Author's note: Very quick turnaround, but the muse is working overtime. Another bit of bonding between our duo. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: None.

Chapter 5

Two months later

Poe's eyes roved over the words, but he wasn't really seeing them. They'd been given a rare day off, but he wasn't very tempted by the nice weather. Perhaps it was because he participated in an indoor sport; he'd never really seen the appeal of the outdoors. After his mother's death, skating became his whole world, for better or worse. It was his one link to her; as long as he skated, he still felt connected to her.

Shara had also instilled his love of reading. That was how Poe experienced the outside world, safe from the confines of the Dameron compound. Until he met Rey, Poe never felt like he was missing anything. He had his dad, Zorii, his books, and skating. He didn't think he needed anything else. Of course, he didn't really know any better. Zorii came from a similar privileged background; they'd been dating for years. Long-distance most of the time, since Kes relied on her so much to help run the company. Zorii was brilliant, affable, steady. She was comfortable, familiar.

Should he call her? He looked at the clock; London was five hours ahead. They spoke at least once a week; their schedules didn't line up for more frequent chats. Poe was usually exhausted after fifteen hours at the rink; a couple of weeks ago, he fell asleep at the dinner table! Kes, at least, got a good laugh from it. Poe was too tired to be embarrassed. He hoped Kes appreciated all the work they were doing; this was the hardest Poe had ever trained in his life. He had to keep up with Rey.

Poe suspected he knew why Leia had granted them this gift. Rey had made almost stunning progress over the last four months; she almost passed for a figure skater. He had to admit that she worked hard. She pushed him to be better, something Poe hadn't had in a long time. But something important was missing.

They'd started her on jumping two weeks ago. They cleared out the small ballet room as Rey had dubbed it and started off ice. Poe had been jumping since he was ten, but Leia made him do the workouts all the same. Poe felt it was grossly unfair, but he knew it was fruitless to argue. As the more experienced jumper, Poe got to play teacher. Leia filmed all their sessions; Rey watched them back obsessively. Poe realized early that she had the athletic ability to do it; she was just extremely reluctant to let her skates leave the ice and trust she would land. Poe realized it was wise to start this way; she fell a lot. But Poe didn't laugh this time. Instead, he would help her up and try again.

He'd never met anyone so determined. Rey just refused to allow anything to defeat her. She'd get up, brush herself off, and go again. Teaching also made him better; he actually had to think and reflect on each move as he made it. Even Leia noticed. Despite being their coach, she was a very motherly figure; Poe wanted her to be proud of him.

They were due to move their lessons to the ice this week. Poe thought Leia wanted to give Rey a day to collect herself before taking that step. Rey would be in the harness the whole time, she'd be perfectly safe, but Poe remembered how scary it was when he first started learning. He'd been a child then. Rey was a fully grown adult. She did tend to get inside her own head.

Poe decided against Facetiming Zorii. It wasn't that late in London, but he didn't really have anything to say to her. Zorii never said anything, but Poe knew she was tired of hearing about the latest way Rey had gotten under Poe's skin. And Poe didn't care about whatever deal Zorii was working on for the company. None of that interested him.

He marked the page in his book and tossed it onto his bed. Kes was out of town; the house was eerily empty. He padded downstairs in his socks, moving from room to room. It had been a long time since he had so much free time to himself; he wasn't quite sure what to do. He didn't play video games like so many of his peers; he wasn't a movie buff. They did have their own theater in the very back of the house; it was Kes' gift to Shara when they built the place. It had been renovated several times as technology evolved, but it carried the same vintage charm.

Poe didn't hate movies. Most of the ones he did watch were adaptations of books he'd read; those were rarely better than the books. He didn't really see the point when he could create a better picture in his head. Still, his feet took him in the direction of the theater. Rey found pop culture much more satisfying than Poe did. She talked to Kes about movies they'd seen. Her taste leaned more toward the fantasy and sci-fi genres, which didn't surprise Poe in the least. She also seemed to have seen every animated movie of the last twenty years. What was the one she'd teased him about? Ice Age? Poe had no clue what that was; he still didn't.

Perhaps watching something mindless would allow his mind to settle long enough for him to read. Poe climbed up into the projection booth and flipped through the collection of movies they owned. Kes archived his collection carefully; they were organized by genre, then by title. To Poe's shock, they actually had that movie Rey mentioned. And its sequels. Why, Poe had no clue. It didn't seem like the kind of thing Kes would watch. Perhaps it was for the children of some of the staff?

Rey seemed to like it; that alone made Poe curious. Against his better judgment, he wondered what made her tick. For all the hours they spent together, she was still a bit of a mystery to him. He hated that feeling. He doubted this particular movie would shed any light, but he didn't have anything else to do. He popped it into the projector, then headed down to his preferred seat. A remote control lowered the lights and the screen; Poe pressed another button to make the seat recline as the movie began.

Rey stretched out in the hammock; she felt rested and refreshed for the first time in weeks. After Leia announced they'd have the day off, all Rey wanted to do was sleep. Kes had said she could borrow any of the cars she wanted if she wanted to go into town, but sleep was the stronger pull. She was physically and mentally exhausted. She was used to the routine, but every time they started something new, it took a bit more out of her. Jumping was by far the most frightening thing they'd done so far. Inside blade, outside blade, toe pick, no toe pick. It was a lot of information to process. She still didn't have all the jumps straight, let alone actually doing them.

It didn't help that she kept psyching herself out. She watched the videos Leia took, then she'd watch experienced female skaters, and everything looked hopeless. Those ladies had been doing this since they were kids; she was trying to learn this way too late. Leia kept telling her that it was all nonsense, that she would be fine, but Rey had a hard time believing it.

She needed this day off, if for nothing else than to get her head on straight. She couldn't give up now, not when she'd come so far. To her surprise, she was learning to love it. She appreciated the challenge of it, so different from hockey. There was no opponent on the ice; it was just her and Poe. She'd stopped seeing him as an enemy some time ago; she wouldn't say they were friends. She wasn't sure what they were. As long as they could work together, she was fine.

Rey rolled out of the hammock and tugged the tank top over her head. She'd gone for a dip in the pool before her nap; she didn't think it was a good idea to go marching around her in her bathing suit. It was finally properly warm, a good two months earlier than she was used to. Summer came later to Minnesota. It was Rey's least favorite season; it was harder to skate in the summer. That was different here since the Dameron's' had their own climate-controlled rink. She could skate every day. It helped her enjoy the warmer weather more than she ever had.

She thought about going back to the loft, but no one was there. Leia had gone to Boston for the day to meet an old friend. Rose would just want to know when Rey was coming for a visit; she didn't want to disappoint her again. That left the house. She wondered what Poe was up to. He was so quiet and reserved; the only time she got a read on him was when they were skating. Even that seemed detached, like he was going through the motions. The most animated she'd ever seen him was when he was teaching her how to jump.

Months into this, she was still trying to figure him out. He seemed to have everything, wealth, family, a girlfriend. Kes had mentioned his mother dying when Poe was young. Was that it? Had she instilled a love of skating in her son? Rey wished she had memories like that of her parents. They'd been gone for a long time now; sometimes she had trouble remembering their faces. She wondered what they'd think of her now.

It was late in the afternoon; even if she'd wanted to leave, it would be pointless. She needed to get to bed early for tomorrow's skate. They were going to put her in the damn harness; she wasn't thrilled about it. She decided to head over to the main house to see what she could see.

It was quiet; she remembered that Kes was out of town. Every room was empty, even Poe's room. She only knew which one was his because she spotted him reading in the window sometimes. He seemed even less likely to leave the compound than her; he had to be somewhere. She wandered toward the back of the house. The "on air" light in the theater was on. Curious, she peeked inside.

Poe sat alone; he was laughing. Rey blinked in shock; she'd never heard him laugh before. Not like that, like he was enjoying himself. Sarcastic laughter? Mocking laughter? Sure. But not this kind of full belly laugh. She liked it. It was a warm, rich sound. What was he watching?

"Oh my god."

Poe jumped; Rey stifled a laugh. She hadn't meant to startle him. "What do you think you're doing?" Poe snapped when he spotted the intruder. He stopped the movie, hoping she didn't spot his flushed cheeks. He couldn't believe she'd caught him!

"What are you doing?" she retorted. He was watching Ice Age. The second one, if she recalled correctly. It was so far removed from what she knew about him; she was having trouble believing the evidence of her eyes.

"Is that any of your business?"

"No, but I am curious. I didn't think you knew what this movie was."

"I didn't." Poe sighed. "I was just as shocked when I found it in my dad's collection."

Rey looked around the darkened theater. It looked like something of an old movie, lots of bronze and red curtains. They didn't have anything like this back home. "This is certainly something."

"I thought Dad gave you the tour?"

"He did, but we didn't peek inside. Though I'm not surprised you have your own movie theater."

Poe nervously ran his fingers through his curls. "You never answered my question."

"Which one?"

"What you're doing here?" Poe reminded her. "I assumed you'd head into town the moment we were sprung free." The lights came up; Poe finally got a good look at her. Cut off shorts, white tank top that did nothing to hide the bikini top she was wearing. Poe gulped instinctively. He'd never seen her so casually dressed before.

"Too much work for one day," Rey quipped. She fought to keep the smirk off her face as she saw his eyes widen ever so slightly. He might be a pain in the ass, but it was nice to see that he was at least a little human and not the Ice King she'd painted him as in her head. She looked around; there was nothing around him. No drink, no popcorn, no sugary treats. "Don't tell me you're watching a movie with no snacks."

Poe flushed, then he was annoyed at himself for blushing. He hadn't done anything wrong. Hell, this was his house! "I never eat snacks during movies."

She looked at him like he had two heads. "Never? What are you, a robot? Do you ever eat?"

"I fail to see how any of this is your business." He crossed his arms over his chest; he wanted to be done with this conversation.

"Snacks are a part of the movie going experience!" Rey cried. "What, are you afraid of getting kernels between your teeth?"

"Why do you care?"

"You're right. I don't."

She started to leave, but Poe couldn't help but wonder if he was missing something. Popcorn sounded terribly unhealthy, but he wondered if this was a chance to get a little insight into the woman who wanted to be his partner. The word "wait" was out of his mouth before she got to the door. Rey turned, one brow arched. "I think Dad has a popcorn maker, but I've never used it," he confessed.

She smiled. "I think we can fix that."

Twenty minutes later, Rey had her head stuck inside the glass cube. The popcorn maker wasn't one of those stovetop models or even an air popper. It was one of those big ones they had in real movie theaters. Of course, Kes would have this, she mused as she peeked in to make sure everything was hooked up properly. They didn't want to burn the house down.

Poe stood by awkwardly, scratching behind his ear. "Everything okay in there?"

Rey stood, grabbing a towel to wipe the grease off her hands. "I think so. I've never used one of these before, but everything looks right."

"Right." Before Poe could overthink anything, he started to read off the instructions. Rey followed each one; it didn't take long to get the kernels popping. In minutes, the smell of popcorn and butter filled the hall. "How do you know how to do that?"

"Do what?"

Poe gestured toward the machine. "You know, fix things."

Rey shrugged. "I grew up tinkering. It was a way for me to stand out, prove I was useful."

Poe frowned. "Why would you need to do that?"

Rey studied him, searching for some trap. Poe wasn't smarter than her, but he was better read than she was. He knew some fancy words. But—for once—he seemed genuinely curious and not in a mean way. She just wasn't used to him asking personal questions. "After my parents died, I was in the system. A few group homes. I don't have any family in England. But a family here took me in, adopted me."

"I heard you mention a sister to Leia."

"I have two, actually. Rose and Paige."

Poe was surprised at the stab of envy he felt. Siblings. He was an only child; he'd wished for siblings when he was little. "You never wanted to return to England?"

"I have dual citizenship," she said. "But no. Hockey's not very popular there."

"Right." He looked away, not sure what to say. He hadn't known any of that, basic facts about his partner. That felt like an oversight. They didn't need to be friends—they probably never would be—but the constant fighting could be exhausting.

The popcorn was ready a few minutes later; Rey scooped it into a large bucket while Poe got them something to drink. There was no soda in the house; they had to settle for flavored water. At least it was cold. "We can watch something else," he offered. "If you want."

Rey blinked, surprised. "It's your theater."

"You made the popcorn." When she hesitated again, he sighed. "Nevermind."

"What kind of movies do you like?"

"Me? I, uh, don't watch many movies, actually." He didn't know why he was explaining this; he kept waiting for her to make fun of him. But they'd seemed to have settled into a friendly truce. "Mostly adaptations of things I've read."

"Boring movies then."

"They're not boring!"

"What about fun things? Like Lord of the Rings or The Matrix?"

"Lord of the Rings is based on books, of course, I've seen them."

"I've never read the books. They were very…thick. But I love the movies."

"What the hell is The Matrix?"

Rey sighed. "It's not based on a book, that's for sure."

"What is this crusade you have against books?!"

Rey ignored him. He'd shown her where the movies were kept; she went to see if they owned The Matrix franchise. They did! She took Ice Age out of the player and put in the first Matrix. "There are three of these, but the first one is the best," she declared as she returned to her seat.

"I'm not watching that."

"Suit yourself." She snatched the remote from the tray between them and found the right buttons. The lights came down, and the movie started. She discovered the button that allowed her to recline accidentally; she giggled to herself. She was going to be spending a lot more time here! This was amazing. Rey munched happily on the popcorn—it tasted perfect—as Neo's story unfolded. About twenty minutes in, she realized that Poe was still there. Contrary to his earlier declaration, he was watching the movie and eating popcorn. He seemed engrossed, which surprised her.

She tried to focus on the movie, but her eyes kept flickering to her companion. He confused the hell out of her. One minute, he was looking down his nose at her, arguing just for the sake of it. The next, he's asking questions about her past, sounding like he cared about the answer. He'd never asked about her family before. He never really asked about her, period. It was a little disconcerting.

As Neo debated the red or the blue pill, Poe reached across for more popcorn. The tray between the seats had a hole in it to hold the bucket; when he reached down, his hand brushed against Rey's. "Sorry," he mumbled, snatching it back. His cheeks burned with embarrassment. He prayed she didn't call him out for his hypocrisy. But the movie was better than he expected. It had some interesting themes about free will and choice.

"Your secret is safe with me," she whispered, taking a large sip of her drink. She winked at him when he glanced at her, which made him scowl.

"Are you always this insufferable?"

"What can I say, it's a part of my charm."

"You don't have any charm."

"I know some people who would dispute that." Her knowing smirk made Poe grind his teeth. Why did she always do that? Poe himself was no monk—though it felt like it with Zorii three thousand miles away for months at a time—but really. Did everything have to be some innuendo? It's the 21st century, he scolded himself. She can do what she wants.

Not liking where that train of thought was headed, Poe turned his attention back to the movie. It wasn't his usual genre, but he found himself enjoying it. The special effects were pretty good for the time. He could tell that it was one of Rey's favorites; her lips moved along with some of the dialogue like she had it memorized. As the movie went on, he watched her as much as the screen. Her face just seemed to light up, like sunshine. Sunshine. That was a good name for her. Rey…ray of sunshine. Poe smiled to himself; it suited her. He'd never call her that to her face, but maybe in his head. Especially when she was driving him crazy. He'd remember that she could be warm and happy, like a beam of sunlight.

Kes returned home late; he was surprised how many lights were still on. He went through the house, shutting them off. The "on air" light to the theater was lit; that was odd. He poked his head in; his jaw dropped in shock. His son and Rey were inside, seated side by side watching…The Matrix? Definitely not the first one; Kes was certain it was the third one. Why? They'd never spent time together outside the rink to his knowledge. Still, it might be good for them. Their relationship was going to make or break this run for gold. He silently slipped out and left them to it.