"Ain't no party like an X-Wing party because...," Snap stopped mid-sentence and held his bottle out for Poe to sing into.
Why did I agree to this? Poe thought, not for the first time. Everyone looked up to him, expectantly.
"Because an X-Wing party don't stop!" Poe yelled, his crew erupting with an ear-splitting cheer of approval.
It was a tradition for the squad to celebrate a victory together, but even more so when the odds had been what they were against the Starkiller Base. Nothing makes a person want to celebrate life more than having to face almost certain death. Tonight they'd celebrate, tomorrow they'd mourn their loses together.
The famed Black Leader usually took part in any and all festivities, but tonight had been different. His crew had had to drag him away from Finn's bedside in the medical center, threatening everything short of mutiny unless he put on his party face. It was only when Dr. Kalonia suggested the groups enthusiastic noises might be doing harm to Finn's healing process that Poe agreed to leave, but not before leaving BB-8 to monitor his friend.
Hearing a digital beep Poe looked up, expecting to see his droid companion, but it was just someone attempting to reconnect the broken speaker system behind the pilot barracks. More cheers erupted in the yard as the bonfire finally started to blaze. Looking around, he couldn't help but grin a little, despite his concern for Finn. The sheer joy was infectious.
A drink was forced into his hand, the music starting playing and he tried to shake off his worry, if only for a little while. His crew knew he was a good-natured, loyal man, so his reluctance to leave Finn's bedside shouldn't have been out of character. Poe was over-thinking things, the way he had done since meeting the former trooper. Usually suave and snarky, the pilot had been reduced to a mental state he hadn't been in since he was a teenager.
No matter what was happening, his thoughts kept returning to the moment he saw Chewbacca carrying an injured Finn out of the Millennium Falcon. In that moment he felt like someone had just detonated a seismic charge in the vicinity of his heart. Everything immediately after that had seemed like a blur of muffled voices and the drone of medical devices. Someone had managed to tear him away to the conference room after he had been assured Finn would live.
He's my friend, of course I'm worried for my friend. Poe had tried to justify his feelings all day. Finn was the reason he had escaped from Kylo Ren, he owed him his life, but the ache he felt when he'd seen Finn again after Jakku had been like a punch in the gut. Even his body was against him, instinctively running toward his friend and enveloping him in an embrace he'd never have considered for someone he really didn't know.
We've lost so many today, please don't take Finn too. Not before I pay him back.
"Thanks again for saving my ass," a voice interrupted Poe's ruminations. He looked up to see Jess looking at him, one eyebrow raised.
"All part of a days work, Blue Three," he replied.
"Is the famous party-animal being a wallflower tonight? Or are you considering trading in your helmet for a bartending job?"
"Neither. I was just waiting for the fridge packs to activate so we could enjoy the beer at something more pleasant than the temperature of a Tauntaun," he shifted the contents of the closest cooler to illustrate his pure concern for the beverage needs of his crew.
"Well, standing here and staring is not going to make it work any faster. Come join us." She grabbed his hand and shimmied her way into the middle of the make-shift dance floor, which was really just a grass-free area of the yard that had seen its share of late-night revelry. Surrounded by his faithful squad, he let himself relax a little and enjoy the warmth of the fire and friendship.
-
A few too many drinks later he found himself stumbling down a darkened hallway in the barracks.
"This is my stop," Jess said, flicking her head to indicate her door. The gesture was unnecessary, as he'd tread this path to her bed more than once. The adrenaline of battle often carried over into other activities, and it wasn't uncommon for the pilots to take mutual solace in each-other's arms for a night.
"Is it? Well, I guess I better leave you -" Poe was interrupted as Jess placed a finger on his lips. With her other hand she keyed in her code to unlock the door behind her.
"Remember, I owe you one," she smiled mischievously.
Her lips are so soft and her hair always smells like tart berries, Poe's drunken mind wandered, his eyes on her wicked grin. The door clicked open and Jess moved her hand from his mouth to a belt on the front of his orange jumpsuit. Grabbing it, she pulled him into the room with her.
Mechanically his hands went to her hips, his eyes meeting hers as she slowly began unzipping his suit. Lips met lips and breathing turned into gasping. He pulled her closer, one hand on her hip, the other in her hair. She bit his lip, making him moan.
"You taste like Snap's strongbrew," Jess whispered, pulling back and shaking her head at him.
I wonder how Finn tastes, Poe thought. I think his lips would be softer than this. He instantly froze, realizing Jess was staring at him expectantly. Had he been thinking out loud in his drunken haze?
"What?" Poe finally said.
"Geez, you must have had more than usual. I said you tasted like Wex's strongbrew. That crud he gets from off-world? You know that stuff will give you a hangover."
"Oh, yeah. I may have had a sip, or three." Poe pulled away and ran a hand through his hair.
"You ok?" Jess asked. "Not gonna barf on me now, are you?"
"No," Poe shook his head, trying to clear it. "I just, maybe I'm just a bit too tired for this tonight."
Jess nodded. No matter how many lust-fueled entanglements the pilots had engaged in, they remained friends, first and foremost.
"It was a rough day, for all of us. I'm a bit exhausted myself," she said, suppressing a yawn.
"Well, I say we get some rest. Don't know how much fun either one of us would be tonight if we're both too tired to enjoy ourselves," he shrugged and gave what he hoped passed for a charming, yet inebriated, smile.
Jess nodded and turned toward her bed, randomly groping at zippers and tabs on her jumpsuit as she waded around small piles of clothes.
As Poe closed the door he heard the springs of a mattress creak and Jess sigh, "Don't forget, I owe you."
-
The medical center was silent except for the rhythmic beating and whirling of life-saving machines and the occasional snore from a patient.
Poe made his way toward Finn's bed. Standing in front of him, he felt that ache again, but knew there was nothing he could do to remedy it, at least not for now. His eyes landed on a neat pile of folded clothes at the foot of the bed. Someone had laundered his black uniform and attempted to clean the scorch marks off of the jacket, Poe's jacket.
No, he thought, Finn's jacket. Definitely Finn's jacket now. Picking up the battle-scarred jacket he closed his eyes and remember that moment, watching Finn run toward him.
Beeee boooo, BB-8 murmured.
Poe nodded at his mechanical buddy. "I'll return it in the morning, promise."
BB-8 let out what sounded like a skeptical sigh as Poe made his way toward the supply closet.
It was dawn, and he hadn't slept even a second. Every time Poe had started to fall asleep he'd managed to stab himself with a needle, knock the jar of cleaning solution off the table or something else inconveniently noisy. Holding up his handiwork he was glad he'd somehow avoided getting any blood or polish on the jacket.
The first rays of sunlight were creeping through the windows in the medical center as Poe returned the much-loved jacket to his friend's pile of clothes.
BB-8 whipped around and let out a little hoot of concern.
"I'll be fine. Tired, but fine. You stay here BB-8," Poe said, taking one last look as his friend, vitals gently updating on the datapad beside him, chest rising and falling under the covers.
-
"Glad we aren't fighting today," Snap said to his squad-mates gathered around a makeshift lunch-table in the hangar.
"Why's that?" someone asked, passing to grab a vitamin bar.
"Because, our fearless leader is too hungover to be useful," Snap replied, jerking his head toward a corner of the hanger.
Everyone at the table turned around, watching as Black Leader dozed under a worktable.
