Sunset, Louisiana - 1923
Poe's chest felt tight, his breath coming in gasps, his dark, wavy hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. He was running on fumes, but as he cast a glance over his shoulder he saw that he still had a lead on Ben, so he pushed himself to keep running.
His bare feet propelled him forward easily through the plush grass of the field that sprawled out behind Ben's house. He'd tried to tell Ben that he could run faster without shoes, but the younger boy had insisted that his mom would whoop him if he took them off and they got lost or stolen. Ben's parents sure were strict sometimes.
Poe's victory was so close; he was just a few yards from the big magnolia tree with the tire swing hanging from it that served as their finish line. Ben's dad's new puppy, Chewie, was running next to him, yipping happily in the golden afternoon.
As he blew past the tree just a few feet ahead of Ben, he slowed his pace and threw himself down in the shade of the tree, panting with exertion but feeling very pleased with himself. He'd won—just like he always did.
Ben stood over him, breathing heavily and scowling darkly. When he'd caught his breath a little, he sat down next to Poe and huffed indignantly, crossing his arms over his chest, pouting. Poe would have felt guilty, if not for the fact that Ben always acted like this when he beat him. He was just a sore loser that way.
They'd been racing to see who would get to sit in the driver's seat when they played war in Mr. Han's old biplane later. The race was just a formality, really, because Poe always won. He wasn't smug about it or anything; he was just faster than Ben, and he hit baseballs further and had an easier time making friends with the other kids at school, though Ben earned better marks on his work.
"Well, Ben," he said, sitting up and smiling proudly at his friend, "I won. I get to drive the plane while you shoot at the bad guys."
"Yeah, yeah. I'd be a better flyer, though," Ben insisted.
"Hm. Maybe one day you'll beat me and get to find out," Poe said with a smirk. "Think we've got time before your dad gets back?"
Ben shielded his eyes and looked thoughtfully toward the nearly-setting sun. "Yeah, probably."
"Neat. Let's go," Poe said, grabbing his friend by the hand and bounding toward the place where Mr. Han's biplane was parked out behind his house. Poe wasn't short for his age, but he also wasn't tall. It was an awkward climb into the plane, but he managed, watching enviously as the tall and lanky Ben had an easy time hoisting himself in. As Poe got situated, he noticed a pair of aviation goggles resting on the controls and put them on excitedly, turning around in his seat to show Ben.
"How do I look?" he asked, grinning.
"Hey! Those are for my dad, so I should be the one wearing them," Ben whined.
"Well that's not what I asked," Poe replied smugly.
"Fine," Ben relented with a sigh. "You look pretty cool."
"I know." Poe nodded triumphantly, turning around in his seat. "Okay, ready to take out some German scum?"
"You betcha," Ben replied from behind him, imitating the sound of gunfire and aiming all around them at imaginary enemies.
Poe ran his hands over the controls of the plane. "Watch out, I'm bringing us in close—take 'em out!" he shouted to Ben, leaning sideways in the plane as if he were guiding it through a tight turn in a high speed battle.
As the volume of their play increased, Chewie, already irritated to be left out of the action as he paced listlessly around the plane, suddenly started barking at the two. Startled, Poe's hand jerked, hitting buttons across the dashboard. To his horror, the plane's engine seemed to come to life with a whirring sound that gradually turned to a roar. The propellers starting spinning rapidly as the plane began taxiing forward through the field.
"What are you doing?" Ben asked in alarm. "Stop it! Stop it right now!"
"I-I don't know how!" Poe stammered, frantically pressing buttons and pulling back on the yoke steering in an attempt to stop the plane from accelerating. Instead, they only sped up, and Poe could feel the front end of the plane wanting to leave the ground, pointing upward and almost lifting the plane off of its wheels at intervals. As they increased speed even more, he saw the end of the swaying grasses of Ben's field and the beginning of dense forest at the end of his property getting closer and closer in front of them.
Luckily, Poe's dad had a plane, too. He'd also been in the war, and sometimes on weekends if he wasn't too busy on their own farm, he would let Poe sit in his lap in the cockpit and pretend to fly the plane. Poe was a quick learner and had paid attention to everything his dad had told him about the plane as his father guided his hands over the controls, chuckling as little Poe mispronounced the names of each button and lever. Clinging to the knowledge he'd gained from those precious moments, Poe took a leap of faith.
"Hang on!" he shouted to Ben over his shoulder, leaning back and pulling backward on the yoke, urging the plane to take flight. Slowly, the old plane complied, and Poe felt a rush of adrenaline as the wheels lifted fully and he and Ben were sailing through the air a few feet above the ground. He kept pulling on the yoke and the plane turned further upward just as they reach the tree line of the forest, barely clearing the canopy.
He let out a sigh of relief as he looked down at the trees they'd nearly hit before gazing in wonder at the warm afternoon sky above. Fluffy, white clouds beckoned, and below the ground rushed by in a blur of color in motion. "Poe, this is amazing!" Ben yelled.
"I know!" Poe replied, struggling to be heard over the roar of the wind and the plane's engine. He felt free and strong and proud of himself for piloting a plane on his own. He let out a victorious yell as he circled back toward Ben's farmhouse, now just a white speck below them.
"How are you going to land this thing?" Ben asked from over his shoulder, leaning forward in his seat nervously as he spoke.
"Beats me," Poe replied. "The same way we took off, I guess."
He began guiding the plane back down toward the ground gradually, circling the house as he went until they were flying pretty low. After lining the plane up with an open expanse of the field, he pushed the yoke forward ever so slightly and warned Ben to brace himself as the plane's wheels met the ground in a bouncy, jarring landing, jostling the boys about the cockpit. After the rough landing, he pulled back on the steering and tried a few more buttons, hoping to slow the plane down as it rolled quickly through the field. Finally, the plane came to a bumpy stop a few hundred feet from Ben's house.
Poe immediately stood up and turned excitedly to his friend. "I did it. I flew a plane. We flew!"
"I know!" Ben said, climbing out of the plane and beaming back at him.
He pulled off the goggles and set them down on the seat before climbing out behind Ben, his body still trembling with adrenaline.
But the boys' joy was short-lived. As Poe bent over to pet Chewie, scratching the little retriever behind the ears, he noticed a familiar truck parked near the house where there hadn't been one just before. Mr. Han was home.
The screen door on the front entrance of Ben's house opened dramatically, banging against the wood siding of the outer wall with a loud thwack. Han came thundering down the porch steps toward the boys with fury in his eyes. Ben paled in fear and rushed to Poe's side, gulping nervously.
"Ben!" Han thundered as he got to them, glaring down at his son. "What the hell were you thinking? Flying my plane?! You are a child, you have no idea what you're doing! You could have destroyed the plane, or hit the damned farmhouse with it! And if you'd been hurt?! Do you have any idea how your mother would feel if you died from this foolishness? When the hell are you going to grow up, huh?"
Poe wanted to speak up and explain that he'd actually been the one in the driver's seat, but his mouth wouldn't seem to work. Ben surprised him when he spoke up and tried to defend himself.
"It was an accident. We were just playing and Poe pressed a button and—"
"DON'T you talk back to me!" Han growled. "And don't make excuses either. I doubt the idiot boy forced you to get into the plane. You let him do it and you chose to get in there with him yourself. And I don't know why I expect better. You have too much of your Uncle Luke in you, irresponsible fool that he is sometimes."
Poe was only a little surprised by Mr. Han's reaction. Han was usually a nice man, but some days he smelled like the beer Poe's own father would drink occasionally, and then he would get mean. Poe knew that Ben's mom had explained to Ben that Mr. Han had been in the war, and that it made him different. Poe wasn't sure how Mr. Han had been before, but when he was in a mood like the one he was in today, it wasn't good to cross him, and he and Ben had done a lot worse than cross him by flying his plane.
Poe tried to sneak a peek at his friend out of the corner of his eyes, and was surprised to see that Ben was crying. As Mr. Han continued to hurl insults at the little boy, Ben just stared at the ground, where Chewie was looking up at him innocently and whining. Tears ran out of Ben's dark eyes, and his hands were clenched into fists at his sides.
When Han took a breath and stopped his verbal assault, Ben took the opening and tried to storm off toward the house, but Han caught him by the arm as he walked by and raised a hand as if to hit him in the head.
Poe was shocked. While Mr. Han didn't actually go through with it, the gesture put him off. Poe's own parents hadn't spanked him since he was small, and even then they would never have hit him in front of others. Ben, looking utterly defeated, merely flinched, doing nothing to resist.
Poe's ears reddened in anger. He wanted to do something. To protect his friend and take his bully of a dad down a notch. He stepped up to Mr. Han, hoping he looked braver than he felt. "Leave him alone you . . . you dirty German!" he spat, using the worst insult his young mind could dredge up—and it worked.
Han deflated visibly, dropping Ben's arm and taking a step back, looking at Poe with his mouth open. "The Germans . . . You hear that, Ben? Your friend Poe thinks your old man's a 'dirty German.'" he said, giving an awkward bark of laughter that did nothing to hide the wounded tone of his speech. "I've seen the Germans," he went on, his voice breaking. "I've fought them in the trenches. In the mud and blood and rain. And I hope to God you'll never have to face something like that in your life."
Han's eyes moved from Poe and briefly rested on Ben before he shook his head and walked back to his house.
Ben looked over at Poe, wide-eyed. "You're my best friend," he said quietly. Poe gave him a small smile in lieu of a response as Ben turned and took off running after his father, Chewie bounding happily behind him.
Long Island, New York - 1941
"Don't overwork yourself now, Ben," Poe said teasingly, powering through another push-up as he turned to look at Ben, who was breaking out in a thin sheen of sweat as he tried to match his friend rep for rep.
It was shaping up to be a gorgeous day, the sun just starting to show its face over the horizon of Mitchel Airfield. The cool morning air, paired with the virtually cloudless sky, made their grueling morning workout almost pleasant.
"I told you, it's Kylo," Ben gritted out, sweat beginning to drip from his wild black hair. He wasn't sure where Ben had gotten this ridiculous nickname from. Poe thought he remembered his friend saying that it was from one of the books that Colonel Snoke had lent him, but he couldn't be sure. Regardless, he didn't like the name. It just emphasized the tension that had grown between Ben and his parents ever since he had followed in Poe's footsteps and volunteered to join the air force two years ago, one year ahead of the draft that had made service for men their age compulsory.
Han and Leia meant well. They were good and loving parents, even if Han had had gone through a dark time after his own stint in the military during the Great War. Ben was very intelligent and his parents had hoped he'd leave the farm and go to university; but, always competitive and hard-headed, he'd insisted on joining Poe when he'd enlisted to prove himself as a pilot.
He was certainly off to a good start. Ben was nearly as good as Poe, his quick reflexes and intense focus making him a gifted pilot. He could easily outfly the other top pilots in their squadron.
Poe, Ben, and their two best friends, Finn and Hux, were the pride of the 27th fighter squadron. The drills and maneuvers they ran were always flawless, and they worked together seamlessly as a team because each had something unique to offer the group.
Poe was open, charismatic, instantly likeable, and a natural leader. His confidence inspired the same in others, and his friends followed his lead without question. It didn't hurt that his flying was unlike anything anyone at Mitchel had ever seen before, and that when he flew he seemed to be one with his plane, the controls an extension of his person. But the best thing about Poe was that he didn't let any of it get to his head—he wasn't condescending or arrogant, and he cared deeply about his comrades.
Ben was quietly logical and passionate. His determination and unflinching dedication led him to nearly match Poe in skill and endurance, continually surprising their superiors. Ben's father had come home from war disillusioned and doubtful of the whole idea. As if to spite Han, Ben was patriotic and an enthusiastic supporter of the war. While he was cool and distant to most people and morose about his family's disapproval, he was fiercely loyal to Poe, who he looked up to and loved like a brother, despite being envious of his friend's skills and charisma. Ben was ordinarily quiet and reserved, but was often temperamental—perhaps the one thing keeping him from besting the easygoing Poe.
Finn was an orphan who'd enlisted when he came of age. His family had abandoned him as a child, presumably because they couldn't afford to take care of him. His childhood in an orphanage had been rough, but it had somehow only made him kinder and more grateful to have people in his life now. Despite his troubled past, Finn was the clown who kept smiles on all of their faces during the toughest moments and always had a word of encouragement. He was emotional and impulsive, but he was also strong and sure of himself, an intimidating force to be reckoned with in the cockpit.
While all of the boys, particularly Ben, were smart, Hux was the real brains behind their brilliance. His calculated, by-the-books approach, coupled with his singular intelligence, led him to mastermind some truly impressive maneuvers and formations. Despite his often uptight and sometimes snippy personality, he had a heart of gold and was a good sport when Poe incessantly teased him about his red hair and freckles. His usually stoic way of carrying himself transferred to a cool head under pressure when they were flying.
Their group had been affectionately dubbed the "Knights of Ren" at a party one evening the year before. A young and extremely intoxicated nurse of the same name was being felt up against her will by an antagonistic new recruit. Finn had witnessed it go down and methodically stood up from his seat, walked over to the couple in the dark corner, grabbed the offending recruit by the hair, and punched his lights out. As Finn had helped the crying woman cover up, the assaulter's friends got wind of the situation and had begun ganging up on Finn.
But before a punch could be thrown at him, Poe and Ben had materialized behind the brutes and started a full-on bar brawl. Hux, who had been having a rousing scientific discussion with a friend nearby had joined the fray when one of the recruit's friends had stumbled backward into him after being hit squarely in the jaw by Poe. The helpless man had elbowed the drink from Hux's hand and onto the floor where it shattered, covering Hux's usually pristine uniform in foamy beer. Without a word, Hux had joined joined the fight, tackling the stumbling man to the ground and punching him hard in the nose for good measure.
Moments later, the original offender and his belligerent friends were either laying on the ground, groaning, or limping out of the building as fast as their legs could carry them. The victimized nurse had moved over to a couch where she was being fussed over by her friends. Poe, Ben, Finn, and Hux, had walked over to her, dusting themselves off and catching their breath. The girl, still drunk, looked up at them all with a sleepy smile plastered across her pretty face. "Gee, boys," she had slurred, "you guys are like my knights in shining armor." Her friends had gazed, starry-eyed, at the foursome of pilots like they were superheroes. After that night, the guys had become inseparable friends.
But Ben had seemed a bit on edge of late, and while Poe didn't relish the idea of calling him Kylo, the others had agreed to do so when he'd asked, so Poe figured he'd have to follow suit. "Okay, Kylo," he said with emphasis as they stood up to finish their workout. "But I still got in the most pushups today." He grinned at Ben who just smirked in response and punched him gently in the arm.
"Whatever you say, Poe," he relented. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah. Let's meet up with Finn and Hux and head over," Poe returned, heading back to their barracks.
That day the whole base was scheduled to receive physicals at the hospital. Overseas, the war was heating up. Britain wasn't faring well against the aerial raids of the German blitz, and many suspected that America would come to the aid of their ally soon. Getting the preliminary physicals out of the way now would only serve to speed up the process of deployment if and when that happened.
Poe didn't really care for getting physicals. It took a long time with the number of soldiers currently on base, and he didn't like the assortment of needles he got poked with each time. Finn and Hux, he knew, would be excited about the errand. The hospital was staffed by a freshly-graduated group of young, female nurses, and the pilots were eager to meet them.
Poe and Ben approached the place where Finn and Hux were just finishing up their morning routine. "Gentleman," Hux said, nodding at the two and dabbing the sweat from his face and neck with a towel. "Ready to help out those fair ladies looking for their Knights?" he asked, grinning.
"Jesus, Hux," Finn said, shaking his head. "With jokes that awful, they won't give any of us the time of day. Luckily for me, they'll take one look at this ass and be hooked," he added, turning his back on his friends as if to give them a better view. "They'll be fighting for the chance to stick me."
"For God's sake, you two," Ben said seriously, "any woman in her right mind would sooner die than get anywhere near your sorry asses."
"Alright, alright," Poe interjected laughing. "Can you all act like adults and try not to get us thrown out of there today, please? Come on."
So Poe led the way to the hospital, Ben falling into step beside him. He was thinking to himself how silly his friends were for believing they could chat up a bunch of women who were just doing their jobs. Sure, the girls would probably be good-looking, and he'd had flings with his fair share of them when he'd first enlisted. But those days were behind him. He was focused on improving his flying and getting into fit fighting shape so that he'd be ready when they were sent to Europe. He wanted to make a difference; he didn't have time to think about flirting with pretty nurses.
But that was before he met Rey.
A/N: This is my first Star Wars fic and my first AU. Ever. Be gentle :P
