Eyes closed, Poe nurses a half-empty bottle of beer in his lap as he listens to the cicadas' song and Rey's steady breathing. Darkness cloaks the room, but the shaded lamp in the corner casts a dim glow over the cabin's small living room. It's nice – peaceful in a way he hasn't felt in a long time. When the war's over, he hopes for many more evenings like this.

'What's your biggest regret?' Rey asks slowly, her soft voice carrying in the quiet night.

Normally, Poe would avoid answering questions like that; his regrets belong to the past and the privacy of his mind. But this is Rey, and the darkness and the hours of drinking loosen his tongue. 'Not spending more time with my mum while she was alive.'

She hums in understanding. 'That's why you want to move back to Yavin-4 one day, isn't it? So you can spend time with your father?'

'Yeah.' Opening his eyes, he glances over at Rey. Her loose hair splays over the headrest, and her face is cast in shadow. 'What's yours?'

'Trusting Kylo Ren. In hindsight, it was clear from the start that he was never going to leave the First Order.'

Poe picks at the label on his bottle, accidentally bumping it and sending the amber liquid sloshing around inside. There's no easy answer to that.

'You probably shouldn't have risked the entire Resistance on a hunch,' he eventually says. After all, Kylo Ren led the First Order for years; if his conscience troubled him, he would have left long before meeting her. Long before torturing Poe and killing Han Solo. 'But at the same time, your vision wasn't exactly wrong, was it? Something inside of him did respond to you.'

'Just not enough.'

No, not enough. Enough for him to want to team up with her, but not enough for him to truly change his heart.

'Maybe not,' he concedes, 'but you wouldn't be you if you didn't try.'


A/N: Prompt: 'Never repent of your own goodness, child. To stay true in the face of evil is a feat of great strength.' from Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor