hyperspace! → star wars ✓

vii. chaos on starkiller base

⋆☆.* ✧✰ .✦⋆*☆

NOVA SOLO HATED THE THOUGHT of leaving D'Qar. She had never been a homebody to say the least, but in a world of such change, she had always enjoyed stability in the form of where she would retire to every night and wake up at every morning. But alas, she had come to realize that even that would have to change eventually, and the day had come for them to leave D'Qar and find somewhere new—assuming they would even survive Starkiller Base—for the First Order had found them.

It wouldn't be the first time, though, and she had a feeling it wouldn't be the last, either. First it was her childhood home when she left for the Temple, and then the Temple when it was destroyed by her brother, and now there she was again, looking out at the forest planet for what could very well have been the last time. In a way, she was grateful to be so used to change and loss; it helped her cope with the thought of relocating yet again.

"Hey Solo, what's up?" Suddenly Poe Dameron was by her side, and while she continued to look around the base, he looked only at her. With one last look, she faced him with a small smile.

"I'm gonna miss this place." He sighed.

"Yeah, me too. You think we'll get lucky and find another planet like this one?"

"Dunno. My parents were on an ice planet for a while at one point, I wouldn't get your hopes up." Poe shuddered at the thought, and Nova chuckled. There was a brief silence in which they merely stared out at the planet, grateful to have the other standing beside them. Then:

"You ready for this?" Nova nearly answered, but hesitated, glancing over her shoulder at the Falcon—and more importantly, her father. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling that if she didn't talk to him right then, she wouldn't ever get the chance.

"There's just one more thing I have to do." He nodded, and she set off toward the freighter just as her mother was walking away. Han's gaze met hers and he smiled faintly, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Hey, kid."

"Hey," she replied quietly, crossing her arms over her chest—something she had gotten from him once upon a time.
"I, uh, I think it's 'soon'." A vague statement to anyone else, Han knew precisely what she was referring to, for he had said they would talk soon.

"Yeah, yeah I'd say so." Neither said anything for a moment, and just as Nova planned to, Han opened his mouth and beat her to it.
"Look, Nova...I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, I really should've been."

"It's okay, I could've reached out too—"

"It's not okay," he interrupted quietly. Han hesitated, then stepped forward and withdrew his hands from his pockets, for he was more sure of himself than he had been before.
"After I heard the news of what your brother did I closed myself off, even more than I had when you two were kids. I was selfish, I didn't even think about how you probably needed your dad." Nova, at a rare loss for words, felt a lump beginning to form in her throat. Unable to find words that properly described what was going on in her head, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace—one he quickly returned. They didn't speak, for they didn't feel the need to, as the hug said more than they ever could. When they finally pulled apart, they were smiling at one another.

"We should both get going—ya know, with the impending battle and all." Han chuckled.

"Yeah, we should. Hey, be careful, okay?" She flashed him the smallest of smirks.