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It's surprising how quickly you get used to having people around you. People who want to talk to you and know your business and help you on your way, whether you're trying to find the nearest bathroom or heading out on a lifechanging journey that's supposed to shape the fate of the universe. It's surprising how fast you get hooked on having people who care about you around. The number of hugs Rey received when she finally made it to join up with the rebellion still blows her mind.
The solitude of the Jedi temple, the amount of silence and focus that her training involves, would have been just another day for Rey the scavenger on Jakku. She did have a habit of talking aloud to herself just to make sure she never reached a moment where she needed her voice and discovered she'd lost it to disuse. But other than that, she can't help but think that all the years she spent just passing the time were the perfect preparation for becoming a Jedi.
She treks up and down the rugged landscape the temple is built into, listening carefully to her surroundings, soaking in that buzzing, live quality that binds them all together and connects them to her. But her mind does sometimes wander to the people who have piqued her curiosity, taken hold of her affections. She wonders whether Poe is rocketing through space somewhere, whooping as he throws tricks even Rey thinks are ridiculous, either just for fun or to impress someone. She wonders whether Finn is out there with Poe, being impressed, smiling that smile that's been fixed to his face ever since he found a bunch of people who were as happy to have him as the Resistance.
She hopes, too, that they're all okay. She's learned enough about history to know that after a victory for the rebellion, the forces of darkness strike back.
She rounds a corner and finds Luke standing there, stock still. She gasps in surprise. The look he gives her says loud and clear that if she'd been paying half the attention she should have been, she'd have sensed him there.
This is largely how she and Luke communicate; subtle shifts in facial expression, pauses of varying length and weight, body language, and of course the exchanges they're able to make via the Force. He's said seven words to her out loud in the month since she arrived. She's counted. Two of them were 'the'. Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi Master, might have benefited from chatting to himself a little more, Rey thinks.
"You know," she tells him brightly as they prepare their evening meal, "if you told me the histories out loud instead of just leaving me to read them, maybe I'd remember a bit more."
Luke just dips his head solemnly.
"Never mind then."
It's amazing that Rey misses a handful of people she's spent so little time with as much as she does. She supposes that events as dramatic and life-changing as the ones she went through with Finn, and Poe and BB-8 and the rest of the Resistance count for more than years of uneventfulness when it comes to cementing friendships.
She curls up on her bedroll, watches the stars and the ships that twinkle between them, and feels a little homesick—just not for Jakku, or the people who left her there.
*
"Rey. Rey, wake up."
Someone's touching her arm. Whispering in her ear. It's a voice that Rey knows not to panic at, even before she's awake enough to recognise it consciously.
"Finn?" she mumbles.
"And me," Poe adds from beside Finn.
"What are you doing here?" she asks them, sitting up and blinking the sleep from her eyes. It's still night.
"Stealth mission," Finn says importantly. His voice waves slightly with excitement.
"Top secret," Poe adds. The way his tongue slides around the S makes Rey suspicious.
"Are you—" she stops and asks herself whether the question she's about to ask might offend them, but decides it will amuse at worst, "—drunk?"
Poe snorts. Finn giggles.
"We've got enough for you too," Poe says, and his eyebrows do a strange wild dance up and down his forehead that Rey assumes is supposed to be cheeky. "It's back on the ship. Come with us."
Rey just manages to throw a hand across her mouth before she laughs loudly enough to wake up every wild life-form around the temple, including Master Luke. Realistically, she knows that if anyone arrives at the temple, Luke knows about it. He knows about what's going on at the far end of the universe, and sometimes even in the future. But if she can sneak out before he decides he wants to get up and stop her, then she's still got a chance of escape.
"Alright," she says, getting to her feet. "Which way is it?"
Use the force, Luke's frown would tell her, you should already know the ship's location.
But Poe and Finn usher her along behind them as they stumble excitedly back to where they've landed, and she follows their happy faces instead of retreating into her deeper senses.
*
"Hey, want to see me fly backwards between those—"
"Poe, should you really be flying this thing after drinking?" Rey asks. They're not going fast, and he's a very steady pilot, but she doesn't want to encourage him. She saw drunks crash all kind of vehicles back on Jakku. She and the other scavengers used to be rather pleased when that sort of thing happened, but she doesn't think she'll like it as much if she's actually in the ship. Rey comforts herself with the knowledge that she's here to step in and take the controls if anything goes awry.
It occurs to her how far they've already flown to come and see her. They must only have started drinking after pulling out of lightspeed. She can't imagine Poe would do something as crazy as fly drunk at lightspeed, even if he, of all the pilots in the galaxy, is the one most likely to be able to actually survive a stunt like that.
"Hey, don't worry," Poe assures her, "I've driven this thing missing five pints of blood."
"Bullcrap," Finn points at him, challenging.
"No, it's true! Ask Jess Pava, she was radioing me the whole time."
"I will," says Poe. "The second we get home I will ask her."
"I've also flown it—while shooting at hostiles—with eleven broken fingers."
"Bullcrap!" Finn grins the grin of a man who's absolutely certain he's just won. "You only have ten fingers!"
"I meant that one of them was broken in two places."
"Oh," Finn's grin disappears. He reaches out for one of Poe's hands, looking to examine it. Poe lets him take it, moves the hand up out of his lap and onto Finn's knee where it rests and undergoes his scrutiny.
"You won't find anything," Poe shrugs, but humours Finn all the same. "They work miracles in the hospital wing. You found that out yourself after Starkiller base."
"You have nice hands," Finn concludes.
"Thanks buddy."
Finn keeps the hand that he so likes held in his own and neither of them say a word about it. Rey doesn't say anything either, but she does suddenly crave the same kind of contact. Can she reach out and take Poe's hand, or Finn's? Should she ask? What would she say? What if they say no? Are they holding hands because they've become a couple since she's been away? She can't pretend she didn't see the way they looked at each other—
"Whatcha thinking so hard about?" the easy, tipsy lilt of Poe's voice breaks her out of her panic.
"Nothing."
"Oh," Poe starts, and reaches into the pocket of the jacket that was once his, but now belongs to—and is currently being worn by—Finn. He takes his time, steadying himself with a hand against Finn's chest. He pulls a small flask out and offers it to Rey. "Here. Can't be much fun being this far behind us, huh?"
Rey unscrews the cap and the strong scent of a type of alcohol she can't identify makes her eyes water. She brings the little bottle to her lips anyway—certainly not thinking about the fact it's touched Poe's and Finn's too just recently—and tips it back until she's swallowed a mouthful of the stuff. It tastes clear and intense compared to the drinks she's tried before. It's certainly not something that's been brewed in someone's scrap heap. She wipes a little bit of water from the edge of her eyes.
"Strong stuff," Finn remarks in sympathy.
"General Organa gave me the bottle," says Poe. "It's my most valuable possession."
"You own a ship," Rey points out.
"But General Organa didn't personally give me my ship. Hey, Finn, grab the rolls would you?" Poe says, gently steering the ship down towards a landing place on a nearby moon. There's nothing special about this chunk of rock; it's deserted and tiny enough that Rey could walk the whole way around it in a couple of minutes. It's the perfect spot for them to settle for now.
Finn rummages around in a compartment for a second and then his hand resurfaces holding a box. He opens it and Rey can smell something sweet and spicy wafting across the room.
"Sweet bread," Finn says as he takes one and bites into it, so intoxicated by the fresh baked goods that he only thinks to offer one to Rey after that first piece is already being chewed. A little guilty, he hands her the box. She laughs and takes one for herself. The bread is sticky and shines with the sweet coating that binds all the spices together. It's rolled up so that there's a spiral of flavouring that curls through it. She takes a bite and groans in pleasure.
"Where did these come from?" she asks as she chews. "Let's go there and get a thousand more of them."
"I made 'em!" Poe grins as he jumps out of the pilot's seat and joins them.
"You mean from scratch?" Rey asks. She can only ever remember having bread in the form of rations, dehydrated and then revived with water on her little stove. At the temple she and Master Luke only eat things less processed than bread.
"Yeah," Poe shrugs like it's nothing, but his smile betrays his pride. Rey sees that Finn, too, is looking at Poe with no small measure of awe.
"I always wanted to be transferred to kitchens," he says. "I mean, anything would have been better than sanitation, but I really wanted to learn how to make real food. Since I never got the transfer, I never found out."
"I'll teach you," Poe declares, then throws a glance Rey's way. "I'll teach you both, if you want."
*
Almost all of the liquor in the flask is gone now, and Rey feels lazy in the best way. Warm and golden and soft and at ease. She finds herself giggling along with Finn whenever Poe makes an amusing face or tells a joke, or whenever Poe tells a story about something Captain Phasma did, or Poe gets a dreamy look in his eyes talking about the General, or anybody does anything, really. She laughs just because she's happy.
"I'm so glad to have you two," she tells them, because they ought to know. "You're my favourite people in the whole universe."
"Aw," Finn throws an arm across her shoulders. "I love you too Rey," he says.
"Not that I don't agree," says Poe, looking thoughtful, "'cause I do, I like you guys a whole lot, but I reckon we could stand to get to know each other a bit better."
"Yeah!" Finn nods enthusiastically. "We could do some rapid-fire questions. Like when we first escaped the First Order together, Poe, and you were asking me stuff in a hurry, and we became friends at the same time as fighting our way out. Before we crashed in the desert and I thought you were dead, and you thought I was dead."
"Questions," Poe says. "Good idea. Like— Rey, what's your favourite colour?"
Rey thinks about some of the places she's been since leaving Jakku, how amazingly lush and alive they've been. "Green," she answers easily.
"Nice. Mine's orange. Reminds me of the Resistance."
Finn looks across at Poe. "Mine's orange too."
"Poe," Rey begins a question of her own. "Do you have a girlfriend? Boyfriend? Anyone special back home?" She'd be embarrassed to ask this question sober, she's sure. It's just as well that she isn't sober right now. Far from it; the alcohol and the sugar from the buns both course through her, each filled with its own kind of magic. Like the Force. Alcohol is part of the Force, because the Force is part of everything, so really she's just getting closer to the Force, isn't she? Maybe that's why Master Luke didn't stop her from leaving tonight.
"Who needs someone special back home, I've got both of you right here," says Poe. Rey doesn't know exactly what it means that he's talking about both of them. Whether it means he's just talking about how they're all friends, or something else.
Rey shouldn't let herself hope, but she's always always hoped, even back on Jakku where all hope should have been long lost. Now she's learning the ways of the Force, she's a part of the Resistance, she's met people who she never even knew were real outside of stories. At this point in her life, Rey can't help but believe in the possibility of anything and everything.
"What about you, Rey, you never did tell me if you had a cute boyfriend back on Jakku."
Finn has to know by now that there's nothing for Rey back on that planet. "No," she says, "no boyfriend, nobody of interest at all beyond you two and the Resistance, and no exciting stories to tell. Sorry to disappoint."
"Disappoint? No, who's disappointed, I'm not disappointed," Finn babbles, nervous like they day they met.
His arm is still around her, and she's overcome with the desire to plant a kiss on his cheek, but when she tries her aim is a little off and she ends up pecking the side of his nose instead. All three of them laugh, and Rey's laughing so hard that when she tries to correct her aim she only fails worse and gets Finn's ear as he turns his head.
"C'mon Rey, where's that Jedi aim?" Poe teases. "Use the Force, Rey."
"Yeah Rey. Use the Force," Finn giggles. Rey likes it how he giggles.
She doesn't know whether the Force is really going to help her here, doesn't know what effect drunkenness has or doesn't have on how it works, since Luke hasn't mentioned anything about it and she's not had the opportunity to test it out herself until now. But she shuts her eyes, and makes her face as smooth and serene as she can. The boys both whoop at the display, so she goes ahead and raises a hand into the air for extra effect. She's more than able to sense where exactly Finn is. What she can feel through the Force is sharper than what she can see with her eyes open. It's almost like being sober again, except she still has that happy buzz trickling through her.
She leans in, eyes still shut, following the path that the Force tugs her along. Her lips find Finn's, and it's nice, and she keeps leaning into it for just long enough that he wraps an arm around her waist and starts to kiss her back. She hasn't really kissed anyone before, not like this. It's electric, exhilarating, like the thrill of wielding her lightsaber even though it's pretty much the opposite of that.
"The Force," Finn marvels when they break apart. "The Force is amazing, I love the Force."
"Got another one of those in you, Jedi Master?" Poe asks, the lopsided grin on his face making it seem like just any other question. Some perfectly ordinary request.
"I, um," she looks between them, trying to read Finn's face for signs of hurt or betrayal. Poe doesn't seem like the kind of man who'd do anything that'd hurt Finn, but then tipsily kissing your friends is a mysterious business. Rey wants to kiss them both, she just doesn't know if that's allowed.
"You don't have to," Poe says, less jokingly now that he's seen her hesitate. "But in case it's Finn you're worried about—"
"We talked about this," Finn interjects. "Well, not in a creepy way, I mean we didn't plan it, we just, well, we both think you're awesome and—"
"You think I'm awesome?"
Poe cocks a brow. "Obviously you're awesome. I could explain to you why you're awesome, but we actually don't have all night."
He's right about that—there's a faint hint of colour on the horizon where the suns are getting ready to rise. The day will arrive and Rey will have to return to the temple to face Master Luke, and Finn and Poe will go back to base and all the fun they've had tonight will turn into the hazy memory of that time they snuck off like a pack of scoundrels to drink and eat home-made cinnamon rolls. Maybe once she's sobered up she'll begin to wonder whether it even happened, whether it was just a dream. In a dream, she knows what she'd like to happen next.
"Alright, come here," she tells Poe. He shuffles across the short space that lies between them, Rey grabs his collar and she kisses him too. It's different to kissing Finn. It feels like there are more angles involved, somehow. Poe's large hands cover her shoulders, holding her gently and moving her almost like he's guiding an aircraft. Rey knows a thing or two about flying too; he can't fool her.
"Are you steering me, Poe Dameron?" she asks, pulling back to look quizzically at him.
Poe lifts his hands off her shoulders and a moment later they've moving over her ribs. His arms envelope her the same way all the hugs Rey's recently experienced have done, but it's a very different feeling as well. He lifts her and repositions them both so that she's leaning onto him, into his lap, instead of the other way around. It's more comfortable this way, and Rey finds it easier to melt forward into Poe's warmth even more, so she doesn't argue any further against letting him guide her weight around. It's not a fight, after all. Noone needs to gain the upper hand. They're all going to win.
Finn's hand comes to rest over Poe's on Rey's back, and Poe stops kissing her so that he can lean over and give Finn a turn. They kiss like they've had practice together, Rey thinks. She thinks of the confused, runaway stormtrooper she met on Jakku and feels an indescribable kind of contentment as she watches him now, just as immersed in unexpected happiness as she is.
*
Much as she'd like to postpone them, the sunrises do come. Her head has started to clear, but Rey doesn't exactly welcome this fact. She just feels dehydrated, headachey. Dehydration is an old, familiar enemy for her, so she sets about finding some water to kick it as quickly as possible.
Poe picks the nearly-empty flask up off the floor and holds it out towards Rey. "Take this with you," he says. "Give it to Luke."
Rey frowns. "Why would I do that?"
"Tell him it's from General Organa. She uh, sort of gave it to me to give to him." Poe looks so utterly abashed that Rey just stands there and laughs at him, headache be damned.
"To remind him of old times, and convince him to come back," Finn finishes. "This really was a secret mission."
She takes the flask and its remaining contents with her when Poe lands the ship back on the mountainside near the temple. Master Luke is, predictably enough, there waiting for her. He stands stock still, robes flowing in the wind like they had been then day she found him.
He doesn't ask where she's been. He extends a hand and the flask flies out of Rey's pocket. He uncaps it and holds the contents up to his nose. His eyes close and a— a smile, a real smile, curls the edges of his mouth.
"General Organa—" Rey begins to explain, but explanation isn't necessary.
"Leia plays a clever game," he says, fondly—and that's another five words to add to her tally, plus more emotion that she's heard from him in her entire stay. "Solitude is a good teacher of many things, my young padawan," he sighs, "but in times like these true friends are just as valuable a source of wisdom and strength. One jedi can accomplish much, but—"
Rey nods along as solemnly as she can. "So," she asks, "you wanna go back to the Resistance base to be reunited with your friends and family?"
"Yes," Luke admits.
Rey pumps the air with her fist.
"I'll need to borrow your ship."
"What? Are you saying I can't come with you?"
Luke gives her his solemn, It's time for you to do some more meditation look. Rey is about to protest when the expression breaks apart and he smiles that funny twist of a smile again.
"I'm only joking," he says. "I could use a co-pilot."
"Well, let's hope your flying's not as rusty as your sense of humour, or I'll have to save us both from certain death," Rey snarks, but she walks along beside him with a spring in her step.