Author's note: If you've seen the movie, you know we're moving into the training montage portion. I decided to expand that out a bit to show how their relationship develops. There will be a couple chapters on this; I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Nope.

Chapter 4

The "incident" as Poe called it seemed to have lessened some of the tension between them. At least Poe stopped fighting her at every turn and seemed to take her a bit more seriously. Training started early in the morning, seven days a week. They frequently skated well past sunset, leaving them the good kind of exhausted. Rey didn't mind in the slightest; it was far better than the drudgery of working for Unkar Plutt.

The Dameron compound was well removed from almost everything; Rey hadn't left the compound since her arrival. She was curious about the area around them, but she was just too tired after long days training to want to go anywhere. It reminded her of those weeks leading up to Sochi; those had been the happiest weeks of her life. Everything seemed possible then.

Rey knew that she had a decent learning curve when it came to figure skating. She'd always been a good athlete; she knew she'd pick it up. But it was much harder than she anticipated. Way harder than hockey. She basically had to relearn to skate. Leia was very supportive, putting in extra hours to help her nail down the basics. The real surprise was Poe; Rey caught him smiling to himself whenever she mastered a new skill. They still snarked at each other, still bickered, but they were slowly learning to work together rather than against each other.

When they broke for the day, Rey checked her phone. There were over a dozen missed calls. Rey winced inwardly and pocketed the device. Unkar had been trying to get her on the phone for a week now. Her vacation was all used up; he expected her back. Rey had no intention of going back, but she still hadn't worked out what she would tell the people back home. She didn't know why she was so wary to reveal her real job (and it was a job, Kes granted her a generous stipend to live on as well as a roof over her head). Was it a fear of failure? If she didn't get Rose's hopes up, then that kept hers in check. Getting back to the Olympics wasn't a guarantee. Leia never came right out and said it, but she didn't have to. Rey started sizing up the competition, even though Nationals were more than a year away. Poe hadn't competed since Sochi; Rey was a rookie. It was a huge roll of the dice.

No, if Rose didn't know, then she couldn't be disappointed later.

Still, Rey had to tell them something. She wasn't coming back to Minnesota any time soon. Best case scenario, she'd never have to work for Unkar Plutt again.

Rey dumped her bag in the corner and flopped into the recliner. When she first got to the loft, many of the walls were covered in mirrors; she'd taken them all down. It was creepy. Did she call Rose or Unkar first? Unkar, she decided. When he yelled at her, she could just hang up. She checked the clock; the shop would still be open. She took a deep breath and dialed.

"Plutt's Garage."

"Hey Teedo," Rey said. "Is Unkar there?"

Teedo whistled. "Sure you want to talk to him? He's hopping mad."

"Yeah. I just want to get it over with."

"Your funeral." Teedo covered the receiver with his hand and yelled. "Hey boss!"

Unkar's voice was muffled, but unmistakable. "It's nearly closing time! What do you want?"

"It's Rey, boss!"

"Finally." Rey studied her fingernails while she waited for her soon to be former boss to get to the phone. The moment this call was done Rey was going to block the number for both Unkar and the garage. She was never going back. "Where the hell have you been, Kenobi?" Unkar growled into the phone. "You've got a shift tomorrow."

"Actually, Unkar, I don't," she replied. "I'm giving notice."

"Notice? What the hell are you talking about? Is it that sister of yours? I swear I'm gonna go over there…"

"Don't bother. I'm not even in Minnesota, Unkar."

"You owe me two weeks when you give notice, missy!"

"Let me put this another way then. I quit!"

"You can't quit! You can't just take all your vacation and never come back!"

"Watch me!"

Unkar kept yelling, but Rey hung up. It went pretty much as she expected. At least she didn't have to come up with a story for why she wasn't coming home. Unkar didn't care about anyone but himself. It felt good, finally cutting that tie. She'd never liked working for the bastard anyway.

Rey stared at her phone for a few minutes, thinking. Word that she wasn't coming home would spread through town like wildfire. She needed to give Rose a reason. She thought about lying, but she was a terrible liar. Rose would sniff it out; she always did. And it wasn't just Rey. She did it to their older sister Paige too. A version of the truth? Something Rose would accept without digging too much? That seemed better. Something hockey related. Rose would buy that.

Rey dialed, putting it on speaker. "Rose's phone." There was a lot of background noise; Rose was at the bar.

"Beau? Is that you?"

"Rey?"

"Yeah, Beau, it's me. Where's Rose?"

"Getting some lemons from the back. Here, hold on." The sounds dropped to almost nothing as the young man stepped into the employees only section of the bar. Rey heard him call for Rose. She heard a squeal, then her sister picked up. "Rey! I didn't expect you to call!"

Rey smiled; she missed Rose. "Busy night?"

"Wild are playing the Avs," her sister replied. "I'm surprised you're not watching!"

"I've got it on here," Rey fibbed, reaching for the television remote. The Damerons had the best of everything, including cable. They got every channel Rey could think of, including Center Ice. She found the Wild game quickly. "It's intermission, Rosie."

"You've hardly called since you left," Rose pointed out. "I was starting to think you weren't coming home!"

Rey bit her lip. "Um, about that."

"About what? You are coming home, right? You've got a job, Rey! Responsibilities!"

There was nothing for it. She'd just have to rip the band-aid off. "I just quit, Rose."

"You what?"

Rey fidgeted even though Rose couldn't see her. "I just called Unkar and quit."

"But why? I don't understand. You need a job, Rey."

"I know. And I have one."

"You went on vacation and got a new job?" Rose demanded, incredulous.

"Yes! And it's a good job, Rose!"

"Doing what? No offense, Rey, but you don't have a lot of skills."

Rey knew Rose was trying to look out for her, but she didn't appreciate the implication. "Remember Connix?"

"Your roommate in the Village?"

"Yeah. She's doing commentary for the Islanders." That much was true. Her old roommate from Sochi had gotten a job doing color commentary for the New York Islanders radio. She kept up with some of her teammates on Facebook, though she rarely interacted with them. Many of them were still playing; it was just too depressing. "She thinks I could learn how to do that."

"So, you're what? Her assistant or something?"

"Yeah," Rey said. It was better that Rose fill in some of the blanks on her own. It was less lying that way. "Yeah, her assistant. It's something in hockey, Rose."

Rose sighed. "It's just really sudden."

"I know. And I'm sorry. I can keep paying rent for our place if you need me to."

"No, no. The city's expensive. We'll be okay."

"Are you sure?" Guilt curled in her belly; she hated leaving Rose in the lurch like this.

"Yeah. Remember that idea Beau had? To host the dart tournament?"

Rey chuckled. "I remember."

"Turns out it's quite the money maker. We're good, Rey. And Paige is here." Rose was quiet for a moment. "I'm glad you found something that makes you happy."

"Thanks, Rose." They chatted about other things at home, but Rey was exhausted. After promising Rose she'd call more often, she trudged to the kitchen for a late dinner with Leia. Her coach seemed to sense her need for quiet; she was once again absorbed in her notes. Rey did the dishes then returned to her side of the loft. The hockey game was still on; Rey watched it until she fell asleep.

The alarm went off promptly at 6:30; Rey shut it off and yanked the blanket down. She dragged her tired body to the shower; the warm steam woke her up. After her run, she'd get some breakfast. Spring finally started to arrive, but the mornings were still chilly. She tugged her favorite Wayne Gretzky sweater over her head; it was one from his days as a Los Angeles King. It was the same one she wore the day Poe smashed the puck into her face.

Rey hurried downstairs; she wanted to get started before Poe. They were still super competitive, on runs, in the weight room, on the ice. Rey found it endlessly amusing; she just loved needling him any time she could. The Dameron compound was surrounded by trees and paths for running; Rey usually did three full circuits before breakfast, every other day. Non-running mornings were spent in the weight room. It was attached to the back of the rink; the windows faced the small pond on the property.

Rey did her stretches and set off. She liked the quiet this early in the morning. It was peaceful, calming. It reminded her of how lucky she was to have this chance. Everyone, even her sisters, had written her dreams off, assuming her injury had ruined them forever. This wasn't what Rey had in mind when she imagined being back on Olympic ice, but it was better than nothing. Here, all she had to worry about was training. Rey loved her foster sisters dearly, but she knew they wouldn't understand exactly what drove her. Why this was so important. They were happy in small-town Minnesota. Rey knew that wasn't where she was meant to be.

On her second pass, she heard footfalls behind her. She didn't need to turn to see that it was Poe. Their mutual competitiveness drove them to outdo the other almost every minute of the day. They were together almost fifteen hours a day, seven days a week. Rey kept her steady pace; the real fun would come when he caught her.

When Poe approached, he tried giving her a wide berth as he always did. At first, Rey thought he was trying to avoid her, but she realized after a few weeks that he seemed to be goading her into acting out. Sometimes, she obliged him, sometimes she didn't. Today, she definitely would. She let him get a dozen steps ahead (it gave her a chance to admire his posterior if nothing else), then she put a small burst of speed, catching him easily. Suddenly she was right next to him, giving him almost no space on the trail. She grinned as he scowled; she had to admit he looked kinda cute in his jacket and beanie. True to form, he shoved her a bit, annoyed. Rey shoved him back then she promptly stole the beanie from his head and took off.

"Hey!" Poe cried as he dashed after her. She was messing with him on purpose! Why did she insist on following the same running schedule as him? He swore she did it just to make him crazy. Rey's warm laugh echoed in the little valley toward the pond as Poe gave chase. "Give it back!"

Rey jogged backwards for a few steps, waving his hat. "It's not that cold," she shot back.

"Just because some of us grew up in an igloo," Poe growled.

"Do you even know where Minnesota is?" Rey tucked his hat into her jacket pocket and took off, deeper into the woods.

"You have got to be kidding me," Poe muttered to himself. He ran after Rey, wondering just how the hell this had become his life.

An hour later, hat retrieved and breakfast consumed, Poe walked over to the rink. He was relieved to see that Rey wasn't there yet; he needed a few minutes of peace before she arrived. Poe wasn't used to someone with so much…energy? Enthusiasm? Playfulness? He wasn't sure of the right word and that was unusual for him. Once there was no longer any chance of her quitting, they settled into a groove. She still drove him crazy. Sometimes it seemed like she wasn't taking this as seriously as she should. When he mentioned it to Leia, his coach rebuked him sharply. That was when Poe found out about the extra hours Rey put in at the rink. How could he have missed that? Maybe she didn't want him to know. Rey improved daily, even Poe could see it.

But he didn't want to admit that she was good. Because if he did that, then he'd have to admit to being wrong and Poe hated that feeling.

Leia was waiting at her desk when he arrived. "Don't bother lacing up."

"Why?" Poe asked.

"I've got something else in mind for you two today."

There was much more so figure skating than just skating. That was why they did all the weight training and running. His father even got them a personal trainer. Poe was used to all this special attention, but Rey wasn't. She was used to training by herself, in her own way. She grumbled and complained, but in the end, she always came around. Poe was slowly beginning to see how important this was to her.

"Morning," Rey said when she arrived a bit later. She seemed surprised to see Poe sitting his usual chair, waiting. "Something up?"

Leia smiled. "I thought we'd try something new today."

Rey adjusted her bag on her shoulder. "Um, okay."

"Follow me." Leia led them through the side exit; it opened into the weight room. Rey glanced at Poe, who shrugged. He didn't seem to be in on the scheme either, which was odd. Almost six weeks in, Rey still felt like she was playing catch up when it came to matching him. There was so much she still needed to learn; they hadn't started on jumps yet. Those still made Rey nervous. If she couldn't do them, then she might as well pack her bags right now.

A woman in her late twenties awaited them in the room behind the weight room. Rey hadn't even realized this room existed. The woman wasn't very tall; in fact, Rey would call her slight. Shorter than Rey, her olive skin was set off by her two-toned hair, one half orange, one half purple. Even more intriguing, she wore ballet slippers.

To Rey's even greater shock, Poe smiled. "Hey, Sabine."

Sabine looked Poe over, a smile tugging at her lips. "It's good to see you too, Poe."

"What is this?" Rey asked, confused. What the hell did ballet have to do with figure skating?

It was Leia who answered. "You still have much to learn. To get there, we must lay the proper foundation."

Rey wrinkled her nose. "I don't dance." Not unless she had some liquid courage first. It was embarrassing otherwise.

"We're not dancing…strictly speaking," Sabine said, stepping forward. "This is more about teaching balance and flexibility."

Rey gulped. She'd been watching old pairs routines on YouTube. She knew Sabine wasn't kidding. Some of those skaters bent and twisted their bodies in ways she wasn't certain she could accomplish. But she was determined to try. If this would help, then she was in. "Okay, why not?"

Poe was mildly surprised she acquiesced so quickly. Leia said a few quiet words to Rey before she left. Poe said nothing as he walked over to the bench on the far wall. He'd done this before, of course. He was surprised that Kes convinced Sabine to come back. Even more surprising was that Holdo hadn't already engaged Sabine's services for her new pair. Poe liked Sabine well enough; this was one aspect of his training that he didn't hate.

Sabine found some shoes for Rey to try. She wanted to ask what was wrong with her sneakers, but she didn't think that was prudent. Poe had no such qualms; he methodically put on the ballet shoes and went about his usual stretches. This room was much smaller than the rink; he was only a few feet away. Rey felt self-conscious as she struggled with the shoes; Sabine knelt down and helped her.

"Why don't you show me your stretch routine?"

Rey's brow furrowed. "Um, okay." The shoes felt very strange, but Rey started to go through her routine. Sabine watched her critically; it made Rey even more self-conscious. A blush crept up her neck; she felt Poe watching her too. What was wrong with the way she stretched? "Is something funny?"

"Were you planning on moving like a lumberjack during our program?" Poe snapped.

Sabine stepped in before Rey could respond; clearly, Leia warned her about this kind of thing. "My job is to make sure that doesn't happen. Just follow my lead and everything will be fine."

Leia hadn't steered them wrong so far, so Rey decided to trust that Sabine was right. They started with stretching. Poe and Rey side by side, following Sabine in a series of stretches Rey had never done. It was difficult at first. As usual, Poe had no trouble. Rey rolled her eyes when he smirked at her. Did he have to be so superior about everything? Like Rey wasn't keenly aware of how much she still had to learn.

It was a long morning. Stretching, it turned out, was the easiest thing. Sabine demonstrated some of the positions she wanted them to learn; Rey shook her head in disbelief. She didn't see how she could get her body to move like that.

One wall was covered in mirrors and a ballet bar. They spent all morning there, Poe and Rey trying to follow Sabine's instructions. Poe ignored her completely, but Rey felt stiff and awkward and foolish. Sabine massaged Rey's shoulders as she struggled to reach for her foot where it rested on the bar. "Just relax," Sabine murmured.

"Easy for you to say."

Sabine excused herself for a few minutes; Rey pushed off from the mirrored wall in a huff. "Ugh."

"You're trying too hard," Poe said, watching himself in the mirror as he extended his arm over his head. He looked graceful and poised. Rey just looked like a lump of clay in comparison.

"What?" she snapped.

"I said, you're trying too hard."

Rey blinked. Was he being…nice? Or at least, not critical? "What's 'trying too hard'?"

"You're in your head too much. Don't think. Just move."

"Kinda need one to do the other," she pointed out.

Poe said nothing; instead, he marched over to his bag. He got out his Airpods and held them out. "Take these."

Rey looked skeptical, expecting some trick. "What for?"

Poe sighed, exasperated. "I'll have to sterilize them after. Just do it."

Rey accepted the Airpods reluctantly. She had her own (less expensive) headphones, but they were back in the loft. She got out her phone and connected the Bluetooth. "Now what?"

Poe searched for something else; Rey wasn't sure what. Eventually, he returned with one of his many handkerchiefs. "My mother taught me this when I was little," he said. "But you're going to have to trust me."

Rey gulped. Trust him? That felt like a big ask. He'd been so much better lately, but she was still wary. They still argued; they still couldn't seem to find much in common aside from this bizarre journey they were on together. She would have to trust him eventually if this were going to work. Why not start now? "You're not gonna take blackmail videos, are you?"

Poe's lips quirked up in a half-smile. "Tempting, but no."

"Okay." She remained still as he wrapped the cloth around her head, blocking her sight.

"Give me your phone."

"Do you think I'm insane?"

Poe sighed. "I won't look at anything; just tell me which music to pick."

Rey complied, pressing her phone into Poe's warm hand. She picked out her favorite album, Rubber Soul. In a moment, the strains of "Drive My Car" came through the AirPods. "The Beatles?" Poe asked loud enough for her to hear.

"They were my mom's favorite."

Poe blinked. He realized belatedly that he'd never asked her about her family. Or how an obviously English person came to live in the States. She'd clearly been here a long time. Where were her parents? Did they know she was here, training? Did she have siblings? He thought he heard her mention a sister to Leia a few days ago. He thought about Shara; she would not like the way Poe had been treating her. He was certain of that. He made a promise to himself to try and be better. He might not ever be a perfect gentleman, but he could be civil. Most of the time.

"Right," he said, slipping the phone carefully into her pocket. He suddenly wondered if this was a good idea, but it was too late to back out now. "We'll do it together at first, then I'll leave you alone, okay? Just focus on the music, not how you're moving."

Rey felt him against her back, too close again. She kept her breathing as even as she could with him pressed against her back and his hands sliding down her arms. Slowly, he guided her in the movements they were doing earlier with Sabine; she still felt clumsy and awkward, especially with Poe so close. But she tried to take his advice and focus on the music. They moved through the various positions twice before Poe backed away. Rey kept going, finding a rhythm along with the music. Gradually, everything around her seemed to fade, even Poe. This was much easier; she could do this.

Poe resumed his own workout farther down, but he kept stealing glances at her. Rey was one of the most stubborn and willful people he had ever met, but when she was determined to do something, she didn't hesitate. He found himself admiring that trait. The sun caught her chestnut hair as she moved—much less awkwardly now—bringing out auburn highlights he'd never noticed. She really was pretty. For the first time, he really started to believe that this time, things might be different.