Hi, So I am going to apologize one thousand trillion times for the supremely late update! I do all the beta-ing myself (if anyone wants to beta please PM me! I could really use one)I am working on writing ahead of time but you know how it goes... (double bronchitis... family trip... the usual... life uch) So seriously if you could beta or know someone that can please let me know!

Thank you for everyone who likes and comments you guys are amazing!

Thanks for all the support! -Chefke

Planet Achto, Luke's Hut

They both stood over Rey, Luke's hand on his shoulder. He could sense Luke's remorse and sorrow echoing through the force but he ignored it and turned his attention to Rey. She was tossing gently in her sleep her hair sticking to her face, he found it oddly endearing. Her nose was scrunched up and she was huddled into a small ball as if the smaller she made herself the less she would be noticed. She shivered and he tried to withhold his smile but it was hard. She literally found everything to be freezing even this sweltering hut. It was an emotion he felt from her constantly. She was always cold. He stepped forward and felt Luke's hand drop. They were taking steps forward in their relationship but he knew he left steps open that would be eventually propel them backwards into nothingness. He tried not to dwell on it.

Luke stepped forward but Ben put up a hand to stop him, his other hand was moving towards Rey's sleeping body. He crouched low and gently started shaking Rey awake.

'Master Ren we are beginning our descent.' He nodded that he understood. The secondary pilot scurried back to her station. No one wanted to be in his presence long these days. He still couldn't believe he was bested by not only a child but someone who had never used a saber before. He felt his anger crackle around him but he quenched it. He needed this ship to return to base with. Snoke had ordered him to research this scavenger, Rey. 'To know your enemy is to defeat your enemy,' he had said. He had managed to attain two droids and a deck officer from this mother. He smiled. He was pleased at besting her.

He stood as the ship touched down. He needed to find a creature called Unkar Plutt. She had been a scavenger. A nobody. How had someone who rivaled him remained hidden for so long? He looked around the desert wasteland and was surprised to have it remind him so much of when he visited Tattoine. Slavers, prostitutes, smugglers, and scavengers that's what these planets had to boast. He stepped onto the gritty sand as storm troopers surrounded him. It was unnecessary but Hux insisted. He walked briskly knowing that they would have a hard time following with the sand getting stuck in their uniforms. He reminded himself to see which managed to keep up and to have them transferred to his Temple.

'Master of Ren, please enter my tent.' The room was covered in different silks and heads of extinct animals. It smelled like a Bantha pit but no one seemed to mind. He used the force to close his smell filter. He paused in the center of there room. Along the walls of the tent were large brightly colored cushions with women wearing nothing but muzzles and chains that kept them to the cushions. They were either in middle of obscured men or women or on top of someone. There were little creatures that zoomed by with platters with actual living, moving food on the platters, he waved it away when it was offered to him. Unkar Plutt sat in the middle of the room in a chair that should have sat three drinking a blue swirling drink. He sat as if he thought he was king, his hands covered in jewels. This was not how he was described by Rey to the Rebellion he must change when he's in his private... tent. Plutt waved him over smiling from what he thought was ear to ear. He was a slimy pompous greying thing, nauseating to look at and smell. The only thing he was missing from Jabba the Hutt was his wealth and his Hutt nationality.

'You come about the scavenger' He paused dramatically waving his hands around, '-and her BB8 Unit?' He nodded curtly.

'Yes. I tried to buy the unit from her to give to your men but she refused to sell it. I was about to forcibly take him from her when your Storm Troopers came, Master of Ren.' He kept waving his arms in form of submission. He's probably hoping I don't kill everyone in this town out of spite for losing the droid. Two men laid a red silk carpet behind him and yellow chair on top of it, while two women move two smaller cushions to either side of the chair and began squirming all over the cushions. He remained standing looking over in distaste. He was about to comment when a thought hit him. He had not seen any women scavengers outside the tent. Was this was Rey 'scavenged' for?

'Please sit Master of the Ren.' His blood was chilled. He didn't know what he was feeling but he had only felt it once before and it was terrifying.

'I will stand.' He paused picturing the stubborn scavenger here in the tent and then instantly regretting it. He felt nauseous and angry all over again. It must be the heat. ' The girl. I came for information about her.'

'Rey. She came to us when she was a child. We did not know her age and neither does she.'

'She doesn't know how old she is?'

'No. She does not know her familial name either. Just that her birth name is Rey.'

'Do you?'

'No, Master of Ren. I have searched hoping to sell her back to her family but I was never able to find them. Her parents had left her with me. They were supposed to return but they did not. One parent was a Twiilek.' A Twiilek interesting.

'What was done with her as a child in your care?' Care? He had not meant to say care. What was wrong with him? She was his enemy, so why was his anger placed at Plutt instead of her?

'She was made to work like the other children until she was old enough to scavenge on her own. Most of the children don't come back from their first night scavenging. It's competitive and dangerous. It was the first time that all of the scavenger kids all came back and with things.'

'She brought them back?'

'Yes. I gave them rations and sent them out the next day. It was a pattern for a couple of weeks. They would come back all together and get equal portions. I waited and found out where they were going to dig and had a servant hide something of immense value where they were going to hide. I reminded them as they left that the more value it was worth the more rations they would receive for their parts. The next day they returned with only four of the twenty children. Rey returned bloodied and broken with nothing. I gave her no rations but she learned her lesson. They had all lived together in tent. After that night she moved further out and kept to herself.'

'So, you broke her?'

'Like all the other children.'

'And she was restricted to just scavenging?'

'Yes and no. When she brought back enough parts she would get portions. I always gave her less than she deserved because I wanted her to be mine.' He snarled at the word mine and he could sense rejection there. He reached out with the force and could see him pinning Rey down her kicking and clawing but never screaming. He withdrew from the memory before he saw anymore. His blood was boiling. She was a Jedi. A god damn Jedi, not a common whore.

'Just another whore, who happened to be not so bad at scavenging.' He chuckled. His chuckles grew into a full blown laugh.

He laughed and laughed and suddenly Kylo could not contain his rage at this piece of filth. His hand lifted the thing out of it's chair as Plutt screamed wildly and choked. He was dimly aware of the chains breaking behind him and people running as he force choked the Thing into a deathly silence. Whatever was left of the outpost scattered as he stood and made his way furiously back to the ship. Her name called out to him with every step he took, his resolve for her death breaking down into nothingness.

Rey. A family who didn't want her, like him.

Rey. She was abandoned like him.

Rey. She was a fighter like him.

Rey. She was dealt a shit hand very young and she didn't let it break her. She rose, like him. He sighed as he approached the ship. This ship made his infatuation with her worse. He sighed and looked back noting that one trooper had managed to keep up with him while a second worked at keeping everyone in line and walking faster. So one for reconditioning and one for the Temple. He closed his eyes as they took off. This was a lot to think about. He was expecting to find a weakness or a hidden talent he could exploit. All he found was pity.

'Rey, Rey wake up.' He whispered as gently as he could. He didn't want to startle her. He could sense Luke taking several steps backwards to give them privacy. Rey's eyes opened, alert and wide. It took several seconds of wild eyes searching the whole room but she finally settled on the eyes in front of her and stayed there. Her eyes softened and her hands reached out towards him.

.

.

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The moment Rey was up her face split into a smile the likes of which Luke had never seen on her. Gross. She threaded her fingers in Ben's hair and pulled his face down to kiss him. Really? He was right there. After several uncomfortable moments he coughed twice and Rey looked up and finally noticed him. She screeched, cursed, and then tried to sit up. That resulted in her tumbling out of the bed and onto the floor in a tangled mess of blankets and swear words.

He really was much too old for this kind of drama.

'Oh Galaxies. Oh Galaxies. Master Skywalker. Ummm... It's not what it looks like. It's-' He raised his eyebrow at her a stern quizzical look across his face. He was trying not enjoy her embarrassed and juvenile reaction. Young people...

'Okay... it's exactly what it looks like.' She said tossing her arms up in the air. 'I'm being tossed out aren't I? I'm not going to be allowed to be a Jedi anymore! Oh, kriffing galaxies! What do I do?' Luke watched as her eyes widened and stared at Ben. He was laughing with actual tears running down his face. Luke felt his heart warm. Whatever Ben had gotten into, Rey might be the only one to make sure he gets out of it alive. He had never felt so protective over the girl even after he found out she was more or less enslaved on Jakku. His thoughts were halted abruptly when she picked up the pillow on her bed and threw it at him. It narrowly missed his head. He needed to work on Rey's aim he noted.

'Seriously? I'm getting kicked out of Jedi training and you think it's funny? Now I'm gonna have to be a Sith or some freaking Knights of Ren and I'm probably gonna die by getting stabbed in the back by some- STOP LAUGHING!'

Luke couldn't help it. He began to chuckle too. Her gaze shifted to him and her jaw dropped and stayed there. When his chuckles subsided and most of Ben's, he spoke.

'Rey, you cannot stop being force sensitive or 'Jedi' as you say. It's a part of you.' She looked at him blankly.

'Like you can't lose an arm because it's part of you.' Luke coughed and looked pointedly at his arm.

'Well… that was a bad example.' Rey sat up tall.

'So… I'm not being kicked out?' She directed her question at him ignoring Ben's snickers.

'Of the force? Not possible, it's part of you and I will help you hone it in any way I can with the resources I have available.' He waved a hand around the room. Her eyes brightened as she took in the room properly.

'Wait... Ummm... Where are we?'

Ben was smirking. He looked like a Han, there never was any doubt that he was Han's son. Ben backed up a little and shuffled his feet, his eyes strained on his fidgeting fingers.

'So funny story... The force binding thing...'

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General Organa's Rebel Base (Several days prior)

It had been two days after he had woken from his coma and Poe had been reading him funny jokes about Hux's hair when General Organa herself came in. Poe had stuffed the book away and stood giving her space.

'How are you recovering?' She asked warmly.

'Good General. Thank you for everything.' She nodded.

'I'm sorry about your husband. He was a good man and was kind to Rey and me when no one else was.' She smiled tightly.

'Thank you. That is in part why I am here.' He began to try and stand up when she raised a hand to still him. Poe offered her a glass of water which she refused.

'Sit please. This will only take a moment of your time. I came to ask your permission.' He looked up at Poe who shrugged his shoulders, his grip steady on the cup. He noticed that General Organa was watching the two of them carefully.

'We would like to take a blood test to test for an anomaly in your blood.'

'Sure' - 'What anomaly?' He and Poe answered at the same time. She smiled and looked at them both.

'We want to check your midichlorian count. We think it might be higher than normal. Finn looked at Poe for guidance but Poe was stunned to silence.

'Sure. Thank you for coming, General Organa.' She nodded and wished him well and departed. It took several minutes for Poe to regain his voice.

'Finn, have you ever been able to do-' Two lab technicians walked in and Poe went silent his grip on his cup of water tightened as they drew blood and fed it into a machine. The numbers started to echo on the machine and Poe dropped the cup spilling water everywhere. The technicians started to murmur to themselves. Every minute or so they peeked up at Finn like he was a fascinating marvel. Finn started to get nervous. He had the good graces to remain silent until they left with the promise of returning with General Organa.

'What's a midichlorian Poe?' He asked after the door shut. Poe slumped into the chair despair clearly written on his face.

'It's how they know if someone is able to connect to the force.' They both fell silent until dinner arrived with the rest of Poe's loud roommates. That night he was discharged and they all brought him to their room and gave him a bunk. Before turning in for the night Poe made him swear to keep it to himself until General Organa decided otherwise.

He had forgotten about until two days later when Poe was helping him with shooting practice. They were outside in the heat both sweating and running. Poe was shooting and Finn was supposed to be deflecting or at least avoiding the shots but he kept getting tazed. He had been laughing at something Poe had said when Poe's face froze and his hand tightened on his gun. He whipped around immediately to see General Organa with an armed guard standing by the doorway behind him. She insisted he come with her alone. That was when Poe spoke up. He refused to leave his side. General Organa kept whatever she felt well concealed. She simply nodded and motioned for them to follow. He grabbed his jacket and joined Poe. Side by side they entered the Council's chambers with General Organa. The look on Poe's face said this was not good.

They explained to him that his midichlorian test came back positive. He continued to stare blankly around the room. No one seemed to want to explain what this meant. Poe stood next to him his jaw clenched shut. He put a hand on his arm and explained the force to him. He explained the light side of the force and what it meant and then he explained the dark side and what it meant. Everyone was quiet. They revealed that Master Skywalker was a Jedi, a follower of the lightside and he was training Rey on a quiet planet called Achto. Poe didn't look happy about that. Rey had almost gotten him killed so Poe generally wasn't very fond of her. General Organa interrupted their conversation stating that he had a choice. He could stay and be a regular rebel like her, a force sensitive who did not use her powers or he could train with Luke and become a powerful Jedi. She repeated several times in her speech that if he really wanted to help the rebellion he should grow into his full potential as a Jedi. She gave him one day to decide and then they would reconvene. They were both dismissed.

When they left the chambers Poe looked tense. That night they argued for the first time. Poe didn't want him to go. He said there was massacre years before and every force sensitive was murdered, even the children. His heart wrenched as Poe described what details he had remembered. He had been on a trip with his parents and they had been called back to assist with Master Skywalker, since they were the closest they were the first ones there. He had been told to stay on the ship but being a little boy and a Dameron, he didn't listen. He could still remember the smell of burning flesh. It smelled the same as an animal. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he described the scene after he snuck off of the ship. His mother had cried for days. There was nothing they could do but cover the bodies of adults and children alike cut down before their time. Poe's eyes didn't leave his the whole time he spoke even as the tears rolled down his cheeks.

He didn't want him to go there. It was too dangerous. He argued back that the Rebellion was dangerous all around. They argued for hours. The breaking point finally came when he mentioned that he would have Rey to look after him when Poe wasn't there. At that comment Poe had stormed out of their shared room startling their two other roommates. One of them shook his head sadly at Finn and told him he was blind. He thanked him for his keen observation and reminded him he could see fine. He wasn't able to find Poe. The next morning he sent word to General Organa that he would go to Master Luke, it had never really been an option anyway. The call of the lightsaber had haunted him at night the blue lights dancing behind his eyes burning his hand he held it with.

Poe was avoiding him during lunch which was fortunate because he couldn't bring himself to tell him in middle of the mess hall. After lunch he went back to his quarters and gathered what few items he had. Most were gifts or things his roommates had given him. He didn't have much. He was stuffing his last item into his backpack when he felt someone watching him. He turned to see Poe. He stood in the doorway his hair a mess and his eyes darkened with a lack of sleep. His usually clean clothes was rumpled and disheveled.

'Poe' He whispered outstretching his arm.

'Don't you Poe me!' He snapped back. Poe was beside himself in panic.

'It is going to be okay. I can help the rebellion better this way.' He said softly. Poe stepped into the room the door sliding shut behind him. He began to pace. He never ever paced. Poe was always calm and cool and collective. It was starting to scare Finn.

'It's too dangerous. I want you to tell them you changed your mind.'

'Why? Give me one good reason.'

'Okay. Here's one; the last time you were with that dangerous Jedi girl you almost died. Died Finn. I was there when they unloaded you from the Falcon. Your whole body was mangled and slashed. You were drowning in your own blood.' His voice cracked. 'I didn't think you would make it, no one did. It was all my fault. I got you into this. I-' He ran his hands through his hair yanking it violently as he pulled, as if all of his problems would go away if he suddenly had no hair.

'Finn. I don't think I can go through that again. I spent weeks just sitting and waiting for you to wake up. I couldn't eat or sleep. I was immobile. General Organa had to tell everyone I was on a private mission. I wasn't fighting for the rebellion. I was sitting in a chair terrified every waking second of every day until you woke up.'

'Poe. I didn't... I'm sorry... I can't ask you to go through that again.' His voice broke. He knew they were close but he didn't realize that Poe felt the same way he did.

'So, what do you expect me to do?'

They were both silent for several moments as they took everything in. What did this mean? What was he supposed to do.

'I won't ask you to stop flying the same way you can't ask me not to fight. Not to give the Rebellion my all.' Finn whispered.

'I got you into this. I would do anything to reverse it Finn. I would.'

They were silent as they both drowned in despair. This was his most important relationship in his life. He didn't know if he could handle loosing Poe.

'You're wrong, you know. I would.' Whispered Finn.

'I would what?'

'I would give this all up for you Finn.' Finn felt his breath freeze in his throat and his world stop. What was he saying? Was Poe... Oh, galaxies, what should he do? He felt himself panic.

'Poe... I...' He was spluttering, all the humor in Poe's face gone. It was tight and serious. His body was taught with the stress of the situation.

'How long?' Finn breathed. He wasn't sure what to think or how to feel.

'Since we've met. Since I gave you my-' Poe was standing as far as he could from him without leaving the room.

'Jacket?'

'Yes. Finn, I get it if you don't feel the same way but,' His voice cracked and Finn jumped up and grabbed him by the hugging him fiercely. When he let go they were both red faced. Finn could feel something changing deep within him. He wasn't sure what it was but suddenly his skin began to feel hyper sensitive. Almost as if it was super charged.

'Finn I-' He stopped abruptly and ran his hands through his hair. He collapsed on the Finn's bunk his head in his hands. Finn sat down next to him leaving a little space between them.

'Poe.' He said gently. 'In a lot of ways I'm still a child. I don't know what I feel most of the time. The processing… what they did to us...' Poe looked up his eyes dancing angrily. His hands were by his sides gripping the sheets tightly.

'Finn. I just need to know. Do you feel anything… for me?' His voice was tight and his shoulders were hunched over his body. He looked so unlike Poe it was disarming.

'I do. Every waking minute I feel like you and I breathe the same breath. Like we are meant to be together forever, like we are one. Not like brothers or friends. Something else. I feel-' Poe's lips crashed down onto his causing his mind to sputter. His nerves felt like live wire and his mind shut down completely when Poe's hands went around his back. He held tightly to him as if he was the last bit of oxygen on a starving ship. When they came up for air they heard cheering from behind them. Damn roommates. Poe threw pillows at them as most of them scampered out of the room hollering that they would be back in several hours.

'We have shit timing Finn, but I just needed to know before you left.'

'Why? I can come back and see you and...' His voice died at the look on Poe's face and the sudden silence in the room.

'Jedi cannot have relationships, it's one of the foundations of their Jedi Code. It makes them unstable. They say it's one of the reasons that Master Skywalker divorced and that General Organa doesn't use the force. She is unsteady with it because of her family and her relationships in them. Finn, god. I don't know if I should have started this. Finn, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said anythi-'

Finn kissed him to shut him up. Partially because he wanted to and partially because it was a good way to shut him up.

'We'll work it out. We will. I won't lose you.' His roommates cheered again, this time Poe threw the flimsy metal nightstand. He buried his head in his shoulder. This was going to be a long journey for the two of them but it would be worth it.

That night they slept very little; their bodies cuddled together on the same bed their hands interlaced between each other. In the morning Poe ran out and he put in for flight transfer duty and because he was Poe Dameron he got it. They were packed up and ready to go in an hour. He said goodbye to all of their friends while Poe stood silently by his side. His heart broke for Poe. It would be hard on both of them to be apart but he was sure they could do it. He had seen them get through worse. Their departure was to be during lunch so as not to start a big fanfare in the hangar bay. Realizing they had an a couple of hours to kill the two went into a tech lab next to the hangar they were leaving from.

Poe knew his way around so Finn just sat on a stool and tried not to break anything or get yelled at. It was his motto in life. Poe was holding something and whispering to a dark haired man. The two kept looking up and down from what he was holding to Finn and then back at each other. Whatever they were talking about was so quiet that even he could not hear. The two walked briskly towards a door in the back and Finn stood to join them. Poe held a hand up and pointed to his eyes making a sweeping motion. Ahh, he had learned this one. Stay here and keep watch. He folded his arms and sat back down as they disappeared into a storage room. Finn waited for what seemed like an eternity. He was pretty sure he broke at least four things and set off an extremely irate droid. He couldn't even tell what model it was when it asked. He simply shrugged and pretended he didn't speak basic. He was in middle of drowning in his ineptness when he heard them heading back towards the door. He rose with anticipation. He really hoped the Force wasn't anything like this tech, if so he was probably going to have to use the whole 'I no speak Basic routine' on Master Skywalker. Poe emerged from the door thanked the man and the two left towards the lifts for the hangar bay. A droid, an R2 unit he thought, had offered to take his things down to the hangar but he owned so little that he had worn the backpack all day. The lift doors closed in front of them and they were alone. Poe turned to him his smile split across his face. He grabbed him by his jacket's lapels and kissed him, quick and hard.

'I got it.'

'Got what?'

'A way for us to stay in touch even if they try and forbid us.' His eyes were twinkling mischievously.

'How?' Poe opened his hands and placed a round sphere in his hand. It was possibly the oldest commlink he had ever seen. He doubted his great great grandparents used commlinks like these.

'We are going to run away and open an antique store?' Poe laughed.

'No. These are old comms.'

'I can tell.' He muttered as Poe swatted him.

'They don't have holo-net access so they can't be hacked and they run on their own frequency so...' He wiggled his eyebrows, smiling even more than Finn thought humanely possible.

'Only we can hear each other on them.' He breathed. 'Poe your a genius.'

'I know.' He shrugged.

'These are probably a little over a hundred years old. They literally are antiques.'

'Do they work?'

'Yeah we tested them out across distance.'

'When did you have a chance to distance test them?' Poe winked at him.

'Really? I could have come with you! Also, you swore you wouldn't fly that fast again!' Poe laughed and secured his old comm to his belt next to his regular one that was flashing madly.

'It wasn't that fast, just moderately fast.' Finn threw his hands up in desperation as Poe picked up his regular comm listening to a report his face falling with each second. Finn clipped his comms next to each other. Feeling less miserable than he had originally. The doors opened and they stepped out of the lift. The two of them headed towards the hangar as Poe continued to listen to his comm. Whatever it was it was serious. Finn smiled encouragingly at him as they approached their ship his face concentrating on the comm.

The Hangar Bay was quiet during lunch. Any remaining personnel was either finishing up a last minute report or running security sweeps. Poe had already hurried into the ship shouting something about an important Holo transmission. Finn looked around the bay one last time and walked up to the ship docked in the corner. It was small and dark and of Corellian design. Corellian. His family. He sighed and walked up the ramp his eyes wide and heart full.

The last several days had been an eye opener. He still had trouble accepting that he was just little more than a number in a battalion of brainwashed white helmets. He was constantly living in fear that he would wake up and this would all have been a dream. A side effect of reconditioning, but even he knew he couldn't have dreamt up Poe. He dropped his bag with his few possessions, most gift from his roommates and waved at Poe. Poe was speaking to someone on the Holo Screen his eyebrows creased with concentration. He motioned to the canisters at the bottom of the ramp and pointed to the storage unit on his side. Finn smiled and gave him thumbs up. Poe's face lit up as they made eye contact.

'Pilot Dameron, are you listening?' An shrill voice broke their reverie.

'Yes, Madam Senator. I will of course fly the next ship going out, however a matter of personal-'

'We're at war young man! Personal matters are to be shelved!' Finn walked up beside him so he was in the Holo feed. A tall purple woman in regal purple and yellow robes stood looking thoroughly agitated.

'Who is this?' The woman snapped. Poe rubbed his temples looking thoroughly exasperated.

'My name is Finn, Ma'am.' He answered.

'I am Sakalo Chuchi. I am the Senator of Pantora. Pilot Dameron was supposed to be flying me with a secret envoy to General Organa this morning. He was just about to explain his reason for abandoning me in a space station on the lower levels of Pantora.'

'I am afraid that would be my doing Senator. You have my sincerest apologies.' The words escaped his mouth before he could stop them. Poe dropped his face into his hands.

'Really? You think you are more important than all of Pantora's safety and our continued alliance with the Rebel Alliance?' At that point Poe started hitting his head on his comm unit.

'No of course not Ma'am. Pilot Dameron was simply delaying your pickup for a multitude of reasons. Aside from the chatter of a security threat that General Organa had picked up, he was also asked to attend to a matter of great importance to the Rebel Alliance.' He had heard General Organa mention that the pick-up might have been compromised. Also they were important to each other...

'And what planet is more important than Pantora? I was under the impression that all planets were of equal importance or does General Organa hide behind false promises and pithy phrases?'

'It is not a planet more than and Organization and with all do respect ma'am nothing about General Organa shouts 'Pithy.' He was surprised when her furious expression froze for several seconds. She then shocked them as well as the security that was behind her by collapsing in her chair and laughing. When her laughter subsided she looked up and down at Finn noting his lack of uniform. Poe had his jaw hanging open in shock. Apparently she was the raving purple bitch lady that he complained about so often.

'Alright Mr. Finn. You have stayed my temper. I do have to know what…' She paused waving an arm thoughtfully, 'organization as you say was so important that I was stuck getting a ride on the back of a speeder from a smuggler.' Her eyebrows were raised and Finn sighed. She was persistent and didn't seem like the type of woman who took no for an answer, like Rey.

'The Jedi, Ma'am.' She sat up straight immediately her eyes bright and curious.

'Is it true, they found another one? Another Padawan learner? Would I be able to glimpse him, Mr. Finn? Just for a moment? I have never seen a Jedi. My grandmother was friends with several during the clone wars but they perished even the ones she tried to save. I have only ever heard stories...' She spoke so quickly Finn almost missed it. His smile returned as did Poe's.

'You're talking to him Senator.' Smirked Poe. The Senator gasped and clasped her hand over her mouth. Her eyes poured over Finn as she examined him. Finn suddenly felt uncomfortable under her watchful eyes. He was not used to such scrutiny. He shifted uncomfortably for what felt like hours.

'I apologize Madam Senator but Jedi Master Skywalker is expecting us and it is imperative I keep to the elderly Jedi Master's time schedule.' Poe stated as diplomatically as he could possibly speak without sounding rude. She stood abruptly.

'Of course, my apologies Master Finn-'

'Just Finn, please Ma'am.'

'Please call me Sakalo.' Finn bowed his head. Poe turned to end the transmission, as he did the Senator called out to Finn her eyes twinkling.

'Finn. May the force be with you.'

'And you Lady Sakalo.' The transmission ended.

Poe pinched his arm causing him to yelp.

'Thanks Master Finn.' Poe said dramatically. Finn rolled his eyes at his sarcastic tone.

'No seriously. We were starting to lose Pantora. If we lost Pantora we would have lost that entire sector. Thank you Finn.' His voice had grown serious and his eyes soft. He still wasn't sure how he had doubted that there was something between them. They stared at each other until a beeping noise announced another Holo Call. Poe looked over and straightened his flight suit immediately.

'Shit. It's the General. Can you load the cargo?'

'Sure. Go be charming she won't stay mad for long.' Poe smiled dazzlingly.

'Thank you, Finn.' He whispered. He turned his back quickly and opened the Holo window. Finn strolled down the ramp, Politics were not for Finn. It was too… he couldn't find the right word. Sneaky, maybe? He wasn't like Poe who could sell you Bantha dung and make you pay top dollar for it. He had an arsenal of sweet words and enticing phrases. He never stammered or second guessed himself. He was as sure of himself as the currents in hyperspace.

Finn leaned down and grabbed a canister and hauled it onto the ship. It wasn't hard work but there were a lot of canisters. As he trekked up and down the ramp he thought back to that morning. He had learned earlier that morning over tea with General Organa that he had a father who had spent years looking for him before being told of his death by an Imperial Informant. It was a lie that General Organa said was designed to break his father and it did. He still searched but he was not the same man he was before. She said loosing him had turned him into a shell of the man he used to be. He lost his only child. She told him of his mother. She was a flight deck officer on the ship that his father had overseen during the months after the fall of the Empire. She had died soon after he had been taken from wounds she had sustained during the fight. The fight she had fought trying to keep him. His father had shown up in time to watch her slip into a coma that she never woke from. Despite of the tragedy that had befallen his family he felt loved and wanted ever since he joined General Organa's troops. He had a real family.

It was more than a familial ghosting love. Poe never left his side not since he had woken up from the battle on Starkiller base. No one bothered him about being a 'stormtrooper drop out' anymore. He couldn't remember the last time they were apart. It was, in essence why this trip scared him so much. Poe had offered to fly them both, along with supplies for Master Skywalker and Rey. He still wasn't sure if it was the right choice. It might have been easier to say goodbye in the hangar than on Master Skywalker's planet.

Poe was his safety net, a part of him. He got him out of hell and stuck by him the whole time. He even let him keep his cool jacket. Which he was told was a big deal because it was his first flight uniform and had been his father's. When he asked him about it he shrugged and said he had more jackets and that he needed it more than him. He snapped back to the present as Poe called for take off and reminded him to attach his safety harness. He nodded silently and strapped in.

'Hey, sleepy head. Twenty minutes to landing.' Finn sat up abruptly he couldn't believe he slept through most of their trip. He peered out the window to observe the planet. It was all sparkling blue. There were barely any land masses. Poe reached out and squeezed his hand as they descended to the island that would keep them apart. About two hours later they landed on a tiny island. It didn't look like much but it wasn't the planet that was special it was the people on it. He let go of Poe's hand so that he could remove his harness and grab his bag. He could feel Rey, like she was under his skin somehow. As if he could see her but not with his eyes. Poe powered down the ship and stood up. He offered Finn a hand.

'Together?'