Chapter 10

"That is the worst idea I have ever heard," Finn said after Rey finished explaining the bargain she had made with Ben.

"I don't know. It's not a bad deal for us. All we have to do is try to be pleasant with him while Rey likely gets more information about the First Order than we could dream of obtaining through the usual spies," Poe said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Unless he uses it to plant bad intelligence and leads us all into a trap," Rose pointed out. "Also, didn't someone mention that he could leave detonators through the bond? Are we just going to ignore that?"

"He wouldn't do that," Rey said, slightly annoyed at her friends despite understanding their skepticism. "Besides, that's why I'm asking you to come with me. I still need to build a new lightsaber. I'm just asking for you to come with me, and while we're away from the Resistance anyway, give Ben a chance. He's really not that bad."

"Umm, yea, he is," Finn said.

"I have to agree with Finn on this one. Kylo Ren, Ben Solo, whatever you want to call him... he's pretty bad," Poe said. "However, I'm willing to take the chance to see if this works."

"You mean you're willing to sit back and let us risk our lives exposing ourselves to that monster?" Finn said, raising an eyebrow at Poe.

Poe laughed. "Not at all. I'm coming with you." Finn, Rey, and Rose were all silenced by shock. Poe looked around at them and shrugged. "Come on, it's a diplomatic mission that could change the fate of everyone we know. You didn't really think I was going to let you have all the fun without me, did you?"

"But, but… who will lead the Resistance?" Finn asked.

"Kaydel's well-suited to gather resources and continue the search for pockets of Resistance supporters without me. Besides, someone has to keep you out of trouble, Finn," Poe teased. Finn stood up and gave Poe a firm hug, which Poe readily returned. "I love you, buddy," Poe said, patting Finn hard on the back.

"I love you too, man," Finn said.

Rey and Rose glanced at each other, neither sure what to make of the bromance before them. "Well, does that mean we're doing this?" Rey asked. "Are you all coming?"

"If Poe's in, I'm in," Finn said, stepping back from Poe to face Rey, but with his arm around Poe's shoulders still.

"I said it before. I'm not leaving Finn's side," Rose said. "I'm in."

"We're here for you, Rey," Poe said. "Besides, I suspect you'll need my help. You may have caught his attention with the force and this whole bond thing, but I know a thing or two about guys and how to keep their attention without giving them what they want."

Rey's jaw dropped as she stared at Poe with disturbed confusion. "What do you think he wants from me?" she asked.

"And what do you mean by knowing about how to keep the attention of guys?" Rose asked, now looking considerably less comfortable about how close Finn and Poe were.

Finn's eyes were wide too. "Yea, you into guys, Poe?" he asked, but he didn't remove his arm from Poe either.

Poe shrugged. "Would you like to find out?" he asked Finn in a husky voice with a raised eyebrow and lopsided grin that caused Finn to jump back and both Rose and Rey to blush deeply. He chuckled at their reactions. "I won't speak to my personal interests, but I've taken on a few unusual roles over the years when gathering intelligence. Like I said, I know a thing or two, and I suspect Rey will need advice from someone with experience before long."

"Who says I'm not experienced? I'm plenty experienced. I can give experience," Finn protested.

"I thought stormtroopers weren't allowed to have any personal relations," Rose said. "It was one of the things General Organa used to list for reasons why the First Order needed to be stopped." Finn glared at Rose, and she shrugged and smiled at him. "It's okay. I don't mind being the one to teach you."

Poe coughed to cover a laugh at Finn's flabbergasted reaction, and Rey bit back a smile herself before speaking. "I'm glad I won't have to go alone. We'll need money to cover our transport though. I can scavenge his mask. It would have been worth at least a month's rations back on Jakku, but I don't know how that translates to credits…"

"It may be too dangerous to sell intact, Rey. He could learn our location if news of the sale spreads, which it's bound to," Poe said. "Better to dismantle it and sell the parts, even if it earns us less money."

"I suppose," Rey said. She did not care for the mask itself, and yet it was something Ben had given her. "Or I could offer my services repairing ships," she said as she considered that there were other opportunities than scavenging for her now.

"I could help with that," Rose said.

Poe shook his head. "We'll sort it out tomorrow. I think the Resistance has enough saved up to pay for our shuttle to Coruscant, and there will be countless opportunities there, including possibly selling the mask intact. Even if he knew to head to Coruscant, it would be next to impossible for him to find us. There are trillions of people living there." He snapped his fingers and grinned. "This could work, and we could get the money to get Rey a better wardrobe while we're there too."

Rey frowned at him. "What for?"

"To seduce the Supreme Leader, of course. What else?" Poe said and waggled his eyebrows at her. "We'll have him eating out of the palm of your hand in no time."

"I really don't think I'm comfortable with that," Rey said. "I didn't come up with this plan to seduce him. I came up with it to find a way to end this war with peace." She did not volunteer that saving her friendship with Ben had been an even more substantial motivation.

Poe chuckled. "Trust me. This is for the best. I need to fill Kaydel in on what's going on and what her new responsibilities will be. We'll leave on the first shuttle out tomorrow. Come on, Finn, Poe. Let's let the Jedi get her beauty sleep. She's going to save the galaxy with her pretty face, after all."

"Night, Rey," Rose said before leaving. Finn offered her a salute before he left, though he was obviously unhappy about the whole situation.

The door buzzed indicating it was locked again, and Rey shook her head in frustration. She should be happy that they were cooperating at all, but it was clear they were just planning to take advantage of the situation rather than truly get to know the real Ben Solo, the one she saw.

"New clothes?" she muttered to herself. "I don't need new clothes."

She ate her dinner rations in silence and curled up in the pile of blankets that served as her bed. "Seduce him, really?" she said. The whole concept was foreign to her. She did not seduce people. Even friendships were still a relatively new thing, and while she supposed she felt more for Ben than friendship explained, that didn't mean she planned to seduce him.

The force stretched around her as her thoughts kept circling to Ben, and they were connected once again. He was resting, his broad chest mercifully covered by a blanket as he faced away from her a foot in front of her.

"Are you… in bed with me?" Ben asked, looking over his shoulder at her. He looked mystified, though not displeased. Rey blushed, but it wasn't like she had planned for the force to bring them together like this.

"Sorry, I was down for the night. I didn't expect this to happen," she said.

He smiled at her. "You were thinking of me?"

Rey huffed and rolled on her back to stare at the ceiling of the cargo bay-and not him. "I had just finished discussing our plans with my friends in the Resistance, so yes, you were on my mind."

Ben was silent a moment. "I expect they were quite eager to play along so that you could spy for them," he finally said.

Rey blushed that Ben saw through her friends' plans so easily. "They'll come around."

Ben leaned up on one elbow next to her, his chest just inches from her own, and she felt reality ripple around her as the blanket covering him sometimes covered her as well and sometimes was not there at all. Even the floor beneath her sometimes felt more like a mattress as he gazed down upon her. She half-expected him to kiss her, though she wasn't sure if she desired or feared it more. Her focus moved from his eyes down to his mouth, and she wondered what it would be like to be kissed.

Her mind was so engrossed in his lips that his next question took her completely by surprise. "You don't change your clothes to sleep?"

Rey startled and rolled to face away from him, embarrassed of where her mind had been heading and that he had not been thinking the same thing at all. "What is everyone's obsession with what I am wearing? I'm a scavenger, or I was one. The rare times I found extra clothes, I sold them to eat. One outfit is plenty."

She felt Ben reach out and tuck a loose hair behind her ear, and she turned back to face him. "Allow me to indulge you, and you will never want for anything again," Ben said.

Rey took a moment to translate his words. "You want to buy me pajamas?" Rey asked with no small amount of skepticism.

"It would be my pleasure," he responded seriously.

Rey sighed and faced away from him again, curling up on her side. She felt ridiculous even considering accepting his offer, but she supposed something to wear while she washed her regular outfit was not a bad thing, and she could always sell the gifts later if they needed more money. Feeling guilty just considering it, she blurted out. "I might just scavenge them too."

A pause, and then behind her Ben said, "I'll accept the risk." He traced his finger down her arm over the blanket, and though the blanket separated his finger from her skin, a trail of goosebumps rose along her arm in response. Rey's heart pounded in her chest, wondering what he might do next and if she should end the connection or allow the unexpected intimacy to continue.

Ben removed his hand from her and took a deep, ragged breath behind her. "Your presence… soothes me. May we stay like this?" he asked. She paused to think about it, then nodded slightly, as if afraid to admit it even to herself.

Ben sighed relief behind her and reached out to rest one hand against the nape of her neck, as if to reassure himself that she was there. She felt that the drumming of her heartbeat would never let her rest, but either Ben did something or exhaustion won her over, because next thing she knew, it was morning and Ben was gone.

However, he had not left her empty-handed. A colorful pile of new clothes was draped over her and a credit chip had been placed in her hand. Rey felt dazed as she looked from the chip to the assortment of random, but obviously expensive, clothing. "I'm a long way from Jakku," she muttered, eyes wide and shocked.

Another day, another chapter. Might need to take a break tomorrow night though to catch up on rest. We'll see!

As always, like it, love it, hate it, leave it, please review if you have any thoughts!