"She seems cool."
"What?" Poe asked, looking up at Finn from under his X-Wing. The pair were in the hangar of the Resistance's newest base on the tropical moon of Levi. Poe was busy making some mechanical adjustments to his ship. Finn sat beside him on a crate, handing him tools as needed, but mostly keeping him company.
"Your friend," Finn said, motioning across the hangar. "She seems like a cool person."
Poe followed Finn's gaze to a small group that had formed on the other side of the shelter consisting of both the newly recruited pilots and some Resistance veterans. In the middle stood Marina, talking and laughing with them, dressed in her orange pilot's jumpsuit from training earlier that day. She had peeled off the upper half and tied it around her waist, revealing the black mesh tank top underneath. Her dark hair was plopped on her head in a messy bun. "Oh, you mean Sophie. Yeah, she's great." Poe rolled back under the X-Wing and continued his adjustments.
"Wait," Finn furrowed his brow. "I thought her name was Marina."
Poe paused his tooling for a moment. "Her full name is Sophia Marina Dehaan. I think I'm the only one who calls her anything but Marina though. Sophie."
"Sophia Marina," Finn repeated. "Well, she's definitely adjusted quickly."
"That's what the New Republic Academy teaches you to do. If you can't adjust quickly in battle, you die," Poe offered.
"Now that's something that sounds familiar from the First Order." Finn replied dryly.
He chuckled. "It's true. But I'm just happy to see she's getting on fine here."
"She's better than fine, I'd say. She might be getting even more popular than you."
Poe couldn't help but laugh from under the ship. He pushed himself out from underneath and stood beside Finn, wiping his greasy hands on a rag from his pocket. "It's honestly kind of weird, seeing her like this," Poe admitted. "When we were kids, she used to be a lot less extroverted and more awkward. And now she's so…"
"Stunning? Gorgeous? Beautiful?" Finn asked with a grin on his face.
"Outgoing." Poe replied, expression deadpan.
"Excuse me, Commander Dameron?" An aide to the General appeared beside them, holding a holopad. "General Organa has just returned to base from her visit to the Excelsior cruiser. She wanted me to inform you that the meeting went well, and to thank you for letting her borrow your astromech droid."
Poe smiled. "You can tell the General it was no problem at all. BB-8 was pretty adamant about doing his civic duty, anyways."
"Of course, sir. Your droid here served his purpose with great…" The aide paused, looking down at the ground all around him.
"Looking for something?" Poe asked, crossing his arms.
"Well, your BB unit was just here a few seconds ago, sir. And now he's seemed to have, uh, disappeared."
Poe waved him off. "Yeah, he tends to do that, don't worry about it."
The aide nodded and continued on his way, heading out of the hangar.
"Weird," Poe said, turning back to Finn. "BB-8 is normally so excited to tell me about all his adventures whenever he goes off somewhere on his own."
"Looks like this time, he was more excited to tell someone else." Finn pointed to the middle of the building, where BB-8 was nearly tripping over his own head to make his way across the hangar.
"What is he up to?" Poe wondered aloud.
The two friends watched as BB-8 continued his adamant roll. He slid to a stop outside of the group across the hangar, emitting a rather outspoken series of bleeps and whizzes. The crowd just looked on in confusion and amusement at the droid; many smiled or knelt down to interact with him but he modestly dismissed them.
"I changed my mind," Finn said. "BB-8 is definitely the most popular. And probably the coolest too."
"I can't argue with that. But why did he…" Poe trailed off as he realized it, his previously confused expression turning to one of joy.
Within the posse around BB-8, Marina stepped forward with a smile plastered on her face. With a certain disregard for safety, she fell to her knees and threw her arms around the droid. His head spun wildly in response, emitting all kinds of excited whirs. The two began conversing, even with Marina's arms still locked tight around BB-8.
Poe couldn't help but smile.
"Exactly how long have you had BB-8?" Finn asked with a questioning glance.
"Since I went off to the New Republic Training Academy," Poe replied, eyes still glued to the pair. "He was a going away gift, of sorts."
Eventually Marina returned to her feet, but only to have BB-8 roll immediately behind her and begin to push her forward. Though it appeared she was consistently expressing that she was very capable of walking on her own, he nonetheless continued on like that. It only took a few pushes to realize where BB-8 was headed. Poe exchanged a resigned look of pity with Marina as she and the droid slowly made their way over.
Upon arrival, BB-8 sped up to Poe, whizzing just as rapidly and excitedly as before.
Poe chuckled. "I know, buddy. I know she's here; I recruited her."
BB-8 whirred at him in a low frequency.
"Well that's what happens when you go off on your own missions!" Poe replied, shrugging at the droid.
BB-8 bleeped sadly and rolled back besides Marina, cozying up to her leg.
"I can't believe you still have him," she said after patting BB-8 on his dome shaped head, voice awestruck.
"Of course I do, he's the best astromech on this side of the galaxy," he replied confidently.
"Yeah, you wouldn't believe all the things this little guy has done for the Resistance," Finn interjected, shaking his head.
"Really?" She asked, looking down at him.
BB-8 bleeped back excitedly.
"Wow, the Hero of the Resistance, huh?" She asked. "Did you get a medal too?"
BB-8 bleeped positively.
"Alright, Mr. Hero, shouldn't you be in need of a major recharge?" Poe asked, kneeling down to the droid.
BB-8 whirred, and then looked between the three hesitantly. He blipped at Poe who chuckled.
"Don't worry, she'll still be here when you're all finished."
BB-8 made a threatening, whirring noise before rolling away to presumably charge up.
"It seems like he's grown even more of a personality since I last saw him," Marina noted as he sped away.
"Personality is one word for it," Finn added with a smug look.
"You're Finn, right? I meant to introduce myself earlier, but my first couple of days here were pretty hectic," she admitted sheepishly.
Finn shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I understand how crazy it can get here."
She smiled and put out her hand. "Anyways, I'm Marina."
He happily shook it. "I know. I mean, I know of you. Because of Poe, and stuff. Not that I know know you, or anything."
Marina chuckled. "Well it's nice to formally meet you, Finn."
"Good to meet you too."
"Anyways, I'm starving. Do you guys wanna grab some food?"
"No," Finn replied suddenly. "I mean I can't. Not that I don't want to. I'm just uh, waiting on a transmission that's supposed to be coming in." He quickly checked the thick holowatch on his wrist. "Speaking of which, I've got to go! Nice meeting you!" He then took off in the direction of the base's central hub.
"Oh, okay," Marina muttered, a bit startled.
Poe moved beside her and wrested an arm on her shoulder. They watched as Finn hustled away in his brown leather jacket. "Don't be too offended. Finn… isn't exactly the smoothest when it comes to girls. He's a little new to it."
"I can tell," Marina agreed with a chuckle. "But he seems nice."
"He is," Poe confirmed. "Used to be a Stormtrooper too. Saved my life more than once."
"What?" Marina exclaimed, looking up at him with mouth agape.
"Yeah, I'll tell you all about it over dinner. It's a pretty interesting story." He smiled at her. "Especially because I'm in it."
She rolled her eyes and pushed off his arm. "No wonder BB-8's personality has gotten so out of control."
The commissary was a standard cafeteria as any. The area served as hub for the Resistance members to relax and enjoy a meal when they could; several posters around even indicated it would be hosting weekly events to increase the morale of it's ever growing ranks. The simplicity of it all was comforting. Even the food wasn't half bad.
Poe and Marina's meals had long been finished when the sun that illuminated Levi began its descent over the horizon, projecting orange tones through the commissary windows. The pair had remained at their table, seemingly unfazed by the passage of the day. Friends had come and gone, joining them at the table for whatever time they had before returning to their duties. But the discussion had slowly and accidentally turned from the recounting of different adventures into an accidental and long endeavor in catching up.
"But really, Karé and Snap? I just find it so hard to believe." Marina expressed, resting elbows on the table between them.
Poe nodded, his arms crossed. He was leaning back in his chair, smirk plastered on his face as always. "It's subtle, but it's there."
"Damn. I don't think I'll ever be able to listen to their interactions over com the same way again," she confessed. "I thought they hated each other."
He laughed heartily. "Oh no. They definitely don't hate each other. Not all the time at least." He winked.
She smiled back, rolling her eyes. "Gross."
"You're the one who asked," he replied, shrugging.
Marina's eyes darted behind Poe for just a moment and her smile dropped. She let out an exasperated sigh. "Speaking of gross."
Before Poe could turn to see what had caught her eye, a pale man appeared at the end of their table, looking down at the pair. He boasted oddly parted brown hair and a palpable air of overconfidence that was cut only by a thin smile on his face.
"Commander Poe Dameron. I saw you over here and just had to come introduce myself. I'm Sergeant Rann, Mitchell Rann. Friends call me Spiral. It's an honor to be flying alongside you." He reached his hand out to Poe, who took it.
"I watched you do some impressive flying, Mitchell, happy to have you here."
"Thank you, sir." He said. "But I can't say I wasn't inspired by that stunt you pulled in Delta Sector-3 during the Battle of Ronin."
Poe sat up a bit straighter with an all too obvious smile. "That was a tight spot. But it was a team effort. Wouldn't have gotten anywhere without my squadron backing me up."
"Very true," Mitchell leaned an arm on the table, just enough to make it challenging for Marina to join the conversation in any way. "But you should give yourself more credit, sir. You were team leader, after all. And I hear you're the most daring pilot in the Resistance."
Poe shrugged. "Sure. But on a mission like that, you're nothing without a good team. That's why I pick the best to back me up - like Lieutenant Dehaan here. Have you met her?"
Mitchell hesitated for a moment before reacting to what Poe had said. He eventually turned slightly and nodded at her. Marina gave him no acknowledgement "Yes, well, good to meet you, sir. I better get back to my team."
"Sergeant," He said, with a nod. Once Mitchell was clearly out of earshot, Poe turned his attention back to Marina who was rather adamantly avoiding eye contact. "So… why was that such a strained interaction?"
"He's, well," she paused to let out a sigh. "He's my ex-boyfriend."
Poe's eyes went wide.
"Yeah, I know. Not exactly grade A material."
"No, it's not that, it's just," he paused for a moment, resting a hand on his chin. "I guess you do that sort of stuff now, huh?"
Marina blinked at him. "What do you mean? You mean date?"
Poe nodded. "Yeah. I never thought I'd see the day."
Her mouth fell agape before she swiftly kicked him under the table.
"Ow!" He exclaimed before breaking into laughter. "I didn't mean it like that. You just used to think that all boys had cooties. Except me." He bit his lip and smiled at her.
Marina felt an overwhelming heat rush to her face as she locked eyes with Poe, heart suddenly beating too hard for her liking. She found herself frozen; she was staring into his brown eyes in a way that she hadn't in a very long time.
The sound of a shattering plate across the cafeteria gave Marina the leeway she needed to look away from him. He followed the sound, turning towards the incident as the surrounding tables clapped ironically. She cleared her throat and got back on topic. "Don't worry. I still think that's true. If my ex wasn't a good enough example of why, I don't know what is."
"So," Poe began. "What happened between you and… Spinster, was it?"
She chuckled. "Oh, the stuff that always happens. I'm sure you know how it goes. We started having our differences, I found out he was cheating on me… the usual."
Poe's smile turned to a frown. "How long did you date?"
"Just two years," she said, her eyes glassy. She looked down at her hands. "So it's fine. It's old news now."
Poe opened his mouth for a moment before shutting it, looking on at Marina, despondent. Since the two had been reunited, she had been so much like she was as a child, but fully realized. She was more upbeat, and clever, and finally embracive of her personality. But Poe was beginning to realize that she, in fact, was not the same bright-eyed, goofy kid; though he had never expected her to be. But there was an apathy to her now; a layer of sadness Poe was all too familiar with. It was a sadness Poe wished he could have protected her from. But even more so, Poe wished to know how deeply it ran within her.
"I'm… I'm sorry that happened to you." He reached out and touched Marina's hand with his own. "I wouldn't have brought him here if I had known."
"Really, it's okay!" She said, flinching back and waving her hands. "I'm an adult. I'll deal with it. Besides, he's good pilot, and that's what's most important, right?"
Poe nodded tentatively, still not happy to believe her. "So, how come you never mentioned him in your messages?"
Marina shrugged. "Honestly, I think I was too embarrassed. I figured you had so much experience with that kind of thing, that whatever I told you would seem like, well, kid stuff."
"What do you mean by that?" He asked, crossing his arms.
"Oh come on, Poe. I mean you were always kind of a, well…" she trailed off.
"A what?" He asked.
"A player."
Poe laughed and dragged his hands over his face. He shook his head at her. "Oh, Sophie. That was a long time ago."
"So… you're saying you haven't broken the hearts of half the people here?" She smiled at him mischievously.
"No," he replied, arching his eyebrows. "I've been a little too busy for that."
"Fair enough," she chuckled. "But you know what I mean."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm picking up what you're putting down kid. I can understand why you wouldn't write me saying 'Dear Poe, I held hands with a boy for the first time today. It was magical.'"
"Jeez, Poe, hand holding is a little graphic. What kind of girl do you think I am?"
Poe chuckled and smiled at her brightly. "The best one I know. Even though this life is dangerous, I'm glad I have you here with me."
"I'm happy to be here," she admitted, a hint of blush on her cheeks. "When I was with the New Republic, I loved it but it always felt kind of off. But being here, I feel like, like I'm…"
"Home." Poe finished for her. "Me too, Sophie."
She smiled at him. "You know you're the only one who still calls me Sophie, right?"
He smiled back at her. "Yeah. I know."