Rock crunched beneath your boots as you surveyed the dark tunnels. There were many ways to turn, but thankfully there was always a creature of some kind there to lead you in the right direction. 

"This way!" Poe said. 

The lights that people carried were weak; you squinted your eyes to see where you were going. But through a pile of rocks in front of you were cracks. 

Cracks large enough for animals to get through, but not any of you. 

You sighed out in defeat. This was it. This was your dead end. Your final dead end. 

"No, no, no no!" Poe sprinted towards the rocks and climbed up them as much as he could. He peered through the crack the critters were escaping out of. "No!" 

You and Finn reached up and helped him down from it carefully. He looked at you and shook his head. Murmurs of defeat rose out of the remainder of the Resistance.

He collapsed on top of one of the rocks, sitting down and hanging his head. You lowered yourself in front of him, putting your hands on his arms. 

"Hey," you said softly, squeezing his shoulder. "You did all that you could. You're a good leader, Poe. Sometimes things don't work out the way we think they will is all."

He looked at you, tears threatening to spill over. You were sure your eyes reflected the same kind of sadness. You were sad, you were scared, and that was okay.

For Poe, there was so much riding on this. If the Resistance failed, the galaxy would never know peace. If Leia and her legacy died altogether, hope would be lost. And if the First Order got a hold of you, your fate would inevitably be far worse than anyone else taken prisoner. 

"C'mere," he said, and you stood up and sat down next to him. He wrapped his arm around you and pulled you tight against him with a crushing embrace. You felt his lips press against the crown of your head. Tears slipped down his cheeks as he held you so tight, his hands shaking.

"It's okay," you whispered, putting your hand on his knee. You shut your eyes. "Whatever happens, it'll be okay."

"I love you," he said, just low enough that only you could hear it. His lips were pressing a kiss to the top of your head again.

You smiled as the tears slipped down. "I love you, too." 

Suddenly, there was a soft rumble that was quickly growing louder. Your eyes widened and your head shot up. Poe hurriedly pushed you and him up and off of the stone you were sitting on. He nudged you backwards so that you stood behind him. 

Magically, it seemed, the rocks were lifting. Sunlight met your eyes and you gaped. 

Rey was standing only a few feet away, her hand and fingers outstretched. She was raising the rocks. 

Finn was sprinting towards her right away. You could hear their sobs of relief and happiness as they embraced tightly.

Everything was going to be okay. 

* * *

With the rest of the Resistance, you climbed aboard the Falcon. It felt strange to be back on the ship without Han there. It felt as if a lifetime had passed between that moment and this one.

"Chewie," you breathed, seeing him step out of the cockpit. He saw you and let out a sound, making you laugh as he wrapped his arms around you for a brief moment. "Yeah, it's been a while."

At once, Chewbacca let you go. He stumbled past you, knocking into your shoulder. He wrapped his arms around Leia, who cried out happily, "Oh, Chewie! Careful now, you nearly knocked over the poor girl!" 

You grinned and stepped forward, putting your hand on Leia's hand. "Welcome home, General," you said softly. 

She glanced around the Falcon. "It's been a while since I've seen this place. It feels good." Suddenly, she reached out for your hand. You let her take it and she pulled you to sit beside her. "I needed to talk to you about something."

"Of course, General," you said. "What is it?" 

"I wanted to thank you for saving my life," she said. 

You furrowed your eyebrows. "I-I'm sorry, General. When did I---?" 

"When you said my name against the viewport," she said. "I not only heard you, I felt you. You have a strength in the Force that isn't unlike the strength that Finn has." 

"Finn is Force sensitive?" you whispered, eyes wide. "I'm Force sensitive? Oh, but Leia, I can't move rocks or anything like Rey can."

She laughed. "Using the Force isn't just lifting rocks. Some people use it differently. And no, you didn't pull me out from death, but you helped me see the light to come back. You're strong in the Force. Not in the way Rey is, but you are strong." 

You couldn't believe it. Your voice was a low whisper of disbelief. "I'm Force sensitive."

Leia smiled and her hands slipped from yours. You were brought out of your thoughts when Poe shouted, "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon. Is that it? Is everybody on? They're gonna be right on our tails again if we don't get out of here right now." 

You scanned the ship. There were few, but this was it. This was all the Resistance was. A handful of people, half beaten, exhausted. 

"Are we ready?" Rey called. 

"We're ready," he said back, nodding. "I think this is everyone."

"Okay," she said. "Let's go, then." 

Everyone pulled themselves close together, embraced their friends, cried for their lost family, and just tried to enjoy this little bit of relief that was given to them. You wandered the ship, looking around the walls.

A chirping sound and a nudge against your leg made you look down. You grinned at BB-8 and knelt down beside him. "You holding up okay, buddy?" 

He chirped in reply. 

"He says yes, but he wonders if this looks alright." Rey knelt beside him and fixed the antenna on the top of his head. "It looks good." 

You smiled at Rey and she grinned right back. You leaned towards her and threw your arms around her. "Rey, it's so good to see you again," you said softly. 

"It's good to be back," she said. She pulled away and you both stood, hands clasped together. 

You felt someone brush up against your back. Poe's hand landed gently on your arm and you glanced back at him as he held his hand out for Rey to shake.

"Hi," he said. 

Rey shook his hand. "Hi."

"I'm Poe," he introduced.

"Rey," she said. 

He nodded. "I know."

You laughed and Poe looked down at you and beamed. He rubbed his rough hand up and down your arm and you turned towards him.  

Rey smiled warmly at the two of you. "I'll leave the two of you be," she said. "It was nice to meet you, Poe. I'll talk to you later, ___."

"I'll see you, Rey," you said. 

Poe placed both of his hands on your waist and pulled you close. You leaned into him until your nose, scrunched up from your wide grin, touched the tip of his. He kissed you softly twice and let you fall back flat on your feet, stepping away from him and keeping just his hands in yours.

"Do you still mean it?" you asked. 

"Mean what?" He shook his head. 

"That you love me."

"What kind of question is that? Of course I meant it."

You tilted your head. "I just wanted to get you to say it to me again." 

"Ohhh --- I get it. It was one of those moves."

"Yes," you said. "It was."

"All right, all right. I did mean it. I love you, ___." His hands squeezed yours. "So... did you mean what you said?"

You nodded, laughing as he did. "I love you, Poe." 

He touched his forehead to yours. "What about the part when you said that everything was going to be okay, no matter what happens?"

"I meant that part, too," you promised. You put your arms around him and he kissed you one more time.