#semisweetshadow

Rey hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and grabbed a spanner. "I've been doing a lot of important things. It gets exhausting. Why don't you want to kiss Poe? Is it because he's difficult?"

Zorii burst out laughing. "That's—that's certainly one way to describe him. But no. We had our moment. It's done." Zorii paused, and following some unknown instinct, added, "I don't think he actually wants me. I think he just wants something familiar. Simple." Zorii shrugged. "But I'm not simple, and he's lying to himself if he thinks that."

"No, you're not," Rey said, and sounded appreciative. "Still, that's a lot of assumption. Have you actually talked with him about it?" Rey already had already managed to get her torso wiggled solidly into the engine, and her voice echoed oddly. 

Zorii blinked, admiring her speed. Girl knew how to strip an engine. "Have you ever boosted speeders?" she asked. 

Rey emerged from the engine, narrowing her eyes at Zorii. 

Zorii raised her hands. "Just a question." 

Rey shook her head. "No, I'm thinking. I don't think so?" 

"How could that possibly be something you're not certain of?" Zorii cocked her head, making the gesture large enough it could be seen through her mask. 

"Well…" Rey said slowly. "It depends. Does a sail barge count as a speeder?" 

"No." Zorii gestured, a quick, cutting motion. "You have not boosted a sail barge." 

"In my defense, I thought it was salvage." Rey twirled the spanner. "Very fresh salvage." 

Zorii whistled. "I knew you were alright, didn't I?" 

Rey flashed her a wicked grin, and returned to the guts of the engine. Zorii coaxed more of the sail barge story out of Rey, alternating between disbelief and amazement at what eleven-year-old Rey had managed to do with gumption, mechanical wizardry, and a reckless disregard for personal safety.

"Unkar didn't give me full salvage rights for it, for some strange reason." Rey said, as she pulled herself out of the engine and shoved some flyaway strands out of her face, smudging grease across her forehead as she went. She shook her head. "He did give me a cut of the 'impound fee' he charged the owners. So it wasn't a total loss." 

Zorii's skin felt too-hot, prickling, as she always did around attractive, competent, grinning bad ideas. "I don't believe you," Zorii said, trying for calm.

"Believe it," a new voice cut into things. 

Zorii's heart picked up as she turned to face Poe. Calm, she told herself, control your voice. He can't read you that easily, anymore. Remember that.  

Poe gave the both of them a smile, before turning to Rey and asking, "What did I just back you up on?" 

"The fact that I am, in face, the Queen of Lethusi, who has gone into hiding to avoid the plots of my nefarious twin sister, who wants the throne," Rey shot back, lifting her chin, her voice imperious. 

Poe gave her a low bow. "Very good, Your Majesty."  

Rey laughed, and ruffled the top of Poe's head with her grease-covered fingers. Poe sighed as he straightened, combing his fingers through his hair where Rey had touched it. He wrinkled his nose, gave a wave to Zorii, and left grumbling about needing to clean his hair. 

Zorii turned from watching Poe's retreating form, to look at Rey again. Rey was giving her a contemplative look, eyebrows raised. "You sure you don't want to kiss him again?"

Zorii rolled her eyes. Not that Rey could see it. "Positive," she clarified out loud. "Why are you so stuck on this?" 

Rey looked over to Dameron's retreating form, then back to Zorii. "Well," she said, in a studiedly casual tone of voice, "if I'm making a play for someone, it's good to sort out whether or not anyone else is involved." 

"You and Dameron?" Zorii asked. Quick-witted, sly-humored daredevils with a passion for a cause. Yeah, they probably would work with each other, wouldn't they.  "Sure, I could see it." 

Rey burst out laughing, wrinkling her nose. "Oh! Kriff, no. I love Poe, but he's…not really what I'm looking for." 

"Then why would you…" Zorii started, and then trailed off. "Oh." 

Quick-witted, sly-humored daredevils with a passion for a cause. Just Zorri's type. 

Rey winked, and heat bloomed across Zorii's cheeks, and she was, once again, very glad she was wearing her helmet. 

"You'll notice," Rey said cheerfully, "I'm not helping Poe with his ship." 

"Yes," Zorii mumbled. "I got that." 

"Good." Rey rocked up onto her toes, kinetic, always in motion. "So, do you have any other repairs you need help with?" 

Zorii looked from Rey's nimble, grease-covered hands, to her lean dancer's body, to the wiry muscles along her shoulders and biceps. She just barely managed to bite back a comment that yes, her bed needed some vigorous stress-testing, immediately. 

Instead, she reached up and triggered the release on the side of her helmet, sliding it up and off her head. There was some blush lingering, and Rey could probably read her nerves, but she still summoned her cool to meet Rey's eyes and ask, "Well, actually, how about dinner?"