AN: It's the chapter you've all been waiting for! Thank you all for the love that you've shown this story. It is truly appreciated. Happy reading!
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This time Kat wasn't alone when she flew off Ajan Kloss. Poe sat beside her in the co-pilot seat of the light freighter she had taken from Chandrila. They had fought about that. Despite them heading towards Yavin IV and having a small crew in the main hub of the ship, Kat claimed the ship as hers so, therefore, was to be the pilot.
Even though she had a clean bill of health, Poe wanted to be the one to do all the heavy lifting. She wasn't going to let that happen. While she had been grounded he had been the one to go meet with Ruby and Maz. He even brought the latter woman back to Ajan Kloss with him. Now that she was cleared, she was ready to get back in the action.
With the help of his father and a few other retired Rebels, they were able to find some more ships to build up the Resistance fleet and Kes had even said that some people were wanting to join. The old base had even been cleaned up for the small crew Kat and Poe were bringing along. Their return to Ajan Kloss would be drawn out, not wanting to bring any attention to themselves. They would go back in pairs, hoping that with however many people were joining them from Yavin that they would still be able to do just that, with Kat and Poe going back last.
Kat certainly wasn't expecting a welcoming committee when they landed but it seemed like Poe had. Chuckling, he shook his head as he helped with shutting everything down. "Oh, dad." He muttered as he stood. The older man stood at the front of the group, grinning, as he waved.
"C'mon, I guarantee you there's a whole buffet waiting for us." He held out his hand for her to take like it was natural. And really it started to be.
They hadn't talked yet, well not about what had been brewing between them since they got back from Coruscant, but in those three weeks Kat was grounded, a pool had started unbeknownst to them because of how together they acted. All of their friends were in on it, some having to keep changing their bet because nothing was happening between the two. Rose and Snap seemed to be the only ones who held steady with their original bet. Knowing what she knew about the last mission the two had gone on, Rose had bet something would happen this time. She was so sure she even started talking a little trash as the light freighter took off. Snap however seemed certain that nothing was going to happen until after the war was over.
Raising an eyebrow, Kat silently questioned him. They weren't alone and they were about to greet his father. Instead, he just gave her an expectant look and pushed his hand forward. Kat sighed, taking it and he helped her up. "So stubborn." He muttered as they made their way to the main hub.
"Look who's talking." She replied which just earned her his signature grin.
Just before they entered the hub, Poe squeezed her hand before letting go. The small crew already filed out with Poe and Kat bringing up the rear. Kes Dameron parted the sea of people and headed straight for his son. Both men grinned from ear to ear as they held each other tight with plenty of hearty back slaps.
Kat smiled at the scene, letting them have their moment as she began to push her crew members to introduce themselves to the ones who were waiting to greet them, thank them even for their help. It seemed like both sides had been waiting for instructions from their respective leaders or maybe they were too caught up in the father and son reunion.
Poe noticed how she herded their group before introducing herself to who he assumed was acting second in command since from how Kes put it, he had been leading the whole clean up effort. Chuckling, he pulled away from his dad and Kes immediately turned to find exactly what his son was looking at. "Entonces esa es la mujer que te ha robado el corazón." Kes phrased his question more like a statement.
"Papá," Poe rolled his eyes at his father who thought he was being sly by using their first language to call Kat the woman who had stolen his heart.
"I can see why," Kes smirked, switching back to basic.
"Would you like to go meet her?" Not even five minutes in and he was already over his father's antics and the older man hadn't even done all that much.
Kes just smiled. "I thought you'd never ask."
Both Dameron men made their way over to where Kat stood talking over the semantics of how the week was going to work. Poe did his best not to roll his eyes, the woman never stopped working. When they both arrived, Kes' second in command excused themselves and soon Kat was wrapped up into a Kes Dameron hug. She eventually returned it after her shock wore off, all the while Poe gave her an apologetic look, mouthing sorry to her.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Kat. I've heard a lot about you." Kes said as he pulled back.
Kat did her best not to grimace. "What's your source?"
"My son, of course." Kes chuckled.
Hearing that, Kat lightened up a bit. "I'm not so sure that's a good thing either." She joked.
That made Kes laugh as he ushered her towards the temple they had set up dinner. "Oh, I think I'm going to like you."
Poe couldn't help the grin as he followed behind them.
There was a long table set up in the middle of the floor, food piled along the middle. It was enough to feed an entire army and they maybe had a quarter of one. Kat honestly couldn't remember the last time she had eaten like this. Even with taking only what she knew, her plate was pretty full so when Poe sat down with two plates, setting one in between them, she looked over at him questioningly. "My dad thinks you didn't get enough. So I made a plate with things I thought you'd like to try. You'll wind up eating part of mine anyway." He smirked.
He and Kes wound up having a heated, hushed discussion in their native language over how much food Kat had. Kes wanted to make sure she and Poe both had plenty to eat, using the age-old line of them both looking too skinny. Poe argued that he already put enough on his plate for two people, knowing they both tended to share. Kes clearly won the argument.
"That one is on you. You always slide your tray over." Kat pointed her fork at him, which was filled with her latest bite of casserole.
"Well, yeah," he leaned over and took the bite, chewing a bit smugly at her shocked expression. "Someone," he continued after swallowing, "has to look out for you. You hardly eat when you're stressed."
Her expression turned from shock to awe. She didn't think anyone noticed, especially since Leia made sure she always had something small to eat. But apparently, Poe did. At the expression on her face, he just smiled before tucking into his food.
Chatter and laughter filled the old temple as the old crew bonded with the new additions to their fleet. Kat hadn't seen them so at ease in a long time. Even in the mess hall back on Ajan Kloss, there was still tension in their shoulders even when the conversations flowed easily.
One of the things Poe had brought for her to try was a dessert made with koyo. All it took was one bite before she moved the rest of it to her plate. Poe tried to get a bite, just to mess with her, knowing full well Kat didn't share her sweets all too well, but each time he tried his spoon was blocked with hers. "You can get your own because I don't trust you to leave this with you." Kat finally said after the third time.
Poe laughed, fully aware that his father was watching them. Knowing Kes he'd probably say something when Kat was out of earshot or maybe he'd share the embarrassment with them both. "Alright, fine. See if I share any more food with you." He said as he stood to get him his own slice of dessert.
Kat watched as he left and when he was far enough away, she took her fork and took a little bit from Poe's main dish leftover on his plate. Kes of course saw everything and when the two locked eyes, Kat held a finger up to her mouth with a pleading look. When Kes nodded, she quickly ate the bite she had stolen. She was chewing happily when Poe returned.
"She stole something off my plate, didn't she?" He asked Kes.
True to his word, Kes shrugged. "I didn't see anything."
Kat did her best to look the picture of innocence but there was something a little too smug in her expression to have Poe know that she most definitely was hiding something. Chuckling, he shook his head. "You two just met and you're already ganging up on me. Was it good, whatever you took?" He turned to look at Kat, eyebrow raised.
No longer able to keep up the ruse, she just smiled and nodded. "Yup."
After dinner, Kes showed them the hangar that was filled with the ships they fixed up. There were mostly X-Wings with a few Y-Wings thrown in here and there. Enough to get the crew of eight back to the Resistance base.
As the crew laid claim to their ships, Poe took Kat's hand and pulled her to another part of the hangar. "What are you doing?" She asked him.
"I have a surprise for you." He grinned, only letting go when they reached the covered ship. Once the cover was removed, he turned to look at Kat. He wasn't quite sure why she loved the A-Wing so much but it seemed to be her preferred starfighter. She had been pretty upset when she had lost the one she took to Chandrila. Maybe it's what she learned to fly with since R2-D2 had been down for the count until recently and she didn't want another astromech droid. Then again he didn't know a whole lot about her time in the Naboo riots either.
Kat was utterly speechless. It was an A-Wing. Sure it was the RZ-1 model but that's what she used before the upgrade. Not to mention it looked like it had a custom paint job. The typical white panels were painted a deep navy blue while the typical red stripe was white. "You did this?"
"Well, not me specifically but I made the request. This is Navy One and should only be flown by Colonel Metonae."
His arms were soon filled with Kat as she hugged him to express her gratitude. "It looks amazing! I can't believe you did this. Thank you!" She pulled back just enough and placed a kiss on his lips.
When she realized what she had just done, she pulled back before Poe could even reciprocate. Her eyes were wide as a blush covered her cheeks. "I'm so sorry." She said as she tried to pull away. They hadn't talked yet and here she was kissing him because he just kept surprising her.
He kept her close, however. "I'm not." His voice was low and her eyes dropped to his lips. "Can I kiss you?" He asked her, bringing up a hand to cup her cheek.
"Yes." She breathed out. She wanted to feel those soft lips actually pressed against hers. With them being similar enough in height neither of them had to stretch. His hand on her waist was warm and she wished she could feel it on her skin. Her fingers itched to tangle in his curls and she wondered how she had managed to go all this time without giving in.
"I thought you guys would be back here. She turned out to be a real beauty, didn't she?" Kes asked before he realized what he had just interrupted.
Poe was just about to claim her lips when his father came barrelling into the section of the hangar they were in. Groaning softly, he let Kat go as she jumped away from him at the sound of Kes' voice. He sent his father a murderous stare while Kat tried to get herself together, looking back at the ship. Kes at least had the decency to look apologetic.
"She really is. Thanks for doing this. I really appreciate it." A smile crossed her features when she turned back to look at the older Dameron.
"May I ask the significance?" The A-Wing had been Shara's starfighter of choice too. Poe even learned how to fly in one. So the fact that he had found someone who loved the A-Wing just as much didn't seem like a coincidence to Kes, it seemed more like fate. He'd have to make a special call to an old friend who seemingly liked to play matchmaker while running the Resistance.
Kat nodded. "The third riot on Naboo went airborne. So I hopped into one of these things and fell in love. It was just me and the ship. I had a small transporter that I flew from Chandrila to Naboo and I learned how to fly on the Falcon but once I really got going and settled in the thrill of it was amazing. I always get excited when I get to fly but it's like when I get on the Falcon, I know I'm gonna be alright once I get in that cockpit." A small smile graced her features as she turned back to look at her custom A-Wing, completely unaware of Poe looking at her with an expression that just screamed I love you.
Kes smiled. Maybe he wouldn't have to worry about his son after all. "I would say you could take it for a test drive but I've sent everyone else to bed so let's go. We have a bit of a further hike."
"What do you mean?" Kat asked.
"You and Poe will be staying with me of course."
"Oh, no. I couldn't impose. I'll be fine here."
"You're not imposing," Poe said as he took her hand, tugging her with him as they followed a smirking Kes out of the hangar.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"Yes." Both men said and she didn't fight it anymore.
As they walked through the jungle to get to the Dameron household, Kes talked but Kat didn't grasp a single word he said. He could be explaining how stars were created for all she knew. Poe kept his hand in hers and his thumb was very distracting with how it caressed her skin. They really needed to talk.
To try and get him back for being so distracting, she brought her other arm up and placed her hand on his bicep. She gave it a small squeeze and she smiled as the muscle contracted at her touch.
By the time they reached his childhood home, he wanted to offer up the full tour, including his old hideout so he could kiss her senseless like he's been wanting to for a while now. She seemed none the wiser but then again maybe the periodic squeezes she placed to his arm was her way of saying I want to do the same. They really needed to talk.
He supposed the murderous stare he had given his father earlier worked because as soon as Kes had finished a quick tour around the house, he wished the two goodnight. Now that they were alone, neither of them knew what to do. They both stood staring at each other in the middle of the living room, trying to figure out what to say.
"I guess I'll..."
"Do you want..."
They started at the same time which made them laugh. Before Poe could insist on her going first, Kat spoke up. She was a coward when it came to her emotions so she had been fully planning on running so if Poe had something to say, she'd actually take his lead this time. "You go first."
"It was nothing important. I was just going to ask if you wanted some tea?"
She smiled. "Tea sounds lovely."
He motioned for her to follow him into the kitchen. Pulling out a chair at the small kitchen table, he motioned for her to sit and then started moving about to make tea. "What were you going to say?"
Kat waved him off. "Don't worry about it. Your plan's better."
"Were you going to ignore things if I hadn't suggested this?" He asked quietly as he waited for the water to heat up.
Her cheeks flushed, looking down at her hands. She honestly shouldn't be surprised at how well he seemed to know her. He had made it clear that he had been paying attention and that she had let him in more than she thought. "Yes."
Gripping the counter, Poe lowered his head for a moment before turning around to face her. "Are you still scared of me?" He asked even though her answer to his previous question clearly told him that she was.
"I was never afraid of you, just what this could mean." She motioned between the both of them. Before he could even speak, she continued. "Poe, all of those who I care about greatly either wind up getting hurt or hurt me. I know I can survive if either one of those scenarios happened to you because I'm a survivor, hell, look at Jakku but if you don't come back or if you decide that I'm not worth your time anymore it's going to be really kriffing hard to survive that. And how am I supposed to lead you and the other pilots if I'm trying to make sure you come back to me? I mean it caused a huge argument the last time I even tried anything."
"You care about me?" He smirked at her.
"All of that and that's all you focus on?"
"That's all that matters." He said as he set about making tea.
When she tried to argue, he held up a hand. "Just because the tea interrupted does not mean that I was done." Setting each cup down on the table, Poe took Kat's hands in his. "I know that you have suffered enough hurt that other people would lock themselves away. Yet here you sit, trying to not only live past it but while fighting for what is right which brings on a whole new kind of loss. You carry the weight of those losses on top of the weight of the galaxy on your shoulders. After we win, what are you going to have? You have to stop using those past betrayals and deaths as an excuse for keeping people at arm's length. In case you haven't noticed, I keep coming back to you and I always will."
"How can you make a promise like that?" She was going to fight until the very end to keep her heart protected but he was making it oh, so hard to keep going.
A small smile graced his features as he motioned towards an old photo of his parents in their battle gear from the Galactic Civil War. "Because I know it's doable. My dad was even more on the ground than you are. My mom was in the air as much if not more than I am. They always came back to each other and I'm sure there were arguments similar to ours too."
Kat looked over the photo, letting Poe's words truly wash over her. He was right. She even had her own example in Han and Leia. Leia had lost everything and still, she managed to open her heart and find love. "You promise you'll always come back to me?" She asked looking back at him. She was finally ending her internal battle and giving in to what her heart wanted.
"I promise."
She surged forward the moment those two words were out of his mouth. Her hands were placed on either side of his face as she captured his lips with hers. His hands immediately went to her hips and he pulled her down to his lap. She soon realized that no matter how good her imagination was, it could never create the feeling of finally coming together, of finally stopping the internal conflict that constantly happened inside of her whenever he was around, the feeling of completion she felt. She had told him back on Coruscant that she was right where she needed to be and she couldn't help but recall those words in this moment. Somehow he had worked his way in and now she knew for a fact that it would always be him, was always supposed to be him. Poe Dameron had her heart and it was his forever.
He was the one to deepen the kiss. As her hands slid into his hair, he wrapped an arm around her as he brought a hand to cup her jaw. He was finally kissing her, finally knocked down those walls she had built over years of protecting herself. It was honestly worth every argument in the beginning, every second getting to know her past the stoic colonel that led the Resistance Navy, and every moment he either stole or created to show her that he was in this for the long run. Because he was. After they won, he wanted her in his life every single day. He knew they would have a lot to do with the rebuilding but as long as they were together he didn't think he'd mind going from soldier to potential diplomat.
When his hand slid under her shirt, she thought she'd cry just from finally feeling his skin on hers. Arching into his touch, she pulled away to try and catch her breath. His attention immediately went to her neck. She let out a pleasant sigh and when he reached that particular spot, she had to bite her lip to make sure that the moan that escaped was quiet. Waking Kes up now would be the worst timing and then things clicked. They were in Poe's childhood kitchen with his father just up the stairs.
Instead of tugging at his strands to keep him in place, she was tugging to pull him away. "Poe. Poe, wait..." She finally managed to get him to stop. She was sure his disappointed look was mirrored with her expression. "Your dad is just upstairs. We should probably stop before he walks in on something he shouldn't see."
Poe groaned and dropped his head to her chest. "I hate when you're right." He said even as he began to caress the skin of her lower back.
"I mean we've waited this long, right?"
"Yeah," he looked up at her with a slight pout, "I was just hoping that this meant the waiting was over."
Kat chuckled before leaning over to kiss him because she didn't have to think about it anymore. "We have a whole ride back to Ajan Kloss to make up for lost time."
Grinning he gave her another kiss that was filled with promises before he reluctantly let her go. "I like the way you think."
After they rinsed out their cups of the now cold tea, they made their way up the stairs hand in hand, both having ridiculous smiles on their faces. Kat turned to face him once they reached the doorway of the guest bedroom. She was posed to tell him goodnight when he tugged her forward and kissed her in a way that if she didn't have complete self-control, she would have tugged him into her room to have her way with him. When he pulled away, they were both utterly breathless. He looked at her as if he wanted to devour her, and her expression probably mirrored it. Instead, she took a step into the room and wished him goodnight.
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They didn't wait until the end of the week. After they had sent off the first team, Kat had made her way to the light freighter to see if it had a tractor beam so they could pull her A-Wing. To her disappointment, it didn't. Poe soon came in with a solution that had them stumbling to the captain's quarters, a trail of clothes in their wake.
That's how it was for the rest of the week. They'd send off a team and then make up some excuse as to why they needed to go on the freighter. A couple of hours later, they'd return and go about business as usual. That is until their last day before leaving.
Kat was nearly asleep with how Poe was running his fingers through her hair. Her head rested on his chest, their legs tangled together under the covers that pooled around their hips. "We're going to have to get creative when we get back on base." He whispered against her hair.
"I believe the word you're looking for is careful." She said.
Poe forced himself to chuckle and to keep his tone light and teasing when he said, "Like they're not going to know the second we step foot on base." Hearing her mention being careful, made him nervous that she was about to suggest that they keep their latest development a secret.
"Oh, I'm not worried about that. There's just more people. We can't exactly go hide away in a ship for a few hours without someone needing one of us."
At her words, he let out a soft sigh of relief. "Then like I said, we're going to have to get creative."
She rolled her eyes before looking up at him. Bringing her hand up to caress his cheek, she placed a kiss to his lips. "I'm in this now. Fully, completely. I'm not going to run anymore."
He smiled at her words, grateful for her reassurance without having to ask. He leaned down and captured her lips with his, pouring out the emotions he felt but wasn't ready to say. He thought that anyone who wouldn't wait for Kat was foolish. He even knew how uncharacteristically patient he was being when it came to the woman in his arms. But he knew that fear, understood it better than anyone who could have tried to pull her away from him. The fact that he was able to find a deeper connection with someone else twice in the middle of the same war made him feel incredibly lucky. He didn't want to take this for granted and he certainly was going to cherish every second he had with her.
It was with that thought that he pulled her close and convinced her to stay in their little bubble for a bit longer.