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'𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦'
━━ -ˋˏ★ˎˊ- ━━
...D'QAR, ILEENIUM SYSTEM
LATER IN THE EVENING, the command room was nearly empty. Most of the personnel were still outside, running on a lingering, euphoric energy from the day's events. Flames flickered along the perimeter of the base, signaling the start of the bonfire that would honor the dead while celebrating survival. The smell of smoke mixed with the faint metallic tang of the base's machinery, giving the room a cold, sterile undertone.
For now, the three of them were just sitting in silence. The sound of a stray strategist's conversation mingled with the faint sound of the machines, but other than that there was no noise. Lyra had changed her entire outfit and was now wearing a paint-stained t-shirt that exposed both of her injured arms. It wasn't even worth going to the med bay until Finn's condition was completely stabilized. Lyra didn't want to run even the smallest risk of interrupting them.
Her legs were propped up on the bench as she leaned into Poe's chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath her cheek. Twice she had almost drifted off, lulled by his warmth, and for the first time since the battle, the tension in her shoulders felt like it might finally ease. Across from them, Rey sat rigidly, hands clasped together, her gaze fixed somewhere beyond the walls of the room. Lyra's eyes flicked to the empty spot where Finn should have been. The four of them had come so close to being in the same place at the same time.
Don't worry, everything'll work out in the end. That was one of the last things Han had said to her. Had he known what would happen next? A part of her wondered if he had indeed seen the end before it began.
Every time she blinked, the scene rewound like a video on loop. Han standing on a catwalk like a hero out of time. Every time she hoped the ending would change and every time he fell away and into the light.
Chewie had gone off to find solitude, as was his Wookie way. Lyra understood the tradition but hated the thought of him sitting alone, grappling with grief too massive for words. Being alone seemed like another kind of hell.
The sudden entrance of Leia startled Lyra so sharply she would have toppled onto the floor if Poe's steady arm hadn't wrapped around her waist. Every noise of the base put her nerves on edge, her senses still acutely aware of every sound and shadow. She had endured battles before, but the sheer intensity of this night left her trembling, each noise threatening to tear her calm apart.
