Aria turned her head to ease the tension in her neck. It popped as she moved it to face the opposite wall. She groaned at the sound and arched her back off the bed to stretch out.
Something heavy laid over her stomach, preventing her from fully stretching. Instead of opening her eyes, she reached her hand towards whatever was blocking her, only to find her fingers tangled in something soft and airy.
At her trapped hand, Aria opened her eyes to see what had both her stomach and hand ensnared. Her eyes opened to slits as she craned her neck to look down at her midsection. Through her tired eyes and against the dark room, Aria only saw a dark head of curly hair rise and fall with her breathing. The head laid on her stomach, with one hand cradling her bare side as her shirt had risen to just below her chest.
"Poe?" Aria morning voice cracked from misuse. Aria used the hand tangled in his hair to shake his sleeping head. "Hey- Poe?" Poe groaned and turned his face into the soft, warm skin of Aria's stomach. His facial hair scratched her, making her simultaneously cringe and curl her toes. "Poe- wake up!" She pulled her fingers through his curls and lightly slapped his head.
This time, he woke up fully and lifted his head from Aria's stomach. He looked first at the tan skin he thought was his pillow, then to his hand as it cradled the soft, toned skin under him. As his eyes trailed up the body, he finally met Aria's tired blue and gold eyes.
Though Aria and Poe were surrounded by darkness, Aria could see the faint pink lines adorned across Poe's cheek from the hem of her shorts.
"Morning?" The pure innocence in Poe's voice startled Aria.
"How... how did you fall asleep like that?" Aria tilted her head on her pillow as she looked from Poe's tired, dropping eyes to her exposed stomach. Much like his face, there were red lines all across her bare stomach from his face pressing into it.
Poe still had his hand wrapped around her side, and carefully he moved his thumb over the exposed bottom rib of her ribcage. The touch was so soft and alluring that Aria closed her eyes and almost fell back asleep.
To stop herself from doing so, she reached down with her free hand and pushed his hand off of her. With the lack of skin-to-skin contact she could think slightly clearer.
"How.. are you?" It was a guarded question, and backed with worry. Poe didn't want to upset her, but he wanted to make sure she was okay.
"I just lost my father." Aria kept her voice the same she would if she were discussing a political topic. "I'm horrible." Her façade broke as she looked over at Poe's bedhead. His curls stuck up adorably and his eyes were still red with sleep. "How are you?" She found herself asking, for no other reason than to get the attention off of her.
Poe took it with a laugh. He leaned up to one elbow and pushed his free hand back through his hair, which just sent more of it up in all directions. "You just lost your father and you're asking how I am?" Poe raised a thick, bushy brow as he looked up at Aria's pink-cheeked face. "I'm horrible." He used her words against her.
Despite everything, she gave a dimpled smile.
She sat up and pulled the blanket up to her chest and tucked it under her chin. As she leaned back against the headboard her hair scrunched up behind her to create a small pillow.
"Poe Dameron... forever the charmer."
Poe kept laying on his elbow as he watched her. Her hair had crimped in her sleep since it was wet the night before. Her eyes were swollen from fallen tears and her lips were raw. It all made her appear ten years younger while the heavy grief in her eyes aged her.
Aria's eyes focused on her blanket as she thought back to the previous night- she didn't dare think about what happened before she landed on D'Qar, instead she thought of her shower, and how caring Poe had been to her.
"I'm sorry." She apologized. She didn't want to, but she met Poe's eyes. In them, she saw his clear confusion. "For last night."
"Aria," Poe sat up at the foot of the bed. He still leaned on his hand, but he sat up to match her height. "You should never have to apologize for that." He told her softly. "You just experienced a great loss, whatever you do to grieve, never apologize for it." He looked between her tired eyes to make sure she understood.
Aria gulped and nodded as she tried to process his words. She knew they were important, she just couldn't quite comprehend them at the moment.
No, she couldn't comprehend anything when Poe was looking at her like that.
She knew she shouldn't be thinking about Poe at all when she was dealing with so many other things, but then again... she never had someone who did all that he did for her. And she never had anyone who looked so cute when they just woke up.
"What happened yesterday... it changed things." Aria explained as she pulled the blanket closer to her. "I'm not talking about me and you and the shower-" Aria shook her head as she tried to think past that. "My... my brother killed my father. Right in front of me." The words burned her throat and left a bitter tang in her mouth, but the reality of them hit her. They had to hit her. She had to understand what exactly happened.
Poe leaned forward and grabbed Aria's ankle through the blanket. It wasn't much, but he wanted her to know that he was there for her.
"There are some things I have to do." Aria avoided his eyes as she worked through it in her head. As she said it, she realized what the first thing was.
As she did, she threw her blanket off of her and stood up from her bed.
Poe watched her silently as she moved into her closet. He heard hangars move and several soft things thumping to the floor.
When Aria emerged from the closet she was dressed in her normal attire: black pants and a light gray shirt that fell off of one nude shoulder.
Aria's eyes barely flitted over Poe as she leaned down to tie her shoes. They were still wet from the previous night, but Aria didn't care. She had bigger things to worry about now.
"You aren't going to like it," Aria warned Poe as she finished her laces. She stood back up and turned to him. He still sat shirtless on her bed wearing her sweats. His curls stuck up in the cutest way possible and his eyes were soft as they looked her over. "But it has to get done." She tucked her hair behind her ears, and only then did she realize how atrocious it was. "You'll try to stop me, but I'm telling you now... you won't succeed." She shook her head slowly as she took a step back to her door.
"Aria..." Poe kicked the blankets off his feet to try and stand, but it was no use. Her sheets wrapped around him like they committed several sins. "I don't-"
"I know." She cut him off as she took another step to the door. She was just by it now, and she reached a hand up to press the button to open it. "That's alright, because I understand... everything." She looked up at the ceiling to dry the tears in her eyes. "I understand that my brother killed my father right in front of me. I understand that he wants me by his side..." When the threat of crying passed, she looked back down to meet Poe's worried eyes. "What I don't understand is why, and that is what I intend to find out. Today."
She opened the door and stepped through it. She turned her back to Poe, and left him without so much as an explanation of where she was going.
"Aria!" Poe had to untangle his legs from Aria's sheets, then he desperately looked around for his shirt as Aria fled further away from him.
The door had long closed by the time he found it and pulled it over his head. Then he had to slip his shoes on before he could leave her room looking even semi-decent. He still had her sweats on, but they were big enough that he could try and say they were his own.
He wouldn't have been in such a rush to go after her, but there was something about her that felt different, more determined than usual.
"Aria!" Poe ran down the winding corridors looking for the distressed Solo. He didn't know where she was going, or even what her plan was. He had nothing to go on, and each corner he turned without seeing her only made him more worried. "Damnit, Aria!"
"Poe!" Poe jumped around to see Leia at the end of the hall looking at him like he had just grown a second head. "What in the heavens are you yelling for?" Leia looked Poe over, from his sweats and unruly hair, to the tone of voice as he screamed for Aria, it was all unsettling to her.
"Aria... she said she had to do something that I wouldn't like but-" Poe took several large steps towards Leia as he explained. "- but it had to be done." Poe shook his head as he tried to make sense of it all. "She didn't tell me where she was going- or what she had to do."
Leia's face paled as she realized what Aria meant. "Follow me." She turned and walked briskly away from him.
Poe had to sprint to catch up to her, and when he did he found them heading towards the detention cells. "Why here?" He asked as he looked at each closed door. There were no windows on the doors- nothing to let him see inside each cell.
"Remember the person Aria captured on Yavin 4?" Leia didn't wait for Poe's confirmation. "He told her that Kylo Ren wanted her by his side. She never understood why. After everything... I expect she wants some answers."
"She... she'll get killed!" Poe picked up the pace, but he didn't know which cell he was going to, and he overshot it as Leia stopped in front of cell 2144. Poe had to turn around and back track to stand next to Leia. "Well?"
"It's been opened." Leia looked down at the control panel. "Someone is in there right now with Xav."
"So open the door-" Poe didn't wait for Leia. He pressed the button to unlock the door. He moved in front of Leia as it opened, and through it he saw Aria with her fists clenching Xav's shirt. She had him slammed against a wall as she stood nose-to-nose. "Aria!" Poe took one step into the cell, but that was all he could do.
Aria's head snapped over to look at him, and with malice in her eyes, she lifted a hand and Poe was flung back into the hall just had enough to knock him off his feet. As he hit the wall, the door zipped closed in front of him.
"No, no, no, no-" Poe stumbled to his feet and tried to open the doors, but none of the buttons worked. "Do something!" Poe turned to Leia desperately.
"I fear there is nothing I can do now." Leia shook her head regretfully. "The door will only open when Aria allows it."
"No, that can't be-" Poe slammed his hands against the door. He tried to pry his fingers between the frame and the edge of the door, but to no avail. "ARIA!" He screamed for her, hoping she would hear his pleas and open the door.
Inside the cell, Aria had Xav pinned against the wall. Her hands wrapped around the filthy coat he wore to their base. "Now... I want you to tell me the truth, and if I hear one lie pass by your lips I will show you no mercy." Aria's eyes flicked between his muddied ones. "Do you understand me?"
Xav's tongue poked out to massage his bottom lip slowly. Aria's top lip twitched as her gaze lowered to watch the horrific action.
"It's seems I'm in a place of negotiation." Xav chuckled as he lifted his bound hands.
"Negotiation?" Aria spat as she tightened her hold on his coat. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"
Xav continued to laugh, even as Aria's knuckles dug into his chest, he kept up the charade. "You want information from me. I want asylum. If we were to come to an... arrangement-"
Aria pulled him away from the wall and slammed him back into it. He flinched as he let out a low groan. "The arrangement is I'll leave you in one piece." Her words were clipped as they pressed between her teeth. "If you make things more difficult than they need to be, you'll be putting yourself back together until the day you die."
"Ha!" Xav let his head fall back as he laughed. Aria narrowed her eyes as she watched him. "You're all talk, Solo! All- talk!" The name enraged her. The power swelled up inside of her and leaked from every pore.
Aria stepped away from Xav, and swung her fists around with Xav still attached. She let go of him, and he flung into the wall across the small cell.
The entire room vibrated around them on impact. Aria could feel in under her feet, her pure power shook the room- the entire cell block.
Xav let out a grunt as he fell to the cold floor, but he barely had time to heal before Aria's boot rammed up and met his chin.
He flew back and landed hard on his back. All breath left him, and as he opened his eyes he saw several large black dots in his vision.
Aria stepped over him and grabbed his collar to pull him up. She bent over and gave a sickly smirk. The sight of blood pooling from a split in his lip gave her life. His pain was her victory.
"I don't give a shit what you think about me, Xav. The fact of the matter is I can do whatever the hell I want to do to you and no one will come save you." Aria's eyes darkened with pure hatred as she looked over the ex- Storm Trooper. "Now, you told me back on Yavin 4 that Kylo Ren wants me. Why?" She pulled him up roughly and slammed him into the wall she just threw him into.
The sudden movement made Xav dizzy, and for a split second he saw two, menacing versions of Aria.
"He- he wants you by his side."
"WHY!?" Spit flew from Aria's mouth and sprayed across Xav's face. He flinched away from it and closed his eyes.
"He said he sees a greatness in you." With his eyes still closed, he didn't notice the stiffness that paralyzed Aria. "Power. He senses your power. He says you would be a great Sith Lord."
Aria's fists unclenched, and Xav slid down the wall until he huddled by her feet.
She stumbled back at the new revelation. Kylo Ren- her brother- wanted her because he thinks she would make a great Sith. He wanted to turn her evil.
"You're lying." Aria spat, but she knew it was true. As soon as the words left his mouth she knew he was right.
"I'm not." Xav looked up at her. "He wants you by his side, brother and sister ruling the galaxy as Sith Lords. You'd be unstoppable."
"ENOUGH!" Her voice echoed through the room, and came back to her with such force it caused a ringing in her ears.
She let out a breath as she shook her head. She knew nothing good came from the force, now she was even more sure of her choices. Kylo Ren wanted to use her power, her anger. He wanted to exploit it- not because he loved her and missed her- but because she could be powerful.
"I'll never join him." Aria told Xav, though he had no say or want on the matter. "Never." Aria spat as she turned her back to him and opened the door.
On the other side of it was Poe, Leia, a random tech, and C-3PO.
"Aria-" Poe reached out and pulled Aria from the cell. He looked her over, but found her completely unharmed. "What happened? What did you learn?" He asked.
Aria wasn't feeling very telling. She still didn't know what to make of any of it. Instead of telling him that, she just shook her head. "Nothing." She lied as she stepped passed them all in the thin hallway.
Poe turned to watch her once again leave him. "Where are you going?" He asked just as she was about to turn the corner.
"To think." Her answer was vague and didn't make Poe feel any better.
But she was gone, and there was nothing Poe could do about it then.
He looked back into the cell to find Xav on the floor with a thick stream of blood dripping from his chin.
He turned towards the door and gave them a blood smile. "She is just like her brother. She is ruled by anger. She always will be." He gave a chuckle as he clutched onto his side. "She will make a powerful Sith Lord. And when she does... you will all die by the wrath of Ariavanna Solo!" His laughter grew until it echoed through the hallway.
"Oh, shut up!" Leia closed the door to his cell and locked it. As it closed, his laughter cut off and turned into barely a rumble they could have misinterpreted as an electric hum. "He's wrong." Leia looked up to Poe's stone-cold face. "Aria will never turn to the dark side."
Poe didn't need her to tell him. He knew it. The girl who told him just last night she wasn't done loving her dad could never turn Sith. She could never do what Kylo Ren did. Not after everything she's been through.
"I'm worried for her." Poe admitted to his General.
Leia nodded and excused the Officer who tried to help them unlock the door. As he left, so did C-3PO.
"You have a strong connection with her." Leia laced her hand through Poe's arm as they slowly walked back to the main part of the base. "You will be a prominent force pulling her towards the light."
"Why?" Poe couldn't help but ask. He had only known Aria for a few months. He felt like there were more important people in her life aside from him.
Leia chuckled at his lack of faith in himself and his affect on the people around him. "I have known Aria her whole life. I have seen all sides of her..." Leia turned them to head back to her office. "But I have never seen the way she acts around you." Leia paused and turned in the hall to look up at Poe's curious eyes. "You breathe a life into her that she has never seen or experienced before." Leia nodded at her certainty of it- of him and Aria. "I don't care what you people call it- love, kinship, squad mates- whatever it is, it's working." Leia patted his arm before she pulled away from him. "Do not stop, Poe. She needs you now more than she's ever needed anything in her life." Poe nodded slowly at Leia.
With that, she walked away to let him ponder everything she had just told him.
Poe walked into the combat room to see Aria in the corner with the punching bag. He closed in on her but didn't alert her of his presence just yet. He wanted to watch her a bit longer.
And she didn't disappoint.
Aria sent two cuts into the punching bag then as it swayed back she turned on her heel and brought her other leg up. Instead of sending her leg into the bag, she jumped in the air and used the leg she first kicked to swing her around. Her second heel came up and perfectly hit the bag as it swayed back to her. She stumbled as she landed back on her feet. She watched as the force of her blow almost knocked the bag off its hook in the ceiling.
"Do you feel better after hitting that bag a few times?" Poe asked as he walked a few steps closer to her. He was close enough to hear her heavy breathing, but not within striking distance if he scared her.
Aria turned with flushed cheeks and sweat trailing down her neck and onto her chest. She huffed out as she raised her arm to use her forearm to wipe sweat from her forehead. The single motion caused her bangs to slick back awkwardly.
"Better than doing nothing." Her tone was clipped as she turned back to her punching bag.
It was still swaying and she had to grab onto it to steady it. She blew up to try to get a single strand of hair to stop tickling her nose before she staggered her stance to begin again.
Poe walked even closer to her as she started to punch the bag. With her back to him he could see the strain of her muscles with each punch through the ribbed tank top she wore. Her shoulders shook under her own force and her arms bulged exceptionally as they swung forward.
Despite her concentration and the sheer anger behind each swing, Poe walked up to her side.
As Aria saw him approach, her swings slowed down to she didn't accidentally hurt him. She was angry, but she was still careful.
What she didn't expect was for Poe to reach out and grab onto her thin, wrapped wrist. She kept her fists up, but she stopped attacking the bag. Poe grabbed the end of her fist wrap and started to untwist it. "Poe-" Aria tried to pull away but Poe didn't let her. Her eyes zipped between the protective wrap and Poe's face. "It takes a long time for me to wrap them." She pouted as he continued to disrobe her fist.
When he finished the first one he dropped the wrap carelessly and picked up her other fist. Aria's chest heaved heavily as she tried to regain her breath. She watched as he carefully worked on unwrapping her second fist. His touch was light as air, he held her wrist carefully, so if she were to twist it he wouldn't hurt her. His every move was soft, and that was something that Aria was just now picking up on.
As the second grip fell to the ground, Poe held her hand up in his delicately and snaked his other arm around her waist.
He pulled her close to him and laid his palm flat on the small of her back. "Put your hand on my shoulder." He instructed her.
"What?" Her eyebrows furrowed, but nonetheless she listened to him and placed her free hand on his shoulder. As she did, he took off, spinning the two of them away from the punching bag and towards the middle of the room. "What are you doing?" She asked as she moved her feet to keep up with him.
"Dancing." He told her like it was the simplest answer in the galaxy. She looked up at his brown eyes to see them sparkling with all the stars in the universe. His hand pressed into her back as he held her flush against him, but it wasn't too heavy. It wasn't keeping her against him, it was there just in case she fell away from him.
"Why?"
"When my mom had a really hard day, my dad would take her hand and pull her away from whatever was making her angry." He switched directions and began to spin her the other way. Wind from the quick movement brushed through Aria's hair and cooled the sweat on the back of her neck. "By the end of the dance he would always ask her if she felt better, and I could tell just by her smile that it worked." Poe grabbed onto Aria's wrist and lifted her into the air as he spun. When he finished he carefully set her back down and resumed his previous position.
"I don't know how to dance, Poe." She told him as she stumbled over her own feet. If not for his hand on her back she would have fallen.
"Do you trust me?" He asked as he added a bit of weight to his grip on her.
Aria looked up from her feet then to meet his sparkling eyes. Without even thinking, she gave a nod. "Of course."
"Then trust me to lead you." The words didn't make sense to Aria, but neither did the world of dancing. So... she did as he said. She let him lead.
Aria was like puddy in Poe's hands, and with a gentle grip he molded her, piece by piece.
In the silence, the two cascaded around the entire room. There was not a spare inch of the space that they did not sweep over.
"There's no music." Aria told Poe the second round around the room. She held onto him lightly as she let his feet act as her guide. She didn't think, she didn't react, she just did as he did. She danced.
"Since when have you ever been one to follow rules?" Poe's mouth slanted up to one side as he looked down at her.
Aria returned his sloppy smile with one of her own. It was tired and strained and maybe even a bit crooked, but it was still beautiful to him.
The second time Poe grabbed onto Aria's waist to lift her, she let her head fall back and closed her eyes as she enjoyed the feeling of being momentarily weightless.
As her feet touched the ground she stepped closer to Poe and kept her eyes closed as he guided her around the room. She focused on his hand in hers and on the small of her back. She could even feel his pinky touching her skin as her shirt began to raise.
Poe pressed his hand harder into her back as he quickly spun them around. The movement was so fast Aria's feet barely skimmed the ground. With her eyes closed he had free range to admire her, and he did just that. The flush of her cheeks breathed a life into her he hadn't seen in her in a while, and the wind through her bangs made them flutter against her eyelashes. Her lips were parted just enough for him to her two front teeth start to dig into her lower lip.
He couldn't help himself, the next time he turned them, he dipped her. Her head fell back and exposed the smooth skin along her jawline. The fresh sheen of sweat glistened on her neck and chest like diamonds under a microscope.
He took his time lifting her up, and as he did he held her hand against his chest and lowered his head so his nose nudged hers.
Aria's eyes fluttered open to stare into his. She was so close she could see her reflection in his dark irises, and through his eyes she fell in love with herself.
"Do you feel better?" His hot breath fanned across her mouth. Goosebumps rose across her chest and crept up her neck.
"Much." Her voice quivered. She let a breath out through her mouth as he leaned down again to tap her nose with his. As he did, his eyes lowered to her parted lips. They looked so appetizing he craved their taste.
Though they stopped dancing, neither pulled away. Poe cradled Aria against his chest as she grew comfortable in his arms.
She looked down at their entwined hands. Two hard, callused hands came together and somehow looked so perfect for one another it startled Aria to believe that her hand wasn't made to hold his.
With her eyes on their clasped hands, she slowly poked her tongue out to wet her bottom lip. As it massaged the soft tissue, Poe watched it like it was his favorite show. His hand pushed into her back as he had the sudden urge to capture her mouth with his. Never has his desire been so strong before, but with her in his arms and the sight of her wet, plump lips just within reach, he almost couldn't control himself.
"Xav told me my brother wants to use me to help take over the galaxy." Aria wasn't sure what caused the words to leave her mouth, but she guessed she had to trust Poe an awful lot to make such a drastic decision.
Poe lifted his gaze to her falling bangs. He lifted his hand from her back and gently ran his fingers through them until they fell back into place.
"Your brother will never get what he wants." Poe kept his eyes on her hair until it was perfect, then he looked back down to her eyes. "You will never turn to the dark side."
"How can you be so sure?" The vulnerability was thick in her voice, and her eyes flicked all around Poe's face to try and pinpoint his confidence in her.
"Because I know you, Aria. Despite your arrogance and thickhead, you are just and loyal." He slowly trailed his knuckles down the side of her face, over her jaw, and hooked them around the back of her neck until he was cradling her head. "You would never do anything to hurt the people you love."
That word made Aria perk up.
Love.
Who did she have left to love?
Leia. Luke. Chewie.
"I wanted to hurt my brother." Aria's chin wobbled as she leaned into Poe's touch. She thought if he held her she could never fall. "I wanted to hurt him so much-" A tear fell from her eye without warning and splashed on Poe's wrist.
Poe used his hand on her face to pull her towards him, then he tangled his fingers in her hair as he hugged her. "It's okay." He cooed her as she clung to him. "It's okay to be angry and to hurt." He closed his eyes as he nuzzled his head into the crook of her neck.
Aria's arms wrapped under his armpits and hands clamped onto his shoulders as she used him to keep herself up. "All I feel is hurt." Her voice quivered with her grief. "I don't want to hurt."
"I know." He smoothed her hair down as he slowly untangled his fingers from her hair. "But you're going to hurt for a bit longer." He told her. She let out a loud sob as her body rocked forward into Poe. He tightened his hold on her to try and stop her from shaking. "I'm so sorry." He whispered into her ear. "I am so sorry."