Poe was avoiding her. Cassie didn't know why that was, but a week had passed and every time she so much as walked into the same room as him Poe was slipping out the back door without even looking her way. She couldn't think of a logical reason for his behavior. The couple had been dating for a few months now and Cassie had felt like things were getting serious.

It was even to the point where she had almost blurted out to him one evening that she loved him, but Cassie had been able to hold herself back and Poe had left her that evening with a kiss that stole the air from her lungs. She hadn't been able to say a word to him since and Cassie was fed up with his behavior.

He was acting too nervous and a little jumpy, something Cassie took note of that morning as she watched Poe look around the hanger as if he were afraid she would pop up out of no where. Cassie made sure to stay out of his line of sight and it was only when Poe relaxed a little and began walking towards his TIE fighter that Cassie began to make her move.

The brunette moved as quick as possible and Poe didn't even have time to blink before Cassie had grabbed ahold of his arm and dragged him into an empty hallway. "What the—" Poe began, his voice reprimanding as he went to look at who had grabbed him, but his confidence instantly flickered away at the sight of Cassie and the girl swore he even paled. "Oh, uh. . .hi."

Cassie's eyes widened a little in disbelief and she crossed her arms in front of her chest before saying, "Hi? Is that really all you have to say after avoiding me for a week?"

"I wasn't avoiding you," Poe tried to say, but Cassie had gotten pretty good at being able to tell when the man was lying and Poe knew that. Shifting uncomfortably under the brunette's gaze, Poe looked down at the ground and let out a small sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.

A beat of silence fell among them and Cassie watched as Poe stood there at a loss for words. A small frown began to appear on her face and Cassie's arms slumped a little as she whispered, "Did I do something wrong?"

Poe's gaze shot up to her almost instantly and a flicker of panic washed across his face as he quickly reached out and put his hands on the girl's arms. "No, no, no. Sweetheart, you're perfect, okay?" Poe whispered, his eyes filled with sadness as he realized he had made the girl worry over something silly.

Cassie glanced up at him and Poe smiled ever so softly before reaching up and brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, his smile growing just a bit at the sight of her pink cheeks. "Everything about you is perfect. Everything about us is perfect," Poe insisted. "I don't know about you, but I feel like things are even starting to get pretty serious."

"Then why avoid me?" Cassie questioned, her voice soft as she gave Poe a concerned gaze. If everything was as perfect as he said it was, then why had he been avoiding her? It didn't make sense.

An almost sad look appeared on the pilot's face and he let out a soft sigh. "You may be perfect and our relationship may be perfect, but me? I'm far from it," Poe admitted, sounding more defeated than Cassie had ever heard him talk before. "And I want to share more of who I am with you, more about my past, but I'm gonna be honest and admit that I'm a little scared."

"Scared?" Cassie asked, her eyes flickering over Poe's face as if she were trying to find an explanation in his eyes. "Why would you be scared?"

"Because I don't want you to look at me differently," Poe whispered, hanging his head slightly before taking a step back and allowing his back to rest against the cold metal wall as she slowly slid down to the floor. "I don't think I could handle it."

Cassie was beyond confused at this point, but the look of pure fright on Poe's face was enough to have her soften. The brunette stood there for a moment in thought before walking over and sliding down to sit beside Poe.

Her hand reached out and into Poe's lap before she gently took his hand in her own, lacing their fingers together and letting her thumb run against the top of his hand. Poe's gaze was focused on their hands and he smiled softly and gave Cassie's hand a small squeeze which made the young girl smile.

"Eleven years ago, my younger sister Nova left to go train to be a Jedi with Luke Skywalker," Cassie began, her gaze falling onto their hands while Poe finally looked up at her. "She had a special way with the force unlike any other and our father thought it was imperative that Nova learn to hone her ability especially since there are those out there who will stop at nothing until the Jedi are wiped out."

"It was hard letting her go, but we all knew it had to be done. She trained with Luke for eight years and became one of his brightest pupils alongside our best friend Ben Solo," Cassie explained, a soft smile appearing on her face at the mention of Ben Solo, but a haunted sadness in her eyes. "Luke always said that Nova and Ben were going to become the two best Jedi the galaxy had ever seen, but all I wanted was for my sister to come home."

Cassie hesitated for a moment and swallowed thickly, her hand holding on tightly to Poe's while he watched her silently. "But then I got the news. The Jedi Temple had been destroyed. Luke Skywalker had vanished. The Jedi were dead. Ben Solo was gone. My sister was dead," Cassie whispered. "And it was all Kylo Ren's fault."

Cassie was silent for a moment longer before finally looking up at Poe, her eyes glossed over slightly as she gave the man a sad smile. "I lost my sister and my whole family fell apart. My father didn't have an actual conversation with me for years. My younger brother Castor left in the middle of the night and Leo and Aries went to separate bases. We were broken and hurting and you found me when I was at my worst. I would've killed Kylo Ren right then and there if you hadn't stopped me or I would've tried anyways," Cassie told him.

"You. . .you saw me almost kill a guy and you still wanted to go on a date with me," Cassie said, chuckling softly as she shook her head. The corners of Poe's mouth perked you and Cassie looked to him with a small gleam in her eye. "Nothing you tell me will change how I see you or my feelings I can promise you that."

Poe stared at Cassie for a moment before squeezing her hand and giving her a small nod to tell her that he believed her. It took him a moment longer, but Poe eventually managed to take in a shaky breath before rushing out so fast that Cassie almost hadn't heard him, "I used to be a spice runner."

"What?" Cassie questioned, blinking slightly in surprise.

Poe winced and forced a small smile as he said, "I was. . .a part of the Spice Runners of Kijimi. I didn't make the best decisions back then and I'm definitely not proud of what I've done, but I promise I've put that all behind me. I realized how wrong I was a while ago and left, but that doesn't erase any of my actions or my smuggling past. I'm. . .I'm sorry."

Cassie watched in silence as Poe looked away and she couldn't help but let out a laugh of disbelief before saying in amusement, "That's what you've been so worked up about?"

Poe quickly looked up at Cassie in surprise, staring at her hesitantly as he tried to read if the laughter was good or not. Cassie saw this and gave the man a look of disbelief before saying, "Poe, you do know that the famous smuggler Han Solo is practically my uncle, right? Not to mention my former best friend is the leader of the First Order. And you are scared to tell me that you used to be a spice runner?"

The amusement was evident on Cassie's face, but it instantly wavered at the slightly hurt look Poe gave her as he looked away. Cassie winced at her own words and realized how insensitive she was being before gently reaching out and moving Poe's head so that he could look to her.

Poe stared at her in silence and Cassie gave him a soft smile before whispering, "Look at me. See how I'm still looking at you the same way? See how I haven't left? That's because I don't care what your past it or who you used to be. What matters to me is who you are right now. You're still Poe Dameron and I love you even if you used to be a spice runner."

Poe stilled at that, his eyes widening slightly as he breathed out, "You love me?"

It was then that Cassie realized what she said and her face began to grow red as she quickly pulled away and tried to scramble onto her feet. However, Poe was quick to grab her wrist and pull her back down next to him, tugging her arm forward so that she was forced to lean closer to him.

Their faces were mere inches apart and Poe's eyes flickered over her face as his usual cocky smirk appeared on his face. "You're not getting away that easily after declaring your undying love for me," Poe teased, his words making Cassie blush even more.

"Undying?" Cassie questioned a little breathlessly after just how close Poe was to her. "I don't think I mentioned that," she whispered in a shaky breath.

"I thought it was implied," Poe joked, shrugging slightly as he looked at the girl with an unreadable expression on his face.

Cassie went silent at that and her eyes flickered over Poe's face for a moment before she gave him and whispered, "Yes. I love you, Poe Dameron."

Now it was Poe's turn to blush, but that didn't stop him from giving Cassie one of the biggest grins she had ever seen dawn his face. He let go of her wrist in order to reach up and cup her face before whispering, "I love you too, Cassiopeia Shae."

Not being able to take it anymore, Cassie tilted her head up and closed the distance between them, Poe instantly moving forward in order to deepen the kiss. They both knew they couldn't stay like this for long especially since they had already been missing from their post for longer than they should've, but the thrill of potentially getting caught and the high of each other's love had them feeling a bit risky and so they kissed for a moment longer.

Cassie Shae knew then and there that as long as she had Poe Dameron by her side to keep her grounded, she would always be okay.

- - -

Alarms ringing through the Millenium Falcon wasn't exactly the best thing for everyone to hear as soon as they jumped into hyperdrive, but Castor, Rey, and Han were on it in a blink of an eye while Cassie and Finn continued to try and patch up Chewie.

"Electrical overload," Castor muttered in frustration as he flipped a couple of switches and got up form his seat, rushing around the cockpit as he and Rey tried to fix the parts that had begun to spark and smoke.

"I can fix that!" Rey exclaimed as she moved over to that section and Castor looked as if he were about to protest, but he merely glanced in Rey's direction before quickly looking away.

"The coolant's leaking!" Han announced, dragging Castor out of his thoughts. The young boy blinked and moved over to the console to take a peak at the screen.

"I've got this one," Castor said, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration as he ran through a list of ideas in his head on how to solve the problem. "I'm going to try transferring auxiliary power to the secondary tank. That should work." Han hummed in agreement and Castor moved to begin transferring the auxiliary power.

From the cockpit the three were able to hear Chewie howling in pain before Finn yelled out, "Chewie, come on! I need help with this giant hairy thing! Stop moving! Chewie!" BB-8 began to roll over, but Chewie roared at the droid who jumped back in surprise before quickly rolling away.

"Finn, calm down. You freaking out isn't going to make Chewie any less calm," Cassie sighed before reaching out and gently stroking Chewie's hair, the action causing the Wookie to calm down just a bit.

"You hurt Chewie, you're gonna deal with me!" Ham yelled back to them, but both Cassie and Finn knew Han was directing that statement more towards Finn than the girl.

"Hurt him?! He almost killed me six times!" Finn exclaimed and before him or Cassie could blink, Chewie had grabbed ahold of Finn's collar and growled at him. Finn's eyes were wide and Cassie quickly reached out to try and pull the Wookie's hand away from the boy's throat. "Which is fine."

"This hyperdrive blows there's gonna be pieces of us in three different systems," Han muttered in frustration making Castor frown as the boy moved to look at the screens once again, wondering what he had to work on next. However, before he could pinpoint the next problem, the alarms all stopped and the flashing red lights halted as well.

Both Castor and Han blinked in surprise before noticing Rey who had moved away from a panel with some wires in her hand and a satisfied look on her face before plopping down into her seat.

Castor furrowed his eyebrows, his hands going to his hips as he leaned back on one leg. He gave the girl a confused look before asking, "What'd you do?"

Rey couldn't stop the grin that appeared on her face as she looked up at the Shae boy and the flash of excitement in her eyes was evident as she said, "I by-passed the compressor."

Castor blinked and looked at Rey with an unreadable expression before sighing in disbelief and walking out of the cockpit. Rey frowned at that and looked after the boy before looking to Han who just let out a small chuckle and turned his attention back to the controls.

In the lounge, Castor entered with the same perplexed look still on his face before letting his eyes flicker around the room. It was only once his gaze landed on Cassie that he seemed to relax and he didn't think twice before walking over and gently grabbing ahold of his sister's wrist. Since Chewie was now all bandaged up, Castor pulled Cassie aside and made her sit down before grabbing some of the left over medical supplies and beginning to work on cleaning the cut on his sister's face.

The two siblings were quiet as Castor worked, the only sound escaping their lips being from the sharp hiss Cassie let out as the cut flared up in pain under the boy's touch. Once the cut was cleaned and Castor was starting to put an antibiotic cream on it, the boy allowed his eyes to flicker over Cassie's face as if he were trying to read her.

The calculating gaze lasted for only a second before Castor looked back to the cut and asked, "Are you okay?"

"It's just a scratch," Cassie assured him, her words making Castor smile slightly before shaking his head.

"I wasn't talking about that," he explained. Cassie looked to him in slight surprise and confusion and all Castor did was give her a sad smile in return. "You're my sister, Cassie. I've known you long enough to be able to tell when something's wrong."

Cassie knew her brother was right, but she found no words being able to escape her lips as she just sat there. Poe's death felt like a heavy weight crushing down on her body that became heavier each time she thought about it. She wasn't even sure if she would be able to tell Castor about Poe without tearing up.

When Castor realized Cassie wasn't going to say anymore, the boy dropped his hand into his lap and gave his sister a calculating look once again. "You have that look in your eye. If I didn't know any better I might even say it's almost as if—" Castor fell silent at that and was quick to shake his head before looking away.

Cassie could feel her heart beating a little faster in her chest and her eyes had started to burn with the sudden urge to cry. Biting her cheek was the only way to keep herself steady and she waited a moment to collect herself before whispering, "Almost as if what?"

Castor hesitated before allowing his eyes to flicker up and lock with Cassie's. "The look is the same one you used to have when Nova died," Castor explained, his voice so quiet that only the two of them could've heard it. "It's almost like someone you cared about died."

Cassie looked down at that and Castor tensed almost instantly, his posture becoming rigid as he said, "Dad? Leo? Aries?"

"They're all fine," Cassie assured him and Castor gave the girl a confused look, wondering whose death could've had that big of an impact on her. "Uh. . .it was my husband actually."

Castor couldn't help but give the girl a look of surprise, but then his eyes locked onto the way Cassie was nervously fiddling with a ring on her finger and Castor felt like he had been punched in the gut. His sister had gotten married and he hadn't been there for it?

Castor had never felt more guilty about leaving up until that very moment where he realized he had missed out on a lot more than he thought he would've these past six years. After all, he didn't even know who the man who was his brother-in-law was!

Cassie took her brother's silence as a sign to continue and she swallowed thickly before looking down at her ring and whispering, "We were on a mission and the First Order found us. He uh. . .he sent me off with BB-8 and stayed behind. They captured him, but when he went to escape the First Order with Finn. . ." Cassie trailed off as her breath hitched in her throat.

Castor understood where this was going and he was quick to move away from the topic about death and instead asked, "What's his name?"

Cassie smiled softly at that and seemed to be lost in thought as she whispered, "Poe. Poe Dameron."

Castor could see the tears beginning to fill his sister's eyes and he sighed before reaching out and gently taking ahold of her hand in hope of comforting her. "If he's able to put up with you he must've been a great guy," Castor tried to joke.

Cassie managed a smile at that and whispered, "He was." Castor frowned and didn't even hesitate to pull his sister in for a hug, knowing what it felt like to lose a loved one and how Cassie reacted to it. Cassie's arms wrapped around him almost instantly and she gripped onto him tightly as she let out a shaky breath.

Knowing that dwelling on her feelings would only make finishing the mission harder, Cassie was quick to put up her wall, blocking off the sadness and anger that came when thinking of Poe and pushing it aside for when this was all over. She needed to focus and letting her younger brother comfort her wasn't going to help.

Cassie pulled away from Castor and the boy gave her a look, but didn't question about her behavior. Instead he asked, "How is everyone else doing? Are Dad, Leo, and Aries okay?"

"They're doing better than the last time you saw them. It's been hard the past six years, but we're finally at a point in our lives where everything is starting to get better. They will be so excited to see you," Cassie commented, her words making Castor blink in surprise because he hadn't even thought about going back home.