Ben was yelling something indistinguishable to Hux as the seeker lazily lapped around the pitch, braying like a donkey as Gwen Phasma sent a particularly nasty bludger straight at Axe Woves head and sent him spinning in mid-air. From the stands, crowded in a small huddle near the top of the Gryffindor student section, Rey bit her lip as the rest of the Gryffindor quidditch team (plus Rose and Finn) groaned. Slytherin had sent another quaffle past Bo-Katan Kryze's outstretched arms and cleanly through the middle hoop. Hux continued to swerve lazily about the field, and Rey could tell by his pointed expression and jeering smile that he was spouting insults left-and-right. Seeming to harness his annoyance from Hux's quips, Din Djarin then made three goals in a row right before the redhead's sneering face. The Gryffindor team cheered as Ravenclaw finally took the lead after a tough neck-and-neck battle for the last hour and fifteen minutes, laughing as they caught sight of Hux's slack-jawed expression on the pitch.
"Did Hux forget that he actually needs to catch the snitch in order to win this thing?" Finn muttered, rolling his eyes as Hux once again continued to insult the Ravenclaw team.
"Suffering from brain damage is my bet," Jessica responded with a snigger. "All that grease in his hair has gotta do something to that prefrontal cortex, you know?"
"Zorii always said his brain must be the size of a walnut," Poe agreed as Ben and Phasma once again shouted an irritated warning in Hux's direction, urging him to get his ass in gear. "Where's Zorii, anyway?"
"Still in Gryffindor Tower. Couldn't bear to watch," Paige admitted with a grimace. "I'll check up on her later. She just needs a little time to herself."
Rey couldn't help but feel sympathy for her captain. Zorii could be a pain during practice, but she lived and breathed quidditch. With her and Paige graduating this year, Rey couldn't imagine the game without them. Paige, especially, had been something of a role model for Rey, and she wished she could take flight with the same sense of cool and collected confidence that she somehow managed. Unshakeable, Zorii had often described her, in awe with how completely opposite Paige's flying was from Zorii's own aggressive nature. She'd miss them dearly, even Zorii's endless bludger drills and infuriatingly complex plays.
Suddenly, Rey's attention was drawn elsewhere. There was a glint fifteen meters down the pitch from the quidditch hoops. Rey's eyes widened, recognizing the snitch as it flickered in a shuddering figure eight pattern. Almost at the same moment, Ben Solo must have noticed it as well, and Rey gasped as he vacated the ongoing squabble for the quaffle between him and Bodhi Rook, then barrelled down the pitch. For a moment, it looked as if he was going to pluck it from the air with the grace of a seeker, but then he suddenly turned with the precision of a ballet dancer before swiping the tail end of his broom against the snitch like a cricket ball hitting a bat.
The snitch hurtled upwards, propelled directly into Armitage Hux's smug face. With a 'THUNK!' that seemed to echo throughout the entire pitch, the golden snitch hit it's target directly between Hux's beady eyes, leaving a golf-ball sized welt as red as his hair. He scrambled for a bit with a shriek, swatting at the snitch like it was an irritated bee before finally recognizing it and desperately clasping a hand around it. Despite what team was being cheered for, the entire stadium was swept up into the display, leaping to their feet to shout, Gryffindors included. Slytherin had won the cup.
"What a way to win, huh?" Poe said, sliding his arms around Rey and Finn and squeezing them tight. "As much as I wish it was Ravenclaw, you can't argue that it wasn't exciting."
"You owe Enfys Nest five galleons, Poe."
Poe grimaced, his demeanor suddenly sullen. "Nevermind. Slytherin's still trash."
"Is that move even allowed?" Rose asked. The crowd of quidditch players around her fell to silence, considering the question.
"I think so?"
"I mean, Solo didn't catch it, right?" Jessica pondered out loud. "I think as long as chasers aren't chucking the snitch clear across the pitch, anything goes."
"This game is so stupid," Rose muttered miserably as the team devolved into a series of arguments over what can and can't be done with a snitch on the pitch. They got to Jessica Pava describing a rather lewd sex act involving two quaffles and a seeker before Paige interrupted firmly, disgusted that such filth would be uttered in front of her baby sister. Rey rolled her eyes. Paige had obviously hadn't heard Rose's double-entendre about beaters in the sack that she'd made earlier that day during breakfast.
"Can't wait to try a move like that during practice next season," Poe said with a grin.
"Next year's seeker better not be useless enough for you to have to use a move like that," Jessica muttered. "We can find someone better than Hux to replace Zorii."
"I can probably train a flobberworm that could fly better than Hux. Better looking, too," Snap interjected, sending the team into laughter as they reached the bottom of the stands.
"Well, well! What a motley gang of losers we have here."
A groan chorused throughout the group as the victorious Slytherins filed out of the pitch behind them, fully showered with the quidditch cup glinting in their hands. Of course, they'd be more interested in antagonizing the Gryffindors rather than just enjoying their damn victory, Rey thought with a scowl.
"Getting a preview of next year?" Phasma said, carefully polishing the front of the silver quidditch cup in her hands. Her sneer reflected back in it's mirrored, metal surface. "Sorry to say it's unlikely. Doubt you'll even make it to the cup, just like this year. Where's your girlfriend, Tico? Crying in her room like the failure she is?"
For the first time in her life, Rey saw Paige's amiable disposition disappear as she leapt forward with actual anger. Rose yelped, holding back Paige's clenched fist and pulling her sister behind her.
"There will be even less talent left once you and Bliss leave, huh?" Hux goaded, the bright red welt on his forehead shining in the afternoon sun. "I mean, that's assuming no one else is getting tossed off the team. After all, I doubt Niima here will be able to stay on her nonexistent broom long enough to even make it through an entire game."
"At least she didn't have to buy her way onto the team."
An uncomfortable silence settled over the group. That hadn't been Poe's voice, or Finn's, or even Jessica Pava's. Instead, Rey was stunned to realize that the deep, lazy drawl had come out of none other than Ben Solo's Slytherin mouth.
"Excuse me, Solo?" Hux asked, his voice low and dangerous.
"Just saying, Snoke seemed particularly insistent on getting you on the team after that generous donation to the potion's department from your father," Ben muttered with an irritated glare. "Would have been worth it if you acted like an actual seeker for once. That match lasted over an hour and half and we were winning for the first two thirds of it. All we needed was the damn snitch. What the hell were you even doing out there? Pirouettes?"
"Wasn't aware you were captain, Solo," Hux said while stalking up to Ben and pointing a finger to his chest, attempting to intimidate him despite his smaller stature. "You really think I'm a worse quidditch player than this useless, little mudblood?"
Without a word, Ben wrapped his giant hand around Hux's accusing fingers and squeezed them with a sickening 'Pop!' Gasping in pain, Hux clutched his hand to his chest before hurtling his body forward in an attempt to force Ben to the ground with his only good arm.
"Enough!" Phasma thundered, bodily separating the two Slytherins from each other before any further broken bones. "Cool off, Solo! Hux is right. You aren't the captain. Criticizing Hux's mediocre performance is my job, not your's."
Hux whimpered, pulling his injured fingers to his chest once again. The Gryffindor team gawked, hiding the grins on their faces as Mitaka dutifully offered to take Hux to the hospital wing, insisting that his hand looked more dislocated than broken. Hux kicked at the boy in a sudden tantrum despite his attempted help as they retreated to the castle.
"We'll settle this on the pitch next year," Phasma finally said as she glared down at the rival team. "Except for you, of course, Tico. However will your team survive without you and your righteous little captain?"
Paige muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "Piss off" under her breath as the Slytherins finally slunk away to their victory party, Ben Solo stealing a momentary glance in Rey's direction that she almost didn't catch. Rose draped a protective arm over Paige's shoulder as the Gryffindors were finally left alone.
"Just once," Paige said quietly. "Just once I wanted to beat that damn ogre of a woman in the finals."
"She's miserable," Poe agreed. "We'll get her next year, Paige. For you and Zorii, yeah?"
"She's right, though. You guys have two open spots next year, and we have no reserves since we bumped Rey up to first string. Do we even know anyone who flies?" Paige said while shaking her head. "We can't handle having two second years on the team all at once when so many of you guys are fifth year or younger."
"We'll find someone," Snap insisted. "And Jessica and I will send a couple bludgers straight to Phasma's face next year, just for you."
"Hell yeah, I will!" Jessica said with a grin, all too excited at the prospect. The team began their journey up to the castle, goodnaturedly describing how they'd make their way to victory next year, sharing workout routines and tips for the summer. Rey almost felt a weight fall off her shoulders as she couldn't help but get excited at the prospect of flying once again next season.
"Rey, can you hold on for a moment?" Finn said, reaching out to grab Rey's arm before she could leave with the parade of Gryffindors.
"What's up, Finn?" Rey said as she waved the rest of the team along, Rose suspiciously craning her neck behind her, no doubt imagining the hot gossip she would be missing out on.
"Well, I just," Finn scratched at his cheek, struggling to find words. "I was thinking. Do you think I'm a good flyer?"
"I haven't seen you fly much since our first year, but you were considerably better than me back then, yeah," Rey said, fondly recalling how Finn coached her during those early days, teaching her how to balance on a broom without losing control and how to come to a stop without her entire body pitching forward. His detailed advice, as well as his superb healing charms, had saved her from more than a few disastrous visits to the hospital wing. Since then, though, Finn had done little flying beyond occasionally borrowing Poe's broom in order to go for a leisurely flight over the Great Lake with Rey when the weather was agreeable.
"True," he muttered, taking a deep breath. "So, okay. Don't laugh, but I think I want to try-out for chaser next year. It's a long shot, though. I know I'm not as quick as you or as strategic as Poe, but I think I might be able to make it if I can get some practice in over the summer."
Rey's eyes widened. "Finn, why would I laugh at that? Of course you'd make it! And, you think Poe's strategic?" Rey laughed. "Poe switches up strategies on the pitch every five seconds. He just does it so confidently that most people don't realize that he's making it up as he goes along. Drives the rest of the team bonkers, to be honest. You, on the other hand, can beat any chess player within seven moves!"
"Chess and quidditch aren't really the same thing," Finn muttered, slightly embarrassed by the praise.
"Yes, but the fact of the matter is that you've got the mind for it. You've gotta be flexible in quidditch, yes, but the best players are always thinking ten steps ahead," Rey said. Suddenly, she flushed, realizing that Ben Solo's advice was flowing from her mouth. Since when had his words been so ingrained in her brain?
"You really think I can make it?"
"If you don't, whoever our next captain is would be making a huge mistake," Rey said, wrapping Finn in a hug. "I couldn't imagine flying with a better chaser. Plus, the fact that you can practically read my mind will be a definite plus. We'll be the ones keeping Poe on his toes for once."
"Thanks, Peanut," Finn said, ruffling her hair with a relieved grin. "It's settled, then. I'm buying a broom and spending every day practicing this summer."
"Don't tell Poe, though," Rey advised. "Last year, he found out that Beaumont Kin was thinking of trying out, and I heard he sent a howler every morning to get Kin's arse out of bed and start practicing. Poor kid got so tired of it, he didn't even make it to try-outs."
Finn grimaced. "Fair, I won't tell him."
"And Rose is going to try to talk you out of it. She spent the first two weeks of September reciting a comprehensive fifteen page long treatise about why I should spend more time with her rather than on a smelly, old broom. You know how she is. She'll be heartbroken that she'll have to suffer through quidditch games alone in the stands."
"She can be a bit dramatic, can't she?" Finn said with a laugh. "Is there anyone I can tell, my dear quidditch expert?"
"Jessica Pava will weep with joy when she finds out," Rey admitted. "She always thought you'd be good on a broom. She'll start fitting you for a quidditch jersey before we leave on the Hogwarts Express."
"Here's hoping she's captain, then," Finn said with a sigh. "I'd stand a chance of getting on the team then, yeah?"
"Doesn't matter who's captain," Rey insisted with a clap on his shoulder. "You're going to be great!"
Finn grinned at her, then closed his eyes for a moment as he breathed in deeply. Rey could practically see his imagination taking flight as he undoubtedly pictured himself on a broom, tossing a quaffle between Rey and Poe with expertise, the crowds cheering their names. Rey felt her own heart soaring, as well, imagining the same. Suddenly, the daydream halted as she remembered once again that she was currently in no possession of a broom that could take her to the sky. What would happen if she couldn't get a new one? Would they go with a completely new chaser?
"You okay, Peanut?" Finn asked, peering at her. Flustered, Rey realized that her smile must have been looking a little more fake than before.
"I'm good. Just going to get a little fresh air. Only a few days left of us getting to enjoy this place, right? I think I'll head down to the Great Lake for a bit before going in."
"Don't get eaten by the giant squid," Finn said as he began to head towards the castle.
"Yes, Dad!" Rey shouted back as she made her way in the opposite direction, though it sounded forced even to her own ears. Images of Finn and Poe on the pitch tossing the quaffle without her would not leave her mind. The thoughts screamed like banshees as she imagined them speeding down the pitch with some faceless player as she looked on from the sidelines, utterly left behind. No matter how hard she tried, she could not banish the thought.
o-o-o
"Asleep, Niima?"
Rey startled awake. She'd been lying underneath an English oak at the edge of the Great Lake, so exhausted by her mental battle that she'd finally drifted off to sleep. Above her, Ben's dark hair came into focus, and Rey scrambled to her feet, eager to put some distance between them.
"Not anymore," she grumbled, pressing her hands to her eyes and trying to wipe away her grogginess. "What are you doing here? I can't have been sleeping so long that the Slytherin celebration has finally ended."
"It started half an hour ago," Ben said with a shrug, gazing out across the Great Lake. "Hux is waving his damn arm around like I broke it even though Kalonia fixed it in five minutes. He insists that I should be kicked off the team, which of course is never going to happen. Needed to go for a walk before I ended up breaking another bone of his."
"You didn't have to do that, you know," Rey said, but she couldn't help the small smile forming on her lips.
"Hux is insufferable. I've been wanting to tear him down all week," Ben responded.
"By all means, tear away," Rey insisted as they stared out over the lake, feeling at ease as she leaned against the trunk behind her. The sun was beginning to dip below the trees, painting the lake in a golden hue though it was not quite twilight. Wistfully, Rey lamented the fact that in less than a week she'd have to say goodbye to Hogwarts and head back to Unkar Plutt and his molding townhouse, away from any ounce of magic for a full three months.
"So…" Ben said as he eyed her carefully, seeming to weigh the words about to come out of his mouth. "What is the plan in terms of quidditch next year? No offense, but I can't imagine they'll let you climb your way up the hoop in order to score."
"You doubt my superb climbing skills, Solo?" Rey joked, attempting to brush aside the thoughts she'd been battling earlier. She grinned to herself for a moment, recalling the derelict buildings she used to scale as a child. "You'd be surprised by what I can shimmy my way up on top of."
Ben's breath hitched at that, and Rey raised an eyebrow at him, clearly puzzled. Of course, the first time that Rey spoke to Ben in over a month he'd end up acting like a complete weirdo.
"What, you want to see?" Rey said as she jerked a finger back towards the quidditch hoops. Ben muttered something under his breath that suspiciously sounded like "You're killing me, Niima," but Rey ignored him with a roll of her eyes.
"Fine, no demonstration." Pushing herself up from against the tree, Rey gave a lazy wave over her shoulder as she started her way towards the castle. She breathed out a sigh of relief as she turned away. Nice. A conversation with Ben Solo that didn't regress back to them yelling at each other like cavemen.
"You know Professor Kanata?"
Rey halted. Of course, Ben Solo wasn't done. She crossed her arms and turned to stare at him, her suspicion growing. "I'm a fourth year. I, like most Hogwarts students, have heard of divination. Why? What have you seen about me in your teacups? Some sort of tall, dark lover coming into my life soon, or just the usual predictions of death and destruction?"
Rey could have sworn his face flushed red for just a second. "Something wrong, Solo?"
"No!" he shouted, his voice so loud that it startled both him and her. He bit his lip and Rey furrowed his brow. Was he nervous? "It's just that during the summer months Kanata runs a tea shop out of Bristol. A small pop-up shop, but pretty busy, nonetheless."
"Fascinating news," Rey said. "I'll inform the Daily Prophet."
"Wizards tend to use the word 'pop-up shop' pretty literally," Ben continued on, pointedly ignoring Rey's comment. "I think it's usually some sort of vacant lot between a string of condemned office buildings for nine out of twelve months, but during the summer it's pretty well-renowned in the wizarding community. Of course, Kanata's pretty stingy about who she invites. Special portkey and everything."
"As much as I love the lesson, Solo, what exactly is it that you're getting at? Just rubbing it in my face that I'm not worthy of Kanata's tea ceremonies? I'm honestly not the biggest tea-drinker, so forgive me if I fail to burst into tears."
"That's not what I meant," he said with a shake of his head. "I'm just saying that I know for a fact that she's going to be short an employee this summer and will be in desperate need of an extra set of hands." He raised his eyebrows conspiratorially, and it was so unlike his usual brooding demeanor that Rey had the sudden urge to laugh. "And it just so happens that Maz Kanata prefers to hire a few students to help out around the shop. Pays a little more than most shops since she knows underage wizards and witches can't do magic in the summer. Dependable hours."
"I live nowhere near Bristol," Rey said, unimpressed. "I know you aren't the expert on muggle households—Merlin knows that Professor Threepio spends more time teaching about the difference between a microwave and a washing machine than anything actually useful—but not everyone has a fireplace set up to just floo wherever they want." Rey shrugged a sigh. "Listen, thanks for the advice, but it's possible I might just have to sit next year out until I can afford a replacement. Have fun losing to Gryffindor without me."
"You don't listen very well, do you?" Ben responded, his irritation starting to grow.
"And now the insults return," Rey said with an exasperated sigh. Ben glowered, then shoved his hands into his pockets and looked down at Rey's shoes. If Rey didn't know any better, she'd assume he was embarrassed, but she nearly laughed at the thought. As history had proven, Ben had no qualms about insulting Rey Niima and her inadequacies.
"She'd give you a portkey, okay?" Ben finally said as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. "It's a good opportunity. Don't ignore it just because you feel like wallowing in self-pity."
"I don't wallow," Rey insisted, crossing her arms defensively.
"Right," he scoffed. "Talk to her about it. Can't hurt, can it?"
"Fine," she agreed. Then, quietly, "Thank you."
Ben smiled, one of those real smiles that Rey only rarely saw, and never in front of any of his Slytherin friends. The goofy one that stretched from ear to ear. The one that sometimes made her heart flip just a little bit.
"Rematch next year?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Obviously," Rey said with a grin. "And Ben? Enjoy holding that quidditch cup while you can. I have a feeling it will be the last time you do so for a long, long while."
o-o-o
Ben was right. Professor Kanata (or Maz, as she insisted on being called in the summer months) was desperate for young blood to work her teashop, and Rey was surprised by how much she enjoyed the work that summer. Kanata was eccentric, a tiny, mocha colored woman with small beady eyes that magnified ten times bigger when she peered at you beneath her cat-eye glasses, but she was also an endless source of wisdom that seemed to always know exactly what you needed before you had the chance to even realize it yourself. Rey didn't even have to mention the teashop job when she'd entered the North Tower before Kanata was shoving a portkey made from an old, musty sock and promptly telling her the time and days she expected to see her that summer. Rey couldn't help but grin as she clutched the sock to her chest like a fool, realizing that her quidditch dreams had not yet been dashed.
"What's the status on the Darjeeling tea? Pot still full, or do we need a new one?" Bodhi Rook asked while wiping out a honey dispenser and filling it with a fresh batch. Bodhi, while admittedly a rival chaser on the Hufflepuff team, was proving to be a great coworker with a sharp sense of humor; the fact that they'd spent most of last year trying to wrestle a quaffle from one another never once seemed to cause a rift during a work shift besides a couple of toothless jibes. Rey suddenly thought of Ben Solo and his narrowed eyes, then inwardly mourned the fact that not all of her other interhouse relationships could run so smoothly.
"Nearly empty," Rey admitted as began to clear out the spent tea leaves to make room for a fresh batch. "Impressive, Rook. Saved us just in time from a Darjeeling disaster. Maz would be proud."
"Maz thinks I have 'the sight,'" Bodhi said with an awkward shrug. "Honestly, I didn't believe her at first. A bunch of rubbish, if you ask me. But, now?" He shook his head with an uncertain smile. "Well, I suppose some talents can't be explained."
"Bullocks!" Rey laughed tossing a wadded up paper napkin at Bodhi's head.
"I'm serious! Just last week, that one bloke with the Welsh accent—you know, the one who's always carrying that live iguana on his shoulders? Well, around two o'clock, I just started making a chai tea latte with extra cinnamon without even thinking. Swear on Merlin's grave, he comes in and orders the exact drink that I had just made! How do you explain that?"
"The guy with the purple cloak who comes in every Tuesday afternoon?" Rey asked, utterly perplexed. "Rook, he orders the same thing every single time he comes in."
"Don't doubt my gifts, Niima."
"Then, oh great one," Rey said with a roll of her eyes. "Make a prediction."
"That's not how the sight works, you know."
"Tell you what, if you make a prediction and get it right, I'll clean the loo after the lunch rush all week."
"Fine! Fine! I foresee," Bodhi began, bringing his hands to his forehead like some sort of muggle version of a shaman. He screwed his face up in pain, letting out a theatrical gasp. "Yes! It's coming to me!" He leaned forward, waving his hands in front of her face and wiggling his fingers in faux mysticism. Rey couldn't help but snort. "I see you getting your arse kicked on the quidditch pitch next school year!"
Rey elbowed him in the stomach, cackling. "You are so full of crap!" she shouted. A couple of the patrons in the teahouse glared at her, utterly appalled by her uncouth interruption of their peaceful teatime.
"You know, I made that same joke last year to Ben Solo," Bodhi said with a shrug. "Found it not quite as funny as you; nearly knocked my teeth in. Gotta say, you are far more pleasant of a coworker to spend the summers with."
Rey's grin faltered.
"Ben worked here last year?"
"Well, yeah," Bodhi said, wiping down a splatter of honey that had missed the container. "I figured you knew since he recommended you and all. Ben's been working here every summer even longer than I have. I heard that Professor Kanata is a family friend of his mother and father from way back, or something."
Lost in thought, Rey tried to imagine Ben's mother. All she could picture was some sort of bride-of-Frankenstein with a permanent scowl on her lips. "I always kind of assumed that Solo'd emerged from some lagoon somewhere, fully formed."
"Don't know much about his old man, but his mum's actually pretty nice," Bodhi continued. "She's come in here a few times. She's a very busy lady, always meeting with some big-wigs from the ministry about something or other, but she actually acknowledges you when you refill her teacup."
"Ben Solo's mother is not a brooding vampire woman, huh?" Rey responded, clearly amused. "Who would have thought!"
"They are actually quite opposite of one another, though I admit that Ben gets his stubbornness from his mother."
Rey and Bodhi jumped as Maz Kanata's voice boomed from behind them, the small woman seemingly appearing out of nowhere as she often did. Not even a tell-tale 'POP!' of apparition.
"Oh, please," Maz said with a lazy wave of her hand. "Do continue your conversation. I'm not here to interrupt," she insisted as she pulled a stool between the two teenagers and motioned for them to make room, staring at them expectantly behind her giant eyeglasses. Standing on its platform, she was nearly their height.
"Um," Rey began. "Ben's… nice."
"Ben Solo has been a pain in his parent's rear ends since the day he was sorted into Slytherin," Maz insisted. "And I'm allowed to say that considering I've known the boy since he was five."
"You knew him when he was younger?" Rey asked. She recalled faintly how Poe, too, had described Ben as being far less irritable before his time at Hogwarts. "How exactly was it that he was so different back then? What happened to him?"
"Some skeletons are better left in the closet," Maz insisted with a mysterious smile. "But if you're really so interested in our young Mr. Solo…" With a swiftness that defied her age, Maz jumped from the stool and began sorting through the cabinets behind the cash register, unloading it's contents onto the floor that Bodhi had cleaned only a half hour earlier. After chucking three tea-cups shaped like swans, a file folder suspiciously marked with the text "DO NOT EAT'', and what must have been a half eaten muffin from the beginning of the summer, Maz finally emerged victorious with an old photo clutched in her long fingernails.
"Kanata's Tea Shop: Opening Day!" Maz exclaimed with a smile, victoriously thunking the photo onto the counter before them. Rey peered downwards, seeing the inside of the shop through the lens of the past. The counters were newer, less nicks in the paint, and the teacups seemed to actually match instead of being the eclectic collection of cups that currently graced their shelves. In the photo, a short woman with her brown hair wrapped into an elegant braid stood with her arm around a dark-haired man with a roguish smile that he seemed to send only in her direction. Maz, ten years younger, looked nearly identical to how she looked now, and Rey had the sudden realization that Maz must be far, far older than she'd originally assumed.
"He was so cute back then!" Maz said as she peered closer. "Used to insist on sweeping the floors while we worked, but usually just pushed on the crumbs around in a pile!" she said with a laugh, pointing at the black-haired boy grinning in the picture. His ears stuck out from his messy hair, and one of his front teeth had clearly fallen out not too long ago, judging by the sizable gap in his smile. He was holding a broomstick twice the size as he was, excitedly swiping the brush in haphazard strokes across the floor grinning proudly as he worked. She wondered just what had happened to turn that small, cheerful child into the emotional powder keg she knew today.
"You can keep it, you know," Maz told Rey, raising her brows with a whisper when Bodhi turned away to help a customer who'd asked for a refill on their earl grey. Rey flushed, but pocketed the photo anyway, hoping that Bodhi would not question it upon his return
Maz did have a way of knowing exactly what you needed before you even realized it yourself, afterall.