Missing Piece

37. Paradise

We flied through the galaxy, to who knows where. A small planet entered my view, it seemed to be very green and serene. But it was surrounded by an asteroid field.
"Ehm Matt, you do see those asteroids right?"
When Matt turned his head to me he didn't appear worried, on the contrary, he seemed to enjoy this. "Do you trust me?"
I didn't doubt a second. "With my life."
Matt smirked before focusing on the asteroid field again. "Good, that's indeed what's at stake."
Oh you-
But my thoughts were interrupted by the fast turns of the ship. Matt easily avoided all the asteroids. Up, down, left, right, everything went in a swift motion. The ride wasn't even unpleasant... I actually quite enjoyed it as well, not that I was ever going to admit that.
Matt's piloting skills were very impressive, more than I'd like to confess out loud. So many hidden talents...
Kylo must be one hell of a pilot if he was able to teach Matt, of all people, to be as good as this.
"He certainly is." Matt hadn't even turned his head in my direction.
I looked up, visibly confused. "Did I just say that out loud?"
Matt kept looking forwards, giving the impression to be hiding something. "Uhm... yes."
I rubbed my eyes, maybe it was from exhaustion. I'd been sleeping bad lately. "Weird, I really thought I didn't... Well it must be some strange temporal side effect of being stuck in a cell." I tried to convince myself. Yet I still wasn't totally sure, I couldn't believe I had said it out loud.
"Uh, yes, that might be just it," Matt muttered.

"Wow, this planet is stunning."
Matt had landed the TIE Silencer in an open field, where I now stood. I admired the brilliant grass and indigo sky, it was about to be night. "How did you know of its existence?"
Matt was smiling as he watched me enjoy the green, it wasn't something one usually sees on the Starkiller planet.
"My parents and I didn't really have much vacations, but if we went somewhere, it was here. The asteroid field is a very useful protection, only advanced pilots can enter this planet. Luckily my dad happened to be one."
I took place in front of Matt, looking straight into his eyes in attempt to read his emotions. "Are we really going to do this? Run all our lives? I've learned that one can't run from their past, she always manages to keep up." I felt my eyes turning watery. I really love Matt, but I don't like the idea of leaving my life behind. Not again.
One of the things I loved about Matt was how sensitive he was, often noticing how I was feeling. Plus, he always knew just how to patch me up.
Matt laid his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. Before placing his chin on my head, he planted a kiss on my crest.
"I don't know what the future holds... but I can promise you that we'll reach it together, one step at a time. And maybe we can return to the First Order, but I think it's for the best if we both take a short break." He smiled against my hair. "I'm sure we can fix this, aren't we the best technicians?"
I couldn't resist the urge to smile too.
"And if we're the best technicians... We'll manage this too, like all those times before. Buuut, you have to admit that you'd never have become such a great technician if it wasn't for your mentor," I teased.
But Matt wasn't easy to tease. "Yes, I don't know what I'd do without Karen."
We both burst out into laughter.
Matt tilted his head so he could see my face and I his. He swayed in circles, still holding my waist, moving along with the music of my laugh.
"See, there's that lovely smile again."

Our plan was to stay here until things would calm down, and then (hopefully) go back to the First Order. First, however, we'd let the Order realise what they were missing, they'll need of us to come back.
A little voice in the back of my head whispered about Armitage, but I had no doubt that he could handle anything. Hux wasn't one to break.

I was currently gathering wood.
Matt was setting up a tent he said he'd brought.
I could already imagine how he struggled to set it up on his own. A grin crept upon my face. I realised that every time I thought of Matt, it would bring a smile on my face. He made me happy, truly happy.
I came back with a pile of dry wood.
Matt had kept his promise, he'd even made a campfire next to the (of course) black tent.
"How did you do that? How did you start the fire?" I dropped the wood next to the campfire.
"Just luck, I guess."
Matt gratefully clenched the lightsaber he was hiding behind his back.

We were eating some bread (from the TIE emergency pack) and roasted squirrel meat. An animal Matt had shot with his blaster.
"This really reminds me of my time as a child, before trouble started." Matt lay back in the grass, leaning on his elbows.
"Is that a good or a bad thing?" I asked curiously.
"With you, it's a good thing." He grinned boyishly.
I carefully removed Matt's glasses so I could secure a kiss on the space between his eyes.

Suddenly the dark air started to drizzle, first slow, but soon very fast, we were forced to go into the tent.