Author's note: And we're back! This fic is so much fun to write! I hope you enjoy this update!

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Chapter 3

Rey arrived at the rink promptly at eight the next morning. Leia had given her the rundown of her preferred training schedule, but since this would be Rey's first official day, she was granted an extra hour to sleep in. Rey didn't bother to explain that she was used to waking with the sun; she was grateful for the reprieve, short though it was. Kes set her up in the loft of the enormous garage; it was the biggest apartment she'd ever seen. After sharing an apartment with Rose, this was paradise.

The loft was split into two living spaces; Leia lived in the other one. As the two spaces shared a single kitchen, they had dinner together the night before and breakfast this morning. Leia didn't talk much; she was preoccupied with a notebook. Rey didn't want to pry, so she kept her mouth shut.

Poe was already there when Rey arrived. He ignored her, doing stretches at the far end of the rink. She knew her reception was designed to make her change her mind about all this. But Poe had never met anyone like her. She wasn't just going to give up because this was difficult. In fact, she relished the challenge. Rey moved through her routine, taking comfort in the familiar movements. She was used to getting up, going for a run, then going to work. This would be the first time in almost two years that she would get to skate all day.

She watched Poe out of the corner of her eye; he'd moved onto the ice. She hadn't been able to really observe him yesterday; the shock of her arrival had put him off balance, not that he'd admit it. Rey was struck again by how graceful and self-possessed he was. Graceful was not a word Rey would have applied to herself, but she knew it when she saw it. Every movement was precise; no energy wasted. As she laced up her skates, she watched as he picked up speed and took off into a jump. He landed on one foot and Rey swallowed.

Shit.

She was going to have to learn how to do that.

How hard could it be? If Poe could do it, then so could she.

She wasn't going to learn anything sitting on her ass, so she stood and stepped onto the ice. She did a couple of laps, ignoring her partner. Once she'd worked off her lingering nerves, she headed for center ice. "If we're going to work together," Rey said loud enough to get Poe's attention, "you might try being polite."

Poe arched a brow. "You won't be here long enough to make it worth the effort."

Rey scowled. "Think I can't put up with your shit?"

"I don't think you can skate." Poe skated off, forcing Rey to follow him. Leia observed them quietly from her desk, clearly letting them work things out on their own.

"There's two things I do well, buddy, and skating's the other one."

Poe rolled his eyes. "Someone never got out of the ice age."

Rey laughed. "Meltdown or Continental Drift?." Poe looked at her blankly. "Ice Age? The movie? Wow." How had he never heard of the Ice Age movies? She decided to change the subject. "What do you do for fun? Polish your knife collection?"

It was Poe's turn to grin. "I'm sure there's nothing I do that you'd find exciting." He started skating rings around her, just to show off. "I don't open beer bottles with my toes. I don't count what's left of my teeth." Rey huffed; she had all her teeth, thank you very much. "I don't even enjoy a good tractor pull. Limited existence, but I've gotten used to it."

Rey chuckled. "Life of the party, huh? You must have girls lined up around the block."

Poe skidded to a stop. "As a matter of fact, I do have a girlfriend."

Rey blinked, mildly surprised. Yeah, Poe was gorgeous, but he was also a giant pain in the ass. "Rough gig. You keep her chained up in the basement?"

Poe dug a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his nose. "Zorii, at the moment, is working in my father's London office. She's an M.B.A. Harvard. You might have heard of it. They do have a hockey team."

How could someone as handsome as Poe look like he had something foul under his nose all the time? "She must be a pretty smart girl. I bet you look good from a few thousand miles away."

Before Poe could retort, Leia called them over. They moved into their positions from the night before, Rey in front, Poe behind her. "Can we try to get some work done today?" Leia asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Poe and Rey nodded; Rey felt a flush creep up her neck. In her brief acquaintance, she found she really liked Leia. The woman was taking a huge chance on Rey; she didn't want to screw it up. "Rey, stand up straight." Rey adjusted her stance a bit. "Straighter. Head up."

Poe rolled his eyes. "Maybe when we're done, we can get it a treat," he snarked.

Rey opened her mouth to berate him some more when she suddenly found her left foot knocked out from under her. She lost her balance, arms flailing as she fell to the ice. Poe laughed. "Don't quit your day job."

Rey growled as she got up. Poe might not want her here, but she would be damned if she succumbed to his immature antics. She brushed herself off and rubbed her hands together to warm them. Leia went to talk to Poe, whispering to him. Rey couldn't hear what they were saying, but Poe eventually nodded. He didn't look thrilled, but that was hardly Rey's problem.

The next hour was pretty much a replay of the day before, with Poe and Rey getting used to skating together. The figure skates still felt a little unnatural to Rey, but she was determined. Poe caught her hand on the next pass, which startled her. She lost track of her feet and went flying. She landed hard on her side, groaning.

"Toe pick!" Poe called.

Rey pushed herself up and they started again. And again. And again. She couldn't tell if she was just uncoordinated or if Poe was messing with her. Every time they got up a head of steam, she fell on her ass! "Toe pick!"

Changing direction? "Toe pick!"

A three turn? "Toe pick!"

A long pass down the ice? "Toe pick!"

She was supposed to be leading, but Poe's chants of "toe pick" got in her head. By the tenth fall, he was downright cackling. She was bruised and sore, but each time she got back up. By lunch time, it felt like Poe was the one dragging her around the ice rather than the other way around. Rey had taken her share of falls and hits—she played hockey, for crying out loud—but this was by far the hardest training session she'd ever had.

And it was only lunch time.

Poe piled food on his plate. He was starving. Kes arched a cool brow. "Training going well, I take it?"

"I don't know if I'd call that training, Dad." It was the most amused Poe had ever been during a training session. He lost count of how many times Rey fell; it was a lot. He did feel a little bad about it—he knew how much that ice hurt—but better she realized now that she was out of her depth. The sooner she left, the sooner he could get a proper partner.

For all that, he couldn't help being impressed. She'd made it the entire morning. Many of her predecessors had not. He kept stealing glances at his phone, expecting a message from Leia saying the Rey was leaving. It never came. Lunch over, Poe marched back to the rink. Rey was already there, skating ahead of the Zamboni, a hockey stick in her hands. She moved a bit awkwardly, but she looked much happier than she'd been when he left.

Poe hung back in the shadows, watching her. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail; she wore a thick sweater that was so big it hung past her butt. It was chilly in the rink, but she still only wore leggings. He watched her skate, stick moving so fast it was almost a blur. He didn't know that much about hockey, but she seemed good. It was certainly more natural to her than figure skating. She took a mock shot, beaming as she pretended to score. Poe blinked; it was the first real smile he'd seen on her face. She was already pretty, but her smile? Her smile was pure light.

It also proved his earlier joke terribly wrong; Rey clearly still had all her teeth.

This is still insane, he thought as he stepped out of the shadows. She doesn't belong here. Rey spotted him a moment later. Her face fell. Poe looked away, feeling like a complete asshole for the first time. He kept walking, heading to the bench so he could lace on his skates. Rey did the same from a few feet away, not looking at him. Poe might not be convinced this was a good idea, but he didn't like the sour feeling in his stomach. Before stepping onto the ice, he appeared before her. "Truce?"

Rey looked up at him, clearly surprised. Poe had his hand out; he looked contrite. Well, a little. Some of his innate smugness tugged at his lips. "Sure you want to touch my hand? I've been told they're rough."

Poe huffed. "Just take it."

Rey eyed him for another long minute, but she did shake his hand. Poe saw Leia nod approvingly as they stepped onto the ice. That made him feel good. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.

Rey took one last bite of her fettuccine alfredo, leaning back in the stiff chair. She had ice packs strapped to her hips with ACE bandages. There was more against her lower back. She couldn't remember the last time she was this sore. Leia was once again absorbed in her work, going through her notes. She'd helped Rey with the ice packs when they first returned to the loft, but Rey just wanted to be alone. She was tired and sore and freezing. Melting ice squelched as she carried her plate to the kitchen; she hoped Leia didn't mind that she just put it in the sink without rinsing it off. Rey toddled off to her side of the loft, she felt like a human punching bag. The bed called her name, but she needed to remove the ice packs first.

It had been a trying day. She thought about quitting a dozen times. Every time Poe laughed at her, it chipped at her resolve. What was she doing? She wasn't a figure skater. She wasn't graceful or fluid. When she played hockey, she was the rough and tumble girl, charging forward and outskating the opposition.

She wasn't skating rings around anyone now, least of all Poe Dameron.

He wasn't her favorite person at the moment, but he was clearly talented. Would partnering with him just hold him back? Normally, she wouldn't care, but she knew what it felt like to have your dream torn away. Rey had seen the tape from Sochi. Poe was just like her. He'd lost out on his dream too.

Rey settled on the bed and pulled her phone out of the pocket of her sweater. She was tired, but her mind was still going a mile a minute. She scrolled through her apps, looking for a game to focus on. Before she could choose one, Rose's name appeared on her caller ID. "Hey, Rose."

"Why didn't you call?" Rose demanded. "We've been worried! Your plane might have crashed or something!"

"It would have been on the news," Rey pointed out. "As you can hear, I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine," Rose said suspiciously.

"It's just been a long day."

"Were you out late partying?"

"What? No!" Rey cried, then she remembered she was supposed to be hanging out with old teammates. "Not that late. If you must know, we played a pick up game. No big deal."

"You could have just played a pick up game here."

"Yeah, I know." Rey bit her lip. She wanted to ask Rose's advice, but she didn't want to let on what she was really doing. Not yet. "Rose…am I quitter?"

Rey could almost hear her sister's frown. "You've never asked that before. Rey, what's going on?"

"Nothing, it's just…" She sighed. "I've only wanted one thing. Since we were kids, Rosie. But now I'm starting to wonder if I'm wasting my time."

"Rey, you listen to me. You are the most driven person I've ever met. You don't give up. But it's okay for dreams to change. Remember what I wanted to be when we were kids?"

Rey laughed. "You wanted to join the French Foreign Legion."

"Exactly. Running a bar might not be the most glamorous thing, but it's good, you know?"

"Yeah, I think I understand. Thanks, Rose." Rose was right. Rey wasn't a quitter. She would see this through to the end, no matter what happened.

Rey kept the puck in front of her as she skated backwards from the Zamboni. It was a trick she used to do in high school; it used to drive her coaches nuts. She grinned as the puck almost got away from her; she pulled it back and spun around. She knocked it from side to side in front of her, pretending she was in a real game. "Whoa! Kenobi back to Couturier, over to Simmons. Simmons back to Kenobi! Kenobi to Giroux, Giroux back to Kenobi. She shoots…she scores!" Rey pumped her fist, grinning. The Zamboni driver laughed at her as she picked up the puck and skated back to the end of the rink. Poe was there, blanket over his legs and a book in his hand.

He watched as Rey plopped down beside him and started examining her hockey stick. "If you're so bored," he observed, "why don't you read?"

"What, like a book?"

"That is a traditionally accepted format, yes."

Rey grabbed some tape from her bag. "Is this the start of a conversation here?" She was a bit confused; most of the time, Poe ignored her during their breaks. After that first day's truce, the mean spiritedness of their banter had faded a little. Poe no longer laughed at her. He just seemed annoyed with her most of the time. This was the first time he'd actively engaged her in conversation.

"I was simply asking if you knew how to read."

There was the snark she missed. "Of course, I can read," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"What was the last book you read?" When Rey didn't answer right away, Poe arched a brow. "You were in college."

"Last thing I read in college was the letter terminating my scholarship when I couldn't play anymore."

"High school then."

"I was a hockey player. The only thing I had to read was the scoreboard." Not strictly true, but she knew it would piss him off.

Poe scoffed. "And they graduated you?"

"They revered me." Her high school wasn't that big; she was a four year starter on the women's hockey team. She almost single-handedly put them on the map.

"What a tragic commentary on our times."

Rey wrapped more tape around the top of her stick and tore off the excess. "State championships, my last game, three hundred people carried me around their shoulders on the ice. It took the state police two hours to break it up."

"What were you planning on doing when your gladiating days were over?"

"You can bet your tights I never thought I'd work in a freak show like this."

Poe went back to his book. "I'm surprised you don't chuck it all and start your own think tank."

Rey wasn't going to let him off the hook. He'd started this conversation. "So where did you matriculate from?" Poe didn't answer; he seemed to focus more on his book, like he was trying to imprint the words on his retinas. "You were in college."

Poe huffed. "I had tutors. Excellent tutors." He marked his place in the book and stuffed it into the space between the cushions. Then he tossed the blanket away and stood, only to be brought up short by Rey's hockey sticks. "Would you please find somewhere else to put your clubs?" he snapped.

Rey whistled as he skated off. "Man, would I love to see you play hockey."

Poe turned, grinning. "Any day."

Rey smiled. "How about now?"

"Now?"

"You did say any day."

Poe groaned inwardly. He should have known that she would challenge him immediately. She'd inadvertently hit a sore spot, but he couldn't let her know that. "Fine."

Rey jumped up and handed him two hockey sticks. Before Poe could ask what he was supposed to do with them, she skated off. He watched as she set up a makeshift goal at the opposite end of the rink with a couple of metal coffee pots. Poe removed his jacket and tossed it into his chair. He hated losing; if he was going to do this, he was going to do his best. How hard could it be?

Famous last words, as it turned out.

Rey took her stick and dropped the puck between them. "I'll let you go first."

"Don't patronize me, Kenobi."

Rey just grinned. "Come on. Try to score on me."

Poe rolled his eyes. He tried to mimic the way Rey held her stick; it felt odd in his hands. Since he'd been homeschooled, his training had stood in place of more traditional physical education. He'd never held a hockey stick before. But he'd watched Rey enough times; it didn't look that difficult. He tapped the puck forward a little bit; Rey chuckled. "You can do better than that!"

Poe growled, but he said nothing. He moved forward, tapping the puck again. Before he could get control of it, Rey stole it away. "Hey!"

Rey just laughed. She spun around and started her attack. "Come on!" Poe yelled as she got past him and scored.

"That's one!"

Poe got the puck back and tried again. And again. And again. Ten minutes into their little game, Rey scored nine times. The one time Poe stopped her was a fluke; he'd just slapped his stick on the ice in frustration. They skated around each other, trying to steal the puck away, back and forth, until Poe was huffing and puffing. Rey played rough, unafraid to throw an elbow or stick in his path. His legs burned from the unfamiliar activity, but he refused to give up. After Rey scored for the twelfth time, Poe snagged the puck away. "You make me ill," he spat.

When he turned, Rey stood there, that happy beaming grin on her face. She was having fun! How dare she? This was his building, damn it! Poe let out a primal scream and swung his stick as hard as he could. To his shock, he made contact with the puck…sending it directly into Rey's face.

Poe tapped his finger nervously on his knee. Leia was beside him calmly reading a book. Poe couldn't understand why she was so calm; an ambulance had to take Rey into the emergency room after Poe struck her with the puck. He hadn't meant for it to happen; it was an accident! But Rey had been inside far longer than Poe expected, and it was making him nervous. "It's not like her nose was perfect," Poe muttered. "She's the one who wanted to play." Leia remained silent, which only agitated Poe further. "She's like those morons who insist you hit them in the stomach as hard as you can." More silence. "I don't why I'm explaining this to you anyway. All I did was play her stupid game." Leia turned the page of her book but remained silent. "Next you'll be telling me how guilty I sound."

Finally, Leia spoke. "It's not guilt."

"At least we agree on that."

"It's fear."

Poe scoffed. "What do I have to be afraid of?"

"Because you have finally found yourself a partner."

Poe didn't know what to say to that, but before he could think of a witty retort, Rey was wheeled out into the waiting room. There were bandages covering most of her head, crisscrossed over her face. Poe's eyes widened. What had he done? "Oh my god," he cried. "I thought you said it was just her nose!" He started forward; to do what, he wasn't sure.

"What? What's wrong?" Rey asked.

"She's all yours," the orderly said, grinning.

Rey pulled down the bandages, revealing a handful of small stitches along the edge of her right orbital socket. "Toe pick."

Leia burst out laughing, but Poe was not amused. He snarled incoherently and marched off.

"What's his problem?" Rey asked.

"I think he's nervous about a rematch."

Rey chuckled. She felt a twinge of pain, but she'd had worse. This wasn't even the first time she'd gotten hit in the face with a puck. Though normally, she was wearing a helmet. But it was worth it to give Poe a tiny dose of his own medicine. She couldn't wait to get back to training!