A/N: Possible trigger warning…sorry for the terribly long time it took to update. Life is crazy.

Ben wakes slowly, the sunlight filtering in through the blinds. As he sits up, holding his side that aches, his nose recognizes the glorious smell of bacon wafting in from the kitchen. Soon his ears clear enough to hear the sizzle and the soft beat of a song with someone singing along. Rey. His wince soon turns to a soft smile as he remembers last night, well the good parts of last night. He rises and makes his way into her kitchen. He stops at the sight that meets him and his heart does a little flip. Rey is in front of the stove, her back to him, cooking bacon and flipping pancakes, her head bopping and her body swaying in time to the song flowing from her phone that sits on the counter. Her hair is thrown up in a messy bun and she's wearing an oversized t-shirt and leggings. He finds her absolutely adorable. No one has ever made him feel this way and it kind of scares him. Actually it terrifies him. He knows he's not good enough for anyone and falling for someone will only make it hurt more when they leave. He shakes his head and shuffles into the kitchen, causing Rey to turn around.

She gives him a smile, one that crawls across her face causing the skin around her eyes to scrunch, "Good morning, Ben. I hope you slept well." She says while sliding bacon onto a plate.

"Um…yeah, actually. A lot better than I have been." He runs a hand through his hair.

"That's good to hear. Have a seat." She motions to the bar stools next to him.

"Thanks." He slides onto one, taking in a breath as he bumps into the edge of the counter.

"Mhmm." She can tell the cut on his stomach stopped bleeding, which is good. She was afraid he might have needed stitches. His hair is a mess with strands sticking out every which way, there are bags under his eyes, and his spindly body is covered in scars but Rey finds him strikingly attractive none the less. From his soft, golden eyes that are so deep, with this lonely pull to them, to the slight scruff caressing his face to the quirk of his lips as she sets a plate of food in front of him. She finds it all appealing. "You are hungry, right? Because I just made like a million pancakes and there's no way…" she trails off as he forgoes the fork and stuff a whole pancake in his mouth, followed closely by a strip of bacon.

"Thes ish sho goog." He says, his mouth full of food. He swallows before continuing, "I love chocolate chip pancakes. My mom…" he swallows again but not because of food. "I used to have them every Saturday morning when I was little." He says less enthusiastically, stuffing another bite into his mouth, slower this time.

"Well, good cause there's no way I could have eaten all of these myself." She takes the last few pancakes off the griddle before standing across from him, taking a mouthful of pancake herself.

They eat their breakfast in relative silence, Rey's music still floating softly around the kitchen.

"Oh, coffee!" Rey exclaims suddenly. "You drink coffee, Ben?" He nods and she scurries across the kitchen, opening a cupboard. She reaches up and pulls down two cups, pouring the steaming liquid into both. "Do you take cream or sugar? I drink mine black but I ran out this morning and bought some creamer in case you didn't. I also have artificial sweetener if you don't do sugar. I have honey too." She quiets down, realizing she was rambling, and brings his coffee over to him, as he just stares back at her in shock. "Sorry." She adds in a whisper.

"I…I'll take cream, please. And sugar." He finally says, surprised that she's gone to all this trouble for him.

"Right." She hurries to the fridge, pulls out a small container, grabs a little jar from the counter, and a spoon from a drawer. "Here you go." She lays it all in front of him, like an offering of some sort, and smiles sheepishly.

"Thank you, Rey."

"Hey, don't worry about it." She takes another bite, washing it down with some coffee.

"No, really." He puts down his fork, tears springing up in his eyes. "Thank you. For everything."

She hurries around the counter and hops up onto the stool next to him, "Your welcome, Ben. But really, don't worry about it." She places her hand over his. "It's my pleasure."

He looks down at their hands and notices faint scars running along her arm, realization dawning on him. "You…you…" he picks up her hand, turning it over to better examine her past.

"Yeah, yeah I did." Her voice cracks, tears welling in her eyes now. "That's why I know what you're going through, where you're at, and why I'm here to help you get away."

He gently grabs her other arm, finding it covered in more scars, these ones deeper and darker. He does something no one's ever done to her, something she never thought someone would do. He brings her arm to his mouth and kisses her scars before encompassing her slender hands in his callused ones. "I'm so sorry." He whispers, because he knows what she had to go through to do this to herself and he can't stand the thought of this beautiful, caring women who saved his life having to deal with the demons he knows haunted her nights. Tears slip down her cheeks and then he holding her. This is why she knew how to bandage his wounds, why she was so attached to his problems. He wants to ask her what happened that caused her to do this to herself but doesn't. Instead he holds her and she holds him, both of them fixing the other with the broken pieces of their pasts.

A/N: There will be one more chapter that will explain their pasts…it's just not finished yet. Sorry. It should be up soon though. TTFN.