The Patron Saint of Lost Causes

Chapter 17; Epilogue

Note: This chapter contains sexually explicit themes and descriptions.

A huge thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, and enjoyed this story. It has been a long journey, and if you were here from the start, or only just stumbled upon it recently, you are what makes all the joy, frustration, and wonder of writing all worthwhile. There will be more gingerose from me in the future, but this particular work will always hold a special place in my heart.

It only took a month to sort them all.

Honestly, Hux was surprised it went so fast.

When you tear children away from their mothers, most individual information does tend to get a bit lost. The Order had kept impeccable records concerning the children's aptitudes and attributes, but little in the way of where they'd all come from. Those from prominent old-Empire families were easily sent home, but for the others, it became increasingly difficult to send them away.

Did they have any remaining family to return to? For that matter, did they have any remaining planet?

He was made to approve every transfer, view every personnel file, put a face to each and every life he'd upended. It had been another one of the New Republic's projects for him.

Rose had offered her help, acutely aware of the sheer volume of destruction he'd have to review, but Hux had politely refused. He might have been a murderer, a traitor, a rabid cur, but a shirker of duties he was not. It was all a result of his actions, after all. It was his assignment, and his alone.

Admittedly though, it did wear on him. But did it make him regret? On that he was still unsure. It certainly made him feel something, but he was so far unable to identify just what the emotion was.

But Rose was proud of him, and if he could only prove himself to one person in the whole chaotic vastness of the universe, and that person was Rose, then it was worth it.

File by file, he signed off on which children could be reunited with their families, and which children and young adults would instead be consigned to the New Republic, in what was increasingly becoming more like an orphanage rather than Peacekeepers' base.

It became abundantly clear, and very quickly, that the destroying and soiling of habitable planets was coming back to bite him. The loathsome Republic might have been a dithering, ineffective mess, but it had at least had some semblance of established infrastructure. Now, he was trying to build it all back up from scratch, while being relegated to planet-wide house arrest.

To his immense chagrin, Hux was beginning to feel as if Starkiller had made more of a mess, in the end.

Not long after he'd started his sorting, Hux had needed to drain the remaining First Order coffers, accounts not even Pryde had usurped access to. The funds went into the building of dormitories and ancillary buildings for the displaced cadets. At first, the Council had been wary, but they were still looking at a vast pool of potential Peacekeepers, so they had relented.

They would all be housed then, and fed, but… he couldn't just leave them to their own devices either. So, naturally, the most logical course was to design a curriculum.

"A school!" Rose had gasped, looking thrilled when he'd told her his idea, even as he winced at the thought.

The decision to open an Academy, when he'd first made it, had been accompanied with nausea; a storm of memories. Red-faced Commandants, expressionless nanny droids, and the echo of warm, honeyed laughter he could almost remember. He had endeavored, over the years, to consign these things to painful, distant memory.

But the opportunity to spit on Brendol's grave one last time, give away all the knowledge the First Order had amassed over the decades, proved too strong a pull. It was perhaps the greatest gift fate could have given him.

When drawing up his plans, he'd included the necessary core modules: mathematics, science, galactic studies, and language skills. They would be free to choose upon completion: join the Peacekeepers, earn a commission, or seek prospects elsewhere.

"You're missing a few," Rose had pointed out when he'd shown her his proposal.

Hux had bristled. "I think not."

"What about all the fun stuff, huh? The arts? Diplomacy? If you're going to give them an education, don't you think it should be well-rounded?"

Hux had grumbled darkly at that, but despite his initial impulse to rebuff the suggestion, he'd amended the charter before submitting it in for review.

The Council had approved it, all of it, much to his immense surprise and Rose's abundant glee.

Hux looked over from the apartment's table to the display panel next to the front door, on which the date and time were illuminated.

Rose would be returning to the new Liran spaceport in a few hours, closer to evening, from another supply run to Ajan Kloss. He wanted to make sure to meet her, but he still had time.

He returned his attention back to the holoimages hovering above the table and to the datapad upon which he was taking notes. He was in the process of cannibalizing the First Order holonet onto New Republican servers, deleting certain bulk files from being accessed and storing them instead on a personal drive. What the New Republic didn't know wouldn't hurt them, and Hux would prefer a few of his more conceptual weapons stay just that: concepts.

Hux tapped his writing stylus against the datapad, his thoughts as wandering as his gaze, ruminating on the task before him as he took in the small apartment.

Even in the short time they'd been planet-side, Rose had managed to leave her touch on nearly every surface.

She'd smuggled down one of the more plush recliners from the Star Destroyer's Officer's Lounge, having set it against the wall nearest the front entrance.

"I would have gone for the couch," she'd admitted at the time, "but I didn't think it would fit."

Beside the armchair was a tall, tropical plant resting in a reclaimed plastoid bin, broad leaves fanned out in a bright splash of verdant green; a souvenir from their time at the Resistance base.

Hux had given her a hard time about invasive species, but she'd waved him off.

"It's not like I'm going to be taking the thing for a walk," she'd groused, spinning the plant around until she found its most flattering angle.

There had been other acquisitions to suddenly appear in their quarters: a set of cookware and crockery pilfered from the Destroyer's on-board kitchens, a brand-new sonic shaver, multiple sets of Officers' uniforms, and a few sets of linens just to name a few.

Hux never asked if she cleared any of it with the Council, or if she'd simply stolen the items during her quartermasters' duties. Honestly, he didn't want to know.

The thought of her smuggling it all down right under the Council's collective noses was just the sort of brash action he'd expect from a rebel, and, well, he did find it quite attractive, and in a way he knew he shouldn't, which only seemed to fuel the illicit thrill of it even more.

Hux returned to his work, smiling to himself at the thought.

Not long after, and much to his surprise, he heard the door chime as it unlocked. He looked up from his seat in time to see the entrance slide back and Rose walk over the threshold, carrying what looked like a blanket-covered parcel in her arms, as well as a wide tote bag hooked over her other shoulder, fit to burst.

"Rose…"

He stood as she entered, extracting his legs from under the table, eyes darting to the chronometer to check the time.

"Oh, I know I'm back early," Rose said, setting the covered box down gently upon the ground and making her way over to him.

"How was the journey?" He asked, accepting her into his arms as she walked forward in their shared quarters.

"Uneventful," she said, voice muffled against the front of his black jacket."If you don't count Poe trying to rope me into being a Resistance liaison. Again."

Hux snorted, taking the heavy bag from her shoulder and setting it down on one of the kitchen table benches.

"Dameron's missing his top Engineer," he nearly crooned, taking dark delight in denying the showboating pilot Rose's brilliance and wit on a daily basis.

"Oh stop," she pulled away, giving his sharp smirk a poke, her finger bouncing against his cheek. "He means well. Honestly, I feel like I haven't been very useful around here, so it was a tempting offer…" She sighed.

It wasn't the first time Poe had tried to maneuver Rose into involving herself with the Resistance, something that would keep her rank and yet allow her to remain on Lira. Except, even in a small role, as a delegate or emissary, it would take her away for longer stretches of time, which she simply couldn't abide.

To Rose, her place was by his side.

Still, at her frustration, Hux frowned, watching as she dug around in her bag.

"Not useful?" He questioned. "Absurd."

She'd assisted with far more than her fair share, helping coordinate many of the younger cadets, taking charge of cataloging all the tech they'd removed from the Destroyer; she'd made their quarters feel like home.

That last thought, especially, tugged on Hux's heart.

He lay a hand over hers as she continued to extract things from her bag, knickknacks from her barracks and odd-shaped spanners of which he was sure they already had duplicates of.

Rose paused at his touch, looking up at him.

A frown creased his brow.

She sighed, shoulders hunching. "I know. I'm being dramatic. I just feel like I'm floating around helping with little bits. I need something to sink my teeth into, you know?"

A small smile quirked his mouth.

"I might have an idea on how to remedy that," he muttered, drawing her closer once again.

Rose's face lit up with curiosity. "Oh yeah?"

Hux hummed, relieving her of her jacket, feeling a swell of pride as she relaxed in his arms.

"I have been thinking," he said, gaze flickering over her face; her slightly disheveled hair, the flush of her cheeks. "If I am to open an Academy here, for the cadets—"

"Former cadets," she corrected, allowing him to ease her along, sinking into his lap as he sat down upon the table's seating, one of her legs on either side of his hips.

"Former cadets," he amended, enjoying the weight of her upon him, how in this position he could look up into her beautiful face.

He feathered his touch up the back of her neck, pulling out the pins of her buns as he spoke.

"It's all well and good to devise a scientific curriculum," he said, gaze darkening as her hair fell down around his fingers, "but it seems a shame to deny them a proper education in certain… engineering aspects."

A flushed look of surprise and glee came over the woman in his arms. She was practically vibrating with excitement.

Breathless, she whispered, "Hux… are you offering me a job? A teaching job?"

"Would you want it?" He asked, sitting up a little straighter, both his hand buried in her hair as they sat nose-to-nose.

"It is merely a request," he amended, making sure he wasn't pressing his idea upon her. "It would be up to you, of course."

Rose flashed him a brilliant smile, gripping him by the arms. "Yes! Stars, yes! I could write my own standards. We could work on parts of the Destroyer. I could teach them all that advanced tech! Hux!"

Hux watched the joy swell within her with a half-smile on his lips, marveling in the way Rose always made him feel so light, so happy, just by merely being in her presence.

Suddenly she was pouting again, sending him reeling at her sudden shift in mood.

"You always do this!" She huffed.

Hux looked bewildered. "P-Pardon?"

Rose let her bottom lip jut out. "I had my own surprise and everything and you just had to steal the moment!" She wasn't mad, not really. In fact, her expression was quite adorable.

Hux laughed, a slight and breathy sound. "A surprise?"

Rose stood back up, but not before grinding her hips against his, a delicious punishment that made him groan, even as she left his grasp.

Quietly, she tiptoed over to the cloth-covered parcel she'd set down upon returning home, crouching down to its level. Looking back over her shoulder, she curled a finger at him, indicating he should come closer.

Hux cocked his head, eyes narrowing as he too stood, moving toward her.

"What did you buy this time," he deadpanned, obviously teasing as he went to crouch beside her, balanced on the balls of his feet

Rose giggled, gleeful.

"Oh, you are not ready for this," she muttered. "He took me forever to find."

"He?"

Hux's heart pounded as Rose lifted the shroud back from the cage, revealing the dark little bundle inside.

"I think he's asleep," she whispered, but her voice sounded like it was coming from very far away, because all Hux could focus on was the tiny, jet-black kitten curled there in the carrier.

Almost unconsciously, he slid to his knees upon the ground, thunderstruck.

The kitten must have heard them. It stirred, yawning with a little mewl, stretching its legs out and blinking its wide yellow eyes, ears perking up at the new sounds.

"Well? What do you think? Armitage?"

He couldn't respond, mouth slacked open, forehead creased in concentration.

Emotion began to well its way up the back of his throat as the tiny creature got to its feet, back arching, letting out another delicate sound as it kneaded the bedding, blinking slowly back out at him.

"Oh Hux…" Rose reached, out rubbing circles on his back as she watched his gaze grow glassy.

With shaking fingers, he reached out to unlock the front of the cage, the tiny kitten meowing sleepily as it slipped its way out into the room, nuzzling against Hux's outstretched hand.

Hux let out a strangled breath, curling his fingers under the kitten's tiny chin, the small animal closing its yellow eyes in contentment as it brushed further up his wrist.

"You're right," he whispered, struggling to speak through thick emotion, "this is a much better surprise. Thank you, Rose."

Rose grinned. "His box and food are being unloaded, but it should be here soon. What do you want to call him?"

Hux let the kitten paw at his pant leg, still scarcely able to believe what he was seeing.

"I suppose 'Major Tico' is off the table," he said, with no small amount of wonder.

Rose laughed, standing back up to unpack her bag, content to let Hux and the kitten get acquainted. "Maybe just Major, huh?"

"Major," Hux echoed, a bit breathless, stroking the kitten's spine with a gentle finger. Major arched into the tough, clearly delighted with all the new attention.

The sudden tactile memory of Millicent, warm and alive under his touch, was so visceral that it took his breath away. The fingers of his other hand curled slowly into a fist, drawn in tight against his hip, tense with emotion.

Rose watched them both with a warm look. She thought he looked so very handsome, with his rare look of surprise and delight.

Nothing would replace Millicent, she knew that. Just like nothing would replace Paige, either. Not Hux's love, not Rey's friendship, not anything.

What felt like forever ago, when he'd sat broken upon the floor of his cell, she'd told him the truth. Loss was loss. She understood.

Hux did not know how to say thank you, not for this, so he settled on moving up to hold her close, pressing his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and relishing in the way she sang through his veins. In the stillness of the moment, in the slight sound of their contented, shared breathing, Major flopped onto his shoes, a purring puddle of inky back upon the toe of his boot.

They prepared their dinner not long after, a simple meal of roasted meat and local vegetables, seasoned and cooked in their small sonic oven. As Rose chopped the produce into manageable chunks, Hux went about braising the thick cut of marbled venison on the cooktop.

Rose hummed while she worked, Major winding around their ankles, so focused on the task at hand that she didn't hear Hux come up behind her. He leaned over her to grab a jar of spices from the built-in shelf, and as he did so Rose felt the warmth of his body press into her from behind, the contact a little too weighty for it to be completely by accident.

She smiled, wiggling her hips a little. She could practically hear the devilish smirk on Hux's face, if she couldn't see it.

Despite his apprehension, she'd insisted on making up one of the portions of polystarch she'd brought back with her from the Resistance base, mixing the brownish flour with warm water from the sink tap.

"How can you stomach that.." Hux muttered, checking the roast's internal temperature.

"It's mostly nostalgia." Rose admitted, watching as the powder was quickly absorbed, the concoction rising up into a doughy mound.

"But still," she added, "it's not that bad."

She stuck it in the oven for good measure, just to crisp up the crust.

Hux had made a face at her words, but later she noticed he'd sliced himself a small helping, just enough to sop up the reduction at the bottom of the roast pan.

"Not so terrible, is it?" She teased.

"Must be the quality of the baker," he managed around the mouthful, blush high on his cheeks.

After they'd eaten, Rose insisted on bringing out the celebratory drink. They hadn't opened it yet, their housewarming gift from the others, but Rose thought it an extremely appropriate choice given all the excitement.

"Good thing you have me," Hux muttered in her ear as he reached up higher than she could, pulling the bottle of Corellian whiskey from the top shelf above the cold storage unit.

Rose stuck out her tongue at him, grabbing their glasses and sitting down upon the bench.

"To your new job, Professor," Hux said from across the table, eyes glittering in the darkening evening, pale moonlight beginning to filter in through the kitchen window.

"To new additions," Rose added, voice soft as she watched Hux's gaze slide over to the kitten, now curled and napping on the armchair.

She raised her glass, finger of amber liquid rocking gently within.

Hux mirrored her, their cups kissing with a gentle clink, Hux hiding a smile at Rose's sour expression as she took a sip.

"It's an acquired taste," he admitted, savoring the flavor himself before lowering his glass.

Rose flashed him a smile, shifting her knees onto her seat so she could lean over the table toward him.

"Well, I know something about acquired tastes, don't I?" she said, appraising him. "I seem to have a nasty habit of wanting things others might find a little too… tough to handle."

His eyebrows jumped, even as he leaned forward to capture her lips in a sweet, slow kiss.

He shifted, moving to deepen the contact, but Rose suddenly yawned widely against his mouth.

"Oh!" She pulled back, hand slapping over her expression, eyes squinting closed.

Hux tried to look annoyed, but it was impossible to be cross with her.

"Shall I take you to bed, Miss Tico?" he asked her, voice pitched low.

"Mmhmm," Rose intoned, yawning again as she let him walk her to the fresher.

He had planned on ravishing her silly that night, but by the time he'd cleaned up their quarters and changed, she was already snoring away in their bed, tangled up in the soft sheets that barely concealed her naked form beneath.

Hux shook his head, chuckling to himself, checking briefly on Major's water and food before turning off the already dimmed lights and slipping into bed beside her.

Instinctually, she nestled closer, wrapping him up in her warm embrace, as intense in her sleep as she was when awake.

"You were the only good thing," he whispered into the crown of her head, feeling less embarrassed in telling her his deepest feelings as she slept. "The only one I couldn't push away, because you refused to let me."

Surrendering to her… it had felt like winning, in the end.

He held her close, afraid she'd disappear if he wasn't careful; if he didn't remind himself how lucky he was.

Soon, he drifted to sleep in her arms, her presence a sweet, soothing balm that seemed to ward off even his most stubborn nights of insomnia, as well as his darkest of nightmares.

Rose woke first the next morning, a cool morning breeze slipping in through the crack of their bedroom window. She shivered, pressing closer to the man at her side, mouthing his shoulder in a lazy kiss, wet in the way she knew he would hate.

He usually woke before her, so she wasn't going to waste this rare opportunity.

Scooting back, Rose shifted onto her side, watching Hux as he slept beside her, having ended up on his stomach, clutching his pillow, his head turned toward her.

Rose smiled, gaze darting over the smooth, slack plain of his cheek, where he was sporting just a hint of morning stubble, down to where his deliciously plush lips were parted, breathing gently in his slumber.

He looked so peaceful like this, she thought, all the care and worry lines smoothed from his forehead. He looked young, as if he'd never seen a day of war in his entire life.

Rose sat up slowly on her elbow. Resting the side of her face in her palm, she pulled the sheet down over Hux's back, revealing more of his smooth, pale skin.

There were scars there, too, like the ones on his chest. She'd mapped them all by now; every shallow escape of a knife, every punishing burn, with her mouth as well as her fingertips. He'd been shy about it at first, ashamed, but Rose only saw them as a testament to how far he'd come, how much he had endured; how he had survived.

Leaning over further, Rose gently walked her fingers down the notches of his spine, a slow march that drew her lower as her hand inched below the sheets.

Save for Rose and her pendant, they both slept bare; of all the things to have in common. Rose enjoyed the skin-to-skin contact, feeling overheated with any extra layers. For Hux, his night terrors had been so intense in the past, that he'd felt strangled by any clothing. Now, it was simply habit.

Eventually, as her wandering touch finally reached the deliciously pert swell of his ass, he must have finally stirred awake. Rose heard Hux mumble something, voice rough in the early morning, his body turning toward her almost unconsciously as he woke.

Rose grinned, dipping her hand down over his newly exposed front, charting an exploratory line with her fingers. When she reached the thatch of hair between his legs, she stole a glance back up at him.

He was certainly awake, and watching her, one green eye open and peering down at her with a slight frown.

"Morning," she said sweetly, hopefully sweet enough that he wouldn't be too cross at being woken up in such an untoward manor.

Hux huffed out his nose, sounding unamused, closing his eyes again even as he let her push against his hip and roll him onto his back. Rose inched back up, curling against his side.

"Didn't mean to wake you," she whispered, head level with the side of his chest, which she began dotting with kisses.

"Yes you did," he muttered, slinging an arm over his eyes to ward out the light, even as Rose slipped down once again and began mouthing down his stomach.

She felt him quiver as she brushed over a sensitive spot near his hip, but she didn't linger long, lowering further to nuzzle against the soft skin below his belly button. Her hand ghosted down, gently caressing the length of him, already semi-hard, before she ducked her head and kissed the velvety tip. He made a soft noise at that, somewhere between a moan and a grunt, sucking in a breath as she took him fully into her mouth.

He was still a little soft, not yet fully awake, and Rose delighted in the way she swirled her tongue around him, feeling his arousal build by the growing firmness under all her attention.

Working her mouth down his length and back up again, pleased in the way he twitched against her lips, she pulled off with a wet little pop, pleased to see she'd been successful in riling him up into a hard and needy state.

Rose hummed, wiping her mouth, and glanced up at him.

Hux was watching her from under his arm, green eyes dark with desire, even as his neck flushed pink with embarrassment.

"I could just leave you like this," she teased, tone sweet despite her words; despite the way she sat up and swung her legs over to straddle his hips.

"You wouldn't dare," he challenged, moving his hands up to grip her thighs, massaging there as she wriggled against him. He squinted a bit in the light, which drew out the color in his eyes, like sunshine peeking through fine, green beach glass. The glare made him look more frustrated and cross than aroused.

Rose bit her lip.

It was really cute.

She leaned over him, bracing her palms against his lightly defined chest as his hands found their way to her ass. "I wouldn't dare, huh? You want to test that theory?"

"I'm compelled to say 'yes,' but only in defense of my pride, quite honestly," he grumbled, even as she lifted up onto her knees, pushing off his chest.

"Pfft. I'm not that mean and you know it."

He sucked in a breath as she reached back and took him in hand, holding him steady as she scooted lower to hover above him. From this angle, he could see the shine of how wet she was. Had working him over really aroused her that much? The thought of it, and the sight of her, caused a hungry heat to coil low in his belly.

His hands tensed around her hips as she sunk down onto him, inch by inch, watching as she closed her eyes and bit at her bottom lip, lifting up slightly and bearing down again and again in little motions, taking him slowly until she settled in his lap and he was sheathed to the hilt.

Hux rolled his head back against the pillow, gritting his teeth at the feeling of her squeezing around him.

Rose huffed, finally stilling to catch her breath. "How's that for mean?"

She watched Hux's jaw work, enjoying the way the early daylight made his mussed-up hair glint and shine against the slate-grey sheets.

"Your benevolence has been noted," he managed to say, after a moment or two.

Rose still hadn't relaxed her legs, not allowing her entire weight to sink down onto him. It would be too deep too fast, and she wanted to draw it out, until that sizzling pressure had her grinding down on him.

Spurred on by the expression of pleasured torture that twisted his face, she undulated her hips, rising and falling on him as she controlled the pace, feeling power in the way he was barely was able to resist raising his hips, chasing after her heat.

Suddenly, his hips bucked up, meeting her halfway down, and the spot he reached inside sent a jolt of intense pleasure coursing through her, causing her to gasp in a breathy, startled laugh, breaking off into a moan as he did it again.

His eyes were slits as he regarded her, gaze intense, but his mouth was slanted open. She could hear him panting slightly as they moved in unison; not a hurried pace, but a firm one.

The sight and sound of him spurred Rose on to snake her hand down her front as she let herself drop a little heavier onto him, caressing herself as he reached out to knead her breast, rolling her nipple between his thumb and the side of his palm.

The pinch caught her by surprise, eliciting a pleased little, "Oh!"

The feeling of it: the tight heat of Hux as he filled her, the sizzle of pleasure at her own fingertips, the punishing twinge as he tweaked her nipple again, it all had her grinding down on his hips, letting him touch deep inside.

"Ah, that feels good," she gasped, trying to reach out and anchor herself against him with her free hand, even as her pleasure soared higher.

Hux watched her head fall back, breath coming out sharper and higher in octave, her body trembling around him and clenching in anticipation. He could feel the way it made his hips and stomach tight as he too neared that edge.

He snapped his hips with a grunt of exertion, just shy of rough. He wanted to give her more, everything; make her fall apart above him as he held her in his hands and in his heart.

As her orgasm overtook her, sending her to quiver, Rose was unable to fully clamp down on the whimper that passed her lips. Hux pulled her hips down tight against him and kept her there, peaking just a few moments later, pleasure radiating out from where they were joined, each subsequent pulse shuddering through him.

In that moment, she owned him completely.

Seconds later, Hux was momentarily jolted from his hazy afterglow, Rose collapsing onto his chest, panting, warm and heavy against him. His arms wrapped around her instinctually, holding her close.

"You're mine, Armitage," she sighed against him, voice thick with ebbing ecstasy. She nibbled at his collarbone and shoulder. "And I'm all yours."

Hux swallowed thickly, arms constricting, her words flooding his heart.

"I love you Rose," he said, voice cracking a bit.

Funny. After saying those words to her in a room full of enemies and would-be allies, they almost came out easy.

Rose hummed, completely content. "I love you too."

It was rare for him to have overslept like he had, but now, Hux didn't want to move at all. He entertained the idea of keeping her there, in bed with him, for the entire day.

In the cozy silence that followed, Rose almost drifted off again, head on his chest, but they were both suddenly roused by a petulant little meow, accompanied by the sound of tiny claws snagging on the sheets that had slid off sideways.

Head on his chest, Rose heard Hux chuckle. The reverberation of his voice coupled with the strong sound of his heartbeat made Rose nearly choke with a sudden swell of emotion.

Alive, that heartbeat told her.

Alive, despite all the war and hate and desperation.

In the face of it all, they had survived, even found belonging, and now, wrapped tight in each other's arms, they were never letting go.

For the man who drew her in, claiming her mouth in a lazy kiss, Rose had been his first chance at peace; something he could choose to give himself to of his own volition.

It made her heart sing with joy she'd never thought she'd feel, and especially not for him.

In all honesty, before he went and crash landed into her life, Rose could have understood why some might have given up Hux for lost. She'd wanted to, at first, but had found she simply couldn't.

Pride had forced her to try, because no one else had; because it was the only way to save him, because he wasn't some lost cause forever consigned to darkness.

No one was.

From desert rat to General of the First Order, miner's daughter to Senator's son, they all deserved a chance to reach and grow and learn and love.

And when you gave it the whole of your heart, there was always hope to be found.

The End

A/n- Thank you again to everyone who has followed me on this journey. You are all so inspiring!

Thank you also to all the amazing artists who created art and other media for this story. It is so very humbling to know that my words can inspire such creativity.

Thank you to Ashtoret over on ficbook for taking on the daunting task of translating this work, and thank you to all the readers over on ficbook as well! It has been such a joy to translate and read your comments. It warms my heart to know that even so far away, we can enjoy this moment together.

Thank you too to everyone over on the gingerose Discord. You guys are a crazy bunch and keep me going. I love the chaotic energy and the strong support group we have created. Never stop!

A huge, monumental thank you to Brit for being an amazing beta, editor, and friend! I really feel like we find inspiration in each other. I've so enjoyed working on projects together, and I hope to continue to do so. If you haven't already, please check out Brit's work under birchwoods01 or "Brit Hux-Tico" on A03. She constantly amazes me with her ability to produce such excellent writing on such a consistent basis. She deserves all the love and reviews you could give her!

And finally, a sincere thank you to my hubby Dan who has been my emotional, moral, and creative support for more than ten years. You are my happily ever after! I'm sorry you had to read and edit all that smut (but not really though).

Keep an eye out for more gingerose stories to come! For now, thank you again. Be safe, be good to each other, and all my love.

- Alex