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Silence plagued the cave once more and created tension filled with remorse. Poe was still pacing around the fire he had built. Ava wanted to say something to ease his mind. He may have lashed out at her earlier, and no matter how much she wanted to give payback, it wasn't in her nature.

Her mother's voice reminded her to always be the bigger person. To show kindness to everyone who deserved it.

Poe had turned his back to her and put a pause to his steps. He gripped his dark curls and let out a sigh.

"Poe?"

He looked over his shoulder to see Ava just behind him. He sent her a glare.

"You going to rub in that I shouldn't worry? At least you know where your brother is, BB-8 could be anywhere! He could have gotten lost. Stolen! Or worse have been torn apart-"

That last thought never finished as Poe refused to accept that as a reality.

Ava watched as he pinched the bridge of his nose as his back found the wall. He leaned his head back as he closed his eyes.

"Go ahead blondie, I'm all ears to hear what you got to say!" Poe let out before he slid down and sat. He leaned his head back on the wall and squeezed his eyes shut as if it would solve his problems. No words were coming to Ava's mind, having no clue how to mend his broken state.

To his surprise, Poe sensed her figure near him but did not expect to find her beside him. He peeped an eye open and saw her staring at him with a reasonable gap between their bodies.

"I'm not that kind of person, Poe." Ava responded in a soft and tender tone. It matched the sweet and peaceful expression she wore on his face.

Poe realized he hadn't replied to her comment yet and cleared his throat with a nod. "That's good to know."

"I'm sorry about BB-8. When we get out of here, I'll help you get him back." Ava promised with a comforting smile.

Poe stared at her, searching for any tease in her face. He couldn't find any evidence. It baffled him how she spoke so calmly and her voice was sweet as honey.

Poe let out a disbelieving chuckle, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" She questioned.

"Act so nice to me when I have been a-" He hesitated before he continued to admit his wrongs. "A jerk. I've been a jerk to you. So why are you trying to help me?"

That same silence made its haunting return and left Ava speechless. Her heart fluttered as he spoke softly to her.

His valid question required deep thought, yet it was impossible when two brown eyes were glued onto hers.

"Because I believe everyone is worthy of kindness and support regardless of the things they do." Ava replied before she focused on her fingers, intertwining them together. She never felt comfortable with eye contact with someone new so she had to keep her hands busy to distract herself. "We all go through hardships, Poe. I've seen a lot in my life that caused pain and I know I'm not the only one in the universe who has. I tried to grow up strong and face my challenges head-on. But sometimes I just felt so, so-"

"Alone?" Poe cut in, finishing her sentence.

Ava met his eyes again but found something new she hadn't seen before.

Understanding.

"Life has a bad habit of doing that to us doesn't it?" He said, knowing all too well of the feeling. Remembering the pressure he felt from the galaxy on his shoulders during the battle of Exegol. "I learned that on my first battle as a General."

It had only just occurred to Ava that he wasn't born into the position. He had to have earned it in some way. "How did someone like you even become General?"

She hoped her retort would lighten the mood a little, but Poe barely gave a reaction. There was no glare or argument to challenge her.

Only a tiny tug at the corner of his mouth.

Poe swallowed as he looked out into the dark abyss in front of them. "By losing the one person who never gave up on me. Even when I was an idiot who didn't follow orders-"

"Sounds pretty accurate to me." Ava interrupted without knowing she did. It wasn't until Poe's glare finally made an appearance and she immediately regretted her mistake.

"I'm trying to open up for once, Blondie." He reminded her as he pointed a finger at Ava before to himself.

Ava's lips disappeared into a straight line. "Sorry, it's just hard to tell sometimes. But continue." She flocked her backhand to permit Poe to keep talking.

"Anyways, since the first day, I joined she treated me with love and kindness. Even when I did screw up, she would help me see my potential. Over the years, I had forgotten what my mother was like after she died. But the General seemed to help me remember.

"She was everything a mother could be. Compassionate in every way and teach how to view the world. Yet she was stubborn and would slap you silly if you did something stupid. But also be worried sick if something happened to you. She was everything to me." Poe finished as he space out again.

His words only made Ava think about her mother and what she was like. She was the most wonderful person in the world. The person Ava could always count on and know who would always be able to guide her. She knew that the women Poe was describing weren't too far off.

"What was her name?" Ava asked and watched as Poe spaced out one more.

"Leia." Poe said roughly. Doing his best to not cry in front of a stranger.

Ava placed a comforting hand on his knee and looked directly at him. She knew being alone wasn't easy for him.

"I'm sorry."

She almost regretted her action and began to withdraw her hand. Yet she was stopped by something warm on top of her hand. She looked to see that Poe had trapped it with his palm.

Poe sighed. "Thanks, Blondie." He continued to stare at the cave walls in front of him.

Ava smiled at his sweet response. "You're welcome." She replied.

Poe finally tore his trance from the rocks and stuck his eyes on her. Returning her expression as the corner of his mouth tugged at his lips.

"And for the record Poe, I get it. Ava said. "After Peter was kidnapped, I felt alone for years and years until I found evidence of life outside of Earth. That got me to work with one of my closest friends, Tony Stark.

"I never knew my Dad, but just like Leia was a mother to you. Tony filled that role for me. He helped me remember what having a parent was like. He would push me but also protect me, which is why he...."

Ava paused for a moment before she used the word snap, almost spilling the beans about the Blip. She could tell Poe now and get it out of the way, but what would happen if he did learn about it? How he maybe missed 5 years of his life? Would he believe her or trust her?

She didn't want to find out.

"Why he sacrificed himself for the galaxy." Ava lied, feeling an instant guilt in her conscious. She swallowed and bit her lip, hoping Poe wouldn't ask further questions about how Tony Stark saved the universe.

Instead, Poe squeezed her hand, triggering electricity to travel up her arm. Goosebumps make the hair on her skin stand up straight.

"You know blondie," Poe stated. "Life can make us feel alone, but it isn't true. We are not alone. You just need to look for good people to trust."

Ava grinned. "Yeah?"

"And whether your a bounty hunter or not," Poe said sarcastically, causing Ava to snicker. "You are becoming one of those people."

Thank goodness for the dark cave because Ava was sure she was beaten red at this point. No one, outside of the Avengers or Guardians, had ever spoken with such sincerity in her life. His voice captivating and she could only want to hear more.

"Really?" Ava asked and stared at flames reflecting off his face. His dark eyes were somehow brighter than ever and were a beacon of warmth from the fire.

With a nod, Poe secured his stare on her.

A shiver down her spine caused her to question her feelings once again. Sure she had crushes but never pursued them since her career in astronomy took priority. Guys always tried to shoot their shot but Ava had to turn them down. She always knew she wanted to experience a true relationship but it was never the right time.

Yet here she was with a man from another galaxy.

Poe Dameron of all the people, caused her to reevaluate what she wanted.

Ava sent a bashful side smile to him. "As much as I hate you, you're becoming someone I could trust, as long as you quit being an a-hole. I was this close to ripping my hair off."

Poe chuckled and his hand pushed a loose strand of hair behind Ava's ear. "Let's not do that. You'd look pretty ugly bald."

Ava glared at him for the comment. "You never know, Nebula is bald and she looks amazing. My friends in Wakanda on earth, have an army of bald women. So maybe I should shave it all off."

She didn't realize his hand lingered as his fingers fidgeted with her dirty blonde strands. "Yeah yeah. But that doesn't mean you should do it." Poe replied before he brought his other hand that started to assist him.

"What are you doing to my hair Dameron?" Ava questioned but couldn't move as he tugged on a few strands at a time.

Poe didn't look up from where he was focused but lifted his head slightly to respond. "Just giving you a reason why you shouldn't go bald."

Ava rolled her eyes. "And what reason is that? It better be good and not a waste of my time."

"Don't you fret sweetheart, I'm almost done." Poe said as his eyebrows narrowed and his tongue peeped at the corner of their mouth as she felt him tug on her hair.

Amused, Ava watched the grown man become like a little boy working on a craft to show his mom.

"There!" Poe exclaimed as he showed off a beautiful braid to Ava.

It baffled her how simple yet perfect it looked. She was even more surprised that Poe's manly hands were able to create such a masterpiece. Sometimes she'd ask Peter or Drax to help her braid if the girls weren't around, but they almost always made knots instead. Even the God of Thunder could compare to Poe's hidden talent.

"How did you-"

"Leia taught me. She used to always put her hair up with fancy braids. There were just a few times I got the privilege to help her and so I'm basically a pro." Poe bragged and gave Ava her styled hair.

Ava shrugged as she took the braid and tied it off with the rubberband on her wrist. "What can I say? I'm impressed. I'll have to ask you another time to do it."

"Is it enough to convince you not to rip out your hair?" Poe smirked with a small wink.

All that effort to show off and he was still hung up on that. Ava let out a sigh.

"Oh, I guess I will have to put it off because some dork made this beautiful braid in it."

Poe huffed out a laugh. "Mission accomplished."

Ava glared at him once more. "But seriously, don't be an a-hole and it won't even be a problem."

He leaned forward a little. "It won't be because like I said, you're becoming someone I can trust." He whispered with his breath fanning her face.

Now she knew was blushing and trying not to have a heart attack with how close he was. No man had ever captured her heart the way Poe was at this moment. Yet he wasn't doing anything but staring at her with those stupid gorgeous eyes.

A rumble shattered her thoughts and light bled into the cave. Rocks crashed down and an exit appeared. Yet there was no reveal of the source of the destruction. Ava whipped out her sword and aimed toward the blinding light.

"Who's there!?" Ava called out while sensing movement beside her. She looked out the corner of her eye to see Poe pointing his blaster in the same direction. His parallel arm inches from hers. She glanced him up and down, acknowledging how close he was to her.

Figures that seemed to be a group of Easiks put their hands up.

"Don't worry, we are a rescue." The leader assured the pair.

Ava hid her weapon, as did Poe, but he remained by her side. He looked over at her with a raised brow. "Dang it, I was hoping you would keep playing in the rocks." He retired with his breath fanning her face slightly.

She rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder. "And I was oping you'd shut up." She then started to walk toward the group.

"Oh, I bet you do blondie." Poe chuckled with a sigh before he followed Ava out of the cave.

"I'd like to see you try."

___________________________________

Hey its been a while!

I loved writing this chapter and getting to explore the similarities between Poe and Ava. Just their friendship alone is starting to grow on me.

Also I love the headcanon of Leia treating Poe like her other son in Star Wars.

Please comment and vote! Your comments motivate me and also put a smile on my face.

Thanks for reading!
-marie