Today: Poe, Kylo and BB-8, it's time for battle.

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The Art of Drowning

Chapter 2: We're Always Miles Apart Trying to Find Another Place to Start

Being uncertain if their presence was known, but certain the patrol would soon be missed, they sought to reach the base as quickly as possible.

It was far too soon for Poe, once they caught their first good look at the compound. With its flat, grey buildings surrounded by high fences it stuck out like a sore thumb even in the fading light of dusk.

"Two guards patrolling each side, supported by surveillance droids. If they don't know we're here we should get in easily enough," Poe reported once they met up again. "If they do we're dead. There is no cover on the compound."

"That's why we're waiting till it's full dark." Kylo crouched next to him, one arm slung over Poe's shoulder. His fingers were absently stroking Poe's forearm. "I can't sense any alarm or heightened urgency, and I overheard two Stormtroopers discussing regular communication problems. They couldn't agree if it's atmospheric disturbance or the magnetic field," here Kylo sounded exasperated, "but if the patrol doesn't respond it should be blamed on a malfunction."

Poe hummed thoughtfully. "Doesn't this all sound too good to be true? The last time one of my missions went so smoothly you arrived with an army of bucketheads."

Kylo flashed him a smirk that was pure Han Solo. It was always kind of creepy when he did that. "But I'm here already, aren't I?"

It was Poe's turn to shoot him a withering glare.

They withdrew further into the woods to wait for the cover of darkness. And so, yes, they kissed, and Poe did end up pinned against a tree at some point, Kylo's fingers tugging deliciously at his hair while his lover ground against him and plundered his mouth. By the time Kylo sank to his knees before him all of Poe's misgivings were forgotten.

There was sweet bliss found in Kylo's mouth engulfing him, and maybe he delighted in the frantic edge that laced Kylo's need today. Maybe there was something dark within Poe himself which was thrilled to see the proud, dangerous Knight of Ren kneeling in the dirt for him while he let Poe sweetly fuck his mouth. But if there was, then it hardly mattered in the face of Kylo pulling him down and kissing him like a drowning man, until all that was between them were solemn vows of love and the absolute certainty in his heart that he is the one for me.

Poe's cheeks were still flushed when they met up with BB-8.

They worked well together, Kylo using hand-to-hand skills and the Force since his lightsaber's green glow would be like a beacon, while Poe relied mostly on his blaster. They moved in tandem, never getting into the other's way, a mere glance enough to know what the other was planning.

Once BB-8 had put the security cameras near the southern gate on a feedback loop, Kylo and Poe disposed of the guards efficiently, nary a sound to be heard over the idyllic noises of the jungle at night.

"I could have Force tricked them to let us pass," Kylo whispered as he dropped the last of the guards out of sight.

"Not all five of them at once." Poe's gaze lingered on the helmeted face, thoughts going to Finn for a moment. It wasn't so easy anymore to kill Stormtroopers since he was best friends with a former one, and knew them to be normal people rather than faceless villains. But every enemy they spared now would be one more to fight during their escape. "It doesn't matter if they learn we're here, just as long as we get to the computer core before they can wipe it." He dropped some leafy branches on top of the Stormtroopers and looked at Kylo. "We'll be fighting our way out anyway."

When you were with Kylo, or even with Ben, you always fought your way out of trouble.

It was one of the first lessons Poe had learned about adventuring with the Solo clan: they were incapable of avoiding worst-case scenarios.

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The compound was a scattering of uniform low buildings, with the research center in the middle dominating its surroundings. In theory, it should have been easy to get there, as long as they could avoid the patrols, the droids and the spotlights.

They did not, in fact, make it inside before they were discovered.

"Are you sure you can't download the data from here?" Poe yelled to BB-8, pinned as he was between the windowless walls of the research center and the abandoned transport which was his only cover. Kylo was throwing back Stormtroopers with telekinetic shoves, sending them hurtling into walls and transports with such force their armor cracked, and they didn't get up again.

It was almost hopeless, but BB-8 had access to a data port, and that was all that mattered.

Frantic bleeping told Poe no, it couldn't, but it was overloading their generators from afar and…

"What do you mean there are prisoners?!"

Poe's trigger finger stilled for a moment, there were shouts from the Stormtroopers who must have thought they'd taken him out. A powerful blast threw them back just as they tried to advance, eliciting a shout of, "the Jedi's still alive!"

"I know what you're thinking," Kylo growled, "and the answer's no. We're not here to rescue the test specimens, and we didn't bring a shuttle."

He went back to firing, repetitive, but deadly in his accuracy. Aim, fire, repeat. Poe liked it. It was simple. There was no doubt while you were fighting, the doubts didn't start till it was over. "They have ships."

"And abandon Black One?" Kylo scoffed. His voice was tight; Poe didn't need to look at him to read his tension. It had to be frustrating to be flinging people around when he was chafing to use his lightsaber. But like it or not, he remained glued to Poe's side. "Like you'd ever do that."

This time, Poe had to gape at him. "You think I'd choose my X-Wing over innocent lives?" He shook his head harshly. "No, wait, don't answer that. I don't want to shoot you when I ought to be shooting troopers."

BB-8 put an end to their quarrel before it could begin. The First Order, at least, seemed to think it was a rescue mission. They're trying to flood the prison block with the very neurotoxins they were researching, and BB-8 didn't know how long it could lock them out.

Poe stood up abruptly. Kylo's eyes met his, and he nodded.

His lightsaber cut a neat rectangular hole into the wall.

They were running through long, uniform corridors then, the pounding of their boots almost drowned out by BB-8's frantic beeping that held barely any directions, and mostly just pleading with them to hurry, hurry, it didn't know how long its blocks would hold.

Claxons blared, blinking red alarms painted ominous shadows on the walls. It was dim in the corridors, the backup generator provided just enough power for emergency lights.

Over the claxons you didn't hear the pounding boots of the Stormtroopers till they were almost upon you.

Kylo's new green Jedi blade lit up. It cut through the troopers in their way with ruthless efficiency. Poe's pace barely slowed. He felt no doubt.

Hurry, hurry, BB-8 cried.

Kylo's blade hissed death, and there was nobody Poe would have rather had by his side.

To be continued…