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“I wish you were here, Rose,” Commander Poe Dameron sighed at the holo projection of Rose Tico. “I wish I was as well,” Rose replied, worry evident in her eyes. "You and Rey will have to figure this out on your own, at least until you get here.”Poe ran a hand down his face, weary after being in the cockpit for hours. “Guess we’ll have to,” he agreed. “I think that boy’s scared of me, even after I showed him how the insignia on my jacket is similar to the one on the ring you gave him.” He and Rey had gone back to Canto Bight, after Rey found out from Rose about the Force-sensitive boy she and Finn met. Rose wanted to come, but she and Finn were both on the wanted list on that planet, after their adventures there last time. When Rey learned of the appalling living conditions of the boy, she decided that it’ll be a rescue mission, if they can convince the boy to leave with them. Of course, it hadn't been hard to convince Poe. “You know I’d go along with her in practically anything, but kriff, this turned out to be harder than I thought. Put me in an X-Wing with a dozen TIE anytime instead of this.”“Was it really that bad?”Poe snorted. “No, it was worse. At first he wouldn’t talk. Then he tried to do that Force mumbo-jumbo to my head, and kriffing hells, Rey tried to stop him IN MY HEAD! I swear it was like a dogfight in my kriffing head.”Rose’s eyes went wide. “So how did you convince him to go with you?”“I honestly don’t know,” Poe shrugged. “After Rey pushed him out of my head, it was like they were talking in their own world, glancing at each other but not saying a word. Then Rey just started following him, and I automatically just followed her, my brain was just too muddled to think at that point. Kid led us to where he was living, and Rey nearly broke down when she saw how he had been living. It was worse than her living conditions in Jakku.” His tired eyes met hers. “So try to imagine us: me moving sluggish as a hutt after their showdown in my head, then Rey crumbling to the floor because being there triggered a lot of the unpleasant memories. We must’ve made such a sorry sight. Not really what you’d expect your rescuers to be.”“How’s Rey now?”“Better,” Poe replied. He shifted on his chair. “I don’t know if it was her or the boy, but somehow, on our way back, my mind just started getting clearer way faster than I thought it would. I was okay by the time we got here, so I’m here on the cockpit and Rey’s with the boy.”A soft growl from the Wookie in the co-pilot’s chair interrupted their conversation. Apparently they had been talking too long, and Chewie motioned to Poe how the holo-projector’s temperature had risen to red levels. Poe hastily bade Rose goodbye.“May the Force be with you, Commander,” Rose nodded.“Believe me, the Force is strong around me,” Poe muttered, making Rose chuckle. “Back at ‘ya, Tico.” With that he flicked the holo off and moved back to take the captain’s chair. Chewbacca growled at him from his usual seat, demanding that the pilot get some rest.“You sure?” Poe asked. “You haven’t had much rest either.”Chewie growled a response, but Poe’s limited understanding of Kashyyk plus his tired mind made him miss most of the message. When he didn’t budge from his seat, Chewie let out a frustrated growl and got up from his copilot chair. He firmly grabbed Poe, hauled him off the seat and half-dragged him to the captain’s quarters. He went on to growl something about Wookies not needing as much rest as humans, and that he’d be fine as long as BB-8 assists him in flying the Falcon.“All right, all right,” Poe backed down. “I’ll take a nap. I’ll just check on Rey and the boy first.”Chewie growled softly and headed back to the cockpit. Poe let out a yawn as he stepped out of the quarters and made his way to the back of the ship. He nearly tripped over Rey’s outstretched legs as he turned around a corner, not expecting her to be sitting on the floor.“Shhh, Poe,” Rey hissed. “You’ll wake him up!”Poe grunted as he lowered himself on the floor beside her. “You all right?”She nodded and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. They sat in silence for a while, welcoming the peaceful respite. “What are you doing out here?” Poe wondered aloud, breaking the silence. “I promised Temiri I won’t be far,” Rey replied, raising her head from his shoulder. “Temiri Blagg – that’s his name.”“Temiri Blagg,” Poe repeated. He looked around him curiously. They were close to the cargo hold, the crew’s quarters on the opposite end of the ship, and he knew the captain’s quarters were empty. “Where is Temiri Blagg anyway?”Rey motioned to the floor a few meters away from them. It was only then that Poe noticed that the grate of the flooring had been removed. “He’s in there?” his incredulous tone making his query come out a bit louder than he intended.“Not so loud,” Rey admonished. “That’s one of the hidden cargo holds.”“Don’t get me wrong, sweetheart, but while I’m glad we still have the captain’s quarters to ourselves, there are more comfortable places for our guest to stay in this ship.”Rey looked down to her hands, which had taken hold of his. “You saw where he was living, how he was living. He doesn’t care about comfort right now, he’d be more concerned with feeling safe.”“I hate how you understand it so well,” Poe said in a quiet tone, his fingers entwining with hers. “I know,” Rey replied simply, giving his hand a squeeze. “It was much worse for him, though. I was a scavenger, but at least I had my freedom. He was a slave.”“Was,” Poe emphasized. “Not any longer, thanks to you.”“And Rose and Finn,” Rey added. She reached up with her other hand to brush away the stray lock of hair that always fell on his forehead. Her hand lingered on the side of his face, her thumb stroking his cheek lightly. “And you. Sorry about barging into your head.”Poe leaned against her hand. “You know you’re always welcomed inside my head.” He gave her a wink. “You’re always welcome to any part of me.”Rey rolled her eyes, but her hand slid to the back of his head to pull him close. Their lips had barely touched when a whimper came from below, making them jump apart. She let go of his hand and got up to check on the boy. She shot Poe an apologetic look before jumping into the compartment.Poe got up to follow her, but at the last minute, decided against it. Instead, he walked back to the cockpit to tell Chewie where he’d be, in case he’s needed at the cockpit. He made a quick detour to the captain’s quarters to grab a pillow before heading back to where he and Rey had been sitting. She was just hauling herself up from the compartment when he got back, so Poe went over to help her out. He sneaked a quick glance inside as he straightened up, and saw Temiri peacefully sleeping, holding a very familiar object to his chest.“You gave him your doll,” Poe observed, glancing at Rey. She nodded and walked to their previous spot, eyeing the pillow he brought. She watched as he propped the pillow against the wall and sat down with his back against half of it, inviting her to use the other half.She shook his head and motioned for him to lean forward, then adjusted the pillow so that he could be more comfortable. “You’ll be my pillow,” she said softly, dropping down to settle beside him. She snuggled closer and laid her head on his chest, her arm going around his middle. “And I brought the doll because I was going to give it him. Figured he might need something like that, and he did.” She let out a contented sigh as his arm went around her, pulling her close. She raised her head to look at him, her eyes closing as he planted a soft unhurried kiss on her lips. “I don’t need the pilot doll anymore. I have the real one now.”
