Chapter 53: As it should be

I know, i know, it's been a while! Covid and Lockdown has taken away my writing mojo but i'm determined to finish this entire story and i recently had some inspiration! So as always, enjoy... and please forgive the temporary abandonment of the story :D

Poe and Lyra had spent the best part of a whole day on the falcon together, making love and talking as if the world outside didn't exist.

After making love on the floor, on the hologram display table, in the pilot's seat, they had found themselves back in the cot, laying opposite one another, facing each other with their legs entwined and a thin blanket covering their most intimate areas.

"So, come on, I know you have questions for me" Poe urged, knocking her knee with his own.

Lyra smiled at him, her full lips appearing even fuller than normal after hours of kissing Poe. He reached out to massage one of her feet as she trailed a hand over his exposed leg, feeling the hair there.

"I always have questions for you, did you have any in mind?"

"I thought after Kijimi, with Zorii, you might want to ask me about my past, the parts I didn't tell you about" Poe said, watching her face for her expression.

"Oh. That. Yes, I have a few questions, but I can wait until you wish to tell me by your own volition" Lyra replied.

"Post-coital pillow-talk, best time to talk, reveal all my secrets, I'm in an open book right now" he replied.

Lyra nodded slowly as she stretched out, Poe continued to rub her foot. "Fine. How did you get into spice running?"

"I was 16, my dad and I were going through a bit of a tough time trying to get on with each other. I was feeling rebellious and angsty and I was starting to feel like I was living in my parents shadow, and I would never be as good as them, so why even try? That's when Zorii landed on Yavin. She thought I was charming and thought my charm coupled with my gift at flying would come in handy. I wanted to leave, I wanted everyone to forget who I was, the only child of Shara and Kez Dameron, heroes of the Rebellion. I was just Poe back then, nothing compared to them, so I left with Zorii."

Lyra didn't interrupt, if Poe wanted to spill his secrets to her, she would be there to listen, be the shoulder to cry on as he had been to her so many times before.

"I didn't really know what I was getting myself into before it was too late. I was scared and I didn't really know what I was doing, but every time I felt like going, Zorii would rope me back in, she would tell me how good I was at working with her and the crew, how I could make a name for myself, be rich, see the galaxy. When you're 16, that kind of thing appeals to you."

Lyra nodded, she knew as well as anyone what it was like to want to get away from your parents wishes, rebel and be free.

"That's when Zorii and I started seeing each other, when she felt like I was slipping away, the whole spice running thing was just a part of it. For a while I felt like I had made a new family, one that I could be myself around, one I didn't think I was disappointing. Plus, I had a girlfriend, money and access to the most expensive ships and weapons money could buy."

Lyra took a deep breath in, she couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy at the mention of Zorri as Poe's girlfriend.

"I know, not the poster boy you fell in love with right?"

She shrugged. "We all go through phases, you could look past the fact I was wife to a First Order General, you didn't shy away from me because of that at all."

"Anyway, it didn't last forever. Spice running lets you see the worst in humanity and I got pretty disillusioned with it all. People selling each other out, putting their families at risk, seeing people gun each other down for the biggest score, it got pretty bad. I tried to get Zorii to see reason, tried to get her to see that spice running was wrong, but she was too obsessed with the only life she knew, so I left. In the middle of the night, I left and went back home and begged my dad to forgive me. Of course he did, he's a better man than me."

Lyra stroked his leg. "You're a good man too Poe, you never would have left that life if you weren't. So what happened when you got home? How did you get involved in the Resistance?"

"Leia happened. My dad was still helping her, especially when the First Order reared it's head for the first time. Leia came to Yavin to talk to my dad about fighting against tyranny again, I wanted to do anything to help people, wipe out my teenage past, my dad told Leia about my flying abilities so she gave me a chance as a pilot and a spy. The rest is history."

Lyra looked down as she took in his words, causing Poe's heart to sink at the thought his admission of truth had scared her away.

"You can't go silent on me now, please tell me you don't hate me, it was a long time ago" Poe said.

She crawled over to him instantly, settling between his legs as she used her elbows to prop herself up to look at him. "I don't hate you Poe. It was a long time ago, I understand why you did it. And like I said, you didn't judge me for marrying someone in the First Order."

"That isn't the same, you didn't do bad things, you just married someone who did" Poe replied.

She kissed his navel softly. "You are a good man Poe, you have to believe that. You have saved countless people and Leia believed in you for a reason. She left you in you charge because she believed in you. We can't be judged for our past, we can only be judged for how we choose to live the rest of our lives, and you have spent the past fifteen years doing what's right. You learnt from your mistakes. You're still the Resistance poster boy to me, my fly boy."

He smiled down at her, regarding the ring around her neck, the ring she would wear around her wedding finger one day.

"Just you wait Lyra, I'm gonna make you my wife, and I'm gonna make you proud, I promise" he told her.

She leaned up enough to kiss him. "I'm already proud of you."

"I'm sorry I took you on that mission to see Zorii, I thought seeing her would make you jealous, make you want me again, but it went too far and you have to believe I never wanted to hurt you, I was just being an idiot, but I'm sorry I hurt you, I really am. I promise I'll never do anything like that again, I would never want to hurt you" Poe told her.

She smiled at him before she kissed his forehead. "There has never been a time where I haven't wanted you, not ever. I forgive you Poe, just warn me if you ever want me to run into any of your sketchy exes again" she whispered in his ear.

Just then, the Falcon's commslink went off and Poe hopped off the cot to answer the incoming call.

"Poe Dameron, bring my ship back now" Rey's voice sounded off from the other end.

Lyra giggled as she looked over at Poe, naked, rolling his eyes at Rey's angry tone.

"Alright, alright, we're coming back now, actually give us thirty minutes" Poe replied.

Lyra slowly removed the blanket, revealing her naked form as she pouted over at her lover.

"Actually, make that an hour" he spoke into the commslink before disconnecting, leaving Lyra to laugh again as he made his way back over to her.

XXX

Back on the ground, Finn noticed Poe and Lyra return from the falcon. He noticed Lyra's hand on Poe's arm, the gentle kiss she placed on it as she laughed. He saw Poe plant a gentle kiss on her forehead. Finn smiled, his friends were happy again and besides, they worked better together as one instead of bickering like two teenagers.

He raised his eyebrow as he smirked and approached them.

"So I see you two kissed and made up, finally" the Ex-Stormtrooper said.

Lyra blushed as her hand went down Poe's arm to hold his hand. "We used diplomatic methods to come to a mutual understanding" she said, causing Poe to giggle at her choice of words.

"Rey is gonna be mad you chose to use, diplomatic methods all over her ship" Finn said, suddenly growing uncomfortable at the thought of his two friends being intimate in a ship he knew he would have to travel in.

"Poe Dameron, where do you get off thinking it's ok to steal the falcon for your own personal use?"

Rey, emerging from the woods to chastise the two of them.

"Getting off being the operative word" Poe smirked as Lyra suppressed a laugh.

"Rey, we do apologise. I needed some privacy with Poe, to talk about what's happened over the last few months and the falcon was the only place we could think of" Lyra answered, knowing Rey would be softer on her than she would be on Poe, especially given her near-death experience.

"It's, it's fine, but please don't just take the Falcon for joy rides whenever you feel like it, but I'm happy you both resolved your differences, we need you working together if we want to win this war" Rey replied.

Lyra nodded, blushing slightly at the realisation her friends knew exactly what her and Poe had been doing. Poe giggled against her hair as he noticed her change in complexion. In truth, he didn't share the same level of embarrassment, he was proud he had Lyra back, and he wanted the galaxy to know.

"Yeah, for what it's worth, I'm glad you guys are back together, it was getting annoying watching you making love heart eyes for each other but not doing anything about it" Finn smiled before he walked away.

As Poe went towards the docks to check on his forces, Lyra stopped, kissing his arm again gently as she pulled away from him.

"I'll catch up with you on the docks, I just need to speak to Finn about something, I won't be long" she told him as she began to walk away from him, walking backwards so she could still face him.

"Alright, catch ya later Captain" he called back.

As Lyra walked through the Resistance camp, she noticed everything seemed a little warmer, people seemed to smile at her more as she passed them, as if people had already gotten wind of her and Poe's reconciliation. Either that, or life did just seem a little brighter to her since she made patched things over with Poe.

As she approached Finn, he looked up and smirked at her. "It's like looking at a completely different person, I don't think anyone is ever going to knock that smile off your face now right?"

Lyra blushed again as she practically skipped over to him. "I have you to thank for helping us get back to a good place."

Finn shrugged. "It was nothing."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, it was something, I'll take the credit" he chuckled.

She wrapped her arms around him in a friendly hug. "I'm serious Finn, thank you for believing in me, it means the world. I'm honoured to call you my friend."

Finn smiled against her cheek as she hugged him. While they hadn't spend as much time together as they should have, he felt a bond with Lyra that he didn't have with every member of the Resistance. She had been a part of the First Order with him, they had seen the same horrors and injustices and decided to escape them to do the right thing. They had escaped together and rescued Poe together, and because of that, they would always share those memories and kinship.

"You're welcome Lyra, I'm proud to call you my friend too. I'm glad Poe forgave you as well, you guys are crazy for each other and you bring out the best in each other, it's good you have each other right now, through this war."

They pulled away from the hug and she nodded. "Me too, hey maybe now I have Poe back I can play matchmaker for you, anyone around in the Resistance you like, want me to play wing-woman for that special girl, or boy?"

Finn sighed heavily. "Well, you stole the best guy in the Resistance for yourself so now everyone else is just second best, I don't know how I'll ever recover."

Lyra laughed as she shrugged. "Maybe we could work out a deal, you have him every other weekend and every Thursday?"

Finn nodded. "That could work? Anyway, what are you doing talking to me, I'm sure Poe is already pining for you, I'll catch you later."

"Alright, see you around Finn, thanks again" she grinned before leaving to find Poe at the docks.

He was there, talking to one of the Resistance pilots when three children approached him. They were young, they must have been the children of some of the Resistance fighters, one girl and two boys. The youngest boy, a sweet but boisterous child who looked around 3 tugged on Poe's shirt to try and get his attention.

Poe obliged and reached down to pick the young boy up as he pointed to one of the ships on the dock, his X-Wing. The boy seemed fascinated in Poe's words and his whole face seemed to light up as Poe spoke.

Lyra's hand instinctively went to her stomach and she couldn't help but feel a pang of wanting as she saw her partner with children. She had given whatever small chance for children behind when she left Armitage, after all, Ren's visions, if they were even true predicted she would have a child with Armitage, not Poe.

She watched Poe make the children laugh and smiled, he would make a wonderful father and she was depriving him of that. She wondered what their children would look like, she imagined them with thick dark hair and big brown eyes just like him. For some reason, she envisioned any child of Poe's being the image of him and nothing like their mother. Poe was striking image of his own mother, his genes were strong and any child that looked like him or Shara would be beautiful.

As Lyra walked over to him, Poe bounced the boy in his arms playfully. "This is my friend Lyra, she's a hero of the Resistance too" he told the boy.

"Mommy said she's more than just your friend, she says that she's your girlfriend" the little girl said.

"Well yeah your mommy is right she is my girlfriend and soon enough she's going to be my wife" Poe replied, causing Lyra to widen her eyes at his honesty and boldness to tell others that he would make her his wife.

The little boy in Poe's arms made a playful disgusted noise at all the talk of wives and girlfriends and the five of them laughed before the children were called away by their mother.

Lyra and Poe walked hand in hand to Poe's X-Wing before he noticed she seemed distracted by something.

"You ok there?"

She was practically daydreaming as she leant against his X-Wing. "Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm fine."

He paused as he grabbed a screwdriver from the tool bag on the ground.

"You sure? You look like you're debating the existence of other planets with those beautiful wondering eyes of yours."

She sighed as she bit her lip. "It's just, seeing you with kids was kind of heart-warming, I don't, I don't want to deprive you of anything, especially when you're so good with children."

He quickly stood up and placed one hand on his hip as his other one went to her cheek. "Hey, stop that. You aren't depriving me of anything. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Everything else would just be a bonus to what's already a perfect set-up. And you know, once all this is over, if we make it out alive, we get married, I build us that dreamhouse and if we're still left wanting after all that, I'm sure there are plenty of kids out there we could adopt and inflict our madness and love on."

Lyra leant into his touch, smiling warmly at his words, he truly had an answer for everything.

"You would be ok with that? With not having children that aren't biologically your own?"

Poe rolled his eyes. "They would be our kids Lyra, you would love them, I would love them and they would grow up in a loving home with parents who love each other to death too, what's not good about that? If that is what it will take to make you happy then dammit we'll adopt 50 of the little buddies. I'll build us a whole barn extension on the house to keep them in, we can get a rota system going, or maybe just employ fellow resistance survivors to help play nannies."

She laughed at the strange little scenario he had painted for her but appreciated it all the same.

"I'm happy with you, I just don't ever want to feel like you are being robbed of anything" she replied softly, causing him to lean forward and kiss her gently on her forehead.

"I'm not, I promise. I have the woman I love, I'm the luckiest man in the galaxy for that, everything is as it should be" he told her.

She replayed his words in her head. He was right after all, everything was it as it should be with them side by side again.

XXX

The next day, Poe was busy getting more intel from Resistance members when he received word that a list of potential allies was being left for the Resistance at a mutual drop-off point in Felucia, a planet both Poe and Lyra knew well.

Poe decided he was going to collect the vital information needed for the resistance and he would take Lyra with him but leave it as a surprise.

When he went to ask her to join him on a mission, she was busy on the docks again, her shirt rolled up at the sleeves and tied at the waist to combat against the heat. She was leant over an X-Wing Poe had assigned to her inspecting the inner mechanics of the ship, a screwdriver in-between her teeth as she frowned at the sparking wires.

Poe grinned at the sight of his girlfriend working on a ship, from upper-class lady to a working member of the resistance, he sometimes had trouble imagining her at parties in over-the-top dresses, only sampling the finest wines and delicacies and making small talk with rich folk, she seemed so much more at home in her current situation.

He let out a long, slow whistle as he approached. "You know seeing you bent over that X-Wing like that is giving me all types of ideas, and I might just have competition for this whole poster boy image. Though in that position you might just fit the role of Resistance pin-up gal."

She smirked at him as she took the screwdriver out of her mouth and climbed down to the ground, Poe helping her down as she dropped from the ship.

"The poster boy and the pin-up girl, ugh stop, it's just too predictable" she smiled, holding back the urge to kiss him as his hands went to her bare waist and pulled her close.

"Do you trust me?"

She nodded. "Unconditionally, why?"

"I want you to join me on a mission but I want it to be a surprise for you, for reasons" he answered.

Lyra shot him a confused look as she tried to think of what the surprise could be. "And how exactly do you propose to keep this missions location a secret to me, put a blindfold on me?"

Poe ran his tongue over his lower lip as he pulled her closer. "Stars you are so smart because that's exactly what I was going to suggest, wow, what's it like being so beautiful AND so smart at the same time?"

Lyra placed a hand on her heart. "You know sometimes it's a blessing, but other times it's a curse."

Poe laughed as he leaned forward to plant a kiss on her lips.

She rolled her eyes when he pulled away from her. "Ok, come on, let's go on this secret surprise mission."

They took a ship that was big enough for both of them and Poe used his scarf as a blindfold. As Poe flew the ship to Felucia, he laughed at the sight of Lyra sat there with his scarf over her eyes.

"Are you sure this is a surprise and not just an attempt to embarrass me?"

He stroked her hand softly as he piloted the ship through the seemingly calm skies. "Nah it's a surprise I promise. Hey look, I'm gonna land, pick something up and then come back and get you for the surprise ok, I'll be twenty minutes tops."

She held his hand as she faced his direction. "Wait, you're going on a mission alone and leaving me on the ship? Poe, is that really advisable, is it safe?"

He brought her hand to his mouth as he kissed it gently. "It will be fine, I'm just picking something up, then I'll be right back. I'll have the radio with me, I can always call through if I run into trouble and then you can come rescue me, until then, you just need to sit tight with that blindfold still on ok?"

She sighed heavily before she couldn't help but giggle at the strange situations her and Poe found themselves in.

After they landed on Felucia, Poe opened the hatch of the ship, kissing Lyra's hair as he prepared to leave.

"Alright, 20 minutes tops, no peaking while I'm gone, don't spoil the surprise now" he told her.

Lyra waited as Poe went to finish whatever mission he had dragged her along to and dutifully left her blindfold on, not wanting to disappoint Poe when he had gone to such lengths to surprise her.

When he returned 20 minutes later with the list successfully, he kept it safe on-board before carrying Lyra bridal style to the surprise.

After a while, Poe set Lyra down on the ground again and stood behind her.

"Ok sweetheart, are you ready?"

She nodded and slowly Poe removed the blindfold to reveal a beautiful sight. A cave filled with bioluminescence, a cave filled with lights, blues, pinks and purples. It was the cave her and Poe had first confessed their feelings for one another, the cave they had first kissed in.

She turned to him and stared in happy disbelief.

"I know. We can't stay here too long, until the morning at the latest, the resistance need us to carry out more work but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to go to Felucia and not come here with you" he said.

She ran a hand through his thick hair as she grinned at him. "Stars Poe, just when I think I can't possibly love you any more than I already do, you go and surprise me with something like this."

He met her smile and leaned forward and kissed her. "I love you too, now, I don't know about you, but I feel like a little swim."

Lyra watched as Poe undressed quickly and jumped into the small pool, the bioluminescent lights on the surface of the water moving enough to reflect on the walls of the cave, making the whole cave glitter and shine. Lyra looked at Poe and the lights around him and she realised, she doubted there was a sight more beautiful the one before her, not in the entire galaxy.

"You gonna join me?"

She nodded before slowly removing her clothes in an attempt to tease Poe. He watched as she stripped down to nothing, placing his arms behind him on the rock as he stared up at her. The first time they had been in that cave Lyra had stripped down to her underwear and Poe had done everything in his power to keep his eyes trained on her own, not daring to stare. This time was different though, she was his lover now, his partner and he had studied every inch of her body by now, kissed every freckle, every inch of skin, and yet, seeing her naked before him was still as wonderful and awe-inspiring as it had been the first time he had seen her naked. His eyes roamed over her body as he bit his lip absentmindedly causing her to giggle down at him.

"What are you thinking about flyboy?"

"Just how lucky a renegade, rebel pilot like me really is" he replied, giving her a lopsided smile.

She laughed softly as she sat on the edge of the pool. Poe waded over to her, resting his head on her knees as he stroked her legs gently, the sounds of water gently hitting the rocks played through their ears.

She ran her hand through his hair, now damp from the water. She thought she spied a single grey hair amongst the thick black strands but thought not to hurt his pride by mentioning it, despite the fact that it didn't impact his handsomeness in the slightest. She wondered what he would like with a whole head of grey hair, his father would have been a good point of reference for that if Poe hadn't resembled his late mother so much. A silver fox, she thought to herself, she could marry a silver fox, especially one as beautiful and charming as Poe.

He kissed her leg softly, nudging her legs apart enough to kiss one of her thighs.

"Are you going to let me in the water with you?"

Poe abruptly pulled her forward so she was right on the edge of the pool and spread her legs further.

"I've got a better idea first" he whispered against her thigh before delving his tongue against her core like a man starved. Lyra steadied herself with one arm and the other stayed in his hair as he circled his tongue along her clit, causing her to moan as he kissed her.

He used the flat of his tongue to lick a clear line up her core and dipped his tongue into her, causing her to bite down on her lip as she tried to hold back from screaming in pleasure. Having Poe inside her in any capacity felt like heaven and this was no exception. He hooked his arms under her thighs as he spread her legs further to get better access to her, swirling his tongue over her clit relentlessly until she quickly came, and came hard, throwing her head back as she cried out.

Before she even had time to come down from her high, Poe reached up high enough out of the water to grab hold of her and pull her into the water, holding her close as she tried to catch her breath. She wrapped her legs around him and rest her head on his shoulder for a moment while she relaxed.

"Sorry" she whispered.

He giggled, the sound of it vibrating through her comfortingly. "Why the hell are you sorry?"

"You caught me off guard, I came too quickly" she said, raising her head enough to look at him.

He grinned at her, the bioluminescence sticking to her hair and framing her beautiful face as she shot him a worried look.

"Ok, you have to trust me when I say, I will never, ever be disappointed that I made you cum, no matter how fast, one minute woman" he added that final remark with a smirk.

She reached down and cupped him, finding him already half-hard, the touch of her hand was enough to get his full attention. He swallowed hard as she manoeuvred herself so she could lower herself onto his full length.

"One minute woman huh? Let's have a test of stamina then shall we?"

Poe wrapped his arms around her as he gave her another one of his signature lopsided smiles. "Yes Ma'am."