Disclaimer: I own nothing here, roger roger.
Point of Light
AN: How about that new pic of Daisy, John and Oscar hugging? My only questions is, where is Adam?! O_O ...I'm not taking that as a sign that Kylo dies at the end... I'm not. No. Just, no.
Warning: This chapter launches the fluff train. If you are allergic to fluff or have any known side effects, turn back now! xD Enjoy and try not to die of overexposure!
Chapter Twenty One – Torment
Zeroes yawned grandly as he eased down into the holo-chess booth and fixed his fellow trooper with a bleary eyed stare. He had to keep reminding himself that he wasn't sleepwalking. "Start talking Eina. And this had better be worth my sleep deprivation or I won't be slipping you my daily portion of muja fruit anymore."
Eina had been tinkering with the chess game before he arrived but she quickly turned her focus on him with an vibrant smirk. She was clearly not on the same sleeping schedule as him, nor were the handful of other soldiers currently loitering around in the rec room. "Oh it is, but now I have even more interesting information." She leaned forward to talk covertly despite the others in the expansive chamber lazing about way out of earshot.
"Go on," Zeroes prompted, feeling impatient for her to get on with her explanation. He made an absent move on the chess board to stave off any unwanted suspicion, just in case someone was watching their private exchange.
"Well, you know how I like to slice into private com channels for fun-?" Eina began, only for Zeroes to cut her off irritably.
"Yes Eina, the whole squad knows about your... hobby. Go on."
"Something strange within the Order is happening..." Eina murmured, her tone unusually dark and hesitant. "I've overheard some officers giving... odd orders, and only to certain individuals."
"Strange? Odd?" Zeroes repeated with a quirked brow. "What do you mean exactly?" It wasn't unusual for commanding officers to give orders in a coded message to confuse eavesdroppers like Eina and the wordage was often odd or even silly, therefore the fact that she considered it strange was a bit ridiculous. "How so?"
The female trooper hesitated, her gaze drifting briefly, as if the words she were about to speak were almost too dangerous to even think, much less voice aloud. "As in, that attack on you and Supreme Leader's apprentice? It was not an isolated case."
Zeroes hardened his expression at her, suddenly wide awake. If he understood her correctly, the orders she spoke of were of a treasonous sort. "You mean, it could happen again?"
"Not could," Eina corrected him direly. "The amount of chatter I've come across suggests it's only a matter of time before something big goes down. And after what I heard today... It's going to be sooner than later."
Zeroes was growing tired of her baiting, though he fought off the urge to snap and settled for an impatient sigh instead. "And what did you hear today?"
Eina lowered her voice again, as if she suspected a listening device had been placed nearby. "That this supposed coup leads straight to the top."
Zeroes blinked at her, astonished and bewildered and he found himself whispering covertly as well. "Hux?"
Eina gave him a piercing, sober stare. "Soon, we will all have to choose a side." She sat back and crossed her arms in front of her to smirk knowingly. "But somehow I get the feeling you've already chosen a side for our squad."
Zeroes dropped his gaze to the chess board, the game entirely forgotten, and yet, it gave him an idea. The first lesson of Dejarik was the concept of thinking a few steps ahead... He looked back to his fellow trooper. "Say, Eina, how do you suppose the rest of the squad would feel about a little espionage?"
Eina flashed a toothy grin; apparently having finally heard what she had been anxiously anticipating. "I'd say we could all use a little more excitement in our impeccably scheduled, mundane lives."
Rey was no stranger to abdominal pain, in fact over the years she had simply accepted it as a fact of life, but Sarla hadn't been kidding when she mentioned the pain might be worse for the first few hours after receiving the stim. The cramping torment was nearly unbearable, having coupled itself with a terrible nausea, and if she had to make one more trip to the fresher after her current venture then she was going to simply opt to camp there and sleep on the cold floor; she had slept in worse conditions, after all.
Drawing herself up as best she could, Rey exited the fresher and made for her room with a determined scowl. She had to consciously ignore Ben's concerned gaze from his place in one of the plush reclining chairs off to the left. He had been considerably more subdued from his probing questions after he had consulted his datapad earlier, presumably having educated himself about her "condition" and was clearly balking at how to approach the situation to which he found himself.
Rey certainly wasn't expecting him to instigate a conversation. "Rey," he called and she paused, though it took every fiber of her willpower not to crumple and double over in pain right where she stood. "Come here."
"Ben," she grumbled miserably. "Now really isn't the best time for a discussion."
"Please," Ben said as he reached out his left hand, palm up.
Rey sighed in defeat at his unfair tactic; she couldn't deny that supplication and he knew it. She crossed over to him reluctantly.
"You're in pain," he noted but he didn't get up as she approached.
Rey blinked at him in surprise. "You can feel it?"
"No," he answered plainly and set his datapad aside. "You're expression and posture gave it away."
"Oh." She paused beside him and gingerly slipped her hand into his, tipping her head in astonishment as her pain slowly began to ebb. "How-?"
Ben had closed his eyes briefly in concentration but was wincing when he opened them to regard her. "That is... unpleasant."
"Ben, what are you doing?" Rey asked pressingly, concerned when he groaned and doubled forward slightly.
"I'm channeling our connection through the Force to split the pain with you," he said and added through a strained humor, "though I'll admit, I'm beginning to regret it."
"You... You don't have to do this..." Rey was almost afraid to accept this form of salvation, as if it were simply too good to be true.
"It's fine," he replied with a rare and genuine softness. "I want to help. Just, give me a minute to equalize it." The Force seemed to wreath around them like a sentient mist, pulsing and alive and comforting. Ben met her gaze again, exertion clear on his features as he balanced out the shared pain. "There. Is that... bearable?"
"Yes," Rey replied with a nod and barely resisted the tendency to sigh in relief. The tormenting pain had dulled to a rolling ache and she had to wonder just how much he was siphoning from her, or if maybe a portion of it was somehow mercifully lost between them. She gave him an uncertain look. "But... now what?" This new element to their connection had obviously required physical contact and she doubted he could keep it going if she stepped away, much less if she retreated to her room.
"I leave that up to you," Ben replied as he raised his other arm in a silent invitation. "You're the one that suffers if you move away."
Rey considered her options briefly. She could head back to her room and take her agony with her, or she could take him up on his offer and squeeze into his spacious recliner with him. A third option came to mind as if he had projected it at her and she scrutinized him suspiciously before rolling her eyes. "Another ploy to bed me for the night."
Ben smirked slightly in response, conversely different to the first time she had accused him of such an offense. "A goal, perhaps."
"You admit it so casually."
"I'm an opportunist," he said with a shrug. "And unlike you, I generally don't deny my desires."
"And what exactly would those be right now?"
"To keep you comfortable," Ben replied as he gently pulled her closer. "To help you weather this... trial, however long it takes."
Rey didn't resist his coaxing but eventually gave way and eased herself onto the chair with him, wedging herself partially in the empty space beside him and partially in his lap. She felt drawn to the heat of him, not realizing how chilled she was until his arms encircled her with a blanket that he summoned from his bed. She settled her head against his shoulder and molded to him, succumbing fully to his persuasions as they both shifted to find the most comfortable positions in the tight space.
Once they found a compromise, Rey sighed with relief as her pain eased even more, as if their proximity channeled more of it into the space around them instead of between them. She allowed herself to nestle into a contented state, feeling both warm and safe in his hold. It suddenly seemed so puzzling why she would have ever resisted this outcome at all.
"Feel better?"
"Hm." Rey closed her eyes as a welcome sleepiness stalked around her mind and body.
"Your articulate abilities are astounding." His voice, though kept to a low murmur, was like thunder against her head, his amusement pulsing through the Force like a foreign, pleasurable wave.
"It's quiet time now, Ben," she told him, making it a point to line her annoyed tone with plenty of humor. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy feeling his voice, but she was practically pain-free now and she had an undeniable urge to sleep while she had the chance.
He huffed at her but didn't reply for a long moment. Rey was just starting to drift off when she felt his imprint in the Force suddenly pivot into a brooding despair as he clutched at her a little tighter and nuzzled into her hair. "Ben?" she prodded worriedly. "What's wrong?"
He let out a great sigh into the crown of her head, as if releasing the notion of hiding his mental distress from her. "I can't remember the last time I was so scared."
Scared? Rey wondered incredulously. What was he talking about?... Oh. Realization dawned on her slowly and she could only blame her tired mind for it. The bomb. The fainting. She wanted to give him a sympathetic look but he was holding her head in place, almost desperately.
"Ben," she sighed out wearily and snuggled into the crook of his neck consolingly. Her concerns about his fear and violent tendencies came back to her mind, but she didn't think now was the best time to address the matter, instead choosing to comfort and reassure him in the hopes of calming his roiling emotions. "I'm right here. Stop dreading whatever didn't happen." She smiled wryly at her next comment and nudged his head with her own, projecting her own contentment at him. "Let the past die already."
His hold gradually eased and he chuffed in response before placing a tender kiss on her forehead. "Alright sweetheart. You win." His emotions seemed to level out exponentially, projecting mischief back at her as he moved to nuzzle her ear and neck, sending an electric thrill down her spine and eliciting an uncharacteristic giggle out of her.
"Hey!" she yelped and thumped his chest with one hand in a halfhearted retaliation. "What did I say about quiet time?"
Ben was hardly dissuaded. He kissed the edge of her jawline lightly and Rey felt him smile and the brush of his lips as he spoke warmly against her skin. "I can be quiet." The contact coupled with his thrumming tone sparked a different kind of pang in her core and she had to grit her teeth to resist any type of reciprocation.
Stubbornly, she resisted his seductive ploy, his suggestion not lost on her as she pushed away from him long enough to give him a stern look. "You know what I mean." Idly, she wondered how he was able to concentrate and keep a hold of their pain-link despite being so distracted.
"Yes, I do," Ben grumbled back and shifted his posture to relent his affections. He seemed somewhat perturbed at first but grew content enough when she eased back into his embrace again. "Sleep then." With his arms bordering the cocoon of her blanket, he picked up his datapad again and resumed whatever he was working on before the interruption.
Tipping her head curiously at the small screen, Rey wasn't at all surprised to see a deluge of information laid out in an organized grid. It looked like a chart with names of planets and systems with various statistics and resources listed, with annotations and references marking the margins around them. "Supreme Leader studies?"
"Resource management," he answered dully as he poked a listed system to highlight its attributes. "What happened to sleeping?"
Rey ignored his question as she soaked in the information before her like a sponge despite her weariness. She could quickly see where various resources were being diverted and where there was a lack thereof. "You have a fuel shortage."
"The fleet requires a lot of fuel to stay mobilized," Ben replied with a nod. "But it's less of a shortage issue as it is a convenient delivery issue. The supplying systems are so far out and spread across the outer rim, with very few known hyperlanes available, that attaining the fuel has become problematic."
This was an interesting discovery. That the First Order could possibly be becoming too large of a beast to stay properly fed. That it could be crippled so easily should their supply lines be cut off. "What are your options then?" Rey sincerely wanted to know. She would admit to holding a new, unique and affectionate loyalty to him now, but her opinion about the Order and the Resistance remained the same. If she could discover a clever way to acquire fuel then perhaps the Resistance could even adopt a similar strategy if she was ever able to return to them...
Ben seemed oblivious to her inner thoughts and continued to tap at the datapad as he spoke. "Either we discover some shorter hyperspace lanes or we acquire more fueling frigates. Since discovering new lanes is far too time consuming, that means I'll have to pay a visit to Canto Bight to purchase more frigates."
Canto Bight? Rey had heard Finn and Rose relate their experience on that planet and she had been intrigued to see it for herself. Finn had described it as a rotting engine in an old starship with a shiny new paint job. While Rose related it more as a stinking slime pit filled with the most vile people in the galaxy. Rey wanted to introduce Rose to Plutt someday, so that she might readjust her thinking on the true meaning behind the term, vile.
"You'll have to go with me tomorrow," Ben said, his rumbling chest jarring her out of her thoughts. "I can't trust letting you out of my sight anymore."
Rey shifted to give him a sour look, though she couldn't bring herself to argue with his comment. She hadn't exactly been proving herself capable lately and truthfully, she wanted to see the planet anyway. Stifling her minor annoyance, she nestled back into the arch of his neck and curled into her blanket tighter. If she was going with him on another mission, as trivial as it sounded, then she needed to sleep more than ever. "Good night, Ben," she murmured and yawned against his sternum, his steady heartbeat thumping in her ear and lulling her sleep.
"Sleep well, sweetheart."
AN: Get your Kylo Ren pain reliever at your nearest drug store... Destroys your pain in record time! (Disclaimer: That was a joke and there is no such thing as a Kylo Ren pain reliever. Though I would buy it, if it existed, not gonna lie...)