I'm a bit unsure as to what to write for this AN… So, I'm just going to simply apologize for taking so long, but I also want to say that you'll find out why at the end of this chapter… I haven't exactly done anything quite so intimate before, so please do leave your thoughts and let me know what you think! And more than anything, I hope you enjoy!

May the Force be with You

-Mistro-

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The sun didn't set until late on Jakku, and Mara felt as if she had been working longer than she'd been alive. The two men behind her had stopped all conversation about the mysterious pilot as soon as customers flooded in to buy their smoking devices. Her brain had danced with thoughts that it might be Poe, but she knew that enquiring further would only get her into trouble. And trouble was one thing she certainly did not need.

When Ohn finally returned, stubby arms full of junkyard goods, he smiled warmly at her. "You look like you could use a good meal."

Mara wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her wrist. "Why does it feel like we've been working together for years?"

Ohn shrugged as he began dumping things into crates. "Could be the sun. You always start to feel mad in this heat; it's inevitable."

Mara's fingers lightly touched the wound at the point where her skull met her neck. Ohn hadn't seemed to understand the severity of it, but with the heat and lack of nutrients, Mara had nearly fainted three times. She would say nothing about it, of course, as it was typical for a man not to take notice of such things.

"I should have everything cleaned up by tomorrow evening. I might even be able to finish by the morning."

Ohn stared at her with beady eyes, his yellow face grimacing against the sun. "You must really want to get back to wherever you came from. Is there something special waiting for you?" He paused after locking up the rest of his goods. "Or maybe someone?"

Mara's head snapped instinctively to the stall behind her. The two men were already gone. Probably to the cantina, she assumed with a snort. "You could say that."

"That makes me grateful that I have my wife and that we live in this safe, little village." Mara almost scoffed at his description of Blowback. "It might not be much of a life compared to many, but it certainly lets me fall asleep with a smile on my face. That's what we all want at the end of the day, isn't it?"

Mara nodded slowly, the words resonating with her more than she had intended for them to. Mara would have been blessed to sleep even a few weeks ago, let alone do so with a smile on her face. She understood that her mindset was changing with her desire to help the cause, but there were still moments where unexplainable sadness overtook her. It changed her soul into black tar, sticking her to the bed with a refusal to leave.

"Come on." Ohn waved a hand. "We can stop by here and get the rest of it later. Nobody steals anything in this town, ironically. Everyone already knows who it belongs to."

Mara stood up and dusted the sand from her trousers. She was suddenly aware of how bad she must have smelled. "Where are we going?"

"Home," he sighed. "Let's grab a quick bite before dinner. I'm exhausted and you're about to faint. Maybe my wife can have a look at that cut on your neck and stitch it up for you. The Force knows how many times she's done it for me."

Ohn began to walk away with a limp in his step. Mara watched him without moving, allowing her full smile to break out along the stiff lines of her face. He really had noticed that her wound was bothering her. Perhaps, she thought solemnly, there really is some good buried in the sandpits of Jakku.

When the two of them finally made it to the small hut, the strong smell of wheat and salt flooded Mara's senses. Ohn's wife, whom Mara had still failed to remember the name of, glanced at them over her shoulder. "I've just finished making bread. Would you like to try some?" She noticed their hands were empty. "Where are all of the things?"

"I just missed you so much; we decided to come back early." Ohn planted a kiss on her cheek, causing Mara to glance away. Her own cheek suddenly felt colder. "I was also wondering if-"

"My goodness!" The small Blarina shrieked as Mara turned away from them. "What happened to your neck?"

Mara turned around swiftly. "It's nothing." Her fingers instinctively reached up to touch the crusted blood. "I suppose it hasn't healed just yet."

"I would offer you a bath, but I'm afraid we don't have much water. You can rinse yourself with a rag before you head back out." She seemed embarrassed, but before Mara could interject she was already pulling something from a drawer. "Before you do that, let me stitch that. The more you sweat, the more it will open."

It was an offer Mara was not going to refuse. She was unsure if it would help in any way towards her lightness of head, but it would certainly slow the process of making things worse. If Mara could finish polishing up Ohn's products in the next twenty-four hours, she hoped she could make it back to Yavin 4 without clonking her skull onto the control panel in an unconscious slumber.

Mara sat still as Gos's wife delicately sewed up the skin. Mara could feel the sharp sting of it, but remained as frozen as Jakku sand when the moon was high. When she was finished, the bread was scarfed down faster between the pair of them than a duo of rabid dogs. She splashed her face and arms with water, its temperature not exactly chilled. Ohn once again kissed his wife goodbye and headed out of the hut with Mara close at his heels.

The town was relatively quiet, but there was a slip of music coming from the open door of the local cantina. Mara was unsure of what day and time it was, but it seemed parties on Jakku did not have a set hour. A few thugs standing outside the bar's threshold watched her as she walked. It all of her might not to stare back. Not only because of their twisted faces, but because she had grown used to fighting such aggression.

"Don't mind them," Ohn mumbled as they approached the stall. "They're just looking for trouble. It's like booze to them; they feed off of it."

Mara shook her head once. "Trust me, I've met plenty of men like that to be able to pinpoint them."

The two of them began to pack the rest of the items in silence. Ohn would occasionally whistle a tune, but the sound of gusting winds was enough to drown out practically any noise nearby. Mara's back was turned as she arranged some gears on a shelf, blocking her ability to note that a couple of men were now approaching. She wouldn't have heard anything until there was an aggressive shout coming from the cantina door.

"Hey! It's that pilot!"

Mara craned her head up with squinted eyes, the sun blocking her vision. She could see the two men from earlier, their beefy arms raised in fight-mode as their legs darted out behind them. Ohn was also turning to look, but whoever they were attacking was shrouded by their large backs.

"What's going on?" Mara mumbled as she stood. She could see a small Blarina shouting out for Ohn who looked hesitant to join the fight.

"Whatever's going on, I don't want to be a part of it."

"It seems like you already are."

Mara stepped out from behind the shading of the stall. It seems the crunching of her boots against the sand had caught their attention, because one thug suddenly turned to look at her. Ohn stood by her side, taking note of his friend Naka from across the way. It seemed that Naka's companion was getting into a bit of a struggle with the human thug, and as the two fought against one another, Mara could make out the form of a man.

Without being able to identify him, Mara took a hesitant step forward. She was aware that she was being watched. "Poe?"

The question was like a chime in the dry air. It seemed to pause everyone's individual mission, including the man grabbing onto the so-called 'exemplary' pilot. When the human thug turned to address her solitary question, he also revealed the face of the person he was attempting to restrain.

Mara's breath hung on the edge of her parted lips. Poe Dameron was standing only a short run away from her, his utter confusion a perfect echo of her own. She could see hope and despair lingering behind his flickering lashes as both of them began to wonder if they were hallucinating in the heat.

With another soft foot, she treaded forward. Time seemed to stop altogether. The wind barely moved, and the music from the cantina deepened into the hum of a wasp. Familiar with the sensation of wanting someone so badly that it hurt, Mara began to run forward. Her slow run broke out into a sprint, her lips calling his name in desperation. The men from earlier had said there would be a price on his head, and Mara had uncomfortably recalled it only in that moment.

Before she could reach him, a pair of rough arms surrounded her. "What? Let go of me!" Her dry fists pummeled at the chest of the her captor, the other half of the vicious duo. She could feel her hair flying out of its tie, blocking her vision and ultimately making her weak.

"Mara!" Poe called out as he strained against his own aggressor.

"Don't try and be a hero, alright sweetie?" The Teedo mumbled in her ear. "Your little beau is coming with us and there's nothing you can do about it."

Naka stepped between them. "That pilot came to me. He's under my control!"

The human male shoved Poe away, but he didn't dare run after Mara. He stared at her from a few feet away, his battered face practically begging her not to shovel their graves with her anger.

"What do you care?" The human spat at the feet of Naka. "When were you planning on turning him in, hm? Don't tell me you ain't looking for money like the rest of us. Blarina scum."

Mara felt a dark seed growing in the pit of her stomach. When she looked to Ohn for explanation, he was already defending his honour. "I know what it is that you two are looking for, and if that's the case, let's work out some sort of a deal. If you let me have these two strays, you can take ten percent of my profit."

Mara interjected. "Ohn, no."

"Ten percent of your profit ain't enough to get me anywhere." The human's arms were fatter than tree trunks. Mara could see the veins popping in them with every emphasized word. "You barely make half of what I earn in a day."

Ohn snorted in amusement. "And what's your big plan? Turn the pilot in? To who? The only people who would want him are slave traders, and with a pretty face like that, it's likely people are already out looking for him." He gestured towards Mara. "I've already seemed to find one. If others come along and find out that you were the one who put him in the desert to die, it'll be your head that they come for."

The benefit of dealing with idiots was their gullibility. The faces of both men began to fall with the words, a clear sign that they had not thought through their plan fully.

"I've been repairing his goods to make a better profit," Mara spoke quickly. "You can check them for yourselves. They're bound to make four times the price and that's for every object rather than as a set." They were listening. "I worked as a mechanic in Coco Town before coming here and my credentials will prove that I know what I'm doing." She gestured behind her at the boxes. "Go ahead and check."

The Teedo glanced sideways at Ohn. "She serious, Gos?"

"Every word. I'd be willing to pay you part of the profit if you just let the kids go."

"What's she to you?"

He sighed in annoyance. "She's a person, and one whose blood I don't necessarily want on my hands. Is that enough of an explanation for you? Keeping her around is bothering my wife, so I'd like to get her packed and on her way if you don't mind." Mara felt stung by the words despite them being a ploy.

The human ruffian took a step forward, his fat finger protruding into Ohn's ribcage. "If I find out that you're lying to me, about any of this, it'll be your head. Understood?" Mara had to look away. She heard Ohn mutter something like an agreement, but could not dare to face him until the pair had drunkenly made their way back to the cantina.

Mara's eyes finally glanced upwards. Poe was standing with watery eyes, his chest heaving noticebaly. She was about to say something, but found that there were no words to express what she felt. Joy. Confusion. Pain. He would have run to her in that moment had it not been for Naka's swift words.

"You have to leave Jakku as fast as you can."

Ohn nodded in agreement. "They're not going to hurt me. It's unlikely they'll even remember threatening me when they wake up tomorrow." He paused to look between the pilots. They were staring at one another with a look he instantly recognized. "Are you two together?"

"Yes." Poe's words were instant. "Yes, we are." Mara's jaw closed.

"I can tell. I've only ever made eyes like that at my wife. You can both stay with me for the night and head out in the morning. I have a ship that's in pretty good condition, so you'll find she runs well. Luckily for you, it's a two-seater." His words were just noise as Mara and Poe told their brains to wait. "Are you coming or not?"

Without taking his eyes off of Mara, Poe turned to Naka. "Thank you for all that you've done to help me." He met the Blarina's worried face with a smile. "Everything's going to work out for you, I promise."

Naka mumbled his respects and headed back to his hut with beads of sweat lining his forehead. It was clear that he didn't entirely believe Dameron, but the pilot had seen enough thugs in his life to know which ones were serious about their threats and which were not.

After Poe's temporary companion had left the scene, his attention returned to Mara. Her figure was suddenly tanned, the muscles on her upper arms more taut than they had seemed only days before. She had ripped the sleeves off of her uncharacteristically black uniform, and it filled his head with questions as to why she was there.

Mara was also looking back at him. He seemed the same, albeit a bit bruised and battered. There was no doubt in her mind that he had been the one to steal the TIE, inadvertently saving her and her parents life from the wrath of Captain Phasma. And yet, he was now stranded on Jakku with a warrant out for his head. What had his sacrifice truly offered her?

"Come on," Ohn said softly. "There's warm food waiting."

Both of the Resistance members couldn't begin to think about food. As they trudged silently behind their guide, Poe whispered from the side of his mouth.

"You have a lot of explaining to do."

Mara's lip twitched into a smile. "Says you."

"Don't misunderstand me; I'm glad you're here." She didn't need to look at him to know he was turning red. "You can't even begin to know how glad."

They had reached Ohn's house in silence. Mara's eyes continued to dart to his fingers, which were brown from oil and dirt. She wanted to hold them. Her fingertips were suddenly so cold in the desert heat, their tiny muscles straining to wrap around another hand. She had been aware of the desires that her mind held, but never her body. That was suddenly changing.

When they entered the small hut, Gos's wife shrieked in surprise by the stove. She glanced Poe up and down from his head to his toes, but Ohn moved quickly to silence her. He spun her around with a whispered explanation, leaving Mara and Poe alone by the threshold.

"I need to touch you," he whispered.

"Poe, I-"

Her words were suddenly frozen as his fingers slid in the slots of her own. Although they fit perfectly together, he continued to move them around, the dryness of her palm a strange comfort to him. He traced the tips of her hand, his fingers moving down to her wrist where he could feel the quickening of her heart.

"I'm sorry. My wife didn't cook enough for four." Something in Ohn's voice was laced with annoyance.

"Don't worry about it." Poe dropped his hand. "I already ate." He offered a warm smile towards Ohn's wife, whose light skin could not seem to hide a blush. "If it isn't too much trouble, I'll just rest here tonight and leave in the morning with Mara."

Mara's eyes instinctively darted towards the door, fearful that it would come crashing down with a Trooper boot at any moment.

"That's fine. But Mara, you've been working all day. You should at least eat something more than salted bread."

Poe nudged her forward before she could verbally disagree. "I'll be in the shed." He said his words loud enough for the room to hear, but they were directed at the mechanic. His hand lingered on the small of her back as he mumbled his departure.

"How charming," Ohn smirked. "Seems crazy that you two crash-landed on the same planet." He was obviously suspicious, but too humble to say anything.

"I'm… truly grateful that he's here."

"How long have you been together?"

The question from Ohn's wife startled Mara perhaps more than the sight of Poe. "Together?"

"I might have small eyes, but I'm not blind."

Mara sat down at the table with a thud. Her head was hurting again. "We're not… I mean, we haven't…" She had to ask herself where the hesitation was coming from. "A couple of months."

"You say it like a scared child," she laughed, spooning some sort of paste into her snout.

Mara ate half of her meal in two bites. She felt guilty taking what was clearly a large part of their daily sustenance. "I think I am a bit scared. I've only been with one other person and he broke me." The confession was unexpected and Mara prayed Poe wasn't eavesdropping. "Being able to trust someone, completely, has been hard for me."

Ohn's head fell to his shoulder in wonderment. "That will never go away. Trust in people shouldn't come naturally or you're a fool. Waiting for someone to prove themselves protects you, but it seems to me that he's an awfully good man if it's the First Order that wants his head."

Mara dropped her spoon onto the wooden floor, the clank of it like a bell too loudly rung. Neither of the Blarinas looked surprised. "How did you know…"

"A pilot and mechanic crash-land on Jakku and two thugs come after him. They're both nice people without prejudice. Starkiller Base is just outside of our atmosphere, and yet you wonder why we think that." Ohn pushed his plate into the middle of the table. "Your secret's safe with us." He wore a sad expression. "Tekka was my friend."

Mara's brows came together in her forehead, unsure of the implication behind his last sentence. She hoped it was not for the worst. Glancing down at her plate with slight shame, she realized that she was also finished with her meal. Without uttering a word, they both waved her off with a smile. As tired and afraid as she suddenly felt, the food was warm in her stomach and a friendly face would be waiting for her outside. When her fingers pulled back the door handle, she tossed a thankful smile towards the Gos family, but they had already started cleaning up.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Mara's boots crunched against the sand. She wobbled against its small indentations, her steps far heavier than they had been that morning. There was light slipping past the shed's wooden cracks, signalling that Poe was already making himself at home.

There was hesitation when she went to open the door, though she did not understand why. Perhaps she was afraid that it would be Kylo Ren and that everything had been a set up. Perhaps she was afraid that it was all a dream, and Poe was only a mirage dreamt up by the cruel nature of heat.

It was not, however, an enemy nor a mirage. Poe Dameron was standing over a small bucket of water, his hands splashing the cold liquid against his tired face. His eyes were sealed too tightly shut. His mind seemed far away than the simplicity of Jakku. Mara managed to sit beside him without stealing his attention, her hands a shock to him when they brushed against his neck.

"Hello." Her voice was warm like the candlelight.

Poe's eyes cracked open, droplets of clear water falling from his dark lashes. "Mara."

Her fingers lazily rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought you weren't real. I thought you were a mirage in the desert." She inched closer to him, her cheek pressing against his shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

He gently leaned her back with moist hands. She didn't mind the water on her shirt; it was cool and refreshing. "I was taken hostage in a village not far from here. I went to meet with Lor San Tekka, but he was murdered right in front of me." His brown eyes suddenly seemed new to her. They were exploring the room as he spoke, like a child with intense curiosity. "I acted rashly and shot my blaster at Ren. BB-8 took the information I managed to collect and fled… I don't know where he is."

Mara cupped her hand around his cheek. She didn't want to be an inch away from him. "But how did you get here? Your face is…" She rubbed her thumb against a cut on his hairline. "You got hurt."

He let his fingers curl around her wrist while she traced his lips. "I was in Starkiller Base and a Trooper snuck me out. He was only a kid, but he didn't want to live that life. We snuck out in a TIE fighter and-"

"You shot me," Mara laughed with her white teeth showing. It made Poe notice the pinkness of her lips. "I was behind you in a TIE fighter and you thought I was the enemy."

"Damn it, Mara. I'm so sorry, I-"

She began to laugh, making the scene feel almost normal. "Poe, you didn't know it was me. What could you possibly be sorry for?"

"Why was it you? What were you even doing on Starkiller Base?"

Mara's face fell once again like the dropping of fresh laundry. "A General took my parents. Ren must have gotten information about me from you. They went to Coco Town. They had planned to used my parents as bait to reach Starkiller, thereby using me as bait to get to you." It sounded complex, but Poe understood instantly. Kylo must have seen Mara's face when he used the Force to torture him. It made perfect sense, but it only made Poe's stomach churn when he realized Ren's true potential.

"I'm not going to let that happen again," Poe mumbled. "Every time you're with me you get hurt."

"I think it's the opposite." Her hand slowly fell onto his chest, where the collar of his brown shirt sunk to reveal his muscles. "I'm the one always causing trouble for you."

Poe shook his head slowly. He didn't need to elaborate when the words were so clear. "What about your parents?"

"They're fine. They're probably on Yavin 4 worrying about me. I dressed up as a Trooper to get them out with the help of a friend named Alok Lokesh."

"That explains the outfit."

Mara smiled much more sadly this time. "We have a lot of explaining to do when we get back to the base. I was only supposed to be taking a health break."

Poe reached out to the back of her head, where he felt the stitches. He winced at the sharpness of them, his fingers pulling back with frustration. "You don't deserve any of this."

"Nobody does. The First Order are monsters. If I get a few cuts for the sake of thousands of lives, then bring on the knives." She sat with her legs crossed, making it somewhat difficult to inch even closer. "I missed you."

He let his forehead fall against hers. When he spoke, the words were aimed at himself. "I'm scared too. I've never had anyone like you before."

Mara tried to lean back, but his hand was tight on the back of her head. "You heard me in the house."

"There's never been anyone that…" He struggled with the words. Was it embarrassment or shame? "It's always been just me."

He had never opened up about his past relationships. Mara had wrongly assumed that he had had many, and that perhaps she was one in a line-up of adoring women. It was likely that the adoring women had always been there, but perhaps Poe hadn't taken notice of them. "You've never been with anyone?"

He bit his bottom lip. "There was the occasional woman that made me feel less alone."

"That's someone." Mara smiled gently. Her smiles were never boisterous, he noticed, but always soft. "That's some type of person, isn't it?"

He blinked at her with slight annoyance. She was as smart as a whip and as quick as a jaybird, but there were moments where his inability to express himself was far from her understanding. "I've never had someone that I…" There was a dryness in his mouth. "Nevermind." He shook his wet curls slightly. "You're frustrating, Mara Crescent."

She leaned back in surprise, her face like an innocent dog. "Excuse me?"

"Frustrating." He hauled himself off the floor.

"What makes you say that all of a sudden?" Her voice raised with the insult, despite his growing smile.

"You always need explanations."

She pouted on the floor. "That's because you're so unclear!"

He brushed her thigh with the tip of his boot. "You're the one people would think had no experience with relationships."

That seemed to be the last straw as she stood up to match his height. "No; you're the one who's frustrating."

He closed the gap between them. "What makes you say that all of a sudden?"

Normally, Mara Crescent hesitated to say anything remotely obvious of her desires. That day was different, and like the fist of a Teedo thug, she threw her words straight at him. "Because I've been standing in front of you for ten seconds and you still haven't kissed me."

Poe was a man of excellent flirtations, but he was thrown with Mara's cheek. She was smiling at him now with only one corner of her lip curved upwards. Her eyes were sharp like a cat's, her wishes clearly strewn across the invisible table between them. It was, for lack of a better word, surprising. He realized how foolish he must have looked, staring at her in silence with his lips parted, but found that he could do nothing about it. He had already waited too long to kiss her after her taunt and now they were at a standstill.

"Mara-"

She slipped her fingers beneath his jaw, fitting her mouth against his. A small moan escaped her lips as soon as she felt him, a sound that sent warmth across Poe's skin. It reminded him of the electricity he could feel coursing through his body when he would get behind a control board, only this was something far more personal and significantly stronger. Up close, Mara's face was pink and more curved than he had remembered. It made him think about the times when she had hidden it, averted her gaze, or turned her back to him. She had wanted him in those moments. He paused with the realization, his eyes scanning the sharp edge of her jawbone.

Mara didn't know what he was thinking. Her chest was still heaving in a race to catch her breath, but there was an energy pumping through her. His thumb was brushing against her jawbone lazily as if it were second nature. She liked the feeling of it there. She liked knowing that it wasn't the first, nor the last time, he would do so.

And then they were kissing again, their bodies tumbling backwards without comprehension of where to go. Poe's back met the wall, his hands gripping her waist to steady himself. Her stomach was firm, but he couldn't remember the sight of it. She had always hidden her body, but whatever scars she held were undoubtedly beautiful. They were her.

Mara sunk to the floor, bringing Poe down with her. Her back fell without grace into the hay, her hair spreading out like a wave along the thick grass. Poe's breath was heavier with each kiss, his hands more rough with the free range being given to him. Without hesitation, she pressed his hand to her chest, opening a door for him that he would not have knocked on himself. If Mara had brought any sort of baggage with her to Jakku, she had left it with her starfighter.

Kissing Poe Dameron was a battle inside of Mara's mind. On one hand, she wanted to feel him against her. She knew they would fit together like a puzzle, just as their fingers had, but was somehow afraid of that completion. Being honest with him about her scars would not only bring embarrassment, but would open a door to a life that meant Mara had moved on. If she grew accepting of herself, did that mean she was shedding the last memory she held for her child? Did it mean she was forgetting?

Poe's fingers reached for the hem of her shirt. Mara had decided too late not to let him see her. It was halfway peeled off when she brought her fingers over her hips, her hands spread out in a desperate attempt to hide her past. Poe was only staring at her face, unsure of where the sudden hesitance was coming from.

"I…I thought that…" He was short of breath, his cheeks red in the dark room. "Are you okay?"

Mara turned her head towards the candle. Once again, he was only thinking about her. "I don't want to hide from you."

He rolled her shirt back down. "Mara, you never have to hide from me. You're beautiful."

She sniffed. "My scars aren't."

Poe paused momentarily. After a moment of thinking, he squared his eyes at her. "You've never properly looked at me, have you?"

"What?"

Without hesitation, Poe crossed his arms over his chest and pulled his shirt over his head. He tossed it lazily to the side, just narrowly missing the flame. Perhaps he was right; she had never been truly brave enough to stare at his chiseled body. Now that he was in front of her, she could understand what he meant. Littered across his chest were tiny scars, some long and thin, others short and thick. He let her examine them with wide, almost fearful eyes, the stories they told likely far more painful than her own.

"You don't get into this business without leaving a part of yourself behind. I used to hate my scars. Every time there was a new one, it made me feel unattractive. It made me feel miserable. But it also reminded me of the pain that I went through to be the person I am today. I would never be a pilot of the Resistance had it not been for the sacrifice of my vanity." Mara hung her head lowly, but he gently lifted it back up. "Accepting your scars doesn't mean you forget what happened. That never leaves you. But they don't have to be negative either. Life has enough burdens to bear without us throwing our bodies into the mix."

Mara understood what he was saying. She wasn't sure if she were ready to tell him about her miscarriage yet, but such a scar was self-explanatory. She wouldn't need to. Showing him that simple, twisted cut would also help him to understand so much about her. Leo, her sleeping problems, and her fear of intimacy. All of it would be said without her having to utter a word.

Mara hesitantly peeled off the black shirt. She felt as if she were released from prison, her nose filling with fresh air, her mind cradling a new outlook. Her chest was entirely bare to him, her arms crossed over her breasts to hide herself from complete exposure. She watched him look at the line just above the top of her trousers. She had touched it so many times that the strange jagged parts were etched into her brain. She knew exactly what he was seeing with every blink of his lids.

"Mara, there's nothing wrong with you."

Her breath caught on the edge of a sob. It was a sentence she had been waiting for, but not just anyone could have said it.

"You're beautiful." He moved closer to her, his hands continuously tucking her dark hair away. He wasn't speaking specifically about her scars, but of her struggles. She knew that. She knew that he understood what horrors she had been through and the loss she had felt. "You don't have to hide from me," he mumbled with a kiss. "Not anymore."

They kissed longer and harder until Mara had once again sunk onto her back. Her hands had been far too eager to feel him, to trace the small drip at the end of his neck. It hadn't even crossed her mind that she had exposed herself, all of herself, to him by doing so. His fingers were so careful that she had barely taken note of them until he slid down her stomach. It sent a shiver through her that caused her to pull away briefly. Her eyes stared upwards at his face, half-expecting him to be smirking at her timidity. Instead, he looked just as inexperienced as she felt.

Before he could ask if he had done something wrong, Mara kissed him all over again. His hands moved towards her breasts, his body leaning down into hers with increasing desire. He realized how badly he wanted her. His body would have shaken had he not been propped up above her, his nerves far worse than when he was in battle. When he was in battle, there was a sense of calmness. Now he was so fearful of making a mistake that he had almost convinced himself he would do her wrong.

"Please." Mara's sigh filled his ears. Her voice had never sounded so raw, the sound of it putting his body entirely out of his control. "I-I want you to touch me."

He leaned down to stop her words with a kiss, his fingers trailing down to the top of her trousers. He hesitated when he reached her scar, his eyes glancing down at it with affection. He moved his lips down her neck, chest and stomach until he reached the spot that she had so often cursed. Planting a kiss across the width of her scar was enough to make tears spring in her eyes. After it had happened, Leo barely touched her.

As he did so, his fingers expertly unhooked the button and zip of her pants. He nuzzled his head into her neck as she kicked them off, the burning of her cheeks impossible to hide even in the dim lighting.

"Don't laugh at me," she cooed.

"I would never do that." His teeth nibbled at her ear.

She turned to him, her body entirely bare with the exception of underwear. He noticed that when she turned onto her side, there was a large dip in her waist. It was the right size for him to fit his arm into, pulling her closer.

"You really did miss me." Her lips found the tip of his nose.

"I always miss you."

"I never took you for someone so emotional."

He echoed her words. "Don't laugh at me."

Mara smiled, but her eyes caught sight of his scars again. It made her wonder. "Did anyone hurt you on the base?" Her words were almost drowned by the crackling flame.

Poe hesitated. His body still felt the electric shock. It had been the worst pain of his life, but that was only physical. Upsetting Mara would be ten times worse. "Don't worry," he mumbled. "I'm okay now. I'm with you."

Mara nodded. Their lips met again, parting and breaking away with weak moans. Her fingers reached for his own trousers, the unfamiliarity with men's clothing becoming a sudden struggle. He eventually kicked them off himself, their almost bare bodies tight against one another.

Mara would have stopped there and said her goodnights. She was not exactly tired, but there was a timidity that would have normally prevented her from going further. But Poe was there. He was so warm and so present. Every muscle of his chest met against her own, and she helplessly let his hands wander. First they found her chest again, his fingers lazily massaging her skin. When he moved them downwards, she didn't force his hand away, but her body betrayed her with a shiver.

His fingers gently pulled down one side of the only piece of clothing left, sending a dizziness around her brain. Hands clutching into his hair, Mara sighed into his neck. Despite the heat of the night, his fingers were cold as they traced between her thighs. Something about his passion confused her. He was admirably delicate with his touch. She would have mistaken him to be a man who took control, but in actuality he was careful.

Poe was, in fact, somewhat fearful of the emotions boiling inside of him. Even though he was still kissing her with his eyes shut, he could picture their first meeting with instant clarity. Her doe eyes had danced away from his face, but her hands had been quick and reliant with the ships. There was a confidence and a certainty buried deep within her that only exposed itself when she was around the things she loved. Poe realized that, in that moment in the small shed on Jakku, being around him was not very different.

He let himself feel her then, the soft gasp that escaped her lips too much for him to handle. He bit her neck gently to silence his own pleasure, her body warm around his fingers. There was nothing he wanted more than to make her feel loved, at least not in that moment.

Mara's eyes flickered open as he continued to touch her. Her fingers helplessly dug into the tight muscles of his back, hoping to convey something she could not put in words.

"Mara," his words were buried behind her ear. "I want you to be happy."

She was grateful he didn't say, 'I want to make you happy.' He didn't care how it was done; he simply wanted her to smile, to feel free, to forget the past that clung to her heart like the black claw of a gargoyle. "I know," she breathed into his tan skin. "I'm happy whenever…" She struggled with her words as he continued to move inside of her. "... whenever I'm with you."

No more words came. Her entire body gave itself over to him, her chest falling against him with a shaky sigh. Embarassed by her weakness, she moved her chin into his collarbone and away from his eyes. But his hands moved around her hips to stop the slight tremors that spread across her body. It seemed there was never an end to his concern for her.

He kissed her cheek. "I found you." He moved to the other side, letting his lips rest there for another moment. "I'm so glad that I found you." She wasn't sure if he meant on Jakku, or simply in general. His lips moved around her face to leave their mark, the softness of them never failing to surprise her.

She smiled to herself. "Poe Dameron, you never lost me."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Well…? (o/o)

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