Work Text:
“Get out,” Rey said as soon as she came through the corridor leading into the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.
“Come on,” Poe said, turning around to see her and giving her his most pleading eyes. “Just once!”
“No,” Rey said, arms crossed. “I’m pilot, you’re copilot. That’s the agreement.”
“I don’t think I ever agreed to that,” Poe said, but he slid over into the next seat anyway.
“Chewbacca agreed for you.” Rey took Poe’s abandoned chair and started flipping switches in preparation for take-off.
“Chewie likes me more than he thinks he does. He needs to give me a chance.”
“Chewie’s ship, Chewie’s rules.”
“You only say that because he trusts you to fly it.”
Rey aimed a quick sideways grin at Poe. “I’m not going to argue.”
Poe slouched in his seat and made Rey reach over him to continue the pre-flight process. “I’ve known the Falcon since I was a kid, you know. This wasn’t the first time I sat in that chair.”
“Yeah? And did Han let you fly her?”
“Not exactly.”
“There we are, then.”
Poe sighed, that familiar leaping sensation in his chest as the ship first lifted off the ground. “Best pilot in the Resistance and yet I’m banned from flying the kriffing Millennium Falcon.” He ignored Rey’s snorted laughter and watched the planet fade beneath them as Rey prepared the jump to lightspeed.
Wasn’t like they had a whole bunch of ships to fly. It wouldn’t be so bad if he had Black One. As they stood, the Resistance fleet was a ragtag handful of starfighters and miscellaneous transports and freighters, so Poe felt like he was kind of owed a stab with the Falcon.
“Stop sulking,” Rey said, and Poe could hear the barely restrained mirth in her voice.
“I don’t sulk,” Poe insisted.
“Okay, don’t brood, then. Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Don’t--”
“Yeah, okay, I get it.” Poe couldn’t stop himself flashing a grin at Rey, liking the way she smiled back at him.
They were still getting to know each other but Poe liked her. Most of the time. She was annoying, too, and frustrating, but then, he figured, the same could probably be said about him. He could see why Finn had been so ready to risk everything for her.
He checked the navigation controls and said, “Should be a pretty fast trip. Once we get there, we do it just like we talked about. You lay low until I meet our contact, I’ll let you know the specifics, we get the supplies and we get out. Easy.”
“I know, Poe,” Rey said, frustration tinged with amusement. “I might be new to the Resistance but I can handle a simple job like this.”
“Sorry. I just… need things to go smoothly for once.” Poe chewed on his lip, watching the blur of hyperspace through the viewport. Mostly things had been a string of disasters lately. Some of it his fault.
He needed to prove Leia’s faith in him, and he needed to be the man who could give her the support she required.
Rey touched the back of his hand like she understood. “It’ll be fine. As long as I fly the ship.”
Poe laughed, and they passed the rest of the flight in easy companionship.
-
It was harder these days for Poe to do anything covertly, now that he had a target on his back from the First Order the size of the Death Star, but thankfully not every contact needed to be met under false pretense. Not everyone was willing to openly join the Resistance, but some were at least willing to do business with them.
This particular being, a Dressellian eager to make a few credits under the table, was willing enough to leave a few doors unlocked and look the other way while Poe raided a warehouse. As Poe had said to Rey, it should have been easy. The planet was neutral and located far from the nearest First Order occupied space, and the city was bustling enough that no one was likely to look twice at a couple of humans hauling goods to a beat-up old freighter.
The problem, it turned out, was that pesky target on his back.
“You couldn’t, I don’t know, cover up your hair or something?” Rey yelled as they ran through crowded but quickly emptying streets, dodging blaster fire from two bounty hunters.
“What the hell does my hair have to do with anything?” Poe shouted back, bewildered.
“It’s too identifiable!”
“I don’t see you wearing a disguise! You’ve got a kriffing lightsaber! Who else travels with a lightsaber these days?” Not that it was Rey the bounty hunters seemed to be after, but that was beside the point.
His hair was fine. Maybe it was his nose? His dad always said there was no mistaking it.
“This lightsaber’s going to save your life,” Rey said, and proceeded to deflect blaster fire away from them.
“Show off,” Poe muttered, reaching for his own weapon and getting a few shots off. Not aimed well, to be sure, but he hoped it would slow their pursuers a little.
At least they had gotten most of the supplies loaded before they had been spotted. Poe had only wanted to go back for a barrel of oil, for the droids. He hoped BB-8 wouldn’t be too sore when he came back without it, but then, BB-8 would probably be glad enough if Poe made it back in one piece, at this rate.
“Can you hold them off?” Poe shouted to Rey. “If you distract them long enough for me to make it to the ship, I’ll come back for you.”
“I’m the pilot, you’re the copilot, remember?”
“You want me to fight them? Because I know what my strengths are.”
Rey swore but she was already lunging towards the bounty hunters with her lightsaber raised. “Just go! I’ve got them!”
So Poe ran, trusting Rey would keep them from following him. It wasn’t that he couldn’t have fought them off, but given a choice between being in a fight or behind the controls of a ship, he knew where he belonged. Let the Jedi-to-be take care of the hand-to-hand.
Thankfully it was a quick run back down a few streets to the Millennium Falcon. Poe sprinted up the ramp and then through the corridors to the cockpit, all but jumping into the seat. He didn’t want to leave Rey on her own longer than he had to, even if he was fairly sure she could handle a couple of bounty hunters.
“Chewie’s gonna kill me,” Poe said, and took the Falcon into the air.
At least he’d live a little longer than if those bounty hunters got him and turned him over to the First Order. Judging by their free-shooting attitude, they were getting paid the same for bringing Poe in dead or alive.
He flew lower than he was sure was strictly allowed but hopefully they would be gone before the planetary authority could catch them. As he skimmed over the buildings he could see Rey in the distance, a small figure leaping down off an overhang to catapault into one of the hunters, knocking them flat. She saw him then, and ran up a stairwell to swing up onto a roof. She kept running and Poe got the idea, flying as near as he could, letting her jump over the side to cling to the Falcon.
He gave her a moment, imagining her clinging to the side and using a lifetime of skills earned scavenging to scale the side up to the hatch, and then raised his altitude as he sped up. Poe didn’t want to give anyone a chance to come after them, bounty hunters or planetary authority or whoever else saw an opportunity.
A thump sounded in the distance, presumably the closing of the hatch, and Poe hoped that meant Rey was safely aboard. She appeared behind him moments later, pushing sweaty strands of hair out of her face.
“Get up,” she said.
“Oh, thank you, Poe, thank you for saving my ass,” Poe said, looking at her as he programmed the nav computer for the jump.
Rey rolled her eyes. “Oh, thank you, Rey, for keeping the bounty hunters from shooting my ass.”
They glared at each other, and then Poe’s mouth twitched, and Rey’s stern expression softened. She plopped down into the other chair. “I guess the harm’s already done,” she said.
“And she’s in one piece, isn’t she? Not a scratch? Well, not a new scratch, anyway.”
“Chewie might not complain,” Rey allowed. She sat back, exhaling.
“What’d I say? Best pilot in the Resistance,” Poe said, feeling a little smug, the hum of hyperspace surrounding them. Mostly a successful mission, nobody was hurt… Leia would be pleased, so that pleased Poe.
“You know, people said that before I was here.”
Poe looked sideways at Rey and couldn’t stop his chuckle. “Alright, alright, you’re pretty okay. But let me have my pride, okay? You’ve got the Jedi thing.”
Rey smiled faintly, almost shy, and said, “Maybe I’ll put in a good word to Chewie. Since you didn’t put a scratch on her.”
“Now that,” Poe said, clasping her shoulder, “sounds like a plan.”
End