"So... brother?" Finn was nervous to ask, and Nova did not blame him for it.
"Yeah. Look, I'm sorry about – well, everything that comes with him, and that," she sighed. "I won't blame you if you don't trust me."
"I trust you." There was no hesitation in the statement. "That's not exactly something you'd want to broadcast, especially to ex-First Order."
"I trust you too."
Finn smiled, the tension between them easing, allowing the pair to walk on in silence. They split soon after; Finn returning to Rose's side, and Nova to her mother's.
Nova kept up her silence even with Leia, not wishing to make a wrong step on an already fragile path. She knew from years of experience that she had a very different outlook on things pertaining to their family. Some scars her mother could never understand – the ones that would never heal.
Leia was content to keep the silence; consumed by her own distracted thoughts. She reached for her daughter's hand, relieved when she did not retreat from the contact.
A commotion had broken out at the front, sparking Nova into action. Pushing through the group, it was not hard for her to determine the cause of the issue.
They had hit a dead end, faced with a wall of fallen rocks. Whether they had fallen over years of natural change or had been placed as a security measure in the old war, it did not matter. Daylight was on the other side, but with no way of reaching it.
In another life, maybe Nova could have given them a chance. But that hope had been shot for seven years.
And just as all hope was starting to fade, the barricade began to shift. The rocks were pulled back like a curtain, one by one and then several at a time. Each one dislodged set loose a sprinkling of dust and revealed a section of light. As an exit was created, it became clear the rocks were in fact floating, held to slowly rotate in place by some mystical power.
Nova knew that power. That force.
She and Finn emerged from the tunnel first to discover Rey. Arm outstretched with an open hand, face serene.
Her eyes opened and she smiled, the boulders crashing around her as she relinquished her hold.
Finn dashed to her, the friends falling into each other's arms while the Resistance regarded Rey with quiet astonishment.
Nova set about ushering them out into the valley, preparing for the steep climb that still lay between them and the Falcon. She glanced at Rey every now and then, sensing a change in the younger woman. She seemed older, in a way. Some of the innocence she had possessed when they met on Jakku had been stripped away, replaced by a new maturity.
The old Rey was by no means gone, but merely changed. Something darker seemed to rest behind her eyes, but not something bad.
Soon enough, the last dregs of the Resistance were safely aboard the Millennium Falcon, letting out a collective sigh of relief as they left Crait's atmosphere. Despite their losses, they could still revel in what they had been able to save. After everything, they were still standing, united against the enemy. Work would have to resume soon, but they could allow themselves a few hours.
Nova shared in the smiles, keeping to the outskirts of the celebrations. Chewbacca sought her out, and she was happy to share a hug with the Wookiee. An old familiarity.
A sombre shroud hung over mother and daughter as they too shared an embrace. A quiet moment of grief.
"He's gone," Leia said.
Luke, she meant. Nova knew it, deep down inside her. Her master, her uncle, had made his final stand trying to right his wrongs to the galaxy. To his family.
Nova nodded, her expression solemn. Though her mind was conflicted, she felt it best to keep those thoughts from her mother. Now that she was the last family she had left.
"Your promotion still stands," the General added lightly.
"But I –" The gentle hand on her arm cut her protests short.
"You've earned it."
She swallowed her disagreements. "Yes, General."
Departing, she took a direct path to Rey, finding her crouched with the two BB units, talking affectionately to them.
She stood to her full height upon noticing Nova, and happily fell into a hug with the older woman. She found the hug to be strong – not to a point of uncomfortable tightness, but a certain firmness that came with the woman's physique. It provided an unusual comfort, but a genuine comfort nonetheless. It ignited a certain feeling in Rey, a feeling of security.
"Thanks for the assist back there," Nova said, gesturing behind her to signify the battle.
"Wasn't about to leave the Resistance to be smeared across that planet," she shrugged.
Nova smiled.
Sensing an interruption, the women looked around to find a certain pilot had approached them.
"Hi," he greeted, extending a hand to Rey.
"Hey," she returned with an awkward smile.
"I'm Poe."
"Rey."
"I know," he said warmly. "Welcome to the Resistance. You've been quite the talk in some circles."
She looked to Nova with a frown and was met with an amused roll of the eyes, seemingly brushing off the pilot's phrasing as hyperbole.
"And uh," Poe added, "you did kinda save my partner's life a couple times. And the rest of us."
Nova instinctively tensed under the fresh weight the title came with, but found herself able to smile at it. it suddenly felt comfortable again.
"Like she needed it," Rey said lightly.
"No, I did." Nova squeezed the scavenger's shoulder. "Thank you."
The young woman smiled, her eyes holding a certain soft light and adoration for her friend. "You saved mine too."
Nova nodded, nibbling the inside of her cheek for lack of a better way to vent her small flash of awkwardness.
Poe tapped her elbow, dropping his voice to a quieter, softer tone. "Hey, can I talk to you in private?"
"Yeah."
The pilots retreated from the main hold, coming to a stop in the corridor just shy of the boarding ramp. The chatter was dull enough there to ignore completely. Not isolating, simply private.
Poe removed his jacket, holding it out to Nova – an offer that was met with a look of confusion.
"You're cold," he said.
Nova looked down at herself, having failed to notice the way she had her arms tightly woven around her torso for warmth. "What about you?"
"I'll be okay," Poe shrugged, letting her take the jacket, watching her slide it over her arms. "Looks better on you anyway."
She let out a short, quiet laugh, and looked at her boots. "Thanks."
Something felt awkward between them, and they both knew exactly what it was.
"Did you mean what you said back there? Or were you just saying it because you thought we were gonna die?"
"Yes," she shrugged.
Poe frowned. "Come again?"
"Yes, I meant what I said, and yes, I was saying it cause I thought it might be my last chance," she said. "But then it wasn't."
"Okay," he nodded, trapping his bottom lip between his teeth. He kicked at the grating lightly with his boot. "So... look, I get it if you don't want to commit to anything right now. You're right, it's not exactly the best time with... well everything now."
Nova's eyebrows rose. "That's not what I said."
He shut his mouth.
She took a step closer. "At this point, there might never be the right time, but I don't think there is going to be a wrong one either. We're taking this chance, right?"
Pausing, she searched his dark eyes with uncertainty. "Unless you don't want –"
Poe was kissing her before she could finish her sentence, making them both smile. They were perhaps a little giddy as she let him press her back into the aged wall, and her hands wound their way from his neck to his hair, fingers tangling in the loose curls. His right hand rested beside her head, bracing himself against the wall while his left held her by the waist.
After a minute, the kiss naturally melted into a brief hug, and from there they separated. Hands found each other, fingers weaving together instinctively to keep them comfortably conjoined without an invasion of space.
"Hey," Poe ventured tentatively. "I'm sorry for forcing myself on you."
"And I'm sorry I slapped you."
"Don't be. I was an ass, and I deserved it."
"Yeah, you did." She smiled softly. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." He squeezed her hand. "Can I kiss you again?"
"You'd better."
"And you're not gonna hit me again?" he joked.
She rolled her eyes, grabbed his shirt, and pulled him into another kiss. She smirked at the surprised grunt that caught in his throat as he was yanked forward, almost falling off balance if he had not thought to catch himself on the wall again.
It was a truly peaceful moment for them both. An earned reward, though small, for the heavy price they had pay in war. They wanted to savour it, knowing that moments like those would become few and far between all too soon. The war was only just beginning, and the worst was yet to come. But now was not the time to think of the darkness staining the future.
Pressing their foreheads together, the couple basked in the reverie of each other, eyes closed.
Poe nudged his nose against Nova's. "I love you."
Nova smiled playfully, though her tone was laced with sincerity. "I know."