Two Parts of a Whole: A Reylo Star Wars Story

Chapter 21

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Chapter 21:

Walking through the Olara base was like being home. She got so many hugs and 'welcome backs' that she wondered what Poe and Finn had told them about where she had gone. People were treating her like a hero, when she really didn't feel like she was. All she had done when she was gone was train with Kylo and get closer to the Resistance's enemy.

She wondered if they would be looking at her differently once they found out about her and Kylo. It made her slightly nervous. Her friends were so busy spouting out random bits of information that they didn't seem to notice her sullen mood.

They entered the dining hall and were met with more cheers. Rey kinda wished they were having breakfast somewhere a little more secluded. The Resistance had grown since she had been gone. Not by much but by enough that there were faces she didn't recognize.

Before they were even through the door Taliah, Thommen, Khalil, and Maddez came over. They all looked ecstatic to see her but she felt bad because a member of their core group was missing. Tears stung her eyes and she closed the bond off so that Kylo wouldn't feel her sorrow or guilt at the death of their friend. The four giants took turns hugging Rey but they didn't stay to chat.

Rey and the others made their way to a medium-sized round table at the rear of the dining hall. Leia sat at the head of the table with her back to a wall. The young people fanned out around her but left the chair right across from Leia empty for Rey. She sat down tentatively but Leia wasn't even looking at her. She ordered breakfast for the group but did say or ask anything of Rey.

"So Finn and I went on our first date," Rose said with a shy smile when no serious conversation struck up.

Finn blushed so hard that Rey thought he was going to get woozy and pass out. She cracked a smile at her friend's embarrassment and wondered what he did that would generate such a reaction. Rey looked to Poe as he never had a problem talking about Finn's embarrassing moments.

"And he screwed it up royally. Luckily Rose is already smitten," Poe said and elbowed Finn in the side, but the dark skinned man just blushed harder. "I did not screw it up. Rose, you had fun right," Finn asked and Rose nodded. "See, Poe," Finn said. "It was a wonderful date! We had a picnic under the stars," Rose said excitedly and Kaydel smiled at her friend. "Now tell her how you screwed it up," Poe said pouring alcohol into his tea with a wink at Leia who just rolled her eyes.

Their food was brought over. Rey and the others began loading their plates up. She was starving and she wondered if Kylo was hungry. Rey wanted to ask but didn't know how to approach the subject. Luckily Finn and Poe went on with the story.

"I forgot the blanket, the food and the wine..."

The whole group laughed including Leia. It was such a Finn thing to do that Rey started to feel a little better about being home. Maybe things hadn't changed as much as she had feared. She also really hoped she would be able to convince Leia to let Kylo and Phasma out before they did something stupid like break out.

They ate and made idle small talk but Rey was growing impatient and she was sure that it was Kylo's impatience that she was feeling. After breakfast Rey thought for sure that they would get to talk but Leia wanted to show Rey the new improvements on the base. She didn't want to be rude but there were more important things that they needed to worry about.

They spent hours just walking and talking about what had happened while she was gone. One by one, the others broke off to go do their chores until Rey and Leia were alone. They had made a huge circle around the base and had ended up outside of the hut that Rey had called home during her time on Olara.