Across The Stars // Star Wars (Sequels)

✰Chapter 37✰

"Be with me and I'll be with you," I whisper to myself. "Be with me and I'll be with you." My head starts to pound as I try to focus. My brows are etched into a tight frown as I press my fingernails into my palm. "C'mon. Please," I grunt. 

"Raven Solo..." 

"Give yourself to the Dark Side." 

My eyes open and I am in Snoke's throne room again. I kneel to the ground. "My master."

"You have failed me." 

"No, please, let me prove myself. I won't fail this time, I promise." 

"Weak!" He raises a hand and whacks me across the head. I fall to the ground and reach for my face, feeling an icy spot where his hand met my cheek. "You're finished. Leave. Now." 

"No! No, Master, please!" 

"Rave!"

"Master, please!" 

"Raven!" 

"Pathetic!" 

"No!"

"Rave, wake up!"

I jolt upright, reaching for my Lightsaber and holding it out in front of me. I can hardly get enough air as I struggle to remember where I am. I swallow thickly as I observe my surroundings. 

"You're okay," Poe says softly. "Snoke's not here." He reaches for my hand and turns off the Lightsaber, placing it behind him on the bed. "Try to calm your breathing." 

My body starts to shiver as I pull my legs up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. "I-I was back in his throne room," I whisper, tears burning in my eyes. "He tossed me aside like I was nothing." 

"That wasn't real, Rave. Snoke is dead," he says softly, carefully reaching for my hand. 

I shake my head, drawing back my hands and tucking them under my arms. "I know, but the way I felt was real. I lost not one but two masters when we defeated Snoke. Although he didn't mean to, he taught me things Master Skywalker never did," I tell him quietly, focusing my eyes on a single spot on the bed. 

Poe wraps me in a tight hug and I rest my head against his chest, listening to the beating of his heart. His fingers comb through my tangled hair but the gentle gesture calms my racing mind. "Everything's going to be okay. One day, Snoke's grip on your mind will be gone and you'll be your amazing, butt-kicking, saber-swinging self again," he tells me. I can't help but giggle at his words. 

"Poe?" I ask quietly. 

"Yeah?" 

"I don't wanna go back to sleep." 

"You don't have to. We can do something else," he says. 

"Like what?" I ask, but he just wiggles his brows. "Poe!" 

"Kidding! I'm kidding." He laughs as I playfully push him off of me.

"Are you cold? You're shaking," he asks softly. I nod and he wraps me in a blanket before getting out of bed. 

"Where are you going?" I ask, raising a brow. 

"Meet me in the hangars in ten minutes," he says mysteriously, a slight smirk curling the corners of his mouth. 

"Okay," I say slowly and he grins before pecking my lips and darting out of the room. 

Although alone is the last thing I want to be right now, I wait exactly ten minutes until I travel outside, hugging my blanket tightly around me as the cold air of the night causes goosebumps to form all over my body. The days on Ajan Kloss are generally more on the warmer side and humid, but the nights are cold. 

Most Resistance workers are asleep in their huts, except the few that are working through the night or those who are standing guard. A few greet me with, "Master Solo," or "Good evening, Master," accompanied by formal nods and thin smiles. 

I arrive in the hangars and make a beeline for where I know Poe's new X-Wing is. After the attack on our cruiser, his old one got blown up, but I made sure he got a new one as soon as possible. Where his old one was black and orange, his new is grey, orange and a few light blue details, a nod to the colour of my Lightsaber. 

I frown to myself when I see the top of the cockpit is open. "Poe?" I call softly and he pokes his head out, his dark curls a dishevelled mess. 

"Hey," he says with a grin. "Come on in." 

"What-" 

"Don't ask. Just get in here." 

A small smile curls my lips as I climb up the ladder and into the cockpit. A pile of blankets and pillows rests on the reclined seat and Poe excitedly sits amidst the blankets. "What do you think?" he asks. 

"I'm not sure. What am I looking at?" I ask.

His face falls dramatically. "You don't remember?" he asks, faking offence. 

The realisation then hits me and I gasp. "It's the blanket fort we used to make as kids!" I smile widely as I plop down across from him. "This is amazing, thank you." 

"I can't believe you forgot," he says with a pout. 

"I'm sorry! I guess spending a decade and a half on a deserted island does that to one's brain," I joke, making him chuckle. 

"All right, you're forgiven," he says, opening his arms. I gladly fall right into them, nestling my head in the crook of his neck. "So how's your Padawan?" 

I chuckle. "She's great. She's so excited to learn everything but that's also what keeps her from focussing," I tell him. "It took me years to learn all I know today and I don't think she realises that just yet. She thinks she can learn all of it in a few months. I'm just struggling with that a bit." 

"You'll figure it out. You always do." 

"Thank you," I mutter, a soft smile on my lips. I press a quick kiss to his cheek. His hand intertwine with mine as the other traces up and down my arm. The Force-energy flowing off him is calm and soothing, exactly what I need. "How was your day? I heard my mom wanted to speak with you," I ask. 

"Yeah, she did." 

"What did she need?" 

"She made me a commander again," he says and I can basically hear the smile in his voice. 

"Really? Poe, that's amazing!" I exclaim, turning around to look at him. "I'm really happy for you." 

The look in his eyes sends shivers down my spine and he begins to lean in, but before his lips can touch mine, I whisper, "I love you." 

He draws back. A soft smile makes its way onto his face as he answers, "I know."