In her bathroom Elle stripped down to her underclothes and looked at herself in the mirror. The scratches on her back were gone but she still felt them, she felt his fingernails on her skin and the tight pressure of his hand on her neck. She closed her eyes, her hands resting on the sink.
Elle breathed in and out, slowly, testing her new stitching. It was tighter and the microfiber still made it difficult to breathe. But she made due. She slowed her breathing then, and kept her mind open, just slightly.
In a moment she felt the soft warmth of the force gliding through her consciousness. She felt her wound and every particle of her skin that was damaged. She felt her ship, and the snow. She felt the Resistance ship and everyone inside. She felt Poe, still distant but there. She felt him fidgeting. At that she smiled.
But then she felt the First Order ship, and the death on the inside. She did not regret protecting herself and her planet. She knew the First Order was bad, and she certainly wasn't good. Though, most Jedi hardly bat an eye at death. So she wasn't about to.
Then there was a pull, it was soft at first.
Elle felt hands around her neck again, soft and large hands. They constricted her breath and she began to choke. Her eyes flung open and she fell out of her trance and onto the floor. But for a split second, in the mirror before she fell she thought she saw something. Someone. Quickly she jumped up and looked around but there was no one in sight. She breathed out, feeling a slight pain in her side.
She needed to breathe, it was too hot. She slipped her outer layer of clothing back on and quickly rushed outside.
She sat in the snow, holding her hand out to catch some snow falling from the sky when suddenly a deep thud hit her door from inside the ship. And another, Elle jumped back at every thud.
Slowly she unlocked the door and her lightsaber flew straight past her into the snow. She grabbed it and thought herself silly, it must have thought she called for it. Though she did not remember doing so.
Elle turned and jumped again upon seeing Poe watching her a few feet away.
"Did I scare you?"
Elle held her lightsaber up, "Not quite enough." She said, meaning if he had she probably would have sliced him in half.
Poe looked at the saber and chuckled. "You know I never actually held one of those things till today. They're a lot lighter than I expected."
"Oh you were the one that brought it from the uh, other ship? Thank you."
Poe nodded, "Even cleaned a bit of the blood off too." Elle smirked and put it in her holster.
"Did you need something or do you particular enjoy the frigid cold?"
Poe laughed nervously, "Yeah, I actually wanted to see if you were up to joining me for dinner-us, I mean us, everyone-else." Poe stammered but Elle nodded.
"I'd love to. Only if Pax can come."
"Of course." Poe smiled, "The more the merrier, as they say."
"Who says that?" Elle asked, midstep to her ship.
"Oh, just-people."
"Right." Elle smirked and walked into her ship, "I just have to change and I'll be right over."
Poe gave her a thumbs up and the door slid shut.
The dinner with the Resistance medics and Poe was nice. They chatted about this and that, First Order things and Resistance things, all the while Elle listened and responded respectfully. She had forgotten what it was like to have dinner with other people. Ever since Killian Elle had eaten every meal alone, save for a begging dog at her feet.
The entire dinner Elle could not for the life of her, keep her eyes off Poe. He was happy, and comfortable, talkative-all around people person. He was aggressive, which she liked, and recalled him mentioning he was a Commander, which definitely made sense.
Elle wished in some sense she had the same comfortability within herself. But she was doomed with a perpetual desire for isolation.
When the early evening had come to a close and the evening's snow storm was about to begin, Elle left for her own ship.
BB-8 beeped at her suggestively when she arrived back.
"What?" She asked, "Do you have a fried circuit, what are you talking about?" The little droid bobbed its head and whirred, "Poe? Are you serious? No, I do not like someone I've only known for a day...Yes I did like you after a day, but you're different...because you just are BB...Okay Pax is a dog, everyone likes dogs...no I know you don't." She chuckled and glanced out the bay windows. She sighed and made her way to her quarters, "We'll talk about this later, okay?" And before the droid had a second to respond Elle's door slid shut.
Later that evening a loud knocking could be heard from the door of the ship. Elle sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. She was eternally grateful for the Resistance to help her out but she was getting quickly exhausted by with with every passing moment.
With reluctance Elle set her journal down and walked toward the door. She pressed the comm.
"Who is it?"
"It's Poe."
Elle hesitated before opening the door. Poe leaned against the ship with a smirk on his face and a bottle in his hand. The snow of the storm had slowed but Poe's coat was still covered in it.
"It's a bit late don't you think?" Elle said, gesturing toward the bottle.
"Well, I was just about to sit down for a nice drink but then I thought I'd share. I can leave though, if I'm interrupting anything." Elle nearly rolled her eyes at him, smooth as a river rock.
"Well get in, you're letting the snow in."
Poe stepped in and quickly shed his coat as Elle shut the door. Pax ran up to Poe and jumped up on him.
"Hey buddy." Poe scratched his head and smiled at Elle. "So, care for a drink?"
Without any response Elle turned and took two glasses out of her cabinet. Poe sat himself at her table, taking a glance at the leather bound journal on the top. He twisted the cork off and poured two glasses for each of them.
Elle took a sip and coughed out a bit. Poe chuckled, taking a sip, hardly reacting to the taste.
"So, is there a reason you decided to socialize in the middle of the night during a blizzard?" Elle asked.
"Are you always this skeptical?"
"Always." She smirked and took another sip. Poe smiled.
"If you must know—I always have a little trouble sleeping on missions, I looked outside, noticed the lights on…thought I'd drop in and see if you needed some company." Poe put up his hands and Elle nodded.
"Well you will find a good companion in me, I hardly get any sleep on a normal night." BB-8 whirred out from the corner, seemingly minding its own business as it tapped her leg with its dome. Elle leaned down. "Oh no, it's alright, go ahead and go into low power mode." It beeped again and Poe's eyes narrowed. "I'll be fine tonight, BB. Thank you for asking." BB-8 beeped in farewell and rolled away, sluggishly.
"What did he mean by your dreams?" Poe asked.
Elle sighed, "Oh it's nothing." Elle silently hoped he would leave the subject, Poe seemed to sense her discomfort and changed the subject. "I never got the chance to thank you, for this morning."
Poe shook his head, "Don't mention it."
Elle smirked and took another sip.
Elle learned many things about Poe, and in turn gave away several personal facts of her own to him. Facts that in any normal situation Elle would never disclose, but with the alcohol, and the thought of knowing she will probably never meet this man again, she came to the conclusion of—what could it harm?
Poe was sweet, even when mildly inebriated he left fall his natural air of braggadocio. And strangely, Elle felt comfortable around him. Which was a shame.
"You're a bit of a hermit, aren't you?"
"You could say that, but I like this place."
"Why are you here, exactly? All by yourself?"
"Well I could tell you that, but then I'd have to kill you." She winked at him.
Pax shyly walked up to the two, and jumped up, placing both his front paws on Elle's thigh.
"What is it?" She asked Pax who whined and licked the tip of her nose. She scratched his ear and he leaned into her hand. "Oh, is that so?" She smirked.
"You understand him?" Poe asked.
"In a way, yes. Dogs don't really speak any language other than 'dog', but it's not hard to understand what he wants. " Elle chuckled and kissed the top of Pax's head. Then Pax walked over to Poe, looking up at him with that glint in his eye. "He wants you to pet him."
Poe smiled and gave him a good scratch and pet on the head.
"I didn't know dogs still existed. I've only read about them."
"I didn't know either until I came upon Pax when I landed here. I'm still not certain how old he is." Elle watched as Pax licked Poe's hand and settled himself at his feet. Pax must really like this pilot, Elle thought. After a moment of silence Poe spoke up again.
"So we have a game we play on the ship when things get slow."
"Do things often get slow during a war?"
"More often than you would think," Poe winked, "So, it's a drinking game where most of the rules don't matter."
Elle was concentrating hard, harder than she ever had before. She stood two feet from the table, staring at an object upon the surface intently. Slowly the object in question, a glass full of alcohol, levitated about an inch off the surface and flew to the other side of the table. Elle jumped up, fists in the air; not a single drop was lost.
"Yes!" She exclaimed.
"No!" Poe groaned, "That's cheating!"
"How can I cheat in a game where the rules don't matter? Also you never said a word about not using the force. Drink up, pilot." Elle smirked, leaning into his shoulder. Poe took the shot and winced at the hard liquid falling down his throat.
Poe leaned against the edge of the table and smirked at her.
"I think you win this one Elle." He sighed and Elle smiled, "How's your side?"
Elle shrugged, "Haven't had any problems, so hopefully that's good."
Poe nodded and threw an arm over her shoulder. "Good."
Despite the arm pulling her closer to him, and the involuntary movement of her own arm around his back, Elle felt a pull toward him. Like gravity.
"It's a bit late, Poe. You should get some rest before you have to fly your crew out of here tomorrow."
Poe waved it off, "It's hardly a klick away, the ship is just outside the hemisphere by now." Elle nodded and the overwhelming scent of his jacket filled her nose. Rosewater and leather. "But you're probably right, it is a bit late." Poe took his arm from around Elle's shoulders and slipped his coat and scarf on. Elle grabbed half empty bottle he had brought over and held it out to him but he shook his head, "Keep it. That way you'll remember me every time you sit down for a drink."
Elle rolled her eyes but complied, setting it back on the table.
"See you tomorrow." She said softly at the door and Poe nodded.
"Tomorrow." He paused for a moment, just looking at her but quickly smiled and looked down. Elle opened the door.
"You'll be okay making it back over there, right?"
"I should be. But if I pass out in a snow bank and die, just know that I had a great night with you." He spoke loudly, with slight melodrama, over the roaring winds.
"Me too." Elle said just as Poe turned to leave. She turned quickly and suddenly felt the alcohol hit her. She ushered herself to a chair and sighed, slipping her glasses off and rubbing her eyes.
Closing her eyes felt so good, so peaceful. BB-8 rolled over with a glass of water and Elle almost cried. Exactly what she needed.
Elle sat at the table for a while, rethinking the night she'd just had. An odd, unusual night, just yesterday she was minding her own business, living on her own on her deserted planet. Then tonight she was drinking and socializing with a pilot who had come to her planet after a First Order ship landed here for some unknown reason.
What a day. She chuckled to herself.
She finished the glass of water and noticed she had been sitting at the table for at least an hour. She sighed and went to grab her glasses when suddenly a gust of cold air caught her attention, the metallic scratch of the door opening. She slipped her glasses on quickly and looked at the door.
Poe stood there, wearing just his leather jacket, shivering and covered in snow, but a determined look on his face. He stepped over to her then, with quick intent. Elle stood, confused, worried something was wrong.
"Poe, you're covered in sno-" Poe grabbed her head and pulled her to his lips. Her warm lips clashing with the icy coldness of his. She sighed into him and pulled herself even closer.
Slowly Poe pulled away, "Sorry that was rude, I should have asked."
Elle chuckled and kissed him again. Poe held her hips and ran his hand through her hair, moaning into her mouth.
"That was very rude what you just did, and you tracked snow all over my ship."
"Oh I'm sorry," he said softly, his lips barely an inch from hers, "I'll clean it up tomorrow."
A/N: As aways I love to hear what you think, this story is very quickly becoming close to my heart and I think about it constantly. This story is taking an interesting turn than what I had originally thought, but I'm very excited for the future! Please share your thoughts as they are always welcomed.