Hi Everyone! Thanks for your patience- I've been traveling on vacation for a while and am just now getting back into the groove of things. This chapter is a bit shorter but I should hopefully have the next one up pretty soon! Hope you like it- leave a comment and let me know!

CHAPTER 4

Their return draws more attention from the base than either of them could have anticipated. As soon as they touch down, a large crowd gathers to welcome them. Of course, part of it is probably due to the fact that they're arriving in a First Order ship, though they had provided the requisite information and authentication of their identities to flight control so they could land in the first place.

BB-8 is the first down the ramp and charges straight into the crowd excitedly. Both Poe and Rey are slower in exiting, the latter adjusting the bandage on her arm and taking a deep breath before she forces her stiff limbs forward. A day and a half journey in the ship with Dameron has left her grouchy and joints aching from the confined space. The fresh air and openness of being back on a planet will revive her, she's sure of it.

"Rey!" Finn rushes forward as soon as she steps on to solid ground, pulling her into a tight hug. "We thought the worst had happened to you both." She swears she hears a sniffle before he pulls back to look at her. "Did he hurt you?"

"Who?"

"Kylo Ren."

"No, he didn't." She smiles softly at her friend and his obvious concern for her.

"What happened to you?" Finn says the words in shock, taking in the remaining visible bruises Poe is sporting.

"Stormtroopers. Nothing I couldn't handle." Poe brushes it off and moves forward to slap Finn on the shoulder. "It's good to see you again, though, buddy."

"Well, now that you two have spent so much time together, I'm sure you'll get along fine."

Rey and Poe's eyes meet, another silent challenge to add to the list.

"I think I've met the maximum I can handle of the Pilot."

"You weren't exactly a doll to get along with, either, Jedi."

"I'm not a Jedi yet." She corrects him quietly, almost hoping no one hears her.

"It's only a matter of time until you are." The deep, gravelly voice of her Jedi Master comes from behind her.

"Master Luke." She turns to face the aging Jedi who wears a happy smile. He swiftly embraces her.

"I don't think I was as worried as Leia and Finn were; I knew you would figure a way back."

Luke pulls back then and seems to inspect her for injury, his hands resting on her shoulders. Suddenly feeling awkward, Poe decides to leave the two Force users to themselves and continue toward the main building with Finn.

"Skywalker's lying; he was worse than Leia. Practically drove everyone nuts because he couldn't sense her presence in the Force or something."

"The two of them are very close."

"They were on Ahch-To for two months. They must have gotten used to only having each other for company."

"You think that's all it is?" Poe shoots Finn a questioning look.

"Don't be weird, Poe. He's more than twice her age." Finn glances over at his friend and sees him offer only a shrug in response. "Why do you care, anyway?"

"I don't. It's just something I noticed."

Finn watches his friend for several more moments as they walk, a smile spreading his lips slowly. "OK."

As it turns out, it's not that difficult to avoid each other at least for a week. Poe throws himself into training new pilots and going on short missions close to base— General Organa's idea after his prolonged departure— that are enough to keep him busy but not keep him from the base's proximity. As much as he protests when the General announces his temporary restrictions, he feels a certain safety and security in the closeness.

Rey sticks to the Jedi's side at all times, growing her skills and deepening her knowledge of the Force. Since Poe can't find it in himself to look at the aging Jedi, it's not difficult for him to not see Rey. When the General inquires after his sudden general unease, especially when her twin enters the same room, Poe is careful in his explanation that he generally feels uncomfortable with the Force. He knows that General Organa is Force sensitive so he restricts himself to only speaking of the Force itself in hopes that it will be less likely to offend her.

With the sage thoughtfulness she's known for throughout the galaxy, she listens to his lame response. He can't tell whether she truly and absolutely believes him or she's just being sympathetic to his parents' apparently known wariness of the Force despite their long friendship with both her and Luke. When he's done, she tells him of her own complicated feelings about the Force. He's surprised when she speaks of being held prisoner and tortured by the evil monster who would turn out to be her father, even though the entire galaxy knows she's Darth Vader's daughter. It's her bared confession of fear and skepticism, even of her own brother, after witnessing the incredible destruction and suffering that can be inflicted with the Force that gets to him.

"I cannot be sure of the value of an element of the galaxy that can be wielded to destroy life in such an extreme and widespread manner. That is one of the reasons why I have never accepted Luke's invitations to train in its ways."

Now he just feels guilty for ever going down this path. Couldn't he have just told her that he can't stand Rey's presence instead of the half-truth that he supplied? He may not have wanted to confess his wariness of Luke's relationship to Rey but he could have used the other truth he knows exists. It's enough of an emotional drain that when one of his squad pilots asks if he wants to get a drink Poe blurts a 'yes' before the question has wholly fallen from the other man's lips.

He'd be content if he could confine himself to the detached haze of alcohol as long as he knows Rey's on planet.

—*—*—

"You should come out for once. Please?" Finn's practically begging her and Rey's starting to feel her resolve crumble.

"But Finn, I hardly think Master Skywalker would—"

"Master Skywalker was young once, too, Rey." The edge in his voice betrays the tired irritation that normally remains hidden beneath his calm demeanor.

"I still think he'd disapprove."

"Just come have some fun. Ask for forgiveness; not approval."

"Fine." The eye roll that accompanies her response passes unnoticed by the former Stormtrooper, thankfully.

An hour later Rey and Finn walk into the living unit of someone who is clearly an officer, based on the spacious layout. It's also the space of someone social or at least well known since it's packed so tightly that Rey isn't sure she and Finn can even fit through the door, much less hear each other over the roar of others' conversations.

"Finn, I think this is a mistake; I should just go back."

He catches her around the waist before she can dart out the door. "No, Rey. You need to learn how to be around other people." He stares her down once she's turned back to face him. He can see the fear in her eyes so he tries to sound gentle as he presses her. "I know you lived alone for years and then only with Luke. It must be difficult to be around so many people all the time but you need to get used to it; people want to know you and be around you. You're a hero. People are grateful for what you've done."

"I don't want to be a hero to anyone. It's too much."

"Maybe you can let them adore you for just a few minutes."

She lets her muscles relax and follows Finn deep into the throng of people, unsure how so many can stand the crush of others' bodies in this way. They have so many amenities and luxuries so why would they choose such strange torture for themselves? She wants to do as Finn requested so she lets the thought go and focuses on the tranquility Master Luke has impressed upon her time after time. That's the only thing that keeps her from overthinking everything up until when someone spills a drink on her.

"I'm so sorry. I can't believe how much of a klutz I am." He throws a bright yet sheepish smile at her as he sets his cup far away from her. "It's a good thing I'm better at flying than I am with drinks around beautiful women."

She takes in his dark hair and light blue eyes. He has only one dimple, making his smile appear slightly lopsided as he looks at her. There's something about that making him imperfectly cute. It doesn't quite sit well, though.

"Does that ever work?"

He almost seems to choke on his own tongue. "What?"

"Your line." She keeps her face blank, focusing on her breathing to do so. "Does your line ever work with women?"

He gapes at her a moment. "Most of the time, yes. Clearly not now." He smiles at her again, this time with a deep blush accompanying it. "I should have thought better of it, given my audience."

It's her turn to be confused. Social interactions such as this are foreign to her— she's used to assessing everyone and everything for threats but not for odd compliments. His sudden honesty changes their dynamic and she doesn't understand why he believes he should have thought better of his line other than its obvious stupidity. Clearly there's more for her to learn.

He either takes pity on her or believes it best to explain. "You're a Jedi— everyone on this base knows that a Jedi can sense whether someone is being deceitful. It's silly for anyone to think you wouldn't know a pick up line easily when you hear one."

She knits her brow at his response. It's an interesting explanation. Apparently people have a lot of assumptions and ideas about the skills and perceived powers of Jedi. She has to remind herself that it was only a few short months ago that she believed outlandish myths about Luke Skywalker and the Jedi. Oddly enough, several of the myths she believed turned out to be true. What he's saying isn't exactly true— at least it isn't for her. She's not about to tell him that, though.

"I didn't realize anyone here would know I'm training to be a Jedi."

"Everyone knows who you are, Rey."

"Oh." Finn had alluded to as much but hearing it bluntly from another brings heat to her cheeks. "I'm not used to that. I feel badly that I don't know your name when you know mine."

"It's OK; I'm Seth." He awkwardly extends a hand out to shake hers. She grasps it with equal awkwardness, causing him to smile wider. "I'm a pilot in Blue Squadron— Poe is my squadron leader."

"Oh." Her voice drops with disappointed anticipation. He works with Poe and they're most likely friends. This won't go well.

He surprises her again with a laugh. "Poe charms most people but I'd heard there wasn't any love lost between you two. Several of us have a pool on when he'll finally tick you off enough that you send him flying into an X-Wing."

Irritation bubbles toward the surface briefly before she tamps it down with the techniques Luke taught her. This pilot doesn't know what he's talking about but she shouldn't react in an extreme just because he's ignorant; that would go against what she's been taught. So would be doing what the pilot suggests.

"A Jedi would never misuse the Force like that. Such actions belong to the dark side users; Jedi use the Force to protect the galaxy and its inhabitants— not to win personal quibbles."

His eyes light with alarm, clearly suddenly recognizing his misstep.

"Of course not. We don't really think you would do anything like that. It's just different to see Poe not taken in by every person around him. It's refreshing, really." He smiles gently at her then. "It gives the rest of us hope that we might actually have a chance."

It takes a few moments for Rey to comprehend his meaning. Her cheeks begin to heat from the implication so she nervously shifts her gaze over the crowd, hoping to see Finn amongst the many bodies crowded around the room. She has no such luck. Unsure what to do, she decides to shift the conversation away from thoughts of Poe and any chances a pilot has with her.

"It's strange to see so many people in one room like this. There's so much space and are so many luxuries in the base. Why would so many people decide to spend their night crammed together like this?"

"You're not very social, are you?"

"Jakku wasn't a very populated planet and it certainly didn't have much in the way of amenities. The life of a Jedi can likewise be solitary, at least it has been so far."

"I heard it was just you and Skywalker on Ahch-To for months."

"It was, until Finn and Poe came." She meets his eyes again, wondering what could be going through his mind then. "And you've probably heard the rest."

"Yeah, I think everyone has." The discomfort at the allusion to the capture by the First Order is palpable. "But most people here are used to having so many people around and even like this— not just because of our time at the base, either."

"Where are you from?"

"Correllia."

Suddenly her western reaches origins make her feel backward, even if she knows she really has no reason. "Is everyone else from Core Worlds?"

"Just about, I think. That's why we're used to so many people around. Well, except for Poe, who is from Yavin 4, but he's been in and out of bases practically his entire life." Seth stops abruptly.

"Why do you know so much about Poe and talk about him so often?"

"Sorry, he's my squadron leader so it's hard not to." He sighs and looks around. "It's weird, isn't it?"

"A little." She smiles at him sympathetically.

He holds her gaze for several moments before leaning in and finally asking, "You wanna get out of here?" Her hesitance doesn't go unnoticed so he smiles shyly at her. "I promise I won't talk about Poe anymore. And this way you don't have to feel awkward around all of these people."

She returns his smile, not at all unaware of what he's really asking.

"Sure."