Poe Dameron had always made a habit of knowing those he shared a ship with by name. It made for easier missions, and of course conversations. Those he didn't know he relied on Leia to introduce him to, or the person to come and make themselves known to him.

But Rey? Her reputation preceded her, tenfold. And after seeing how she singlehandedly freed he, Finn and the other members of the Resistance from the cave on Crait—and being in complete awe—Poe knew right away that he wanted to formally introduce himself and express his gratitude.

The atmosphere of the Falcon was thick with both hope and regret; on one hand, Rey was thankful that her journey had come to a momentary close. Her experience with Luke had taught her so much, and she'd been able to grow as both a person and as a learner of the Jedi way. But the downside was not only losing Luke, but being unable to turn Ben Solo to the Light.

Then again, perhaps it was for the best. As Leia had said, they had enough where they were to keep fighting. She had Finn for a best friend, General Organa as a mentor, BB-8 for a sidekick, and—wait.

Was someone staring at her?

After complementing BB-8 on his new antenna, Rey looked up into a pair of warm brown eyes much like her own. A rugged smile, curly black mane of hair and Resistance bomber jacket told her all she needed to know. So this was the best pilot in the galaxy, who also happened to be her droid friend's owner. In the frenzy of the past few days, however, she'd forgotten his name.

"Hi." She breathed softly, rising quickly to her feet.

"Hi," He spoke in a mellow tone, seeming to soak in her presence. "I'm Poe."

Rey glanced down at his extended hand, putting hers into it, noticing the warmth in his callused palm. There was something about Poe that sent a small measure of comfort through her weary veins. Without knowing a single thing about him, Rey knew she could trust him. "I'm Rey."

Poe chuckled, shaking his head as though in amazement. "Yeah. I know. It's nice to finally meet you."

"You too." Her smile grew a tad wider and then their hands fell back at each other's respective sides. BB-8 gave a curious beep as he rolled in between them. Rey laughed. "BB-8 has told me a lot about you. Something about being the bravest pilot in the Resistance?"

"Well, I don't know about all that…" Cheeks flushed, Poe rubbed the back of his neck. Leave it to his beloved droid to boast about him. "Though I could say the same about you. What you did back there at Crait? That was amazing. You saved us."

The young woman shrugged it off like it was nothing. "You were worth saving."

Poe's pulse ticked up the tiniest bit, but he didn't know why. Of course there wasn't a deeper meaning behind Rey's words; they hardly knew each other outside of stories from mutual acquaintances. And if any personal meaning were behind it, her mind would be on Finn, not him.

But he appreciated it all the same. Because having someone as brave as her on their side, on his side...it meant a hell of a lot. And he couldn't help but feel like this was just the beginning for them both.

He then noticed Leia trying to get Rey's attention, so he stepped aside as not to cause any further delay. Rey sent another sweet smile his way before departing to speak with the General. Poe's gaze lingered for a long moment before looking away. BB-8 gently nudged his leg, another curious beep emanating from his system.

"Yeah, buddy." Poe said quietly, biting his bottom lip. "She's pretty incredible."