?”

Rey nodded, then she turned to the speeder. “Let’s get out of here. I’m driving.”

“Not a chance!” Poe argued as he followed her. “You’ve never driven something like this.”

“And you have?”

“Yes!” Poe said emphatically. “I have. They are very fast and very touchy.”

She sighed. “Fine. You can drive.” She paused. “For now.”

******

It didn’t take long for Rey to find herself grateful she had let Poe drive the speeder bike. It was a whole lot faster than her old speeder on Jakku and she could tell it was extremely responsive. She tried not to be too jealous at how easily Poe handled the machine; there was no doubt the man was born to be a pilot.

Though they couldn’t go as fast as she knew the speeder could go thanks to the thick vegetation around them, it was fast enough that Rey had to hang on to Poe. The single seat on the speeder did not leave a lot of room for two people, so her front was pressed up tight against his back, her hands on his waist. She honestly couldn’t say that she was unhappy about this situation, and was even enjoying it somewhat, when she had the thought that maybe he wasn’t as happy as she was. She tried to sidle back a bit, leaning her upper body away from his, only to have him snap, “Don’t let go!”

Startled, she resettled herself back against him.

“The more you move, the more unbalanced this thing becomes,” he continued, his voice loud enough she could hear him over the whine of the engine, but he sounded hesitant.

“Right,” she said, nodding, her nose brushing against his thick hair for a split second, and she wondered at his tone. If there was one thing Poe wasn’t afraid to do, it was give orders. Unless those orders weren’t real orders. In which case…

Bringing her mouth up close to his ear so she wouldn’t have to yell, she asked, “So, you want me to stick as close to you as possible, right? Move when you move?”

He was silent for a moment, then he nodded sharply. “Yep,” he finally said. “Stick to me like glue.”

Rey couldn’t help but grin, letting her arms come all the way around his torso, holding him firmly without squeezing too much; she didn’t want to make him crash. Despite the heat and humidity of the jungle, being this close to him felt good. Maybe too good. He leaned sharply to the left, steering the bike around a large bunch of trees with pale white bark. As Rey leaned with him, she felt her thighs slide against his, her pelvis snugging up even more to his backside. Rey couldn’t curb the gasp the friction caused. She felt her face heat as she tried to readjust her seat without moving too much.

She felt more than heard Poe groan at her movement, and her body responded in an unexpected manner. Unbidden, moisture flooded her core. Shocked, Rey closed her eyes tight and held as still as possible. She wasn’t really sure what was going on, but she had suspicions; she might be inexperienced, but she wasn’t naïve. She prayed Poe did not know what had just happened. She concentrated on her breathing, waiting for Poe to say something, but he remained silent. Eventually, she opened her eyes again, noting that the jungle around them was already getting darker; nightfall was coming.

She cleared her throat nervously. “Does this thing have lights?”

He shook his head, his hair once more brushing against her face. “Nope. Even if it did, I don’t think I’d want to use them in case a First Order patrol flew over.” She felt him take a deep breath. “We’ll have to camp for the night.”

Rey nodded, once more leaning back ever so slightly. She looked around them, searching out features that could not only provide shelter but that might indicate a water source. A rocky protrusion off to their right caught her attention. “Let’s check there,” she said, lifting her hand slowly to point toward the area. “Maybe there’s a cave.”

Without hesitation, Poe angled the bike toward the area Rey indicated, slowing it as they neared, then stopping. Rey jumped off immediately, her nervousness growing again. Poe remained on the bike, not looking at her, not moving. Swallowing, Rey headed toward the rocks. As she did so, she heard water trickling, and was pleased to see a stream flowing down from the side of the formation, a tiny waterfall ending in a small pool. Finally, she heard Poe walk up behind her.

She glanced back at him, startled to see his gaze on her, intense and almost angry. He looked away immediately, turning toward the rocks. He moved toward them and Rey followed. Something had happened on that bike, something that Rey didn’t think either of them wanted to acknowledge. They picked through the stony ground, heading up an incline toward the largest part of the formation. “Ah-ha!” Poe suddenly said. He pointed and Rey smiled as she saw a decent sized cavity in the rock. Shelter for the night.

“We better hide the bike,” she said, looking back in the direction of the speeder.

“I’ll do it,” Poe said, sliding his bag over his head and handing it to her. “You can go make sure there’s no creepy-crawlies in there.”

“Gee, thanks a lot Commander,” Rey snarked.

Poe grinned at her before he turned back toward the speeder, and Rey felt herself relax, relieved to see him back to ‘normal.’ She climbed up a slight incline, then walked across the short grassy area in front of the small cave. It was shallow, and she could easily see to the back even in the dwindling light, but it was more than enough shelter for the two of them. She dropped Poe’s bag, then her own, then set out to gather wood for a fire. They certainly wouldn’t need it for warmth, but she wanted it for cooking; she hated cold veg meat.

Poe climbed up to join her as she was starting the fire. She glanced up at him. “I chased all the creepy-crawlies away for you, Commander.”

He chuckled, then moved to sit down opposite her.

As the fire caught, Rey watched as he dug around in his pack. He pulled out a couple of ration packs and tossed them over to her. He also tossed over a water container. “I filled this on the way back,” he told her. Rey took it gratefully, knowing they could fill up the two empty ones in her pack later.

She handed him a long stick and he took it with raised eyebrows. “To warm up the veg meat,” she told him. “Unless you like it cold.”

“Never really thought about it, I guess,” he told her as he set about skewering the green substance from the ration pack onto the stick. “It’s pretty tasteless either way.”

“Yeah,” Rey agreed softly as she stuck her own veg meat on another stick. “It was always a treat when I was able to get even a small amount of seasoning in some trade. I made it stretch as long as I could.” She gave him a quick smile. “Obviously, it always worked best when I fried it.”

Poe looked at her for a long moment, and Rey instantly regretted her words. She kept her gaze down. She hadn’t meant to remind him of where she came from and she didn’t want to see pity in his eyes. But finally, she couldn’t help but glance up.

There was no pity in Poe Dameron’s eyes, only warmth and maybe a little bit of awe. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

Rey scoffed. “Why do you say that?”

“You were dealt a horrible hand in life, Rey,” he answered. “And yet you bluffed your way to a win.”

Rey had learned to play Sabacc just a few months ago and had gotten very good at it, so she understood the reference. “I haven’t won yet, Dameron,” she said softly.

He smiled ever so slightly. “You will.”

******

Poe felt his lip curl up even more as he watched Rey’s face color. She was such an enigma. Innocent as a newborn babe one moment, the bravest warrior he’d ever seen the next. Sultry seductress and stealthy thief, amazing pilot and loyal friend. She confused him as much as she amazed him.

He continued eating, staring at the fire. He knew he had flustered her earlier today, but he had been desperate to ensure she didn’t realize how much she affected him. The way she had teased him on the bike earlier, then the way her body had slid against him, however inadvertently, had overwhelmed his senses, and for the second time that day he had to fight to control his libido. He had not gotten so hard so fast since he was a teenager! And the last thing he wanted to do was scare off this incredible woman by letting her see his carnal side.

He had been fascinated with Rey since the day he first saw her on D’Qar. They had never been introduced and he had never spoken to her, but thanks to both BB-8 and Finn, he knew who she was. He had seen the desolation on her face when she followed Chewie off the Falcon, her focus on the man in Chewie’s arms. He had given her a once over, ensuring she didn’t need medical help, then followed Finn to the infirmary. It was there that he learned of Han Solo’s death. His heart had ached for Leia, but when he went in search of his mentor, he had found her deep in discussion with the young woman from Jakku.

Things had happened fast after that. The discovery of the complete map, the beginning of the evacuation, Rey flying off in the legendary Millennium Falcon with Chewie to find the even more legendary Luke Skywalker.

Then the catastrophe aboard the Raddus.

When he had seen Rey for the first time on Crait, he couldn’t deny that his fascination had turned to infatuation. She had been absolutely gorgeous standing there, strong and proud, saving their asses with literally the wave of her hand. Finally being able to get to know her in the days that followed only increased his attraction to her, but he never let on. Force no! He was far too old for her, far too broken. It was one of the many reasons he preferred working with Finn over her; while he had undoubtedly been enamored with the former stormtrooper after they first met, that crush had faded when Poe had come to the realization that Finn did not share that attraction. Their friendship had become solid and secure, but his relationship with Rey had always held a bit of… something he didn’t really understand.

They bickered so much everyone else just expected it, but they obviously trusted and supported each other. There was never any malice in their arguments. In fact, they often sought each other out with the intention to ‘pick a fight’ during slow times; he knew he enjoyed how her eyes flashed when her temper was up, and she seemed to get just as much enjoyment out of getting him agitated, laughing whenever he had no quick comeback to her taunts. He hadn’t let himself think about why they did this, but when Suralinda, in a snit of her own, yelled at them to ‘get a room!’ one day, he had backed off, recognizing his teasing as foreplay. It wouldn’t have been so bad if he thought Rey felt the same, but he was pretty sure she was far too innocent in the ways of flirting and courtship to associate their banter as such.

His roaming thoughts were interrupted when a flash of light from the jungle caught his attention. He stiffened, staring out into the darkness, waiting for whatever followed. Rey had also reacted, her large eyes wide. Finally, a rumble of thunder rolled across the treetops. Poe relaxed, looking back at the fire. It hadn’t been weapons fire; the First Order hadn’t found their hiding spot. As he finished eating, the lightning became more frequent, and the thunder grew louder. He looked at Rey, suddenly wondering what she thought of the oncoming storm; he guessed she hadn’t witnessed many thunderstorms in her life.

He wasn’t surprised to see her staring out at the light show with fascination.

Soon, he detected a soft roaring sound. He watched Rey as it gradually got louder, feeling a smile overtake his face as her eyes widened even more. She looked at him in wonder. “Is that..?”

He nodded. “Rain.”

As soon as he said it, the downpour reached them. Rey looked back out at the deluge, a smile on her face now. She popped the last bite of her food into her mouth and stood, walking right to the edge of the overhang protecting them from the rain, and reached a hand out. She looked back at him, her grin huge. “It’s warm!”

He nodded. The air temperature had not decreased at all with the cloudburst, and he had a feeling it wouldn’t. Which meant the air would become even more humid once the storm had moved on.

Suddenly, Rey stepped out into the rain, lifting her face toward the sky.

“What are you doing?” Poe gasped, not sure if he should be mad or not. She seemed so happy and he didn’t want to bring her down.

She looked at him, her smile intact, blinking water out of her eyes. “It’s so warm!” she repeated. “On Ahch-To it was so cold!”

“It’s also dangerous,” Poe told her, shaking his head. “Lightning can kill, you know?”

Rey scoffed. “Seriously, Dameron. Everything we do for the Resistance can get us killed. You have to learn to take what joy you can from life!”

Poe felt chastised, and it surprised him. He was the one who was usually the positive influence among his fellows, the one who tried to keep everyone upbeat and content. Now here was this scavenger from Jakku who had spent most of her life alone and on the verge of starvation giving him pointers on how to appreciate life. Kriff, he adored her.

He nodded, pursing his lips. “You’re right,” he told her, then he stood and moved to join her out in the rain. “But you gotta do more than just stand there.” He grabbed her wrists and pulled her around him, then drew her in close, wrapping an arm around her waist. He smiled at her shocked expression, pleased that she wasn’t fighting him. “You gotta dance in the rain!”

She laughed suddenly, trying to follow his lead. “Dance?” she exclaimed. “There’s no music!”

“Sure there is,” he argued. “Listen! Do you hear the animals in the jungle? The rain hitting the leaves?” He shrugged. “Even the thunder is music.”

Still smiling, she moved with him as he continued to sway and spin her slowly around in the rain. She slipped on the wet grass and he tightened his hold on her, bringing her closer to him. He felt his own smile slip as her front brushed firmly against him. He watched as she bit her lower lip, meeting his eyes with her own, and his movements slowed.

They stopped, the rain still pouring down upon them both. In a daze, Poe felt Rey lean into him, bringing her face close to his. Her lips were parted and he could feel her breath on his cheek. He turned his head just slightly and brushed his nose against hers, her breath now caressing his lips. He instinctively licked them, and her nose grazed his once more as she seemed to seek out contact. A large crack of thunder made them jump, and Poe moved back away from her. She blinked at him, panting, as if waking from a dream.

Poe stepped back even more, swallowing harshly. “We better get dry,” he told her, his voice hoarse. “Warm or not, we’ll be chilled by morning if we don’t get out of this rain now.”

Rey’s expression fell, and Poe felt regret course through him as he turned back to the cave. Shaking as much water out of his hair as he could, he settled back in front of the fire. Rey sat quietly across from him, subdued.

It was going to be a very long night.

******

Rey lay quietly on her side, her head on her pack, watching the fire burn. Poe had just added more wood to it a while ago, and she was glad; he hadn’t lied when he said they would get chilled despite the warm air. She was just finally starting to get warm as her loosely knit tunic and borrowed leggings dried. She had removed her arm and body wraps and laid them next to her pack to dry, and tried not to remember how self-conscious she had felt doing so, knowing Poe was watching her.

Poe. He was constantly baffling her. One moment he seemed to want to be near her, to touch her, to laugh and share stories with her. The next he was standoffish and tense, keeping his distance from her and not meeting her eyes with his own. Their dance in the rain had been a perfect example. He had seemed so happy moving with her, his eyes bright and a beautiful smile on his face, and when she had slipped and fallen against him, he had held her close, his expression soft. The nuzzling that had followed had excited her, and she knew she wanted more. She had seen people kiss before, more often since she had joined the Resistance than when she was on Jakku, and if she was honest with herself, she knew Poe was the first person she had ever wanted to kiss. By watching Snap and Karè together, as well as Larma and Wrobie, she knew it must be pleasant, and she had a feeling Poe was good at it. But the lightning strike nearby had broken whatever connection had been between them, and Poe’s face had become stern once more as he moved away from her, back into the cave. Rey had felt dejected and puzzled. As she followed him back under cover, she had only one conclusion.

He didn’t want her.

This belief upset her deeply, and she was mad at herself for letting it. She couldn’t deny now that she wanted him, that her feelings when she was with him, both physical and emotional, were brought about by her urge to be with him. She had never in her life felt sexual desire until this man, and the fact that he did not reciprocate was painful to say the least. But maybe it was for the best, she thought. He was, despite her denying it earlier today, her superior, second only to Leia herself in the Resistance chain of command. He probably looked at her like a child, or at least some inexperienced boor who would never be a proper part of society.

She closed her eyes and shook her head slightly. She wasn’t being fair. Poe had been nothing but good to her since the day she met him. He had been one of the few people in those early days that really seemed to ‘see’ her, to always try to include her in whatever meeting or event was going on at the time. He had always been fair and supportive of her, if a bit too protective, and even when they bickered, he seemed to enjoy it, never truly getting angry at her. She loved being near him, as his presence was always comforting to her, and he was one of the few people she trusted to have her back. But she was also very aware of how open and affectionate he was to others, especially certain others. Karè once called him a ‘horrible flirt,’ and Rey often wondered how many nights he actually spent alone in his quarters. Even now, that thought made her chest feel tight. She opened her eyes and looked over at him. His eyes were closed, but she knew he wasn’t sleeping. His arms were folded across his chest as he lay on his side facing the fire, and his body was tense. The firelight played with the contours of his face, making his already long eyelashes look even longer. She sighed. Of all the new people in her life, this found family that had taken her in and given her a home, why did she have to be attracted to the one who would never feel the same?

Rey closed her eyes again and steered her mind away from thoughts about her companion, focusing on the sounds of the crackling of the flames and the soft rain that was still falling outside the cave. When she next opened her eyes, the grey light of dawn was already lighting up their shelter. She lifted her head to look past the now dead fire to see Poe, now on his back, mouth slightly open in sleep. She smiled, propping her head on her hand, but then her thoughts from the night before came roaring back. Why did he have to be so kriffing beautiful?

Slowly she sat up, and her movement caused Poe to stir. She stretched and began twisting her body around at the waist; sleeping on the hard ground of the cave was uncomfortable to say the least, but it wasn’t an unusual experience for her. She glanced over at Poe and was unsurprised to see him watching her, his eyes still half closed, a small smile on his face. When he realized she was looking back at him, he turned his head away and slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, groaning.

“I’m getting too damn old for this,” he mumbled.

Rey snorted a laugh. “You are not that old, Dameron,” she said as she got up on her knees, reaching for her wraps. “I dare you to say something like that around Leia.”

He huffed at her and moved to stand while Rey put her now dry wraps back on. He watched her for a moment, then wandered out of the cave, disappearing around the corner where she knew the brush was thick. She grabbed his pack and began pulling out some rations. Glancing at the remains of the fire, she determined it would be okay to eat a cold breakfast so they could get going as soon as possible; she was pretty sure Poe would agree. As soon as he walked back into the cave, she stood and made her own way out to use the ‘facilities.’ When she was done, Poe was, as she expected, eating his food cold. She sat opposite him and finished her meal, then drank up the last of the water in the canteen he had given her yesterday. She glanced at him, and he nodded. They stood, gathering up their packs, and headed for the small creek just across the meadow from the cave entrance. Still without speaking, they filled the water containers. As usual, Rey felt at ease with Poe, and she was grateful that any tension from the night before seemed to have disappeared. Finally, with the canteens full, she looked at him.

“Where’d you park the bike?” she asked.

He nodded past her, and she turned in the direction he indicated. “Can I drive it this time?” she asked. Now that she knew how it felt to ride it, she was confident she could control it without any issues.

Poe was silent behind her for a moment. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he finally said, and Rey couldn’t help but stop and turn to face him in surprise.

“Why not?” she demanded.

His expression was rigid as he pulled out his multitool. He shrugged. “I just don’t think…” he stopped, his face becoming even more serious.

Rey felt her heart lurch. “You really don’t trust me, do you?” she said softly. Had everything she thought about this man been a lie? All his praise, all his encouragement? Was it all an act just to stay on her good side? Or had what happened last night changed his opinion of her?

He shook his head, his eyes widening somewhat. “No!” he argued. “That’s not why…” He sighed and brought up a hand to rub his forehead. “Rey, I just…”

Before he could finish, Rey felt a tingling along the back of her neck. She looked sharply off to her right, knowing that the cause was coming from that direction. Poe immediately tensed up.

“What is it?”

Rey licked her suddenly dry lips. “Someone’s coming,” she whispered. She tried to focus on whatever was in that direction, but it was still so difficult to direct her senses in that way. She wanted to be sure that whatever she felt was bad, although she had to admit she had yet to have ‘feelings’ like this about anything good.

The whine of an ion engine suddenly filled the air. Rey and Poe both looked up and back toward the area they had just left in time to catch a glimpse of the TIE fighter skimming the treetops. Well, that answered that! Rey turned and ran in the direction Poe had indicated the speeder bike was hidden, glancing back briefly to make sure he was following. A slight shimmer of sun on metal caught her eye and she raced for it, quickly grabbing the handlebars and pulling the speeder out from the brush it had been tucked behind. She jumped on, starting the engine without any prep. She felt Poe jump on behind her, and as she revved the motor, she looked back at him over her shoulder, giving him a quick grin.

“Looks like I’m driving after all!”

Poe didn’t even argue. “Just go!” he shouted.

Without any more hesitation, she gunned the engine, turning the bike away from both the TIE and the feeling of pursuit. Her sharp move caused Poe to mutter an oath and grab hold of her, his arms tightening around her middle. She couldn’t help but smile, knowing exactly what it felt like to not be in control of this thing. Then she concentrated on ducking around the trees and brush in her path. They were going much faster than they had the day before, but Rey knew they had to; she just prayed she was indeed good enough to ensure they didn’t end up a dark spot on the jungle floor.

As they continued to speed through the bush, she felt Poe shift behind her and one glance told her he was looking at the multitool that was still open in his hand. He then pointed off to their right about twenty degrees. “That way to Galadnt,” he said in her ear.

She nodded and leaned in the direction he indicated, but almost immediately after she straightened the bike, she heard the whine of more engines behind them. One quick look told her they now had two First Order Scout Troopers on their tail, their speeder bikes much newer and sleeker than the old machine Rey and Poe were on. But were their riders as good as Rey? Only one way to find out.

As Rey accelerated even more, she noted that Poe had tucked away his multitool and had exchanged it for his blaster. He began firing at their pursuers, and Rey tried her best to keep the bike level so as to not mess up his aim. Sure enough, he hit one of the troopers, knocking the man off of the speeder, which promptly exploded as it hit a large tree. Rey whooped, but her elation was short-lived as the bike jerked underneath her and she realized the other trooper’s aim was as good as Poe’s. Another jerk, and the blast took out the repulsor element on the bike.

“Hang on!” she shouted, then she spun the bike into a sharp turn to the left, bringing her foot down to help stabilize it as the repulsor died. Her action slowed the bike enough that when it hit the ground and she and Poe were thrown from the speeder, it was at a non-lethal speed. She rolled with the fall, then jumped up immediately. She realized Poe had fallen several meters behind her, but he was also rising from the ground, staring at the scout as she swung her own bike around back toward them. She gunned the engine and headed directly for Poe, who, Rey realized, did not have his weapon. He must have dropped it in the fall!

The trooper was aiming directly for Poe, her obvious intent to run him down. He couldn’t outrun it, and even if he dropped flat to the ground, she would be able to ram the bike into him. He stood facing the oncoming trooper, his chin high, his expression unafraid.

“No!” Rey shouted, bringing her hand up and making a shoving motion toward the speeder bike. She heard a roar in her ears and felt a tingling throughout her body as the Force obeyed her command. The speeder was suddenly thrust off to the side, spinning out of control. The trooper cried out in astonishment, but her cry was suddenly silenced as the bike crashed into the jungle floor.

Breathing hard, Rey lowered her hand, looking at Poe, who was looking back at her, his expression awestruck.

“Kriff, Rey,” he muttered. “I’m glad you’re on my side.”

******

Poe took several deep breaths trying to slow his racing heart as he made his way toward Rey, who looked a bit shell-shocked. He had been absolutely certain he was about to die a moment ago. He could feel his body still tremoring as he stopped in front of her.

She blinked at him, then shook her head. “Are you okay?” she asked, her voice breathy.

He nodded. “Thank you,” he told her softly.

She shrugged, looking embarrassed, then glanced around. “Where’s your blaster?”

Taking a deep breath, Poe turned back to the area he had landed upon being thrown from the bike, his eyes scanning the forest floor. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Rey move toward their downed speeder. He caught sight of his weapon and he moved toward it, scooping it off the ground and putting it back into his holster. He looked over at the crashed trooper, knowing neither that speeder nor the other one were salvageable. He turned back to Rey, who was kneeling next to their bike.

“Don’t suppose it’s an easy fix, huh?” he asked when he was close enough.

Rey shook her head. “Nope.” She looked up at him. “The repulsor element is toast.”

Sighing, Poe pulled out his multitool and checked their coordinates.

“How far have we come?” Rey asked as she stood, brushing dirt off of her leggings.

This time, Poe shook his head. “Not even halfway.”

Rey grimaced, then resituated her sling bag. “Well, we’re not getting any closer standing here.” She tilted her head at him and he motioned in the direction of Galadnt… almost 65 kilometers away.

Rey nodded and started marching in the direction he indicated, and Poe followed, trying not to let himself become despondent. There was no way they could get to Galadnt within a reasonable amount of time by walking! He wouldn’t be surprised if General Organa and the Resistance had already listed them as MIA; they didn’t have the means to coordinate a rescue mission at this time. And with the First Order on their tail, he and Rey were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

He thought back to their escape on the bike, wondering if there was anything they could have done differently. He knew there wasn’t. Cripes! They were lucky to be alive!

He moved up to walk next to Rey. “That was quick thinking with that maneuver to slow the bike before we crashed,” he told Rey, remembering how her tight turn had slowed them.

“Thanks,” she responded without looking at him. Then she gave him a glance. “I thought I did pretty good with the bike before the crash, too.”

“Of course, you did,” Poe answered automatically. “You’re a natural.”

Rey huffed. “Then why wouldn’t you let me drive it?” she asked, her expression exasperated.

Damn, he thought. He tripped and fell into that trap. “I… it’s not that I didn’t think you could pilot it okay,” he started. “I just…”

Rey watched him for a while, then her lips tightened and she looked away. “You just don’t like being close to me, like that, do you?” she asked. “I’m not your type.”

Wait! What? “My type?” he asked, looking at her in surprise.

Rey glanced at him, her expression morose. “You like men, don’t you?”

Poe furrowed his brow. “Yeah,” he answered slowly. “I do.”

Rey’s expression became even more dour as she nodded, looking down at the ground in front of her.

“But I also like women,” he expounded.

She looked back at him, her eyes wide. “Human women?” she asked. “I never see you with human women, other than Jess and Karè, and Karè only has eyes for Snap and Jess isn’t into men.”

Poe reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. “My ‘type,’ as you call it, varies.”

Rey nodded. “But not towards me.”

How did Poe answer that without giving himself away?

“It’s okay!” Rey told him, but he could tell it wasn’t. “I’m grown up enough to accept that you don’t feel the same way about me as I do about you-“

“Wait a minute!” Poe looked at her, his eyes wide. “What?”

Rey glanced at him nervously, but kept walking. “I like you. A lot. But it’s okay that you don’t like me that way. I’ll get over it.” She bit her lip, not looking at him.

Poe stared at her for a while. She liked him. A lot. Fuck.

He rubbed his forehead as they continued walking. “Okay, I’m going to be honest with you, Rey, and I’m taking a risk that you’ll be mad at me or scared of me after what I tell you.”

Frowning, Rey looked at him.

“These past few days, weeks actually, every time I’m near you, I get… aroused.”

Rey’s frown deepened. “Aroused?”

Poe cleared his throat and nodded. “As in… sexually… aroused.”

Rey’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened, but she didn’t look angry or scared. She slowed her pace, but didn’t stop.

“It was difficult with you riding behind me on the bike and I knew that if I was behind you there would be no way to hide from you how I was feeling. I didn’t want to scare you.”

Rey looked perplexed now. “Why would that scare me?” she asked, and for a moment Poe felt panic creep in; was she really that innocent? But she continued. “I know you would never hurt me. That you would never do anything to anyone without their consent.”

She shrugged. “And as for making me mad… I guess the idea of someone like you wanting someone like me isn’t… well, it isn’t a bad thing.” She grimaced. “I spent my whole life avoiding…” she waved her hand in the air. “That,” she finished. “You’re the first person I’ve met that makes me want… that.”

“Really?” Poe asked softly.

Rey nodded, and her cheeks reddened ever so slightly.

Poe felt warmth blossom inside him. He didn’t think he’d been anyone’s ‘first.’ Of course, he still wouldn’t be. “Well, I’m… flattered, I guess?” He paused as she glanced shyly at him. “But it’s never going to happen.” Damn. Did he just feel a sharp jab in his chest at those words?

She stared at him for a moment. “It’s not?” she asked quietly.

Poe shook his head. “No.” His voice was firm. Uncompromising. But Rey’s next question totally threw him for a loop.

“Why?”

He looked at her, feeling his eyes widen. Her expression was earnest and curious.

“Uhm… lots of reasons,” he told her, stepping over a rock in his path. He focused on the ground, telling himself it was so he didn’t trip, not because he couldn’t look into those jewel-like eyes anymore. “I’m too old for you, for one.”

She scoffed. “What is it with you and age?” she demanded. “You are not old!”

“I am compared to you,” he argued back. “I’m too old and I’m too broken.” Yeesh. He hadn’t meant to say that last part.

“Broken?” Rey pushed. “Did you forget where I came from? What I’ve been through?” She was starting to sound angry, now. “Everyone’s broken to some extent, Poe. It doesn’t mean you can’t be happy.” She was silent for a moment, and he searched for a response, but before he could come up with anything, she said softly, “He was in my head, too, you know?”

Poe stopped suddenly, pain and anger battling each other in his mind. He did know, and he remembered trying to lighten the conversation when she had told him by joking about it. ‘Torture buddies,’ he had nicknamed them.

As Rey stopped walking and turned to look at him, anger won. “Yeah, but you were able to push him out,” he said. “You’re able to keep him out. All I remember beyond the pain was guilt that I wasn’t strong enough to keep my secrets from him. That I would never be strong enough.”

Her defensive glare turned empathetic. “Poe,” she whispered.

“And you didn’t go on to watch people you love die while under your command, doing something you told them to do, all for nothing –“

“It wasn’t for nothing!” Rey interrupted. “Leia told me that if you hadn’t destroyed that dreadnaught, you would all be dead!”

Poe continued as if she hadn’t said anything. “Then continue on to do something stupid all because you thought you knew better than everyone else!” He took a deep breath. “You don’t have to see the disappointment in the eyes of one of the few people whose opinion matters to you,” he finished, his voice soft and rough.

“You don’t disappoint her, Poe,” Rey told him. “I see pride in her eyes when she looks at you. Every day.”

Why was he not surprised that she knew exactly who he had been talking about? Poe swallowed and looked away. “Yeah, well that would change fast if I brought you to my bed.”

Rey’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

He looked back at her. “Rey, you’re a Jedi-“

“I’m not!”

“You are a Jedi,” he emphasized. “You are the best of us. Your light shines so bright it’s almost blinding.” He sighed. “I’d only dim that light. I know it. And so does Leia.”

He stepped back, his eyes roaming her beautiful face. She was looking at him with a combination of sadness and surprise, but she said nothing.

“It’s never going to happen,” he told her again, then turned to continue the hike to Galadnt.

He heard her follow behind him, blessedly silent. But not for long.

“You just keep telling yourself that, Dameron,” she told him, her voice firm.

He was in so much kriffing trouble.

******

Rey continued on a couple of paces behind Poe, watching him carefully. She had felt overwhelming sorrow at his words earlier, and not because he was telling her that sex between them would never happen, although that did sadden her. It was because she had just realized, and was kicking herself for not realizing sooner, that this man was indeed broken, and he shouldn’t be. From day one, Rey had known that Poe Dameron was the ‘papa’ of the Resistance. He was a fair but tough leader, a bit reckless, but becoming better every day at choosing his battles carefully. He was the one who brought all the others together, both emotionally and physically, always instigating games or other social events to help keep up morale, and making sure people received counseling with himself, Leia, or Kalonia should they need it. He took care of everybody in the Resistance.

But who took care of him?

Her heart ached for him. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that Leia was his biggest support, but she also knew (because the older woman had told her) that Poe never came to his commander with personal issues, despite Leia’s constant and gentle reminders that she was there if he needed to talk. He needed someone he could be open with, someone he trusted. Could Rey be that someone?

Rey’s thoughts drifted along as they continued their hike, and she found her eyes roaming his form as he walked in front of her. He wasn’t a large man, his body compact and strong, but his movements were graceful and sure, and he seemed very comfortable in this jungle environment. His energy level always amazed her, and she did remember commenting on it once, only to have him laugh and tell her it was because he lived off of caf. It was rare that she ever saw him still, some part of his body always moving, even when he was sitting in a meeting or in the pilot’s chair. He was the human embodiment of kinetic energy.

Her eyes focused on one part of his anatomy, watching in fascination as she realized she could see the muscles moving underneath his stolen trousers. While the pants were loose around the waist, they weren’t as loose lower down, and his ass was still as eye-catching as always. Licking her lips, she wondered how it would feel under her fingertips. Was it muscled and hard as it appeared, or was there some softness to it, like her own? Feeling her breath get faster and her skin warmer, she lifted her eyes to the back of his head, noting how his hair was once more curling in the humid atmosphere, sweat dampening it.

There was no way around it. He had admitted he wanted her, and she ached for him. She wasn’t going to back down. It was time to come up with a plan for seducing Poe Dameron.

But how? She had no experience in seduction. She didn’t even know how to kiss! Besides, he seemed utterly focused on making sure he didn’t touch her.

She could tell him she was scared of their situation, she thought. She could make herself vulnerable and weak, hoping his natural instinct to protect allowed her to get physically close to him. She could continue to play up that insecurity, begging him to take care of her. To comfort her. To touch her.

No! She couldn’t do that to him. She wasn’t going to lie and manipulate him into having sex with her. She could never forgive herself if she did something so… dark. She rolled her eyes at herself. Poe was right: she was blindingly bright sometimes.

She remembered back to his words, about how he still felt tortured by Kylo Ren’s invasion of his mind, and knew she would have to tell him the truth. And that truth was that she was scared, just not of their current circumstances. How many times had she woken in the night, opening her eyes to see his shape standing over her bed, helmet gone and obsidian eyes watching her keenly. She could feel the Force energy coming off him as if it was electricity, and she knew he wanted her. And while she knew she would fight him if he tried to take her, she feared that the power, the connection between them, would take over and she would give up the fight. As much as she wanted to deny he could ever make her want him, she understood that seduction through the Force was real; he had nearly succeeded in the past, after all.

Watching the man in front of her, so very different from the man of her nightmares, she wanted him that much more. He may think he was broken, that he would ‘dim her light,’ but she felt he would do the opposite. Making love to Poe Dameron would only strengthen the light inside of her, she was sure of it. It would reinforce the shields she already had in place, keeping Kylo Ren out of her mind. It would initiate her body into an act she had always been repelled by, allowing her to recognize the good in it, so as to be able to resist the bad easier.

And it would express to Poe how much she loved him.

That last thought made her stop short, stunned. Did she love him? Could she?

He stopped and turned to look at her, letting her know that despite the fact he was several feet in front of her, he was always aware of where she was and what she was doing. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his brow furrowed.

She took a deep breath and shook her head. “Nothing,” she said softly, her eyes roaming his face. His stubble was getting thick and his hair was mussed. He had never looked more beautiful to her. His eyes, which were the same color as Ben Solo’s, were warm and caring, and while she had seen them flash with anger from time to time, she knew they would never reach the kind of darkness she had seen in Ben’s.

The sound of an ion engine caught their attention, and they both ducked down, heading for the thickest brush they could find close to them. Watching the sky, they saw two TIEs flying low over the tree tops.

“How much you want to bet there are more scouts nearby, too?” Poe asked quietly.

In response, Rey sidled up closer to him, so that her arm brushed his. Bare skin to bare skin. She shuddered at the touch, and she heard him emit a sharp breath of surprise. But he didn’t move away. Rey kept looking up and around her, pretending to be oblivious to the subtle touch. If she was going to seduce him, she better start now.

After a few moments with no sign of more ships or scouts, either on foot or on speeder bikes, Poe stood. Rey followed him, staying close, watching him carefully. He focused on her, his expression wary, then he nodded back toward the direction they had been going before being interrupted.

“Let’s go,” he said softly. “Keep your eyes and ears open.”

She nodded and licked her lips, taking the lower one into her mouth and catching it with her top teeth. She saw his eyes lower to watch the action, then they rose to meet hers again, their chocolate depths flashing with intensity. He cleared his throat and looked away, pushing past her to continue the hike.

Rey couldn’t help but smile a bit. Maybe this wouldn’t be too hard after all. She just needed to get him to a safe place where they could be comfortable.

They proceeded to make their way through the jungle as quickly as they could without exhausting themselves, stopping only once when the sun was at its highest to eat some rations. Twice more they had to duck and hide from TIEs overhead, but they never heard or saw any scouts on the ground. The sun was low in the west and Rey was about ready to ask Poe if they should start looking for a place to camp for the night when they heard screaming. Human screaming.

They both began running toward the sound almost instinctively. They stumbled onto a narrow dirt road, and off to their left sat a small hutch. Poe grabbed Rey’s shoulder and tugged her back into the underbrush along the side of the road. Putting a finger up to his lips, he began to creep along the edge of the road toward the little cabin, staying low and quiet. Rey followed suit. Soon, they reached the edge of the clearing that made up the front yard of the residence.

A speeder was parked in front of the house, and two men, a human and a Tognath, were dragging a human girl of about twelve years of age out of the house. A woman, the girl’s mother Rey assumed, was running after them, screaming. Two younger children were cowering in the door behind her.

“Schism,” Poe muttered, and Rey agreed. It appeared they had arrived just as a couple members of the Schism were kidnapping a child. If the children who had helped them in the village were right, this girl was probably being taken to a brothel.

“We have to stop them,” Rey said, her voice tight. She moved forward, but Poe grabbed her elbow firmly.

“Wait for our moment,” he told her.

“What moment?” Rey asked, glaring at him.

He didn’t look at her, but continued watching the men. “Just wait for it…”

With a frown, Rey turned back to watch as the men tossed the girl, who had her hands tied behind her back, into the speeder. The Tognath shoved the woman onto the ground while the human jumped into the pilot’s seat. He grabbed the handset to a comm and proceeded to speak into it. Rey couldn’t hear everything being said, but it was obvious he was checking in, letting whoever he answered to know that they were on their way with the ‘merchandise.’

As soon as the man ended the transmission, Poe nodded. “Now,” he said sharply, then stood and started running toward the speeder.

Caught a bit off guard, Rey shot up and followed him. When she saw Poe head for the Tognath, she turned her attention to the human. The man turned to her, wide-eyed, then tried to start the speeder as if to get away, but Rey hopped into the passenger seat next to him and pointed her blaster toward him. Smiling, she told him pleasantly, “You’re not going anywhere with this child.” The man paused for a moment, then lunged away from her and tried to jump out of the speeder. Seeing his companion getting punched by Poe caused him to hesitate, and Rey grabbed the back of his collar, pulling him back into the speeder. When he continued to struggle, Rey took the butt of her blaster and wacked him over the back of the head. He collapsed in the seat.

Rey holstered the blaster, then slid into the back seat where the little girl sat looking back and forth between her and the fight still going on next to the speeder. Rey quickly untied the child’s hands, then watched as Poe, his lip bleeding slightly, grabbed a branch off the ground and swung it at the Tognath. The man went down hard.

Breathing heavily, Poe dropped the branch and leaned forward with his hands braced on his knees.

“Took you long enough,” Rey smirked at him.

Giving her a glare, Poe stood straight and turned toward the woman, who had risen during the fight and was standing watching them with the other two children clinging to her. Rey helped the older child out of the speeder and she ran toward her mother and siblings. “Are you okay?” Poe asked the woman. She nodded, looking at the unconscious men nervously.

Rey also jumped out of the speeder and stopped next to the downed Tognath. She looked at Poe. “What do we do with them?” she asked.

Poe sighed. “Dump them in the jungle with no way to contact help, I guess,” he said. “Since they checked in, nobody will be looking for them for a while. If we’re lucky, the First Order will find them first.”

“Thank you,” the woman said, holding her daughter close. “We thought we were safe out here, away from town.” She grimaced. “I guess we’re not safe anywhere.”

“I’m so sorry,” Rey told her. “We’re heading to Galadnt. Maybe we can find help there.”

The woman shook her head. “They don’t care about us there.”

“We’ll make them care,” Poe interjected. He looked at the men. “In the meantime, Schism should forget about you for a while.” He nodded to Rey, and together they hefted the Tognath into the back seat of the speeder. “Well, at least we got some transportation!” Poe grinned at her.

Rey couldn’t help but grin back.

******

Poe raced the speeder along the narrow road, heading away from Galadnt. He glanced back at the unconscious men in the back seat, then looked over at Rey. She hadn’t asked to drive the speeder as she had the bike, and he knew why. Speeders weren’t nearly as exciting or challenging as the bikes were. Of course, he also assumed she was letting him take the lead on this unforeseen venture.

He smiled slightly to himself as he recalled the incident back at the cabin, pleased with how well he and Rey had worked together. Not only had there been no question of killing the men outright, surprising them in an ambush and giving them no way to defend themselves, but she had easily accepted that she would take out the man in the speeder and then free the girl, who would probably be far less nervous with her than with him. And now she was trusting his decision to dump the criminals in the middle of the jungle.

As dusk neared, he slowed and drove the speeder into the brush as far as he could. As night fell, the men would wake with no idea where they were, no food or water, and no communication devices. A part of him felt a twinge of discomfort at the idea that they might not be able to find their way out or might run into trouble while they tried, but then he remembered where they were going to take that little girl, and had probably taken many other innocents in the last several months. Any guilt faded away quickly.

When he knew he could take the speeder no deeper into the jungle without getting stuck, he stopped it. He looked at Rey and she nodded back. They jumped out and worked together to carry the unconscious men out of the speeder, deciding at the last minute to leave their weapons. The Tognath was starting to rouse, so they worked quickly, jumping back in the speeder and leaving as fast as they could. Rey had already dismantled the comm system, as well as the locater beacon, so that if the rest of the Schism started looking for their missing men, they wouldn’t find Rey and Poe instead. It was almost completely dark by the time Poe found the road again. He took a chance using the speeder’s lights as he headed back in the direction of Galadnt, knowing a First Order patrol could spot them easier, but also wanting to make up as much ground as they could.

After an hour or so, he pulled off the road, which was still not much more than a narrow track through the forest, and headed toward a group of rocks several meters away, hoping they would find shelter for the night. Rey had remained silent since they left the men, but he could tell her mind was as active as ever. Once stopped, he turned off the engine and doused the lights, scanning the skies. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he looked over at Rey, who was watching him, her expression almost wistful.

“Let’s see if we can find a cave like last night,” he told her quietly, grabbing his pack and pulling out his glowrod as he jumped out of the speeder. Rey did the same. Together they moved toward the rocky outcropping, passing one of the many orange-colored streams as they did so. Shining their lights toward the rocks, Poe was dismayed to see only a small overhang about one meter off the ground. It was about two meters in length, but was not very deep. It could probably shelter one of them if needed, but it would not be comfortable for both of them together.

Or maybe it would be too comfortable.

Poe cleared his throat, and moved away from the rocks and toward the stream. “Let’s hope it doesn’t rain,” he mumbled.

He looked over to see Rey looking up at the sky contemplatively. He looked up once more, very aware that there were no stars visible. He should have kept his mouth shut.

They gathered wood and settled near the creek. Poe started the fire while Rey collected more water, and soon they were eating. Poe could feel Rey’s gaze on him, but every time he glanced at her she would look away. She looked nervous, as if she wanted to ask him something, but was scared to. After their discussion this morning on their hike, he was afraid of what her question might be.

They had finished eating and were both staring at the dying fire when the first rain drops started falling. There was no lightning and thunder to warn them this time. Grabbing up their packs, they headed for the rocks and the shallow cavity.

“Get in,” Poe told her, motioning toward the grotto.

“You get in first,” Rey said. “I’ll squeeze in behind you.”

“Rey,” he argued as the rain became harder. It was colder than last night’s storm. “I don’t think we can both fit.”

“We can!” she told him. “Hurry! Get it!”

With a sigh, Poe knelt down and slid into the tiny cavern. He lay on his side facing the front, and pushed himself backwards until his back was against the rock wall behind him, his pack under he head. Rey immediately ducked down and slid in after him, turning her back toward him and laying down, pressing her body against his. He instinctively grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in tighter, ensuring she was completely out of the rain.

“Are you good?” he asked. “You’re not getting wet?”

She paused for a moment. “Not from the rain, no.”

He was about to ask what she meant, but stopped himself just in time. She couldn’t mean..?

He cleared his throat and pressed himself even further back against the stone behind him, but she only followed, keeping her back pressed up tight against his front. He could already feel his body reacting, not only to the physical contact, but to the implication of her words.

He lay silent for a long moment, watching the rain, trying to calm his disobedient body. Damn if she didn’t fit him just perfect, he couldn’t help but think. He felt sleep start to pull at him when Rey suddenly wriggled her lower body. The feel of her butt rubbing against his groin brought him back to life in every respect; his erection became alarmingly hard once more.

He cleared his throat. “Rey,” he warned, his voice not much more than a growl.

“I was lying on a rock,” she said. “I had to move.”

He wanted to believe her, and when she shifted again, this time reaching underneath her to brush at the ground beneath her hip, he decided she had to be telling the truth. She probably had no clue what her movements were doing to him. But then she settled, giving one last wiggle of her hips backwards into his. Okay, she couldn’t not feel his cock, he thought.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?” she asked suddenly, turning her head to look over her shoulder at him.

“Yes, actually,” he told her honestly. “You are.”

“Hmmmm,” she purred. Then she looked ahead again with a soft smile.

“You want me uncomfortable, don’t you?” he pushed.

She gave a quick shrug with her shoulder. “I’m uncomfortable, too,” she told him. “I honestly don’t think I can sleep in this condition.”

Taking a deep breath, knowing he was digging his own grave, he asked, “What condition is that?”

“Turned on,” she said, then looked back at him again. “Is that what you call it?”

Poe lifted his head so his eyes were even with hers. “Rey,” he said firmly. “Go to sleep.”

“You’re not going to help me?” she asked, her eyes huge in the darkness. She grimaced, then looked ahead once more. “I’ve been told there’s a way to do it myself,” she said. “I’ve never…”

“You are not doing it yourself!” Poe gave a heavy sigh. “Not with me right here.”

“Then help me.”

Her voice was soft, pleading. Her breathing had quickened and her body was tense.

Poe closed his eyes and swallowed harshly, then opening his eyes, he leaned his head toward her, bringing his mouth against the back of her ear, touching the rim with his lips ever so slightly. As he felt her shiver in response, he ran his hand, which he still had around her waist, along her belly and down to her groin. Immediately, she straightened her top leg out, giving him access to the juncture of her thighs. He felt warmth, which didn’t surprise him, but he also felt dampness through her leggings. He groaned internally, knowing it wasn’t the rain that was causing it. She rocked her hips forward into his hand, her breathing becoming harder, just as his was.

“Rey,” he moaned softly in her ear. He needed to stop.

“Please,” she whispered back, rocking her pelvis once more. “Please. Show me. I need to know…”

“Kriff,” he swore harshly. He slid he hand up until his fingers found the edge of her tunic. He slipped his hand under the material and dipped the tips of his fingers down under the waistband of her stolen leggings. “May I?” he asked softly, his lips once more toying with the shell of her ear.

“Please,” she moaned again.

Taking a deep breath, he caught her ear between his lips at the same time as he slid his hand into her pants. She gasped as he touched his tongue to her sensitive lobe and then he smiled as his fingertips encountered soft curls. He burrowed his nose into the hair on the back of her head as his fingers continued on, delving into the silky hair between her thighs, finding the moisture he already knew was there. She was so wet!

“Poe,” she moaned as his fingers traced her slit.

“What were you thinking about before we climbed in here, Rey?” he mumbled. “What exactly got you this turned on?”

“You,” she whispered. “I was thinking about you touching me, just like this.”

“Fuck,” he breathed.

As she continued rocking into his hand, he rubbed along the edge of her folds, finding the nub of hardened flesh at the top with his middle finger. He began to massage the area in a circular motion, keeping his middle finger on her clit. Rey began to whimper, her whole body tensing under his ministrations.

“That’s it,” he began to whisper in her ear. “I want to hear you, Rey. Let me know how I’m making you feel.”

She moaned and grabbed his arm with her hand, but she didn’t try and push him away. If anything, she was holding him there. “More,” she gasped.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

He stopped stimulating her clit and moved his fingers a bit further along her folds. “So wet,” he murmured, still amazed at her arousal.

“I’m sorry,” she panted.

He chuckled. “No need to be sorry,” he told her, licking the edge of her ear. “It lets me know you want me. That you’re ready for me.” As he spoke, he gently inserted his middle finger into her vagina.

“Oooohhh!” Rey moaned, and another wave of wet flowed over Poe’s finger.

He couldn’t help but groan in reply, then he started pumping with his hand, bringing his finger in and out of her, his own breathing quickening as he bent his index finger up to continue teasing her clit. His motion was limited due to the tight fit of her leggings, but he could tell it was more than enough for her.

Her moans became cries. “Poe! Ungh! Oooh, Poe!”

“That’s it, Sunshine,” he encouraged. “Just like that.”

Her body tightened even more and he could ‘feel’ her panic. He didn’t even question how that was possible; all he knew was that was not the emotion he wanted to feel from her.

“I’ve got you, Rey!” he told her, his hand moving faster, helping her climb higher. “It’s okay. Let go! I’ve got you, Sunshine! Let go!”

With a sharp cry, she fell over the edge, her whole body tremoring. Out of the corner of his eye, Poe saw movement along the edge of the cave. He glanced over to see dozens of small rocks hovering over the ground. His eyes drifted back to the woman causing the phenomenon, and he smiled as he realized she was completely unaware of her actions. He slowed his hand, watching in wonder as she also quieted. As her body relaxed, the rocks fell back to the ground with a soft clatter.

Poe watched as her face became lax. “Good girl,” he whispered, and she licked her lips and smiled slightly in response. Her breathing slowed and became more regular. Carefully, he pulled his hand out from her leggings, resting it on top of her belly.

Her eyes suddenly opened and she turned her head toward him. “Poe?” she asked. “What about..?”

“Don’t worry about me,” he interrupted. “Go to sleep, now.”

“But..?”

He kissed her on her temple. “Go to sleep.”

She turned her head and laid it back down. “You won’t leave?” she whispered.

“I won’t leave,” he confirmed, his heart clenching. “I’m right here.”

Slowly, her breathing evened out and she slept.

With a shuddering breath of his own, Poe lifted his hand from her belly and brought it to his nose, breathing in the scent of sex. Of Rey. His erection, which hadn’t decreased at all, only stiffened more. He was such a masochist.

He dropped his hand and fisted it, settling his arm around Rey’s waist once more. Why was he torturing himself, he wondered? He shouldn’t have let this happen. However, he couldn’t help but think back to the young girl they had rescued earlier, of what fate had awaited the child had they not intervened. Somehow, Rey had avoided that nightmare during her youth on Jakku. What if she was captured now? Granted, her mastery of the Force was strong enough now he couldn’t imagine a mere mortal could ever rape her, but what about Ren?

To be the first person to give her this pleasure, the person she trusted enough to do so… he couldn’t help but feel honored. This was a gift he would not take lightly. But it could go no further than this.

As he finally felt sleep take hold once more, he wished he could believe his own lies.

******

Rey’s dreams were full of blissful feelings until suddenly they weren’t. The dark that invaded them roused her from sleep, and she quickly became aware of the hard ground she was lying on. And the human furnace sleeping at her back.

She opened her eyes slowly, dreading what she would see. It was already becoming light out, but the sounds of the jungle that should have been outrageously loud in the pre-dawn were non-existent. The eerie silence was familiar to her, so she wasn’t at all surprised to see Kylo Ren standing only a few feet away, staring at her with fury in his eyes. He was dressed in his typical black, but the shirt he wore was a loose knit, which told her he was alone in his quarters, wherever he was.

She felt movement behind her as her companion stirred. Poe stiffened as he raised himself up on his elbow, and she saw Ren’s eyes leave her to focus on the man behind her. The anger in his eyes intensified, and he growled, “You!”

Rey felt Poe’s arm tighten around her waist.

“I will kill you!” the man in black continued.

“Seems you’ve tried that in the past. Yet, here I am.”

Rey’s heart raced as the two men argued. How was this happening? Ren’s infuriated gaze fell on her again, and she pulled herself together. “Get out of my head!”

In a flash, he was gone.

Gasping, Rey pulled away from Poe and clambered out from the shelter. She stood, stumbling a bit in her haste, then turned to face him. He also crawled out from under the overhang, but didn’t stand. Instead, he pulled up his knees, resting his arms on them, and glared up at her.

“You told Leia you weren’t in contact with him anymore,” he accused. “That Crait was the last time you saw him.”

Rey folded her arms in front of her, suddenly chilled. Poe’s eyes were as cold as she had ever seen them. “He manages to find me sometimes,” she said softly. “Usually when I’m exhausted or stressed. I push him out immediately,” she defended. “He never even has time to say anything. I didn’t tell anybody because I thought I had it under control.” She frowned. “He saw you. How?”

Poe brought up a hand to rub it over his face. “I was touching you,” he said, his tired eyes raising to meet hers again. “Maybe that’s why.” He shrugged. “Or maybe I’m connected to him now, too, after what he did to me.”

“He wants me,” she whispered. “He thinks you’ve had me. He hates you, now.”

Poe scoffed. “He already hated me, Rey.” He gave her a smile with no humor in it. “I took his place as Leia’s son.”

Rey felt a bit shocked by his statement, but she quicky realized how true it was.

Poe finally stood, groaning as he dusted his pants off. He reached back into the tiny cave and pulled out both of their packs. “And it’s no surprise he wants you,” he continued as he stood straight once more. He handed her pack over to her. “The question is, do you want him?”

Rey almost dropped the pack at his query. “Of course not!” she exclaimed. “The only person I’ve ever wanted to touch me like that is you!”

Poe watched her, his dark eyes intense, and she almost felt as if he was reading her mind. She felt her face heat as she recalled what exactly he had done to her last night, and she became aware of the uncomfortable dampness between her legs; she really needed to clean herself up. Of course, if he kept looking at her like that, it wouldn’t really matter, would it? She motioned toward the jungle behind her. “I need to…”

With eyes still focused on her attentively, he nodded.

Taking a deep breath, she turned and headed for the bush and some privacy. When she returned, Poe had restarted the fire. Taking a deep breath, Rey sat opposite him and began eating, but she couldn’t relax as she felt Poe’s tension. He wouldn’t look at her, and she sensed he was still angry. After a long while, she cleared her throat, pleased when the noise caught his attention and he looked at her.

“I’m truly sorry I didn’t tell anyone about still connecting with Ren,” she said softly. “I knew it was safe, that he couldn’t tell where I was. I would have told Leia if there was any danger.” She shifted uncomfortably as he continued to glare at her. “I was afraid that… everyone would look at me different again if they knew.”

Though he didn’t say anything, one dark eyebrow rose questioningly, encouraging her to continue. She licked her lips nervously. “I never really had a choice in joining the Resistance, you know,” she started. “Everyone just assumed, including me, I guess.” She shrugged. “But where else would I go?” She huffed a laugh, then became serious once again. “I trusted Finn and Chewie, and I felt Leia truly cared for me as well, but once things settled after Crait, they were so busy and no one else seemed to be comfortable around me. The more I tried to be a part of things, the more isolated I felt. It was like being on Jakku again, trying not to become attached to anyone, because I knew they would just leave and I would be alone again. It hurt, more than I would ever let on.”

She felt tears well in her eyes as she remembered the terror she felt back then, of finally finding people who she really, truly cared for, and then fearing they would leave her as her family had done. She smiled slightly as she looked up at Poe, whose expression had softened considerably. “But then there was you. Always taking time to find me and drag me to whatever was going on at the time, always encouraging me and supporting me. You never pushed me on your friends, you just included me in whatever you were all doing, and they eventually got used to me being there. Accepted me as a part of the team.” She wiped her eyes. “I never thanked you for that,” she said softly. “You and Finn and Leia and Chewie have become the family I’ve always dreamed of, and the others have become friends that I trust and care about.”

She frowned. “I felt that if you knew Ren was still connected to me through the Force, you would all hate me. That you would leave me.” She stared at the fire. “It hurt enough when I was younger, watching people leave. Realizing they didn’t care about me as much as I cared about them.” She looked up, meeting Poe’s eyes. “It would have destroyed me this time.”

Poe shook his head and took a deep breath, bringing his hands up to scrub them over his face, almost as if he, too, was brushing away tears. “I get it,” he told her. “After the life you’ve lived, I understand how hard it is for you to trust.” He shrugged. “All I can do is make sure you know how loved you are, by all of us. And that we will never willingly leave you.”

She sniffled, knowing he had added the word ‘willingly’ only because they were in the midst of war. Death would be the only way she could lose her family, now. She smiled brightly, deciding it was time to tease him and break the seriousness of this discussion. “All of you, huh? You won’t individualize your feelings for me?”

Poe didn’t smile back. “I think you know how strong my feelings are for you, Rey.”

Rey felt her smile fade. “Do I?”

The unwelcome sound of ion engines prevented any response from Poe as he quickly stood and started kicking dirt over the fire. He grabbed up his pack as Rey rose. “Let’s get out of here. We can make it to Galadnt by nightfall if we don’t lose the speeder.”

“And you know how to find our contact once we get there, right?” Rey asked as they made their way to where they had left the speeder.

He nodded. “We’ll lay low for a day or two, maybe try and find a way to contact the Resistance, let them know we’re still alive, then go to the safe house the local Resistance cell keeps.” He gave her a worried look. “We have to remember that the Schism will probably be after us, too, especially if they find those men we dumped. We don’t need either them or the First Order to follow us to the others.”

Rey nodded, climbing in the passenger side of the speeder as Poe once more took the driver’s seat. She glanced up at the sky; the engine sound had faded letting her know the TIE had headed away from their position, but the fact that they were still out looking was not a good sign.

She looked over at Poe as he started the engine. “What does lay low mean?” she asked. “Do we stay in the jungle outside of the city or find a place to hole up in town?”

“Galadnt’s fairly large,” he told her. “We should be able to find a hostel or some other place to stay hidden.”

“With a bed?” Rey asked, the little devil on her shoulder nudging her into action.

Poe looked at her, his eyes wide.

She just smiled at him, letting him know she wasn’t done with him, yet.

******

Continued in Part Two