Rey stretched her body and swung her legs over to the side of her bed. She decided that she would ask Finn to help her train today. Master Luke was still building an obstacle course in the woods, but Finn could help her practice blocking with her lightsaber. She quickly got ready for the day and went to knock on the door across the hall. To say that she was nervous about Poe potentially answering the door would be an understatement. After his verbal attack from before, she wasn't too keen on seeing him again so soon, but that couldn't be helped. If Finn was willing to forgive Ben because Rey loved him, then Rey could learn to handle Poe because Finn clearly loved him. She lifted her hand and knocked three times, leaning back on her heels to wait for a response.
"Door's open," Poe called from within. Rey took in a deep breath, not sure what confrontation would await her inside. She walked in to find Poe looking over some papers at a desk while Finn was reading information from an old book.
"Ah, the traitor," Poe muttered.
Finn shot him a look, "You know, people call me a traitor, too." Finn then turned to look at Rey, smiling at her, "What's up?"
"I was wondering if you could help me work on my block techniques," Rey inquired, "Master Luke says that I need to get better at deflecting blaster shots with an intent."
"I could set up some targets for you to hit with my deflected shots," Finn mused.
"No way," Poe said, standing up and crossing his arms, "you are not going anywhere with her, and lets not even talk about the fact that you're trusting her not to aim those blasts back at you."
"I trust Rey with my life," Finn responded.
"Yeah, well I don't know if I can trust her," Poe quipped. Rey had had enough. Poe may have cornered her last time, but she had support behind her. She wasn't going to just let him talk about her that way.
"Listen, hotshot. Whom I have romantic relations with does not affect the cause I fight for. We're on the same side. I'm just better at finding potential allies than you are. Kylo Ren has done some terrible things, but Ben is willing to atone for them. He knows he can't undo what has been done, but he wants to bring an end to this conflict and tyranny just as much as you or I do. If you want this war to end, then wouldn't you want to do anything in your power to bring that about?" She countered.
"Not if it meant working with the enemy."
"What is more important? The safety and prosperity of the galaxy, or avoiding interaction with one person?" Rey asked.
"She's right, Poe. For someone who's been in this fight as long as you have, I would have thought that you'd want a resolution, no matter how out there the plan is. You're being ridiculous," Finn added.
"I'm sorry, but I can't just sit here and what- hope? Hope that he doesn't decide to betray all of us and give us over to his Supreme Leader? How can you trust what he's saying? How do you know he isn't just playing you?" Poe asked, exasperated.
"Rebellions are built on hope, Poe. And as far as how I know I can trust him, he's warned me about the First Order before so that I could get to safety. We have a connection. And I know more about him than you do," Rey replied.
"Well how do you know he's not playing the long game? What if letting you escape then just meant he gets a bigger reward now?" Poe asked.
"Poe, your questions and reservations are valid, but I've known Ben since I was a child. He saved me then from the First Order, and he's saved me again now. He believed in me when no one else took me seriously, and I know he loves me," Rey sighed.
"How do you know?" Poe asked in earnest. "Rey, I want to believe you, because I know how important you are to the rebellion and Finn, and hell, even to me, but it's hard to just ignore everything that he's done."
"Love isn't about knowing for a fact. Sure, people can tell you that they love you, but words can be empty. It's not so much that I know for a fact that Ben loves me, but rather that I feel that he loves me. He may not always tell me such, but I can feel the love he has for me in his actions and his touch. The heat in his gaze. That can't be faked. That's how I also know that he loves his mother, and is harboring so much guilt over his father. Poe, I'm not asking you to ignore his past. I'm asking you to give him the chance to change the future. It's never too late to try again, and if anyone else had defected to become a spy for us, very few people would be up in arms about it. At the end of the day, I'm not asking you to work together and automatically forgive him if you're not feeling inclined to do so. I'm asking you to work together because that's what's best for everyone in order to get the resolution we all want," Rey explained.
Poe sighed, running his hand through his mess of hair. "Alright. I may not trust him, but I trust Finn, and Finn trusts your judgement. If you think that this is the best course of action, then so be it. But, if this blows up in our faces, I have earned the right to say 'I told you so.'"
"Fair enough," Rey nodded. She'd take the small victory. "Well, Finn, shall we?"
Finn nodded, getting up to pat Poe on the back. "I'm proud of you. I'll be back to get lunch later."
"Be safe," Poe smiled.
"Aren't I always?" Finn smirked.
"No," Rey and Poe both responded.
"See? This is what it should be like," Finn said, swinging an arm around Poe and his other arm around Rey.
"What? Us united over how bad you are at taking care of yourself sometimes?" Rey asked.
"No, friends," Finn said before elbowing Poe, "Or at least on the way to becoming better ones."
"Yeah, yeah, flyboy and I will get there someday," Rey smirked, winking at Poe.
"If only for your sake," Poe smiled back.
