A/N: Someone was talking on tumblr about how they wanted to see Rey's reaction to someone telling her they love her, so this kinda came about. I know it's not very detailed in setting or time, but I just wanted to write her reactions! I hope you enjoy it! Also, there should be a chapter of Hope Has Flown Away tomorrow or Monday!
The first time she heard it.
Rey and Finn collapsed laughing onto her bed. Finn let out a whooping noise.
"We did it! Oh, my stars, he'll never know it was us!" Rey practically cackled with laughter.
"I can't wait to see him tomorrow!" She suddenly sat up, eyes wide. "Do you think he'll shave it off?!" Finn howled.
"It's that or face everyone with pink hair!" Rey snorted, picturing Poe Dameron's luscious locks a bright magenta. She and Finn had snuck into the pilot's room and slipped a few drops of pink dye into his hair product. Rey knew Finn had feelings for Poe, but she never said anything out of respect for his silence. She also knew Dameron reciprocated the feelings, but she kept quiet about that as well.
The two friends sat in a companionable silence, revelling in their prank. When Finn spoke, Rey nearly jumped out of her skin.
"I love you, Rey." Rey shot off the bed.
"What?!" She exclaimed. "But, I thought-"
"Oh, stars no!" Finn jumped up as well. He laughed suddenly. "No, no, no. I don't love you, no! I just meant I care for you." He grabbed her hands. "A lot, Rey." Rey furrowed her eyebrows.
"I don't understand. How can you love me but not love me?" Finn laughed again.
"You can love someone without it being romantic, Rey. I love you like you are my sister." Rey let that sink in. Between her life on Jakku and her all but nonexistent childhood, she didn't know what it was like to have someone love her. She collapsed down onto the bed again, tugging on Finn's hand. He lay on the bed next to her, seeming hesitant. Rey squeezed his hand, her face splitting into a huge grin.
"Well then, of course I love you, you daft oaf." Finn smiled, squeezing her hand back.
The time she needed to hear it the most.
Rey was crouched at the foot of a wall, her head resting on her knees. The words she had said to Ben stung her as if they had been said to her instead.
Who could ever care for a monster?!
What makes you think I can trust you?!
I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!
Just leave me alone! Just go away!
Rey sobbed as the realization of how awful she had been came crashing down on her. She wished what she had said had been true. Then it wouldn't be as bad. Most of it hadn't been true though.
The real truth was that Rey had realized that her feelings for Ben were more than of just a friend. Ben, since he had come back to them, had been nothing but kind to Rey. There was an occasional outburst when his anger would surface, but it had never been directed at her. He was trying so hard. He tried to be kind to Poe and Finn because he knew they helped and cared about Rey. He gave the Resistance information that he knew would help in defeating First Order supporters. He tolerated the droids. He helped Chewie on the Falcon. He was trying to fix his relationship with his mother.
Rey felt herself moving, getting up from her crouch. Her feet carried her down the halls, past soldiers, and to Leia Organa's door. She reached up to knock, but, before she could, the door swung open. Leia's face was stony.
"I felt you through the Force." She noticed her tearstained face. "What did my boy do to you. I swear I'll tear him a new one." The general probably would've continued, but Rey spoke up.
"No, Leia. I did this." Leia's eyebrows shot up.
"What do you mean?" Rey opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was another sob. Leia quickly brought Rey into her room, closing the door behind her. The two sat on the couch, Rey soaking Leia's shoulder with her tears. Every time Rey thought she was close to calming herself, the memories of what she had said started the tears up again.
After a while, the tears slowed and her breathing calmed. Rey took a deep breath and rushed all her words out, telling Leia what she had said to her son. When she had finished, she said, "And now you'll both hate me." Leia pushed her away so quickly, Rey's head spun.
"How could you say something like that?! Me, hate you? Ben, hate you?!" She shook her head, a small smile spreading across her face. "My dear, neither of us could hate you anymore than we could hate breathing. You have become a part of our lives, of our broken, little family, and family doesn't hate each other. We may get annoyed with each other, we might say things we don't necessarily mean, and we might mess up. Scratch that, we will mess up. But that's family." Leia reached out and put her hands on Rey's shoulders.
"My dear girl, I love you like you are my own daughter. And, if my notions are correct, my son has feelings for you that greatly surpass that of a friend." Rey smiled at that, hoping Leia was right. Leia continued. "So don't you ever worry about us hating you."
Rey suddenly threw her arms around Leia, and the older woman let out a soft grunt but wrapped her arms around the younger girl all the same. Rey's face was hidden in Leia's shoulder, and her voice was muffled and quiet when she said, "I love you, too."
And the time she said it.
Rey shyly knocked on the door to Ben's chambers. When the door was thrown open, Ben was standing behind it. His hair was wild and sticking out at odd angles, and his eyes were puffy and red. He's been crying, Rey realized. Her heart constricted, and she suddenly felt an urge to reach up and kiss him.
But she didn't. She looked down at the floor, shuffling her feet. "May I come in?" She quietly asked. Ben said nothing but opened the door wider and stepped out of the way to let her through. Rey walked silently in, trying to formulate a coherent sentence in her head. She knew what she felt, but she didn't know how tell him.
Ben was the first person who had ever cared for her like this. He always gave her his apples at meals because he didn't like them and he knew she did. He never complained when they sat together, and she tucked her bare feet up against him, even though they were always cold. He treated her with respect even when he was teasing her. He defended her even though he knew she was perfectly capable of doing it herself. He looked at her like she hung the moons and the stars. He smiled at her like she was the only thing worth smiling for.
"I didn't mean any of it," she suddenly said. Ben's eyebrows raised, but he still said nothing. "You aren't a monster," Rey continued. "I thought you were a long time ago, but I know better now. I said I couldn't trust you, but the truth is you are probably one of the few people I can trust. I don't want you to leave me alone because I was alone for-" her voice cracked. She swallowed thickly before going on.
"For such a long time, and I never want to be again. And-" she stopped and her gaze dropped to the floor. Shaking her head and smiling, she looked up at Ben. "And I don't hate you. In fact," she said, moving until she was right in front of Ben. His eyes had slowly lit up while she had been speaking, and while she couldn't describe the emotion at first, she could now. Hope. Ben's eyes had filled with hope. Rey placed her hands on either side of his face.
"I love you, Ben Solo. I love you, I love you, I love you." She sighed deeply, feeling as if a huge weight had lifted from her shoulders. Ben broke out into a huge, goofy grin, and he leaned his face down.
Their first kiss was awkward as all first kisses are. Their lips were clumsy at first, unsure how theirs would fit against the other's. Their teeth accidently bumped, and, when Ben pulled away, Rey made a noise of complaint that made her cheeks flush with embarrassment. Ben smiled down at her and said the one sentence that made everything else seem irrelevant.
"I love you, too, Rey."
A/N: Let me know what you think! I hope I did the characters justice! As always, please leave reviews because they always just make my day! Goodnight/morning/day!