She honestly didn't know how she kept it up before. Staying up late was the name of the game while in school. It was the only way to go out and still pass her classes with flying colors. Then again where she was now was nothing like her time on Naboo despite the constant attacks from Imperial sympathizers. Far away from the local politics, missions were more about reconnaissance than physical battles. If a fight happened, the mission hadn't gone to plan. No formal declaration of war had been announced but they were certainly at it even if right now it was more of a battle of wits.
Kat let out a shaky breath. Exhaustion seeped all the way to her bones. She didn't really have to be here; her squadron was doing a routine patrol. She wanted, no needed, to prove that she rightfully deserved her rank as a colonel.
The whispers were that she only received the rank because of her ties to the general. At age ten, Kat lost her parents, and the family that took her in happened to be Leia Organa and Han Solo. The former just so happened to be the General of the Resistance which caused people to talk when she showed up to D'Qar and became Colonel within two weeks of her arrival. She shouldn't let the whispers bother her but they had been following her ever since she got back from university. Kat had a lot to unpack while studying and with no adult supervision around, old habits returned.
After the Organa-Solo family took her in, Kat struggled to settle into her new life so she often acted recklessly and acted out. On Naboo, she no longer had anyone constantly reminding her that there were better ways to act, reacting and behaving how she wanted while working through the utter betrayal she felt towards Ben Solo when he turned to the Dark Side and joined the First Order as Kylo Ren. Kat gained the reputation of a party princess, choosing to drown her sorrows in drinks, dance, and men. Sometimes it would even be all three. Most of the people in her life disappointed or left her. So she would leave those she slept with before she could get hurt, especially after her boyfriend cheated on her.
She did study though, through all of the partying and fighting. Despite all her hurt and anger, she still wanted to help people and make sure the First Order didn't take over like the Empire did. So she pushed through those four years, finally finding that balance between reckless and focused by the time she graduated.
The damage to her reputation had already been done, though. When she returned home, she walked the halls of the capitol building to Leia's office, the woman she could never call mother but was her mother all the same. Whispers were there too. Having been chief of staff for Leia before she left to study, foregoing the traditional route of schooling, those who knew her family couldn't believe that walking before them was the girl who had so much promise. They now only saw her as the wild child, figuring that the only reason why she was back in the building was that she had been kicked out of school.
She was met with an empty office, cleared of all personal possessions. Her best friend, Darby, had come in and was the one to tell her what Leia had been up to while she was away. With that new knowledge, it was a no brainer. Now it was all about how to reach out to Leia and how to get to the Resistance base.
When she joined the Resistance on D'Qar, the whispers returned. She only got her position because she's the general's daughter. She's going to ruin this whole thing. She should have stayed home. Are we that desperate for recruits? No way she's as good as the general claims.
So that's why she was here during a routine patrol instead of asleep in her bunk, her arms shaking slightly as they worked to hold her up. She watched each of the blimps on the screen as the four X-Wings flew the course they had planned out for this particular trip.
She commanded the entire Navy. She knew how to fly, did it fairly well if she did say so herself, but most of the time her feet were on the ground acting as the all-seeing eye for her team even if there was Ground Control. It made it easier for her to help when things didn't go as planned. That's where her reckless behavior came in, following impulses and instincts more than mapped out plans. It was why Leia had named her a colonel. Kat was good at seeing the big picture and being able to put in those fine details that would make it all work. Not to mention Leia trusted Kat's leadership and knew her adopted daughter would make sure a mission was done with as little casualties as possible.
Seeing that her team had reached their destination with no trouble, a small smile graced her lips despite none of them being able to see it. "Alright boys, come on back home. Your bunks are calling your names."
A few cheers were heard back, happy to be given some time to sleep. She had gained some trust from members of the team that called themselves Black Squadron which was perfectly fine with her. She just wished all of them did even if she thought the commander, one Poe Dameron, was completely full of himself and far more reckless than she ever was. She chuckled lightly at the cheers, finally losing her own personal battle to stand for any longer.
Slowly easing her way down to the floor, Kat rested her back on the small command center. If anything popped up on their way home, the beeping and vibrations would wake her up. She just needed to rest her eyes for a while.
A light touch on her head woke her up. She startled, banging her head against the command center as she looked up to see who it was that woke her. Leia smiled down at Kat, silent laughter sparkling in her eyes. "They're almost back. Figured you didn't want Commander Dameron to see you asleep at the wheel."
Kat groaned, rubbing the spot on her head. "Thanks, Leia." She stood, appreciative of the older woman's hindsight. Leia simply gave her a smile before continuing on her rounds.
After Kat had arrived on D'Qar, she had slept for a week. The little amount of sleep from her time in school catching up to her. She came out of her quarters every now and then during that first week but only going to wherever Leia was. The following week she trained, passing everything with flying colors. The next week she was named Colonel of the Resistance Navy.
No one was truly happy about it but especially Poe. How could she have earned such a title when all she did the first two weeks since joining was sleep and train? She hadn't been in any sort of combat, or so he and a lot of others thought. All he knew was that she had worked under Leia when she was a senator and of her party princess reputation.
Kat had let it go, working to earn the trust of each of her squadrons but she and Poe seemed to be destined to hate each other from the start. When they were first introduced he had called her by the name the gossip reels were calling her and then after she was announced as Colonel, she never seemed to be doing something right or needed to lighten up when all he seemed to do was go against every order she ever gave.
Soon they both began to complain to Leia about the other, airing frustrations and questioning everything surrounding the other. Leia just told them both that they needed to learn to trust each other and sent them on their way.
Kat rubbed the sleep from her eyes and soon enough the four pilots from the Black Squadron returned. Each of them patted her on the shoulder as they passed, a silent thank you as they headed to their beds. All of them except Poe, of course.
He gave her a curt nod instead as he walked past. She let out a small sigh of relief before turning to head to her own quarters to get some rest.
✧☆✧
It wouldn't be long before Kat returned to Leia's office to vent about Poe's latest poor choice. This time he had recruited a young pilot from the New Republic Defense Fleet. Poe had been assigned to pick up the intel the New Republic was sending their way a couple of weeks after she rested her eyes during the routine patrol. Kat knew that they were stretched thin with their intelligence officers but that didn't mean Poe was meant to pick up any strays along the way.
"He recruited a kid who's barely gotten his feet wet and he expects him to be able to spy for us? What was he thinking?" Kat paced the length of Leia's quarters.
"You need to trust his instincts. He's one of the top commanders you have." Leia said, not even looking up from what she was working on. This wasn't the first time Kat came in to complain about Poe and it wouldn't be the last either, she was sure of it.
The younger woman groaned as she plopped down on one of the stools. "So you keep telling me."
Leia just smirked, continuing to work. She knew Kat would either offer up her assistance or go back out to base.
Before Kat could decide which option she would take, the door opened, and in walked the man she was just venting about. Poe let out a sigh when he saw that Kat was also in the room with the general. "Of course, you're in here." He mumbled under his breath as he approached the two women.
Kat sat up a little straighter and looked to Poe expectantly with some judgment lying underneath her blue eyes. She really wasn't happy with how this whole Kaz situation happened.
"No one is going to join if you're going to keep judging new recruits like that, princess," Poe said.
She rolled her eyes at the name. She knew he used it to just get under her skin. It worked more times than not. "Good thing you're not a new recruit then, huh? I mean honestly, what were you thinking? This is a big operation that we can't afford to lose because you thought a new recruit would be best to spy on the First Order."
Poe looked to Leia and motioned towards Kat with a 'see what I have to deal with?' expression. Leia sighed. "I trust your instincts, Poe but she's also right. This is a big operation."
"I've set him up with my contact there and he has good instincts. He was already settling in when I left." He left out how the kid was doing just that, not wanting to anger Kat further. He knew well enough to not push her buttons too far or it would spell disaster for him.
Leia looked at Kat with a silent question of 'does that satisfy you?'
Letting out a sigh, Kat nodded. "Just keep me updated and if he gets in too deep where you think he can't manage it anymore, I'm pulling him and sending in someone else." With that, she stood.
Poe easily stepped in her way. He wanted to bask a little more on the fact that she had agreed with him. Kat sighed and went to go the other way but he stepped in front of her once more blocking her path, a small smirk on his face. She practically growled in her frustration. "You are such a child!"
He couldn't help chuckling as he finally stepped aside to let her through. He watched as she walked away, trying to push aside his physical attraction to her. He may not like her but he had always thought she was beautiful.
Leia cleared her throat once the doors were closed causing Poe to turn and face her. "You know you're playing with fire, don't you?" She asked him.
"I think I'll be able to handle it."
She chuckled, shaking her head as she turned back to her work. Poe knew a dismissal when he saw one.
Kat was waiting just outside of Leia's quarters, ready to let into him. He couldn't help the surprised look that crossed his features at seeing her, having figured she had stormed off when she left.
She stepped into his personal space, their heights being so similar no one towered over the other. It just meant that he could clearly see how her blue eyes looked like stormy seas due to her anger. "The minute you hear an update from your new recruit, I want to hear about it. I don't care where I am or what I'm doing. Got it?" She jabbed her finger into his shoulder at the words she emphasized to make sure he listened to her.
He leaned forward, a smirk on his face as the tension grew between them. For a brief second, it crossed both their minds that a kiss would be able to wipe the expressions they wanted to get rid of on the other's face. "I hear you loud and clear, colonel." He gave her a small salute before walking away.
And boy did he listen to her. There was even one point in which he stood outside her shower stall and started to relay the information. She ripped back the curtain, making sure her body was still covered by it as she glared in his direction. "I'm not used to you taking directions so literally, commander."
That infuriating smirk graced his features. "You told me you didn't care where colonel."
"Then clearly you don't have the common sense to think that maybe telling me updates while I'm in the shower isn't such a good idea."
Poe raised his hands in the air, trying to act completely innocent. "Then maybe you should clarify your orders."
She narrowed her eyes towards him. Really if looks could kill, Poe would have been a dead man a long time ago but this was definitely one of those times as well. "The minute you get an update, I want to know as long as I'm not in the shower, the fresher, or in a meeting." There had been one time he had come interrupting a meeting, talking about how he had just faced monkeys with the kid at his latest in-person check-in.
"You got it. By the way, General Organa wants you to come along when she and I go meet with him next week."
"That can be arranged. Thank you, commander. Now if you'll let me shower in peace."
He motioned for her to continue, a smirk returning to his lips. She heard him laughing after she groaned in frustration, the door soon closing after.
✧☆✧
"I cannot stand -"
"Poe Dameron," Leia said in sync with Kat who had just walked into her quarters, hair still soaked in a bun on top of her head.
Kat let out a sigh as she moved to sit in front of the older woman on her bed. "Well, it's true."
Leia chuckled as gentle fingers pulled the band keeping Kat's hair up. She grabbed a brush off the bedside table and started to work out any tangles in the younger woman's hair. "What did he do this time?" She asked as she started to braid Kat's hair.
"He came in while I was showering to give me an update on Kaz."
The older woman just shook her head. These two clearly just needed to be thrown into a room together to work things out. They were able to push each other's buttons far too easily. "You know you let him bother you too easily."
"He's always there no matter where I go it feels like. You didn't exactly teach me to avoid things."
"So he likes to be around you?"
"I really don't know if you can call it that. You would think he would be pleasant if that was the case."
"Are you pleasant?"
Kat rolled her eyes. "When have you ever known me to be pleasant?"
Leia chuckled as she tied off the braid. Ever since she took Kat in, the two had butted heads more often than not. It really wasn't until Kat went to Naboo that they found more common ground, surprisingly. She knew her daughter needed to figure things out on her own after Ben left. She didn't approve of how she did some things but with what she experienced, Leia could only offer comfort and support where she could. The first week Kat had arrived on D'Qar, the two reconnected and built a stronger relationship than what they originally had. "Whenever you don't hide that big heart of yours."
She spun back around to face Leia. "You know I can't do that."
With one hand, Leia took the young woman's hands while she reached up to caress Kat's cheek. "Not everyone is going to leave or betray you. I'm still here, am I not? And I'm sure Han would come running if you were to send a message his way."
A soft smile pulled at Kat's lips making Leia smile in return. "You don't have to be strictly business to get people to forget your past. You are good at what you do and they can see that the minute you step behind your command center."
Kat let out a slight laugh. "You're supposed to say that. You raised me."
"I may have raised you but I wouldn't have put you in the position you're in if you couldn't perform. Those four years don't define you. We all had to deal with our loss in our own way. I'm just glad you decided to join me."
Squeezing Leia's hand, Kat let a genuine smile surface. "What? Like I could ever leave you alone. You wouldn't know what to do without me." She teased.
Leia laughed, pulling Kat in close. "There's my girl." She placed a kiss to Kat's hair. "The whole Resistance would be wrapped around your little finger if you showed her off more often."
Kat easily went into the embrace, wrapping her arms around Leia's middle and resting her head on Leia's shoulder. "I'll try, Leia but I'm not making any promises."
"That's all I ask. You're making them wait longer than I had to. Then again they aren't seeing the little hellion you can be." They both laughed before a comfortable silence fell over the pair. They stayed like that for a while, just holding each other. They didn't get many moments like this. Someone usually needed Leia or sometimes even her for something.
"I miss them," Kat whispered, trying her best to hold back her tears. Them was all-encompassing of all she had lost. Them meant her parents who she lost at the tender age of ten where she could just grasp what was happening around her and make sense of it. Them meant Ben who left for the First Order, the people who took her parents away from her. Them meant Han, the other father figure she had known growing up who had decided to fall back on old habits and run instead of facing down what was right in front of his face. Them meant Luke, who went into exile after failing Ben and the others training to be Jedis who she, Leia, and the rest of the Resistance were looking for.
Leia knew all of this and while she never knew the girl's parents, she knew how much their loss had affected the girl in her arms. She held Kat tighter as if doing so would take all the pain away. "I know, darling. I do too."
Kat couldn't hold her tears back anymore as she began crying on Leia's shoulder. Leia just sat there, rubbing soothing circles on Kat's back, letting her daughter cry. The two women never said the words mom and daughter out loud when referencing each other but that's who they became to each other. "You're staying with me tonight," Leia said as Kat began to calm down.
Shaking her head, Kat pulled back. "I can't do that. They already think I get special privileges because we're related."
"I don't care. You're staying here so you don't close yourself off to the world just yet."
"Fine." Kat sighed, climbing into her usual side of the bed. She snuggled down into the blankets, getting comfortable. Once she was settled, she opened her eyes to see Leia looking at her. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she reached across and took Leia's hand in hers. "We're gonna make it through this, aren't we?"
Leia gave Kat's hand a squeeze. "Always. Good night, sweetheart."
"Good night, Leia."
✧☆✧
AN: Thank you all for reading my first Star Wars fic! This idea would just not leave me alone so here it is. I will try to update on a regularish schedule since I have a good few chapters already written. I hope you liked it and I look forward to hearing what you think!
Edits made 10/26 for grammar and small additions to flesh out the story more.
This story and these characters have taken over my life lately and so I went through and spruced up the chapters I've already posted while continuing to write. I've gotten nearly 30 chapters written and I'm not done yet so sit back and enjoy. Happy reading!