i'm so sorry it took so long for the update! but the good news is that i think i've got this story completely planned out. there's going to be five more chapters, including this one, so that'll be eight in total. i'm sorry it's not more! and i know a lot of you want something from Poe's POV, and i promise to deliver, just not right now, haha. i hope you like this installment, lovelies~ i can't say when the next one will be up, as i've been really busy at work, but it's definitely coming.

also, i'm so, so thrilled to share this with you, but an absolutely wonderful person by the name of SnackyCrad drew a little something inspired by this story, and it's amazing! check it out over on DeviantArt (i can't put a link thanks to this site's formatting, but you can find it easily enough by going to DA and searching 'effervescence poe dameron') and leave them some love! i'm still not over it!

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EFFERVESCENCE
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CHAPTER FOUR

When she walked into her lab after reviewing the transmission from her mother, the last thing Keylara expected to find was Poe sitting at her workbench, having a conversation with MINI. She hesitated in the doorway — he was regaling the tiny droid with the tale of how he and BB-8 were reunited after the whole being-abducted-by-Imperial-Forces thing — and she pasted on a quick smile.

"Poe — hey."

He jumped to his feet like he was worried she'd be offended if he remained sitting, and the smile he flashed at her was cheery and warm. Somehow, it was exactly what she needed to see at that moment. The tension in her shoulders eased away, helping her to relax a little bit.

"There you are," he said. The smile faltered some as he took in the sight of her, and because he just always knew when something was wrong, he asked, right away, "Everything okay, Novan?"

She nodded and passed him a thumbs up as she came further into the room, but he didn't look convinced.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"I hate to break it to you, but you know I can tell when you're lying, right?"

A huff of laughter escaped her and she raised her eyebrows. "Oh, is that so?"

"It is. So you gonna tell me, or what?"

Keylara sighed and held her hands up defensively in front of her. "I'm just a little stressed out, okay? Everyone here's dealing with their own problems, right? It's nothing — like I said."

With his brow furrowed, Poe looked to MINI, and the droid swiveled to look back at him. It beeped at him: I don't know what she's talking about. His gaze went back to Keylara, and she wilted under his piercing eyes. Did everyone feel this way when under his scrutiny, or just her? It was like he could see right into her, and she almost expected him to be able to read her mind.

She would be in so much trouble if he ever developed that ability. So much.

"Poe —"

"I'm not gonna stop asking."

And she knew he wasn't lying. "It's just my mother."

He opened his mouth.

"She's kind of sick, but it's nothing serious," she added quickly.

"That doesn't mean you're not allowed to worry about her," he said instantly. He moved towards her, his eyes going all soft in the way that made her knees weak, and her breath hitched a little. Was he going to try and embrace her? Instead, he only touched her shoulder, squeezing gently, and he ducked his head slightly so that he could meet her gaze. "You could take some leave — I'm sure you'd get approved for it. Could go see her."

"By the time I got there, she'd be totally healthy again. I promise, everything's fine."

"If you're sure…."

"I am."

"More like you can't bear to tear yourself away from your work."

Some more of the weight on her shoulders lessened, and she humored him with a small smile. His own smile returned — he seemed pleased — and inwardly, she thought, or maybe its you I can't tear myself away from. She very nearly wanted to say just that. She could, couldn't she? After the way he'd flirted with her, she was more than allowed to tease him back, right?

She couldn't. Even if she wanted to. The words died on her tongue before she could even open her mouth.

"You know, a lot of people might think it was good of me to be such a workaholic," she said instead.

"These people must not know how little sleep you get most nights," he countered. "Have you eaten today?"

"As a matter of fact, I have."

"Something from the canteen?"

"It doesn't matter what I ate or where I ate it," she said as nonchalantly as she could, making him laugh.

"You mean you took two minutes out of your busy schedule to force down some nutrient paste before you got right back to work?" he asked playfully.

She bit her tongue to keep from laughing, but she knew the smile showed clearly on her face. "It's not that bad…."

"You don't even sound convinced. You know that stuff's supposed to be used for emergency rations, right? No one eats it unless they have to."

"I have a very important job here, Commander. Not even my need for daily sustenance can keep me from it."

He laughed again and shook his head, and his gaze lingered on her face for a moment longer than it probably should have. He threw a look at the workbench and said to MINI, "I thought I told you that you gotta look out for this girl, buddy."

MINI bleeped.

"Don't apologize to him," Keylara said, and she really hoped she wasn't blushing at the idea that Poe was so concerned for her he was trying to get her droid to keep an eye on her. "You've done nothing wrong."

"Next time she picks up a thing of nutrient paste, you just, you know, zap her for me or something, alright?"

It beeped again, this time affirmatively.

"Poe," she groaned, exasperated, and as he beamed at her like he was the funniest person to ever exist, ever, she neared the table and said to MINI, "Don't listen to him, MINI. He's just teasing you. And if you ever 'zap' me, I'll — well, I'll be very cross with you."

Her words made Poe laugh harder. "Hey, we're just trying to make sure you stay healthy and happy, okay?"

"Mm hmm."

She moved forward and started clearing off one side of her workbench, making room so that she could finally get started on that ancient blaster. Poe's hands went to his hips, and he watched, his expression much more sober. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but Keylara was painfully aware of his presence — and how desperate she was to be nearer to him.

"You know what I just realized?"

She looked at him, eyebrows going up in question.

"I don't even know where you're from."

She smiled. It just wasn't anything that had ever come up — in her experience, when you were in the Resistance, you lived in the here and now. Especially with the constant threat of Imperial Forces looming in the distance like a storm cloud. They didn't talk about their past lives or where they grew up or what their favorite childhood activity was, even though they did sometimes speculate on what their futures held. The past was the past and that was just how it seemed to go.

"Do you want to know?" she asked.

"Would I have said it if I didn't?"

"Eufornis," she told him. And before he could ask her to clarify, she added, "Major. Eufornis Major."

"I was gonna say, you didn't seem the type to grow up in the Outer Rim," he said.

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not."

"If I'm saying it to you, you can be sure it's always a compliment," he shot back, his tone just as playful as hers, but with a sincerity behind the words. Her heart did that stupid fluttery thing. Stupid. "I don't think I've ever been to Eufornis Major."

She shrugged. "You're not really missing anything — just your average city-planet."

"Average? That's not the word I've heard applied to it." When she looked at him quizzically, he said, "Illustrious. Reputable."

"Oh, right. 'Prestigious,'" she said, making air quotes with her fingers.

He grinned and shrugged. "I'm from Yavin 4."

"You know, Commander, I don't remember asking."

A surprised laugh tore out of him, but he quickly tried to appear offended by her words. "Ouch. That's the last time I tell you anything personal."

She smacked his shoulder lightly, and was it her imagination or did he lean into her touch? "Yavin 4, huh? Forest-planet, right?"

"That's the one. My parents settled down there after they retired from service."

"They served?"

"The old man was a soldier. In the Alliance to Restore the Republic. And my mom — she was a pilot."

"So it's in your blood then? Explains why you're so good at what you do."

"Oh, Novan, I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy inside."

"Hey, it's just what I've heard, I'm not saying it's true," she teased.

Though he smiled, he also hesitated, like he wasn't sure this was really something he wanted to talk about. That changed in an instant, however, and with his eyes steady and unblinking on hers, he looked as if there was nothing he wanted to do more in his life. "She never really told me anything about her time, you know — no grand war stories or anything. But I looked into her after I joined up with the Republic; the number of battles she'd been in, the number of lives she'd saved — it was incredible."

"What happened to her?"

"She died a little while after the Battle of Endor."

"I'm — I'm sorry," Keylara said quickly, her face heating up. It'd seemed like the question to ask, but she hadn't quite thought about how bad it might make the both of them feel.

He shook his head. "I was pretty young when it happened."

She realized all too suddenly that at some point in their conversation, he'd moved much closer, backing her against the workbench. The edge of it dug into her hip, and she had a hand laying flat on the surface of it like she needed something to keep her upright. He didn't seem to notice in the slightest.

For a long moment, he just watched her. She tried not to look as affected by him as she was — stay still, she told herself, don't fidget so much — and she hoped that she looked cool and relaxed. His gaze flickered down to her mouth, then returned back up to her eyes. Her throat was as dry as the deserts of Jakku (at least, as dry as what she'd heard of the deserts of Jakku, thanks to BB-8's convoluted description of the planet).

Poe smiled. "I don't think I've ever talked about her with anyone."

"I didn't mean to pry."

"If you were prying, I wouldn't have told you."

"Oh."

He chuckled a little, and his eyes did that thing again — sliding down to her mouth, lingering while he seemed lost to his own thoughts, then flickering back up to meet hers. Her heartbeat was thick and heavy in her ears, so loud she had to wonder if he could hear it too.

She cleared her throat, a tiny, embarrassing sound, and went on, "Thanks for telling me. I'm — I'm not surprised you have greatness in your blood."

"Are you coming onto me, Keylara?" His tone was smooth and velvety, mischievous, but the question blunt and to the point.

She opened and closed her mouth soundlessly, her cheeks catching fire and turning scarlet. She hadn't actually been flirting that time, though she certainly wasn't against the idea — she should have known something like that could be taken as such. As the moment stretched on, she knew she needed to say something — anything, for pity's sake — but her mind rushed with too many thoughts.

Just as she hoped she might be able to pinpoint one and actually voice it, there was movement in the doorway.

"Am I interrupting?"

Poe didn't necessarily jump away from Keylara, though he did take a swift step back, tossing an easy, but professional smile at the Mon Calamari who'd entered. "Not at all, Grand Admiral — I was just on my way out. You're in good hands, here, sir."

His eyes met Keylara's a final time just before he left the lab, and she swore she saw something there — something private and intimate, meant only for her. Her heart was still beating just a tad too quickly, even as she listened to Gial Ackbar's concerns about the targeting systems there on D'Qar.

How long had she floundered for words while Poe had waited? If she'd only spoken up sooner, how would he have reacted? What would have happened if the Grand Admiral had waited ten more minutes before showing up?

By the time he left, she couldn't even remember what the resolution to his problem had been. She was too busy thinking about stupid Poe Dameron and that insufferable boyish grin.

MINI, who'd remained silent, contentedly wheeling around on the workbench, finally piped up just as the Mon Calamari left. And the droid had some very choice words about what an inconvenience his visit had been for them.

"Be sweet," she told the droid. "He's a very decorated member of the Resistance…. Even if he did interrupt what was a very important moment to me."

MINI bleeped again.

"I don't need any romantic advice…. But thanks anyway."