Only The Beginning

Summary: Written for Inquisitor_Tohru as part of the FandomGiftBox exchange. Rey can’t sleep. She bonds with Rose
Warning(s): Spoilers for the Star Wars sequel trilogy; references to canon character death; AU
Pairing: Rey/Rose

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She couldn’t sleep.

It was strange. Rey had had no trouble sleeping since long after her parents had left her. She’d quickly had to learn how to sleep just about anywhere and everywhere. Sleep and wake up at a moment’s notice. And ever since joining the Resistance, nothing had changed in her sleeping pattern. She’d taken it where and when she could and, in fact, had often only been able to sleep a handful of hours at a time. She would have thought that, now they finally had peace, one of the first things she’d have to do was sleep.

It wasn’t even like she was scared of nightmares. When she closed her eyes, she didn’t see her parents. She didn’t see the Emperor. She didn’t even see Ben. No. All she saw was darkness. Empty. Like there was nothing there. And maybe a small part of her was worried that, if she closed her eyes and finally relaxed into sleep, she would fade away and there would be nothing left. Perhaps it was something she didn’t need to worry about, but after having been convinced she was a nobody for so long and then to find out she was the granddaughter of one of the most feared men in the galaxy…well, she had a whole lot more to worry about than what she had in the past.

But she still couldn’t sleep.

There wasn’t much space in the base and Rey’s room was a very small one, only consisting of a tiny bunk with a single shelf for her clothes and toiletries. Not that she had much of either.

Rey quietly slipped off her bunk and pulled on her jacket and shoes, both of which she put on before she slipped out of the room.

The lights came on automatically as she stood in the hallway outside her room. There was no one around, that she could see. She suspected that there were other people who couldn’t sleep, but perhaps they were all staying in their room, or meeting up with their friends.

Rey thought about going to see if Finn and Poe were awake. Even if they weren’t, the three of them were bonded so closely together, she knew they wouldn’t mind if she actively went and woke them up. But then again, if they were asleep, then they needed it. And she could always see both of them in the morning.

Her room wasn’t far from the exit of the base and Rey found herself walking in that direction, needing some fresh air. She needed to be out of the base and let herself think, without being enclosed somewhere there were so many memories of where she’d gone through her Jedi training.

When she was outside, the only light came from the stars. They were bright in the sky, allowing her to see the area surrounding the base, lighting up the ground with a silvery sheen.

The Falcon was a short distance away and the ramp was lowered. Raising her eyebrows, Rey walked over to the ship and headed up the ramp, wondering who was there. Who would be exploring the Falcon in the middle of the night?

When Rey got into the main area of the Falcon, she had to pause and take in a deep breath. Now that she was here without needing to retrieve something or someone…it hit her just how many people they’d lost in this war. It had been won, eventually, but at what cost? Luke, Leia, Han, Ben…they were all dead. Not gone, but they were still dead, even if part of them still existed in the Force.

“Oh!”

Rey jerked, pulled out of her thoughts at the exclamation of surprise. She watched as Rose came out from the pilot’s area and smiled, somewhat sheepishly. “I’m sorry. I wanted to explore the Falcon while everyone else was asleep. I didn’t have a chance to see it before, with everything that was going on.” She hesitated. “You don’t think anyone will mind, do you? I should have asked for permission, but I didn’t really know who to ask.”

Rey smiled. “You don’t need to worry. If you want to look around, I don’t think anyone will mind.” She glanced around the interior of the Falcon, a twinge of sadness going through her. Luke, Leia, Han…if she closed her eyes and left herself open, she could feel all of them. They’d left so much of an impression here, she didn’t need to use the Force to see them.

“It’s a really old ship.” Rose began to walk around the main area. She reached out, letting her fingertips trace along the walls. She closed her eyes as she placed one hand flat against the wall. “It’s seen a lot through the years.”

“It’s still just as good as it ever was,” Rey said, unable to help the note of pride that slipped into her voice.

“Yes. But I think there are ways it could be better. Ways we could improve it.” Rose opened her eyes and turned towards Rey.

“We?”

“Yes.” A more hesitant look came over Rose’s face as she said, “If you’re here this late, I guess it means you can’t sleep either. I have that problem a lot. And I find I can sleep after I’ve worked on something. Like the Falcon.” She walked over to a toolbox resting on the round table and opened it up.

“Do you think we can make it better?” Rey walked over and peered into the box, taking in the amount of tools that were there.

“I’m not saying it’s a pile of junk, but when you look at the rest of the ships, there are a lot of ways to make the Falcon better,” Rose said. “And now that the war is over, there’s time to make those kinds of improvements. For when you leave.”

Picking up one of the wrenches, Rey looked at Rose and raised her eyebrows. “What makes you think I’m going to leave?” she asked.

Rose closed her own fingers around one of the tools, pulling it out of the box and making her way over to the navigation panel. She began to remove the panel and then pulled out wires to begin working on them. “Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think I am. There are people like you who have an affinity for the Force. You’re not going to leave them thinking they’re alone, are you?” Sparks flashed as she worked.

“I might not be taking the Falcon.” Rey headed to the other side of the room, beginning to work on the control panel for the main door. “I don’t know where to start. I don’t know who to reach out to first.” She shook her head.

“You need a crew to start with.” Rose glanced back over her shoulder at Rey. “I’d like to volunteer. I can fix up anything that goes wrong. And I believe it was a mistake to stay behind the last time. Finn invited me to go with you all and I didn’t go. This time, I would like to. If you’ll have me.”

Rey looked down at the tool in her hand, then up at Rose. “I want to,” she said. “I think we might have to ask Chewie and Lando for permission to use the Falcon, though. Maybe they’ll even come with us. But I can’t do it without Finn and Poe too. So before we leave, we need to talk to them too.”

“Of course.” Rose nodded. “And I’m not suggesting we leave now, tonight, anyway. We need supplies. Star maps. An idea of where we’re going and what route we need to take to get there.”

“And we need to make sure the weapons and shields are as well prepared as they can be,” Rey added. “The Emperor’s threat might be gone, but there will be other threats we might run into.”

Rose nodded, lowering her gaze to the floor. “Yes. It might take some time, but as long as we are prepared and can work together, we can take on anything. I really believe that we are all stronger together than we are apart.”

“And that’s why we’ll succeed,” Rey stated.

The two of them worked together in silence, tightening bolts and fixing frayed wires inside the control panels. It was a comforting, peaceful silence. Two companions working on the Millennium Falcon together.

It was Rose who broke the silence that had fallen. “Do you think I could see how your lightsaber works? I’ve never been able to see the inner workings of one before and they’re fascinating. I promise I won’t break it.”

“I know you won’t.” Rey put aside her own wrench and unclipped the lightsaber from her belt. She held it in her hands and then pressed the button on the side, activating the beam with a thrum of energy.

Rose stepped closer to Rey’s side, reaching out and touching the handle. Her fingers brushed against Rey’s hand and she pulled her hand back, then smiled. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t apologise,” Rey replied. She reached out and placed her hand over Rose’s, squeezing it lightly and then looking into the other woman’s eyes. “You can touch. However and wherever you want.” She pressed the button to deactivate the lightsaber.

Rose reached out, tentatively at first, and then took hold of the handle, her hand resting in place next to Rey’s. Their hands brushed against each other’s and the two of them exchanged smiles. Then Rey placed her other hand on top of Rose’s and gripped gently, before leaning forward and allowing her lips to brush against the other woman’s.

At first, the kiss was a light, tentative meeting of lips. Their clasped hands remained on the lightsaber, but after only a few moments, Rey let go so that she could wrap an arm around Rose, pulling the other woman in closer into a hug.

When they separated, the two smiled at each other and Rey reached out, stroking her fingers through Rose’s hair. “I wasn’t expecting this when I couldn’t sleep, but I’m glad I came out here.”

“Me too.” Rose smiled, then quickly leaned forward and brushed a kiss against Rey’s lips once more before asking, “So…does the glow come from specific crystals?”

It took only moments for the two of them to sit down, side by side, and start discussing the inner workings of the lightsaber. They sat close enough to touch, hips pressing against each other, and settled into the conversation of two people very comfortable with each other.

The End