Author's Note: So, this will likely be a series of one-shots, some current day, some future, maybe even some past. For now, I'm going to make them individual standalones, though. If you haven't read my other stories, Connections and Homecoming in particular, this might not make complete sense.
And this started out cute, but it had a mind of its own and got slightly angsty. Sorry about that!
Disclaimer per usual – I do not own Star Wars or any aspect of the SW universe; just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me.
"You've been what?" Poe looks at his dad, incredulous.
Kes shrugs, wincing at the small movement. "Sparring with the Little Jedi."
Poe puts his face in his hand for a moment, then looks back at Kes, who is sitting on a bed in the medbay with a bag of ice on his right shoulder, waiting for a bacta wrap from the nurse. "Dad, you're nearly sixty years old, you've been out of the field for over twenty-five years, and Rey is a Jedi – and Jedi or not, she could probably beat the hell out of either one of us with that staff."
"Fifty-six." Kes sniffs.
"What?"
"I'm only fifty-six. That's not 'nearly sixty.' I'm four years from sixty." Kes is now glaring.
Poe rolls his eyes and deadpans, "Your birthday is next week, Captain. Then it's three years."
"And anyway," Kes argues, bristling at Poe's use of his rank, one level below Poe's own rank, "I didn't hurt myself sparring. I hurt myself moving a crate of blasters."
Poe throws up his hands. "Dad, I was standing right here when the doc said that the reason moving that crate made your shoulder pop out was because of some, and I quote, 'recent damage,' to the joint."
"It's not that bad, Poe."
"It was dislocated, Dad!" Poe finally raises his voice in frustration.
Across the room, Leia and Rey are listening to the two Damerons bicker. Rey had skidded into the medbay a few minutes ago, panicked after Finn told her that Kes had hurt himself when they were sorting though some weapons supplies.
Leia had stopped her at the door, though, shaking her head at Rey. "He's fine, but I think Poe is about to kill him." She lifts an eyebrow at Rey. "And you've been sparring with him?"
Rey blushes lightly. "He asked me to; we've been doing it for a couple of weeks. He knows he's going to be training people my age. He wants to build up his stamina and work on his reflexes. It was fine until I wasn't able to stop a move, getting a hard pop in on his shoulder. But he told me it was nothing!"
"He may have thought it was," Leia pats Rey's arm, trying to comfort her. "Finn said he was moving all right until…he wasn't. He probably didn't even realize it was damaged, and I'm pretty sure it's not his first injury to that shoulder."
"Poe is going to be angry with me," Rey frets, wringing her hands.
She must also project the thought, because a moment later, Poe's voice bounces through her head as he thinks at her, "Not angry. Just wish you'd told me, Beautiful."
Rey cringes, looking at Leia. "Poe knows I'm here and worried. I need to go over there."
Leia shakes her head again. "I wouldn't. Let them sort this out, Rey. As amused as I am by watching them snipe at each other, this isn't simple for either of them."
"It's a family thing," Rey says softly, nodding. "I should stay out of it."
"No, it's not a family thing," Leia disagrees, "It's a father-son thing. You are part of their family, Rey. But you shouldn't be thrust into the middle of that particular fray right now. They'll end up fighting over you instead of working this out." Her voice is kind, and Rey understands what she means. "Why don't you come with me to get some dinner?"
Rey nods, and she thinks at Poe that he should just send her a thought if he needs her for anything. He sends her a warm wave back, and she leaves with Leia, hoping the two men she has come to love dearly don't kill each other.
Poe takes a deep breath. "Dad, I'm sorry that I yelled, but Rey could really hurt you. She could do it without meaning to, which is what I'm guessing happened here. She's going to be beating herself up over this, you know?"
"It's not her fault!" Kes protests, looking mortified. "I'll talk to her, Poe. I don't want her to feel guilty. She didn't hurt me on purpose. Hell," he pauses, "I didn't really realize that it was even injured until it popped out of joint."
Poe cringes, but Kes just shrugs, once again wincing at the movement. "It's not the first time that happened, and once it has happened once, it's easier for it to happen again."
"I was worried, Dad. All I got was Finn calling me saying you were hurt and in the medbay." He runs a hand through his hair. "I could, you know, order you to not spar with Rey anymore." Kes starts to argue, and Poe holds up a hand. "I won't, though. I just need you to be more careful, Dad. Whether it hurt or not, you should have gotten your shoulder checked out after she hit you. She didn't know that you have a history of issues with that shoulder, but you did know. So that's my order – any more hits like that which you fail to get checked out? And I will put a stop to the sparring."
Kes looks defiant for a moment, but then he nods. "That's fair." He sighs. "I really didn't know it was hurt, Poe. I would've said something. Once they wrap my shoulder, I'm going to go find Rey. Can you let me talk to her first? I never want our Little Jedi to feel guilty on my account. It was not her fault."
"All right, Dad. I'd appreciate it." Poe would prefer to talk to her first, but he can tell that this is important to his dad.
The nurse comes in with the bacta wrap, and she carefully wraps Kes's injured shoulder. After she admonishes him to take it easy for a few days and not lift anything heavy for a week, she pats him on the good shoulder and tells him he's free to go. Kes thanks her quietly. Poe does the same, and then he says, "Come on, Dad. Let's go get something to eat."
Kes agrees, and when they get to the mess area, they see Rey sitting at a table with Leia, Connix, Rose, and Finn. Poe can feel that Rey isn't happy, that she's worried, and he bumps his dad. "Go talk to her. I'll get you some food."
Nodding, Kes heads over to the table. Finn notices him first. "Kes, how is the shoulder?"
"It's all right, kid. Just need to take it easy for a few days." He looks down to see Rey looking up at him. She's clearly upset, and her food is largely uneaten despite the fact that she has been there a while. "Little Jedi, do you have a moment? I wanted to talk to you."
Rey hesitates, but then she nods. "Of course." She stands, and she follows when he beckons to her. They head outside the mess area, into a quiet hallway. Before Kes can say anything, Rey says, "I'm so sorry, Kes. I didn't…"
"Stop, Little Jedi," Kes holds up his good hand, "This is on me. Poe made a very good point with me earlier – I know that I've injured this shoulder before. I should have gone to medbay right away just to get it checked, but I shrugged it off because it didn't hurt. That's my fault, not yours. And it's not like you were trying to hurt me, but Rey, we were sparring, not playing Dejarik."
She gives him a half smile at that, but it falls a moment later. "I should have told Poe that I was working with you, and that I got a hit in, though. He has every right to be upset with me."
Kes reaches out with his good arm and takes her hand, squeezing it. "Maybe so, but I don't think he is."
"He's not. Which makes me feel worse." Rey sighs.
"Little Jedi, just talk to him. And not across a room, not in your heads. Talk to him." Kes squeezes her hand again before releasing it. "Now come on, I need to go eat."
Rey demurs. "I'm done, so why don't you go ahead."
"Rey," Kes begins to protest, but she cuts him off.
"I actually promised Chewie that I'd meet him at the Falcon to help him with some repairs to the hyperdrive. I promise I am not going to wallow." She gives him what she hopes is a reassuring smile.
"All right, Little Jedi. See that you don't." He gives her a one-armed hug and heads back to the mess.
She watches him go, guilt still burning at her, though less so than before. She turns and heads towards the hangar, but she knows the moment Kes re-enters the mess without her, because Poe immediately pings her with a thought. "Why didn't you come back with Dad, Beautiful?"
She tries to bury her feelings, not wanting him to worry. It's also true that she needs to meet Chewie. She thinks back, "I am meeting Chewie to work on the Falcon." She feels a wave of concern roll towards her. "I'm all right, Flyboy, I promise. Can we talk at home in a few hours?"
He sends her a warm wave as he had earlier, essentially an agreement. Back in the mess, though, he can't help but worry a little. When his dad sits next to him, he asks, "Does she think I'm mad at her?"
Kes shakes his head. "She knows you're not, but she thinks you should be."
Poe huffs out a breath. "Maybe I should. But I'm not. She meant well, didn't she?"
It's only Poe, Kes, and Leia still at the table, and Leia clearly overhears him. "This one," she motions to Kes, "Wanted to work on his endurance with the kids he'll be training, and he wanted to get his reflexes back up to par. Rey was just helping him. She certainly meant well."
Kes agrees, and he adds, "Son, even though she knows, I told her you aren't angry about it. But you need to talk to her. Not thinking, not feeling each others' emotions, but actual speaking of words. She knows you aren't mad, but because she thinks you should be, it makes her feel worse."
For the second time in less than an hour, Poe drops his face into his hand. "Damn it." After a moment, he moves his hand, looking at his dad. "Dad, next time, tell me what you're doing. Don't put Rey in a position like this."
"I didn't ask her not to say anything!" Kes defends himself.
"Dad, you didn't have to. She's careful with you. Your approval means everything to her – do you not understand that you're the only dad she's ever had? She likely assumed that you'd tell me if you wanted me to know." Poe shoots his dad an exasperated look. "Try to remember what she came from, Dad. She's going to overcompensate because she's protecting the relationships she's gained."
He stands up. "I've got some reports to work on. I'm going to go to my quarters to wait for Rey. Dad," Poe addresses Kes, who looks up, "Take it easy. That's an order."
"Will do, kid." Kes has the good grace to look sheepish.
"Good night, Poe." Leia smiles at him. "Everything will be fine, you know?"
Poe nods. "I do. I just don't like it when she's upset. Good night Leia, good night, Dad." He leaves them with a wave, heading to the quarters he shares with Rey. He can feel her in the back of his head, a light buzz like usual, but while he can sense that she's a little upset, he can also tell that she really is working on the Falcon. She told him once that he gives off a happy, peaceful feeling when he's working on his X-Wing; the same is usually true for her with the Falcon. It's mostly true for her tonight, but it's just tinged with something, maybe guilt, maybe anxiety, maybe a little of both.
He changes into comfortable clothes and sits down at the desk in their room, going to work on a pilot training report that he owes Leia. Much to Finn's consternation, while she holds her main job as one of their lead engineers, Rose has been spending time with him in a flight simulator. She is a decent pilot already, and he's trying to turn her into a very good one. Finn, on the other hand, is happier on the ground, working mostly with Kes these days.
Almost two hours later, Poe is finishing the detailed write-up on the new group of pilot trainees when he can tell that Rey finishes whatever she was doing to the Falcon. It's oddly like dropping out of light speed, a lurch then smoothing out again. He waits to see if she moves towards their quarters, but he can sense reluctance from her, and the guilt continues to linger.
He waits five more minutes to see if she heads home, but he can tell that she's staying put. He has his natural shields up against anyone (including her) hearing his thoughts, so he can think, "Hiding," and she won't know. He sighs and pulls his boots on, shrugging into a light jacket for himself and grabbing hers on the way out the door.
Their new planet, one they came to recently, is one largely ignored by the First Order; it's short on natural resources, near Endor, with dense, tall evergreen trees and a lot of rocks and mountainous areas providing excellent cover. There's also something magnetic in the rocks that disrupts scans, just an added bonus. It's also cold. Not Hoth-cold, but a hell of a lot colder than their last planet, which had a tropical climate similar to Yavin 4's. But it had a hangar due to an old lumber trade, a trade that died out years ago.
When he gets to the Falcon, he spots Chewie. The Wookie nods to him, pointing to the hangar entrance. Poe nods to him in thanks, and he heads outside. It only takes him a moment to spot her on top of a small rise, curled in on herself against the cold and staring up at the stars, one of the planet's two moons bathing her in light.
He climbs up the rise, settling next to her. He leans over and wraps her jacket around her shoulders. After a few moments of silence, he says, "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" She looks at him in confusion at that, but he's just glad to finally have her attention. He chuckles. "Guess I need to explain pick-up lines to you."
She shakes her head at him with an indulgent smile, working her arms into her jacket sleeves. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was sparring with Kes. He didn't say anything to you, so I thought he didn't want you to know."
"I told him the same thing at dinner. But Beautiful, I'm not upset, at least not with you." He pauses and sighs. "I'm not even upset with Dad about the sparring, but I told him before we left the medbay that if he gets hit again and doesn't report it, no more sparring."
"I'm sorry I hurt him. I didn't mean to, Poe. I swear I didn't even know he was injured." She looks up at him with wide, remorseful eyes.
He leans down and kisses her gently, pulling back a moment later and saying, "Of course you didn't mean to hurt him, Beautiful. And I'm only mad at him because he knows he has a history with that shoulder. He should've gotten it checked the same day you hit him."
"So, you're not angry at me?" She sounds so unsure, and it makes him cringe a little.
"Rey, of course I'm not angry at you."
"I didn't like how it felt, trying to keep something from you," she softly admits.
He wraps his arm around her shoulder, pulling her tight to his side. "You never have to keep anything from me, Rey. And if Dad asks you to, he knows I'll bust him back down to sergeant. I'm pretty sure I'd have the general's support around that, too."
She smiles, snuggling closer into his side. She hums quietly. "You're so warm. How are you always so warm?"
He grins. "No idea, but always happy to share the warmth." They're quiet for a while, just looking up at the stars. Eventually, he asks, "What was wrong with the Falcon's hyperdrive?"
She giggles. "Porgs nested in it. They ate half of the wiring."
He barks out a laugh. "I bet Chewie was pissed."
"You have no idea." She grins, recounting the story of getting to the Falcon and finding the giant Wookie with a porg on his head, another on his shoulder, grumbling and trying to relocate the nest.
After a while, it's finally too cold for Rey, so they head inside, waving a good night to Chewie as they pass the Falcon. As they walk, he asks, his curiosity getting the best of him, "So, how is Dad doing with the sparring?"
"Good now. Not at all good when we started." She gives him a quick grin.
He smirks. "Do tell?"
She goes on to reveal just how many times Kes landed on his rear during their first time sparring, and for some reason, it makes Poe feel a little better. Rey bumps him. "That's not nice, Flyboy."
He shrugs. "Hey, there's just something fun about knowing that your girlfriend can kick your dad's ass. I admit it. It's kind of a turn on."
She playfully punches him in the arm at that, but she also envisions taking advantage of his current mood when they get to their room. At least what was a crappy afternoon can turn into a decent night. He must hear her thoughts, because he suddenly picks up the pace. She's laughing when they get to their quarters, pulling him inside the minute the door opens, thinking that she's awfully glad they both don't have duty again until late the next morning.