“You have no idea how glad I am to see you.” Poe said with the deepest expression of gratitude his voice could give. His hand wiped over his mouth, clearing drips and drizzles of water that escaped his lips as he drank greedily from the canteen that the other had handed him.
Han leaned on the edge of a bulkhead, arm above his head, the other hand resting on his hip, giving the young Resistance pilot a look that said he did know how glad he was to see him. “You look like hell, kid.”
“You don’t look so bad yourself.” Poe shot back, coming on board and dusting sand off his pants, as if he could get all of the grains of Jakku off him like that. Even as the ramp behind him closed he felt as if he was still knee deep in Jakku.
“That wasn’t a compliment.” Han shot back with a snort, pushing off the bulkhead and moving to the cockpit of the shuttle. Dropping into the pilot seat he started to key in some commands, though he glanced back to make sure the other followed. “I suppose I should ask if you need anything before we take off.” He said, looking back to his dash as he said it, as if he didn’t really care if the other was okay or not, but they both knew that wasn’t true.
Poe did follow, coming in to rest in the doorway a moment, his hand resting over his middle and just taking a moment to let the cool of the inside of this shuttle sink in. “You could ask, but I know better then to expect it.” He wasn't at all thinking straight at the moment. Still reeling from the water he guzzled down a moment before. His head still throbbing and dusty, filled with relief to be picked up at all and less thinking of his mission and how he needed to find BB-8.
“As I said, you look like hell. What are you doing on this dust ball anyhow?” Han shot back, then nodded to the co-pilot seat for the other to take. Poor kid looked like he needed the seat anyhow.
“Resistance job.” He said thoughtlessly and with a bit of a pause, Poe did move forward, dropping into the co-pilot seat but looking back, out the cockpit doors and raised a brow. “Where’s Chewie?” He asked instead, as a redirect question.
“Up with the cargo. This was just a pit stop to pick up a few more components. ‘Resistance Job’ doesn’t really cut it when you look like you’ve been through a deep spice mine and back, kid.” The redirect was not going to work. The older man gave Poe an actual concerned look before pulling the small shuttle craft up and towards atmosphere. “Did Leia send you?”
“I thought we didn’t talk about General Organa in your presence, Han.” Poe said with a side eyed glance at the other, a bit of a half smirk crossing his face. Han huffed but said nothing.
Then it hit him… “Wait, you still haven’t found the Falcon?” Poe said, looking mildly stunned as it just sank in. It’s a small cargo shuttle and they were taking off to a larger craft? He frowned, leaning over the dash a bit to watch as they lifted off this burning hot planet to the unknown ship in space.
“No.” Han growled sharply. “We haven’t.” It was a touchy subject, and one he didn’t want to get into. The dark glare to go with the stern comment also said the subject was off limits.
Poe raised a hand in surrender to the growl, not at all in the mood to fight that. He still had blood on his face and bruises in places he wished weren’t bruised at all. Sinking down into the co-pilot seat more than he already was he allowed himself to settled a bit more. Something about being around Han, as reckless and hunted as he was, always felt safe. Secure.
They were silent for a little while, Han taking them up towards a larger craft a fair distance from the planet and Poe settling into the seat, knees pressed into the dashboard, head back and eyes closing. Something was still not clicking in his head though, but at the moment he did have that feeling like he was missing a very important point here somewhere. Poe rubbed a hand over his forehead, resting for just a moment. The ship was cool and right now that was all that mattered in his sun drenched mind.
“Looks like a head wound.” Han commented, breaking the silence, his eyes drifting over to the younger one once in awhile, concern still heavy in his features.
“Crashed a TIE Fighter in the desert. Had to eject. I don’t remember landing.” Poe mumbled, eyes still closed. Honestly, all he wanted to do was sleep. Get some rest. Little did he know that Finn was still out there in the desert, searching for a place to go, a place for water. When Poe hit a small market he almost traded his soul for a thimble of water. When a canteen had been offered from no where water he drank deeply, not caring if it was poison. To his surprise, Solo was in the same market and had spotted him with ease, offering the water that looked so needed.
“Not your normal ship to fly, kid.” Han said slowly, leaning back and letting the ship go on autopilot now. His brow raised and mildly intrigued in this story.
“Filched it from the First Order. Actually, it’s a hell of a thing. I got rescued by a Stormtrooper. We got shot down and...and…” Poe sat up swiftly, hand going to his head again as he waded through a sudden wash or realization followed by dizziness by his sudden motions. He hadn't even realized he started to stand, like he could walk off the ship right now. "I’ve… got to go back!”
“You’ve got to slow down. Sit your ass down, where do you think your going?” Han growled, reaching out to grab the man by the belt and pull him back into the seat, looking at him like he’s mad. “I just got you off that overheated dust ball and now you want to go back?”
Poe sat down with a hard drop, head swimming, both hands coming up to try and get the world to slow down a moment. “BB-8. I’ve got to go back and find BB-8. We got separated, before I got captured. He’s down there somewhere and I promised I’d come back for him.”
The droid. Han’s eyes rolled as he shook his head, sighing. He knows what the droid means to the guy. Hell, he’s fond of the little ball himself, not that he would say it. They remind him of a younger version of Luke and old Artoo. He groaned, leaning his head back and spoke carefully.
“Let’s get you back to the ship and cleaned up. I can have Chewie off load this cargo then… we can go back and look for your damn droid.” He shook his head, checked the time for docking then moved to stand.
“Really? Or maybe we could just turn back now?” He hinted, moving to stand also, but, head swimming he sat back down.
“Or maybe we can get you back to the ship and cleaned up and stable again. First things first.” Han said, coming back with a small first aid kit. He settled down on the arm of the pilot’s seat, opening the kit to take out a sterilizing cloth, unfolding it from it’s wrapper and moving to lean in. “Look up here.” He grumbled, looking grouchy as Poe did as he told.
With a very careful hand, still steady after all these years, Han moved in to clean up around the gash on the boy’s cheek. For someone so gruff he was awfully gentle with Poe’s face, folding the small paper cloth when one side was too dirty and continuing to clean him up a bit. It was a tough job, considering how badly he was covered in Jakku dust and dirt.
“We’ve… got to act fast though. I… I broke.” He said in tight confession, eyes glancing off to the side now instead of looking up at the old smuggler.
Han’s hand froze a moment, not sure he’s ever seen Dameron look almost… embarrassed like this. Upset. “What do you mean, you broke?”
Poe shook his head, leaning back in the chair again and slumping, frowning more firmly at the console. “In interrogation.”
“That’s why you look like a million credits right now. Not because of the crash landing.” Han said with a snort, reaching out to take Poe’s chin and make him look at him again. A fresh sterile wipe in his hand as he moved to clean at the cut on his cheek again. “I thought a few of these looked fist shaped.”
“I did alright in the first half of it. It wasn’t until they sent in Ren that I lost it.” Poe said blankly, not thinking as he spoke.
Han’s hand stopped. He drew away and sat back, staring at the kid like he’d seen a ghost. Or at least heard one mentioned.
Poe seemed to realize what he said a moment after and winced, drawing a hand up to hold it over his face. He couldn’t sink far enough in this chair to escape the sudden sinking feeling that just hit him.
He’s always been close to the Organa/Solo family, mostly because of his parents. And even then mostly because of his Father, after he got back into the New Republic when Poe was young, after his mother had died. They were stationed near Han and his family, and a Solo and a Dameron always seemed to get along well, be it the two elder men or the two children. Somewhere between all the mess and loss, Poe had become closer to Han then either of them had intended.
When Poe lost his father it was Han who met him at a cantina for under aged, endless drinks and a great bar fight. When Ben was lost to Han and Leia there wasn’t much Poe could do for the man but to keep an eye out for him. Han might have disappeared for a while, but when Poe found him again it was in another cantina in another great bar fight. That time he wasn’t so under aged.
The morning after might have been a bit awkward at first, but the two of them manned up and got around it, by not talking about it at all. Ever. Which lead to a few more random encounters that were never spoken about. It was just how they worked.
Needless to say, Poe knows who Kylo Ren really is. And he knows how that news had to hit Han.
“I… uh, sorry, Han. I shouldn’t have--”
Han cut him off, shaking his head. “No.” He moved to leave Poe, standing now. “No. I should be apologizing to you.” His chest seemed as if his heart sank a bit more, as if he didn’t want to hear anything else about it. This subject was touchier than the missing Falcon, in the end.
Poe watched the other walk out of the cockpit, into the small cargo bay connected to the back. It’s a small shuttle, but good enough for back and forth cargo trips. Poe double checked their direction and distance before getting up, reaching a hand out to grab a wall and pause a moment, then follow. “Han, wait…”
Han wasn’t far, just standing over a crate, his hand bumping into the top, knuckles down, not at all hitting it, but feeling like he wanted to. “Kid, look, there’s… nothing I can say to… to fix that. I haven’t even managed that with Leia. But I…” feel terrible? Hurt? Don’t know how to deal with it?
Poe came up behind him and stood there, just looking at the man and his jacket. It looked new since the last time he had seen him. Not the old one he saw him in before. Carefully putting his hands on either side of the man’s shoulders he leaned forward, pressing his forehead to the others upper back, leaning there and closing his eyes. “You know me. I won’t ask you to talk about anything.” He felt like he sagged in a bit heavier on the poor older mans back, but the warm leather felt good, even if he just left a hot environment. “It’s not really something I want to talk about anyhow.”
Han shifted out from Poe’s hold, turning around and looking down at the shorter pilot with an exasperated look. Poe just looked down still at the others chest, still a bit dazed looking, and tired. He sighed, reaching out to pull him in closer, arms looping around his shoulder, heavy with age and regret, but also firm with protection.
“You know, I had to deal with it too. Interrogation. By a force user.” He mumbled, drawing back a bit as he felt Poe looking up at him, a confused look on his face. Han rolled his eyes and pulled the other in again to get him to relax. “Darth Vader. He never even asked me any questions though. Just used me as a form of torture and bait.”
Poe sank into the older man’s arms a bit more, taking the moment to relax, to close his eyes and let the more experienced one hold him up for the moment.
“If you stood up to everything and didn’t break until my son got to you, you have nothing to be ashamed of.” Han continued. “We’ll get you back to Jakku and find your droid before they do. Chewie’s got a pretty nifty device we might be able to use to locate it, if he’s out there in the desert somewhere.”
Just then an alarm went off, alerting them that they were near to docking now. “But first, we clean you up. Leia would kill me if I lost you too.” He mumbled, letting go of the other and ducking around him, back to the front.
Docking was easy, as the ship they were docking inside of was pretty large. Chewbacca was there, lifting a set of welding goggles up and sitting a torch down as he looked as the two of them get off the shuttle.
“Picked up a stray. Off load the Rathtar chow while I get him cleaned up, huh?” Chewie made a protesting sound, reaching out to fluff Poe’s hair as the other came closer. “First Order trouble. We want to find his droid down there somewhere, and skedaddle before they show up again. Last thing I need is Neo Empire trouble.”
Poe reached out and gave Chewie a one armed hug as they went by, but he let Han lead him off to a refresher station.
“Rathtar? Han, really?” Poe mumbled as the older man opened up a cabinet to look around for some things. “I thought you were done with exotics.”
“It pays well?” Han says, almost a lie without really lying. It does pay well, if he can get the damn cargo to where it needs to be. And considering he has two people backing him, and he found plenty of rathtar’s to go around in one damn horrible hunt? Well, it’ll be FINE. Fine.
“Even I know it doesn’t pay well. You might as well be running spice for the hutts.” He said with a snort, only to lean forward and rest his head in his hands. That hurt. "Ow..."
“You deserved that.” Han said, moving to actually help clean the other up now.
After a good ten minutes in the refresher, a clean up and a small shot of a pain killer, Poe could honestly say he felt much better, even in the same old dusty clothing. They both came out and up to the cockpit of the main cargo ship, Han taking his seat and checking some things. Poe came in behind him, leaning on the back of his seat, watching him work. He might have learned most his piloting skills from his mother but he picked up some fancy flying tricks from this man here.
“You should be resting, until we get planet side again.” Han mumbled as he checked something else, trying to ignore the fingers messing with his silver hair.
“This is resting. Can’t think of a better place to be.” Poe said with a half smile.
He rolled his eyes at that, “Flyboys. Can’t live with them, can’t get them out of your cockpit.” Han again mumbled, more to himself than anything.
Poe opened his mouth to make a comment, then closed it again, thinking better of it. Han paused at the same time, realizing what he said and how the other would take it. He glanced back, then smiled a half crooked smile. “I’m surprised you didn’t take that shot.”
“Too easy.” Poe said and moved to sit on the arm of the pilot’s seat, leaning in a bit and looking past Han to the dash. There was video of the creatures in their cells. He made a face, shaking his head. “How’d you get so many, just the two of you?”
Han’s arm slipped around the smaller man, pulling him off the arm and into his lap, curling both arms around him and resting his chin on the man’s shoulder, pulling him close, tight and warm. “It was a bigger crew.” He said flatly.
The younger pilot made a face, but not at being pulled closer, just at the answer. “That’s terrible.”
“Space can be terrible.”
“Not always.” Poe said, turning his head and nosing a bit into the older man’s cheek, eyes closed for the moment. It felt like it had been forever since he had felt the stubble of anyone's jaw, let alone Han’s.
“Most of the time.” Han said, turning his head in a bit to feel the younger man nuzzle close to him. He knows Poe’s not feeling good, because the kid’s never affectionate where anyone else can see, and Chewie was around somewhere. He knows he’s got to be hurting, because he remembers how he was as well. Not that he can compare being tortured by Vader to Ben. His arms tighten around the others slender frame and he allows himself a moment to… well, perhaps it’s called ‘snuggle’ down to the other. Nuzzling into his neck a bit.
Han doesn’t ‘cuddle’ with anyone anymore. He sometimes lounges against Chewie, or leans on him a bit more than he intends, but he doesn’t ‘snuggle’ or ‘cuddle’. Not really. Not often. Not at all since leaving Leia. Except for once in a great while, in private, in those weird fleeting moments he got with the younger Dameron. He’d been close to Kes, so long ago, that maybe it was wrong to be this close to Poe, but the two pilots found comfort in each other once in awhile.
Right now seemed like a good time for the other. Poe needed a bit of comfort.
Though it might have been a bit short lived as another alarm went off. Not just any alarm either. His eyes shot open and he clutched his arm around Poe’s middle harder but sat forward, looking at the dash. “No…”
The entire ship rang with this alarm.
From every room and cargo hold.
From every aspect of the ship, so that NO ONE could miss it.
No one could not hear that sound.
Chewie’s loud trill confirmed that yes, yes Han was right, that WAS the alarm his heart had been waiting for!
“She’s home…” Han said and reached out to kill the alarm.
Poe moved to stand, getting out of the others lap and looking over the dash. “Who’s home? What was that?”
“The Millennium Falcon.” Han said as if his first love had just walked through a door. “And some moof-milker is flying her around like he owns her or something.” He moved to stand as well, pausing before Poe with a look that was years younger than the old Smuggler felt. “Maybe picking you up was the luck I needed.” And without warning, Han reached out and grabbed Poe by the shirt front, pulling him in for a quick hard kiss.
Poe’s head swished a bit, but he leaned into it, feeling twenty times more relaxed now that he knew he was safe, or as safe as he can be around Han Solo. That he was somewhere he could handle. Like this was his second element.
When Han broke back from the kiss, he smiled at the other still, a smile that was young and infectious. “Stay up here and fly us to her, kid. I’m going to help Chewie get a beam on her. Don’t…" He said, finger pointed strongly at Poe. "...let her out of your sights.”
Drawing back he put both hands up, smiling. “Yes, Captain. You know I can out fly anyone who’d dare take your baby.” He winked and moved to drop into the pilot set, getting to work, despite his head ringing still.
Han reached out to mess with the boys hair a moment, just a soft fluff of curly black hair, before turning to haul ass back down to the cargo hold.
When the Falcon was secured inside Poe came down to check it out with the old smugglers, leaning on a crate and watching with a raised brow. “She’s been through a lot.”
“More than anyone should.” Han said darkly, and yet he looked so proud to see his girl again. “Chewie, ready your weapon, we’re taking back what’s ours. Dameron. Blasters over there. Stay out here as cover and be ready in case of a fight.”
Poe did as asked, ignoring how he felt and posted outside the Falcon, blaster in hand and watchful. It seemed to take a bit, the two men inside looking over things. For a moment he wondered if there had been anyone flying her at all.
He started to get a little bored of waiting, tapping the blaster on his knee. “Come on, Han, we need to get back to Jakku…” He said to himself, worried about BB-8 more than ever. He's pretty sure Han's reaction to finding the Falcon was about the same as his own if they found BB-8 again.
WHEN, not if. When. They had to fund him.
Suddenly a sound as if something just docked with the ship startled Poe. He froze, looking around. “Don’t tell me one of his damn rathtars got out…” Because… that was not what he signed up for with this. Not at all. “HAN?!” He called loudly, moving towards the Falcon to look up the ramp.
At the same time, Han, Chewie and three others come off the ramp swiftly. There was a sudden chaos of things going on for Poe. Han pushed past him and to a console, with Chewie at his side. A girl gave him a once over, pulled past and went over with Han to see what was wrong. Poe looked up to see Finn, face to face, suddenly. Both their eyes went wide.
In an instant they were both yelping each others name, talking over each other.
“Poe?! Poe Dameron!? You’re alive!?”
“Finn! I can’t believe it! How did you--” and then he heard a beep and something rolled right into his legs, knocking him back. “Buddy!” He dropped down to a knee and looked over BB-8, who was looking up at him. His hands came out and touched the top of his dome, looking startled, surprised and so happy to see his friend. “You’re here! You’re okay?! You are all right, yeah? What? Finn did? And Rey?” He said over top of BB-8 explaining things to him.
And then Han growled something about Guavian Death Gang though and it caught his attention. The girl, who he assumed was Rey, was asking what a rathtar was. Nothing at all seemed to be going well for anyone BUT him. For he had BB-8 back, and Finn was alive.
First though. “Guavian Death Gang? Han, really? What were you doing out in Nantoon anyhow?” He stood and moved, slapping Finn on the shoulder with a grin. He hadn’t even noticed it was his jacket yet.
“You don’t want to know, kid.” Han started to move, and the entire group started going, the girl asking questions. In the end Han pointed to a hatch and told them to get inside it. To stay down and don’t they dare think about taking the Falcon.
“What are you going to do?” Rey asked Han, looking unsure of this plan.
“The same thing I always do. Talk my way out of it.” Han replied, pointing for them to get inside the hatch. Chewie protesting. “Yes I do! Every time!” Han pointed at his co-pilot in annoyance, then huffed looking around, wiping his palms off on his hips. Great, how was he going to get out of this one. “You to, kid. In the hold.” He said to Poe as he realized the other was lingering.
“I’ll stick with you, if it’s all the same. Back up.” Poe said, lifting a blaster and ducking back into a side hall way.
The entire thing went to hell, really fast. The Guavian Death Gang showed up demanding Han’s head. The Kanjiklub showed up on the other side and both saying Han borrowed against each other. Poe gave Han a look that said ‘are you serious?’ From his hidden point, but so far, this was looking bad. Poe dramatically rolled his eyes as Han ‘talked’ his way out of this.
The Kanjiklub started to move, to search the ship. Poe readied his blaster, motioning for Han to come back this way.
And then the fuses went out… somewhere else. He squinted, looked at Han and Chewie, confused. He couldn’t see what was coming, but Han, Chewie and BB-8 suddenly came towards him at a run. His eyes went wide as he saw the creature trailing them. “Ooooh, I wasn’t ready for this…” He gulped, running too.
Han punched a guy and feed it to a creature.
Poe has no idea where the other two were, but if they were in the hatch still they should be safe. “We got to grab the other two!”
“I know!” Han barked, running down another hall. “Get to the Falcon. We’ll figure something out!”
“You aren’t just leaving them here, Solo!” Poe called back through Chewie’s growls.
“Who do you think I am?!” Han snapped back, hitting a round blast door that lead to his ship. Swiftly working on the controls, Chewie and Poe shot cover fire. When Chewie got hurt, Poe dropped to help check on him, one hand still trying to blast at their target.
Han, picking up Chewie’s weapon opened fire, looked startled at how well the weapon worked, and used it to open the door. “Come on.”
“What about the other two?!” Poe barked, just as Rey and Finn both shoved past him into the cargo bay.
“We’re here!” Rey yelled as they both ran for it.
The group of them tore off to the Falcon, chaos ripping through the larger cargo ship. They had no time to waste. With all six of them on board, the Falcon took off in a rush. After all the terror and horror of bypassing compressors and keeping the damned ship together the group of them reformed in the rec area.
“Lightspeed, from inside the hangar bay?! Are you mad?” Poe said with surprise as he saw the man come to meet them. He was shocked still, but impressed, and it left a lasting impression. There was a 99.9% chance that Poe will attempt that some day. What a terrible idea.
Han glanced off to the other two with a snort. “So, fugitives, huh?” And the conversation wandered on from there. How Finn and Poe crashed, and Finn found Rey. How Rey saved BB-8 and they, more accurately, found Finn. Poe told the others how Han found HIM and how they ended up here. A bit of a discovery that Finn isn’t really with the Resistance, but that seemed to work out.
In the end, Poe looked to Han and said. “So... we just need to get back to my base. This couldn’t have worked out better if we tried.”
Han started off to the cockpit. “I’m... taking you to a old friend. She’ll get you to your base.”
While the others stayed where they were, Poe followed off after Han. “Come again?” He hissed, dropping into the co-pilot’s seat and turning to face him. “You’re doing what?”
“Taking you to Maz Kanata. She can find you a ship to get you back, or you can call from there, but I’m not going to your base. You know I can’t.”
“That’s ridiculous. You know she’d be fine in seeing you. How long has it been anyhow?” Poe protested on a whisper, leaning there and looking the old man and occasional lover with a pleading look.
Han shook his head, checked a few dials, and moved to stand again. “I said no. Besides, it’s been too long. She doesn’t want to see me.” He said gruffly, and started to leave.
“Where are you going now?” Poe said on a deep sigh, shoulders slumping.
“We got a few hours before we reach Maz’s. I’m going to hit the bunks.” He paused, and frowned, glancing back. “You know where they are, if you need some rest too.” He ducked out and into the rec area again, paused as he realized this was the most amount of people the Falcon had on her in some time, that he knew of. He scowled at everyone darkly, then waved them off as he walked past. “Chewie, she’s yours. Don’t let any of these kids touch anything.”
Poe stood there with his arms crossed, staring at the black leather jacket as he walked off. For a moment he considered following, but instead moved over to talk to the others. His defiance didn’t last long though, and after he and Finn caught up a bit more (“Is that my jacket?!” And “No, no, you keep it. It suits you.”) and he and Rey were properly introduced, he excused himself.
Going back to the bunks he ducked around the door and glanced in, seeing Solo tipped back into a bunk space, hands folded behind his head, boots crossed. He had a smug look on his face, though his eyes were closed.
“Have you been holding that smug look all this time because you knew I’d come along at some point? Or is that just the afterglow of having your baby back?”
Han shifted, moving over a bit in the bunk, the only sign of invite to the other. There was a whole nother bunk to be had, but it was full of crap left on his poor ship. “Maybe a bit of both.”
Poe sighed coming over to the edge of the bunk and sat down, looking over at the man. “Are you really doing this right now? Hiding in your bunk instead of helping us take down the First Order?”
Han’s eyes couldn’t roll any harder, looking away to the inside of the bunk and snorting. “I’m not scared of her, if that’s what you think, kid.”
“Yeah? Then what is it?” Poe pushed, leaning over a bit to try to look the other in the face.
Han frowned, sitting up on an elbow and gave the younger man a sharp glare. “It’s logic. Think before you over react, Dameron. The Falcon isn’t a clean ship. The First Order is no doubt looking for her now because of that stunt back there. They know the droid is with me. Not only that but I’ve got my own problems following me. If I waltz you all off to wherever you need to be, we’ll be traced and followed. If I take you to Maz, ship you off from there and then go the other way, no one is going to follow you. No one is going to find the Resistance base, and maybe they’ll go on a wild nerf chase across the universe trying to grab the Falcon while you all get some work done.” He said it all sternly, reaching a finger out to prod Poe in the forehead firmly. “How hard did they hit you up here?”
Poe wrinkled his nose as he was poked, drawing back and rubbing at it, still bruised and sore, thanks. “I am using my head." he replied to the 'how hard did they hit him' comment. "You know the Resistance can help you get a tail off your back side. And we can do it in other ways. It doesn’t have to be an all or nothing thing.”
“No, really. How hard did they hit you?” Han said, this time with less sternness and more of a concerned look behind his tired eyes.
“I’m fine, Han. I’ll get over it. I just need some rest, and I’ll rest better once we’re all back to base.”
That was rewarded with a deep groan of frustration from Han, who moved to half sit up, loop his arm around the smaller pilot, and pulled him down, scooting over more in the bunk. After a moment he settled more, glad to see Poe falling into place as well. “Then get some damned rest, laser brains.”
Poe snorted at the insult, but he did settle down beside the other, curled into his side and resting his head on the others shoulder, arm sliding over the man’s middle and relaxing slowly. The two of them, they weren’t the snuggling or cuddling or affection type, or at least Han wasn’t, but once in awhile it was a thing. Comfort. Letting out a slow breath Poe closed his eyes. “Just for a moment. I need to check on those two, and make sure BB-8 is all right.”
Han’s arm tightened around the younger pilots shoulder as if to say he wasn’t letting him up. “You’re as bad as Leia. Needing to mother hen everyone one. Making sure everything is perfect. Controlling a situation that doesn’t need to be controlled. Chewie’s got them covered. The droid is fine. We’ve got a few hours, and you’re going to lay your ass down and do nothing.”
For a long moment Poe was silent, but Han could no doubt feel the smile grow on the man’s face. “You know, I take that as a compliment, right?” Being compared to the General, for Poe, wasn't a bad thing at all.
Maybe Han saw a bit of Leia in the younger pilot. Leia and Kes. Maybe that was the deadly combination that Poe gave him. Han turned his head into the others hair, eyes closed and letting out a deep sigh. “You would.”
For a moment Poe was still, breathing in the other, even though they were both a mess, Han still smelled like comfort and home, in the strangest way that one could smell like those things. For a older man he was still well built and strong, or at least his arm around Poe felt firm and secure, like nothing was going to grab him from here. Nothing was going to force itself into his head, dig around or hurt him. Security wasn’t something he needed often. He was a bit of a daredevil in most things, but right now it felt good. A needed thing.
And as gruff as Han could be some times, he had a hidden soft spot that he showed to very few.
Poe was pleased still to be in that circle.