Chapter 1

He had been captivated by many women throughout his life and career. He had had women in many places and in many forms. In his X-wing. In his bed, or whatever military cot he was sleeping in. On command consoles. On the cold, hard earth of many worlds, both Inner Rim and Outer Rim alike.

But none - none - of those women fascinated him the way this mysterious scavenger Jedi from Jakku did.

Poe Dameron had been attracted to Rey the moment he met her. Filled with admiration for the power and heroics she seemed to exude with ease. He would watch from a distance as she inspired the flagging Resistance members in a way he had seen in only one other person, and that was General Leia Organa herself.

As the weeks passed since the Battle of Crait, Poe gave Rey whatever access and tools she needed. Her own private quarters, a luxury that no other Resistance fighter could claim. But she was the Last Jedi, after all; wasn't it only proper to afford her special treatment and deference? He showered her with compliments whenever he could, sometimes watching her practice with the lightsaber staff that she was slowly but surely constructing. The crystals apparently came from a lightsaber that had once belonged to Luke Skywalker himself, and his father Anakin Skywalker before him. Somehow, the original hilt of the weapon had been split asunder; how exactly that came about Rey never said. But Poe didn't mind. He was sure she had been throughout a lot. And despite it all, she carried herself with a grace that Poe could not help but admire.

One day, she hung back behind many other Resistance fighters, following a strategy meeting Poe had prepared and conducted himself. The results of the pow-wow had pleased the young Dameron; ever since the tragic passing of General Leia Organa, he had been learning how to Command the Resistance largely by doing. It was a hands-on experience, and sometimes, his ideas didn't work. But it was a gradual evolution. Baby steps. Eventually, Poe was certain, he would come into his own, hit his own stride.

Now, Rey was helping to clean up many of the files and notes that others had left behind.

"I can do that, Rey; why don't you head back to your quarters, get some rest?" Poe offered. Call it a fit of gallantry, but he felt that for a Jedi to do such mundane tasks seemed unworthy of her. She surely had more important things to do.

Rey just laughed. "Poe, I'm fine! I actually like doing mindless chores once in a while."

Poe bit back a smile, increasingly fascinated by this young woman. "It's nice to see the Last Jedi is so humble..."

Rey turned to him, with a small grin on her face. "Why are you so nice to me?" she asked, rather unexpectedly, and it made Poe wonder if being shown kindness had ever been a foreign concept in her life. Sure, he had heard stories of Jakku being a bit of a harsh dump, but he didn't think it was callous and cruel. Or maybe it was. After the escape pod carrying him and Finn had crashed, he hadn't overstayed his welcome long enough to find out, booking passage off-world via the first freighter he could find. And now she was asking him why he was simply being a nice person? Well, he would make it clear. Honesty was always the best policy.

"I really like you. OK?"

Instantly, the smile disappeared. Rey's face fell. "What?" and she seemed genuinely shocked.

All right. So clearly, his crush was not requited. Poe had never encountered that before; any other girl for whom he had admitted feelings had normally jumped at him. Rey's unique response made her all the more fascinating to him. Even so, Poe held up his hands in a placating gesture, taking the rejection like a man. More and more, knowing when to admit defeat was becoming one of his better qualities, especially after his ill-advised mutiny against Holdo.

"It's OK, I can see you don't feel the same. I'm a big boy, and I will get over it."

Rey, meanwhile, had largely recovered from Poe's declaration. Her face gentle, she took his hand.

"Oh, Poe... you're a great guy, and amazing pilot, but... my heart belongs to another." And even as she said the last, her face lit up into a beaming smile. "And in truth... I gave my heart away a long time ago."

Poe smiled back, enjoying this doe-eyed version of Rey. "You mean, it feels like a long time because you're so in love."

Rey bit her lip, deep in thought. "Yes... and no," she explained, and the equalization came across to Poe as very mysterious. A part of him wanted to know more, and in particular about this fortunate guy that had stolen the Last Jedi's fancies.

"Would I know his name... his face?" Poe asked teasingly.

The inquiry made Rey laugh harder than he had even expected her to. She shook her head, a giddy smile on her face. "Absolutely not!"

"Well," Poe nodded, conceding. "He's very lucky. I hope he knows it."

At this comment, Rey seemed to take on a resigned countenance. "He knows as much as he is able to. We're very much in love, but... physically separated. Circumstances being what they are..." She didn't finish, but her words seemed strangely cryptic in a way that concerned Poe. All at once, he began to notice little things involved in the time he had been watching her, things he hadn't noticed before. How her lightsaber practices seemed to be a emotional outlet to rid her of angst and pain. How she seemed eager to help in mundane tasks because it helped her take her mind off things, stressful things. And here came yet another memory: one night, while Poe was up late doing patrols, he passed the door to Rey's chambers... and thought he had heard her crying. Poe now wondered whether this guy had done anything to hurt Rey, to bring on this pain that she had somehow managed to tamper, at least to a certain extent. Or maybe it was something else...

We're very much in love, but... physically separated. Circumstances...

Poe reached out and gave Rey's hand a squeeze. "I'm sorry. Whatever you're going through can't be easy. And for what it's worth, I never would have guessed: you hide it well." It seemed like a roundabout compliment, even after he said it, but Poe honestly didn't know what else to say.

And when Rey's eyes came up to meet his, Poe felt his heart constrict as he saw they were filled with tears. "Thank you."