18. Market

                                    

                                          
  A smile crept on my face as I recognised the deep voice. "Matt?!" I turned around and took him in my arms. "What are you doing here?" 
  I was very happy to see him, at least I wasn't alone. But I was also very curious about how he got here, a low rank radar technician isn't normally allowed to attend missions. 
  After a while Matt patted my back and stepped back. "Well... I didn't want you to go alone again and, ehm," he murmured, "I didn't want you to get hurt or something..." 
  My heart fluttered. "Wow... that's very kind of you, I really appreciate it. But how did you got here? Who gave you the permission?"
  Deep down I already knew the answer.
  "Kylo Ren. He can be a very generous leader."
  I nodded. "Yes of course."
  Our conversation was interrupted by none other than General Hux.
"(Y/n), you're currently not needed on this mission. You're allowed to spend your time here, on the market."
  Since Matt was here too, I only made a polite bow in Hux's direction. "Thank you, General."
  Hux turned to Matt. "But you, on the other side, are needed to stay on the ship."
  My happiness vanished within a millisecond. "Please, you can't-."
  But I was interrupted by Matt, his voice sounding bitter. "I got strict orders from commander Ren, to stay at her side." 
  Hux scoffed. "Of course you have."
He made a sharp turn and headed towards the group of officers. 
Did Matt just step up to General Hux?! And why did Hux act like such a jerk, why does he care about what Matt does? 
  "That was very brave of you."
  Matt frowned a little, still in the haze of the argument. "What was?"
  Now it was my turn to slightly frown. "You just stepped up to, and disobeyed General Hux."
  Matt seemed to shrug. "Nothing out of the ordinary."
Wait what?
  Matt seemed to notice my confusion and found a way to change the subject. "Did you have breakfast this morning?"
  I shook my head. "No. We left so sudden and early, I didn't have the chance."
  Matt seemed to form a plan in his head and practically lifted me up before placing me back down in front of a stall. "One sweetmallow," Matt ordered the Aki-Aki. 
  "Make it two, please," I added. "I'm not going to eat on my own while watching you have nothing."
  The female Aki-Aki handed me the two sweetmallow skewers, one was purple and one was yellow. "How much do I owe you?" 
  The woman smiled kindly. "It's for free, the god of prosperity pays for it today."

  "What is this exactly?" I handed Matt the two 'sweetmallows'. 
  "This is the delicacy of this planet. The colour represents the taste. Yellow is sweet and purple is sour," Matt explained. 
  "Which one do you want?" I asked him.
  "I, ehm, I don't know. You choose first."
  I knew he was lying, watching the way he looked at the yellow one. 
Not really expected him to be one to love sweet. 
  I took the purple one. "I like the sour one more."
  We walked over the market while eating our sweetmallow. 
  "What did the woman from the stall mean with that god of prosperity?" 
  Matt looked up from his sweetmallow, a few yellow crumbs still on his chin. "Each year they organise a market to celebrate one of their gods. We're lucky that this year, is the year of the god of prosperity. That's why we got it for free." 
  I was finished with mine and threw the skewer away in a trashcan. "How do you know all that?"
  Matt seemed to be out of words for a while but regained himself quickly. "I used to travel a lot."
  I nodded in understanding. "Is that why you never told me about your home, because you never really had one?"
  Matt's eyes darkened.
Should have handled that more carefully. 
  "I'm sorry Matt, I didn't meant to make you feel upset."
  But Matt shook his head. "No, don't be sorry. You told me about your past, I should return you the favour." He swallowed heavily. "Since a certain age things started to get... complicated with my parents. From that moment on, I traveled a lot, to find my place. That's how I ended up at the First Order."
  Our eyes were locked for a brief moment.
  I saw a flash of pain, but as quickly as it appeared as quickly it disappeared again.
  I jokingly tousled his hair. "Everything will get better, I promise. We'll just leave the past behind us."
  As airy I had tousled his hair, as heavy were my words. 
  Matt placed his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer, a side-hug. 
"Thank you," he mumbled. He let go.
  I hooked my arm in his as we continued to walk. 
  It wasn't something Matt would usually accept, but now he even seemed to appreciate it. "There is this place... where I'd like to go, and I am sure you would like it too..."
  I looked up at him. "Lead the way."