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Jessika is only a little bit shorter than Rey but it’s harder to tell when she’s wearing her thick pilot boots; it’s a fact Jessika only knows because she spun too quickly as Rey taped her on the shoulder they nearly ended up hitting noses.
“I’m sorry,” She took a step back, running a hand through her hair and wincing. It was still streaked with sweat from her being jammed in the cockpit of her X-Wing for nearly five hours from doing her watch of a First Order base.
Her orange flight suit was still on, bulky and slightly uncomfortable as opposed to the lightly layered outfit Rey was wearing, her Jedi robe rested on a nearby crate since the temperature had dropped in the afternoon and left the hanger bay feeling humid.
“Welcome back.” Rey smiled at her, hazel eyes crinkling at the edges and she just looked so delighted to see Jessika it made her forget all the rest of her worries.
“I should be saying that to you,” Jessika returned the smile with ease, “It’s been what, a month?” Like she hadn’t been counting the days.
Rey nodded and Jessika took the time to look her over more closely. The last time she had seen Rey was the Jedi had gone back to Ahch-To for training, she’d barely even been back for a day at the time but made sure to find Jessika to say her goodbyes.
They had stood much like this, only a few feet apart and Rey had reached out with the Force to push a strand of Jessika’s hair back, both of them laughing at the delicate movement until they were so close together Jessika could count the freckles that dotted Rey’s neck and trailed over her shoulders.
She’d just wished she’d gotten the chance to, wrapping her arms around Rey in a quick goodbye and wishing her luck.
But now Rey was back.
“It feels longer.” Rey said, breaking the silence first, “Jedi training is all about forgetting time and focusing so much on what’s around you.”
“At least you’ve got a break now,” Jessika glanced down at her flight suit, “Just let me get a shower and changed and then I think I’ve got a holovid we can watch. Or I can get Kare to lend me one.”
The last few times Rey had been there Jessika had been downloading holovids and collecting them from her squadmates so she could show Rey all the things she had missed. It’d been fun watching Rey get invested in the stories that she’d never heard before and in turn made Jessika forget that she had so they were almost like new.
The first time they did it they sat on opposite ends of the couch in the shared living area for the X-Wing pilots, the last time they’d been pressed against each other in Jessika’s tiny room, aware of every movement the other made.
They hadn’t quite named the thing between them yet that grew with every impromptu flight they took and meal they shared together but Jessika liked to think they were getting there.
Rey kept staring her until Jessika tilted her head, trying to catch Rey’s eyes.
“What are you doing?” She asked, slightly bemused.
“Focusing on the now.” Rey took a deep breath and then stepped forward until she was nose to nose with Jessika and then slowly inched in closer.
Jessika held her breath, her heart racing at the knowledge of what Rey was trying to do and she made a quick decision that led to her closing the tentative gap Rey had created until their lips were pressed together.
Rey’s lips were slightly chapped, a result of the sea spray in the air from Ahch-To that hadn’t worn off yet, but it was no deterrent. She tasted like the native berries that grew on D’Qar, probably having made a stop into the forest before she found Jessika and finding a branch.
It reminded Jessika of when she’d taken Rey for a walk in the forest at night and Rey had first seen the branches, eating the berries excitedly and jokingly refusing to share them Jessika which hardly seemed like a problem now.
At some point one Rey brought her arm up to rest over the back of Jessika’s neck, her fingers slipping into the edges of Jessika’s hair and letting it curl around them while her other hand rested against Jessika’s cheek.
Not to be outdone Jessika slid one hand around Rey’s waist to the small of her back and let it sit there for a second, appreciating the warmth of Rey’s skin from even under the cloth that covered, before she pulled Rey closer.
Their noses bumped together as she did and they broke off the kiss to laugh, it echoed in the hanger bay and probably alerted anyone else in it of their presence.
Rey’s forehead rested against her own and Jessika could more feel her smile than see it as Rey’s lips brushed lazily against her own.
“So the Force told you to kiss me hunh?” Jessika joked, her eyes sparking mischievously.
“It works in mysterious ways.” Rey said solemnly before she couldn’t keep up the act anymore and pressed closer again, her laugh buzzing between them and Jessika kissed her just to pretend that she could taste it.
“We should probably move.” Jessika tore her gaze away from Rey briefly to look around, “At this rate we’ll gather a crowd.”
“The engineer’s two X-Wing’s down restocking fuel and there’s a few droids towards the door.” Rey said idly, not even looking and playing with the edges of Jessika’s hair again.
“Now that I know was the Force at work.” Jessika reluctantly stepped away, stealing one more quick kiss as she did. “I do have to shower and change, I’ll meet you in my room?”
Rey nodded, leaning against the ladder to the cockpit of her X-Wing and watching Jessika walk away.
As she did she felt a gentle tug at her hair again and shook her head, smile hidden from where Rey was standing but she was sure Rey knew she was anyway.
Her lips still tingled from their kissing, making her smile widen into a full grin and Jessika practically started to jog to the change rooms.
The sooner she was done the sooner she could back to Rey and maybe get to kiss her again.