Who:Finn and Rey What:The falcon shows up When:Recentlyish Where:ship yard Warnings:sappy friendship Status:finished
Finn hadn’t seen that ship in so long, it was almost intimidating. Several workers had come up to slap him on the shoulder. “Nice ride.’ One commented on his way to lunch, but Finn really had no idea how to drive it. He had said nothing. He hadn’t even gone in. It’d been sitting there for two days now, Rey was the only one he’d told so far. He knew he should probably tell Leia at some point, considering who’s ship it originally belong to, but he was busy being in awe of it.
He walked up behind one of the thrusters and touched it a bit like one might an old friend. Was that weird? Maybe. They spent so much bloody time on that ship, he hadn’t considered whether or not it was odd. The shipyard was comfortable to him. He had a place to be. It wasn’t like Rey could just dedicate her time to entertaining him, so he’d found a place that was finally starting to feel like something he could claim as his.
–
The fact that the Falcon was in Madison made Rey beyond excited. She hadn't seen her old friend since it dropped her and Poe off in Madison a few years ago. She missed its smell. The feeling of it under her feet. Everything.
When she arrived at the hanger, the Millennium Falcon came into view and for a moment she simply paused, stood there, and admired it. It really was here. A smile spread across her face.
She approached and much like Finn did, Rey pressed her hand on the side of the metal. She closed her eyes and took a moment to say hello in her own way. After that, she made her way around it until she found Finn.
“I can't believe it's really here.” She said to him excitedly, approaching her friend and hugging him.
– Finn felt Rey coming, which was always an odd one for him. He hugged her back with a grin. “Someone tried to take her out earlier. I got called in instead to see if I knew how it worked. Didn’t believe it at first, but here it is.” He grinned as he looked up at the giant ship. “Place is becoming more like home now.” Which was probably a good sign. He was a lot less anxious about being there these days. “Everything seems to be in order, did all the prechecks.”
–
“Sometimes the Dome is kind enough to bring us items from home. I'm glad it chose the Falcon.” There were a few other things she missed from home too, but most of those other things were people and the Dome wasn't usually as kind with people.
“Do you want to take her up?” She wondered if the inside was how she remembered it. Would there be reminders of Chewy and Han and Poe inside?
– “Sort of wish it could have also brought Poe.” They were on the same wavelength there, but at least it had brought the Falcon. That much they could get behind. He was a bit terrible at making friends. And he missed him. There had been something there he never really got a chance to explore, so that part made him a little bit sad. But, he had Rey at least. She was his person. Not in a romantic sense, but in a bestie sense.
“Absolutely. I thought about trying, but without you it isn’t the same.” He grinned as he let her lead the way into it. “Besides, I have no damn clue how to even get it started.” It would have likely been a disaster.
–
“We should bring BB-8 and Artoo next time. I’m sure both of them would appreciate seeing it again and going for a ride.” Especially R2D2 who she thought sometimes really missed Luke and Han.
She headed for the door and released the opening for the ramp to descend. “I can help you with that. You’re going to be a natural.” Rey thought Finn had a lot of good instincts and that those would filter into something like this as well.
Entering, Rey took her time. It smelled just how she remembered. She touched the sides of the ship as they walked toward the cockpit. “It’s like it was taken right from home…. Which I suppose it was. I’m not sure why it’s a shock to me.” Rey had been in Madison for a long time now, after all.
– “Probably should…Maybe they should come work at the space port with me?” He shrugged a bit and sat in the passenger seat beside her. “Even smells like home.” He made a face as he thought he smelled remnants of wookie. It wasn’t a good smell, sorry Chewy.
“Think so?” He gave a lopsided grin, he didn’t know how else to respond to things except by trusting what his instincts were screaming at him. Even if it may be the wrong response at times. “It’s a lot..but it feels like home too. Oh I have something for you before I forget.” He pulled out a small item that he’d been working on making while at the docks out of a pocket of the jacket he wore. It was a leather belt pouch, made of a soft brown leather. Probably only big enough to hold a cell phone, but he was still learning. “One of the guys showed me how to make these.”
–
Rey felt right at home. It was a nice feeling. She’d been in Madison long enough that she felt like she was home most of the time, but this was different.
She took the leather pouch and turned it over in her hand. “You made this?” She continued to look at it and take in all the details of it. Sure, she could tell that Finn was still learning, but it was still a beautiful gesture and she thought it was impressive. Rey smiled warmly and looked at Finn.
“Thank you. It’s lovely.” She was going to wear it from now on. “Now you’ve given me two gifts today and I have yet to give you any.”
– There were some small flaws in it but he nodded. “I tried anyway.” He wanted her to have it. “That's what you do with Life day isn’t it? Give someone something.” He looked at her curiously and shrugged. “I don’t need any. Just you being here is enough.” Finn wasn’t really big on physical gifts anyway. Time with his friend was all he needed.
–
“It can be, yes.” Rey offered him a smile. “Originally it was a journey to the Tree of Life. Chewy told me a few stories of when he was growing up.” She wished she could celebrate it with him, though she wasn’t sure if Chewy would like it here. “You’ll have to wait for your present back home. It’s under the tree.” Rey’s smile warmed. She really wanted Finn to start feeling like he belonged here - because he did. She just wasn’t sure how to do that, though she hoped the fact the Falcon showed up would help him.
“Technically you have two since I had BB-8 pick something out for you, but I’m not sure how you’ll feel about that one.” She offered him an amused look as they came to the cockpit.
The door opened and Rey took a moment. She breathed in and just let herself feel before stepping inside. This place definitely made her feel calm, even with all the more hectic memories on the ship.
– Finn barely liked it there. There were some aspects he liked, but often times he just missed home quite a bit. If Rey wasn’t there, then it would have been an absolute misery. He was taking some time, but he was slowly adjusting to it. Like a cat that had been disturbed and moved to a new place. He was a slow burn to trust their new home. He gave her a lopsided smile and nodded. “BB-8? That’ll be… interesting.” What would a droid pick out? Droid parts? Oil? He shook his head with a bit of a laugh.
“Feels a little like home now.” The ship also helped. He sat down in the co pilot seat and watched her quietly for a moment. “Keys are in it. Least this place didn’t make us wait on those.”
–
“I thought you wanted to learn to fly this thing?” She looked at him with a bit of amusement, but she also knew landing and taking off were the hardest parts… especially since they were in a hanger and not just out in the wilderness where no one cared if you took down a few dozen trees or something.
Rey took a seat in the pilot’s seat and started to turn the Falcon on. The hums, beeps, and whirls were so familiar it brought a wide smile on her face. She looked more happy than she had in a while. “Once we get up, I’m letting you stretch her legs, okay?”
– “I do but…you sure you want me to take off? Not even sure how to turn it on.” He asked with raised eyebrows at her. Looking down at a few dozen confusing buttons that went right over his head.
The sounds were nice. It was familiar sitting there. “The last thing I want to do is crash her before she even takes off.” He made a face. He could copilot just fine. He wasn’t exactly Chewy, but he was passable. “Okay..if you’re sure.” He could probably manage that. Maybe. The sounds were more pronounced once things started coming to life. He was a bit nervous, but only because he really didn’t want to royally fuck it all up. He had a problem when it came to getting into his own head too much. Now was no different.
–
“There’s a lot less to hit when you’re up in space.” She said with a warm smile. It was playful, but also the truth. It wouldn’t be a blank space of nothingness, especially since people were going to the moon often, but it’d be easier than navigating off the ground in a hanger.
Rey got them into the air and then into the atmosphere easily. She definitely felt like some sort of weight she hadn’t realized she’d been carrying was lifted. This felt incredibly right.
All smiles, she turned to Finn once they were in orbit. “This is amazing. I’m so glad this showed up.”
– The feeling of being in space was different on this planet. It took a minute to acclimate, but once the minor headache had passed, he looked down at his friend thoroughly enjoying the ship. “Obviously you know you can take it up any time. I’ll get you clearance.” That way she didn’t have to wait for him if she didn’t want to. Though he was happy to go with her any time.
“Me too. Now, show me what she can do so I can have a turn, yeah?” He grinned as he watched her hands and various movements like a hawk as it cut through the vast blackness of space.