Complicated

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to their respective owners.

Chapter Three-Confession and Confusion

Rose's hair, black and straight, gleamed with an almost dark blue iridescence in the dim light coming from her console. She sucked in her lower lip in a vain attempt to quell her mounting excitement at hearing GF's voice again. After the Resistance's successful raid on the First Order's weapons array, she was still pumped full of adrenaline and was eager to share her euphoria at her part in it.

Rose flipped a switch and opened a secure channel. "GF, are you there?" She whispered.

"At last!" Gingerflower answered abruptly. "What took you so long? Do you have any idea how worried I've been?"

Even though she should have been irritated by his harsh tone, Rose couldn't help the little thrill of happiness course through at her the thought of how concerned he was about her safety. "The journey back took longer than we expected. We had to take an unexpected detour."

Gingerflower sighed. "Yes, I heard about your little skirmish in the mid rim. Are you okay?"

"We had a run in with some pirate raiders, but luckily we escaped with minimal damage." Rose revealed.

The Mid Rim, also known as the Mid-Rim, Middle Rim, Mid-systems, or the Mid Rim Territories, was a region of the galaxy located between the Expansion Region and the Outer Rim Territories. With fewer natural resources—and therefore a smaller population—than many neighbouring regions, the Mid Rim was a territory where residents worked hard for everything they had. Several planets built up impressive economies, and pirate raiders often hid in the relatively unexplored spaces far from major trade routes.

"I'm not worried about the damage to your ship. I'm worried about you." Gingerflower continued, his tone gentling.

"I'm fine, honestly." Rose rushed to reassure him.

"I nearly tried to contact you." Gingerflower confessed in a low voice.

"GF, you can't ever take a risk like that!" Rose said alarm. "You'll be discovered. Promise me you won't ever leave yourself exposed like that."

There was a beat of silence before he answered. "I can't promise that. I'm sorry."

"Why not?" Rose pleaded.

More silence….

"GF, are you still there?" Rose asked anxiously as she checked the strength of the signal. They were still connected, so she couldn't understand why he wasn't answering. Her heart quickened with anxiety. What if someone had discovered him? He could have been hauled off somewhere while she was sitting here helpless. "GF, answer me, please?" She begged. "GF?"

"I'm still here." Gingerflower finally responded.

Rose breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't do that to me! I thought something had happened to you. Why didn't you answer me?"

"I don't know how to."

"What do you mean?"

There was another long pause before Gingerflower answered, Rose was nearly breathless with impatience when he finally spoke his truth. "I can't promise that because…. because I care about you."

"You care about me?" Rose's cheeks were kissed pink with exhilaration.

"Of course." Gingerflower ventured haltingly. It was like he was struggling to admit his feelings. "Our conversations are everything…. they are the highlight of my day. I…I look forward to them…. your voice…. your words…. bring me such comfort."

"Wow." Rose breathed in delight. Could this really be happening? It was crazy. The whole thing was insane. But she had to admit his feelings were not one-sided. She had never met him face to face, had no idea what he looked like, or even his real name. But despite that, he was more real to her than anything else she had ever known. "I feel the same." She confessed.

"You do?" Gingerflower said in wonder. "You care about me?"

"Why do you find that so hard to believe?" Rose asked.

There was another long pause. Rose tried to stem the tide of her impatience. She was beginning to understand it was GF's way to mull everything over before giving her a direct answer. "I've never had anyone in my life who really cared about me before."

Rose's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He sounded so melancholy and sad. "What about your parents?"

"My mother died when I was very young….and my father was a brutal man."

Tears of empathy filled Rose's eyes. It was a pointed reminder how lucky she had been to have two loving parents and a sister who adored her. They were all gone now, but at least she'd had their love during her formative years. To be deprived of that kind of love as a child must be devastating.

"I'm sorry, GF."

"It's the past."

Rose swallowed thickly as she prepared to ask her next question. This was even more personal and she wondered if he would think it a step too far, but she was dying to know, and she wasn't one to hold back when she wanted to find answers. "Did you…I mean…was there…is there…. anyone?

"Anyone?" Gingerflower sounded confused.

"Anyone special…you know." Rose felt her cheeks warming up with embarrassment. Why had she started this?

"Oh, I see." Gingerflow sucked in a sharp breath. "Um…no…not like that."

"Never?"

"I'm not the sort of person one is drawn to."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"It is." Gingerflower affirmed. There was another few seconds of silence before he cleared his throat and mumbled. "And you? Is there someone…. special in your life?"

"Not right now." Rose admitted.

"So, you've never?"

"There have been one or two in the past." Rose said in a rush. "And that's all I'm going to say."

"I'm sorry if I overstepped the mark." Gingerflower hurried to apologise. "I just want to know everything about you."

"You didn't overstep." Rose reassured him. "I'm the one who asked first. I want to know everything about you, too. I wish I knew what you looked like…I wish I knew your first name."

There was a low chuckle from Gingerflower's end. "I never use it. I can count on one hand the number of people who actually know of it."

"So, it would be safe for you to tell me?" Rose said cautiously.

"Yes, I suppose." Gingerflower was hesitant. "You might not like it."

"Just tell me!"

"Armitage."

"Oh." Rose said in surprise. It was certainly an unusual name. One she hadn't heard before. She repeated it in her mind a couple of times, before speaking it aloud. "Armitage…. I like it."

"You're being kind. Its awful."

"It's unique."

"And yours?"

"Ah…you already know." Rose teased lightly.

"I do?"

"RP…RosePaige. I'm the Rose part." Rose confessed.

"Of course, you are! And just as fragrant and lovely as the flower itself I imagine."

Rose's colour infused cheeks dimpled with her blossoming smile. No one had ever complimented her like that before. She laughed awkwardly. "You're an idiot, Armitage."

"Say it again."

"You want me to call you an idiot again?" Rose asked in confusion.

"No. Say my name again."

Rose's smile turned tender. "Armitage."

"Say it ag – "

"Hush." Rose cut him off quickly when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Someone was nearby. "I've got to go." She cut off the signal before he could respond and peered into the gloom. She observed a familiar flash of white, and with a sense of déjà vu, realised it was Rey pacing the base like she had before. She could hear talking. So, Rey wasn't alone.

Rose slipped out of her seat and hid in the shadows as she strained her eyes. Despite her best efforts, all she could see was the blurry outline of the young jedi walking by herself talking in hushed tones to….?

There was no one there. Rey was completely alone. Maybe she was talking to herself. People did that sometimes. Didn't they? Rose didn't want to make her presence known and disturb Rey. For one she didn't want to have to explain what she was doing in the comms room by herself at such an early hour, and she knew that Rey would be embarrassed at being caught talking to herself. So, Rose remained hidden, until she was sure Rey had moved on and was no longer in earshot, before heading back to her bunk to sleep.

Rey and Kylo circled each other restlessly. The bond had opened unexpectedly, taking them both off guard. Like before, Kylo had been stripped to the waist when she encountered him. His skin was gleaming with perspiration, she had interrupted him during a break in his brutal exercise regime. He had spent hours burning off the frustration of their last meeting, several beheaded training droids lay broken around him. Not that Rey could see the evidence, she could only see him. She couldn't take her eyes off his muscles, they were his proof that he could overcome adversity and rise, proof that he valued himself enough to put in the effort it took.

"I don't want to do this now." Rey bluffed as she tried to avoid looking directly at him.

"Are you sure about that?" Kylo nonchalantly ran his fingers through his sweat soaked hair, making the inky black strands appear more tousled than ever.

"What do you mean?" Rey demanded harshly. She was sure he was deliberately trying to distract her by constantly moving into her line of sight. She averted her gaze again, irritated by the smirk that was playing about his lips when he noticed her discomfort. "Don't you have a cowl to put on?"

"Why? Does my being half naked bother you?" Kylo taunted.

Rey made an irritated noise in the back of her throat. "Go kiss a rather." She smiled as her insult hit home, feeling pleased when he frowned in annoyance.

"So childish." Kylo muttered.

"Me childish?" Rey retorted. "You are the one constantly invading my space."

"Hardly."

Kylo's calm was maddening. It irritated Rey beyond belief. Wasn't he supposed to be the volatile one? She glared at him. He stared back at her, his intense gaze all consuming, doing strange things to her body that she didn't want to think about right now. It was so odd, how they were together in the same space, but also separate.

"I heard about what happened in the mid-rim." Kylo's tone gentled, his dark brown eyes assessing her carefully.

"Of course, you did." Rey muttered. "As you can see, I escaped unscathed."

Kylo's jaw hardened as did his eyes. "You were lucky to escape with minimal damage. You were reckless to go that way. Those space pirates are cutthroat, but I guess it wasn't your idea to take that route."

Rey's gaze snapped to his. Of course, it hadn't been her idea. It had been Poe's. He could have gotten them all killed. It had been sheer luck that they had gotten away with their lives. But the longer she looked at Kylo's face, the way his jaw pulsed with tension, the angry light shining in his eyes, she realised that it hadn't been luck that had helped them to escape.

"It was you, wasn't it? You sent troopers to intervene?" She questioned incredulously.

A small quirk to Kylo's lips proved her assumptions correct. "Not troopers. My knights. Those raiders won't be bothering anyone again."

"But we'd just destroyed your weapons array?" Rey exclaimed, overcome with bewilderment. "Why would you intervene like that?"

"You know why." Kylo said in a low voice. His eyes continued to rest on her, not unblinking but slowed; yet the effect was soft and inviting instead of harsh. Perhaps it was his lips that give away his intention, not quite smiling but tilting as if they meant to.

Then in the blink of an eye, their connection was severed and she was once again alone.

A/N-thanks for reading!