Wow... it's been a very long time. With the release of the new movie, there's been some new interest in this story, so I hope you guys are looking forward to the new chapters! Admittedly, I wasn't motivated to continue this story with so much academic work, alongside a drop in comments. I was convinced nobody out there was reading it, and therefore I have to admit that I was no longer inspired. I had the story all locked up in my head, so I didn't want to take the time to write it out if nobody was there to take it in.

That being said, I was wrong. I'm sorry that I made you wait for the update, and I sincerely hope you guys enjoy this next one. Because I was to be able to update frequently, but am a final year MA student at University, I've decided to just update shorter chapters more often. I hope this style is OK with you guys. It's about half of the normal chapter that I write, but if you prefer this way over waiting a long time for a long chapter, then we can keep it. :)

Thanks again x May the Force be with You x

Mistro

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

Hari Crescent winced when she touched the rim of the pan.

"Be careful," her husband noted. "It's hot."

The housewife rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the early warning."

Dex Crescent crossed the kitchen to leave a kiss on his wife's smooth cheek, her blush always unable to hide itself. "Sorry, darling. Don't rush anything. Kes won't be here for another hour."

Hari tied the strings of her apron more taut. "Yes, but he's done so much for us. He helped us find this house, got you that job at the base, let us stay with him…" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Not to mention all that Poe has done for our little girl."

Dex nodded in agreement. "That's right."

"The least I can do is cook him a good meal."

"Which you have done." He wrapped his arms around her stomach, pulling her into his chest. It was a long time since they had felt so safe. Perhaps the first time since Mara's incident. "Don't worry about setting the table. I'll take care of it; you can rest in the bedroom."

Hari turned in her husband's arms. She stared up at him with pupils big enough to fill her eyes. It was the most similar feature she shared with their daughter. "Dex, I'm worried."

"About what?"

"About what happened on that First Order… weapon planet," she sighed. "About Hosnian Prime being destroyed. About Mara being a part of all this." It was a fear they both shared, but one they rarely spoke about. What was there to say? There was nothing productive about worrying. "I'm worried that when the Troopers found us, they tracked her information. What is she's in danger?"

"If Mara was in any danger now, she's in the safest place she could be."

"She should come home." Hari looked away. The suggestion was impossible. "She can live here with us."

Dex pulled her closer. "I don't think she'll take kindly to that suggestion."

"Of course she won't," Hari sighed in defeat. "She's too stubborn… Just like her father."

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

The runway appeared longer while Mara waited at its edge. Elida was at her side, scrunching her face towards the sunlight, waiting to see the pilots return. They were silent around one another for what felt like the first time. The silence was broken first by a cheer at the other end of the landing strip, followed by a distant hum in the air.

"They're back," Elida whispered with a grin. Squinting her eyes against the edges of the sun to look upwards wasn't the same without Jackson on the other end, but the girl understood that his life was not lost in vain. "What are you going to tell him?"

Mara shook her head. "Nothing." A beat. "Maybe everything. I'm not sure."

"That's probably the best way to be."

Both girls stood quietly as mechanics and soldiers rushed past them to greet the incoming pilots. Overall, it had been a solid fight and the result was better than many had suspected. Starkiller Base was destroyed. Kylo Ren was weakened. Troopers had fallen.

And yet, Han Solo lost his life. Fewer ships were returning. The First Order was coming for them.

This is what I don't understand about the Force, Mara thought to herself as she watched X-Wings begin to land. Why does the Darkness always chases the Light? Does the Light chase the Darkness? When are the two solitary from the other? Perhaps they need one another to survive. She wished, in the deepest part of her soul, that there was someone she could talk to about it. The idea was ludicrous. It seemed like nobody understood The Force anymore, and if they did, they did little to make use of it.

A hand on her shoulder shoved Mara from her thoughts. "You should go to him," Elida muttered. "He's looking for you."

Mara snapped her gaze away from her friend and down towards the end of the runway. Sure enough, with his curls flattened by sweat and his helmet lazily dripping from the tips of his fingers, Poe was staring back at her.

Her former words rushed over her body like a physical wave, sending chills over the most delicate hairs on her skin.

"Poe, I love you. I love you. I've loved you longer than I even realized. You deserve to know and I-I can't… I'll always trust you, Poe Dameron."

By the time she had finished reciting the words to herself, he was at her side. His eyes stared past her when his hand slid in hers. They were like a lock and key: fitting perfectly together.

"Where are we going?" Mara said in sudden alarm, aware of his tight grip and somewhat abrupt tug.

No reply came. His hold loosened somewhat, as if a test to see whether or not she'd stay.

Mara could feel the heat rushing to her face. If she had a mirror in that moment, her reflection would look no different from the suns on Tatooine. Instead, she let him carry her off of the runway and over the hills beside it. When they finally made it onto the soft patches of grass, Mara pulled away.

"Are you alright?" Her breath was short. When Poe turned to face her, it seemed to grow even weaker. "Did something happen out there? I couldn't connect to your signal and I was worried that-"

Poe's feet were too quick for the mechanic to comprehend. She found herself instantly backing up into the side of the building, the cold metal sending shivers down her spine. Or was it the metal that made her feel so cold? Her eyes wide, she stared up at the man who was inches away from her face, his palm already moving to cup her chin.

"I'm sorry, Mara."

Her chest was heaving. Did he hear my message? "You don't have to be sorry."

He raised a brow in surprise. "How do you already know what I'm sorry for? I haven't apologised yet."

"My message," she muttered. "You must have gotten my message and not…" The words froze in her throat. You must have gotten my message and not have wanted to hear those three, silly words.

Poe's face was unmoving against the gently swaying leaves behind them. The sun seemed to slip from a crack in the clouds, as if only to illuminate his brown hair, turning it into an unfamiliar auburn. "What message?"

Mara's head shot upwards. When their eyes met, she still felt as if no words could come. How could she regain the courage to tell him once again? "I-I said something to you… just before you went into lightspeed-"

"What was it?"

There was something impatient in his tone. It seemed as if he already knew the words hanging off the edge of her tongue, but couldn't believe them until they were dripping in the sound of her voice. "It's nothing." Her shoulders scrunched up in hesitant laughter. "I just wanted to wish you good luck."

Poe's fingers fell from her face, finding their way to the sides of her head. There was no chance in her running now, although she didn't want to. She wished this moment would never end. She wanted the war to be over. What would their life be like without chaos? Would it be boring? Would he get tired of her? The thoughts flooded in too quickly for Mara to process, and without thinking, she turned her gaze from him.

"Why would you be afraid to tell me that?" Poe laughed beneath quick words. "You're always running your mouth at the wrong time, Crescent." His grin was too bright. Too mocking. He was nothing like Leo… but that made her all the more afraid. She felt a sting at the bottom of her eyes, but begged her soul not to cry. "There's something you wanted to tell me up there, and I think that it's exactly what I've been wanting to tell you. I just…" He also looked away, their faces mirroring one another. "I've got a lot of courage behind that control board, but when it comes to something right in front of my face, I can't seem to-"

"I love you."

Her words hung in the air: a birdsong. The chirping of the nearby insects reminded Mara of summertime, of good and happy things. Confessing her love was like throwing a weight off of her shoulders. She felt lighter and was surprised to find that she didn't care about his following words. What mattered was that she had been true to herself, and it had been a very long time since Mara could say that she had done such a thing.

"You love me," Poe muttered in disbelief. Mara simply smiled. Her heart hadn't changed in the previous thirty seconds; she didn't need to repeat herself. "Mara, I-"

"You don't have to say it back." Her pink lips rose to the middle of her cheeks. "I just wanted to tell you. I hope it doesn't make you uncomfortable."

"No, Mara… You don't-"

She rolled her eyes, all the while laced with a grin. "Honestly, Poe. You don't need to make a confession more nerve-wracking than it already-"

"I'm in love with you," he blurted, his hands slipping onto her shoulders. "Mara, I've been trying to say it for weeks. I think I've been trying to say it for months, but those kind of words just don't come naturally to a pilot." His eyes searched her face for understanding. "I didn't want to lose you, Mara. I didn't want to lose myself, because I was afraid of what it would do to you. I wanted to push it away, to care about you like a colleague or friend… I'd done it before. I thought… I thought that I could do it again." His face looked pained, but she could see further. He was also throwing that weight onto the floor. She had never heard him open his heart so strongly. "But that could never happen. You were everywhere, Mara."

"Everywhere?"

"I could hear you in the engine of my jet. I could see you in the whipping stars flying past my window." He shut his eyes, creasing the skin on the edges. Her fingers instinctively reached to touch the gentle wrinkles. "I couldn't make sense of it until I just told myself that I was in love with you. That I need to be with you." His eyes finally opened, her hands cupping both sides of his face. "Please… say that you'll be with me, Mara. It's incredibly pathetic, but I think I need you."

Her lips met his in a single motion. His body was still warm from battle, sending a flutter through her stomach when she felt his breath against her own. Something about him tasted like honey, his smooth lips echoing its softness. "I always have been," she whispered against his chin, planting gentle kisses up his jawline. "I'm in love with you, you idiot."

He laughed quietly, his hands now pinning her hips against the metal wall. His body towered over hers more prominently than she remembered. When he brought his body to hers, she could feel the hardness of him. It wasn't threatening, nor did it recall the dark memories of her past. New thoughts trickled into her mind, intimate thoughts of nights alone with Poe. She had never given herself over to him, nor him to her, but it seemed that was about to change.

"I want you to have all of me," she whispered as his kisses dotted her neck. "Do you understand?"

Poe snapped back in alarm, his chocolate eyes suddenly innocent. It was a look she would never forget, one that made her smile for many years to come. "I..." He struggled to make a comment, but eventually found his words. "I'll take care of you." His fingers brushed through her hair. "You don't have to worry."

Her head nestling into his chest, she let out a sigh of relief. It was a sigh that had been trapped in her for many years. "Don't worry, Poe. I'll take care of you too."

A loud sound broke through their intimate embrace. Poe glanced down at his recorder, hesitatingly answering the incoming call. "General?"

"You'd better get back here quickly, Poe." There was a moment of silence. "You too, Mara."

Mara's eyes grew wide. How did she know?

"I have The Force," Leia chuckled. "I know everything. Now hurry up and get back... there's someone I want to introduce you to."