Unfortunately, another date did not come right away. Poe was stuck in long distance meetings with representatives of the New Republic most of the next day, and Rey was back to teaching the day after that. Since her two assistants, Finn and Rose, were both still gone on their honeymoon, that left Rey to keep all 7 children, all at different levels of learning, occupied during the day. That evening, she and Poe met in the mess hall for dinner. Neither had planned it in advance, but they somehow knew the other would be there. The sat together to eat, willfully ignoring the curious looks from the others.
"They're wondering why I didn't spend the night in your quarters the night before last," she whispered to him.
"Should we tell them it's because we were at it the whole time we were in the meadow and we were too tired for anything more the rest of the night?" Poe asked with an evil glint in his eye.
"Don't talk so loud," Rey told him, trying to ignore the heat that his words had caused. "They don't need any ideas."
"I'm sure someone has already thought it," Poe told her.
Rey rolled her eyes at him and continued eating. She noticed how Poe's expression changed from joking to serious. "What is it?" she asked.
He looked up at her in surprise. "Why do you ask that? You can't read my mind, can you?"
Rey shook her head slowly, giving him a 'are you serious?' look. "I can read your face, though."
He sighed. "Chancellor Berreth has asked me to come to Naboo for a special meeting of the Republic High Command." Berreth had been one of the few surviving senior senators after the destruction of Hosnian Prime, the former seat of the New Republic. A human female from Naboo, Viannie Berreth had been chosen by the other senatorial survivors as Interim Chancellor, and just last month had won the first official election for the position.
"Do you know why?" Rey asked. Poe had purposefully stayed out of any of the decision making regarding the reformation of the New Republic. He was not a politician and had no interest in their military, but as the official commander of the victorious Resistance after the Battle of Exegol, he had been asked to be a part of an external group that was overseeing the growth of the new government and had been allowed to offer advice and suggestions when needed.
He shrugged. "Not sure," he told her. "They know I'm not interested in rejoining their fleet, such as it is. My best guess is they want to hire me in some advisory position."
"Would you take a job with them?" Rey asked, feeling a bit chilled by the prospect of not seeing this man every day, especially after the other night.
"Depends," Poe told her.
"On what?" she demanded.
"What the job is, how much they're gonna offer me for it, and just how long they want me to do it." He leaned over the table toward her. "I certainly don't want to leave, but the Resistance will need financing if we're going to keep it alive, and I don't exactly have the savings that Leia had, nor her connections." He looked around the hall. "Most everyone here is most likely going to have to eventually head out and find positions elsewhere to make a living. I can only hope they all stay with us, even if it's as an on-call militia."
Rey had never really thought about the future of the Resistance. Leia had begun it as a response to the New Republic's unwillingness to risk open conflict with the First Order, but she had received financial backing from many in the Republic nonetheless. With her gone, and the New Republic not quite capable of supporting anyone but themselves right now, the Resistance would need to find other sources for support. Rey knew that Poe, and most of the others that claimed membership in the Resistance, had no desire to let it die; especially not when there were still, to this day, Imperial and First Order sympathizers out there.
"I know you'll do what you think is best," Rey said, and hated that her voice sounded small.
"I will," Poe told her firmly. "And not just for the Resistance. But for you and you trainees, too."
Rey gave him a small smile and nodded. Last night, she had been excited about her future. Now, she felt uncertainty build inside her again. She guessed she would just have to take a deep breath and go with the flow.
A/N Sorry this one is so short. Just some necessary story filler. I've got an adventure planned for them soon!