Author's Note: This chapter got a LOT longer than I thought it would.

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.

Rey sits on the deck of Poe's (their?) house, waiting for him to come back from his run, which he'd warned her might be a long one, something he often does on Sunday mornings. She'd done half an hour on the bike in the basement when he rolled out of bed at six thirty – not as good as seven the other day, but she'll take it – and knowing that she wouldn't go back to sleep, she decided to actually try to get back into a workout routine.

She's going over her notes for her first class, a 9:00 am tomorrow, a steaming cup of coffee on the table next to her. Bee went with Poe, and Rey is curious how tired the dog will be when Poe gets back. She grins. The bouncy retriever will likely be just fine.

Rey sets her notes aside, picking up her coffee cup and gazing out at the river. It's insane how much she loves everything about this place Poe found for himself. It's almost unbelievably quiet, but at the same time, between the trees and the birds and the movement of the river, it's also wonderfully alive. It's peaceful in a way that surprises her with how much she likes it. She thought she'd miss LA, but the truth is while she knows she'll want to go back and visit now and then, this is home.

Even though it's still August, they just had their first minor cool front. There's a slight chill in the air, and she snuggles into the Adirondack chair she sits in, his hoodie – the same one he gave her the day they met, which he demanded that she let him wash yesterday – wrapped around her. It doesn't smell so much like him now, making her frown. She'll have to make him wear it for a few hours this afternoon and then steal it back and hide it so he doesn't wash it again any time soon.

Her hair is braided back, and she's wearing the hoodie with a tank, yoga pants, and a pair of thick socks, the latter something she found in his drawer. They're too big for her, but they're really warm and soft, too. She feels the sun on her face and tilts her head back, thinking about the last few days. After what he shared with her Thursday afternoon, she has given a lot of thought to how they can tackle this if it becomes a problem between them.

She wants to talk to Uncle Luke about it, but she decides that she can't do that without Poe there, too – it would feel too much like a violation of trust. She hopes Poe will be willing – he did, as predicted, have a nightmare Thursday night. It was bad, and he'd woken up completely freaked out. His yelling – her name, which broke her heart a little – had jolted her awake, but once she'd assured him that she was there and she was fine, he'd settled back down.

She shakes her head, refocusing on her notes for class. She's more than a little nervous about tomorrow; she knows her material backwards and forwards, but she also knows she might have some difficulty with people making assumptions about her not knowing what she's talking about, given her age and gender. Potentially, she also knows she may end up with unwanted advances. It's oddly reassuring to know that Poe understands that entirely. He told her yesterday that if she wants to come to his class tomorrow afternoon, she can. It's a 3:15, his only Freshman-level class this semester, and she's done on Mondays, class-wise, at 2:30. She thinks she will, maybe just going and slipping in the back so she can watch him.

The thought of yesterday makes her smile broadly. He'd surprised her by taking her up in his mom's plane, and he'd even let her take the controls for a little while. He'd set it up with Finn and Rose before they'd left the airfield on Thursday. Schedules and weather permitting, he'd told her they can go up every Saturday if she wants to and that he'll take her out there on Wednesdays after school to just sit in the plane and really get comfortable with all of the controls and what they do.

She's not used to being with a man who follows through on the things he said, but he also set up time a week from today to hit the test track over in western Connecticut, so she can open up his Porsche on it. They're leaving Bee with Leia and Han and making a quick weekend of it, after they go flying in the morning, of course.

It boggles her mind. She's never had a boyfriend who did anything like these things for her. She said as much to him, and he looked at her like she was crazy, noting that she deserves a lot better than she's gotten in the past. She'd acknowledged then that until now, her taste in men has really, really sucked. He'd just given her a sad smile and kissed the top of her head at that.

A bark makes her turn her head towards the end of the driveway, and she smiles at the sight of him and Bee heading this way. Bee spots her sitting outside, and he's bounding towards her quickly, easily outpacing Poe, who just laughs. Rey stretches her legs out on her chair's matching ottoman, bracing herself. Bee launches himself at her from the top step, landing on her and sending the chair sliding slightly back. "Oof. Nice to see you too, Bee."

The dog sprawls on her, squirming up to lick her face. She giggles and hugs the beast to her. After taking a couple of minutes to stretch a little and cool down, Poe jogs up to the deck, one eyebrow lifted at them. Rey grabs a towel from the back of her chair and tosses it to him, and he catches it easily. She learned quickly that Sweaty Poe looks sexy, but she found out the hard way that she really doesn't want him to hug her without drying off a bit.

He dries his face, rubs the towel on his hair, and then he flips the towel over his shoulder. "Thanks, Sunshine." He then turns one of the chairs from the table around, straddles it, and sits down, leaning his arms on the back of it to look at her. She passes him a bottle of water, and he nods his thanks again as he takes a drink from it.

She waits for him to swallow before saying, "Mum called. We're invited to lunch."

"What did you say?" He reaches out and scratches Bee's side. The dog is literally draped over Rey like an orange and white blanket.

"I told her I needed to check with you. She snorted and said she'd see us at one." Rey rolls her eyes.

"Bossy," he grouses, but he's smiling when he does. He looks down at his sports watch. "So, we have hours. I'm starving now."

"That's what happens when you run a 10K before breakfast." She teases him.

"Hey, I ate a power bar! Nice socks, by the way." He pokes Bee, who shifts, making Rey grunt. She sticks her tongue out at him, and he returns the gesture, laughing. "Very mature, Dr. Kenobi."

"Says the man who did it back and who nudged the dog just to mess with me." She sticks her tongue out again. "And sorry I stole the socks, but my feet were cold and they looked so damned cozy."

His affectionate look tells her he doesn't care. "Seriously, let me get dressed, and I'll introduce you to a place here with excellent pancakes." He stands. "Deal?"

"Pancakes?" She perks up.

Poe crosses his arms over his chest. "So, now I have your attention."

She shoos Bee off of her lap and stands, mirroring his position. "I really like pancakes."

"More or less than tacos?" He smirks.

She blinks. "I'm not Solomon. You cannot make me choose." Her face is serious. She's not kidding. No way is she going to rank tacos versus pancakes. She's not made of stone, damn it.

He can't hold back his laugh at that, and he leans in and kisses her. "Your outrage there was priceless, Sunshine."

She grabs his arms before he can move away, pressing her body to his as she kisses him in return. It quickly turns from playful to heated, but she's hungry, too. After a moment, she pulls back, sucking on his lower lip as she does. "Go get cleaned up. You're a little stinky, and I was promised pancakes."

He laughs again, shaking his head. "You do know that you effectively just ranked me below tacos and pancakes, right?"

She chews her bottom lip. After a moment, she grins and concedes, "Only when I'm hungry."

He chuckles and cups her cheek with his palm, the expression in his eyes exceptionally fond. She can tell he's about to say something, but he stops himself. "I'll be out in a minute."

She nods. "Can I go dressed like this?"

"Yep. Not a fancy place, Sunshine." He heads into the house, and she follows with her coffee cup, Bee at her heels. After dropping the cup in the sink, she goes into the bedroom. Regardless of his response a moment ago, she wants to throw a fitted long-sleeved t-shirt over her tank and to pull on some hiking boots over his cozy socks. She listens the shower running, and she thinks about a moment ago. She's fairly sure he was going to say, "I love you," but that he stopped himself.

She frowns a little. Thursday night, they both admitted that they were falling in love with each other, but she thinks they both are letting something hold them back with regard to actually declaring that they love each other. She doesn't know if it's time, or specifically, how little time they've been a couple, or if it's something else entirely. She's fairly certain she does know, though, how he feels. At least when it comes to her interactions with him, he has basically no poker face whatsoever.

The look in his eyes just minutes ago told her exactly how he feels, and she feels the same way about him. She really wants him to say it, though. She hugs her arms around herself. She can honestly say she's never felt like this before. It amazes her now to think that she thought she cared about her exes.

She had no idea what it meant back then to be in a real relationship. This one is barely a week old, and it's deeper than anything she's ever shared with anyone. She hears the shower turn off, so she calls, "I'll be out on the deck, Flyboy." He calls back that he'll be ready in ten or fifteen minutes, so she returns to going over her notes, settling back into the chair outside with Bee at her feet.

X

Poe examines himself in the mirror; he's clean-shaven again, something he'd warned Rey was coming today. He doesn't love having the scruff, mainly because he's just used to shaving every day. It wasn't really an option at the Academy or when he was Active Duty, so basically his entire adult life until four years ago. Since, he's only let his hair get longer, but almost always shaved, especially on work days.

She'd negotiated with him on it – she likes the scruff – which had amused him to no end. They landed on him not shaving on Saturdays and Sundays or on holidays. He rolls his eyes a little, mostly at himself for caving almost immediately. He did go ahead and shave today, because it's been a week, and it's thick. He didn't want to have to fight his way through it tomorrow morning. Nodding that it looks OK, he cursorily dries his hair with the towel around his neck.

As he does, he thinks about earlier. He'd wanted to say "I love you" to Rey, but he'd stopped himself. He doesn't want her to panic, regardless of what they'd said to each other. To him, there's a difference between saying "I'm falling in love with you" and "I love you." But he does love her. He knows that. He has no doubt at all that he loves her, and different than anything he's really felt before, he has no doubt that he's in love with her. The in love part is what he hadn't felt with Jess. But nuance notwithstanding, he wants to say the words to Rey.

His hand goes to his mom's ring. He still can't believe he admitted to her that he's imagined her wearing it. The whole conversation on Thursday was a surprise. He'd only intended to warn her about his nightmares. At first, he'd been a little upset with himself for spilling all of it to her – but after a while, it occurred to him that if he really wants to have a long-term relationship with Rey, it's only fair, given that he knows most of her shit, that she have a window into his.

Shaking his head as if to clear it, he pulls on some jeans, hiking boots, and another one of his old USAF t-shirts. He grabs a worn, soft flannel shirt, pulling it on and rolling up the sleeves on his way out to the deck. He finds Rey and Bee there, back on the same chair as before. He pauses for a moment, watching her flip through a notebook, his dog asleep on her feet. She's beautiful all the time, but she's just adorable right now – her brow is furrowed, a little crease appearing between her eyes, telling him that she's thinking about something.

His backwards chair is still there, so he heads to it, making sure that he's not moving so quietly that he scares her. She looks up and smiles as he comes over, her eyes widening a little. Once he sits, she reaches out and gently runs her hand over his now-smooth face. A funny look crosses her face, and he arches an eyebrow. "What?"

She blushes lightly, cupping his cheek with her palm and brushing her thumb over his cheekbone. She shrugs. "I forgot, well, how damned pretty you are."

He laughs and shakes his head. "Thanks. I think."

"It was definitely a compliment, Flyboy." She smiles again. "Part of why I was so snarky and flustered in Dr. A's office last Monday is because you looked almost annoyingly good."

"OK. Just so you know, you're damned pretty, too." He turns his head and presses a kiss to her palm.

She scoffs and starts to stand, turning towards him and putting her feet on the ground. He doesn't let her go far, taking her hand and holding it hand tight. "Hey. I wasn't just saying that, Sunshine. Do you not know that you're stunning?"

She blushes again. "Poe, I know I'm not conventionally pretty. That's OK."

"What the hell do you mean? Rey, I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I'm sorry if I haven't been clear on that point." He cocks his head. "And now, does that mean I'm just 'conventionally pretty?' So, I rate below tacos and pancakes, and I'm conventionally pretty?"

He says it with an entertained smile, and she clearly tries and fails to look irked with him as she pulls her hand away. "That's not what I said. Well, not the part about being conventionally pretty. Still true about tacos and pancakes. More so by the moment."

He huffs out a laugh, and he stands. He reaches out and takes both of her hands, pulling her to her feet. He then moves into her space, leaning in and kissing her rather thoroughly. When he steps back half a step, he reaches up and brushes some loose hair back. "I don't know why you don't think you're pretty, Rey, but you're wrong. You're beautiful."

She looks down, her expression looking like a mix of sad and embarrassed, and something falls into place for him. "Please tell me that piece of shit isn't the one who convinced you of that."

She sniffles a little. "Part of how they wear you down is by destroying your self-esteem. He started with subtle jabs of how I could look better. Then it was asides about how bony I was and how I needed to gain weight in order to fill out and be prettier. Then it was just that I was ugly and why would anyone want me. That's just what they do, Poe. They convince you that you're worthless, then they exploit their advantage. I was upset about my prior ex cheating on me, I felt pretty low, and Armitage saw it. He poked at all my weak spots from day one."

He envelopes her in his arms, aghast. "Sunshine, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drag this up."

She sniffles again, and tears threaten at her eyes. "I know you didn't. It's OK. Can I have a second, though? Maybe go get Bee squared away?"

He can tell that she needs to compose herself. He presses a kiss to her forehead. "All right, Sunshine. I'll be right back. I'll take your notes inside too." He calls Bee, who whines softly, bumping Rey's legs.

She sighs and rubs the dog's head. "It's OK, buddy. Go with Daddy."

His heart flips over at the word "daddy," but Poe just softly calls Bee again. With one more mournful sound, the dog goes with Poe. He puts Rey's notes on the kitchen counter, gets Bee locked up, and he sets the alarm before going back outside. Rey is gone from the deck when he comes out and turns from closing the door, and Poe looks around in mild alarm. Then he spots her on the short path from the deck to the garage. He follows her, keys in hand. "Sunshine?" She nods, so he comes up behind her, putting his keys in his pocket. "Behind you," he says, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Talk to me, Rey."

"You really think I'm beautiful?" The words are soft and unsure, but she sounds less distraught.

"I do, Sunshine. You have my word." He nuzzles her neck.

She turns in his arms. Her eyes are a little red, but she smiles at him – it's a tiny smile, a little weak, but it's enough for him. He hugs her close. After a moment, she nods against his shoulder. "OK." She takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

He pulls back slightly. "Why would you be sorry, Rey?"

"Poe, I went from admiring you and maybe teasing you a tiny bit for being pretty to another damned mini-breakdown." She steps back from him, her face darkening with anger, both hands tightening into fists. "He has ruined almost everything for two years."

"Sunshine?" He sees the change in her mood, but he's unsure of what's going on.

She literally stomps one foot. It would be endearing if the moment before hadn't been so serious. "Fuck him. Fuck him and fuck that. It stops now. I will not allow that piece of shit, as you like to so aptly refer to him, to ruin anything else. He would absolutely fucking love that he can still make me feel awful – and I refuse to keep letting him. Fuck that."

Before he can reply, she walks straight up to him. "I love you."

"What?" He blinks a few times.

"I love you, Poe Dameron. I've been to hell and back, you have too. I've got nothing to fear and nothing to lose, and I love you." She stomps her foot again.

He can't help the grin that comes to his face. "Do you?"

"I do." This time her smile is full and real.

"Good. Because I love you, too." His response makes her launch herself at him. He catches her, bracing himself mostly on his good leg.

She wraps her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder. "I promise I'm about done with my breakdown moments, Flyboy."

"You know it's OK if you're not, right? It's not like you're the only one with shit, remember?" He gently squeezes her. "Now, pancakes. Those help everything."

She laughs, and steps back. "Only when piled high with strawberries. Or bananas. Or maybe chocolate chips. Oh, and I need bacon. Bacon makes everything better."

Laughing too, he wraps an arm around her, walking her towards the garage. "Can't argue with that."

X

In the car on the way to breakfast, she watches him instead of the road. She's wearing her sunglasses, curled up facing towards him in the Porsche. She can tell that he feels her eyes on him, because when he isn't using the gearshift, his right hand will reach over and brush up and down her arm, occasionally squeezing her hand.

She's oddly proud of them. Considering that they're both fairly messed up, they seem to be finding ways to match up their jagged edges into something less sharp, less cutting. It's not perfect – nothing is. But it fits in a way she never thought she'd manage after Armitage. She guesses that he might feel the same – that he'd never manage something like this after losing both Jess and his career.

It's a short drive into the small town where his house is, and she sees a little diner in front of them. It's relatively early for the Sunday post-church crowd – neither of them is a churchgoer, a conversation they had yesterday – so they are able to get seated in a cozy little booth quickly. It's a small corner one, and she likes that it means she can scoot close to him on the seat.

Rey is about to say something to him about how adorable the place is when a coffee pot is set on the table in front of them. "Pretty Boy, are you cheating on me?" Rey bristles before looking up. Once she does look up, she feels foolish as hell for the bristling. The tiny woman in front of them is easily ten years older than Leia. She's also wearing the thickest glasses Rey has ever seen.

Poe stands and hugs her, and she hugs him back. "Hi, Maz." He slides back into the booth. "Rey Kenobi, this is Maz Kanata, the owner."

The woman puts her hand out, and Rey takes it. "It's wonderful to meet you, Ms. Kanata."

"Oh kiddo, it's Maz." The older woman shakes Rey's hand. "And I'm thrilled to meet you. Pretty Boy here always comes alone, grabs a seat at the counter. He's a peach, this one. He even did a flying demonstration for the Little League team the diner sponsors, and he took any kid that wanted to go up in that plane that was his mom's. Shara would be so damned proud."

Poe defaults into his hand-rubbing-the-back-of-his-neck move, a blush hitting his cheeks. "Enough, Maz." He waves her away, and she goes, cackling.

Before she disappears into the back, Rey laughs out loud when she hears Maz call, "Got Pretty Boy to blush again!" to someone in the back and responding laughter.

After a moment of silence at the table, Rey says teasingly, "See, Maz thinks you're pretty, too."

He just groans and lets his head drop to the table top. Rey laughs as Maz approaches again. "I'm going to like you, kiddo. Not only are you here with this one and getting him smiling like I've never seen before," she waves at Poe, "You also seem good with giving him a hard time. As long as he gives as good as he gets, you two will do well." She picks up the coffee pot and fills Poe's cup. "Coffee, kiddo?"

Rey nods. "Thank you!"

Maz smiles, handing Rey a menu. She looks at Poe. "Usual for you, Pretty Boy?"

He nods. "But double the bacon." He motions his head at Rey, whose eyes are wide as she reads through the list of about thirty kinds of pancakes. She's never seen anything like this.

Rey suddenly says, "Oh my God, Chocolate Chip Banana pancakes?"

Maz grins. "One of the house favorites."

Rey almost bounces in her seat. "Those, please!"

Poe laughs, and Maz asks, "Short stack or regular?"

Looking almost affronted, Rey says, "Regular!"

Maz surveys her for a moment. "I definitely like you, kiddo." Then, under her breath, she says, "Got to get the bets going."

"Bets?" Rey looks at Poe as Maz walks off quickly, talking to the waitresses at the front who quickly fan out to people at a few different tables.

Poe grins again. "She doesn't think you can finish it. I need to find out what odds she's giving. We should get in on the action. The waitresses are taking bets from the other regulars."

Rey claps her hands and bounces some more. "Oh, yeah, pancakes and a pay day!"

Poe calls Maz back over, and he puts twenty dollars on Rey after she tells him the odds are 20-1. Maz looks skeptical. "Really, Pretty Boy? Brave man." At his nod, she shrugs. "All right. Twenty on the kiddo finishing the pancakes and half of the bacon."

Rey can't help but go all warm and soft inside. She loves that Poe brought her here, a place where people know him. It's personal, and it's history, and she thinks Maz may actually be her favorite person she's ever met. She wraps her hand around his. "Thank you."

He looks confused. "For what?"

"For bringing me here." She smiles shyly at him.

He seems to suddenly understand what she's really thanking him for, and he squeezes her hand before pressing a kiss to her temple. "You're welcome, Sunshine."

Rey understands the betting when they put the biggest stack of pancakes she's ever seen down in front of her. Half an hour later, though, most of the diner is staring in disbelief as Maz counts out four hundred twenty dollars to Poe. He was the only one in the place to put money on Rey. Maz is laughing as she does. The house basically won, too, given how many people put money on the pancakes and not the eater after getting a look at Rey. Poe smirks. "Pleasure doing business with you, Maz."

Rey just sits there, her demolished plate in front of her, demurely munching on some of Poe's leftover toast and sipping coffee. Maz peers at her. "Mighty Girl, where do you put it all?"

Rey beams at the nickname. "No idea. I just do." Maz puts her fist out, and Rey bumps it with her own, still beaming.

Maz then turns to Poe, surprising Rey when she speaks what Rey knows is Spanish. She's even more surprised when Poe responds in the same language without even appearing to think about it. The only words Rey picks up from their very fast conversation are the words for father, home, time, and "I don't know."

Rey can tell that Poe looks a little upset by the conversation, his eyes achingly sad. But she can also tell that he's not upset with Maz, who, when they finish, pats Poe's cheek gently and softly says, "Lo siento, mijo."

Maz wishes them both a good day before heading to the front as the morning crowd gets bigger. Rey is looking at Poe in surprise and concern for the change in mood. He keeps blowing her mind. "So, Spanish?"

He shrugs. "Dad is Guatemalan, and Mom was half-Cuban and half-Spanish. Dad's family came here when he was a baby, Mom was born in Miami, first generation. It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that I'd be bi-lingual. I grew up speaking both English and Spanish – none of my grandparents spoke much English, though Dad's parents did OK. But that made it a lot simpler to be fluent in both. At school, I'm the faculty sponsor of a club for recent immigrants at the school. It's a good group of kids."

Something appears to occur to him. "Are you a citizen? I keep forgetting that you're technically British."

She nods. "Dual, Great Britain and the US. I actually just got my US citizenship last year."

They get up to go, waving to Maz as they head towards the door. Maz trots over and hugs Poe and then Rey. To Rey, she mutters, "Don't be a stranger, Mighty Girl. I haven't seen him smile like he does with you since Shara was alive. She would've loved you, by the way. She could seriously put away the pancakes, too."

Rey laughs even as a sheen of tears comes to her eyes. "Thanks, Maz. I'll definitely be back."

X

Poe holds Rey's hand as they leave, incredibly relieved that Maz took a shine to her. Outside of Leia and his dad, Maz is the other person he looks to as a parent, and she's actually even harder to bullshit than Leia is, a very high bar to clear. What's amazing is that while he didn't see her in person from age eight to age thirty-two except when she surprised them all by showing up at his Academy graduation, Maz kept up with him.

It was like she always knew where he was. For all of those years, there wasn't a single birthday that he didn't get a card from her, even when he was in Afghanistan. She was also the first visitor he got once he was settled at Leia's house for his rehab.

"Want to walk down to the beach, Sunshine?" He squeezes her hand. "It's only ten minutes down to Surf Club Park."

"Sure. A walk sounds like a wise idea after that." She smiles, and they head out towards the beach. The morning is still cool, and she pulls his hoodie from where it's tied around her waist and shrugs into it, zipping it up. After a moment, she says, "Why did Maz say she was sorry at the end of your conversation? I don't understand much Spanish, but I do know what lo siento means."

"We were talking about my dad. He hasn't been back here since Mom died. When I see him, I either have to go to him or meet him somewhere. It's hard, because I can't always find time." Poe sighs. "I miss him, but I always loved New England. I want to be close to my memories of Mom. Dad can't bear the memories. It's probably the only thing in the world where we really don't see eye to eye. After Mom died, we moved to a little town north of San Antonio. It was a great place to live, but it wasn't ever home to me."

She tucks herself closer to his side, dropping her head to his shoulder as they walk. "I'm trying to think of a diplomatic way to say that I'm really glad that this is your home, because I might not have met you if it wasn't. I'm even glad Ben was there the other day, because then I went home with you. But I don't want you to think that I'm glad that you're not near your dad, because that's not the case."

He turns his head, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I know that, Rey. I'd never think that you're glad about that."

After a few more minutes, they find a bench that looks out over the Sound, and they settle onto it, her legs across his lap and her head in the crook of his neck. He hasn't had a lot of truly peaceful moments in the last four years – hell, in the last ten – but this is one. After a moment, he tips her face up to his, murmurs, "I love you, Sunshine," and presses a kiss to her lips. She leans into the kiss, her arms going around his neck and his wrapping around her waist. When they pull back a moment later, he says, "You taste like chocolate and bananas."

She smiles. "Is that bad?"

"Nope. Made me four hundred bucks." He bumps her nose with his. "Pays for our track time next weekend."

"Excellent." She leans in to kiss him again. "I love you, too, by the way." Before they can connect, Rey's phone rings.

Poe leans back, rolling his eyes. "Let me guess. Senator Bad Timing?"

Rey laughs as she looks at her phone and then answers it. "Good morning again, Mum."

Poe watches Rey as she talks to Leia, mostly ignoring the conversation. His mind wanders back to his exchange with Maz. He sighs. He wishes his dad would just come up here. It's suddenly very important to him that his dad meet Rey, and he knows they won't have time for a trip down to Texas until Thanksgiving, most likely.

He's so lost in thought that he doesn't notice when Rey hangs up with Leia. "Hey, Earth to Flyboy. Come in, Flyboy?" She gently nudges him in the side.

He blinks, looking at her. "Sorry, Sunshine. Thinking about Dad."

She squeezes him. "It's OK. Mum wanted to know if we can pick a few things up for her on our way over. She also confirmed that she gave my old snow boots and parka to charity – I'd asked her about them this morning when she called. It's not like I needed them in LA."

"Well, we can manage those things, I think." He smiles at her. "There are a couple of big stores over in Milford. We can go on a Saturday in a few weeks. My old boots probably need to be replaced, too. Because of the way I walk, compensating for my knee, my left one gets worn out fast."

She snuggles back into him, her head moving back to his neck. "We have time. Can we just hang out here for a while?"

"Whatever you want, Sunshine." He smiles, and he thinks briefly that Jess would make so much fun of him for how much he'd bend over backwards to make the woman in his arms happy. She deserves it though – Maz had it right with the nickname. Mighty Girl indeed.

That evening, they get home from spending the afternoon at Han and Leia's. They'd stopped to get the food Leia requested, makings of a salad as well as some fresh fruit for dessert and to get Bee to take with them. They'd switched from the Porsche to her Jeep for the drive over, top down, with Bee in his harness in the back for the ride, which made him howl happily in a way that made them both laugh out loud.

The most intriguing part of the day (using the word intriguing very loosely) was when Han asked him to come outside with him to walk the dogs. He'd gotten the "dad" talk then, complete with threats of bodily harm if he hurts Rey in any way. Poe had solemnly promised that he'd deserve to have his ass kicked if he hurt Rey, and Han had clapped him on the shoulder responding, "I know, kid. Just, you know, had to say that. Dad Code and all that shit."

Leia had also told them that she'd gotten a call from Maz. She'd patted Rey on the shoulder, saying, "Well done, sweetheart. You impressed her, and Maz is not at all easy to impress." That had made Rey preen a little, making them all laugh. Leia had given Poe a pointed look when she mentioned Maz, but he'd dismissed it. Reading Leia can be a chore, and he'd been in too good of a mood to engage in it.

Other than those moments, the afternoon had been surprisingly relaxed. Luke had even dropped by for coffee in the afternoon, and Poe took a moment to tell him about all the things he'd told Rey. With a hug, Luke had told him he was proud of him, something that was surprisingly moving for Poe.

Poe puts some things away in the kitchen, watching Rey, who is back out on the deck with her notes. He knows she's nervous about tomorrow, so much so that he had her deliver parts of her lecture to him in the car on the way back and forth from Leia's, just to help her settle down a little.

With his classes starting tomorrow too, he also wants to go review for a bit. He has two classes tomorrow, a two-hour senior capstone seminar in the morning and his afternoon freshman history section. He actually has more work related to prepping for the afternoon section. The morning class is highly discussion-based and project-based, so it's less preparation for him.

He makes her a cup of green tea with honey and grabs some water for himself, also picking up his iPad and the afghan from the sofa on his way out. Bee is already out there, once again curled up on Rey's feet. After putting his water and tablet down on the table, he hands her the tea and covers her legs with the afghan. She smiles her thanks, taking a sip of the tea and making a happy little sound. He then settles into his chair, also propping his feet on her footstool, and they spend the waning hours of the day in companionable silence.

X

The next afternoon, Rey slips into the shadowy back row of a quickly-filling lecture hall. The freshman required classes are often full, at least per the registrar, but Rey had been boggled when Poe had told her that his freshman classes are often closed as full when they hit 150 students. This one allowed a few force-ins, bringing the count to 165. Rey can't imagine it. Her "big" class has sixty, an underclass level Intro to Aerospace class. It's what she had this morning, and she thinks it went well.

She watches the kids filter in as it gets close to the class start time. She's mildly amused to note that the front few rows are heavily populated with girls, most of them checking their hair and makeup. Poe isn't here yet, but he told her he tries to wait until near start time to enter. About two minutes before 3:15, Poe comes in. They'd had lunch together a couple of hours ago, and she'd promised him she was coming this afternoon. He peers up towards the back rows, spotting her quickly. He winks at her, and she smiles, sinking down in her seat.

Like the military guy he is, he starts the class at precisely 3:15. He lays out his expectations to them, telling them that they should have received the syllabus via email but that it's also posted to the History Department page. A few kids trickle in a few minutes late, and he chooses that moment to remind them all that he will always start on time. He also tells them that quizzes and exams will cover a combination of lecture and reading, so that they can't plan to just do one and get by. That draws a groan, and he lifts an eyebrow at them and says, "Welcome to college."

She snorts at that, and she settles in for the class. She's not sure what she was expecting, but she's mesmerized from the moment he moves into the material. Most of the kids are too. He periodically poses questions, and he makes the kids introduce themselves before they respond. She is impressed as hell. He's good at this – really, really good. She scolds herself for feeling a little surprised by that, but she mentally blames her own freshman history profs, who were deadly-dull boring and curmudgeonly to boot.

Poe is neither of those things. He's lively and engaging, and Rey suddenly understands the popularity of his classes. She already understood the young girls' attraction to him, but now she understands that part more, too. He's gorgeous to begin with, but in front of the class, talking about the stuff he loves, he's impossible to ignore.

The hour and change flies by, and she's shocked when he wraps it up for the day. She checks her watch, and she can't believe that the time went so fast. She watches in amusement as the girls from the front rows flock to the table where he's packing up his notes into his backpack. He keeps the table between him and the girls, and she can see him stealing glances up at her.

She gathers her bag, standing up and coming down the steps from the back of the room. One girl has actually approached him and keeps moving closer as Rey descends, and she can see the relief in Poe's eyes when he sees that she's near. He moves quickly away from the young woman who had been closing on him, murmuring an, "Excuse me," as he did. He reaches out a hand to Rey as she comes down the last couple of steps.

The gathered girls, maybe eight or ten of them, look her up and down. She's in new black crop pants, flats, and a modest tank with a tailored overshirt, her messenger bag across her body. Her hair is back in a twist, and she wears slightly more makeup than usual. She smiles at the girls, taking Poe's hand and leaning up to kiss his cheek as she gets to him. "Excellent lecture, Dr. Dameron."

He grins, returning the kiss, his a peck on her lips. "Thank you, Dr. Kenobi."

She can almost see the girls left in the room deflate. Poe turns to them. "See you Wednesday, kids, or at my office hours tomorrow afternoon. I have to run now. Dr. Kenobi and I have to get home."

Rey almost laughs out loud at the very clear message he gives the girls with those words. The girls all filter out, and she mumbles, "Next time, just wear a t-shirt that says, 'Back off, I'm taken.' Much more efficient."

He snorts. "I don't know. This worked for me. Sorry you had to suffer through freshman history, though."

"I didn't suffer at all." He looks at her in surprise. "Poe, you are amazing in front of a room. I didn't look at my watch once. I'm going to come as often as I can."

He grins, leaning down and kissing her soundly. "I love you."

She brushes his hair back. "I know."

He chuckles at that, and they head for the faculty lot. It's closing on five o'clock already, and they want to get home and make dinner. They rode in together, so they both get into the convertible and slip on sunglasses for the ride home. He asks her about her class from after lunch, and she recounts it excitedly. The class had really gone better than she'd expected.

They get home, pulling into the garage and grabbing their bags. She waits outside the garage for him to get the top put up, and she turns to look at the house. She gasps softly, realizing that there's a man on the deck. "Poe!"

The man looks their way, and Rey's eyes widen in surprise when she recognizes the man. "Poe!" She says his name again, louder this time.

He comes out, the garage door closing behind him. "What's wrong?"

She points, and he gasps too, his eyes blinking as if in disbelief. He blindly grabs for her hand and they head to the house at a brisk pace. The man stands up and comes to the steps of the deck. He's a little taller than Poe and of a slighter build. He has Poe's coloring, but his hair is much shorter and straighter, and the black is shot through with a liberal amount of silver.

Poe stops right at the bottom of the steps. "Dad?"

The man rubs one hand on the back of his neck, squinting a little in the late afternoon sun. "Hey, mijo. Surprise."

Note: And there you have it. Kes and Maz are in. I love both of them so much, so I had to get them in.