They'd returned to the ship in silence, hand in hand. R2 greeted them with a beep and started up the engines while Rey and Ben shook off their wet clothes. Rey tossed her poncho to the side and shrugged her pack off, Ben took his now soaking wet sweater off and wrung it out before hanging it on a hook near the gangway.
"I need a hot fresher and something to eat," he said, turning to Rey, who was entirely too distracted by his shirtlessness.
"Uh… w.. What?" she asked, blinking a few times before pulling her gaze from his chest up to his face, her cheeks flushing with color.
"Fresher? Food?" he said with a smile, stepping closer to her.
"Oh, yeah, that's a good idea. Uhm." she looked over to the door to the tiny fresher and then back to him, "I don't know if you'll fit."
He chuckled at that, "I've squeezed into many a tiny fresher in my lifetime, I'll make do." and with that he left her gaping after him to clean up.
Rey busied herself with heating up a few nutrition packs and some old caff, turning to R2, "How long were we gone?"
The droid wobbled at her.
"Two days? Really?" Rey was both surprised by how much time had passed and not at the same time, "Any news from Poe and Finn while we were gone?"
R2 beeped in the affirmative and then passed on a short message.
"Well that is good news, the more planets that join us the stronger we become. Are we still supposed to meet back on Ajan Kloss?"
He trilled that yes, they were supposed to head back there and Rey nodded, "Alright, I'm assuming you've already done the jump calculations?"
Of course he had, he was a dependable droid. Rey smiled and gave him a pat before returning to the food she was preparing, sitting on a stool next to the tiny kitchen module to sip at her caff.
Ben emerged from the tiny fresher, drying his hair with a towel, smelling faintly of republic standard issue soap. He hung the towel around his neck and moved over to her, leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead before scooping up his caff, "Thank you."
She smiled up at him, "Feel better?"
"Immensely," he replied, taking a sip of his drink, "So, back to Ajan Kloss now?" he said it casually but Rey could feel an undercurrent of tension to his words.
"Yeah, R2 said we've made a few more alliances, there is to be a meeting of leaders in a week's time." she gestured to the stool next to hers and waited for him to sit, "Is everything okay?"
Ben shrugged, eating a few bites of his nutrition pack before responding, "You know as soon as they see me I'll be arrested right?"
He'd caught her mid bite, she swallowed and sat back on her stool, shaking her head, "No, Finn and Poe know you're not Kylo Ren. They know you saved me."
He sighed, "Rey I hurt a lot more people than just Poe and Finn… They're going to want retribution. They're going to want to punish me."
A stubborn look crossed her face, "Well I won't let them!" her words escaped a little louder than she'd meant them to be and she winced.
"Rey, I deserve to spend the rest of my life in prison after all I've done. I was the Supreme Leader of the First Order, millions died under my command. Billions suffered. That isn't a stain you can wash out with a few good acts."
"Ben you stopped the Final Order, you saved trillions! You betrayed the First Order to save me, to stop my Grandfather! That act alone should show your true colors. You gave up being their leader to save me. To save the resistance." she was leaning towards him now, her hands on his knees, his pants still wet from the rain, "I will talk to them. We won't return until I know that you will not be thrown in some prison…"
He set his caff down and moved a hand to cup her cheek, stroking it with his thumb in his usual way, "What if they won't bend? What will you do?"
"Then… Then…" she dug her fingers into his legs in frustration, "Then we will go our own way. We will find some other way to help the galaxy…" she looked up to him, tears shining in her eyes, "I can't lose you again Ben, I can't. I won't." her last words were firm. She'd fight for him, against the people she loved, if she had to.
He pressed his forehead against hers and sighed, "Rey, I won't have you fighting your friends over me…"
"Then I will make them see reason." she said, determination in her voice, "I am not going to lose you again."
About an hour later Rey had finished in the fresher herself, Ben had put his now slightly damp sweater back on and she was preparing to make a holocall. It was time to talk to the Resistance about the return of Ben Solo.
R2 had suggested leaving atmo to get a better signal so they'd done just that. The ship now lazily orbited one of the planet's moons.
Rey fidgeted nervously, clenching and unclenching her fists at her sides. Ben reached a hand forward to place it on her shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. The gesture immediately served to relax her.
The holoterminal sparked to life and an image of Poe crackled through, "Rey? Do you read?"
"We read you Poe." She answered stepping forward so that her image could be projected back to him, "We've completed our mission and are preparing to return, but… There is something we need to discuss before I can do that."
Poe's eyebrows lifted, he nodded, "All right, what is it?"
"Is Finn there with you?" she asked first, knowing she wanted both of them to hear this.
Finn moved into the picture, standing right next to Poe, "I'm here."
"Who else is with you?" she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"BB-8, 3P0, Rose, Lando. Why?" Finn asked, his head tilted curiously to the side, "What happened Rey?"
She took in a deep breath before stepping a little to the side, letting Ben step up next to her.
Ben cleared his throat, "Uh… Hi?" he said meekly, a strange sound coming from such a big man.
Their reaction was immediate, she could hear Rose's voice lifting in the background, Poe's brows turned down and he crossed his arms while Finn just looked… Disappointed? It was Lando that stepped into frame and spoke to them first, "Ben…" His voice was soft, warm, he said Ben's name the way someone would when speaking to a treasured friend.
"It's good to see you again, you look… Good." Lando smiled then, "I had a feeling you were still alive. You have too much of your Mother and Father in you to die and leave this mess for someone else to clean up. What happened, what took you so long?"
Ben shrugged, "Well you know, betraying the First Order, sacrificing myself to save Rey, being resurrected, takes time." his gaze slid over to Rey and his face immediately lit up.
Lando chuckled, "I'm not even going to pretend to understand even half of that but I know that if your Mother and Father were alive today they'd want us to accept you back with open arms." he said the last bit while turning his gaze around the room he was in, letting it fall upon each person for emphasis, "Any objections?"
They all mumbled quiet 'No's' and Lando nodded, "All right then. I'll speak with the other leaders on your behalf. I can't guarantee a warm welcome but I can guarantee your safety while I'm in charge of this ramshackle crew. Now, when can I expect you two back?"
Rey was caught off guard by Lando's quick acceptance and found herself stumbling over her words, "Uhm, uh.. A day or so? I think."
Lando looked to Ben again, "Come see me as soon as you arrive, I have a lot I'd like to discuss."
Ben swallowed and nodded his ascent.
Lando leaned forward to disconnect the call, "See you two soon, fly safe."
The holocall fizzled off and Rey rocked back on her heels, "I was not expecting that…"
Ben turned to her, tugging her into his arms for a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his damp sweater. He dipped his head down to kiss the crown of her head, "They may not clap me in irons as soon as they see me but that doesn't mean they accept me…" he said into her hair.
"I know," she answered, voice muffled by his shirt, "But as long as they don't take you from me I will be fine."
His agreement rumbled in his chest as he gently rubbed her back. They stood like that for a time before each taking their seats and beginning their journey back to Ajan Kloss.
They were both exhausted, Rey kept catching Ben's head bob down and then snap back up as he fought off sleep. When she was sure R2 had everything well in hand, she stood and took Ben's hand, "Come on big guy, you need a nap."
He chuckled at this but followed her obediently back to the cargo hold where a single small bunk sat built into the wall. She climbed onto it, looking back over her shoulder at him as he hesitated.
Having his body back had changed something, there had been a shift between them. He could still feel her emotions, feel their link, but there were a few more lines of separation now. It left him feeling awkward and unsure of himself.
"I'm cold, are you going to nap with me or…?" Rey patted the small space next to her, "Not much room but we will both fit."
She was right, there wasn't much room, he tried to lay down next to her but his legs were entirely too long, so he ended up on his side, legs curled up, tangling them with hers in the process. He pulled her close, wrapping his long arms right around her. She let her head rest on his arm and let out a content sigh, "Told you we'd fit."
"Barely," he said, a smile in his voice. He let the fingers of his free hand trace patterns on the sliver of skin exposed at her hip, dipping his head to bury his face in her hair.
Rey shivered at the touch, "It feels even better than I thought it would." she whispered, closing her eyes and enjoying the sensation.
He smiled into her hair, "Mmmhmmm," and continued, his calloused fingertips gliding in lazy circles on her skin.
Soon enough his fingers stilled and they both drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.