The beach, Wednesday morning

[betterthanaplan]

Duke weighed his phone in his hand while waiting for Rey to join him for their morning yoga. Four weeks ago, he'd been sitting here staring at it, waiting for Octavia to reply to his texts. Getting more and more agitated with every minute that passed without an answer.

He was used to it being quiet now. To not getting random photos of the moon or the water or the preserve, little reminders that she was out there thinking about him. His heart had stopped jumping every time his phone went off, wondering if it was her on the other end. He'd stopped expecting to see her when he turned around, giving him that little not-smile and calling him a tripi hef.

He opened up his messaging app, the thread with Octavia. He scrolled up, watching his panic in reverse, pleas for her to be okay turning to happy pictures of goats. To suggestive comments about yoga and check-ins from space, and long, rambling conversations about not much at all. All the way up to the first text she'd ever sent him: a photo of a sad, misshapen hunk of pecan pie.

Because he'd suggested she try one at a fall picnic, the second time they'd hung out.

He tapped on the text box, let his thumb hover over the keyboard, and tried to think of what to tell her. What message he wanted to send into the ether, a month on. But his mind had gone blank, empty as he ever managed to get it when he meditated. He couldn't tell her what he was feeling right now.

That he was okay.

He stood up and took a photo, watched it send. Then he locked the phone, wound up, and threw it into the sea.

And sat back down to wait for Rey again.

[open!]

Comments

[thatwaslucky]

Rey arrived on time, giving him a little wave before she took a seat next to him. "Morning."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke looked up and gave her a small smile, one that didn't do much of anything to hide his real mood.

Not that he was all that great at putting words to what his real mood was right now, anyway.

"Hey. How's it going?"

[thatwaslucky]

"Same as usual," she said, glancing over at him. "How about you?"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke didn't say he was fine, but only because he'd promised Rey he'd try to stop doing that. Instead he shrugged, looking out at the water.

Kind of regretting throwing his phone.

"Same as usual," he echoed. "For better or worse."

[thatwaslucky]

"That sounds Bette than 'actively worse,'" she noted.

[betterthanaplan]

"It probably could get worse," Duke said. "But it'd really have to try pretty hard."

[thatwaslucky]

"And we definitely don't want to see that."

In Rey's experience, anytime you sahd it could be worse it showed you how much lower there was to go.

[betterthanaplan]

"That we don't," Duke agreed. "Anyway. I'm tired of talking about my problems. How's the rebellion?"

[thatwaslucky]

Rey tilted her hand in the so-so gesture. "Everyone's kind of off on their own missions. Getting supplies or recruiting people. I mostly hear about it from Finn afterwards."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke nodded. “So kind of a holding pattern,” he guessed. “Everyone’s doing alright, though? Chewie taking care of those porgs?”

[thatwaslucky]

"The porgs have been with the Falcon, which has stayed on base," Rey said. "But everyone's good. Chewie and Finn and Poe and Rose all go on missions, everyone's in one piece except for maybe the Falcon... I'm hoping to get a reason to go back sometime soon."

[betterthanaplan]

"Wait, what happened to your ship?" Duke asked, frowning.

[thatwaslucky]

"Oh, nothing out of the ordinary," she assured him. "We just get shot at so much that it's in a constant state of repair."

She loved that ship.

[betterthanaplan]

"Okay, good. You had me worried there for a second."

[thatwaslucky]

"She's fine. Unless Poe got a hold of her and no one told me but I think everyone knows better," she told him.

[betterthanaplan]

"Poe has a rep for wrecking ships? I can see that. . . ."

[thatwaslucky]

"BB-8 says Poe's X-wings get blown up without him in them, but he's had at least three ships wrecked since the day I've met him and I'm not taking chances," she explained.

[betterthanaplan]

"That sounds like a good policy, yeah. Not a bad sort to hijack someone else's ship with, but not one you want piloting your own."

[thatwaslucky]

"No. He keeps asking, though, which would be sort of cute of him if it wasn't annoying," Rey admitted.

[betterthanaplan]

"He knows you've got something good. A real classic."

Duke knew nothing about spaceships. But he'd definitely say the Falcon was his favorite.

[thatwaslucky]

That's because it was amazing.

"You like the ship, huh?"

[betterthanaplan]

“I can confidently say it’s my favorite space shop,” Duke said, winking. “It didn’t get us dead, and I got to shoot laser guns!”

[thatwaslucky]

"Those are both pluses," Rey laughed. "I don't get in the turret much but it's fun."

[betterthanaplan]

"It really is. I'm surprised you don't go up and use, like, asteroids for target practice when you get bored."

[thatwaslucky]

"That never actually occurred to me," Rey admitted. "I think I've been trying to mostly lay low."

[betterthanaplan]

"Maybe next time they bring it to visit, you can do it in our solar system. No space-fascists to worry about."

[thatwaslucky]

"I suppose I could even bring it here sometime, when I don't risk stranding Leia," she considered. "I could do some work with more time, get some practice in..."

[betterthanaplan]

"Oh hell yeah," Duke agreed. "You should absolutely do that."

[thatwaslucky]

"I'll see what I can do," Rey said. "After the trash planet."

One day, when this catchup was done.