ROSE

Rose stopped for a moment to breathe in the sweet scent coming from the trees on the mountains, which surrounded the small mining community which was her home town.

It seemed like every light in town was lit that evening. The homes on the hills twinkled between the trees, the store signs were on and tiny lights hung between the lampposts which ran along main street, glittering under the clear sky. The festive look contrasted the poverty of the town as a whole but they did have some decorations to use once a year. Music and singing floated out to the streets from the local deli. Rose's heart swelled at the sound of it.

"I guess no one's getting any sleep tonight," Finn said, standing beside her. It was surreal having him here, one part of her life being introduced into another, her two different worlds merging.

She nodded to Finn, feeling too choked up to respond to his comment. It had been a crazy two days, which felt more like two months, but her town was still in one piece, thanks to a fleet of Space Pirates that had come unexpectedly to their aid against the Ruling Order attack. While the robots were distracted, Rose had thought to disengage the nearby space station, which was giving orders to the Ruling Order fleet. And it had worked. Once the communication between the space station and the robot fleet was terminated, the small army sent to kill all life on her planet suddenly became inactive. It was only a temporary fix. A battle won, but a war still left to be fought.

"Do your parents own a store here too?" Finn asked. He tucked his hands into his pockets even though the night air was warm.

"No." Rose shook her head. She was stalling. With all the craziness of the past two days and no sleep, she wasn't ready to face her parents and all the cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandparents and barrage of grandchildren that would likely be celebrating together tonight. Not to mention, seeing them would remind her that Paige wasn't a part of it all anymore. This would her first Moon Festival without Paige.

Finn kicked up dust on the street with his boot. They were standing under a lamp post, which had shiny string wrapped around it from top to bottom, decorated for Moon Harvest, a tradition brought over from the Old World by settlers like her grandfather, who wanted to keep the traditions of thanks giving for the year's harvest. It was the only time of year that all three moons were visible and full at the same time, while lined up next to each other.

"Do you want to go somewhere?" Rose asked Finn. Her palms began to sweat just at the thought of inviting him to her and Paige's special spot, but it was a tradition she didn't want to forgo, not if she was already here, on planet, and during the festival days.

"Are we going to your home?" Finn asked. He looked nervous and she smiled.

"We will. I think we both deserve some sleep tonight, but I meant somewhere else. I'm not ready to face the entire family just yet. It will be loud and there will be a lot of kids running around."

Finn smiled, then frowned. "How do you think Rey and the rest of them are doing?"

Rose's stomach tightened and she looked away, not wanting to see Finn's expression. He always had this sad look of longing on his face when he brought up Rey. She still wasn't clear on what their history was.

"I think they're likely more worried about us," she said.

"So where are we going?" Finn asked, a bit more enthusiastically.

Rose looked up at the dark mountain looming over the town.

"Into the mountain."

FINN

Finn grasped the sides of the mining cart in a death grip as it bounced through the tunnels on a metal track inside the mountain. The cart swerved left and right, tilting to the side. It was too dark to see anything and Finn's side bumped the old wood and the cold metal of the rickety cart whenever there was an unexpected turn.

Rose's laughter was the only think keeping him grounded. She was in the cart ahead of him and was definitely enjoying this more than he was.

"I forgot how fun this was!" she yelled back to him.

Finn couldn't respond. His jaw was so tense he was afraid he'd never unclench it again.

The air inside the mountain was cold, cold enough to numb his fingers and face. An icy wind blew through the tunnels and water dripped down, getting Finn's hair wet.

"Get ready for the-" Rose yelled but suddenly the carts came to a crashing halt before she could finish and Finn few out of the cart, right over Rose's head. He tumbled on his feet for a second, but was moving faster than he could run and tumbled forward into a somersault, hitting his shoulder then coming to a stop on his back.

"Finn!" Rose rushed over. She looked concerned yet still had a smile on her face, which was illuminated by a blue glow. Finn looked up. Three moons shone down from an opening high above at the center of the cave they'd stopped in. The moons were lined up in the sky, biggest to smallest and their glow shined down in a thick beam of light onto a pool of water with steam hovering above it. The water had a very distinct smell that pinched at the nose.

"What is this place?" Finn asked.

"A hot pool," Rose replied. "My sister and I used to come here ever year at Moon Harvest to see the moons." She pointed up. "And to get away from Uncle Raymon."

"Oh." Finn looked down at his dusty boots. The hot pool was making the cave very warm and he felt himself start to sweat. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond, just listen or ask more questions.

Rose sniffled and Finn looked up again. She wiped tears from her face, leaving a streak of dirt across her cheek. "Are you coming in?" she asked.

"What?"

Rose kicked off her boots then unzipped the front of her coveralls, revealing a standard issue white under shirt, similar to the ones stormtroopers wore under their clothes and armor. Finn raised his eyebrows but Rose didn't even take notice. She let her coveralls drop and was wearing short shorts which were together with the undershirt, like a bodysuit. She headed to the water, hopping around on one foot, then the other, while trying to remove her socks. Then she jumped in with a squeal and the splash sprayed Finn in the face. He wiped his cheek and saw the dirt smudge on the back of his hand. He could use a wash too.

"Come on!" Rose called, her voice echoing off the walls of the cave.

Finn took off his jacket and undressed quickly, leaving his standard issue jumpsuit on as well. He wasn't sure if Rose could see him or not, through all the steam, but he felt self-conscious anyway and hurried to the water.

He got in slowly, testing the water's temperature with his toes first. It was hot. The steam rose up towards the opening above and the moonlight shone down on the water, illuminating the rocky bottom below. Finn lowered himself into the water. He'd never fully immersed in a pool of water before. Stormtroopers had exactly seven minutes to shower, then another seven minutes to dry off and get dressed. It was a routine he didn't miss.

"Rose?" Finn called into the mist, clinging to the side of the hot pool. His voice sounded muted in the steam that now surrounded him. Rose's head and shoulders appeared like a roaming spirit amidst the fog.

"I forgot how nice it was to be here," she said, coming closer. Finn stayed at the edge, afraid to step forward in case the depth of the pool was deeper than his height and he'd sink to the bottom.

"The water is really good for you," Rose continued. "It's full of minerals and salts from the mountain, coming from the center of the planet. That's why the water is so hot. But it does cool a bit on it's way up. The natural minerals absorb through the skin."

Finn was getting really warm now but he was glad Rose was happy.

"Come on," she said, disappearing into the mist again. Finn reached out his foot, feeling for the rock bottom.

Suddenly Rose appeared again and grabbed his hand. She led him through the water, which felt thick and hard to move through. They stopped at the center of the pool, directly below the moons' glow. She tilted her head up and closed her eyes. Her face was lit with the moonlight and she looked beautiful.

"Make a wish," she said.

Finn looked up too. He squinted at the brightness of the moons and thought of Rey and Poe. They had to be alright. General Leia would make sure of that. She was an amazing general. And Finn didn't want to rush Rose off planet too fast. She needed to see her family and they'd only just landed. And the Millennium Falcon was still being repaired, so that it could run in hyperdrive again and they could return to Cantonica, where the others had headed, before they'd separated to come help Rose's planet.

Finn closed his eyes to make a wish. Other than everyone's safety, he didn't know what to wish for. He glanced at Rose and saw that she was now watching him.

"Thanks for coming with me," she said. Finn smiled, moved with emotion by her openness in inviting him into a such a special memory of her sister. He didn't have memories like this, with family or siblings. It was what he'd always longed for and she was sharing it with him.

"I'm happy you brought me," he said. He glanced down at Rose's lips. With the beautiful moonlight, sparkling water and mist all around them, it was the perfect moment to give her a kiss, their first kiss. His heart began to race and suddenly it was harder to breathe, the heat all around him, and Rose so near. But he didn't move closer. It wouldn't be fair to have her think he was making some sort of commitment, that he wasn't one hundred percent ready to make.

His thoughts turned to Rey and how happy he'd been to see her finally, at the Resistance base when she'd rescued them. She'd hugged him like she would never let go, and he didn't mind at all. But she'd never given him any clear indication that she had feelings for him beyond friendship, other than that long hug when they'd been reunited.

Would she ever think of him in that way in the future? Or if it was just his wishful thinking? And yet, he couldn't stop wondering if he waited long enough, for all the fighting and wars to settle down and for Kylo Ren to be killed once and for all, then would she show interest in him?

Finn sighed. Life was too short. The robots could reactivate and destroy them all tomorrow. They still hovered above, somewhere in the dark expanse of space, on pause like some nightmare waiting to continue once you fell back asleep.

He glanced at Rose again. She was so easy to be friends with, so smart and energetic. And she'd invited him into her world. He'd even be meeting her family soon. He moved closer. He wanted to kiss her so badly.

Rose sighed and turned away, as though tired of waiting for him to make a move. "We'd better get back to my parents' place," she said. "Before they find out we left the Falcon a while ago and have gone missing. They'll get worried."

Finn freed his hand from the heavy water and lifted it up to Rose's face. She flinched at the splash it created and blinked her eyes. He tilted her chin up, leaned down and kissed her on the lips.