Laughter filled the hangar as Kat tried to get Poe to go back down the ladder so they could head back to base. She already said goodbye to Kes, fully prepared for his hug this go around. He thanked her for taking care of his boy which she waved off with a cheeky comment about how he made it difficult but she was happy to do it. He gave her a knowing look, one only a father could give to the person who had taken their child's heart before he wished her farewell and how he hoped to see her again.
"Will you go already?" Kat laughed after the third time she and Poe had shared a kiss.
"You sure you're good with everything?"
Kat rolled her eyes. "Everything's fine. Perfect even. Now, will you go so I can start her up?"
"Okay, okay, I'm gone." But before he could get down the ladder, she pulled him back for a kiss. When he pulled away, he gave her a smug look, keeping it there the entire time he climbed down.
"Get that smug look off your face, Dameron!" She shouted before the transparisteel canopy closed over her.
It didn't leave his face until he hugged Kes goodbye.
"She's a good one. Shara would have really liked her." Kes told him as they hugged.
At the mention of his mother, the weight of her ring around his neck felt a little more prominent. "Is this where I get the don't mess this up, I'm still waiting on grandkids speech?" He asked with a chuckle as he pulled back.
Kes laughed, shaking his head. "Think you just did a fine job of it yourself."
Poe turned back to look at her when the roar of the engines started. He could see her smiling at the sound which made his heart soar. He got to put that smile there. Matter of fact it seemed like she was smiling more or was it that he was just noticing each thing she did no matter how small? "Yeah, she's pretty amazing." He agreed before turning back to his dad. "But I can't make any promises about that other thing."
Once more his father's booming laugh competed with the roar of the A-Wing engines. "You two be safe and I'll see you soon."
Father and son shared one last hug before the two pilots took off for Ajan Kloss.
✧☆✧
Kat took her time with the landing procedures. The fighter had flown like a dream. She may have shown off a little before they had jumped to lightspeed but she didn't care. She was like a child with a new toy and she wanted to test everything. With everything in order, she made her way down the ladder and soon felt two hands on her waist.
"Have fun?" He teased her once her feet were on the ground, keeping one arm around her.
"Like I said earlier. I was just seeing what she could do." When she had turned into him, she placed a hand on his arm that was holding her.
"Uh-huh, sure you were." He teased her as he leaned forward to kiss her. It really had been far too long since the last one.
"I knew it!" Rang out through the space, causing the two to jump apart. They were now face to face with a beaming Rose. "What'd I'd say? The last time they went on a mission together they came back hugging. Now, look at them."
Soon a flurry of hands went about giving Rose a few credits each much to the chagrin of Kat and Poe. "What just happened?" Kat finally asked.
Rose just smiled at her. "You two just won me 150 credits."
Kat looked to Poe incredulously. "Did you know they had a bet about us?"
He just shook his head. "Not a clue." He laughed.
"Wait, how together, together are you?" Snap asked.
Poe just smirked at his best friend before leading Kat away from the group in search of Leia. They had to debrief after all. He couldn't help but laugh at the groan he heard from his friend. Kat soon joined in, shaking her head. "Our friends are something else."
"That they are."
The moment they walked into Leia's room, she gave the two of them a knowing look. They had moved from walking with an arm around each other to holding hands but it still seemed like they were wearing a large sign that announced that they had finally crossed the line. "Is it that obvious?" Kat asked as she sat down across from Leia's desk.
The older woman just smirked. "Well, that and the fact that Rose's voice could be heard from all over."
Kat rolled her eyes as Poe just chuckled. Neither of them was ashamed and knew it was coming but even with that knowledge, the reality was a little different. "Well, we have a bigger fleet now and a few more members. We heard that they've started to invade worlds. Are we going to offer up any sort of aid?" Kat asked, nervous to know the answer. Ben had been on Chandrila looking for answers but if Palpatine was still somehow putting messages out into the galaxy, she wasn't sure how he was reacting.
Leia sadly shook her head. "We can barely keep afloat as is but we have certainly not let them give up hope. We will get to them as soon as we can."
"We also heard that Palpatine's still sending out his message. Do we know how the First Order is responding to them?" Poe asked.
"They're searching for their origins as we are but in their own way. It seems as though Kylo and the Knights of Ren are making their rounds. They've become more violent than what we saw on Chandrila. They just left Naboo." Leia informed them.
Kat froze. She still had friends on the planet and if they had been hurt. Poe took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. Sure they had admitted to wanting more with each other but he still didn't know everything about the woman sitting next to him. Leia gave a reassuring smile. "Your contact was the one to inform us."
"Wes is okay?" Kat still asked despite her mother's reassurance.
"He's fine," Leia confirmed.
"Wes?" Poe asked. He remembered hearing the name in passing. He was pretty sure it was in regards to one of Kat's early missions back on D'Qar when she was the one sent out to try and get resources.
"Wes Trelli, my contact on Naboo. We fought in the riots together and is gonna be a hell of a senator once we get that backup and running. He's been helping us with funds but doing so without me having to go and get them myself since the last time I went didn't exactly go well." She answered.
He was trying to remember the last time she had gone to Naboo and then he remembered. It was the week she had returned and was more pissed than usual after having been off base for a bit. "Oh yeah, the week you yelled at me for every little thing."
"You were exceptionally annoying and I'm pretty sure you did most of it on purpose." She was most definitely not apologizing for that week.
"Near the end of the week, I kind of was." He smirked at her.
Kat motioned towards Poe as she looked at Leia in an I told you manner. "And you told me that I was just reading into things."
"I mean, you did make it easier to push your buttons that week." Poe chuckled.
Rolling her eyes, she let out a small huff as she sat back in her chair. "What have I agreed to?"
"Me constantly keeping you on your toes." He grinned before kissing her cheek.
"Alright you two, get back to work." Leia dismissed them, a fond look on her face. She could just hear Han grumbling about how she let their daughter get involved with a pilot all the while being happy that Kat finally let herself love. "Oh, and Kat, dear, Rey wanted to see you as soon as you got back. I think she was either in her library or running the course the last I saw her."
Kat nodded, going over to kiss Leia on the cheek before making her way out onto the base to go find Rey. Before she could start down the path towards the training course, Poe kissed her.
"Since I didn't get one before you left." He gave her a cheeky grin.
"Are you always going to be this insufferable?" She asked with an arched brow.
"Always." He grinned before heading out to find their friends to see what they were working on.
She was greeted with a string of beeps from BB-8 at the end of the training course. The astromech droid had really taken to Rey after she had saved him on Jakku. Whenever he wasn't around Poe or even Kat, BB-8 could be found with the young Jedi. Kat crouched down and hugged the droid. "Hey buddy, we missed you too. He was headed to the hangar last I saw him."
"Because I asked to see her." Rey was the one to answer the droid's last question.
The droid looked between the two women let out a farewell beep and then rolled off to go find Poe. They could look out for each other and the pilot wouldn't be upset that the droid had left them behind. Rey offered out a hand which Kat took to help her stand. "So, did anyone seem overly thrilled about your return?" The young Jedi asked as they started walking back to the main part of the base.
Kat laughed. "If you're asking about who won the bet, it was Rose. Did we make you lose any credits?"
Rey shook her head, a smile dancing on her lips. "Oh, no. I was actually surprised when they asked if I would join that you two weren't already together. So I was the one that'd give them updates based on what I saw."
"That's how we never knew about the bet." She shook her head, a smile on her face. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
Slowing to a stop, Rey turned to Kat with a solemn look on her face. "I have updates for you on a few things you've asked me for and it could even explain Ren's current actions."
"You mean how he's just trying to show that he's the one in power by creating fear in each planet he's visiting?" Kat asked with a raised eyebrow.
The young Jedi nodded. "Well, yes but he's also looking for a Sith Wayfinder. He thinks it'll lead him to Palpatine."
"Oh great so now he's not only killing people to create fear but probably because no one's telling him where a kriffing Wayfinder is." Kat threw her hands in the air in frustration.
"Kat..."
"Don't." She cut Rey off. "Don't tell me that my brother is still in there because Kylo Ren is right. Ben is dead. And I know what you and Leia have said, what I've even thought after my run-in with him on Chandrila. If he was really still my brother he wouldn't be doing this and he wouldn't have pulled his saber on me. Kylo Ren needs to be defeated just like the First Order."
"He said he's sorry about that," Rey called out before Kat could get too much further away from where she had started to storm off.
Kat whirled around to face Rey once more, conflicting emotions racing through her. "What?"
Rey let out a sigh. "I've told you how we're connected, right?" At Kat's nod of acknowledgment, she continued. "I was working on perfecting that trick you told me about and I felt him reach out. He doesn't know where we are. I kept that hidden but he asked what I was learning. He was shocked that you had even told me that story and then he asked if I would tell you that he was sorry for Chandrila. He saw it as a way to protect you."
Kat just scoffed. "There were other ways he could have done that."
"Agreed. There's a lot of things he could have done better." She then bent down and picked up a large dead leaf. She crumpled it in her hands, making smaller pieces out of it before she tossed the pieces in the air, moving them to create the distinct shape of a firework. "But I also know that Ben's still in there and he could use his sister."
Watching Rey perform the trick that used to bring her such comfort made her feel so overwhelmed with emotions she just dropped to the jungle floor. "I can't." She gasped out when her lungs couldn't take it anymore. She had tried to hold her breath to keep her tears at bay but that didn't work either.
"I can't fight for him to come back anymore. I've got to focus on the people in my care and who are still with me. His actions do not match up. He needs to wake up on his own. I can't do it anymore because every time I allow myself to even think he's finally gonna come back he does the complete opposite and I have to mourn him all over again. I'm through." She stood, brushing off the dirt from her pants.
Just before she was about to leave, Rey spoke up. "You've lost your hope."
"I've lost my faith."
Rey watched as Kat left. She was stuck in her spot as she watched the young colonel leave, those four small words held so much weight, leaving the air feeling heavy even after Kat had long been gone. Not for the first time, Rey wished that Ben had left with her.
✧☆✧
Kat walked right by the command center where everyone watched her as she walked by them. She knew what she must look like, especially compared to how she was just a few hours before. She knew because she felt it. She was just a shell, going through the motions. She wanted the privacy of her room where she could stare at the ceiling for a bit before she brought out the bottle of alcohol she kept in her drawer. She'd only take a shot or two while she danced it out and then she'd be back and ready to take on the galaxy.
Poe started to follow after her but Rose stopped him. "You're still too new. I'll come get you when you're needed."
Just as she laid on her bed, Rose soon walked in. Hearing the door open, Kat turned to look at who was intruding. She let out a sigh. "I really shouldn't be surprised."
"No, you shouldn't. Now scoot." Rose nudged Kat over so she could lay down next to her. "You wanna talk about it?"
"Not particularly."
"She tell you about Ben?" Rose guessed.
Kat nodded as tears sprang to her eyes once more.
"You know that comm you gave me has been ringing constantly since Chandrila. I guess he finally sought out another way to reach you." When they had gotten to Ajan Kloss, Kat had asked if she would hold onto her secret comm she had linked between her and Ben. At the time it was because she knew she would answer it the second it began to ring in hopes that he would call and apologize for all he had done. He never did until their run in on their home planet it seemed.
"You can get rid of it. I don't need to speak with him ever again. I'm through." Her voice cracked at the last word as a sob escaped her lips.
Rose just wrapped her friend in her arms, holding her. She knew that despite Kat's current wishes, she'd still hang onto that commlink. It was the only thing linking the siblings together and if her sister was still alive, she'd still want a way to communicate with her even if they were on separate sides of the fight.
"I gotta focus on protecting the family that's with me. We need to figure out where Palpatine is and how to end the First Order. I can't worry about Ben's decisions anymore."
"I thought you were doing a pretty good job before."
Kat let out a small laugh. "Then I'll be even better."
There was a small knock on the door before it opened to reveal Poe holding two slices of cake. "Even though I'm apparently still too new, whatever that's supposed to mean, I figured cake would help with whatever happened between you and Rey."
Both women sat up, Rose looked rather impressed while Kat looked on in awe. When the mechanic turned to look at her friend, she smiled seeing Kat's expression. "Yeah, I'm gonna go. Let you two talk. Come find me later if you still need me." The two hugged before Rose left the room.
It wasn't long before Poe occupied the recently vacated spot next to Kat, who happily took one of the plates. They silently ate the dessert for a bit, having moved to rest their backs against the wall. Kat had even settled against his side, resting her head against his shoulder as she ate. "Still too new probably meant you've only recently been let fully in but I guess Rose forgot that your instincts about me have been scary good."
"So I did good with the cake?" He asked, joking with her. He honestly would take any bit of information she was willing to tell him. Had been that way since Coruscant. Taking each piece she knowingly or unknowingly let him know as he pieced together not only how to work with her better but how to care for her.
Kat laughed. "You did good with the cake."
Silence fell over them again. This time Kat picked at the rest of her cake instead of eating it. Poe noticed the shift and pressed a kiss to her hair, causing her to smile. "I guess I should start at the beginning." She finally spoke up, letting out a deep breath as she prepared herself to tell him all about her brother.
And she did. She told him everything from their first meeting, to how they became attached at the hip, how she hated that he was leaving to go train with Luke. Then came his betrayal and how he tried to recruit her for the First Order and how they had started using the commlink she had given him when he went to go train to talk with one another but they always ended up trying to get the other to change sides. "That's how I knew about them going to Jakku. He had called after Coruscant. But I never..." she was crying again and she really hated how many tears she was giving to her brother. "But I never thought. I am so sorry for what he did to you." She moved away from his side so she could look at him, she wanted him to know how much she meant those words.
Poe moved the plates away and pulled her into his lap. Cradling her against him, he wiped away her tears before moving to just holding her close. "You do not apologize for that. I don't blame you for that in any way. You were on your way to come get me. Finn just beat you to the rescue." He gave her a small smirk which earned him a soft punch to his shoulder.
"I'm absolutely serious though, Kat." He said after laughing softly. He had moved his hand to cup her face, his thumb now caressing her cheek instead of wiping away her tears. Even if he had all the reason in the world to hate Kylo Ren, seeing how much hurt he caused the woman in his arms, gave him plenty more. "What happened to me, that's not on you. And now knowing the full extent of what you have given to this fight, it's certainly not going to make me second guess being with you."
At her shocked expression, he just rolled his eyes. "Do you really think I don't know you by now?" He smiled before he started to press kisses everywhere he could reach. "I will remind you every day if I have to." He said in between each one before landing on her lips. "You have not only been fighting for what's right but for your brother as well. How could I ever hold that against you?"
She gave him a watery smile before resting her forehead against his. "Thank you."
"I'll always be in your corner." He moved slightly to press a kiss to her forehead. He continued to hold her as silence fell over them for the third time. He honestly thought she had fallen asleep when he started to finish off his cake until her voice spoke up.
"If you think you're gonna finish that cake without me..." She trailed off, the silent empty threat still heard loud and clear.
Poe chuckled and handed her her plate. She took it gratefully and began to finish her slice. There was still plenty to do but they could enjoy being together a little while longer.