Chapter Text
Rey loved the park in early autumn. It was still warm enough that all the kids were running around, shrieking and laughing, but it was cool enough that she didn’t feel like she’d melt after being outside for twenty minutes.
She walked up the hill towards the pond and spotted her best friend, Finn, sitting on a bench. Rey stopped and frowned.
Finn was wearing a suit, his tie pulled loose and the top button of his shirt undone. He was leaning forward with his elbows on his legs. He did not look like a guy who was ready to enjoy his Saturday; he looked like a man about to go face a firing squad.
She jogged over. “This was supposed to be a fun day.”
“Rey,” he said, relief clear in his voice. “Yeah, sorry. Had to go in for a little bit.”
“Today?”
Finn sighed. “I know.” He pulled on his tie and jerked it off. He stuffed it into his pocket. “Phasma needed me to go over some of Slip’s reports and…” He shook his head. “But I’m here now.” He looked up at her.
Rey sat on the bench next to him. “Quit.”
“What?”
“Quit.” She turned to face him. “Look, I know that that is crappy advice in this economy, but this job is killing you.”
“Rey, it’s not that—”
“Oh no, Finn, it is that bad. Since you’ve been at First Order, you’ve lost weight. You don’t sleep. We’re roommates and I have to schedule meetings with you just to see you!”
Finn tilted his head back. “It’s not that easy, Rey.”
“I’ll cover your rent,” she said.
“You can’t afford that.”
“I’ll take out a loan!”
He laughed. “Thanks, peanut, but… I can’t quit. Not yet.”
“Yet?” Rey’s eyes held a spark of hope.
“Yes, yet. I promise, the moment I can quit, I will.”
Rey’s forehead bunched. “The moment you can quit?”
Finn pushed off the bench. “It’s a long story. Besides, I was promised ice cream.” He started looking around. “There is ice cream, right?”
“Fine,” Rey huffed, getting up. “Come on. Let’s get you some ice cream.”
# # # #
The pavilion next to the pond had just about the best ice cream in town, in Rey’s humble opinion, and Rey knew Finn’s order by heart. “One cup with Cherries Jubilee and one waffle cone with Rocky Road.” She slid over the money and waited.
She watched Finn, who was standing a few yards away, scrolling through his phone. “You better not be working,” she called out.
Finn looked up, shook his head, and shoved his phone into his pocket. He then held up both hands and shook them. “See? No work!”
“Good,” she called back.
The order was up, so she grabbed their ice creams, walked over and handed Finn his waffle cone. He closed his eyes and moaned as he licked a stripe of it. “I needed this,” he said. “You have no idea how much I needed this.”
Rey laughed, stabbing her spoon into her ice cream. She nodded at a bench across the way. “Come on! Before someone steals it from us.” She jogged over, but Finn was having trouble keeping up because his ice cream was melting. He was trying to walk and lick the drips off his hand at the same time.
Finn’s eyes were on his Rocky Road, which meant he didn’t see the guy with black curly hair directly in his path until a second before they collided.
“Omph,” the guy said as he fell backwards into Finn.
Finn watched as his beloved Rocky Road tumbled out of his hand and onto the grass. “Noooooo!” He followed it down. He let his head fall back into the lawn. “The one thing I was looking forward to today.” No offense, Rey.
“Oh man, sorry, buddy,” the guy said, inadvertently elbowing Finn in the stomach before rolling over and pushing himself up. “I totally didn’t see you.” He smiled down at Finn and offered him a hand.
For a second, Finn forgot about the Rocky Road, forgot about his job, forgot about everything, as he stared up into the prettiest brown eyes he’d ever seen. The man staring down at him was breathtaking.
Rey’s voice tore him from his thoughts. “Finn! Are you okay?”
And that’s when everything came rushing back. Finn pushed the guy’s hand away and shoved himself up. He started brushing himself off. “Fine,” he growled out.
The guy looked a bit confused. “Look, buddy, at least let me buy you another ice cream,” he said. “It was totally my fault.” He held up a Frisbee and wore a guilty look on his face.
“No, thank you,” Finn said. He started stomping towards Rey’s bench.
“Are you sure,” the guy called after him.
Rey shared a confused look with the stranger before shrugging and running after Finn. “Finn,” she yelled. “Wait up!” When she got to the bench, she said, “What is wrong with you? That guy was being nice.”
Finn sank onto the bench and put his head in his hands. “I know,” he said. “I just…” He sighed. “It’s been a long day.”
Rey sat down next to him and a cup of Cherries Jubilee slowly came into his view. She shook the cup. “Want some?”
He shook his head and then smiled, leaning back. “No, finish your ice cream.”
Rey nodded over to where the Frisbee guy was playing with some of his friends. “He’s cute.”
“He’s gorgeous,” Finn said. “But…”
“But what? I’m sure if you went over there and explained that you have the worst job ever, he’d still be willing to buy you an ice cream.” She started wagging her eyebrows. “Maybe more?”
Finn sighed, watching Frisbee guy make a brilliant diving catch. “No.” He leaned back onto the bench. “Besides, I’m supposed to be spending the day with you.”
Rey elbowed him in the stomach. “Chicken.”
Finn sighed. You have no idea.