Flying Through the Flames || Poe Dameron [The Force Awakens + the Last Jedi]

Don't Leave

Poe's POV

I skipped steps racing to Nyssa's room, as BB-6, who was toddling after me using grappling hooks to get up the stairs, told me Nyssa had gone back to her room. My heart was thundering like the hooves of a galloping horse across a plain, finally arriving at Nyssa's door.

When I knocked, I did my best not to pound on the wood out of fear that Nyssa's wasn't okay.

"Hey, Nys? Can I come in?"

There was no answer but because I was so worried something was wrong, as I'm sure there was because of BB-6's reaction, I opened the door and poked my head inside.

"Nyssa?"

I was greeted with a sizeable kettle bell, which was a heavy weight that looked like a tea kettle that Nyssa used to work out, flying toward my head.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed in alarm as the object suddenly froze. I looked toward where it came from, seeing Nyssa against the wall on the floor, over near the part of her spacious quarters that she kept an assortment of weights and a lifting rig.

It seemed that she'd been trying to tear her room to pieces, items cluttered around her, books everywhere. Tears were streaming down her face, and her entire body was shaking harder than anything I'd ever seen, her extended hand that was manipulating the Force looking like it was about to fall off.

"Oh God--" She gasped, casting the weight off to the side where it smashed against the floor, burying her head in her hands. "I-I-I-I'm sorry--"

"Hey, it's okay." I strode over to her quickly, crouching down and grabbing her elbow gently. "You're okay."

She ripped her muscular arm out of my grip, turning away, the end of her braid almost hitting me.

"He's gonna find me." She breathed, not looking at me as she drew a trembling breath.

"Who?"

"K-Kylo Ren."

"Phoenix, it's okay, he's not." I soothed, rubbing her back tentatively as I was worried she's lash out.

My best friend was not acting like my best friend in that moment: it was clear she was in shock.

"He will!" Nyssa screamed, whipping around to glare at me with bright blue eyes full of tears.

"HE THOUGHT I WAS DEAD! HE THOUGHT I WAS DEAD AND I STOPPED USING THE FORCE SO HE'D NEVER KNOW I REALLY WASN'T! I WOULD'VE KEPT THAT GOING IF BALTHAZAR HADN'T TRIED TO FŪCKING KILL STRØRM! Ren's probably already felt it." Her voice came back down to a reasonable volume, hoarse now, though she started crying louder. "He's coming for me."

"Nyssa, listen to me--" I begged, holding her shoulders, leaning close to her face. "He's not going to find you, okay? He doesn't know you're here. He doesn't know any of us are here."

"He'll figure it out." Nyssa mumbled, rubbing her pale face with her hands. "And when he comes for me, he'll take everyone else here down with me!" Her voice broke at the end of her sentence, breaking my heart a little.

"He won't." I repeated firmly, believing it myself.

"I don't want anyone to die because me." She breathed shakily.

"No one's going to." I whispered, pulling her into a hug, knowing pressure was calming in situations like this.

As a sort of knee-jerk reaction, she jerked away, but I held on.

I wasn't going to let her go if I could help it, not that it would be easy if she thrashed hard enough, because it was a statement of fact that Nyssa was stronger than I was. I probably could be as strong as her if I lifted ridiculously heavy weights every day like she did.

"Nyssa, Nyssa!" I repeated her name as I tried to get her attention, holding her tighter. "You're okay, everything's okay."

As I said that I gently pulled her into my lap so she might be more comfortable. In addition, with Nyssa nestled in my lap, I could hold her more easily and keep comforting her.

Nyssa didn't respond to my assurances, she merely cried, sobs wracking her body as she buried her head in the crook of my neck.

"Nyssa, everything's going to be okay." I whispered, honestly trying not to cry myself as she let out sobbing screams, rubbing her back slowly. "Shhhhhhhh."

"I-I don't w-want to die." She whimpered at long last, digging her nails into my shoulder, though it didn't hurt much: I was too distracted with her pain to notice.

"He's not going to find you." I repeated, nuzzling her cheek by means to comfort her. "You're perfectly safe right here."

...

Nyssa fell asleep a while after we sat on the floor, her breathing normalising, and heartbeat slowing down to a more normal-ish rate, as I could tell from one of my hands holding her calloused one, one of my fingers on her wrist.

Once she was asleep I decided that carrying her to bed was the best idea, and that way I wouldn't have to wake her up, as opposed to leaving her on the floor.

Once I decided, I held her close, getting my feet under myself before pushing up off the ground. I grunted softly out of exertion, though doing my absolute best to make sure she didn't wake up.

On feet as light as could muster, I tiptoed to her bed, gently setting her down on it, crossing my fingers that wouldn't disturb her. It was when I tried to untangle my hand from hers that she began to stir.

Nyssa tightened her grip on my hand, her brow furrowed though her eyes were shut.

"Poe--" She moaned, gently tugging my arm.

"Shush-shush--" I tried to soothe before she pulled my hand in close to her chest, hugging my forearm.

"Don't leave." She murmured, her eyes still not open. I eyed the fluffy pillow-like chair in the corner and grabbed it, sliding it across the floor until it was right next to the bed, sitting down in it. 

I kissed her hand, smiling as her face relaxed, a tiny smile tugging on the corner of her lips.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay. I love..." Her murmur trailed off as she sighed, her eyes still closed.

"Hm?" I hummed, raising my eyebrows. "What's that?"

Her breathing slipped back into a slow, deep rhythm. Asleep, and I didn't have the heart to wake her to finish the sentence.

Later, I sighed into my mind, before sliding into sleep as well.