CHAPTER 14

Laughter

Amara and Kare eventually made it back to the house around lunchtime. When they walked through the door they were welcomed with the smell of freshly baked bread mixed with various warm spices. When they rounded the corner into the kitchen they saw that the dining table was filled with a beautiful spread of breads, meats, fruits and nuts. Leona was at the sink, her brow furrowed in concentration as she washed the dishes.

"Man I'm so starving," Kare spoke as she walked towards the table.

Leona gasped as she dropped the dish she was lathering into the soapy water. She turned and faced the women. "Stars you two startled me!" She laughed nervously as she wiped her hands on her apron. "Snap told me that you went for a run this morning. I figured you would be famished when you came back so I made sure to have some food ready for you upon your return."

"Thank you Leona, this looks amazing," Kare smiled as she picked up a piece of fresh fruit. She popped the expertly cut piece into her mouth and groaned. "Stars this is good."

Amara approached the table and examined the spread before her. All of the fruit was carefully peeled, expertly cut and arranged beautifully in a ceramic bowl. There were various bowls of mixed nuts arranged on the table along with carefully rolled pieces of cured meats. In addition there were so many different kinds of breads and pastries. After examining the food before her she decided to pick up a pastry.

Amara took a bite and moaned softly as the warm, flaky pastry melted in her mouth. She opened her mouth to respond but all that came out was another moan.

Kare's mouth opened as she looked at Amara. "I'll have what she's having," she says as she grabs her own piece. She took a bite and she, too, moaned deeply as the warm buttery bread melted in her mouth. "I haven't had this in a long time. It tastes just how I remember."

Leona smiled as she watched the two women enjoying the food she prepared for them. "It has been a while since I've been able to cook for anyone other than Kes. I might have gone a bit overboard."

Amara smiled at the woman's shyness. shoves the whole thing in her mouth before grabbing two more pieces.

"Hey… why don't you make those noises when you're with me?"

All three women turned and saw Snap standing at the entrance to the room, his large frame taking up the entire frame. His smile was wide as he looked at Kare affectionately. "How was your run?"

"Kicked my ass. But we found a beautiful waterfall while we were out. Maybe if you're good we can go together later." She wriggled her eyebrows up and down before breaking a part of a piece of bread and plopping it into her mouth.

Snap raised an eyebrow as he leaned against the doorframe. "How about we go now?"

Kare laughed as she shook her head. "No way… my feet are killing me. Especially how far we went. You're out of luck right now Snap. We'll have to take a raincheck." She walked towards him and kissed him on the cheek. She leaned forward and pressed her mouth against his ear. She whispered something inaudible that Amara couldn't hear. She pulled away from Snap and smirked. Snap was no longer smiling but his ears turned bright crimson. His eyes darted to hers before clearing his throat. He adjusted his pants slightly and Kare turned to Amara and smiled. "I'll see you later Amara. Thanks for coming with me."

She waltzed out of the room, whistling softly. Snap's gaze was focused on Kare as she left. Amara noted the loving smile he had on his face as he watched her leave. It was small but anyone could see the love that was there in his eyes. As Kare's whistling faded to silence, his gaze moved from back to the kitchen towards her, and his smile left, immediately replaced with a look of disdain.

Amara shifted her gaze from him and she shifted uncomfortably. His words from the ship echoed in her head. "He doesn't know… does he?... Who you really are." He had made that connection with her past, how… she didn't know. But all that matters was that he knew what she was hiding. The question was whether he had divulged this information to Poe. She hadn't seen him since yesterday and he had made no indication that Snap had spoken with him. If he had he knew that there would be no question that he would be turning her over to the resistance.

Snap walked towards the table with good and picked up a handful of nuts, his eyes never leaving hers. "Leona… have you seen Poe around?"

Leona shook her head as she finished drying the last dish. "I haven't seen him since he spoke with Kes this morning." She began wiping the counters, her forearm slightly tense as she did so. "He went to go chop some wood for me a couple hours ago. I believe he is still out there."

Snap leaned against the table, his eyes still trained on Amara. She looked up at him. He was using his size to intimidate her. If she were anyone else that might have worked. She was going to say something to him, but was interrupted by Leona walking towards her with a canteen.

"Can you be a dear and take this out to Poe? It gets really hot in the afternoons and I fear that he didn't think to take any water with him when he left."

Amara took the canteen as she narrowed her eyes at Snap. "Sure… I can do that. Where is he?"

"How can I say that? Let's make a list, Poe, of why I know you don't care about your family."

Chop.

"You've done nothing but act out."

Chop.

"Pretended that you weren't hopped up on spice and dealing that shit out with those no good friends of yours."

Chop.

"Joined the military and left without saying a word."

Chop.

"Joined the resistance without saying a word."

Chop. Chop.

"Had the nerve to say those things about Leona when she has only ever been there for us."

Poe growled before winding his arm backwards and heaved the axe down onto the log, splitting it with one stroke. The axe connected with the chopping block and stuck into the wood. Poe sighed loudly as he put his hands on his hips and stepped away from the block.

"You know, they say that every time you sigh, a small amount of happiness escapes."

He turned around sharply and saw her. He wasn't expecting anyone to come bother him while he was chopping wood so he couldn't hide his grimace at the intrusion. She approached him slowly, a water canteen in her hands. She gave him a concerned glance.

"Want to talk about it?"

"I don't want to talk about it," he said as he roughly pulled the axe from the chopping block. He set up a new log and brought his axe down. He didn't want to talk about his conversation with his father earlier which led to his father yelling at him and Poe sitting there in silence with no words to defend himself. When Leona came in and interrupted their exchange, Poe left.

That was why he was now out here splitting logs that they didn't need.

Out of the corner of his eye Poe saw her walk into his periferal. She set the water canteen down on the pile of wood in front of him before moving to sit with her back against the large wooden building next to where he was chopping. The large wooden building was built by hand by his father and his grandfather shortly after they settled down on Yavin for good. It was used to store various large equipment as well as whatever aircraft his mother was restoring.

She didn't say anything to him, instead she watched him. He could see the silent question lingering in the air between them but he was grateful that she didn't push him for more than he was willing to share. She didn't say anything as he continued with his routine. Lay down log. Chop. Toss logs into the wood pile.

Lay. Chop. Toss. Lay. Chop. Toss.

She watched him, her lips pursed as she seemed to contemplate saying something. He wasn't in the mood for a lecture or to be reasoned with. He wanted to be angry. He wanted to punish himself by staying out here and working his muscles until they screamed at him. He set up the next log and held his axe up in the air to strike.

"How do you get down from a bantha?" she said quickly.

He paused mid strike and looked at her incredulously. "Excuse me?"

"How do you get down from a bantha?" She said slower, her lips still pursed as she waited for his answer.

Completely caught off guard by her question he shook his head. "I don't know. How?"

"You don't. You get down from a goose."

Her lips remained still as she looked at him. He looked at her dumbfounded. Eventually he put the axe down on the ground. "That was the worst joke I have heard."

She scoffed. "Oh come on… worst? It couldn't possibly have been the worst. I thought it was pretty clever."

He couldn't help the smile that lifted the corner of his mouth as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "Trust me… I have been around the block. And that my dear was the worst."

"Okay then smartass. Tell me a better one," her eyes looked to him in challenge.

He grinned as he eyed her. "Okay, okay… let me think." He walked towards the canteen she set down and opened it. He took a long swig of the liquid and sighed. He hadn't realized how dehydrated he had gotten until he realized that he almost finished the entire canteen in one gulp. He looked to her and saw that her lips were no longer pursed but instead lifted at the corners in a soft smile. His eyes focused on her face. Her features were soft and inviting. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and made her umber skin glow. She looked different than she had when he first saw her and he couldn't help but smile at how she looked now. She raised an eyebrow at him and he suddenly remembered that she was waiting for him to speak. He cleared his throat. "Okay. Here's one. This is a good one. Why are Death Star pilots fed up with space battles?"

Amara bit her lip as she narrowed her eyes. After a moment she shook her head. "I don't know. Why?"

"Because they always end up in a TIE."

Amara stared at him. Just stared. He continued to smile at her as he waited for her to answer. After a while she rolled her eyes, put her head in her hands and groaned.

Poe held out his hands and scoffed. "Excuse me? That was comedy gold."

She shook her head as she spoke into her hands. "Oh my god… and you said my joke was horrible."

"Okay-okay I admit. Not my best work. How about this one? A clone trooper walks into a pub and asks the barman, 'Hey, have you seen my brother?'" 'I dunno,' says the barman, 'What does he look like?'" He wriggled his eyebrows at her. "Laugh. You know you want to."

Amara shook her head, pushed off the wooden building and began to walk away. "I don't have to sit here and be subjected to these horrible jokes."

Poe smiled wide as he ran after her, following close behind. "Oh you think that one is bad. Well how about this one? "An Ewok strolls into a bar and says to the bartender, 'I'll have a whisky and …soda.' The bartender says, 'Sure thing—but why the little pause?'" He waited for her to look at him over her shoulder before continuing. "'Dunno,' says the Ewok. 'I've had them all my life.'"

She groaned loudly and picked up her pace as she walked into the building. "Oh my stars, please stop."

Poe could hear the hint of laughter in her voice and he smiled. That was all the motivation he needed to keep going. Poe ran until he was walking backwards in front of her through the large opening on the other side. This building had no door so as to make it easier to transport equipment in and out quickly. "Hey…. Amara. Is BB hungry?" She looked up at him. He bit his lower lip, holding back a smile, "No… BB-8."

Amara snorted before clasping her hands over her mouth. Poe's smile widened as he pointed at her. "Ha! I got you to laugh."

Amara shook her head, no longer able to hide her smile. "I don't know what you are talking about. I had something caught in my throat. That was definitely not a laugh."

Poe raised an eyebrow. "Oh it was a laugh."

Amara shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. "You were greatly mistaken flyboy."

"Oh really... " He couldn't keep from smiling even if he wanted to. He leaned down towards her and got his face dangerously close to her. Her eyes widened as he got closer but she remained still. He moved so that his lips were pressed against her ear. "How does Kylo Ren like his toast?" He whispered softly.

Her shoulders lifted and he heard Amara inhale slowly. She shook her head. "I-I-I don't know. H-how?"

He smiled and leaned in closer, his lips brushing her ear just slightly. "On the dark side."

She pressed her head into his shoulder and he felt her shoulders shake. He could feel her holding breath as her body shook uncontrollably. Eventually it was too much for her to bear and she wheezed before erupting in laughter. He wrapped his arm around her and smiled. "There is nothing I like more than hearing the sweet victory of making you laugh."

"You are such an idiot." She said through her laughter.

"Ah but I'm a funny idiot."

She continued to laugh against his shoulder and Poe continued to hold her. She felt good in his arms and his laugh warmed him. He wasn't thinking anymore about what had brought him out here. He wasn't thinking about what was bothering him. Instead he was only thinking about his happiness… and her. Wanting to see her smile was quickly becoming one of his new favorite things to do. Right beneath holding her. Nothing could make him let her go at this moment.

"What's that?" She looked to something behind him and he turned. His heart slowed.

He immediately let her go.

Can it be?

He pulled away from her and slowly approached the large item in the middle of the room. His fingers flexed as he lifted his hand to touch the tarp that was covering it. It couldn't be. His hand gripped the fabric and pulled the tarp away, revealing what was underneath.

Amara walked to stand next to him. "Is that an X-Wing?"

Poe shook his head and placed his palm on the nose of the aircraft. "A-wing." He couldn't believe that his father still had it. He thought his father would have sold it years ago. The ship had aged since he last remembered seeing it. The body was rusting slightly from the humidity. He brushed the cobwebs off the body as he walked around inspecting it, his palm never not in contact with the outer shell.

"Is that your father's?"

"Mother's." He let out a single amazed laugh as he climbed the ladder to get inside. "God I can't believe this is still here," he said with awe in his voice.

Amara shook her head as she watched Poe climb into the cockpit of the rusted A-wing. "I can't believe you are going to get in that death trap."

Poe chuckled as he ran his fingers along the dashboard. His fingers vibrated in anticipation as he brushed over the controls. He removed various control locks as well as tested the yoke, making sure that it still moved freely and smoothly. As he reached for the flight controls, for a fleeting moment Poe thought he could hear the faint sounds of his mother's laugh. He shook his head, brushing off the feeling as he leaned down to adjust the throttle. Everything looked just as he had left it. Not a single bolt out of place. He had no doubt that she would start if he told it to. He visually checked the fuel levels and saw that she still had enough juice for a ride. He leaned out of the cockpit and smiled down at Amara.

"Get in."