Here's a little teaser of something I'm working on...
I have a MAMMOTH of a fluff/angst Poe fic that I can't wait to post. i'm currently at 6.3k words and yet to finish so I decided that I'd give you guys a little something something until i finish it. It's called Glorious Purpose
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Many moons circled around D’Qar before you got your next chance to see Poe again. It was an unexpected sight seeing him tend to his X-Wing early in the morning alongside BB-8 who rolled around beside him. He muttered quietly to the android while a fusion cutter sparked away under the panelling where the power generator was located. His golden skin was clean and free from the grime of his last mission with hair that had been washed and curls revitalised. It was a devastating sight to behold and something in you almost snapped into place. It was like your heart started beating to a new rhythm, faster, and suddenly, ordinary moments took on a different glow when he was involved.
You had stopped dead in your tracks while he held his back to you, deliberating whether it would be a good idea to interrupt him. He seemed busy and interrupting him with your presence ran the risk of losing any, if not all respect he might’ve had for you.
However, BB-8 decided to take that risk for you. As soon as the little droid spotted you, he whirled and beeped excitedly diverting Poe’s attention from the power generator to you.
“Hey! Mind lending a hand?”
It was a slight shock to the system when Poe clocked eyes with you, dressed in your janitor’s overall and boots. You even turned around to make sure he wasn’t addressing anyone else. It made sense in your mind; none of the other engineers enquired for your help, why should he?
He chuckled softly. “Yeah, you. You good with your hands?”
Starstruck, you couldn’t say a word. Instead, you just nodded bashfully and began to make your way over to him. You were more than good with your hands. Years of stealing gave you the benefit of perfecting fine motor skills, but of course, you weren’t going to tell him that.
You tentatively crouched down beside him, knees almost touching, and followed his finger to where he pointed to the generator. You sucked in a breath when his head levelled with your own, to match your line of sight to make sure you knew what you were supposed to be looking at. It was taking everything in you to not freak out over how close he was.
“There’s a bolt I need tightened at the back of that generator but my hands are too big. Think you could reach in and tighten it for me?”
A small smile fought through the nerves and stretched across your lips. “Yeah, sure. I can do that.”
With the wrench in hand, you slithered your hand through the various piping and mechanical bodywork of the ship to find the bolt he was referring to. He watched you carefully, guiding your hand exactly where it needed to be. The bolt was loose and you got to work tightening it while Poe started to make small chat.
“BB-8 tells me that you were keeping him company while I was away.”
“When I could. He makes for good company too.”
BB-8 bleeped, agreeing.
“Thanks for looking after my buddy, don’t know what I’d do without him. I’m Poe by the way.”
You knew, but you responded with your name.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Your name rolled off his tongue fluently. It had been so long since anyone had addressed you by your name that hearing it in his voice triggered a landslide in your stomach.
There was no mention of your uniform, no mentions of your role, no judgement or prejudice of any kind. In his eyes, you were just you. Despite D’Qar being known for its helping of century-old trees and bountiful greenery, none of it compared to the breath of fresh air you breathed when Poe Dameron proved to you that even in a base where hierarchy and superiority had its place, compassion could still be found.
“I think that’s it,” you stated. “As tight as it can be.”
“Thanks, it’s a great help.” Poe rested a gentle hand upon your shoulder when you came to a stand and a blush bloomed across your cheeks. No one had ever shown you such gratitude before. It was…a relief. You almost didn’t know how to respond to it. It wasn’t part of your human nature to be shown such kindness.
“So, are you an engineer too? As well as a pilot?”
“Wouldn’t be a great pilot if I didn’t know what I was flying or how it worked.”
You ducked your head as you handed back the wrench. “Of course. Sorry, silly question.”
He bared his pearly whites in an admirable smile, waving you off. “Don’t be. It’s a reasonable question. But yes, this here is my baby. It’s treated me well in the past, it’s only fair I return the favour. I still need to fix one of my laser cannons. It malfunctioned while I was on a mission.”
You turned to the laser in question. “They’re the Taim & Bak KX9 laser cannons, right?”
“That’s right.”
“And they’re powered by the cryogenic power generator, right?”
His smile widened. “The very same you helped me fix. Do you fly?”
“Me? Gods, no. I’m…I’m just a janitor. But I’ve learned a few things being in and around the engineers.” You waited for the moment for Poe to laugh in your face, a wait that closely resembled the moment you waited for the recruitment officer to stop laughing.
He folded his arms while his eyebrow dipped with confusion. He looked up at his ship and turned back to you with a questioning expression. “What else have you learned?”
You proceeded to tell him everything, just as you did with the recruitment officer, though Poe didn’t interrupt, no, he listened.
“What’s a janitor like you doing with all this knowledge?”
You looked down to your fingers, nimble but trembling with aspiration. “I…I want to learn. I want to fight.”
Poe nodded understandingly, but he still maintained that investigative look on his face, like he was making a profile of you in his head. In all honesty, you didn’t like it. You couldn’t tell what he was thinking. But then with one word, it explained it all. “Why?”
A beat of silence split the room as you came to the realisation that nobody had ever asked you ‘why’ before, not even the recruitment officer when you first approached him, and despite not having said it out loud, the words had been well rehearsed in your head.
“Because I haven’t lived a very desirable life. I was sleeping alone on the streets most nights, surviving each day to see the next sunrise. No bed, no pillow, no blanket, no company, with nothing but the clothes on my body and a roof of metal over my head where the rain battered against its surface, keeping me awake at night. My life was nothing but stealing, living and sleeping. I didn’t…I couldn’t do that anymore. And I thought to myself, I’ve been fighting all my life and it’s all been for nothing, and if ambition is all I have, why can’t I fight something bigger and make it mean something?”
Poe’s eyes softened. The dark umbers of his irises melted into a honey brown as the sun bloomed over the peaks outside and casted a warm glow over his features. It was obvious that Poe wasn’t ready to hear your backstory, nor did he expect it to be so tragic. His arms unfolded slowly and his mouth hung agape. Although he didn’t say anything, you could see the weight of sympathy twinkling in his eyes and that was more than what anybody on this fucking planet had shown you.
Your words had plucked at his heartstrings and they buzzed warmly, as if he was watching a reflection of his former self stand before him. Being a spice runner wasn’t exactly the prime example of living a noble life, and when his daily life started turning into a daily battle to stay alive, he knew he had to get out. The change he made to his life was astronomical. Literally. It saved him. And now he only wished the same for you.
“Well, being a janitor isn’t going to get you far. You wanna learn to fly? Jump up into the cockpit and I can show you the ropes.”
“Wait, really?”
“Sure. Do you have anything better to do?”
Cleaning shit and tidying up other people’s mess? Hell no.
With a steady hand to the small of your spine and a pit opening up in your stomach, he guided you up the ladder and into the cockpit. The realisation came fast and hard; this is Poe Dameron’s actual ship. The very same that has taken down hundreds of First Order battle ships, the one that outflew a TIE Interceptor in an asteroid field, that one that took down the Dreadnoughts cannons. And you’re sitting in it. The slightly dizzying feeling shot straight to your head and your hands shook with giddiness.
As you settled yourself into his seat, having the controls laid out in front of you was overwhelming. You hate to admit it, but the recruitment officer was right. It was one thing knowing everything about the ship, but flying it is a completely different story. So many buttons, switches, triggers, levers, and lights, it seemed like a whole other language that you couldn’t understand.
Poe hung over the entrance of the cockpit above you with that same warm smile.
“First, this-” He swung his helmet, adorned with the Resistance emblem, over the edge and pushed it onto your head, the visor immediately hanging over your eyes. He knocked on the hard shell casing of the helmet. “This thing might save your life if you crash. If possible, never fly without it.”
The weight of the helmet on your head made it feel surreal. Your greedy hands grappled onto the joystick, the inner child in you moving about the controls as if it was the real deal and Poe giggled along with you. He remembered the feeling vividly; the feeling of the controls in his hands with waves of exhilaration coursing through his veins. He showed you all the pre-flight controls, explaining the entire process from start to finish and while it went in one ear, you tried your hardest to remember everything before it went out the other. You took full advantage and asked every question as they popped into your head one by one and Poe answered every one of them with the same severity as the last.
“Flick that switch when you’re ready.” The engine roared to life and the vibrations of the ship rumbled beneath you. Pride swelled inside you and you beamed up at him. “Hey! You’re a natural.”
You wished the moment would last forever, however when one of your superiors came barging into the bay and ordered you to get back to your job, all smiles were lost. The pride simmered into nothing and fearing for the loss of your only job, you hurriedly scrambled out of the cockpit, muttered a quiet apology to an unsettled and confused Poe and scurried away before he had the chance to stop you.
Voices argued behind you, but you were already too far away to hear what was being said.
**COMING SOON**