WHO: Finn & Rey WHAT: Finn and Rey are reunited! WHERE: Outside the apartments. WHEN: Backdated some time ago, when Finn first arrived. RATING: Low.
It'd been a little over a week now since Rey had arrived in this world, it still stung that she'd been torn away at such an important time, when the survival of the Resistance was upon her shoulders. She had found Luke Skywalker, but he wasn't the Jedi Master she had expected to meet. It was still an honour, no question. Rey just hoped what they'd said was true, there was a version of her, back home, doing what she was meant to.
People were very kind, welcoming too. They'd offered to help her settle, find her accommodation, one of them had offered her what she thought might've been a job. It was overwhelming, though kind as it all was and Rey had retreated somewhat, needing to get to bearings, understand the new world around her - credits were the way to secure food, or housing here, though she'd been provided with the most comfortable bed she'd ever slept in, along with clothing more common to this world, which she'd now begun to wear. It was comfortable enough.
She'd been out exploring, looking at places to find work - the salvage yard seemed promising, even though they'd balked at her interest in sorting through the stuff that was presented to them daily. But Rey was good at seeing the value in scavenged items. Then she'd seen Finn's message, and once she'd know it was him, she hurried back to the housing.
Wandering into the lobby Rey saw him, and though her instinct was to run to him, beyond relieved that he was alive and safe. "Finn." She called out with a tentative smile, but she slowed the closer she got, remembering how he'd wanted so desperately to leave on Takodana, how he'd come back for her and Kylo Ren had very nearly killed him - as guilt stirred in her stomach Rey wondered how pleased he really would be to see her again.
When he heard her voice, he turned around from contemplating the ostriches and a huge smile lit his face. “Rey!” he called and hurried over to her and enveloped her in a hug. “I’m so glad to see you!” He had been disappointed when he woke up to find her gone but BB8 had shown him the hologram of her telling him goodbye. She had a mission, he knew that, and she was doing what she had to do. He couldn’t help but wonder if she’d found him and then he remembered the message on the network.
As much as he hated to, he let her go and stepped back but still kept his arms around her. “Luke is here, I talked to him on the network thing but he’s a lot younger than he should be. He says that’s not weird here. Did you find him?” He realized he was staring at her and he shook his head and laughed. “I’m sorry, it’s just...well the clothes, they suit you. That’s what they wear here I guess? I’ve been watching people on the street.”
And then, she’d left him. Whilst he was still unconscious. After he’d tried to protect her. She could only hope he’d be okay. But all that melted away almost immediately as Finn hugged her and Rey held him tightly, a smile lighting her face. “I’m so glad you’re alright-” She murmured into his shoulder, so pleased he was on his feet and so much better than he had been when she’d had to leave him behind with the resistance.
“I found him. But ..he’s not much older than we are. This place is really strange.” She did her best to sound as if it didn’t disappoint her, and she wasn’t disappointed ..she wasn’t; he was kind, and friendly and the good man she had hoped she would meet, she just wasn’t certain he’d be able to help her learn about whatever it was that was inside her, that had awoken when she found his Lightsaber.
She wasn’t sure anyone could help her.
Pleased to be distracted, Rey looked down at herself to his words, smiling again. “It takes a bit of getting used to, the way they dress here.” It wasn’t really weird, just different. “They just give them to you.” She added, with a bit of excitement, as that wasn’t something she was used to. Gifts. The ease of living here, she’d been suspicious at first. ”There’ll be some for you too- I can show you?”
“Sure, that would be great. I read the letter, it’s like they just set this place up for us isn’t it? I’m not used to having everything provided. Although it does sound like we have to find jobs to pay the rent but that doesn’t seem like very much,” Finn didn’t know how dollars translated to credits but 200 credits wasn’t a lot of money for an entire apartment but then he’d lived in barracks and then on the Finalizer so he’d never actually paid for a place to live.
“Where is your apartment? Maybe we’re close together, that would be good.” He hoped so because he wanted to spend as much time with her as he could and it would also make him feel more comfortable if he had someone familiar nearby.
“They won’t take trade.” Rey said shortly, making it sound very much like she’d attempted such or at the very least had wanted to live the way she had been used to. She had adapted quickly, as she always did. Rey nodded to his words, some apprehension in her tone. “We have to find work for credits. I’ve never used those before.” But she’d figure it out, like other things she had in this place, she’d been comforted by the idea that back home, things were still happening as they should.
“But- you can choose to do anything you want.” While the thought sparked a small smile, knowing Finn had hated everything about the First Order, and the role he’d been forced into - she wondered if there was so much more out there - he might not stay? But she wouldn’t focus on that.
“Come on then-” She hadn’t really moved any farther from him, indicating he’d have to let go if they were to get walking. “There’s just this one building, everyone lives here. There’s a spare room in my apartment if you wanted it- there’s the three of us there now.”
“It might be on this letter,” he had to move to get it out of his pocket and he didn’t want to do that but it was the only way. “Are you in Apartment 1-D? If you are, it looks like they beat you to it.” He grinned and showed her the letter. “Let’s go.” They walked to the elevator and he wanted to take her hand but he didn’t know if he should so he just stood as close to her as he could without making it feel creepy (or at least he hoped so). “There’s probably someone here who helps people find jobs and stuff. I hope so anyway. I’ve never really had a job, it’s not like the First Order payed us, they just took what we should be getting and sad it went to our food and housing and things like that.” He’d never believed that but he was trapped so what could he do?
They got on the elevator and it didn’t take long to reach the first floor. “Are the other people nice? I’ll try not to be noisy or anything. I’m just really glad to see you,” he said even though it didn’t fit with his questions, he couldn’t help blurting it out because it was the truth.”
As she moved on with him, Rey glanced at the letter, surprised that this unknown entity could have been so - knowing. Perhaps she should find it worrying, there was a suggestion of sentience, but she couldn’t really be too distraught with Finn her, seeing him so well again seemed to make little else matter, even if a little concern still writhed in her stomach. “They did-” Clearly, she was pleased. She hopped in the lift and jabbed the button.
“There might be. I know there’s someone who offers them to people who arrive.” Or so she assumed Stark offered them to everyone, why else would he have spoken to her? “Tony- if you want to speak with him.” Finn might do better working with other people, than she would. There must have been hundreds of Stormtroopers to live and work with. Though she didn’t know if he’d even enjoyed that. “I found a scrapyard not that far from here- I thought I might try for work there.”
Perhaps she'd delayed it, but she smiled, her expression a little hesitant, saddened as she met his eyes. “I’m glad to see you too.” She looked away after a moment, a hint of guilt creeping in. He’d been so weak, unconscious. “I’m sorry I had to leave before you woke up. We found the map to Luke-” The lift dinged, and worried she stepped out, adding “This way.”
“Where was he exactly? You said he was much younger here than what you saw there. I take it that he was a long way from everyone else” he had spoken to Poe when he’d woken up but he didn’t have all the details as to where exactly Rey had gone. They’d been too busy trying to get off the planet and get away from the First Order’s armada. “What was he like?”
Rey was keeping her eyes ahead, mulling over the fact he hadn’t seemed upset at all. Still, she wished she’d been there. “Ahch-To. it’s mostly water- but there’s an Island. I’d barely arrived when I was brought here.” She hadn’t even gotten to speak with him, Rey let a sigh out, disappointed.
“But ..he was a real Jedi Master.” Standing there, in his robes, though there was a sadness about the older man, he’d been solemn. She could only wonder what he might have said to her. “I just wish I’d gotten to learn from him. Talk to him.” Learn something about the Force when she understood nothing of it.
Rey brought him to their door, unlocking it and showing him in.
“I wish you’d had the chance too. I know you had a lot of questions.” So did he to be quite honest. He’d seen Rey do things that he didn’t believe anyone could do and he’d fought Kylo Ren and had ever experienced anything like it. If that was the Force, Finn felt like he needed to understand it even if he wasn’t able to harness it and use it.
He looked around the apartment. It was nice and after living in the barracks on the Finalizer for so long, it seemed like a palace. “It’s huge,” he said in wonder as he walked further inside. “And everyone has their own room? That I can definitely used to.” Not having to share space with someone else, being able to go into a room and close the door if he needed to think or wanted to be alone? He couldn’t imagine anything better.
"Maybe there's still something to learn here. There's a lot of people here from our galaxy, maybe one of them knows something." Basically the entire Solo family, she'd learned. "Han and Leia's son is here- but he's not like Kylo Ren. At least he doesn't seem.. anything like him." The name alone stirred fear, and hate in Rey's stomach - but she wouldn't dwell it, not with, most probably the one person she'd hoped she'd see again.
Rey smiled widely at his reaction, nodding eagerly. "That one is all yours." She pointed in the direction of the empty room, grinning still. "Millie is in there, and that's Susan's, they're both very quiet." She assured, hoping they wouldn't mind a male housemate, not that it mattered, if they did, Rey would go wherever he did. "I've never lived with anyone before, but it's alright."
“Not being like Kylo Ren is a huge plus,” he said but he didn’t want to think about that right now, not when he had this entire room to explore. “Well I’m not noisy either and I will do my best not to bother them when they’re doing girl stuff. There were female stormtroopers but they lived in a different wing. Then there was Captain Phasma and I’m not even sure she was human,” he grinned. Of course she was human, he’d seen her without her helmet and during training in regular uniform but her emotions didn’t seem human in the least.
“So what else do you want to show me? I don’t have anything to unpack which is good. I suppose I should change clothes.” He’d never had much of a choice when it came to a wardrobe so this would be an experience.
Rey just nodded with a dark sort of look, inside she wasn't entirely certain she wanted to trust Jacen, but she would let time tell, she supposed.
"Girl stuff?" Rey stifled a small laugh, because she'd found it a rather funny thing to say, perhaps because she was a little different. Growing up with very few humans, let alone female role models, she wouldn't quite know what classified as, girl stuff. She couldn't really think of a lot she'd want to do that might exclude Finn simply because he was male.
"If you don't want to settle in- I can show you what's local to us?" Rey voiced hopefully, more than eager to do so, because there was a lot to see. But then she paused, how long ago had he woken from healing? "Should you still be resting?" She asked, expression turning to a gentle sort of concern.
“No, it’s fine. I was up and around for awhile before I ended up here so don’t worry about that,” he wasn’t sure exactly how long it had been but they had pronounced him completely healed and he felt fine so he was more than happy to let Rey show you around.
“That sounds like a great idea. Show me what’s around so I’ll know what it’s like. It seems pretty big.”