Rey had never lived her life guided by fear. Everything paled in comparison to what she'd persevered through as a child, so she trusted that she could handle anything that was thrown at her and come out the other side swinging. So she took every challenge head-on and never let fear or doubt slow her step.

Love was a different situation entirely. Terror seeped down to her bones at the idea of handing her heart over so completely to another person's mercy. She'd seen so many people hamstrung or ruined because they'd made the wrong decision, and even though she trusted Poe and felt instinctively he would never betray her trust, hadn't all those other women believed the same?

But there was one thing stronger than her fear of letting herself love him. Every time she was near him, she felt things she'd never imagined before, like seeing colours or hearing music after a lifetime of grey silence. Her world simply shone brighter with him around. For once, she wasn't just yearning for more or content with what she'd achieved — she was happy. Wide-smiled, light-hearted, tingly-skinned happy.

Deep down, she knew that if she ran from this, from him, she would never meet someone like him again. She would never find anyone who made her feel this giddy and free. She could not let her own hesitations take this away.

She feared a future full of love, but she feared one without it more.


A/N: Prompt: 'Most of all, I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling, the rest of my whole life, the way I feel when I'm with you.' from Dirty Dancing