A/N: It's been over ten years since I last wrote a Star Wars fic and yet here I am again. Also that is a weird sentence to write.
Disclaimer: I don't own.
The reason behind their mission is flimsy at best but when the mission is blessed by General Organa it carries more weight.
The Y-wing lands next to the Millennium Falcon, Poe is the first one out. BB-8 follows with a soft thump on the ground while Finn, still recovering, takes longer to disembark. Poe notices and offers a hand which is gladly accepted.
"We have to climb that?" Finn asks, pointing to the long line of stairs.
"Probably," Poe replies.
The Falcon opens and Chewie walks out, waving a wrench in greeting or threat, neither can tell for sure. The Wookie nods and utters a few grunts before turning back to the ship.
"Repairs," Finn mutters.
"You can understand him?"
Finn shakes his head. "No but I know that ship is and the fact that the blaster cannon is stuck in the forward position, which is the least of the Falcon's issues."
Poe smirks. "Are you stalling?"
Finn shakes his head. "No, I'm ready to climb the cliff whenever you are," he answers flippantly.
BB-8 beeps and Poe smiles. "We'll make sure she comes down to see you."
The climb takes longer than either expected it to. Finn stops on occasion, the recently healed skin of his back protesting his movements. They pass old huts made of stone that Finn stops to look through them. There's nothing to be found, the earth reclaiming the inside but it's a welcomed break.
When they crest the hill they see their friend sitting across for a legend, both of their leg crossed and eyes closed.
"Do you think that's really Luke Skywalker?" Finn whispers to Poe.
"If he isn't Organa is going to be angry and I'm pretty sure Rey is wasting her time." Poe clears his throat. "Master Skywalker?" He asks clearly. The man does not move but Rey bolts up. She smiles when she see them and runs over.
"Finn!" She hugs Finn first. "You're awake!"
"Of course, it was only a nap. Did you think I wasn't going to wake up?" She takes a step back and doesn't know how to respond because, for an agonizingly long amount of time, she did think that.
"Do I get a hello?" Poe asks. Rey awkwardly wraps her arms around him, unsure how to feel about the pilot.
"Why are you here?" She asks as she steps back from Poe.
"Very important mission for the Resistance," Finn says sternly.
"Delivering a message for General Organa," Poe amends.
"Well where is it?"
"It's for Master Skywalker," Poe says, taking the message tablet out of his new jacket pocket.
Rey purses her lips. "You might have to wait, we're supposed to be meditating for another hour."
"No need." Luke's voice is calm but it still startles the boys. He takes the tablet in his mechanical hand and waves the others away. "I'm sure my sister's main motive in sending you was to see your friend." Which, as Poe and Finn are mostly aware, is the truth.
"There's a droid who wants to see you," Poe says.
"Can't keep BB-8 waiting," Rey replies as she begins walking down the stairs. She waves at them. "Well come on."
Finn groans. "We just got up here."
The trek down is easier than the climb. At the bottom BB-8 whirls happily as Rey looks the droid over. She checks on Chewie's progress on the Falcon and offers the boys a place to sleep on the fighter. She stays with them through an evening meal before claiming she has to go back up.
Poe jolts awake during the night to see Rey standing over him, finger pressed to her mouth. "Get Finn," she commands before picking up the bag next to his bed and leaving. He wakes Finn the same way. The two of them follow Rey out of the Falcon. She opens the Y-wing and throws the bag by the gunner seat. "Two people can sit back here."
Finn looks at Poe and shrugs. "I certainly don't mind."
"There's an extra helmet in there. And feel free to tell us where we're going sometime before take off." With that he starts his pre-flight check. The hatch closes with everyone in place. Poe turns to look at Rey, eyebrow raised.
"Jakku," she says as she puts the helmet on.
"There is no reason to go back there," Finn protests.
"We won't stay long," Rey promises.
"Why haven't you gone there before?" Poe asks.
"Finn and I stole the Falcon. There's a chance I wouldn't be able to get it back."
The trip is short, when done at lightspeed. She directs them to a spot that's hidden from the Niima Outpost, an ever present threat when BB-8 is with them.
Rey leads them to her solitary home. Everything is as she left it in the AT-AT walker, the fine layer of dust speaking to the lack of occupants. She picks up her doll, turning it over in her hands. She should leave it but it's one of the few things that's hers and she remembers making it from an old Rebel uniform. She stuffs it in her bag.
"What are the marks for?" Finn asks as he stares at her tallies on the way.
"Counting the days till my family came," she says. Her plant might not survive on Ahch-To but it will die if she leaves it here. "I should leave a note."
"And say what? 'Find me on this planet with Luke Skywalker?'" Finn does have a point, even if he's harsh.
Rey picks up the discarded antenna she's used to write in the past. She's not sure how the language is supposed to look, but she craves the message below the tally marks anyway.
"Why did you say I know?" Poe asks as he inspects her writing.
"You're the best pilot in the Resistance and can evade the First Order," Rey answers. "Besides, it's hard to find just Finn." The response is as practical as she is and Poe can only nod.
They share a meal of Resistance rations (much better than the fair Rey usually at on Jakku) as Rey describes learning to pilot with the simulator and how it's not much different than the real thing (Poe keeps quiet, the Falcon is old and possibly less complicated than anything newer). They should leave, Rey knows, but she can't help taking one last look around her old home. She decides to take the plant anyway, she nurtured it enough to know it can survive almost anything.
The flight back to Ahch-To seems longer than the one there. Rey clutches her plant the entire way, hoping they don't run into any First Order squadrons. They've been lucky but she's aware that luck can only last so long.
It's still light on Ahch-To when they land and none of them are sure how long they've been gone. Rey knows she should tell Master Skywalker where she went while Poe and Finn consider messaging General Organa to inform her their mission is complete.
Instead they hike up to the huts, where Rey plants her flower. She pats down the last bit of earth as the sun begins to set. Finn sits beside her, with Poe beside him.
"Do you think you're family will really come looking for you?" Finn asks, biting back the questions he has about his own.
"I can only hope they will. Besides," she wraps an arm around him, "I have you and Chewie and maybe Poe while I wait."
Poe wraps an arm around Finn. "You both have me," he assures them.
"I'm not even sure what it's like to have a family," Finn adds.
"Like this." Poe is the fortuate one, who has memories of both his parents, knows this is what it's like.
Rey rests her head on Finn's shoulder as his arm wraps around her waist. He, in turn, rests his head on Poe's shoulder. They sit like that till the sun sets then they take shelter in one of the huts for the night. In the morning they'll all return to their duties but for now, in the darkness, they are a tiny family huddled together.
Reviews are awesome