A/N: So, first hint was dropped. He didn't get it. Let's see what happens with the next hint! Enjoy! R&R!

Definition of ignorant: lacking knowledge, information or awareness about a certain subject.

Idiot

Chapter 2: Ignorant

Ben had ended up taking Poe and Rey up on the offer to stay with them. Throughout the month he was there, he barely was home alone with Rey. And, true to her word, she was mostly in her room. There were a few times she hung out in the living room with him, reading on the couch in a comfortable silence. He chose to read in depth mysteries and Rey read the same. They even recognized each other's books and recommended some to each other. They had their own little bonding moments. Poe was out chasing Zorii and Ben and Rey were comfortable on the couch. They enjoyed each other's silence and company. It was nice. She even progressed to making him a cup of coffee or tea, which he hesitantly accepted. He'd even returned the favor. She was surprised that he paid attention to how she made it, but maybe it was a lucky guess?

In any case, Poe had come home that night with a wide grin, prompting Rey to glance to the calendar. She inwardly groaned. Social Saturday again... "All right! Carnival tonight!"

Ben shut his book with a loud donk! "Absolutely not."

"I agree," Rey said as she turned the page of her own.

Poe frowned. "Rose wanted to go though! You know carnivals are her favorite, Rey!"

Rey groaned and slumped over the arm of the couch, looking at Poe upside down. "Rose will definitely be there?"

Poe gave her a grin and a thumbs up. "Definitely."

Rey groaned again, rolled her eyes and sat up straight, back to Poe. "Fine..."

"Ben?"

Ben remained silent as he debated it. He glanced at Rey and then at Poe again. "Fine."

Poe grinned. "All right. Let's go!"

An hour later, they met up with everyone else. Finn and Rose took off to do their couple thing and Poe, being Poe, followed after them. Apparently, Zorii was supposed to show up and Poe said he'd meet her somewhere there. Once again, Ben and Rey were left alone. They glanced at each other and shrugged as they walked around. They walked in silence, watching as people played the games and won prizes for their significant others. Rey rolled her eyes, resenting the couples in her own way. Ben just hated how it was such a waste of money and time. "I hate these childish events..."

They came to rest at a picnic table, sitting next to each other again. Rey smirked. "Yeah. The games always end up ripping you off."

"Food's too expensive, too. $3.25 for a drink?"

Rey laughed. "Yeah, I can afford two bottle drinks for that price."

"Tell me about it..."

"So... why'd you come?" she asked as she idly sipped her soda.

Ben gave her a flat look. "Poe," they said in unison. Rey couldn't help but laugh softly while Ben cracked a short-lived grin. "Nice to know I'm not alone in being forced into this."

Ben nodded. He reached his hand out to her with a rare playful grin that she'd only seen once or twice in the whole month he'd been there. "You're never alone."

Rey gave him a gentle smile and took his hand. "Neither are you."

He grinned and they let each other go with a comfortable silence. "This month has been interesting," Ben commented.

She smiled at him. "What was your favorite part?"

Ben thought for a moment. "Probably the movie at the start," he snickered.

Rey couldn't help but laugh. "It was so awful!"

"The worst," he agreed as he started to laugh with her.

She blushed at the sound of his laugh and just watched him with a bright smile. "That's the first time you've actually laughed."

Ben stopped and looked at her for a moment before his cheeks tinged pink and he cleared his throat. "It's not like I don't laugh at all..." Rey smiled at him and he averted his glance. "It's just few and far between."

"As rare as the Hope Diamond, I see!" she teased.

He grinned at her and shrugged. "Sure."

She laughed softly. "You two seem to be really friendly..."

Rey and Ben turned to see Poe standing there with a grin, a blond woman there with him. Rey smiled wide. "Good to see you again, Zorii!" she said as she hugged the woman.

Zorii grinned at her and hugged her back. "Likewise, Rey. I'm surprised you haven't killed Poe yet."

"Why would I when that honor is reserved for you?" Rey teased with a smirk, earning a laugh from Zorii.

Ben stared, amazed that Zorii actually laughed. Zorii caught sight of Ben and her grin widened. "Well, if it isn't the elusive Ben Solo. It's about time you came back!"

He nodded at her. "Someone had to keep this idiot in check," he said as he motioned to Poe. "When are you going to finally give in to him pursuing you?"

Zorii scoffed. "As soon as he stops being a womanizer."

They all laughed except for Poe, who stood there sulking and pouting. "I'm not a womanizer..." he mumbled.

Rey shot him a look. "Right... you keep telling yourself that, Poe."

"Maybe one day, you'll actually believe it," Ben finished with a snicker. They high fived again, earning a grin from Poe. Zorii also didn't fail to notice how close the two had become in such a short time.

"I'll stop being a so-called womanizer when you two admit that you like each other," Poe said with a grin.

Zorii rolled her eyes. "You're never going to stop being one, then..."

Ben and Rey looked at each other and rolled their eyes in unison. "Quit trying to ship us all the time," Rey said as she sent a warning glare over at Poe. Ben remained silent as Poe backed off, taking Zorii with him, leaving the two alone again. She looked over at Ben and saw him looking at her, as if he were contemplating something. "What?"

He shook his head. "Maybe we should turn in for the night. Mind driving home?" he asked as he stood from the table.

"Sure," she replied as she stood and texted Rose to tell her she was leaving. Once it was sent, she joined Ben on the walk back to the car.

"Are you hungry?" he asked as he pointed over to a small restaurant within walking distance.

She looked over at it and shrugged. "Sure! I could use some food before bed."

They walked over to the restaurant and sat down together. There weren't many people there, apparently. They were all over at the carnival. They ordered their food and fell into a comfortable silence. Until Rey broke it. "So... you're leaving next week?"

"Yes. I need to finalize a few business arrangements," he said as he took a drink from his soda.

"Business arrangements? Oh, I never knew what you do for work," she said with a small smile, as if trying to hide her sadness.

"I'm taking over my dad's company." Rey nodded, quietly waiting for him to go on. He averted his glance. "He started a parts delivery company about twenty years ago. He's retiring... so... he wanted me to take his place."

"Oh, ok. That sounds great," she said with a smile. "What will you be doing?"

Ben looked out the window for a moment. "Nothing much. I'd be in charge of ordering, shipping, negotiating contracts... Pretty much some of everything. I've been working there since I was fourteen, so I pretty much know how to do everything anyway."

"So it's just a matter of legality then," she asked as she sipped her drink. The plates were set in front of them and they nodded their thanks, too absorbed in their conversation to break it.

"Exactly."

"So... when you take over your dad's company, when would you be coming back to visit again?" She tried to sound nonchalant about it, but she knew she must have failed miserably. Truth was... she hoped he wouldn't stay gone. She hoped he would at least visit again. She'd really liked spending time with him. They got along so well!

Ben stared at her for a few seconds, weighing her words, and his, carefully. "I'm... not sure." Rey hummed under her breath and took to eating instead. She didn't really like that answer, but she knew that he couldn't tell her something he didn't know. And he most certainly didn't know when, or if, he would be able to break away long enough to come back. He cleared his throat. "So... what do you do, Rey?"

She blinked out of her stupor and struggled to form words. "Um... I'm a financial consultant for Skywalker Industries." Ben started coughing violently before he regained his composure. Rey stared with concern. "Ben? Are you all right?"

He nodded and looked away, a slight scowl on his face. "Skywalker... as in Luke Skywalker?"

She eyed him suspiciously. "Yes?... Why?" He glared at the food in front of him as if it had just offended him in some unforgivable way. "Ben? Are you all right?"

"Luke is my uncle."

Rey's eyes widened in shock. "Really?" Ben nodded. "And that's... bad?" Ben didn't answer. She frowned for a moment before clearing her throat. "Sorry, Ben."

He looked at her then, as if he came back to the real world. "For what?"

She refused to meet his gaze. "The name seemed to upset you... Sorry for mentioning it."

Ben blinked in astonishment. This woman was perceptive... Usually, people just assumed that he would go dark for some other reason, but Rey... paid attention to him. He felt his lips pull into a slight grin. Then he remembered why he'd gotten upset in the first place. Maybe he owed her an explanation... He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, gaining her attention. He glanced over at her and saw her offer him a small smile. "Luke and I don't have... the best of relationships..."

Understanding filled her eyes as she nodded. "I figured that with as bad of a reaction you had from his name..." she said gently.

He nodded. "When I was little... he took me for a ride. He... drank too much... and he started speeding because I wanted to go faster..." Horror came over Rey's face as he relayed just a few parts of the story. She could already see where this was going... "I trusted him..." he said with a bitter taste in his mouth. "He hadn't been doing proper maintenance on the car... The brakes failed..." He paused for a minute, as if trying to not relive that terrible time in his life. She reached across the table and gently touched his arm, attempting to comfort him. He hesitantly set his hand over hers. "We both made it out, obviously... But... we both almost died."

He looked up at her and saw her eyes spilling over with tears. Tears for him. It touched him. He remained silent as she wiped her tears away with her free hand, softly chuckling in embarrassment. "Sorry. Sympathy wins again," she chuckled.

His grip on her hand tightened just a fraction, earning her attention. The look in his eyes was one of intensity and sincerity. "Thank you."

She blushed as her eyes remained glued to his. What was happening here? Why was her heart fluttering in her chest so violently? Was she still breathing? She gave him a small nervous smile. "Thank you for opening up about something so sensitive."

He smirked at her. She knew that he was the type of person to only open up to those he trusted, and apparently, he trusted her enough. As much as he didn't want to let her hand go, he didn't want to seem like a creep either, so he took his hand off of hers on his arm. Her hand lingered for a few moments before she let go as well. "I do hope I won't have to hunt you down if you tell any of this to anyone," he teased as he finished up his meal.

She blinked a few times and returned his grin. "You'd have to catch me first, Solo, and I don't think you could with that huge frame of yours."

"You'd be surprised how fast I could run when I wanted to."

"Oh, really? Run, or thud?"

"A little of both, to be honest," he snickered. She laughed as well and finished her own meal with a pleasant smile on her face. This was a good decision to come for dinner.

"Ready to go?" he asked as he stood from the table.

"What about the check?"

He turned to her and offered his hand with a grin. "What about it?"

She stared curiously at him, deciding if he was insisting they dine and ditch, or if he'd already taken care of it. "We aren't stealing food are we?"

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Paid for it when we got here."

"How did you know what I would want to order or how much it would cost?"

"Doesn't matter. Come on." She took his hand with a small blush. When she was on her feet, he left it up to her to take her hand back or not. She decided it best that she did. Otherwise, he would think she was trying to throw herself at him. She had more class than that, she thought. They walked out of the restaurant silently and made their way to her car. From there, they drove back to the apartment, a comfortable silence and the burning of his touch etched into her memory. Oh, she had it bad...

And he was too ignorant to realize it...