Chapter 4: Evermore
He watches with admiration as she effortlessly commands reverence from everyone she encounters. And she doesn't even try to elicit that respect. He observes her playing with the small children of the First Order's higher-ranking officers, who are also based and educated here.
Neither he nor Rey has brought up the night they made love in his chambers. Ben expected there to be some awkwardness in the immediate aftermath, but there has not been. He can therefore only conclude that Rey enjoyed it; at least, she has never explicitly stated that she didn't enjoy it.
Watching her playing with the little ones from a balcony above the hanger bay, he ponders softly, "I've never felt this way about anyone... I wanna do something for her. But what?"
Sadly, his only confidants are Hux (who has been wary of how close Ben has become to Rey), and DJ - now working for the First Order but a mediocre servant at best.
"Well, there's always flowers, chocolates... promises you don't intend to keep..." the General attempts, as the trio stroll down to the ground level.
"No, this is no ordinary girl! He needs to give her... s-s-something s-special!" DJ stutters.
Rey now approaches, her eyes happy as they fall on Ben. His friends whisper to the Supreme Leader.
"S-Say s-something about her hair."
Ben thinks for a moment, and then announces with a triumphant smile and a little too loudly, "It's brown!"
Hux does an actual face palm. "A compliment," he clarifies.
"Oh," Ben backpedals, now referencing the ribbon in Rey's hair. "What a nice bow!"
Rey beams and blushes. "Thank you."
Ben then gets a flash of inspiration. "Leave us," he commands Hux and DJ. Then he shyly takes Rey's hand. "Rey, there's something I want to show you. But first, you have to close your eyes. It's a surprise."
Rey trustingly lets him lead her through the hanger bay. "Can I open them?"
"Alright... now!"
Rey opens her eyes to see a magnificent ship, not unlike the ones sunken in the sands on Jakku. Except this one is in perfect working order.
"It's wonderful!" she gasps.
"And it's yours," Ben smiles nervously.
He expects her to leap in the thing and flee. But she does not. Instead, she hugs him. After pulling away, she glances at him shyly.
"Would you, um... like to have dinner with me tonight?"
Ben stares at her in disbelief. "Like a date?"
She giggles - a trilling, glorious sound. "Yes."
"Absolutely!"
Ben is better than his word. Not only does he prepare a Feast for Rey, he prepares a whole ball, for officers and their ladies to dance for her entertainment.
So he is a little confused when Hux and DJ practically wrestle him into a fancy ballroom monkey suit. Ben has never been one for fancy dress, and especially not colorful dress. He normally only works in black... and sometimes very, very dark grey.
But his protestations fall away when he beholds Rey, adorned in a golden gown, on the dance floor. She approaches him with a tentative smile, as Hux and DJ practically shove him forward. In a corner, the Knights of Ren are snickering to themselves.
"Dance with me?"
Ben flushes as red as his lightsaber. He doesn't dance, never has. "No, I..."
"Dance with her!" Hux and DJ snap in unison.
So Ben does. He holds Rey gently and they begin to waltz. She eyes him almost breathlessly, and she seems a little nervous in navigating the steps.
Yet soon, they are moving in a unifying harmony Ben has not felt since their battle in the throne room. And the only constant is losing himself in Rey's eyes...
At the song change, both feel rather hot, so they steal away to a balcony to be alone.
"Rey, I..."
"Yes?" And her voice is innocent and sweet.
Ben desperately wants to tell her he is in love with her. He has tried to banish the revelation in the past, but gave up on the effort. She's so beautiful - in the Force and in his presence - and he's... he changes the subject.
"Rey, are you happy here?"
"Oh, yes. Everyone is so welcoming. The officers... even General Hux when he wants to be..."
"With me," Ben clarifies.
She turns to him. "Yes."
A tense moment, broken only by Rey standing and self-consciously running her fingers through her hair. How Ben wants to do that himself!
"Is something wrong?"
"I miss the Resistance, though. I wish I could see them again."
Ben ponders for a moment, and then brightens. "There is a way." He calls upon the will of the Force to picture the Resistance, guarding against the urge for the image to stir him to anger. He teaches the trick to Rey. "This will let you silently observe anyone you wish. It is kind of like our Force Bond, but one-sided."
Rey pictures someone. He can sense it... and how whatever she is seeing is causing her deep distress.
"Finn is hurt! There was an attack! I should... I should..."
"Go to him," Ben finishes for her. FN-2187, the deserter. Injured in an attack Ben had ordered, but he doesn't tell Rey that.
"What?"
"You should go to him." Rey opens her mouth to reply, but he raises a hand to silence her. "You're not my prisoner anymore, Rey. You haven't been for a long time. Take the ship with you. So you always have a way to look back... and remember me."
Rey's eyes fill with tears. "I could never forget you."
"Rey, I..."
"Yes?"
His courage fails him. "Go."
And when Hux later asks why he released her, Ben can only say, "Because... I love her." For he does.
