"How is it that every time I go to mess, they're completely out of those really good, sweet, bread things? Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"Honey rolls," Poe replied, sagely, "the most coveted of mealtime items."

"Honey rolls," Rey repeated, mostly, Poe assumed, for her own benefit. "So what's the trick to getting one before they're all gone? You know a guy right?"

"What, you just assume I have some insider tip for everything now?"

"Well," she hesitated. "Yes?"

"Can't blame you there," he sighed, "because, as it happens, I might know a thing or two about scoring honey rolls."

"I knew it." Poe could hear the faint chiming of her computer in the background as she spoke. "Oh! Hold on. Let's see, here. Target is about three klicks out. Adjust by seven degrees south of your current trajectory and you should land right on top of it."

"Copy that," the pilot replied, pushing down on a pedal. The frame of the rusted, low-altitude maintenance vessel groaned at the change in direction, hull flexing under the stress. Poe could hear the engineers he was hauling in the back hooting and laughing at the dodgy, old ship.

"Do you have eyes on it?" Rey asked, always very serious about her duties.

"I think so," Poe said, looking out, surveying the sky above the mossy, reddish canopy. Then, he rapped on the wall behind him, the other side of which sat a cramped cabin full of rowdy maintenance workers. Among them was his good friend Rose.

"That our guy?" Poe asked when she appeared on the modest bridge.

Rose walked up to better look out of the viewport, her heavy-duty work boots thudding against the floor grates. She leaned on his co-pilot's seat and narrowed her eyes until they settled upon a lone counter-reconnaissance drone, hovering statically above the planet's surface.

"Looks like it. In bad shape too. Boys!" The able mechanic called over her shoulder. More boots thudded in the cabin. Then, she patted Poe on the shoulder. "Drop us down a bit, yeah? Wanna be able to reach it from the platform."

"You got it," Poe smoothly obliged, using topside thrusters to position the craft. Two other workers filed out to climb the ladder behind him.

"Anyway, the secret to the honey rolls," Poe began when Rose had disappeared to order around her crewman. He had to keep his voice lowered, as the team organized their equipment behind him.

"Ah, yes, the secret ," Rey said conspiratorially.

"And this isn't a perfect method..."

"Go on."

"...but I find it usually helps to be up before noon."

There was a pause.

"Laserbrain."

Poe snorted loudly and unexpectedly, his shoulders jumping.

"What are you smilin' at, commander?"

He jumped once more, this time more violently, emitting a funny, startled yelp. Rose was right beside him, clearly very amused at having given the seasoned pilot a scare. She also appeared to be expecting an answer.

"What was that?" He could hear Rey crackling through his headset.

"Nothing," he answered to both of them.

"Is that Rose?"

"Is that Rey?" Rose pointed to his headset. Poe covered the microphone with his hand and canted his head toward the ladder.

"Isn't there a thing that needs to be fixed? Go fix the thing."

Rose raised her hands in surrender, a very smug and knowing smile plastered across her face as she went back to her task.

"Pop the hatch!" She called up to the worker at the top of the ladder. With a clank the smell of damp flora flooded the ship. Rose hefted a heavy satchel full of tools onto her shoulder and then started up the ladder behind her crew.

"Tell Rey I said 'hello'," she called behind her as she climbed her way up. When the hatch sealed again, Poe took a deep breath.

"Rose says 'hello'," he repeated ruefully, wiping away the layer of moisture that had accumulated on his brow from the open hatch.

"I knew it was her," said Rey, sounding very satisfied.

"So," Poe began a little awkwardly, "you like sweet things." He was idle and eager to pay attention to her.

"Sorry?"

"Sweet food," he carefully specified. "Like honey rolls."

"Sweet is the best taste, from what I can tell, so far." Rey said eagerly, "but it might be too soon to tell. The concept is still pretty to new to me. I've experienced a lot of flavors since leaving Jakku."

"Not too many of those back home?"

Rey chuckled. "Suffice it to say, we were a little starved for choice."

Poe winced. It was easy to forget how hard-fought and lonely Rey's life had been up until this point. Her resilience was one of her most admirable qualities but one doesn't learn resilience without experiencing a great deal of pain.

"You used that word, home ," Rey said, "about Jakku."

"I did," he confirmed, monitoring the sound of the crew working above him.

"I always called it that for lack of a better term."

Poe listened, always careful to let her finish her thoughts.

"I lived there almost my entire life but Evit feels more like home to me than anywhere else."

That made him feel warm and lightweight. A smile crept across his face. For some reason, the idea that Rey was able to call Evit home made him ecstatic. Perhaps it was because he wanted to believe that he was apart of that idea, that feeling of home for Rey.

"Sorry," she laughed, embarrassed, "I didn't mean to-"

"No, no. Don't apologize, really," he soothed. "You're not alone. For a lot of us, the rebellion is the only family we have."

Poe could sense a question coming on. Rey was full of curious queries. He waited for her to ask.

"What about you?" She said, at last.

Poe took the time to really consider her question, chewing his lip and knitting his brow. When he finally spoke, it was the effortless truth.

"I don't think I could belong anywhere else like I belong here."

"I think I'm exactly the same way."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Well, it feels spectacular."

"Then let me be the first to say welcome home."

Now, more than ever, he wished she was just there with him.

"Thank you," she said sweetly, "it's nice to have finally arrived."


"Ground Control, Kestrel One, Poe? It's Rey-"

"Rey, hi," he said, harried, his headset haphazardly thrown on so he could hear her while he pulled his jacket on. "Sorry, I'm kind of in a rush we're-"

"Deployed, I know. But it wasn't on the schedule."

"We got some last minute intel about a First Order supply line a few systems over. Our squadron is on standby while we decide whether or not to knock it over."

"So that means…"

"That's right. We left early this morning; only arrived an hour ago. Dendri, sweet Dendri."

BB-8 started a litany of alarms and calls.

"I know, I know, I'm hurrying," Poe replied, gathering up his duffel bag.

"What does he mean? Going to be late for what?" Rey asked.

"Briefing. And he's wrong, anyway, because, technically, we are already late."

The little droid whirred indignantly.

"I just wanted to make sure I didn't miss you." He was almost starting to run out of breath, power-walking down the corridors of the moon base.

"What does that mean?"

"It means I left you something. You're at your console right?"

"Yes," she replied, skeptically.

"The access panel on the left side is a little loose. Just give it a wiggle. Parcel inside has your name on it."

"Wait, what?"

"I gotta go. Don't let Varnok see."

"Be safe, you two." Rey understood time being of the essence. She saved her questions, though Poe could tell she was hesitant. He stopped in the middle of the corridor and looked down at his diminutive, spherical friend.

"We will," he promised, before removing the headset and stowing it away in his duffel bag.

The parcel was simple, but not an afterthought. He had carefully wrapped two honey rolls and a handful of blue satsumas into a small care package for her, in the hopes that it would make her afternoon a little better.

He could only guess at her reaction to finding the treats. He expected not to hear from Rey for some time. He would have no official need of Evit Ground Control's assistance for the foreseeable future.