Just a little enemies to lovers for you all.

Fire

"This was the stupidest idea you've ever had in a long list of stupid ideas."

Poe turned and glared at the woman behind him, but it wasn't like he could really see her face, and she most likely couldn't see his glare. They were both swaddled up from head to toe to protect themselves from the wicked 80 KPH wind that was swirling around them. As if the wind wasn't bad enough, it was also snowing, so visibility was nil. Luckily, Rey was staying close to him; it wouldn't do to lose each other in this mess.

Poe turned forward again and looked down at the sensor in his hands. They were almost to the outcropping of rocks that had stood mid-way between where they had landed the little cruiser and the settlement they had come to visit. It had been Poe's idea to land the ship a couple of kilometers away from the settlement so as to not startle the villagers, who were simple, planet-bound people. They knew about space travel, but had no interest in leaving their safe little communities.

Because of this, the First Order had no interest in them, and the Resistance had been using this community to acquire rations for the last few months. Poe had volunteered to go this time, and he had been planning on bringing Finn with him, but Leia had asked Finn to help her with a specific project at the last minute. "Take Rey," had been her directive.

The weather when they arrived had been fair, sunny and mild, and they had already brought the foodstuffs back to the ship early in the afternoon, borrowing a cart the was pulled by an equine-looking animal with four horns called a Polinn. They returned the cart and animal, said their thank-yous and goodbyes, and headed back to the ship on foot. The wind had become stronger and cold during their journey back to the village, but the snow didn't start until they had left. They talked briefly about turning back, but Poe decided it wasn't too far a walk and that they should continue on. He was regretting that decision.

A dark shape appeared in front of Poe and he stopped. Rey crashed softly into his back, indicating that she had been focused on the ground in front of her. "These are the rocks we saw on the way," he told her, shouting to be heard above the wind. "There was a recess that looked like a cave on the south side."

He saw Rey nod. Poe turned to the right and followed the base of the rocky outcropping. The wind began to ease as the rocks protected them from it, but the snow still swirled around them madly. Finally, Poe saw the opening he had noted during their previous journeys by the outcropping. He ducked in, pleased to find it was indeed a cave, and a deep one. He pulled out his glowrod and lit it up.

Rey was already removing the scarf from her face and letting the hood of her coat down. The air temperature wasn't too excessively cold, only a few degrees below freezing, so once out of the wind it wasn't unpleasant. But it was still going to be too cold to be comfortable if they stayed the night here.

"Look!" Rey said, nodding toward the center of the large cavern. A fire pit lay in the sand, and along the wall not to far from it sat a stack of wood. "Someone's used this for shelter before."

"Often, from the looks of it," Poe agreed. "You want to keep going and try and find the ship or do you want to hunker here until this storm passes?" While he could read the direction they were going on his sensor, they could still miss the ship and walk right on by it in the snow.

"You mean I get a choice?" she asked. She had griped more than once that Poe was being overbearing. Yes, he was in charge during this mission, but did he have to be so bossy?

Poe took a deep breath. "Yes, in this case, you get a choice."

Rey looked back at the entrance to the cave. They could just barely see the swirling snow trying to get in, and they could still hear the wind howling. "It'll be dark soon," she said softly. "This isn't much different than a sandstorm," she continued. "You should always find shelter and wait out a sandstorm. As cold as it is, I'd think it's even more important to do that now." She looked back at him, her eyes wide. There was no fear in them; Poe didn't think he'd ever seen Rey afraid. But there was worry.

Poe nodded. "Let's make a fire, then," he said. "And get comfortable. Hopefully this thing is done by morning."

They worked together to gather wood, and Poe used his multitool to light one of the smaller pieces on fire, centering it among the rest of the fuel. Soon, a comfortable fire was crackling away. He pulled the strap of his pack over his shoulder and opened it, finding the ration bars he had stuffed inside before leaving base. He pulled them out.

Rey gave him a surprised look.

"Always be prepared," Poe grinned. He offered one to Rey.

Smiling slightly, she took it, then pulled out her canteen. She shook it. "Not frozen, yet," she said, then she sat it down near the fire so it would stay thawed. Poe did the same.

Quietly, they ate, occasionally looking outside. The wind sounded like it was getting even worse, and they could feel the temperature drop as the sun began to set. Eventually, it was dark enough they couldn't see out the entrance, but they could still hear the wind.

"We should sleep," Poe said. "We'd stay a lot warmer if we… huddled, together."

Rey gave him an odd look. Or maybe it was just the way the shadows from the firelight played with her face. "You want us to cuddle?" she asked.

He shrugged. "It'll be a lot more comfortable."

"Is that an order, Commander?"

Poe groaned. "No, of course it's not an order," he said, frustrated. "Kriff, Rey, if you don't want to you don't have to. I just know how cold you get." He pulled out the emergency blanket out of his pack and moved to lay down. "I don't know why you have to be so contrary all the time. I know you don't like following orders from me, but Kriff, Rey, what'd I ever do to you to make you so… hateful?"

"I'm not hateful!" Rey argued. "I just…"

"You don't trust me," Poe finished for her. He settled in, head on his pack, staring at the fire. It shouldn't hurt this much, he thought. Not being liked by Rey. While he tended to get along with everybody, he'd had his fair share of people he didn't get along with. They'd never bothered him like Rey did. Maybe it was because BB8 and Finn and even Leia all loved her and she loved and respected them. He really, really liked Rey… when she wasn't talking back or arguing with him. He'd wracked his brain trying to understand why she didn't like him.

"I trust you, Poe," she said softly. He looked over at her. She was still sitting, her knees up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them. "I just… you make me feel so… I don't know. Inferior?"

Poe sat up sharply. "What?!"

Rey glanced at him, but looked away quickly. "You're so perfect," she continued. "Everyone loves you. BB8 couldn't stop telling me how amazing you were long before I ever met you. I felt like I knew you, and then when we met…"

"When we met what?" he pushed. He thought their first real meeting had been amazing. He still dreamed of the smile she gave him that day. She hadn't smiled at him like that since.

She shrugged. "You looked at me as if I was special. And not because of what I had done, not because of what I was." Her cheeks seemed to be darker, Poe thought. Maybe it was just because of the heat from the fire. "Then when things settled, I realized you looked at everyone that way. And that's just who you are," she emphasized, looking at him briefly. "You make everyone around you feel special and capable and important. That's why you're such a great leader."

Poe felt himself becoming embarrassed by her words. "I hear a 'but' in there," he said softly.

"But you started treating me different," she continued. "Like I was… different."

"You are different," Poe agreed. "You're a Jedi." He could see her face scrunch up at his words, and he began talking again before she could argue. "You're also stubborn and headstrong and independent," he paused as she looked up at him. "And smart and confusing and beautiful and…"

Her mouth was open in shock as she looked at him.

He licked his lips. "The fact is, Rey, I'm not sure how to act around you. Do I treat you with reverence like a Jedi? Do I treat you like a green soldier under my command? Do I treat you like a friend, only to find out you don't want that kind of intimacy with me?" He took a deep breath. "I like you Rey, and I respect you, and I want to be your friend, but I always feel that I'm so far out of your orbit that you don't even see me as a colleague much less a confidant. I say things to you to make you mad because sometimes that's the only emotion you show me." He ended his statement quietly, looking down at the fire in front of him. Embarrassed for opening himself up so much.

They were silent for a long while, but then Rey spoke up. "You want to know something?" She waited for Poe to look at her. "You make me feel every emotion I've ever known. More than any other person I've ever known. It scares me." She looked away, whispering, "That's why I hide it."

"It seems we've been misreading each other for a while now," Poe replied, his voice hushed. "Projecting emotions onto each other that aren't there."

"How do we fix it?" Rey asked, her eyes huge and soft, glowing gently in the firelight.

"Let's start over." Poe held his hand out toward her. "I'm Poe."

With a smile teasing the corner of her mouth, Rey reached back and took his hand. "Rey."

"I know," Poe responded.

Rey smiled. The same beautiful smile she had given him on the Falcon after leaving Crait. Only bigger. Warmer. Happier.

Instead of letting go of her hand, he tugged on it gently. "Now get over here and cuddle with me so we can stay warm while we sleep." He let go of her hand as she sighed heavily and grabbed up her pack, pulling out the blanket and moving over closer to him.

"You are so bossy," she grumbled, but there was no anger in her voice.

"See, now that you had right about me," he told her with a grin.

She shook her head and smiled back, then sat down in front of him. She spread out her blanket and they both lay down, her back to his front, facing the fire. Slowly, Poe brought his arm around her. "Is this okay?" he asked. If she didn't want him touching her, he wouldn't.

"It's fine," she said softly.

He settled with his arm loosely around her waist. He could feel her relax in front of him, and his own body eased in response. "Goodnight, Rey."

"Goodnight, Poe."