Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, or any reference to the franchise. The only thing I own are my OC characters, and creative genius.

Love in the Dark

The lush green forest that stood before her, was to put it simply, breathtaking. She admired the thick canopy of trees, the long lean lines of the leaves that hung off, musing to herself that the trees were so tall they could pass as giants. She took her time enjoying the scene, memorising every curve, every rock, every crevice, and every droplet of water. She had been gone for a while, and to her embarrassment, the beauty and tranquillity of D'Qar had faded from her memory. She had missed the familiar sight as soon as she had stepped foot on the blistering cold planet of Hoth. She had never been to Hoth before, and she was not accustomed to the constant onslaught of harsh snow and the insanity that followed, not to mention the below freezing temperatures that left her numb for most of her stay, leaving her desperate to return home.

Being stuck on Hoth for the last 13 weeks, and in isolation was enough to drive anybody crazy, especially Kira Marsden, who had an immense dislike for the cold now that she had visited the icy planet. She would have rather been stuck on Tatooine if need be, much preferring the sand, and heat that surrounded the planet, in comparison to the frozen landscape of Hoth.

Kira had many talents. One of them being that she had a particular affinity for the art of espionage. For someone who had started off as a medic working for the Resistance, someone with healing hands, a gentle touch, it came to everyone's surprise when they had witnessed her accuracy with a blaster, and her love of spying. Her role was one of confusion to most, but to her, she was put wherever she was needed most, especially when they were running low on staff. In this case, General Leia Organa was desperate to send someone on a reconnaissance mission to Hoth to gather information, and Kira was perfect for the job considering her flexibility, and the fact that they weren't understaffed in the med bay. Kira was no stranger to the ways of a reconnaissance spy for the Resistance. She had partaken in many missions with long stays, on uncomfortable planets, and usually without a partner or back-up if necessary. Being accustomed to this, she wasn't afraid to go in most of the time, but after a while, the loneliness started to settle in, and that's when she would start to feel paranoid. She was at least glad that she had her droid B1-89 to keep her company. It was a small astromech droid that her step-brother had made for her before he passed away. She had never used another droid since, even though B1-89 tended to have a lot of faults with his programming and on the regular. It reminded her of what was left of her small family and she didn't want to let go of it, insisting that he just need a paint job, seeing as though the gold and blue vertical stripes were starting to wear away. But regardless of past experiences, Kira found that she had been more restless than usual on this mission. It had been her longest one yet. She knew- in detail- of the dangers that lingered on Hoth before she accepted the mission, and at this time there wasn't an ounce of fear trailing through her blood, since she knew that the planet had was barely inhabited. But regardless of these facts, she did admit to having plenty of restless nights, haunted by wailing sounds, and at times, even her own unconsciousness. Ones where she wouldn't get a drop of sleep as her eyes stayed open, in the fear that a Wampa would come tearing through the night, and rip her to pieces, leaving chunks of her fleshy body parts in the snow as it devoured her. At least that's what her brain had come up with while she slept, making sure to freak her out. She hadn't been scared of the Wampa, having faced far deadlier, and more frightening forces in the past, but when Poe Dameron, the smartass pilot with charisma and a great smile, had told her a horrific tale of a Wampa attack on the Luke Skywalker that he had overheard from General Organa, Kira was sure that she wouldn't forget it. She promised herself that when she got back, she would get payback for all the sleepless nights, and the twitching at the sound of noises that echoed through the glacier she hid out in. But the sleepless nights made her focus on the task at hand, her investigation. She was instructed to follow the patterns of workers and traders of The First Order, and thus the low profile, otherwise she would have swapped the ice caves for a small room at the empty echo base within a heartbeat.

The General had a hunch that The First Order had a small trading outpost hidden on the frozen planet, for the hopes that its undesirable nature would prevent many travellers from wandering through and discovering their secret base. Kira's mission was to confirm this, and bring back any data that she could regarding the situation. What sort of deals were made, with whom and when, thus why she was stationed there for so long. She had discovered that The First Order was trading with pirates, and bounty hunters, exchanging weapons, fuel materials, and even information on the Republic, and any known whereabouts of Resistance officers and bases. It was mainly managed by a few Stormtroopers, as far as she could tell. She had seen a few pirates known for their allegiance to The First Order, come every few days, for the last 13 weeks, a common pattern. When she had decided to move in further to the base, to infiltrate and gather information that she couldn't from afar, she had bumped into something that she shouldn't have. They had built a factory within the ice glaciers. There were thousands, if not more Stormtroopers working to create weapons. From guns, to explosives, to machinery, it was just too much for her to take in. The mass creation sent shivers down her spine. To think that each one of these weapons would be used to take a life, whether that be an innocent bystander, a civilian of a planet the First Order was colonising, or even one of her fellow resistance officers or pilots, she knew that she had to do something, regardless of her orders. She couldn't let them get away with all the pain and misery they had caused. She thought of all the lives that she would save if she destroyed the base, the lives that could have been saved if things like this were taken care of properly. Her step-brother's life.

She knew that if she had left that day, the likelihood of her having another chance to get in, would be very low. She had a few small chargers of explosives in her pack. If she distributed them logically around the plant, she could damage the structure and integrity of the factory, enough so that the icy layer that it was built inside would collapse, destroying the factory, and what looked like to be one of their main weapons factories. She had tried to contact D'Qar to get the advice of the council, even though she was sure that she would have carried out with the task regardless, but it had been a stormy day, and the atmospheric pressure along with other variables, prevented her from getting a signal. She had to make the decision then and there, and she had decided that it needed to be destroyed, otherwise the resistance stood no chance, and people like her step-brother Tayil stood no chance. As she took a closer glance, her eyes widened in realisation as she looked upon the thousands of workers. She knew she had to act fast, and so she did what she knew best. Espionage. She had sabotaged the whole facility, and had managed to make it out of the planet's atmosphere in time to jump into hyperspace without being tracked by any First Order vessels, considering that they were all busy with the uproar she had caused on the ground.

Now she was back on D'Qar, awaiting a face to face meeting with the higher-ups, which probably just meant the General, ready to face the consequences.

Well, she hoped that there were none, but this was General Leia Organa they were talking about. She was a very just leader, and Kira knew that she hadn't complied with her agreement, and she had disobeyed the rules. It called for some form of disciplinary action. Though, there was still a sliver of hope inside Kira that the General would be a bit more lenient once she had heard the full story, and realised the victory that had come out of this mission, the lives that had been saved.

Kira shook her head of all her worries, taking in a deep breath and savouring the fresh scent of pine and salt water. There was nothing like home. Even though D'Qar hadn't been her home world, after spending the last five years working here, building her rank up in the resistance, she knew that she would always find this place home. She had heartily missed D'Qar and she was glad to be back. She had remembered smiling the whole flight home as she input the co-ordinates for the resistance base, ready to head back to the Ileenium system. Even her trusty droid, B1-89 had beeped, reiterating the pleasant thought of returning home. The poor thing had also suffered with the cold, finding that his systems kept freezing up, or maybe it was the fact that he was just getting old, and was in need of some dire repairs and upgrades. Though Kira wasn't great with mechanics and engineering, she had friends who were beyond talented in the field, and who would be more than happy to do it for her. But there was just something about the vintage droid that her step-brother had given her that she didn't want to change…not one bit. She smiled to herself as she thought of her brother, looking up to the sky, and making a prayer for him, a single tear trailing down her cheek as she thought of him.

She wondered after her debriefing with General Organa that afternoon, if she would be going on missions in the near future. She missed her friends, her colleagues, even a certain pilot who had a tendency to constantly tease her. But even though her life was crazy, shuffling from one place to another, always in a state of fight or flight, she wouldn't trade it for the world. It was certainly better than being stuck in the world of politics that her step-parents bustled in.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a repetitive beep. She looked down at her pager that was glowing red and picked it up, pressing down a button and responding.

"Sergeant Marsden, reporting for duty, copy," Her stiff voice came through the comm.

"The General is ready to see you, over and out." The monotone voice spoke. Someone had gotten droids back onto comm. duty, and Marsden didn't have a particular like for it.

"Copy that." And with that Kira left the beauty that she was relaxing in, for the Generals office, hoping the debrief would go down as planned, and she wouldn't get suspended for what she had done on Hoth. Then again, who hadn't broken a few rules every now and then?

"You did what?!" General Leia Organa was known for her calm exterior, but when it came to certain individuals, such as Kira Marsden, she was known for blowing out a little more than steam when they spoke to each other about anything other than their personal lives.

"I blew up their base," Kira repeated meekly. Judging by the look on the General's face, she was in a lot of trouble. So much for wishful thinking.

"What is it about the word 'reconnaissance' that confuses you?" General Organa asked, her hands placed on her hips.

"They weren't just using it as a trading post for arms deals with pirates. They were mass producing weapons and machinery that I haven't even seen before. I did us a favour by getting rid of it. I had to make a decision in that moment, and I decided that I would fight for our cause," Kira tried to justify her actions. She noticed that the General's expression softened the slightest, but as soon as it had appeared evident on her face, it had disappeared, her stoic expression replacing it.

"Regardless, you were one person. You could have gotten hurt, or worse, killed," General Organa berated. Leia pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. She knew that deep down Kira had done what anyone else would have. Fought for the resistance, nearly gave up their life in sacrifice for their cause. But she couldn't lose one of their best spies, let alone another member that was talented in more than one area. But most of all, they couldn't lose another member of their family. It was happening far too frequently, and Leia was trying to do her best to keep her fighters safe, but a war always came with causalities, something she was familiar with, but that didn't make it easier the next time it happened.

"And if I died it would have been for our cause. For the resistance," Kira stated simply. She knew that with this job, she could die at any time. It was like that for everyone. But they all knew the risks when they signed up, and she had come to terms with it a long time ago. "I did it for all the innocent people out there in the galaxy that are being terrorised by The First Order. For people like Tayil."

"Kira," General Organa's voice softened as she heard the girl mention her deceased brother.

"It won't happen again," Kira promised, clenching her jaw as she looked down. "I promise."

"Of course it won't. You're not going on anywhere. You're suspended until further notice," General Organa informed, causing Kira's head to shoot back up, staring at her with wide eyes.

"What?" Kira gasped. "What do you mean suspended?"

"No more off-world missions until I deem you fit enough to follow instructions, you're going to be back at the med-bay, putting those skills of yours to use. You've had enough adventure and excitement to last you a lifetime," General Organa said and Kira felt like she was being told off like a little child, punished for acting out.

"But-," Kira was cut off by General Organa.

"It's been decided. The Admiral and the rest of the council came to this judgement," She informed her. "I think a little bit of time on base will do you well."

"Fine," Kira exhaled deeply, seeing as there was no other option.

"Take the rest of the day off. Tomorrow you're expected to be working."

"Understood, General."

Seeing as though Kira had the rest of the day off, she thought she would go around to catch up with a few of her friends. Possibly pop by Joe's workbench down in mechanics, maybe bribe him into fixing up a few loose wires in B1-89, or hunt down her roommate Jessika who she dearly missed. All of her other friends that were pretty much all fighter pilots, having met them through Jessika. She guessed she had a thing for them. Well, one in particular, but that was a story for another time.

She was just rounding the corner of a long, dimly lit, hallway, heading down to the mess hall, where she assumed most of them would be, when she ran into something. Or more like, it bumped into her.

"BB-8," Kira exclaimed, a smile spreading out on her face as she saw the orange and white droid. BB-8 beeped, saying hello, claiming that he was surprised to see her back from her mission. No one on the base had heard that she had arrived yet.

"Well, if it isn't Sergeant Kira Marsden," a familiar voice drawled. She didn't even have to look up to know that Poe Dameron was standing before her. It had been 13 weeks since they had seen each other. 13 weeks since she had laid eyes on him. 13 weeks since she had heard his voice. 13 weeks since her roommate Jessika had teased her about finding him attractive, and it had been 13 weeks since she had denied it. But there was one thing she knew as soon as she looked up, her gaze landing on his face. She was completely, and utterly wrong.

"Is it? I thought she wasn't supposed to be back for another month at the very least," Kira jested, her smile growing even wider. Poe didn't waste a second in moving forward, weaving his arms around her as he held her close, her feet slightly lifted of the ground for a mere second. Kira nearly gasped at the unexpected contact, but bit her lip, containing her excitement. She relaxed into the hug, letting her eyes flutter closed as she rested her head in the crook of his neck as he embraced her. One thing she knew for sure, after 13 weeks of being isolated, she positively missed physical contact. Whether it be a hug, a caress, a kiss. Though she knew that the latter would be the last thing that Poe Dameron would think about giving her.

"Well, a little birdy told me that she had cut down her mission, and then also landed herself a suspension," Poe said, his eyes shut as well as he enjoyed the moment. He felt like he had been on edge for the last three months, constantly worrying for her safety. He made sure to pop by the General every now and then, asking for updates on the mission, on her whereabouts, her status. Each and every time he could feel the anxiety bubble up in his throat, and then dissipate as quickly as it had started in the first place when he heard that she was fine. He wasn't willing to admit to himself just yet, let alone her, but he was starting to care for the spy from Naboo.

"I just came out of that meeting, how the hell could you know that, Poe Dameron?" Kira asked, moving back and crossing her arms. The forest green jumpsuit that she was wearing was half tied around her waist, and as she crossed her arms, her grey tee emphasised the light muscles in her arms, something Poe found incredibly attractive. He shook his head lightly of those thoughts and focused on her question.

"That's Commander to you," Poe said with a wink, taking a step forward.

"Ah, I see. Pulled rank with one of the newbies, and they told you everything they overheard."

"Of course I did. I came running as soon as I heard you landed," He said, sending a smile her way. Her heart leapt in her chest at his honesty, and she tried her very best not to let it be quite obvious on her face.

"I'm flattered," Kira said, her brown eyes glinting in the light, a vision that Poe knew he would cherish.

"Don't be. BB-8 just wanted to see B1-89. He missed his friend," Poe teased.

"Well B1-89 missed him too, a lot in fact," Kira's gaze softened as she spoke, hoping that he would get her meaning without her having to make it explicitly clear. She wasn't exactly the bravest person when it came to emotions like that, at least to the people that mattered the most. She was scared of rejection, and with Poe's naturally charismatic personality, she honestly couldn't tell if he genuinely liked her as much as she liked him. So she reverted back to what she always did, stay secretive, and stay safe.

"I have a feeling were not talking about droids anymore," Poe suddenly said aloud, catching her off guard. She hadn't expected him to say it out loud, he had never done so before, so her reaction was just.

"B1-89 is in the charging bay, BB-8. I'm sure you know the way," Kira replied, avoiding his statement as she looked down at the droid that was standing next to its master. BB-8 beeped, getting the hint and rolled down the hallway, in excitement, leaving the two alone. It was surprisingly quiet in the area considering it wasn't a busy day in terms of business.

"So what department will you grace with your presence whilst your on suspension?" Poe asked, Kira walked next to him side by side down the hallway leading to the mess hall. She was eager to catch up with the rest of their gang, including Cora, Branson and Jessika.

"Med bay. I'll be of more use there than anywhere else," Kira said. "I kind of miss it actually."

"Makes sense. How are you taking the news so far?" Poe asked.

"I knew that I was probably going to get in trouble for blowing up a First Order Base, I just didn't realise it would be this serious," Kira admitted. Various officers had done similar things in the past, acting off instinct rather than from a political view, or orders even, and had gotten away with it. She wondered what made this different.

"What?!" Poe exclaimed in shock, stopping in the middle of his tracks. He had not expected those words to fall off her lips.

"I thought you knew!" Kira turned to him in surprise. Evidently the newbie working outside of the Generals office hadn't heard all details of her escapades, only the current punishment she was serving-as she liked to put it.

"I didn't know that you blew up an enemy base, and singlehandedly at that," Poe said shaking his head in disbelief. She had brought him speechless once again. As he stared at her face, admiring her soft features, looking into her dark brown eyes, he realised that there was still so much to her that he didn't know. "How did you manage that?" He asked.

"It's a long story," Kira exhaled. "How about we grab some food with the others, and I'll be happy to divulge all my secrets." Well, not all of them, at least not to the likes of you she thought to herself, trying her very best not to acknowledge the way he was looking at her right now.

"Lead the way, Sergeant."

A/N:

Pairing: Poe Dameron x Kira Marsden (OC) – This is my first time writing for Star Wars, please forgive me for any discrepancies in terms of canon. Yes, it follows certain aspects of 'The Force Awakens', but I have changed certain things, such as extending the timeline, and adding in my own characters, and scenes, so I guess you could say that everything else is AU.

Mainly a romance/hurt-comfort/humour fic. Not major plot development, meant to be for light entertainment...

Apologies for any grammar/punctuation mistakes. I don't have a beta, and this was written in my free time, therefore, if I have missed something, please let me know, so I can fix it up. Any advice, or comments are much appreciated. Looking forward to your reviews.

This story will consist of around 9 chapters. I've already written most of it, just working on the last chapter. It's just a small short story that I wanted to share with you all. Hope that you enjoy it. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Heroherondale.