It feels odd, having a family. The sense of constant caring is simultaneously better and worse than she could ever have imagined.
Rey spent her entire childhood yearning for something she didn't have, and when she learnt about her parents' deaths, she accepted that she never would. She still chased answers, trying to unravel the yarn of their lives in a desperate attempt to at least understand them, even if she couldn't have them.
But now the fire flickers and crackles as the stew simmers, filling the garden with the heady scent of smoke and half-cooked beef. Sitting on a fallen log beside Poe and Kes, her legs stretched out to get closer to the warmth, Rey lets their boisterous laughter wash over her.
This, finally, is what she was missing all her life. This camaraderie. This support. This comfort. This concern.
Being accountable to someone else sometimes gets to her. For years, she survived on her own, making whichever decisions felt right without checking in with anyone. Now, as sudden as a bolt of lightning, it's not just her. She has people worrying about her, people who are affected by the risks she takes, people who would care if she never came home.
But with that, she also has people who will be by her side no matter what, whether she's sinking or sailing, falling or flying, and who she'll stand by just as readily. No matter how hard it may be to adjust to the negatives of having a family, she has never doubted that it's worth it.
Reaching over, she slips her hand into Poe's. It's as cosy and appealing and grounding as the fire, and Rey knows she'll never want anything more.
I love you, she thinks, before closing her eyes and enjoying the warmth.
A/N: Prompt: 'When I was growing up I didn't have a normal mom and dad or a regular family like everybody else, and I always knew that something was missing. But now I'm standing here today knowing that I have everything I'm ever going to need. You are my family.' from Friends 10x12