SWEET ESCAPE || poe dameron x reader

chapter one: pretty boy

You'd been trying to find the Resistance for a while. After the rise of the First Order and the shitstorm that descended upon your planet, you wanted to help. It was a total fluke when you found a few members at a trading post on Sanctuary II— the planet you'd fled to after your prior unit had been invaded by thousands of Storm Troopers.

You hadn't expected it to be that easy. They looked exhausted, they looked tired, but their faces had lit up when you'd approached them; showed them your papers, told them of your past, told them that you were an extra pair of hands to train, to pilot, to fight.

"You sure about this?" The pilot had said. He was pale and dotted with freckles, scratching his ginger stubble as he regarded you. They were all in disguise, not being stupid enough to appear in full Resistance uniform even on a place as calm as Sanctuary II. You nodded at him curtly. They didn't need to know the whole story; the sad and depressing spiel of losing your only friends at the hands of the First Order a few years prior, of piloting for a rag-tag group of mercenaries and meditating with the Force in private at night. You were no Jedi, yet you knew the mere knowledge of someone possessing the Force was enough to make people change the way they viewed you.

Sith. Jedi. No.

You were neither. And you didn't want to be anything more than a fighter, intent on helping end this war and suffering.

That's what lead you to her; Leia Organa. Anyone with the Force knew who the fuck the Skywalker's were, even if their mere memory was only etched in the wind. D'Qar was pleasant though; all green trees and soft breezes and crumbling clay on the ground that stuck to your skin. The Resistance Base was bigger than you'd ever imagined. Technicians, pilots, cadets and mechanics ran around incessantly as you focused on not tripping up behind the pilot, Elliot, as he walked you to the main control room.

"The General is through there," He said quietly, shooting you a small smile. "She wanted to see you before allocating your bunk," You nodded once, before heading into the dark building. The click clack of keyboards and blinking radar scanners hit you first, as technicians worked tirelessly to locate and track ships, to keep in touch with their pilots. At the centre of the room was a huge circular table, surrounded by cadets and commanders and all else as they plotted charts for upcoming missions. And at the head of it—

General Organa.

She looked up at you immediately, hitting your eyes with an unwavering stare, with eyes that had already seen too much destruction for one lifetime. Her smile was genuine though, as she strolled round to meet you. You dropped your bags to the floor and stuck out your hand, feeling her gentle fingers as they curled into your own. "So, you're Elliot's find?" She asked knowingly, looking you up and down in subtle judgement. "Does he know?"

Your heart skipped. "Know what, General?" You replied tentatively. She only scoffed, removing her hand from yours.

"I guess not, then," She replied. "I assume you don't want to broadcast this gift?" She said, lowering her voice slightly.

"The Force has never been something I've liked to hoard over others," You admitted quietly. Since you'd discovered your gift, you'd kept it a secret. What, with the danger of the First Order finding out and killing you off before you could even think about joining the Jedi. It seemed the Force had only brought you more struggle, instead of clarity. But you still persisted; you meditated at night, you used it to your advantage when you could, but you'd never used it in a fight, never used it while piloting—

The most it gave you was vivid dreams. Dreams of the First Order, dreams of your past, dreams of your future.

"I can tell," Leia said. "I can feel yours. It's soft and gentle. So is your heart," You couldn't help it; you grimaced on demand, far too quickly to realise it could come across as rude. Leia only smirked slyly. "But I won't tell anyone about that, either," You nodded at her awkwardly, praying that she couldn't sense the bubbling anxiety in your gut. You'd never met anyone else that could read your Force so effortlessly; Leia was the exception, and maybe that was an honour. "Come with me,"