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It was one of those situations that had gone from bad to worse. A crash-landing on a mission to Hoth, and then having to take shelter in a cave. At least there were no wampas lurking around, though Rey would have taken care of them just about instantly.
And at least she had Rose. She didn’t know the older woman as well as she would like, but Rose was a good person. The question was...
Rey sighed, rubbed her temples. Of course the Resistance would come back. It was silly to think otherwise.
“You okay?” Rose said.
“Yeah.” Rey said. “Really.” She wasn’t about to tell Rose about her worries. Rey wasn’t usually the type.
“Have you ever been — ’’
“In this situation before?” Rey said. She paused; she actually had to think about this. Life on Jakku had mostly been lonely — isolated. After her adoptive parents had passed away, she had been alone for quite some time. It was people like Finn, and people like Rose, that made her aware that she wasn’t alone.
She had to admit that with the shared sleeping bags, it felt almost like a sleepover. In the worst possible circumstances. Rey couldn’t say that she had ever had a sleepover before. Not in this way, at least. She was twenty one years old now, two years since she had first been dragged into this adventure, and it was just now that she was having a sleepover.
“So...” Rey said. “I guess this is my first sleepover.”
Rose didn’t laugh. She looked over at Rey, with seemingly infinite compassion in her eyes. “You never had a sleepover?”
“No.” Rey rubbed her temples. “I don’t think I can even remember a time when...” She trailed off.
Rose squeezed her hand. Rey flinched; she didn’t have the same aversion to it that she did when Finn first took her hand (being well-meaning and everything), but she still couldn’t say that she was used to it.
Rose released her hand. Thank the stars. Rose actually looked worried. “I didn’t want to hurt you,” she said.
“It’s all right.” Rey couldn’t say that she was used to it. Any of it.
What would she be if she never met the Resistance, she wondered. Probably still out scavenging, delivering goods to Plutt, wondering when her family was coming back. Here, she had a family of sorts.
“So,” she said. “What do you usually do at sleepovers?”
“A lot of stuff. Secrets, for example. Crushes.”
“So just...fun stuff.” Rey couldn’t say that she ever had anyone on either Jakku or back before Jakku to really share that sort of stuff with.
“Yeah.”
“Sounds interesting.”
Rey snuggled up against Rose even as the chill of the cave got to them both. Rose rested her head against Rey, and she said, “Just talk to me, honestly. Tell me anything.”
Rey took a deep breath. “Well,” she said, “I can’t think of anything to talk about. You talk to me.”
Rose did, and there was something about the combination of her voice and the warmth of her that was enough to lull Rey into a deep sleep. Even when she woke from her sleep shouting because Kylo Ren was in her head, she could have sworn he was, Rose was there to comfort her. Rey knew she was lucky, in that moment, to have someone like Rose. She truly was.
***
“Hey, Rey. Rose. You two all right?”
When Rey woke up, Poe and the others were standing over her. Poe was grinning in relief, and Rey couldn’t help but smile as well. Rose was tired, rubbing her eyes, but she had a faint smile playing at the corners of her lips.
“As all right as we can be,” Rose said.
Rey nodded. “Exactly. It’s just good to see you.”
“You too. You gave us all a scare there.”
And there was something about the way that Poe said it that hit Rey like a speeder. These people...they actually cared whether or not she was gone. After Plutt...she hadn’t expected that.
They headed back to the ship, and Rey knew she was relieved to be out of the cold. She couldn’t say that she had ever experienced such cold. At least she could keep that moment with Rose close even as they boarded the ship.