A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry this took a little while to post. It's been a long week and it looks like they might be getting longer. If there's any consistent delay in getting chapters up, I'll let you know. Also just a note: I will be using military time throughout this chapter, so for anything that says 0700, it reads as 'oh-seven-hundred.' Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who had reviewed, followed, and favorited! I am so grateful for all of you! As always, I only own Vara, and not any of this amazing Star Wars stuff.

Chapter 13

Old Friends

The next week went by in a blur. In a miraculous development, the R2 unit that had been in low-power mode awoke and came forward with the missing piece to the map that BB-8 had carried through the galaxy. Rey, the young woman that had helped Finn escape from Jakku and developed strong powers of her own, was off in the Millennium Falcon to find Luke Skywalker. The General was running everything everywhere, having meetings with the Admiral, contacting anyone she could find that had helped form the New Republic and could help do it again. On some level she was racked with anxiety about her brother, but she kept a cool head and handled her business like she always did. The Major was out traveling the galaxy, finding pilots and soldiers left on any base he could get to. General Organa flew out with him after a few days, helping the cause. New recruits began arriving to D'Qar quickly. Word had spread about their successes like wildfire, and it made them all look like heroes. Every time a shuttle came back from wherever the Major had been searching, Vara and Wexley were there to greet them, beginning to learn names, positions, and abilities of the new recruits. Each time a group of pilots arrived, they went up on a short run around D'Qar to assess their flying skills.

The Major had also gotten contacts for Vorik, people who had also been associated with the New Republic Senate that could help him put something back together. The young man had been in meetings and communication sessions constantly, checking in with Vara as often as he could. For now, he was staying on D'Qar as things got put back together, but soon, there was going to be more to do elsewhere. Vara wasn't excited for that day to come, but she was going to handle that when it came.

On the fourth night after they returned from the assault on Starkiller Base, Vara couldn't sleep. It wasn't like before, where she'd had a dream and couldn't stop thinking about it. She laid in bed for hours, tossing and turning, staring up at the ceiling. She was just restless. Shaking her head, she sat up, stretching out her legs.

"This is useless," she grumbled. She'd been in bed since midnight, but it was now 3:30 and she hadn't slept much more than half an hour. The way she looked at it, if she was going to be awake, she might as well do something useful. Throwing on a pair of pants and a sweater, she made her way down the hallway and through the base to the workshop.

"R9?" she said quietly. From where he rested next to BB-8, the droid lit up and whistled softly, hobbling on his wheels a little.

"How about we get some of that grime out of your circuits? I haven't taken the electrical cleaner to you in a while."

He hummed appreciatively and wheeled over to one of the tables. Vara grabbed a rag and some electronics cleaner, an alcohol-based solution, as well as some small cotton swabs. She sat on the cold concrete floor of the workshop, patting the space in front of her. "Right here, bud." She loved spending this quality time with R9, even though for most of it he was powered down. Taking care of her droid was a priority to her, sometimes even above herself. Screwing open the panel on the front of R9's barrel-shaped body, she took a slow, deep breath and began the detailed work.

From across the workshop at the opposite door, Poe leaned on the doorframe, hands in his pockets. He was in a pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt, his usual sleepwear. He had been awake as well, exhausted after a long few days of deliberating and planning and constant meetings concerning the First Order, yet unable to sleep. After a while, he had heard a set of boots walk softly down the hall past his door, and he'd suddenly had a feeling that he knew who it was. He saw her through the peephole and waited a moment for her to pass before quietly following, knowing where she was headed already. If there was a workshop around and Vara had some free time, she was there.

She was sitting on the floor, her legs splayed out in front of her, leaning forward to clean out R9's lower front panel with a small cotton swab. The can of electronics cleaner was on the floor next to her with a rag. It was a classic picture, one that he had seen Vara in many times. This time, though, he saw her in a bit of a new light. Not that he hadn't found her attractive before - from the first day she had walked into that hangar on Mirrin Prime, he thought she was absolutely beautiful - but now there was a whole world of possibilities that had opened up.

He saw another light come on a few meters from her and a small whistle echoed in the workshop, one he would've recognized in his sleep. BB-8 came out of his hibernation mode and rolled over to Vara, beeping happily.

"Don't worry, buddy, you're next. Been a while, huh? At least we got all that sand and dirt out of you already." Vara had spent at least two hours with BB-8 a few days ago, taking his panels off and getting in every nook and cranny with pressurized air, finding every grain of sand and speck of dirt that could have possibly worked its way in. "Couldn't let you roll around like that." The droid beeped back at her and rolled over to look at the electrical cleaner. As he passed behind her, he spotted Poe, who already had a finger to his lips. He wanted to stay hidden, at least for another minute or two. Vara was getting a rare moment to herself, and he was going to let her have it as long as he could. BB-8 turned away, inspected the electrical cleaner and hummed at Vara as she worked, showing no sign of seeing the Commander. Poe let her finish the panel she was working on and replace it before slowly ambling over to her.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?"

She started, twisting around in her spot to look up at him. "Damn it, Poe. You scared me. What is it with you and sneaking up on me in the workshop?"

"You just zone out in here. Anyone would have scared you."

She shrugged. "I suppose."

"Do you want some water or something? I don't want to interrupt you, especially since you were about to work on my droid next."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "How long have you been there?"

"Not too long."

She looked at him, here eyebrows raised expectantly. "I know you better than that."

"Okay, I heard you walk past my room. I may have followed you."

"I figured." She smiled at him. "I'll come with you to get water, actually. Be right back, okay, guys?" she said to the droids, standing up and wiping her hands on the rag. BB-8 whistled at them, wiggling a little.

"Yeah, yeah, hush. You'll get your turn," Poe scoffed. "I get some time with her first."

Vara blushed again. That was happening a lot more recently, and all because of Poe. They still hadn't gotten to talk at all yet because things had been so busy. Of course it would end up being 4 o'clock in the morning before they could actually be alone.

They walked in silence for a moment towards the cantina, taking in the base at its most calm. They usually never saw it like this. It was always going crazy with activity, but now it was all quiet, the hallways empty. There were always a few people on watch around the perimeter, and everyone else would be getting up soon, but at the moment, even the Admiral was asleep.

"You and Wexley doing all right getting things together?" Poe asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, we're fine. Just trying to decide on what to teach first. We have to figure out where they're at and go from there. They probably already know a lot from the Republic but there's always more that they're going to need."

Poe nodded. "There could be a whole semester on 'Flying like Vara Hesh 101,'" he teased.

"Oh, come on. What about 'Bravery 201 with Poe Dameron'?"

He laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. It felt so natural, so comfortable when no one else was around. They walked like that to the empty cantina, each getting a glass and filling it with water from one of the sinks. It had been a long time since they had time alone, never mind time where almost no one else was even awake, the quiet sounds of nighttime on D'Qar their only company. Chugging the glass of water, Vara looked at Poe, who was simply gazing at her.

"What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Just thinking."

Suddenly, she had an idea. "Come on," she said, taking his hand. Earlier that day, she and Wexley had explored the classroom area, and that had given her an idea. Poe came along complacently, prepared to follow her to the end of the planet if she led him there. After a minute they came to the eastern side of the base, lined with information storage rooms and the classrooms, where Vara and Wexley would be doing part of their training with the new recruits. "Here," she said, turning into a small hallway that led to a door. "I don't know why this is here, but there's a balcony. Doesn't look like anyone uses it." She opened the door and cool air rushed to meet them, the twilight before dawn beautiful on the green planet. The third-floor balcony was maybe 8 feet square, looking out over a few satellite dishes and into the dense forest that the base backed up to.

"Wow. No one knows this is here?"

"I didn't, at least. I don't think Snap does. Maybe General Organa, because of course she knows everything, but I cleaned a lot of dead leaves off of it earlier today, however they got all the way up here."

Poe stepped forward and leaned on the railing. Vara watched his ribs expand under his t-shirt as he took a deep breath and saw the goosebumps rise on his arms as a breeze rolled past, ruffling his hair a little. She walked up next to him, running a hand over his arm, his skin warm at her touch. Turning so her back was against the railing, she leaned back, studying his expression. He edged closer to her, slipping his arm around her waist.

"Poe," she said softly. "Why did this take us so long?"

"I'm not really sure," he replied, looking back out over the forest. "I think both of us put other things first. The New Republic came before our needs, and then the Resistance...work always happened instead. Not that I didn't think about it."

"I'll admit I did too," she said shyly. "I think you're right. We were too busy to consider it."

"Can we consider it now?" he asked, looking into her eyes.

"I...I would like that. A lot," she stuttered. Poe started laughing, pulling her closer.

"Don't laugh at me!" she exclaimed, laughing a little herself. "I just...I think it's always been you, in a way. But I never knew how to say it."

He kissed her gently, just above the bruise on her temple. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course," she murmured.

"When your parents visited Mirrin a few years ago, your dad pulled me aside. He thanked me for looking after you. At first I said you didn't need looking after, that you could definitely take care of yourself. He said not like that. Looking after you like he looked after Kanna, like my dad looked after my mom. He called them by name. Said they knew each other better than they ever told us. I think that's when I knew. I didn't even realize it, but he saw it. I've always cared for you. More than anyone else I've flown with. More than anyone I've ever known."

She kissed him this time, closing the tiny gap between them and putting a hand on his chest. His arm tightened around her, pulling her to him. One of his hands snuck under her sweater, brushing the warm skin on her back. After a long moment, he pulled away just a little, keeping his hold on her.

"That gets better every time," he said with his usual smirk.

"You're telling me," Vara replied, a little breathless. She really didn't know how to take all of this except for just going with it. It had been so long since she even thought of anything romantic that now it was almost foreign. She knew that Poe had dated a few women over the years, none of them lasting very long. When his squadron asked why they had stopped seeing each other, he always told them that he worked too much or that it was nothing serious, shrugging it off.

"When do they expect you at the hangar tomorrow?" Poe asked, leaning on the railing again but keeping his grip on her waist.

"0730. New recruits get in at nine and we're flying at 1000. Snap wants to get all ten flight checks out of the way before they arrive."

"Ten? Wow. A lot this time."

"It's good, huh? Lots of new pilots. Hopefully they fly well, or it's going to be a long process," she sighed.

"Want to head back to my quarters for a nap? Since it's probably almost 0430," he said.

"That sounds reasonable," she said, running her hand over his arm again. "I feel like I'd sleep well with you next to me."

"Or not sleep at all," he said with a wink.

"Oh no, Poe," Vara said, rolling her eyes. "Don't get me started."

"Fine, not now," he signed dramatically. "Don't worry, though," he murmured, leaning in next to her ear. "We'll get some real alone time soon."

Goosebumps covered her skin and her breath caught in her throat. "We need to head back," she said. "That or the whole forest is going to see us."

Poe grinned, grabbing hold of Vara's hand like he would never let go. "After you."

The shuttle came in slowly, landing across from the line of X-wings at the outdoor hangar. This was going to be one of the last shuttles of new recruits to get to D'Qar. The Major had radioed ahead and told them that there were ten this time, a decent amount for just visiting two systems As before, Vara and Wexley were waiting for them in their jumpsuits, since the major said they were mostly pilots.

"Where did the Major say these guys came from? Bespin and Hoth?" Wexley asked.

"No, that was the last group. I think this one's from Naboo."

Led by Major Ematt, the ten new recruits lined up in front of the Captains. Every once in a while, there would be a few women in the groups but not today. Vara always liked seeing more women in the ranks, but for now, they'd take who they could get. As long as they were committed and worked hard, they would fit in.

"Welcome to D'Qar," Vara said, starting off as she always did. "I know you weren't told where you were going when you boarded that shuttle, but you're here now. This will be your new base of operations. I'm Captain Hesh, and this is Captain Wexley. We're told that most of you are pilots."

"All but one, Captain," the Major said. "Lieutenant Rasso will be one of our new Head Technicians."

"Lieutenant Rasso?" Vara said with a grin. The man stepped forward from the back, the grin echoed on his face.

"Good to see you again, Captain," he said gleefully. For about four years during their training, Teran Rasso had been Vara's next door neighbor in the barracks and one of her best friends. Vara bit her lip to stop herself from getting too excited.

"You too, Lieutenant." They had both been promoted since they last saw each other, the day that Vara had been transferred to Rapier Squadron seven years earlier. "We have a lot of catching up to do. The rest of you, we'll be doing an introductory flight in an hour. The Major will take you to your new barracks where you can change. Report back to us here at 1000 hours," she said to the group. "Welcome to the Resistance, gentlemen."

The Major and Captain Wexley led them all away towards the base, except for Teran. He turned back towards Vara and they attacked each other in a hug.

"So this is where you've been!" he exclaimed. He was one of the most intelligent people Vara had ever met, thoughtful and always trying to look at things from all the angles. A few inches taller than her, he was also one of the skinniest people she'd ever known. He was 5'10" and couldn't have been more than 130 pounds soaking wet. He was almost as pale as Vara, and some people had even confused them as siblings, the only major difference being Teran's dark hair.

"Only for, what, seven months? Were you stationed on Naboo?"

"Yeah, I was there for about four years. I was the main technician for Corona Squadron."

"Look at you! Corona Squadron, huh? They're more famous than Rapier! Why'd you join the Resistance? It doesn't pay as much as the New Republic, especially for the best technician in the business," she said, elbowing him.

"I heard what you all did. It made it real. The threat of the Order, I mean. I'd been looking into them a little but then I heard about what happened to Hosnian system and then the assault on Starkiller Base. Were you flying in that one?"

"I was. I'm the leader of the Red Squadron. Captain Wexley is Blue Leader, and then there's the Commander. Poe Dameron. I flew with him in Rapier Squadron. He led the assault. There were twelve of us that flew on the base. I'll have to introduce you to Poe soon," she said with a small smile.

"Do I see a blush? Is he attractive?" Teran was openly bisexual, and there had definitely been a few times that he and Vara had stayed up late talking about men.

"I certainly think so," Vara said, her voice hushed. "We kind of have a...thing. But you can't say anything. No one really knows yet."

Teran nodded, a finger to his lips. "I'm excited to meet him. Speaking of, did you see who else was here?"

"Who? I couldn't really see all of you in that group. I didn't even see you until you stepped forward, honestly. There have been almost a hundred people that joined in the past five days and Snap and I have greeted all of them."

"Well, a certain someone was in Corona Squadron. I want to warn you, he's changed a little since he lived down the hall from us, but still the same guy."

Vara raised her eyebrows. "Really? Elias was in that group just now? Why didn't he say anything?"

"He was probably as stunned as I was to see you. You were the last person we expected to see after you left."

Vara nodded, glancing down at her feet. Her departure had been very sudden. They had given her 4 hours to decide, and she had been gone by the next morning. "That's true. I haven't been very good at keeping in contact."

"Nor have we," Teran said with a shrug. "Plus, he still has that same do-or-die respect for authority. You're his CO now. Either way, we're all here now. Are you still the pilot extraordinaire I know you to be?"

"You better believe it," Vara said, putting her hands on her hips. "I've been flying constantly since we lived next door. On Mirrin Prime we went up on rounds every day, and since joining the Resistance, we've done one or two a day."

"Good. You always had potential to be one of the best," Teran replied. "What kind of droid do you have now?"

"I have an amazing R9 unit. Got him right after I transferred."

"And you keep him in good condition?"

"Teran, who do you think you're talking to? Just this morning I was going through his circuitry with cleaner and swabs."

"I expected as much," he said with a smirk.

"What about you? What do you have?"

"An R7."

"Oh, vintage! Unique, too. How many of those are still out there?"

"Not many, let me tell you. I've only seen mine."

A familiar trill came from behind her, and Vara slapped her hand to her forehead. "Teran, you're going to love this. BB-8," she called as the droid rolled smoothly over to them. "This is BB-8. He's Commander Dameron's astromech. One-of-a-kind. This guy has been through a lot in the name of the Resistance."

"Wow," Teran mused, kneeling next to the droid. "Hi. You're a cool little thing, aren't you?"

BB-8 whistled a hello, nodding at Teran before turning back to Vara and beeping at her in Binary.

"He can understand you!" she yelped. Teran laughed, standing up again. BB-8 had told Vara that "his master and her lover is on his way and would like to speak to her."

"BB-8, please have a bit of discretion. If I hadn't known Teran for years already that would be really embarrassing, okay?"

He beeped out the equivalent of a sigh and agreed before rolling back towards the base.

"Sassy, isn't he?" Teran asked, watching the droid roll contentedly away.

"You have no idea," Vara grumbled.

"Captain Hesh!"

Vara turned to see Poe jog up behind them, smiling as usual even with the lack of sleep the night before.

"Did BB-8 find you?"

"Yes, he did, and was very talkative."

Teran stifled a giggle.

"Hush," Vara said. "Lieutenant Rasso, this is Commander Dameron. Commander, this is Teran Rasso, one of the best techs in the Republic. We lived next door to each other in training. He's one of the new recruits."

"Commander," Teran said, shaking Poe's hand firmly.

"Good to meet you," Poe said easily. He had always taken the time to shake hands with everyone he met from his units, whether he was the leader of four pilots or the Commander of the entire Resistance. It was one of the things that made him an incredible leader, the figurehead that a group like the Resistance needed.

"You as well." Teran turned back to Vara, throwing her a subtle wink. "I should find the Major and my quarters. We'll talk more later, yes?"

"Of course. Good to have you here, Teran," Vara replied, waving as he jogged off. "Now, Commander, what can I do for you?" she said, giving him the smirk he wore so often.

"I had that Korrina painted on your ship again," he replied. "They got the old X-wing out of the trees on Takodana but they decided to have you keep the newer one."

Vara shrugged. "They're about the same, the way I took care of that old one, but that's good. Thank you. I missed that painting."

"I figured you did. I also just wanted to talk to you a little before those recruits came back," he said, gazing at her.

"I'm glad you did. I wish we had more time for just us," she sighed.

"There's always 0400 at that balcony," Poe joked. glancing behind her. Vara turned to see Snap walking swiftly towards them.

"Seems like that'll be the only time," she grumbled.

"I'll message you when I'm done tonight, all right?" he said. "We can relax for a little while. See you, Captain," he said as Snap came into earshot.

"Commander," she replied. "Thanks for the update on the ship."

"Hey, Commander," Snap said as Poe passed him. "Ready to fly, Hesh?"

"As always, Wexley. Let's get final checks finished and wait for those rookies."