Rey lay on her back staring at the ceiling above her. Without looking at her chrono, she knew it must be close to dawn, and she hadn't slept a wink. Her mind refused to settle, and her thoughts were a whirlwind. Images of Ben Solo and what might have been flashed through her brain, interspersed with images of Poe grinning at her or saying something to intentionally make her mad. He had done that a lot in the months following Exegol, Rey remembered, and at first, she had just ignored him, refusing to rise to his bait. The day she finally let loose on him, just a little more than a month ago, she remembered his bright smile and laughter. "There she is," he had exclaimed. "I knew you'd find your way back." It took a bit for her to understand. She had been fighting off depression for weeks after Exegol, and though she had kept herself busy seeking out potential Jedi students and sites of old temples that could be used for teaching purposes, she knew her demeanor had become much more morose. Poe hadn't stopped until he broke through the barrier she had put up. She had never thanked him for that.
That's what good friends did, right? She thought. Pushed you when you needed to be pushed. Did things that you didn't like but only for your own good, so things would be better in the end. Despite all their bickering, she had never stopped trusting him. Never stopped believing in his friendship and loyalty. Had he wished for something more? Is that why he kissed her last night? Or was is just a last second decision, possibly emboldened by alcohol? She didn't remember smelling any alcohol on him. Nope. Which lead to her memory of what she had smelled. And tasted. And felt.
"Argh!" she groaned and sat up. Well, since she wasn't going to sleep, she might as well get up. She dressed and headed out into the early morning dark. The humidity was high and the ever-present night mist hung low over the ground as she walked across the base on Ajan Kloss, but the air was refreshingly cool. She had no thought of where she was going. She really wanted to talk to Finn, but that wasn't an option right now. Besides, she thought, would it be a good idea to tell Finn what had happened between her and Poe? Finn loved Poe like a brother, but he was also very protective of her. She shook her head, confusion and lack of sleep making her brain feel fuzzy.
Rey saw a flicker of light out of the corner of her eye and realized there was a campfire burning toward the edge of the base. She could just make out the shape of the Millennium Falcon in the dim light, and she knew the fire must be Chewie's. When he wasn't running errands for the Resistance or spending time with relatives on Kashyyyk, Chewie usually just camped out underneath the Falcon here on Ajan Kloss. He was starting to complain about getting old and not wanting too much adventure in his life anymore, and Rey knew the loss of his human family, one by one all within the last year of the war, had been hard on him. He wouldn't admit it, but he also felt responsible for her, which was why he stayed as much as he did.
A sudden thought came to her. Chewie knew more about human emotion than most humans did. Maybe he could help her. She started toward the Falcon. If he was awake, she would talk to him. If not, she would just keep going. Maybe a long run in the jungle would help.
As she got closer, she saw the Wookiee sitting by the fire, a data pad in his hands that he was reading intently. It wasn't long before he saw her, lowering the data pad and acknowledging her as she stepped into the firelight. He grunted a greeting.
"I'm surprised to see you awake so early after the party last night," she said, trying to figure out how to ask him for help. He responded that he had left right after her so he had gotten more than enough sleep. She nodded. "Can I talk to you?" she asked. "I have a problem that I need help figuring out and I don't know if you can offer any advice, but I don't know who else to go to."
Chewie cocked his head to the side and told her to go for it.
Rey didn't even know where to start. She sat down on one of the chairs that circled the fire. She, Finn and Poe often spent evenings here, with Rose, Beaumont, and Connix joining in from time to time. She looked over at Chewie who was watching her with affection and compassion in his blue eyes. She took a deep breath and blurted out, "I kissed Poe last night!"
Chewie's eyes widened for a moment, but then he started chortling. Softly at first, but then he really started getting into it. Usually his laughter was contagious, but all Rey could do was stare at him with growing horror. Had she made a complete fool of herself telling him this? Eventually, Chewie's Wookiee snickers subsided and he growled through his laughter.
Rey's horror turned to shock. "What do you mean, 'It's about time.'?" she demanded.
Chewie continued, telling her how he had watched the two of them interact for months now, both before the Battle of Exegol and after, and was expecting them to eventually figure out their bickering was really just flirting. He had watched Han and Leia do it their whole relationship, and he had never known two humans that had loved each other more. Besides, he added, he had seen how Poe watched her when she wasn't looking.
Rey sat there, stunned. "Really?" she asked. While she found it hard to believe that last statement, she really wanted to. "Why hasn't he said anything to me?"
Chewie's expression turned serious and he looked contemplative for a moment. He then told her it was probably because Poe knew about Rey's connection to Ben, and was keeping his distance for fear that he could never measure up to that kind of bond. Not to mention he was probably still waiting for Rey to notice him.
"But I have noticed him," she said softly. "I just never imagined he could think of me that way, so I tried my best not to think of him that way." She looked at Chewie. "I did love Ben," she told him. "But I never really got to know Ben. My love for him was illusory, almost spiritual. I loved what I knew he had been, what he could be again. But it wasn't meant to be. "
Chewie nodded solemnly. He had loved Ben Solo as well, but his hatred for Kylo Ren had eclipsed that love the day he watched the boy he had once known kill his best friend. He understood Rey's confliction, and while he could never forgive the man for what he had done, he had felt great relief knowing he had died as Ben Solo. The fact that Ben had died saving Rey's life had made Chewie grateful, too, and allowed him to remember the boy he had once known more than the man he had become.
He told Rey softly that maybe Poe was meant to be.
Rey sat quietly for a while, digesting these words. Unfortunately, the 'what ifs' of life interrupted. "What if it doesn't work out?" she asked. "Not only do I not want to lose him as a friend, but what about Finn? He would be in the middle, forced to choose sides!"
"Do you always go for the worst-case scenario first?" was Chewie's grumbled response. Rey sighed and looked at him helplessly. "You'll never know the answer if you don't try."