Work Text:
“Want some company?”
Rey looked over her shoulder. Anais ambled up to her, chewing on a large chunk of bread.
“It’s late,” It was closer to dawn than sunset, but Rey hadn’t been able to sleep. “You don’t need to stay out here with me.”
“Yeah, well.” Anais sat down next to her. “Either I bother you or I stare at the ceiling until the sun comes up.”
“You’re not a bother,” Rey told her. “I’m always happy to be with you.”
Anais smiled at her brightly. “Good.” She said, bumping Rey’s shoulder. “I’m happy to be with you too.”
They drifted into silence, watching the sky lighten slowly, and Rey’s mind wandered.
She looked at Anais through the corner of her eye. She wondered about Anais, sometimes. She carried a sadness Rey wondered if no one else saw. Even Poe seemed blind to it. They had talked about their families once, how Rey had spent so long waiting, how Anais had lost hers too young to remember. Rey couldn’t even bring herself to envy her for still having Poe and their caregivers, hearing the way she tried to mask her sorrow. It had been the first moment she knew they would be friends.
“You’re staring,” Anais said.
“I’m counting your freckles,” Rey lied.
“What are you at?”
“A hundred and seven.”
Anais laughed. “And how many do you think I have?”
Rey smiled. “As many as there are stars in the galaxy.”
The sun rose. The base rose with it. They stayed on their hill until the bustle grew into a roar and made their way back, arm in arm, and Rey stole one final glance at her and thought that maybe her family had left her behind, but she had a new one now.
And they never would.