Author's Note: Not sure if I'll write much else for this fandom, but this has been bouncing around in my head since watching TLJ. I may continue this, or it may just stand as a one-shot – not sure yet. Cross-posted at AO3.

Disclaimer per usual – I do not own Star Wars or any aspect of the SW universe; just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me.

For what feels like the millionth time, Poe Dameron, once again a Commander in the Resistance, sits up straight in his bed. His bare chest is covered in a sheen of cold sweat, his breathing uneven and labored. He can't remember the last time he slept for more than three standard hours without a nightmare. As he swears and swings his feet off his bunk to sit on the edge of it, BB-8 silently rolls up to him before beeping softly, asking if he is all right.

"No, I'm not," zings through Poe's head, and his quarters suddenly feel entirely too small and airless. With a gfulp, he swipes a hand through his hair and jumps to his feet. He's wearing only a pair of sleep pants, so he yanks on his boots over bare feet and a soft shirt over his head. He pauses briefly to pat BB-8 on the head. "Stay here, buddy." His voice waivers with the anxiety building in his head, and he bolts from the room without another word.

Their new base is on a warm and humid outer rim world, a bunker buried deep under the planet's surface. It's another abandoned mine, a valuable energy-producing ore source that was exhausted tens of years ago.

In addition to the hangar that already existed when they retreated here, there are several passages to the surface, and he's heading for one now. The base is quiet, their numbers decimated. At least some of the hoped-for support after their desperate pleas from Crait has begun to materialize. There are even five X-Wings in the hangar, one already claimed by him.

He finds the shaft he was looking for, a ladder to a lookout platform cut out of a ridge. His mind and lungs both are screaming for fresh air and the stars. As he climbs, he does all he can to shut out the memories of the last several weeks. He picks up speed, rung by rung, breaths growing ragged again.

When he bursts out of the hatch out to the lookout, it barely registers for him that the hatch was already open. He stumbles to the edge of the platform, dragging in deep breaths of the warm, muggy air. He bends over, hands on his knees and head down as he tries to find his equilibrium. There is a breeze swirling around him, and he can hear the soft sounds of the planet's wildlife in the background.

After a few moments, he straightens up and looks at the stars, the clear night affording him a full view. He drags both of his hands through his sweat-dampened hair. Without meaning to speak aloud, he mutters, "Kriff these damned nightmares." His mutter turns to a shout. "Get out of my head."

"Who is in your head?"

The soft voice from the other side of the lookout platform makes him spin around in a defensive position. His hand reaches for a blaster that isn't there even as he focuses on the owner of the voice. A flush rises on his cheeks as he spots Rey, also dressed in sleep clothes. Her hair is loose and soft around her face, and she looks even younger than usual, if that's possible. He relaxes immediately. "I'm sorry, Rey. I didn't know anyone else was up here."

She stands up and walks over to him, shaking her head. "It's all right. I don't sleep well lately."

His head tells him to go find a different place to continue falling apart, but something he can't name tells him that she may be the one person on this base who can understand what he's dealing with. There is a small half-wall around the edge of the platform, and he sinks down next to it. He leans his head back and closes his eyes, pulling his legs up in a protective position.

Rey watches him and mirrors his position, but she wraps her arms around her legs and turns her head towards him. She continues to watch him, feeling a pull she can't deny. She isn't sure if it's just that he's ridiculously attractive with his thick hair, warm brown eyes, and long, thick eyelashes, or if it's something else.

She can tell that he's trying hard to keep his breathing steady, and the tension is rolling off of him in waves. It's near impossible for her to ignore the anxiety he is openly transmitting, but she still flushes in embarrassment when, without opening his eyes, he whispers, "Please don't try to read my mind. Anything but that. Talk to me, hell, talk about me, but don't try to see my thoughts."

Understanding dawns on her, and she shakes her head and says, "I'd never do that, Commander. Not without your permission. I swear it. I can tell that you're upset – you're radiating that. But I would never try to force myself into your thoughts, into your mind."

After a moment, he opens his eyes and looks at her. There is a sheen of tears visible. "Thank you. And it's Poe, please. Not Commander."

Rey nods. "Poe." They sit in companionable silence for a while before Rey asks, "You were…questioned…when the First Order captured you, right?"

He sighs. "Yeah."

When he doesn't say anything more, she offers, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but it might help." After a beat, she looks away from him and adds, "It might help both of us."

He turns his head sharply to look at her. "Kylo Ren did it to you too?"

She shakes her head. "He tried and failed. Snoke is the one who succeeded. But both assaults were terrible. With Ren, I was restrained in this awful metal thing…"

"In a big metal room? With wrist restraints, but being held upright?" He shudders at the visual memory.

Her eyes widen. "Yes. Force, it may have been the same kriffing room."

He nods. "I bet it was. Where was it with Snoke?"

It's her turn to shudder. "His throne room. But he didn't need the restraints. He had me suspended in the air. All control was gone. He tore Luke's location out of my head. Thankfully, he didn't say it aloud to Kylo Ren before Ren killed him."

"Snoke is really dead? You saw it?"

"With my own eyes." She pauses, wondering how he will react to the idea she has. "Can I ask you something?"

He shrugs. "Sure, anything you want." He gives her a crooked smile that makes her insides flutter a little.

She sits cross-legged and faces him. He does the same, facing her, a questioning expression on his face. She gives him a hesitant look. "Have you ever been Force-sensitive? Felt connected to the Force in a more-than-superficial way?"

"Not really." He shakes his head. "I believed in it – you know some people don't – but it was more faith without proof than truly feeling the Force."

She nods. "And has that changed at all since what happened with Kylo Ren?"

He furrows his brow. "I don't know. I haven't given that much thought. I've been a little busy since it happened." Pausing, he cocks his head and thinks about it for a moment. He blinks a few times. "What about you?"

She looks down at her hands, folded in her lap. "It was before I was taken on Takodana, at Maz's castle. I was wandering, and it was like something was calling me." She takes a shaky breath, and without thinking, Poe reaches out and takes one of her hands in his. He feels a tremor in her fingers, but she grasps his hand tight in hers. "It was Luke's old lightsaber, Darth Vader, er, Anakin Skywalker's. I found it in a chest. When I picked it up, it was like a floodgate opened. It was overwhelming."

Her breathing goes shallow as she relives that moment, and Poe takes her other hand too. Quietly, he offers, "Rey, you don't have to…"

"I need to tell someone. Please." She looks up at him, eyes wide. He nods, and she continues, "Maz tried to make me keep it, make me take it. I refused. I was terrified of it, of what it made me see and feel. She must have given it to Finn or Han, because the next time I saw it was at Starkiller."

She falls silent but maintains eye contact with him, hands joined. To his surprise, the sounds of the planet's animal life and the breeze fall away. Everything seems to stop except the sound of their breathing and the touch of their hands. He begins to blink again, this time in panic. "Rey, are you…"

"It's not me, Poe. I'm not doing this." He starts to let go, but she holds his hands tight. "Please, wait. I can feel you more than anyone here except General Organa. That's why I asked about how you felt after Kylo Ren. Please. Give me a moment?"

The panic continues to flare in his gut, but he trusts her. He suddenly knows somewhere deep down that she's telling the truth, and he stops fighting to pull away. She nods. "Thank you. I don't know why this is happening, Poe, but I promise it's not me. But I trust you, and I feel your feelings without trying." He tenses again, but she shakes her head. "Not your thoughts, Poe. I'm not looking in. I promised you that I wouldn't, and I'm not. It's just that I can sense how you are feeling."

He finds himself believing her, trusting her completely, and all the tension and anxiety drains out of him, maybe for the first time since he was captured. "I understand. I know you said you don't know why this is happening, so let's start with how instead?"

"I don't know. You must be more Force-sensitive than you know."

"Rey, how would Ren doing what he did trigger some sort of Force connection? I mean, I think I did feel something shift after, but suddenly heightened Force sensitivity?" He looks skeptical, but he doesn't pull away or do anything else to break their connection.

"It's probably crazy. I wish Master Luke was still here to help me with this, help us with it. Because for whatever reason, the Force is involved in this. Of that I have no doubt. I feel it wrapping around us, creating this. I just want to understand how and why."

He nods at that. "Agreed." He thinks that it's probably time to let go of her, but hesitates briefly because he's actually enjoying sitting here with her like this, holding her hands and having everything else fade away. He also really doesn't particularly want her to know that this is the most relaxed he's been since Ren reached into his head – he wants her to see him as a hero or at least a leader, not as someone weak.

A giggle escapes her lips, and he looks at her in surprise. She smiles at him. "Poe, you're projecting so loud right now that I'd have to be in a coma not to sense it." Her smile fades. "And don't be embarrassed. You don't have to hide anything from me."

A flush rises on his cheeks, and he can't help his own smile. He reluctantly releases her hands, and he feels an odd buzz of relief at the fact that he sees what looks like disappointment flash across her face. She hadn't wanted to let go either. The world around them slides back into focus as the breeze and sounds return. He rubs the back of his neck with one hand, unsure of what to say.

She can feel the awkwardness growing, and she wants to stop it. "Can we do this again?" He lifts an eyebrow at her. She shakes her head, smiling. "I don't mean have nightmares and wind up on the same lookout platform. I mean explore this ability to connect?"

Her phrasing sends a good kind of shiver up his spine, but he does his best to cover it up. "How can we do that?"

"This is where I need Master Luke." She stands up to lean her arms on the half-wall, looking out into the still-dark forest. He stands next to her, leaning on his arms too. She goes on, "I wonder if we can connect at will – mentally, that is. If we have to be touching or not? I know it's possible to have a Force connection without touch, but…"

"But what?"

"But the only other connection I've had like that was with Kylo Ren." He looks at her sharply, and she rushes to explain, "Snoke created it. He was trying to manipulate both of us. It worked in that I became convinced that I could turn Kylo Ren away from the Dark Side, but I'd say it also backfired from Snoke's perspective, given that it afforded Ren the chance to cut the bastard in half with my lightsaber."

He turns and leans back against the wall, looking at her. "So, you want to see if we can cultivate this without an outside influence, and without another strong Force user at the other end of the connection?" She nods, and he has to ask, "To what end, Rey? I mean, I know you can sense that this helped me chase away the fear and memories, but what else?"

"We may be able to use it tactically. That matters. It could be highly valuable for you and me to be able to communicate without tech."

He is happy to concede that point, but he suddenly can feel her feelings and knows there's a lot more to it. "All right, that's fair. But Rey, that isn't all. To borrow your words, you're projecting so loud right now I'd have to be in a coma not to sense it." He's dismayed a moment later when he feels actual shame rolling off of her. "Rey, what's wrong?"

She hangs her head. "I don't want you to think I'm somehow using you."

He blinks in surprise and reaches down to gently put his hands on her arms, nudging her to stand and face him. "Rey, how could exploring this be taking advantage of me?"

"I'm alone." She's irritated with herself when she feels her eyes well with tears. She holds them back and breathes a deep sigh. "I know I have friends in Finn and Chewie and BB-8 and even in the General, but this was different. When we were connected, I felt calm and relaxed and…like I had someone. I was alone for so long on Jakku. You make me feel like I'm not alone."

Her voice drops to a whisper on her last words, and his heart breaks for her. Except for those hours he spent as a prisoner, he's never really been alone. Before his head can stop him, he pulls her to him, wrapping her in a fierce hug. She tenses for a moment, but then she wraps her arms around him, clinging on to him as if her life depends on it.

She buries her face in his neck, and his chest rumbles when he speaks. "You're not alone, Rey. I promise you. As long as there's breath in my body, you're not alone." He takes a deep breath, the calm settling over him again. "And yes, we can explore whatever this is. You're right that it could give us a tactical advantage, but you're also not the only one getting something out of this."

Leaning back just far enough to see his eyes, she simply says, "Oh?"

"My head is quiet for the first time in a while. I think the connection made that happen." Then, to lighten the moment, he gives her a roguish smirk. "And the fact that I get to spend time with the most beautiful woman on this base? It's just a bonus."

She laughs at that, and it makes her look even more beautiful to him. "Really, Commander? Well, I have it on good authority that you're the, quoting here, 'most sought-after date in the Resistance.'"

He laughs in return, and they break the hug. "Who the kriff said that? I am basically in the air or hanging out with BB-8 working on my X-Wing. My non-heroing life is very boring."

She reaches up and pushes some of his hair out of his eyes. "Maybe that's why the women here are all so intrigued by you."

He shrugs and grins. "Maybe so. I promise you that it isn't calculated. My dad always said that if the right woman stumbles across your path, you'll know. As much as I respect the women of this Resistance, the ones who gossip about me are not all that interesting to me. They want to date a persona as opposed to a person. Life is too short for that."

She smiles. "Agreed." Silence descends again, but this time it isn't awkward at all. Eventually, she says, "We should probably go back inside. The shift change is in an hour. But maybe later today or tomorrow we can meet up in a training area or in the forest to try to work on this a little more? Maybe try to connect with our hands again and then try to connect without contact?"

They move towards the still-open hatch to go back inside, and he unconsciously places a hand on her lower back. He thinks about it for a moment. "Maybe the forest. Being outside tonight felt good. I sometimes forget how constricting a subterranean base can feel."

"As long as we go together. I haven't spent much time in this kind of terrain. Jakku is all sand and, well, sand."

He chuckles. "That works." He motions to let her go down the ladder first. When they both get down into the base, they head towards the sleeping quarters area, his hand once again going to her back. If she notices, she doesn't say anything or protest. "I have a meeting with Leia, General Organa, in the morning. Maybe we can grab lunch and then head outside?"

They reach a fork in the hallway. Her quarters are one way, his the other. She stops and smiles up at him. "Sounds good. I'll meet you in the mess at lunchtime." It still boggles her mind that they eat multiple times per day, but she's enjoying it.

As she had earlier, he reaches out and brushes some hair out of her eyes. "I'll see you then. Try to get a little more sleep, all right?"

"I will. You do the same." He turns and starts down the hallway. "Poe?" He looks back at her. "Thank you."

"For what?" He looks puzzled.

"For…not being afraid of me. I know a lot of the people here are."

He comes back to her. "They're not, Rey. They don't understand, and they're in a little bit of awe. It's not fear. You saved us all."

"I wouldn't blame them. I scare myself sometimes." She wraps her arms around herself and looks down at the floor.

Poe's eyes widen. "Rey. Rey, look at me." When she doesn't look up, he uses his hand to gently tip her face up to meet his eyes. "We none of us are afraid of you. And at least some of us have pretty good instincts. Han Solo sure did, and he liked the hell out of you. Chewie trusts you too, and Chewie doesn't trust easily at all. And my droid loves you more than he loves me, I think."

She can't help but smile at that. "Well, I love BB-8 too."

He laughs softly. "He's hard not to love. Now go sleep, Rey. You have your work cut out for you tomorrow, trying to turn me into a Force guy."

She laughs too, shaking her head. "Give yourself more credit, Poe. But challenge accepted. Now you go sleep too. BB-8 is probably worried."

"He's always worried. I think that's his primary behavioral characteristic." He smiles again. "Goodnight, Rey."

On impulse, she leans up and brushes a soft kiss to his cheek. "Goodnight, Poe."

He watches her leave, wondering what he's getting himself into but at the same time buzzing with anticipation about meeting with her tomorrow. As he turns to head back to his own room, he wraps his hand around the ring hanging from a chain around his neck. He mutters, "You're laughing at me right now, aren't you, Mom?" With that, he gets to his room, where he pauses for a moment, preparing himself for the barrage of beeps and screeches he's likely about to get from BB-8. He shrugs. It doesn't matter. Given what just happened, it'll be worth it.