Author's note: This got WWAAAAAAAY longer than I expected so it's commented in three parts. Jess doesn't actually show up until part three, so don't worry!!!! She's important to the story!!!
---
I.
“So, your first option is Kare Kun, an old pal of mine,” Poe said, keying in the code for the first bunk. “We were New Republic pilots together, actually, before we joined the Resistance. We go way back.” He grinned over his shoulder at Rey as the door to Kare’s bunk slid open.
Rey looked up from fidgeting with the zipper on her jacket to grin back, butterflies flitting in her stomach at the familiarity in Poe’s face. He spoke about joining the Resistance so casually– like it was just a regular activity, on par with eating lunch or taking a shower. Just a natural step in his life.
Rey thought back to Jakku and the endless sameness of the desert, the sameness of the people tearing anything scavengable from the land, the sameness of the days, each one an identical chalk mark streaking white across the wall. Joining the Resistance was like slamming the wall down with a Star Destroyer.
The door slid open, and Poe peeked his head inside. “Kare? Hey, I’m just stopping by to show Rey the bunk, like we talked about?”
A voice called back, silvery and light, “Oh, of course! I’m excited to meet the Jedi girl.”
The hairs on the back of Rey’s neck stood up at the word “Jedi.” Is that me? Rey wondered to herself. I’m just a scavenger. But she followed Poe into Kare’s bunk with a knot of anticipation in her stomach. Scavengers live alone, she told herself, and I don’t have to do that any more.
“Kare Kun, this is Rey– uh,” Poe paused awkwardly over the space where he would say a last name, the realization suddenly hitting.
Rey made eye contact with him and smiled. “Just Rey,” she finished for him, holding out her hand to Kare. She was taller than Rey had pictured, and much older. Well– not older older, but she was closer to Poe’s age than she was to Rey’s. She was square-jawed and slightly sunburnt, with thick black hair pulled into a twisted ponytail at the side of her face.
“It’s a pleasure, Rey,” Kare said, with a lopsided smirk. She surveyed Rey with dark eyes, and for a moment Rey resisted the urge to zip her jacket tighter, hold her arms closer, hide herself more. But then Kare dropped her hand and turned to nuge Poe with her elbow.
“Well, she’s certainly got a stronger grip than Iolo, I’ll give her that. And better looking, too.” Her eyes darted back to Rey, and both she and Poe broke down into snickers.
Rey looked between the both of them with a half-smile and pretended to chuckle, but searched Poe’s face for an explanation.
Poe caught Rey’s look. “Ah, Iolo was part of our squadron, back–” he suppressed another giggle and exchanged a glance with Kare. “He’s– well, he’s a character, so, don’t worry, Kare’s only saying nice things about you. But, anyway, you should look around the room. That’s why we’re even harassing Kare in the first place.”
“Aw, it’s not harassment when you’re here, Poe,” Kare said, and they both snickered again.
Rey drew her attention to Kare’s room. One half of the room was empty but for a bed and a small dresser. Altogether, it was a smaller space than Rey’s home on Jakku in her AT-AT, but there was something about the closeness of the walls that she liked. And if she could decorate it, make it feel a little more like home… She thought back to her little dying flower and the pieces of Rebel Alliance pilot uniforms she displayed in her AT-AT before realizing with a pang that those possessions weren’t even hers any more, anyway. Jakku was light years away, and besides, as soon as she was noticeably gone, her home had probably been raided of anything remotely valuable. Some little desert creature could have even made it’s new home there– or worse, someone could have dismantled it for parts. Rey never wanted to go back to living alone in that AT-AT ever again, but the thought of her home being sold for scrap made her heart sink low in her chest.
“Kare! You still listen to this crap?” Poe exclaimed. Rey turned back to Kare and Poe, who was examining a large poster Kare had tacked up behind her bed of three Twi’leks in spiky clothes, in the process of smashing their instruments.
Kare put her hands on her hips. “Jozzisa and the X-wings is a classic band, and better than that neo-pop garbage you blast in your spaceship.” Kare had several other posters around her side of the room featuring bands of a similar calibre. Rey didn’t recognize any of them, but why should she? Her only references for music were the old recordings that she scavenged and the house band at Maz Kanata’s castle.
“Come on, Rey, back me up here,” Kare said.
Poe shook his head. “Rey has a lot better taste than you, trust me. You still watch reruns of Empire-sanctioned holodramas.”
“Just because they were mass produced by a fascist empire as a form of controlled entertainment doesn’t mean that they were bad entertainment!” Kare looked back at Rey again for approval, and Rey gave a quick nod, having no idea what she was agreeing to.
“See!” Kare said, and Poe sighed. They bickered like siblings, Rey thought. On Kare’s dresser was a wrinkled picture of both pilots, much younger, arms draped around each other and grinning widely at the camera. Rey gave a small smile back to the picture, imagining for a moment the day it was taken and what kind of teasing they must have given each other then. Rey couldn’t even make up things for them to tease each other about– she didn’t even know what they were talking about now. It must have been fun, for the two of them, to have their big Resistance adventure together.
She wondered if Finn was allowed to listen to music or watch First Order-sanctioned holodramas while he was a stormtrooper, or if he was as disconnected as Rey felt. Not that she could ask him, what with him still in a medically-induced coma. Maybe she’d ask him anyway.
“What did you think of Kare’s bunk?” Poe asked, after they had said their goodbyes to the pilot.
Rey shrugged. “She’s very friendly. You two have known each other for a while.”
“Yeah, well, that’s Kare. What about the room? Could you see yourself living there?” Poe asked, watching Rey with eager eyes.
Rey tried to imagine living with Kare, a seasoned Resistance member with her flashy posters, next to Rey’s empty side of the room. “I feel like we’re too different,” Rey said, “I don’t know if she’d like living with me. I wouldn’t be able to keep up with her.”
Poe frowned. “Well, Kare has been with the Resistance as long as I have. Maybe we could find you someone closer to your age. There’s a junior officer who’s been waiting for a new bunkmate– maybe she’d be more your speed.”
FILL: I care that you feel at home (part 1)
---
I.
“So, your first option is Kare Kun, an old pal of mine,” Poe said, keying in the code for the first bunk. “We were New Republic pilots together, actually, before we joined the Resistance. We go way back.” He grinned over his shoulder at Rey as the door to Kare’s bunk slid open.
Rey looked up from fidgeting with the zipper on her jacket to grin back, butterflies flitting in her stomach at the familiarity in Poe’s face. He spoke about joining the Resistance so casually– like it was just a regular activity, on par with eating lunch or taking a shower. Just a natural step in his life.
Rey thought back to Jakku and the endless sameness of the desert, the sameness of the people tearing anything scavengable from the land, the sameness of the days, each one an identical chalk mark streaking white across the wall. Joining the Resistance was like slamming the wall down with a Star Destroyer.
The door slid open, and Poe peeked his head inside. “Kare? Hey, I’m just stopping by to show Rey the bunk, like we talked about?”
A voice called back, silvery and light, “Oh, of course! I’m excited to meet the Jedi girl.”
The hairs on the back of Rey’s neck stood up at the word “Jedi.” Is that me? Rey wondered to herself. I’m just a scavenger. But she followed Poe into Kare’s bunk with a knot of anticipation in her stomach. Scavengers live alone, she told herself, and I don’t have to do that any more.
“Kare Kun, this is Rey– uh,” Poe paused awkwardly over the space where he would say a last name, the realization suddenly hitting.
Rey made eye contact with him and smiled. “Just Rey,” she finished for him, holding out her hand to Kare. She was taller than Rey had pictured, and much older. Well– not older older, but she was closer to Poe’s age than she was to Rey’s. She was square-jawed and slightly sunburnt, with thick black hair pulled into a twisted ponytail at the side of her face.
“It’s a pleasure, Rey,” Kare said, with a lopsided smirk. She surveyed Rey with dark eyes, and for a moment Rey resisted the urge to zip her jacket tighter, hold her arms closer, hide herself more. But then Kare dropped her hand and turned to nuge Poe with her elbow.
“Well, she’s certainly got a stronger grip than Iolo, I’ll give her that. And better looking, too.” Her eyes darted back to Rey, and both she and Poe broke down into snickers.
Rey looked between the both of them with a half-smile and pretended to chuckle, but searched Poe’s face for an explanation.
Poe caught Rey’s look. “Ah, Iolo was part of our squadron, back–” he suppressed another giggle and exchanged a glance with Kare. “He’s– well, he’s a character, so, don’t worry, Kare’s only saying nice things about you. But, anyway, you should look around the room. That’s why we’re even harassing Kare in the first place.”
“Aw, it’s not harassment when you’re here, Poe,” Kare said, and they both snickered again.
Rey drew her attention to Kare’s room. One half of the room was empty but for a bed and a small dresser. Altogether, it was a smaller space than Rey’s home on Jakku in her AT-AT, but there was something about the closeness of the walls that she liked. And if she could decorate it, make it feel a little more like home… She thought back to her little dying flower and the pieces of Rebel Alliance pilot uniforms she displayed in her AT-AT before realizing with a pang that those possessions weren’t even hers any more, anyway. Jakku was light years away, and besides, as soon as she was noticeably gone, her home had probably been raided of anything remotely valuable. Some little desert creature could have even made it’s new home there– or worse, someone could have dismantled it for parts. Rey never wanted to go back to living alone in that AT-AT ever again, but the thought of her home being sold for scrap made her heart sink low in her chest.
“Kare! You still listen to this crap?” Poe exclaimed. Rey turned back to Kare and Poe, who was examining a large poster Kare had tacked up behind her bed of three Twi’leks in spiky clothes, in the process of smashing their instruments.
Kare put her hands on her hips. “Jozzisa and the X-wings is a classic band, and better than that neo-pop garbage you blast in your spaceship.”
Kare had several other posters around her side of the room featuring bands of a similar calibre. Rey didn’t recognize any of them, but why should she? Her only references for music were the old recordings that she scavenged and the house band at Maz Kanata’s castle.
“Come on, Rey, back me up here,” Kare said.
Poe shook his head. “Rey has a lot better taste than you, trust me. You still watch reruns of Empire-sanctioned holodramas.”
“Just because they were mass produced by a fascist empire as a form of controlled entertainment doesn’t mean that they were bad entertainment!” Kare looked back at Rey again for approval, and Rey gave a quick nod, having no idea what she was agreeing to.
“See!” Kare said, and Poe sighed. They bickered like siblings, Rey thought. On Kare’s dresser was a wrinkled picture of both pilots, much younger, arms draped around each other and grinning widely at the camera. Rey gave a small smile back to the picture, imagining for a moment the day it was taken and what kind of teasing they must have given each other then. Rey couldn’t even make up things for them to tease each other about– she didn’t even know what they were talking about now. It must have been fun, for the two of them, to have their big Resistance adventure together.
She wondered if Finn was allowed to listen to music or watch First Order-sanctioned holodramas while he was a stormtrooper, or if he was as disconnected as Rey felt. Not that she could ask him, what with him still in a medically-induced coma. Maybe she’d ask him anyway.
“What did you think of Kare’s bunk?” Poe asked, after they had said their goodbyes to the pilot.
Rey shrugged. “She’s very friendly. You two have known each other for a while.”
“Yeah, well, that’s Kare. What about the room? Could you see yourself living there?” Poe asked, watching Rey with eager eyes.
Rey tried to imagine living with Kare, a seasoned Resistance member with her flashy posters, next to Rey’s empty side of the room. “I feel like we’re too different,” Rey said, “I don’t know if she’d like living with me. I wouldn’t be able to keep up with her.”
Poe frowned. “Well, Kare has been with the Resistance as long as I have. Maybe we could find you someone closer to your age. There’s a junior officer who’s been waiting for a new bunkmate– maybe she’d be more your speed.”