YOU MAY NEVER KNOW WHAT TOMORROW MAY BRING IF YOU DON'T TRY. 

Gentle rays of sunlight peeked through the curtains, stirring me as it streaked onto my face. My eyelashes fluttered open and I sat up, scratching at the absolute mess of curls on top of my head and wiping the drool leaking from the corner of my mouth. No, I wasn't exactly a pretty sleeper, but then again, who really is? Point was, as I dragged my hands along my face, itching at my stubble, I was stunned to realize that I had actually slept.

I quickly pulled on a closely-clinging white t-shirt, yawning as I mumbled a "g'mornin'" to my favorite orange, one-of-a-kind droid.

He beeped back in response to me, sounding drowsy- that is, if it were possible for droids to be drowsy.

Together, albeit slowly and lazily, Beebee and I got ready for the day.

Somehow, reflecting back on my short stay here, I had managed to piss off two of the three people that I would work most closely with on this mission. And to think that I'd like to say that I get along with mostly everyone- I mean, I tried to be kind and accommodating- I had accomplished a feat that Han would have been envious of. Two out of the three people did not wish to speak with me; they'd probably much rather want me to disappear.

It was a shitty feeling.

When I had woke up that morning, I had been feeling good. I had slept well, my head was clearing, I felt hope in the air.

But I was foolish to think that it would all be okay; these things take time.

I was bitterly unprepared for how tense the air would be as someone else also slipped into the room to get ready for the day: Alya.

My eyes shifted as I saw her silently move to the dresser, my heart rapidly beating out of my chest like a drum. She kept her head down and didn't offer me a word. It was different. She was cold.

"M-Morning," I stammered out, my mouth feeling like lead. Dammit Poe, that's all you could say?

Alya, sharp-tongued as ever, seemed to think the same. "That's all you have to say?" She remarked with a callous click of her tongue. "Wow."

"I-I.." I flushed, tripping over my words. "Wh-what should I-I say?"

"Well," sighed Alya, sounding sad as she slowly spoke. "I could think of a thousand better things to say than 'good morning,' Commander Dameron." She addressed me formally, yet another thing to put distance between us. Worst thing was, that I didn't even blame her for the way she shifted uncomfortably away from me, eyeing me with a hurt look in her eyes that she tried to disguise, her lip quivering. For the first time since I had known the wily young girl, she seemed scared. But I didn't blame her. I needed to change.

I opened my mouth to reply, to protest further, to defend my damn wretched self, but I knew deep in my heart that I had nothing left to say except for I'm sorry. Those were the only words I had left. The rest had been said in the heat of the moment even though they were not true. I choked on the words, wanting no more to reach out, to touch her, but I stopped short. In one fluid motion, she removed her shirt.

I instantly turned beet red.

"Have something to say, Commander?" Alya challenged, unfolding her shirt. "I have to get changed in here too, we still have to work together. Life goes on despite."

I didn't say a word as I drew closer to her, something in my vision piquing my interest. She didn't even see me coming.

My touch was like ice prickling against her warm, tan skin. She jolted briefly- I could feel it by the way her spine arched- but she didn't move. She kept her stare at the dresser, breath hitching as I ran the back of my hand along the curve of her spine.

"This scar on your back," I said, an odd twinge of remorse in my voice, "Among all of these spatters of freckles. Where did you get this?"

"I-I don't like to talk about it." said Alya, sounding suddenly uncomfortable as soon as my hands touched the small of her back, where the scar was the most severe. "Please, don't touch me." She had tried to reclaim her power that one, brief moment, but then again, I heard a note of fright.

I drew away at once. The last thing I wanted to do was make her uncomfortable.

She turned away from me, cheeks burning, shoving her shirt on over her head. The princess began to turn away, muttering something about me heatedly under her breath, and she just about got away.

"Al-Alya, wait," I protested, catching her wrist. "Look, I-I... I really am sorry about what I said. I shouldn't have said it." My eyes met hers, burning with slowly dying embers, and she still looked scared. I recognized the familiar darkness as she pushed the emotion away.

"It's fine," muttered Alya, her gaze falling to the floor. "I know that you meant what you said. Why should I care? I don't care. After all, you told me not to." She removed her wrist from the my grasp.

I could hear the pain in her voice, only making me feel worse. "Sweetheart-"

"Don't call me that," She snapped, strain wracking her voice as she escaped the room. "And don't you dare touch me again."

I released the stifled, stored sigh in my lungs as I watched her go.

I needed help.

But I also needed to let Alya see that it would be different. I was determined to change. I just needed the opportunity.

Beebee and I made our way out to the kitchen, the main part of the house where it was beginning to fill with life as we all began our day. In this life of rebellion and adventure, there was never a day open to slack. Murmurs and casual talk filled the air, Sabik joking and prodding with his mother, ruffling her hair as one does playfully, as his mother was that much shorter than him. Sabik reached out for Alya too, but she wrinkled her nose and merely brushed it off. She didn't seem in the talkative, chipper mood.

I slid behind the counter, awkwardly fumbling with a slice of bread and some fruit jelly. I was all too aware of what Alya was doing, sat at a barstool and munching absentmindedly on a dry piece of bread. Her eyes shifted and I could tell she was taking note of everything I was doing, too. Our eyes met briefly, but they broke as Alya heard a beep from below, prodding softly into her legs. A warm smile stretched across her face as she bent down to greet Beebee, patting the droid on the head and wishing him a good morning.

Her attention jerked back up, as did the rest of ours, when Uma slammed a piece of paper down on the bar and announced loudly, "Good news, you two."

"Two? Who are you referring to, Mom?" Sabik asked.

"Not you, Sabik." His mother replied swiftly, gesturing towards Alya and I. "Our two resident professional rebels, of course."

"Professional?" repeated Alya in doubt. "Are you sure about that? Commander over there can barely obey orders."

"Coming from you, that's rich." I retorted. "You just have a head full of dreams, that's all, nothing more. I was actually put in charge."

"No one said that you were." Alya rolled her eyes, picking at her nails.

"Stars, I've told you a million times, and besides, you were present for this. Your grandmother literally told me I was."

Alya smirked, and her gaze flitted up to mine daringly. I wasn't able to read it.

"Anyway," continued Uma quickly, "While at the base yesterday, a higher-up spy who works in the palace told me an interesting opportunity to get the two of you further in the inside."

I took into my hands the piece of paper that Uma had placed on the counter before us. It appeared to be a flyer of sorts, almost advertising for the rest of the Bounty Hunter scum, appealing for them to appear at a ball of sorts.

"'Bounty Hunter Ball?'" I read aloud, a shred of doubt knitting in my brow. "You know, somehow I wouldn't have pegged a trope of ruffian Bounty Hunters to host a classy black-tie event."

Uma stifled a laugh. "It sounds stupid, yes, and I'm not exactly sure why they call it that, maybe just because it sounds rather classy, but I assure you, it's far from it. The name of the game is gambling, prostitution, and drinking competitions."

"Sounds like my type of gig."

Smack! Uma profusely scolded Sabik, who only laughed. Alya tried to hide a snort of laughter.

"Uma," She said, "Is this the event that lasted for the entire ten days last year?"

"The famine?" sighed Uma. "Yeah, that was how us villagers suffered as a result of the parties last year. As they drank and ate, they forgot to provide the local merchants with their produce for the week. They're in charge of the production, yet they didn't think to actually carry out their duty. They'd rather slovenly celebrate their horrendous acts with a ten-day-long party."

Alya and Sabik churned in their seats uncomfortably. "So," said Sabik, "They're supposed to infiltrate the palace as those slovenly bounty hunters?"

"Correct." Uma nodded. "They shouldn't have too much trouble, however. They're smart, they shouldn't have too much trouble." A smile crossed her lips. "They're a good team."

Alya eyed me. I could sense the pain there.

"Alright." She said finally, sucking in her cheek. "I'll do it, but you better not hold me back, Dameron."

"I believe that's commander to you, subordinate." I said with a smirk hanging on my lips.

"Okay, Commander." She purred, rolling her eyes. "You best be giving me some good orders then, or I might dare to defy them."

I flushed as she walked by, passing me as she placed her plate in the sink.

What the hell was she onto-

It seemed playful, yet aggressive, to say the least. She wasn't going to make this easy for me.

Sabik looked at me and with a smirk and a pat on the back, all he said to me was a simple, snide remark: "Dude." He said, "You're fucked."

•••
A/N: so that was a lil shitty and a lil filler-y, but that's alright, i think we all (especially me) needed a break from the angst. things are looking up (maybe). poe finally apologizes, but alya's not gonna let him off the hook that easy. he's eager to prove himself to her though. it's a constant struggle for power with those two, it's interesting to see them duke it out. eventually though, hey, they'll figure it out. maybe they'd be better together than against one another :-)
let me know if you all enjoyed it! be sure to leave a vote or a comment. support helps a lot and as there are a lot of new readers on here as of late, it really does mean a lot to not only me, but i know every other author.
hope you enjoyed!
xx natalie