* LOVE / WON

iris was glad to hear that rose was doing okay. it seemed like every day, things were getting worse behind the glass wall. sure, it had only been a short time since rose checked herself, but iris’s fondness of her transformed itself into worry.

“well, apparently whoever written up the documents thought they were being cute,” iris said, pulling out her data pad and angling it so rose could see. she’d taken pictures of the documents that she’d collected so she could look at them if someone else wanted to see them. here, the pictures served a different purpose: giving iris an avenue to talk to rose. “this document had nothing to do with the virus, but the handwriting matched, so i took a look at it anyways. the useless, or i guess cool, part is over here.” iris pointed toward the top right of the screen. “apparently they’d drawn stars next to stuff that they thought it was important, and there was enough important stuff here to draw a lot of stars. and i’m pretty sure they added some more just so they could be clever and label their drawing ‘burning snake constellation’.”

A quiet peal of laughter came from Rose at the drawing. It was something light hearted enough to take her mind off the pressing situation. As children, Paige and Rose would stare at the stars from their tiny planet in the outer rim and dream about exploring. Rose had learned to recognize star systems from that. 

in her youth, when iris had gotten sick, her parents would tell her to get well soon, sit by her side for a few minutes, and then leave back to the canto bight casinos until she got better. they were not equipped to deal with someone in need, and neither was iris. the difference was, however, than iris wanted to make things better.

the moment iris heard that rose was in quarantine, iris rushed out of her quarters and down to the quarantine. she knew that rose had other people in her life, but she didn’t want her friend to be alone. “hey,” iris said as she approached the glass. “are you doing okay? because if you’re not i…i can bribe the medics into bringing you an extra blanket, or if you need someone to talk to, i’m here, and i can regale you with tales of all the useless things i’ve found while looking through the documents.“

When Rose checked herself in, she just wanted to be alone for awhile. She didn’t want her friends on the inside know yet, though it was inevitable that they would find out soon. But Rose didn’t want to explain too much at this moment, still reeling from what had happened. Rose had remained in her room for awhile, not wanting to come out. But eventually, she did leave-- coming to sit in front of the glass and watch passerbyers. 

A smile broke Rose’s face when she saw Iris. Iris was one of the few that Rose had told what was going on, before she had to submit herself to the quarantine. She trusted Iris, despite the short time knowing her. 

It seemed that Padmé was recognizing more faces behind the quarantined glass as the days went on, a reality that brought on an ache in her chest every time she returned to visit. Upon seeing Rose, the sweet young woman who Padmé had a few friendly conversations with, her gaze saddened, and she stepped slowly towards the glass. Although she had still been distant with her husband (another ache that she suffered from daily, though one she had grown more accustomed to), she had heard that he had been working with Rose to investigate a certain plant species, one that had a small effect on the symptoms of the disease, but not enough to make a difference just yet. But she’d been proud of their efforts nevertheless, and only hoped they would continue with success. However, with Rose now infected, those hopes had fallen. “Please let me know if there’s anything I can do for you,”  Padmé spoke softly to the girl, her gaze warm and caring. “If there’s anything you and Anakin left unfinished…I can surely pass on information to him, or anything else you might need.”

“I’ve had better days.” Finn tried to laugh it off, but a cough came out instead. “I’ll be okay, Rose. Really.” He didn’t mean to grimace, he really just didn’t want her to worry about him.

“peace treaty…” he replied with a low groan. if the fighting was allowed to continue, poe felt certain that countless inhabitants of naboo (or whatever planet they’d been forced onto), would be killed. the treaty was in everyone’s best interest, but oh how he hated the idea of peace with them. news of finn, however, turned his attention from the war to the space behind him. he searched the visible area curiously, but found no sign of his friends. “we all are,” he said with a shrug. “but i’ll do my best to find ‘em. don’t worry, i’ll keep an eye on them.” he told her with a grin. despite his pain, despite the illness, poe would do everything in his power to keep his loved ones from harm. “and thanks, really, for looking out for bb-8.” 

“rose,” leia acknowledged with a dip of her head, stepping gingerly toward the glass and pulling up a chair. her movements betrayed nothing of how she was truly feeling, though she couldn’t quite hide a wince as she settled herself. “you have nothing to be sorry for,” she smiled wryly, shaking her head. “what, did you think you would find a cure on the first try? don’t apologize. all we can do now is keep searching.” she leaned forward. “have hope, rose. we will succeed.” she had to believe that, had to be a beacon of strength for the others in quarantine. they would not die from this disease.

Hours after Rose’s encounter with Rey, she felt ill. She knew this would happen. She knew it. Nothing could have prevented this, not the hands over her mouth. Not the distance she kept from Rey. It was airborne and she was probably infected the moment she came in close quarters to the girl. Rose was still angry at how stupid Rey had been. She didn’t know if she would be able to forgive her for this. 

it was clear that rey could not remain here any longer. for one thing, it would increase rose’s chances of contracting the illness, which absolutely could not happen. but rey also knew that fighting her on this was not going to get her anywhere. in fact, rose only seemed to be getting angrier, and while rey felt that she deserved it, it didn’t make it any less painful to hear. she stepped back again and shook her head swiftly. “i-i can’t…” she repeated, even quieter, as she took a few deep breaths. “b-but i will find the cure, and-and i’ll help everyone… you don’t have to believe me right now… but i’m going to do it.” with that, rey called her staff to her using the force then turned and began running away from rose, and towards the exit, as fast as she could. even though she was weak and breathless, she was still athletic enough to keep a decent pace.

the louder her voice got, the worse rey felt, and she actually flinched back at her final yell as a gentle wince left her. she knew chastisement would come, but she wasn’t prepared for this level of intensity from rose. “i-i’m sorry…” she whispered, her voice barely audible as she felt tears begin to form in her eyes. she was panting lightly now as she looked at rose again, already shaking her head firmly at her words. “i can’t,” she murmured easily, not even pleading with her anymore. rey knew there was no physical way for rose to get her back into quarantine. so all she had to do was let her down easily. “i’m sorry, rose… b-but i will find it… i p-promise…”

rey was glad that she hadn’t detected the fib in her statement, but it only made her heart feel heavier with guilt. she knew she had a lot of apologizing to do when the truth eventually came out. “no, no, no, no,” she replied quickly, her eyes saddening at rose’s words. it had nothing to do with pride, and all to do with fear for her loved ones. “i-i just… i know i can f-find it, i know i can…  a-and i-i’ve been covering my mouth and nose, see?” she protested, pointing to her own hand, which was clasped over most of her face. she refused to believe that she would so easily infect rose just from being near her for this long; she would not let it happen. “you won’t get sick, i-i promise…” it was unthinkable. “no,” she choked out, shaking her head swiftly and taking a few steps further away. “n-no, i’m not going back.”

rey jumped slightly as rose raised her voice right back at her, and the motion alone made her cough harshly, her smaller frame hunching over as her throat screamed in pain. every cough brought agitation to her vocal chords, which in turn only made her cough more. it was miserable, but eventually she managed to get them under control to look at rose sadly again, wiping her nose. “i don’t need to rest, i-i need to do this on my own,” she argued gently, not wanting to fight with rose, but needing to get her point across. she shook her head, covering her nose and mouth again at her words. “i-i’m not, i won’t let it happen. no matter what.” at her questions, though, rey paused and looked down stubbornly. “…y-you’re the only one…” she muttered. a lie.

oh no. the very last person she wanted to see in that moment was standing right before her. of course rey always wanted to be around rose, but not when she was sick, contagious, and caught red-handed. it hurt her heart to see the anger fill her expression, but she just folded her hands nervously and awaited her chastisement. surely the first of many to come if she would continue to be discovered like this. her eyes widened as rose covered her nose and mouth, and after a second, rey mirrored her exactly the same way, her staff collapsing noisily to the ground. “i-i’m going to find the cure on my own and-and save everyone in quarantine,” she declared shakily, her voice even more muffled. ben. she was going to save ben. and finn and poe and hux and all the others. “p-please don’t tell them i’m here, don’t tell them i left!”

“I bet some are still making it real difficult” Niamh admitted, perking when she spotted Rita beeping around in the background, busying herself. The blonde tapped the glass to try and get Rose to look in the mischievous droids direction “That’s the lil’ rascal, her help people protocol is probably working overtime”

it had been months since she’d used her staff, but it seemed to be the most useful thing right now, in terms of a walking stick. the maker knew she would never be able to even step on her own without it. she also had on her ahch-to poncho, with the hood up, in attempt to keep herself hidden. but she was out of breath and sweating bullets now, and her stomach still stirred, as she approached the area where the team had been searching for the cure. even if her vision was blurred and she was wavering on her feet, she could still help. as she began sifting through things, rey let out a few hearty coughs, but did not bother to suppress them. it was late at night, and she doubted that anyone would be around here at this time. until she heard the door open, causing her to freeze in place then turn around like a fathier caught in headlights. she was surely in trouble now.

FOR THOSE SEARCHING…