Title: Tales From Jakku
Category: Movies ยป Star Wars
Author: Ziggurat Rolsovitch
Language: English
Rating: M

Day 4,901

"Almost there..." From under the vaporator Ben held his hand out. "Bonding tape."

"Right here." Rey pressed it into his open hand and watched as he started putting in the finishing touches.

They had been working since early morning and fortunately the sun had made it's way around and they had some shade now under the bridge of the destroyer. Though while the heat had been hottest Ben had at some point taken his shirt off and tossed it onto the tool box leaving Rey blushing furiously and trying to look at anything, but him.

Now however he couldn't see that she was staring and she felt safe enough to admire. It dawned on her just how strong Ben really was. He'd spend so much time working to keep them both alive that she doubted anyone here was nearly as strong as he was.

"There. Just have to tighten this last bolt and we're set." He muttered under his breath.

Rey wasn't paying attention to any of the things he was saying of course. She was a bit distracted. It was his fault too. He had chosen to forgo a shirt while he worked due to the heat and now she couldn't focus on anything other than the ways that he had really changed over the years. He was no longer a scrawny boy. He was a full grown man.

She watched the shift of his muscles below the skin as he worked and out of some strange sense of curiosity she dropped a hand down onto his stomach to trace along the lines. A faint tremor ran through his body was she touched him and she wondered why his body reacted that way to a touch.

"What are you doing...?" He asked in a low, deep rumble.

His skin was much softer than she would have imagined. For some reason she had always thought that a man's skin would be hard and rough. It wasn't either of those things. His skin was soft, but beneath his muscles felt hard. Not quite rocky as it had some give when pressed down on, but close.

She found the thin trail of hair that disappeared below his belt. The second she traced over the spot he dropped the wrench and it busted him in the nose with a sickening crunch. He quickly pulled himself out from underneath the vaporator.

"Ben!" She wondered if he'd managed to break his nose, but as he stood up and clenched his fists at his side she noted there was no blood or crooked twist to it. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." He took a breath and let it out in a long sigh as he grabbed his shirt, shook out some sand and pulled it on over his shoulders. He didn't bother to close it up in the front and was still essentially bare chested.

It was just too hot to close it up all the way.

"It's not like you to lose your grip on something." Rey mused and he huffed in response.

It seemed he was in one of those moods again.

"It looks like everything is working again... do you want to head up and tell me if the water turns on alright?" He rubbed a hand along his scruffy beard and let out another huff as he turned his back to her.

"Okay..." Rey responded slowly as she stood up and dusted herself off. "Are you mad?"

"Mmm. Mad isn't the word I'd use for it..."

That only confused her even more. If he wasn't angry with her she wondered why he was acting so strangely all of a sudden. This kept happening between them and she couldn't bring herself to understand what exactly had changed between them.

Before she had the chance to ask a speeder pulled up and Ben grew tense as he watched the two men jump off of it. The two men stood by the speeder and spoke for several minutes and then proceeded to approach them.

"What do you want?" Ben spoke up and placed his hands at his hips while taking a step closer to the two.

"Looking for salvage." The larger of the two spoke up and Ben frowned because... that voice sounded familiar to him.

"There's nothing here for you. Go back where you came from."

"I see plenty right behind you. Can't keep a whole destroyer to yourself."

"This is my land. I want you off."

"You don't protect what's yours all to well... seeing as I managed to get myself some salvage the other night."

"You..." Ben glanced behind him to realize these two were the ones to have stripped the parts off the vaporator and he started to step forward, about to strangle the life out of the man.

Before he even got the change the man pulled a blaster from over his shoulder.

"Ah! I wouldn't do that if I were you... here, boy. Take it." The man pulled down the scarf covering his face as he handed the blaster over to the other that stood next to him to let him keep it trained on them. "No hard feelings... it wasn't personal. Thought it was abandoned."

Clearly a lie, but Ben now knew where he recognized where he had seen this man before. He was the same man from years back that wanted Rey. He should have killed him then... and now not having done that was coming back to haunt him.

"Rey... go inside..." He called over his shoulder.

"But, Ben..."

"Ben?" The man narrowed his eyes as he looked from one to the other and then he let out a laugh as he came to realize it as well. "I remember you. You're not a boy any longer are you? I almost didn't recognize you under all that scruff."

"Go away." Although Ben knew he was in no position to say it he still had to try.

"You got bigger, but you didn't get much smarter did you? Still trying to order me around... but the constable isn't around to protect you now."

If he didn't have a gun trained on him... he'd have ripped him limb from limb. Instead he was hit in the face... in the stomach and as he doubled over the man brought a knee up into his side.

"Stop!" Rey rushed forward about to help, but the man saw her attempt and to keep Ben disabled decided on a low blow and kneed him in the groin. It was a direct shot.

It didn't feel like much at first... just an impact, but he knew exactly what was coming. It was agony. Like a migraine deep in his groin that slowly started to spread up into his stomach. It hurt so badly that all he could do was curl into a ball and struggle not to paint the sand with his vomit.

Through the intensely mind-numbing, dull ache he noted that Rey also dropped and realized that she must have felt his pain. He would have felt bad that she had to suffer through it with him, but he couldn't even think about anything except for how much it hurt.

"Ooo... that'll have you pissin' blood." Now the man turned his attention to Rey. He was clearly curious as to why the girl dropped at the same time Ben did. He slowly approached Rey with a predatory stare and then dropped down to straddled her.

"Dad!" The young man with the blaster stepped forward.

"Don't worry... you'll get a turn, boy." It was all too easy it seemed and the scavenger wasn't about to question this odd gift. Rey would have fought back, if not for the disabling pain she shared with Ben.

"That's not the point! We can't do this!" He took a step forward.

It was then that Ben shifted somewhat, he wanted to yell. Tell the bastard to get off of her, but he couldn't find words. His breathing increased and his muscles tensed up. He had to force himself to get through the pain to get up.

The young man was too busy trying to talk some sense into his father who was more interested in pulling out his knife, about to just shred Rey's clothes. It was why the young man didn't turn until it was too late...

Ben threw a handful of sand up into his eyes and even through the mind-numbing pain he charged forward like a rabid animal and tackled the man on top of Rey so hard they both crashed a good distance away from her.

With all the strength that he had built up throughout the years it only took one decisive blow to draw blood. He drew back his fist and struck him again and again and again... the man's nose broke under the pressure before he grabbed the scavenger's skull between two hands and lifted it up enough to slam it as hard into the ground as he could.

The scavenger was unconscious by this point.

"Ben... stop!" Rey who had finally managed to figure out how to separate her pain from his was struggling to get up, to stop Ben. "It's enough!"

But it wasn't. It wasn't enough to quell his rage. After what he tried to do to Rey nothing in this world could ever satisfy his rage other than this man's death.

Perhaps he was no better than an animal as he beat the man's face in... frothing at the mouth with blood splattered across his own face he must have looked like one. His gaze shifted and he noted the large stone to his right.

It didn't even need a second thought. He grabbed it, felt Rey's hands clawing at his shoulder in an effort to stop him, but it was no good. He slammed it into the man's face. He had likely been killed earlier, but it wasn't good enough for him. He continued to beat his face in until his skull collapsed in on itself... and even then he kept beating him until he was doing nothing more than crushing broken bits of skull and brain into the sand.

Only then was he satisfied, but the sound of a blaster dropping as the boy realized his father had been completely brutalized drew his attention.

As his eyes landed on the boy the poor kid let out a cry of fear, scrambled back... tripped in the sand and then hurried to gather himself and get up so that he could run as far as he could get.

Ben quickly forced himself up off the ground and slid to his knees in the sand to pick up the blaster and take aim at the kid. He had no intentions of letting him get away.

"Ben, no!"

Just as he pulled the trigger his hands were knocked up, sending the blaster bolt up and into the blue sky.

"What are you thinking?! We can't let him go!" He made this mistake once... he wouldn't make it again.

"He didn't want any part of it!" Rey yelled back just as fiercely. She held firmly onto the blaster, because she knew. She could sense it in him that he still wanted to kill the boy.

"You're really going to let him go after what he tried to do to you?!"

"He didn't do it!" She knew exactly what had almost happened, but it didn't matter now because it didn't. "Nothing happened. We're fine. So please... give it to me..."

He glanced between her and the blaster and all the way to the boy in the distance. He knew he could still make the shot, but he knew if he did it would put them both in a bad place. It didn't help he'd just bashed a man's brains out right in front of her.

Reluctantly he relinquished the blaster and Rey hurried to get it away from him, tossed it towards the speeder that had been left behind.

"What if he comes back?" He asked slowly as he once again noticed the terrible ache after being hit and there was nothing to distact him from it now.

"He won't." Rey answered with certainty. For once she knew that the boy hadn't wanted anything to do with this and that he wasn't going to come back.

"Did you let him go because you like him still? He was here to-"

"He was here because of that monster that doesn't deserve to be called a father. I thought that you of all people would understand that someone's parents don't define them."

He inhaled sharply at her words. They had bite to them and he found he couldn't think up a response to that. It was... true. Though his father wasn't a disgusting monster like the one he had killed... he was a good for nothing drunk that had run out on his family.

"Go up... I'm going to clean this mess up..." He would take care of everything.

For once... Rey listened to him, despite a moments hesitation.

Turning he went to retrieve the body, loaded it up onto the speeder and then he tied down both the body and the accelerator so that the speeder would get as far from here as possible with the mess. He certainly wasn't going to take the time to give him a burial. He didn't think the monster deserved it.

For once Rey didn't have an objection. He could feel that she was upset... more shaken than she seemed. Right now all she was doing was pretending that she was fine, but he could tell that this had scared her.

It was hard to hide things from one another when they were so closely bound.

He kicked sand up over the mess of blood to cover it up before he headed inside. Maybe it should have affected him more that he had just killed someone, but he couldn't bring himself to regret it or feel bad. Not after what that man had tried to do. He was glad he had killed him.

It was just the matter of Rey that concerned him.

When he pushed the door open slowly and stepped into the bridge he noticed that she seemed to be waiting for him. Though she had indeed been waiting they didn't exchange any words.

All he could do was make his way over to his bed and try to make himself comfortable. He was still hurting after that knee he'd taken. The most he could do was try to lie down and sleep for a time, but all he could do was toss and turn.

Eventually he realized there was no way he was going to get in rest with the amount of discomfort that he was in. He shifted with his hand between his legs, tried to make himself more comfortable... easy some of the pain by adjust things. None of it helped.

It seemed Rey had noticed as well because she approached him with a small bowl and a cloth. Sitting in front of him she reached out with the wet cloth and wiped at the split in his lip where his face taken most of the impact.

"How are you feeling?"

"Bruised... sore... swollen..." It was when he lifted his gaze from his lap up to see the way her jaw had dropped that he realized. "Oh... you meant my face... t-that too."

"It's fine." Rey brushed off the misunderstanding and pressed the damp cloth into the corner of his bread to clean away some of the dried, flaking blood.

"Are you... angry that I killed him?"

"No."

The honest answer, perhaps surprised them both, but both knew that the man deserved to die and if he had been allowed to live he would have come back worse than before. There had been little choice.

She dropped the cloth back into the water, watched as it was tinted with a light pink and then brought it back to his face to remove the last traces of blood. As she trailed the cloth down along his neck she watched the way he closed his eyes and tilted his chin up slightly. There was a little sound that escaped him before he could stop it and it almost reminded her of a loth-cat.

Grouchy... sure of himself... secretly liked affection even though he pretended he was indifferent to it. There was no doubt in her mind... Ben was like a big loth-cat.

Once the last traces of blood were gone she dropped the cloth off to the side where it was out of the way and curled her fingers underneath his chin. As expected he made a sound akin to a purr. She brushed through his beard, entangled her fingers in it and pulled down to get his attention.

"Ben... can I shave you?" Rey asked softly as she reached over for the pack near the bed and dragged it over towards them.

He slowly opened his eyes and took note of the pack before shifting his gaze over to her and then back again.

"Alright."

Rey raised a brow as she didn't actually expect him to have actually agreed, but now that he had agreed she wasn't quite sure where to start. She opened up the pack and removed the sharp blade and the shaving cream.

He closed his eyes again and sat quite patiently for her as she smeared a glob of white onto his face and rubbed it into his beard. She suspected it was just because he liked being touched.

Turning it over in her hand she stared at the back of his jaw and slowly slid the blade down towards his chin. It was just a little scary because she was afraid that she might cut him with how sharp it was. A detail she had overlooked. She hadn't expected she would worry as much as she was.

She brushed her thumb over the smooth stripe of skin she left behind with the blade. She carefully brought the blade up again and made another just under that and before long she managed to shave one half of his face.

Taking a moment she surveyed his face. It was strange. It had been so long since she had last seen him without the scruff.

"Maybe I'll only do half and leave it like that..." She teased and watched the faint twitch at the corner of his mouth. The only indication of a smile.

She tilted her head to the side slightly and then reached to turn his face so she could do the other side. The more she did the more confident she was in her abilities until she reached the last of the scruff on his chin.

It was nice to see his face again, she mused. He looked perhaps ten years younger now that he wasn't buried under that bushy beard. Setting the blade aside she brought her other hand up to wipe away some of the stray shaving cream. It took a moment to realize he no longer had his eyes closed and was now watching her closely.

For some strange reason she found that that fire that seemed to burn in his eyes as he looked at her made her stomach twist in a strange way.

It was that feeling that led to her pressing her mouth against his. He made a little sound as he returned the kiss. Although sweet and gentle were not words she might have normally put in a sentence with him... that was exactly what his kiss was. It was only when air became a necessity that she broke from him, struggled to catch her breath. As if he'd stolen what was in her lungs away.

"Rey." It was the way he said her name that had her leaning into him to kiss him again, only this time much deeper.

She tasted both the aftershave and under that the faintest hint of the coffee he so much liked to drink to keep him going in the morning. She had tried it once... but spit it out... Ben had laughed and told her it was an acquired taste. Now she found when it was on his tongue that it wasn't nearly as terrible as she recalled.

Under that though there was the coppery taste of blood. It reminded her that he had been hurt. Reminded her of everything she'd tried to forget today. In the end that was more what made her pull away.

"You're hurt." She said softly, dropping her hands away from him.

"No... I'm fine..." He assured her as he inched forward, wanting nothing more than to kiss her again, but he noted that it didn't seem to be that he had some minor pains that was bothering. "What's really wrong?"

Rey hesitated though and he for the first time resorted to physical comforts by reached out to stoke his fingers down her cheek gently. It was strange for the both of them, because they didn't tend to show affection physically. Mostly because he put distance between them.

"I just... I was thinking... about... what almost happened."

While she initially wanted to put it behind her because nothing had actually happened it had still scared her. She certainly didn't want to let Ben know she was afraid.

Still it was enough that he immediately dropped his hand away from her because he feared that perhaps it was an uncomfortable reminder that a ruthless brute had put his hands on her.

"I took care of him... he can't hurt you."

"But there could always be someone else, right?"

"...No..." Though his words were clearly a strained lie. He knew just as well as she did that there would always be someone bad out there.

"What if it does happen?"

"I'll protect you." He reassured immediately.

"But what if it does?" She repeated her concern.

"Rey, I'm not going to let that happen." He absolutely would not let that happen. He was going to protect her. "You saw what I'll do to them. And it was my fault he got the upper hand... you had to deal with my pain... if you hadn't... you would have bested him yourself."

"If it does..." Rey continued, seeming to have ignored his words all together. "I would rather it be you."

There was a long drawn out silence between them as he tried to process her words.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Uhm..." He sat back a little and ran a hand through his hair with a nervous exhale. "Look... Rey... I... I know that what happened scared you, but I promise... I swear to you it will never happen again. It was just... a... a fluke."

"Ben..."

"Something... something like this you should only share it with someone... special. Someone that you trust. Someone you really love. I'm not..." He couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence. Couldn't admit aloud that she didn't love him.

The best thing he could do was stand up and make his way into the other room and turn on the shower. He needed to to just relax under some warm water... he couldn't stand to be around her now... it was too much.

Instead of thinking too much on it he turned, flipped the lid of the toilet up, leaned his arm on the wall and focused on trying to go. It was difficult and painful after that hit he'd taken and his face screwed up into a grimace... and though there was some relief it burned and he noted that there was a red tint to it.

"Haar'chak." He cursed under his breath in a foreigner language.

"We're not done yet." Rey said as she pushed the partially closed door open all the way and he let out another curse under his breath.

"Rey!" He scolded, hurrying to adjust things so she didn't get an eyeful of more than she bargained for by coming in here so abruptly.

"You're wrong." She still pressed on the subject even though she knew she caught him at a bad time, but in her defense he had left the door halfway open.

"I'm what?" Really he wasn't in the mood to fight with her. Especially not now. "D-does the unspoken rule of not barging in here not count all of a sudden?"

"You're wrong." Rey said again and once he was covered properly he turned around to face her with a huff.

"What? What am I wrong about?" No. He really wasn't in the mood for this.

"Everything-" Rey took a step forward, about to scold him further for the things he had said a moment ago that had been so far off base when she noticed the drops of blood on the floor and her gaze quickly lifted to the red tint to the water. "Ben, are you-"

"It's nothing." He slammed the lid shut so she couldn't see anymore.

"You're really hurt..."

"I'm fine." Again he brushed it off because the last thing he needed was her knowing how badly he was hurting. It would pass. He was sure of it. "What were you saying I was wrong about?"

She didn't answer. This time she had no words. She was more concerned that he was more hurt than he had let on. If she had been allowing herself to feel their bond a bit more she might have noticed, but she'd cut it off at some point for the sake of self-preservation.

Turning away she grabbed a cloth from the stand next to the towels and turned on the water as cold as she could get it and... when she finally turned back towards him she pressed a hand to his chest and forced him back to sit down on the closed lid.

Though she had a moments hesitation at this she curled the fingers of her other hand in the waist of his pants and pulled it back just enough to slip the cold cloth down then to where he needed it most. His reaction was to close his eyes and let out a breath of relief because the cold really did make it feel so much better.

It took a moment to register everything properly of course. He was tired and hurt. So while the cloth was very welcome to sooth the pain... it clicked suddenly in his mind that her hand was on him... touching him where he'd only ever dreamed of having her touch up until now... with only a thin, cold cloth between them.

"Anyway... you're wrong." Rey began again.

"About...?" His voice lowered considerably as he dropped a hand down over hers.

"In your assumption that you're not someone special to me." She answered while glancing down between them. "I do respect you. Ben, you're my whole world."

"Rey..." He was startled. Never in a million years had he thought that she might ever feel that way towards him.

"I love you." She admitted so quietly he almost didn't hear it. So quietly he knew that she second though this because she was afraid of what his answer might be.

"Sweetheart..." He tilted his chin up to kiss her, slow and lingering. "I love you. So much. I love you so, so much."

"Then why-" She didn't need to finish the question. He understood.

"Because I was afraid." He admitted softly. "You've always been so innocent... I didn't want to take that away from you. I've wanted to protect it. Even from myself. I'm the man... and it's my responsibility to take care of you."

"Why would it change anything?"

"It just does."

"Show me." Her request was met with a moment of silence. He was debating. Having an internal war with himself before realizing that it was really too late. They toed the line already.

"Come get cleaned up with me." He reached forward to unclip her belt and let it drop off to the side. "Okay?"

"Okay." It took her a moment to find her words. She swallowed with difficulty and helped him undress while he helped her.

It occurred to her that they had never seen one another completely undressed. He had always given her the privacy that she needed. It made her a little nervous now to think that there would be nothing to hide anymore.

She caught the edge of his shirt, nails scraping lightly across his abdomen and chest as she pulled it up over his head. She felt the faint shiver as her nails grazed his skin and made a mental note for later that he liked it.

Now it was her turn, although her clothing falling away revealed more than his and she moved to cross her arms to cover herself. He merely smiled at her, but didn't tell her that she couldn't. Instead he reached a hand up to her cheek and leaned in for another brief kiss.

"You're beautiful, Rey, but if you're nervous you don't have to show me everything. Not yet... but I hope you will later? Maybe when you're not so uneasy."

Maybe she took it as a challenge... she dropped her arms down, but reached forward for the waist of his pants, hesitated for a second, watched him tilt his head and then he placed his hands over hers to let her know he was hardly as embarrassed. In fact he seemed quite proud of himself. Almost arrogant as she tugged them downwards.

Except she grimaced as she saw him.

"You weren't kidding about being bruised."

"I have interests other than a little bruising." He curled his fingers into the remaining fabric covering her and finished undressing her as well.

He didn't seem nervous and so she warmed up to the idea of being undressed in front of him as he was with her.

From there he backed her up into the shower with him. The pleasantly warm water a result of a lot of hard work on a heater. With their combined efforts they had been able to provide themselves with a lot of luxuries they wouldn't have if they didn't have each other.

Reaching past her he grabbed a jar of shampoo and gathered some into his palm before reached up to run it through her hair with his fingers. It was soothing to have him taking care of her like this. He used to wash her hair for her when she was little, but eventually stopped as she grew older. He had tried very hard to keep things appropriate between them... perhaps a little too hard.

As much as he joked about Luke coddling her... it was Ben that coddled her. She'd been having strange feelings for him for years since she became a woman and she hadn't understood what they were. He hadn't explained them to her. Not until just the other day and all because he wanted her to stay an innocent little girl. Not corrupted by the world.

"Why... aren't you nervous at all?" She asked closing her eyes as he rinsed the soap from her hair.

"Who said I'm not?" He answered her question with another question. It would be a lie if he said he wasn't nervous. It was just that he had so much practice hiding what he was feeling. In reality he was terrified.

As he finished rinsing her hair he made sure to brush any loose strands from her face and that was when she peeked an eye open to make sure he was done.

"You? You're afraid?" She almost didn't believe it, but he reached down for her hand and lifted it to place against his chest, near his heart. She felt the speedy pound beneath her palm and realized he wasn't just saying it. He was scared too.

It was her turn to reach for the jar to gather up a glob of shampoo and reached up to smooth it into his hair. One corner of his mouth turned upwards and she realized how much she truly loved that crooked smile of his. How much she loved him.

"Mmm." The little rumble of sound escaped him as he lowered his chin for her to reach better.

"Big loth-cat." She couldn't help, but to smile in return as she teased him. Though he really didn't seem to mind. There was no word of complaint as she initially thought there might be when she made the comment. "You're just going to take that?"

"Mmmhmm." He let out a little content sigh as she started to rinse the soap away, lightly scraping her nails through his hair.

Once he was sure it was all out and his eyes were in no danger he opened them for a second to gauge distance before leaning forward to kiss her, but... she turned her head to the side with a sound he was quite sure was a mischievous little giggle and escaped the shower to snatch up a towel and leave him there.

"Rey..." He turned the water off and stepped out, only to be hit in the face with a towel. It made him let out a little huff as he pulled it down from his face and used it to dry off, but he followed her out only to find her in his bed.

He dropped to sit next to her, only to change the air between them as he buried his face in the side of her neck to press as many kisses into the skin as she'd let him get away with. She let him get away with more than he expected she was going to. He would take whatever she would give to him.

It seemed she was willing to give it all and so he teased her with little nips and brief, soothing licks over the bites he left behind. He wanted to mark her. To let everyone know that she belong to him.

Rey didn't mind at all... she entangled her fingers in his hair and tilted her head back to allow him all the space he wanted to work with. She felt his hands drop down to her thighs, press one off to the side so that he could move between them. That startled her, but it was what she had asked for.

"You sure you want to do this, sweetheart?" He asked, gently stroking his fingers down along hip... the outside of her thigh... to her knee. It wasn't a matter of being ready. She was more than ready. He could feel she was, but he needed to ask.

"Yes." There was a slight shake to her voice, but she was sure of what she wanted. So he pressed her back into his pillows, pulled the blanket partially over them and in general tried to make everything as pleasant for her as possible.

"Comfortable?"

"Mmhm." She reached up to stroke her fingers along his jawline as she stared up at him with adoration. He was really trying to see to her needs... taking care of her... just as he'd always done. She didn't care what anyone else said. Ben was a good man.

He was still taking some time and as she trailed her fingers over his chin she traced back up the other side of his jaw where the sunset cast an orange glow over his skin. She wondered how he had resisted for so long when he had clearly wanted her just as badly.

She supposed that this was bound to happen sooner or later... them giving into their feelings... the truth wasn't something that could stay hidden forever.

"Are you sure?" She hadn't thought to ask. He was the one that was hurt and she didn't want to hurt him further. "You're still hurt."

"Rey," He deadpanned. "I could break every bone in my body and still want you... and... somehow find a way to make it work."

"Of course you would..." It was hard not to smile at his dry sense of humor. Not a lot of people tended to get it, but she could always pick up on it.

"No more games, okay?"

"Okay."

She knew they were beyond games... beyond talk... beyond teasing. He was running low on patients. He had waited for so long after all. He shifted between her thighs, pressed forward and his lips parted on a low exhale.

He looked surprised. Surprised because as much as he had dreamed about it he had never thought it could possibly feel this good.

"Oh." He breathed and something along the lines of a deep, groan rumbled in his chest. That sound that came out of him did something to her insides that she couldn't explain, but despite that it still burned. It burned in a strange way she couldn't exactly describe, but he was pressing forward still and she quickly pressed her hand against his lower stomach to stop him. It made him freeze... made him realized she was in pain."I'm sorry... do... do you want me to stop?"

"No... no I just need a minute..."

"It hurts?"

"Sort of..." She didn't quite want to say it hurt, because while it did... it also didn't. Maybe she couldn't accurately describe because she was torn between it hurting and feeling good. He leaned in to press more lingering kisses into her neck, up along her cheek. To sooth and distract her she suspected. "Why did you... does it feel good?"

"Yes." His answer was so simple... perhaps a little strain in his tone. He was being so patient and here she was digging her nails into his belly to keep him from moving. She very carefully drew her hand away.

"Okay."

"Okay?" He waited just a moment longer before he started slowly rocking into her It was clear he was in no rush to finish this. He wanted to take his time with her. He kissed her gently here and there, reached up to stroke fingers along her cheek. Everything that he did with her was gentle. For a time at least.

She could only watch his face as he moved, though once or twice curiosity got the best of her and she glanced between them. It was not at all what she had expected, but this closeness she enjoyed. It was good. So worth waiting. She knew that if it were with anyone else... someone she had no feelings for it couldn't be nearly this good.

"Ben..." She whispered, voice breathy and breath heated as she stroked her fingers through his hair. "I love you."

He licked his lips, leaned his face closer to hers and rested his forehead against hers, turning slightly so his nose brushed hers lightly.

"I love you... so much..." Though he paused and shifted. He knew that he was... off so to speak... that it wasn't as good for her as it could be and so he moved again, changed the angle a bit... tried to learn what was best for her. "Tell me if this is better..."

Neither of them were experienced, had no idea what they were doing, but he was trying.

Her hand slid down from his hair to his shoulder and her nails dug into the muscle there as a little gasp escaped her. She wasn't sure what it was he had done, but things changed... felt a lot better. If she thought it was good before that was nothing compared to now.

"Yes."

"Yes?" He asked with a faint smile, leaning further over her as he increased the pace. He turned his face towards hers. He pressed as many sloppy kisses into her cheek as he could manage. As many as she would allow.

She quickly shifted under him, brought her knee up, knocked him hard in the ribs with how suddenly she moved, but it didn't seem to sway him or change anything. Rather he reached down to press his hand against the outside of her thigh and keep her there. He loved having her curled around him, but he noticed the way that she shook against him and lifted his head to meet her eyes.

"You're trembling... does it feel that good or are you afraid?"

"A little of both." Of course she was scared of all of this. Ben was huge... massive above her and it both terrified and comforted her that he completely engulfed her, but she knew that he was afraid too. All she could really do was hold him as close as he held her.

Regardless of the fear of the unknown she loved him and that outweighed everything. She loved this man. It had never been more clear to her than now. Now when he was so close that his breath mingled with hers... when he exhaled and she breathed in the very breath that he had breathed... that had been deep within his lungs. When he breathed in hers. When his chest was against hers and his heart was right there... right there beating wildly beside her own.

There was something building between them now and she wasn't sure what it was. It washed over her, made her muscles tense and tighten and then completely loosen and relax and even draw out a sound from her she never expected to have made. Whatever it was she knew he felt it too because he pressed as close to her as possible with a low, breathy gasp.

She didn't move for some time nor did he... neither really made an effort to. Though she knew it hadn't last quite so long she still felt... almost exhausted and somehow rested. It was a very strange feeling.

After some time she brushed a hand over his ribs and shifted under him. He twisted away from the touch then and she tried to look at his face, but it was hidden away in her shoulder... that place he seemed to like to lazily press kisses into...

"Are you ticklish?"

"NO." He answered, long and drawn out and then she did it again and he had the same reaction. "Yes."

Though at first neither said anything they both broke out into a sort of easy laughter and he pressed a few more lazy kisses to her cheek and down her chin, up to the corner of her mouth where she turned to meet his kiss.

"Does this mean I can sleep with you again?"

"Mmm... yes." Again he cracked a smile and both shared a small bout of laughter.

She lifted her hand to his face again, brushed the tips of her fingers over his chin and watched the way he smiled. She had never seen Ben so happy before, but in all honesty she had never been so happy before either.

Though she watched his smile change as his hand brushed right over her ribs and she flinched in on herself and heard that little sound, something like laughter.

"Quit it!" She shoved his hands away -completely unable to hide the laughter in her own voice- held them tightly in hers to keep him from doing it again.

"You're ticklish too..." He teased and she suspected she couldn't wipe that smile off with a mop. "I'm so in love with you..."

"I know... and you know..." Rey only shook her head. It was obvious. He hardly needed to say so at this point... nor did she. He knew she loved him. She lifted his hand to her mouth and pressed her own kiss against his knuckles. She felt him shift around slightly, just enough to get them onto their sides, but not far away from one another. She never thought him to be the type to cuddle, but here he was, curling up as close to her as he could get.

For once... Rey realized as she drifted off with him... that she truly didn't care if Luke never came back for them. Forget Luke. Forget the academy... forget parents who abandoned their children... forget the world... all they needed was each other.

This was true happiness.

TBC?

A/N: I struggled to get this chapter up not only because I wanted to get it up as quickly as I could because I wanted it up before TLJ, but also because of the sex scene. Most reylo sex scenes tend to be purely smut... not a lot of feeling and so I wanted to contribute something that was more... intimate and purposely awkward for a first time. I've never done this before so I hope that it comes across the way I intended.

As for the future of this fic... depending on how TLJ goes I may or may not continue this. It was why I decided to leave this chapter on a pleasant note and have it much longer than my others. Good luck my fellow reylos and may the force be with our ship.