Author's Note: Hi guys. Sorry I've been gone most of this week. We went to the big city! But I've finally got a new chapter written. Here you are ^_^ Thanks for reading!
ROSE
Rose stopped for a moment to breathe in the sweet scent coming from the trees in the mountains, which surrounded the small mining community.
It seemed like every light in town was lit that evening. The homes on the hills twinkled between the trees, the store signs were on and tiny lights hung between the lampposts which ran along main street, glittering under the clear sky. The festive look contrasted the poverty that she knew was the true condition of her home town. They did at least have some decorations to use once a year for their Moon Harvest Festival. Music and singing floated out onto the streets from the local deli. Rose's heart swelled at the sound of it.
"I guess no one's getting any sleep tonight," Finn said, standing beside her. It was surreal having him here, one part of her life being introduced into another, her two worlds colliding, one reality merging with another.
She nodded to Finn, too choked up to respond to his comment. It had been a crazy two days, but they'd made it through. It felt more like two months had passed, and yet miraculously her town was still in one piece, thanks to a fleet of Space Pirates that had come to their aid against the Ruling Order attack.
Rose had the idea to disengage the nearby space station, which was giving orders to the Ruling Order fleet during the fight. And it had worked. Once the communication between the space station and the robot fleet was terminated, the small army sent to kill all life on her planet suddenly became inactive. This was only a temporary fix. A small battle won, but a war still left to be fought. Now they were finally here, on planet and out of danger.
"Do your parents own a store here?" Finn asked. He tucked his hands into his pockets even though the night air was warm.
"No." Rose shook her head. She was stalling. With all the craziness of the past two days in battle and no sleep, she wasn't ready to face her parents and all the cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandparents and barrage of grandchildren that would likely be celebrating together tonight. Not to mention, seeing them would remind her that Paige wasn't a part of it all anymore. This would her first Moon Festival without Paige.
Finn kicked up dust on the street with his boot. They were standing under a lamp post, which had shiny string wrapped around it from top to bottom for the festival. It was a miracle that the battle had been won just in time for the Moon Harvest, a tradition brought over from the Old World by settlers like her grandfather, who wanted to preserve the practice of giving thanks for the year's harvest in celebration. It was the only time of year that all three moons were visible and full at the same time, while lined up next to each other.
"Do you want to go somewhere?" Rose asked Finn. Her palms began to sweat just at the thought of inviting him to her and Paige's special spot, but it was a special ritual she didn't want to forgo, not if she was already here by some divine chance, on planet during the festival days.
"Are we going to your home?" Finn asked. He looked nervous and she smiled.
"We will. I think we both deserve some sleep tonight, but I meant somewhere else. I'm not ready to face the entire family just yet. It will be loud and there will be a lot of kids running around."
Finn smiled, then frowned. "How do you think Rey and the rest of them are doing?"
Rose resisted the urge to frown. She did care about Rey, but Finn cared a lot more.
She looked away from him, not wanting to see his expression. He always had this sad look of longing on his face whenever he brought up Rey. Rose still wasn't clear on what their history was.
"They're probably more worried about us," she said.
"So you never said where we were going," Finn said, a bit more enthusiastically.
Rose looked up at the dark mountain looming over the town.
"Into the mountain."
FINN
Finn grasped the sides of the mining cart in a death grip as it bounced through the tunnels on a metal track inside the caves of the mountain. The cart swerved left and right, tilting to the side and almost tossing Finn out. It was too dark to see anything and Finn's side bumped the old wood of the rickety cart whenever there was an unexpected turn.
Rose's laughter was the only thing keeping him grounded. She was in the cart ahead of him and was definitely enjoying this more than he was.
"I forgot how fun this was!" she yelled back to him.
Finn couldn't even respond. His jaw was clenched so tight he was afraid he'd never unclench it again.
The air inside the mountain was cold, cold enough to numb his fingers and face. An icy wind blew through the tunnels and water dripped down from above, getting Finn's hair wet.
"Get ready for the-" Rose yelled but suddenly the carts came to a crashing halt before she could finish and Finn few out of his cart, right over Rose's head. He tumbled on his feet for a second, but was moving faster than he could keep up with and tumbled forward into a somersault, hitting his shoulder then coming to a stop on his back.
"Finn!" Rose rushed over. She looked concerned yet still had a smile on her face, which he could see by a blue glow coming from above. Finn looked up. Three moons shone down from an opening high above. They were lined up in the sky, biggest to smallest, and their glow streaked down in a thick beam of light onto a pool of water which had steam hovering above it. The water smelled sulphurous and Finn pinched at the nose.
"What is this place?" he asked.
"A hot pool!" Rose walked over to the water. "My sister and I used to come here ever year at Moon Harvest to see the moons." She pointed up. "And to get away from Uncle Raymon."
"Oh." Finn looked down at his dusty boots. The hot pool was making the cave very warm and he was already beginning to sweat. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond at the mention of Rose's sister. Should he just listen or ask more questions? He knew it was a tender topic for her.
Rose sniffled and Finn glanced over at her. She wiped tears from her face, leaving a streak of dirt across her cheek. "Are you coming in?" she asked.
"What?"
She kicked off her boots then unzipped the front of her coveralls, revealing a standard issue white bodysuit, similar to the ones stormtroopers wore under their clothes, beneath their armor. Finn raised his eyebrows but Rose didn't even take notice. She let her coveralls drop to reveal the bodysuit, which had tiny shorts a lot shorter than the guys' bodysuits. She headed to the water, hopping around on one foot, then the other, while trying to remove her socks. Then she jumped in with a delighted squeal. The splash sprayed Finn in the face. He wiped his cheek and saw the dirt smudge on the back of his hand. He could use a wash too.
"Come on!" Rose called, her voice echoing off the walls of the cave.
Finn took off his jacket and undressed quickly, leaving his standard issue jumpsuit on as well. He wasn't sure if Rose could see him or not, through all the steam, but he felt self-conscious anyway and hurried to the water.
He got in slowly, testing the water's temperature with his toes first. It was hot. The steam rose up towards the opening above and the moonlight shone down on the water, illuminating the rocky bottom below. Finn lowered himself gently into the water. He'd never fully immersed in a pool of water before. Stormtroopers had exactly seven minutes to shower, then another seven minutes to dry off and get dressed. It was a routine he didn't miss.
"Rose?" Finn called into the mist. Where was she? He clung to the side of the hot pool. His voice sounded muted in the steam which now surrounded him. Rose's head and shoulders came into view as she approached, like a roaming spirit amidst the fog.
"I forgot how nice it was to be here," she said, coming closer. Finn stayed at the edge, afraid to step forward in case the depth of the pool was deeper than his height and he'd sink to the bottom.
"This water is really good for you," Rose continued. "It's full of minerals and salts from the mountain, coming from the center of the planet. That's why the water is so hot. But it does cool a bit on its way up. The natural minerals absorb through the skin and give you everything you need."
Finn was getting really warm now, but he was glad Rose was happy.
"Come on," she said, disappearing into the mist again. Finn reached out his foot, feeling for the rock bottom.
Suddenly Rose appeared again and grabbed his hand. She led him to the center of the pool. The water felt thick and hard to move through, nothing like standing in a shower. They stopped directly below the moons' glow. Rose tilted her head up and closed her eyes. Her face was lit with the moonlight and she looked beautiful.
"Make a wish," she said.
Finn looked up too. He squinted at the brightness of the three moons and thought of Rey and Poe. They had to be alright. That would be his wish, that they would all be reunited, safe and sound. Maybe he didn't have to use up a wish on their safety. General Leia was an amazing general and would make sure no one got harmed. There was no reason to worry. He didn't want to rush Rose off planet too fast. She needed to see her family and they'd only just landed. Plus the Millennium Falcon was still being repaired, so that it could run in hyperdrive again and they could return to Cantonica, where the others had headed, before they'd separated to come help Rose's planet. But if he could leave right now, he probably would. He wouldn't feel at peace until he saw Poe and Rey safe and sound.
Finn closed his eyes to make a wish. Other than everyone's safety, he didn't know what to wish for. He opened his eyes and saw that Rose was now watching him.
"Thanks for coming with me," she said. Finn smiled, moved with emotion by her openness. She'd invited him into a such a special memory of her sister. He didn't have memories like this, with family or siblings. It was what he'd always longed for and she was sharing it with him.
"I'm happy you brought me," he said. He glanced down at Rose's lips. With the beautiful moonlight, sparkling water and mist all around them, it was the perfect moment to give her a kiss, their first kiss. His heart began to race and suddenly it was harder to breathe, with the heat all around him, and Rose so near. But he didn't move closer. It wouldn't be fair to have her think he was making some sort of commitment to her, one he wasn't ready to make.
His thoughts turned to Rey and how he'd felt seeing her again after they'd been separated. She'd rescued them at the Resistance base, so majestic in her use of the Force, lifting all those rocks to free them. She'd hugged him like she would never let go, and he didn't mind at all. It was one of the best moments of his life. But she'd never given him any indication that she had feelings for him, beyond friendship, other than that long hug when they'd been reunited.
Would she ever think of him in that way in the future? Or was it just his wishful thinking? He couldn't stop wondering that if he waited long enough, for all the fighting and wars to settle down, and for Kylo Ren to be killed once and for all, would she have interest in him?
Finn sighed. Life was too short. The robots could reactivate and destroy them all tomorrow. They still hovered above, somewhere in the dark expanse of space, on pause like some nightmare waiting to continue once you were off your guard.
He glanced at Rose again. She was so easy to be friends with, so smart and energetic. And she'd invited him into her world. He was even about to meet her family soon. He remembered the first time they'd met, how full of awe she'd been at meeting a rogue First Order Stormtrooper. He moved closer. He wanted to kiss her so badly, just for now. There were no guarantees about tomorrow. This moment was all they could be sure they had.
Rose sighed and turned away, as though tired of waiting for him to make a move. "We'd better get back to my parents' place," she said. "Before they find out we left the Falcon a while ago and have gone missing. They'll get worried."
Finn freed his hand from the heavy water and lifted it up to Rose's face. She flinched at the splash it created and blinked her eyes. He tilted her chin up, leaned down and kissed her on the lips.