Author's Notes…

Short chapter! The next few may be, as well. Have a lot of stuff going on with work, and little personal time until the weekend, but I don't want to let you guys down! I also don't want to get burnt out, lol. You guys are so awesome, I can't say it enough!

The Bond That Ties Us

Chapter Ten

And I Found Love Where It Wasn't Supposed to Be

And I'll use you as a makeshift gauge,

Of how much to give and how much to take,

I'll use you as a warning sign,

That if you talk enough sense, then you'll lose your mind

-I Found, Amber Run

Rey and Ben sat on the bed with their backs against the wall. Neither one of them said anything as they watched dust motes swirling cheerfully in a beam of sunlight. It was possibly the quietest they had ever been in one another's presence.

Rey knew that on her end, she'd never before awoken to a man in her bed. Well, technically it was his bed, though that didn't matter for this example. She'd been so warm tucked against his chest, their legs tangled together as she listened to him breathe. He didn't snore, so that was nice. No, he just… he'd looked so peaceful, with no cares in the world.

Ben pulled a leg to his chest and wrapped his arm around his knee. "We should get food. I haven't been here in a fairly long time, so there isn't anything in the cottage. There's a market down the hill. We can go there."

She twiddled her thumbs for a moment. Ben tensed beside her, ever impatient, anticipating gods knew what. "How do you have this home?" It was a question that had been weighing on her mind.

He thunked his head back against the wall and sighed. Loudly. "Do we need to discuss this now?"

He was such a child!

"We've got all the time in the world, don't we?" she retorted with a bite of heat.

"I am the Supreme Leader—"

"Of the First Order, yes." Sarcasm hung heavy on every word that she managed to get out through clenched teeth. "I am perfectly aware."

Honestly.

"Then you should know I'm unable to stay here for much longer."

Rey frowned. "Was that your plan? Seduce me with darkness, and then whisk me away to the First Order?"

His silence was extremely telling and more than a little aggravating.

She shifted so that she was facing him. "You really don't know me at all, do you?"

Ben turned his head without lifting it from the wall. Iciness exuded from his next words. "You told me you would try."

If he made that statement one more time, she wasn't sure she'd be able to resist walloping him over the head with the nearest heavy object. Was that all the man thought about, this perceived slight? If she had a credit for every time he…

"Yes," she huffed. "But not on some battleship, surrounded by people who would sooner murder me than—"

He leaned in until their faces were scant inches apart. Her breath caught at the close proximity, and he didn't waste a moment in sliding a hand over her ribs.

"No one will ever lay a finger on you," he said so fiercely that her heart skipped a bit.

Blast. Then he had to go and say that.

She kissed him, curling her fingers in that clingy shirt. He tensed once more, just for a moment, and she wondered if he would push her away. But then his lips softened against hers, and his hand came to rest at the small of her back. His mouth parted beneath hers, and she took great pleasure in learning it again.

A soft moan escaped her. His arms snaked around her waist and pulled her even closer, and she slipped her arms over his shoulders. His body was hard and taut from training, and it was a line of heat against her own.

This wasn't a dream where he could slip in and catch her unawares. This was real… very real.

"You learn fast," Ben murmured. His hands ran up the length of her back, all the more sensual because it was still exposed to the elements. "Rey… Become my apprentice. Let me teach you what I know."

"The last time you made that offer, I put that scar on your face." She touched it now, tracing a fingertip over the length of it.

"You're powerful." His eyes were a shade darker, turned almost black. "It's why I want you by my side."

Rey soothed a small curl off his cheek. "Not because you love me?"

Now he couldn't look at her. "I don't know what love is anymore."

"That's not true."

He fell onto his back, his hands closing over her hips and staying there. "How would you know?"

"Because I know you."

It was his turn to scoff. "You only know what I allow you to see."

Rey inclined her head to the side. "But that's exactly what you allowed me to see."

"I did not—"

"You did. Why else would you be so determined?"

"Because you—"

"Is it so terrible to love me? There's nothing in the darkness that's against it." Why was he being so stubborn about this? Was he so desperate to have the upper hand that he would sacrifice everything, even his own emotions?

"No, but it is a weakness." He spat the word like he'd tasted something foul.

"Or a strength. You've seen what we can do without love. Imagine what we could do with it."

Ben gave a dismissive roll of his eyes. She could tell it wasn't heartfelt. He knew she was making sense. He just didn't want to admit it.

"Loving me isn't about saving you. There are dark sides to love, too. Passion… possession… obsession…"

He sat up at this, anger leaping straight across his face. "I do not obsess."

It took work to remain impassive. She borrowed a page from his book on the topic, keeping her face as still as possible. When Ben wasn't in a snit, his calm façade was unnerving. She only hoped she could return the favor.

"I never said you did," she replied.

"It was implied," he snapped.

"Was it?"

A heartbeat passed.

All the anger fell away from Ben's expression, and Rey knew to be on her guard. That was never a good sign. Rey always got the impression of a pole-snake waiting for her to make a mistake so that he could strike at her like she was a skitter-mouse. Small and vulnerable, never a threat.

"And if I were to 'admit' I love you?"

"Then we would be together." Despite the sensors in her body demanding caution, she had no problem conceding this. Not after last night. Not now that she knew without a doubt that she could save him.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She'd never really seen him be so tender before, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. "Why are you so confident? What are you planning?"

"Nothing," she whispered.

"You're a poor liar, scavenger. But I'll bite." His hand slid over her ear to cup the back of her head. He pulled her forward into a kiss that never seemed to end, each one blending into another. "Admit that you love me, and I'll play your game."

Rey's mouth ran dry. She had to swallow several times before she could speak. All she could think about was the dream they'd shared, where she had said it the first time, oblivious to the fact that it was real.

"I love you," she half-whispered.

Something flickered behind his eyes. Shock? "You mean it."

Rey dropped her gaze. It felt like her very insides were trembling, but at least her nerves weren't showing outwardly. "Yes."

Ben's lips caught hers with near bruising force. "I won't let you take it back."

"I'm not asking you to—" She trailed off with a sharp gasp as his lips met her exposed throat. Darkness tumbled into her. It wasn't cold, but hot, burning her up as it seesawed through her. She barely recognized the noise that escaped her throat. It belonged to that reflection she'd seen in the mirror.

But it wasn't really darkness, was it? It was everything he was feeling, channeling into her. It contrasted with the soft, slow kisses he was treating her neck with.

"I love you," he murmured.

Rey shivered. She hadn't known having the words returned would matter to her so much. She'd never spoken them to anyone—she'd never heard them said to her. It was a thrill in and of itself, leaving her lightheaded and grinning a little stupidly.

"And what was your plan from there?" His teeth worried her skin.

"Um," she breathed. "To let you use the dark side on me."

His head lifted. "You know I'll be able to discover what I want if I do."

"I know."

Rey wasn't concerned. If he probed too deep, her inner light would be too much for him with how he was now. And by the time he could handle it, it wouldn't matter anymore.

His instincts were telling him not to trust her. She could see it in his eyes. She could also see the seed she'd planted the night before, working furiously at making him doubt himself.

"We will," he said at length. "But… I want it to be—" He struggled with the right words and settled on, "Special."

She nodded. "Okay… "

He kissed her and then rose to his knees, his arms secured around her as he stepped off the bed. He didn't even fumble. It was making her feel incredibly light.

"We'll go to the village," he said.

"For food?"

"And clothes."

She blinked at him.

"I assume you don't want to remain in that dress?"

"Oh!" She laughed, and the sound startled her. It really wasn't something she did often. "I don't."

Ben nodded and set her on her feet. "Do you want to wash up?"

A bath sounded phenomenal. "Will you come with me?"

He gave her a sharp glance.

Despite herself, red seeped into her cheeks. "Unless you don't want to?"

"I do." He hummed in thought. "We'll… come back to the bath." He reached out and grabbed his vest from the chair he'd tossed it over. His clothing was wrinkled from sleeping in it, not that he seemed to mind.

Rey unwove the braid out of her hair as he sat on the edge of the bed to pull on his boots. She tugged it all back into a simple ponytail and glanced over her dress. It was also a little wrinkled, but not in any ground-breaking way. The sandals, she tied on quickly.

"These people have no idea you're Kylo Ren?"

He grunted.

"Or Ben Solo?"

He tightened his laces.

Okay…

"So what do they know you as?"

Ben ran his fingers through his hair as he stood up. "You ask a lot of questions."

"And I've got loads more."

"…I'll answer some of them during the bath." He looked like he wanted to say more, and his eyes lingered over her. Was he thinking ahead to the bath…? "Let's go."

He took off for the door. She caught up with him and grabbed at his hand. She wasn't sure what he'd do, and she didn't care. For just that moment, she wanted to be close to him.

He was still looking straight ahead when he laced their fingers together and guided them outside.