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<the layovers>

Chapter 6: 2022 (December)

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

 

2022 (December)

 

To: Friday

“Maz.”

Maz glances up from the register, her eyes bugging wide as she catches sight of who’s just called out to her. The scream she lets out scares the portly man in a business suit sitting at the bar beside her.

“What in the hell…” He hardly gets the grumble out of his startled mouth before Maz starts jumping up and down in place.

“Oh… my GOD!” Maz drops her notepad and goes around to where Rey is standing at the other side of the bar. She pulls her into a huge bear hug. “What the hell are you doing here?” she exclaims. “I thought I wasn’t seeing you until next weekend.”

Rey is smiling as they break apart, just enough so Maz can see her adorable happy face. She notices Rey’s skin is a little darker, sun-kissed even. And her freckles are absolutely out of control.

“I wanted to surprise you,” Rey says as Maz makes sure to take in every bit of her. “And maybe I was feeling a little nostalgic about the Outpost.”

Maz sniffs, waving her hand at that nonsense. “Please, you better not give a damn about this place. Not when you’re jet-setting all over the world. How was Australia, anyway?” Maz asks. “Just the shortened version—but you can give me all the details when you and the boy are over next Sunday.”

“Amazing,” Rey gushes. Maz has never seen her so vibrant. So alive.

It warms her heart.

“We stopped in Sydney first, then went diving at the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland.”

“Just like you’ve dreamed about,” Maz agrees.

“We both had to get certified to dive, and it was a little scary but I’ve never seen anything like it. It was—” Rey smiles with excitement. “I just never thought it’d be something I’d get to do. But—”

“It’s what you damn well deserve,” Maz tells her earnestly. “Where is your man, anyway?”

Rey cracks an amused smile. “Arguing on the phone with Han.”

Maz raises both eyebrows. “Is this the first official meet-the-parents?” She knows in the months Rey has been in Portland, that she has yet to meet Ben’s (fairly infamous) family.

“Officially,” Rey says. “Though, Han claims he remembers me. From the time I served him Coors in a bottle.”

“That’s my girl, always leaving a great impression.” Maz elbows her, then she leans in conspiratorially. “So, things seem more than good. From only talking to each other once or twice a year, to full on shacking up over several months. Zero to one-hundred, huh?”

“Sometimes I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop,” Rey says, an anxious expression flitting across her face.

Maz sees it, but she’s quick to respond. “That therapist referral you got from Yoda been working out?”

“Yeah, Qui-Gon’s great.” She shrugs. “It’s just a hard habit to break, I guess.”

Maz takes both of Rey’s hands and squeezes them. “Well, from my vantage point, you look so, so happy,” Maz says, a little emotion tickling her throat. “Even if you left me for Portland.”

She’s joking and Rey knows it. Maz even took Howie and the kids to Portland one time. Her son, Jeremiah, loved the zoo. He’s obsessed with elephants, that boy. They even went camping out on Ben’s property, where Eliana had her first hot dog on a stick.

Rey smiles wider than she already is. She squeezes Maz’s hands back. “I am.”

From behind her, Ben comes lumbering over. The irritated face he was wearing after getting off the phone with his father instantly diminishes as his eyes fall on Rey.

What a softy.

“Hey, Maz,” he greets.

“Hey, lover boy,” Maz teases. “I knew you both couldn’t stand to come back to Idaho without visiting old Maz.”

“Thank god we did,” Ben says. Then he glances at Rey. “My dad’s in Portland right now. He tried to surprise us with a spontaneous flight out in the hopes he could trap us in a confined space for a little more than an hour.” Ben’s phone rings. His eyes glance down to it and he swears. “My fucking father,” he growls before he excuses himself and walks away.

“They’re actually in a much better place now,” Rey says, laughing.

“I’ll bet,” Maz jeers. God, it feels so good to be with her best gal. “So, how’s the book going?”

“It’s good,” Rey says. “It feels like it’s finally getting there.”

“I’m assuming I’m depicted like a badass in it.” Maz goes to hip bump her.

“Naturally,” Rey quips. “You’re actually a very integral participant in reuniting my main characters.”

“So, it’s a romance, huh?” Maz wiggles her eyebrows. “Oooh.”

Rey just smiles at her. “Idiots to lovers. It’s a comedy.”

“Is there lots of—” Maz breaks off to make a smooching sound with her lips which makes Rey laugh.

Rey’s cheeks are slightly red as she agrees. “There’s a bit of that…” Then her smile falters just a little. Maz wonders what’s up. She’s known Rey since the girl was fifteen years old starting her first job bussing tables at the Outpost. It took a while for Rey to open up to her and share some of her past, but Maz always got the feeling that she had a rough childhood.

“What?” Maz asks, sensing there’s something Rey isn’t telling her.

But before she can get an answer, Ben is back, heaving a beleaguered sigh. “He’s now arguing with flight control to get him air space to land in Boise within the hour.”

Rey nods good-naturedly. “Maybe we should let him chauffeur us. I have wanted to experience you and your father’s ‘grumpy phase’ I’ve only heard so much about,” she teases. Then she glances at Maz. “We can grab a bite while we wait? Spend more time with Maz?”

Her suggestion is one Ben simply can’t refuse, especially with the way Maz is staring him down.

“Yeah, you wouldn’t want to refuse your girl her long awaited reunion with the second most important person in her life, now would you?”

Ben’s reply is without hesitation. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Good boy.

“Excellent,” Maz says as she gestures to the seats at her bar. “You may sit wherever you like.”

 


 

Maz is cleaning up some used glasses as she glances over to see Rey and Ben sharing an Outpost Burger and fries. So goddamn cute those two.

She closes out the gentleman in the suit, apologizing once more for giving him a fright over his steak tacos.

When she finally has a moment, she comes back over to give them a refill.

As she approaches, she notices them talking quietly to each other. “Alright, friends,” she says, announcing herself. “Who needs another?”

Ben unsurprisingly nods for another whiskey double. Rey’s been sipping on a coke.

Maz pours Ben his Johnnie Walker as Rey says, “Maz, there was something else we wanted to share with you. Some news…”

Instantly, Maz’s thoughts jump to a slew of conclusions. But she keeps her head about her. Doesn’t even flinch as she finishes the double pour.

Luckily, Rey knows than to leave Maz hanging for too long.

“We’re moving to Brooklyn,” Rey says.

Which wasn’t even at the top of Maz’s list of assumptions. Though, it’s still shocking nonetheless.

“Brooklyn?” Maz repeats. “As in New York?”

Rey is nodding. Her gaze flicks to Ben as she shares more details. “Ben quit his job. He’s going to do some consulting, and I’m going to finish the book.”

“Wow,” Maz blinks, still processing the news. “This is… big news.”

“I know,” Rey agrees. “When we got back from Australia we just started talking about it, and you know how we visited last summer. But we let ourselves ruminate on it. Just to be sure.” Rey’s eyes sparkle as she speaks. “And the more I thought about it, the more it sounded like—maybe it sounds crazy—but just the next step, you know? It’d be something different. Something new.”

There’s a look in Rey’s eyes Maz has never seen before, and god damn does it look good on her.

It’s better than hope.

There’s a certainty to Rey that tells Maz this is her path forward.

And Maz can’t help the little dip in her stomach as she thinks of how badly she’ll miss her sweet Rey. But then excitement overshadows the sadness. Because how could she not be happy for her?

“When’s moving day?”

“At the end of January,” Rey tells her.

Ben’s phone takes that moment to rudely interrupt. “Sorry,” Ben mutters. “He’s probably here.”

Rey’s doting mammoth of a man swings his legs around to slide out of the bar stool.

“It was good to see you, Maz,” he says. “Sorry it was short, but Rey wanted to make sure we told you about New York first.” He goes to take the call, giving them a moment to themselves.

“I know it’s so far from here,” Rey begins. “But I’m sure we’ll be back to visit his parents—and if you ever had any interest in seeing New York—” Her voice trembles a little, but Maz is quick to reassure her.

“Oh, Rey,” Maz says softly, emotion pulling at her damn throat again. “You know I’ll miss you. But it’s time for you to live the life you deserve.” She reaches to grip Rey’s hands over the top of the bar. “And you know, you’ll always have a home here in Boise.”

She notices Rey’s eyes visibly watering then, which only triggers her own emotional response.

“C’mere,” she mutters as she pulls Rey into an awkward hug, with Rey mostly leaning her longer torso over the bar to embrace her. “I couldn’t be happier for you,” she says into Rey’s hair. “Besides, FaceTime exists.”

Rey laughs through the few errant tears that escape her. “I love you,” she whispers.

Maz squeezes her tightly again. “I love you too, honey.”

They’re still holding each other when Ben comes back, no longer on the phone with his father.

“You better take good care of our girl,” Maz warns.

“For as long as she’ll let me.”

Maz makes an impressed sound in her throat. “Good answer, Solo.”

Rey chuckles as they pull apart, wiping at the wetness in her eyes. “We’re taking care of each other,” she says.

Maz crosses her arms over her chest as warmth spreads there. She’s flooded with contentment at the knowledge that her friend is well-situated on the path to happiness. It’s all she ever hoped for Rey.

It feels good to know she can worry about her a little less. Damn good.

“So, is he here?” Rey asks Ben, referring to their awaiting chariot in the sky.

“He’s in the hanger,” Ben confirms. “Are you ready to go?”

Rey looks at Maz, before she takes a big inhale and lets it go.

“Go on, get outta here,” Maz quips, nodding her head back over her shoulder. She reaches for Rey’s hand one last time across the bar. “Go live your life.”

As Maz watches them both walk away from the Outpost, she can’t help but let one tear slip by.

It just feels too damn good, you know? When the stars finally align just right.

 

💫

 

Notes:

Just a quick wrap up in Maz's pov to see just how far those two lovebirds have come. This originally was going to be a oneshot but then it wasn't 😂 but I think the journey ended up being what it was. Thanks a million to Kat for the constant reassurance and beta-ing, and special shout to mish for sharing her aussie knowledge with me 💗💗💗

Thanks so much for reading my short lil tale about love and loneliness, it's the first thing I started sharing since finishing my last mammoth of a fic (and now I'm in the works of noodling on another one 😅).

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