Arm outstretched, Rey moves the boulder across the rocky outcrop. Slowly, gently, precisely, it slides so close to the ground that it almost grazes the dirt. But it makes no contact because she doesn't want it to, and today her training is all about control and subtlety. The grand uses of the Force are easy, but this — maintaining perfect composure so the Force functions exactly as she intends it to — is harder.
But finally, after hours of effort, she's got the hang of it. She just needs to push everything else out of her mind and focus completely on the moment.
Like Poe whenever he writes home to his father, scribbling words out in a code belonging only to them. It's like nothing else in the galaxy has ever existed or will ever exist. They've always been close, and Rey knows how much he misses seeing him in person. Warmth floods her chest at the image of his head bowed over the paper, his pen writing feverishly.
One day, he says, they can go to Yavin 4 so she can meet his father.
Once this is all over, she may just take him up on that.
The boulder shoots forward, banging and scraping against the ground before toppling over the edge of the cliff and splashing into the water below, sending waves careening in every direction.
Ugh. Maybe she hasn't mastered this after all.
Love is the oddest, most frustrating, least sensible thing Rey has ever felt. Affection sneaks up on her when she least expects it, distracting her from whatever she's doing and derailing her whole day. As a child, she never understood why someone would want to put themselves in the position of being so vulnerable with someone, so dependent on another person for happiness.
Poe is a wonderful man, but there are other wonderful men out there. Poe is funny and brave and honourable, but that's most members of the Resistance. Poe is attractive, but that doesn't explain how deep he's burrowed into her heart and her mind.
There's no logic to love. Life would be easier for them both if they liked one another a normal amount; if it were close friendship like with Finn or respect like with Leia. But rational or not, Rey can't deny that it's there, true and blazing and permanent.
And that, even after making a mess of this training session, all she wants to do is run home to him and bask in those feelings a little longer. To hear all about his day, tell him about the progresses and frustrations in hers, and just enjoy each passing moment.
She won't yet, though. For now, she's going to give this control and subtlety thing another try – she will not finish the day on a catastrophic failure like this.
But as soon as she redeems herself from that final attempt, she knows where she'll be heading.
A/N: 'They're fascinating. It's like being inside a dream or something. There's truth but no logic.' from Titanic