Rey broke off from her friends, her hand feeling hot in Ben's as she unlocked the door to the cottage they would be staying in.

"It looks just like the one we were in last time," Ben said in awe, running his free hand against the back of the couch. "How did you swing this on such short notice?"

Rey shrugged. "Helps to be friends with General Organa."

Ben smirked, "Of course my mother had a hand in this."

"She wants you to succeed, and she wants you to come home. I guess she thought that if you love me as much as you say you do, then it'll be more motivation for you to do that," Rey replied coyly as she ran her hand up his arm.

"Sunshine, you're motivation enough for me to go to the ends of the galaxy if I have to," Ben smiled at her, closing the distance between their bodies.

Ben gently cupped her face, running his thumb over her cheek. She felt soft and warm and he could hardly believe that he was actually touching her right now. All their previous interactions paled in comparison. He had the largest grin on his face as she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, "Rey..."

Her eyes opened and she looked at him sweetly. "I know, I feel it, too. It's different than before," she whispered. "Better."

Rey ran her hands over his chest, and the heat from her hands felt like it would scorch his skin under his tunic. Her hands came to rest in an interlocked position behind his neck, while his arms wrapped around her waist. His world felt like it was slow motion as he bent his head down towards hers, capturing her lips with his. He had meant for it to be a sweet kiss, but he felt like he was seeing stars. She kissed him harder, pouring in all the emotions that they had never dared to say. That as much as they loved each other, their destiny may just lie in these few stolen moments that they had. Tomorrow was never guaranteed, and after the war... only the force knew where they would end up. She gently guided him back towards the bedroom, and his heart felt like it would explode in his chest.

"Rey, are you sure about this?" he asked gently, holding her face in his hands. He wanted this, too, but he had already taken so much from her. If things didn't go well for them, he didn't want to ruin her for anyone else. She deserved better than that.

"Ben, I want to live in this moment with you," she murmured. She had hope that tomorrow would end in a victory, and she had hope that they would be okay, but deep down, something told her to make as many memories with him as she could- to not take a second with him for granted. She needed this, to have him hold her, skin-to-skin, and worship each other, to let the war fade into the background. In this bubble that she had created for them, they were just a man and a woman whispering sweet nothings and praising the force for each other as they tried to become one. A dyad combined to fulfill its destiny and create something new as backs arched off mattresses and new highs were reached. They saw stars in the darkness of their closed eyes because they had learned to hide their love in the dark like the forbidden dreams they had for what they could have been.

Ben woke the next morning to the sunlight streaking through the blinds bathing Rey in a golden haze. Her hair was loose on the pillow and he pulled the sheets up around their exposed skin before pulling her against him. He wanted to hold her for just a few moments more. He knew he would have to leave soon, but he wanted to remember how her body felt as it molded into him. He wanted to remember how sweetly she had said his name last night, and how beautiful she had looked with her naked body bathed in the moon's glow. But, as the sun filtered through, he now had the sad realization that Rey belonged in the realm of daylight, and he, he thought as he took in his reflection across the room, looked better wrapped in the shadows of night.

"I'll love you, always," He whispered as he planted a kiss to her temple before gently slipping away from her. He quietly got out of bed and dressed himself. He cast one last guilty look towards his sleeping scavenger, wanting to hold that vision of her wrapped in her own halo in his mind. That would be the thought he'd think of on his death bed, because he knew the likelihood of him dying alone or not surviving the battle today was high. It was the risk he was willing to take to keep her safe. He snuck himself out of the house and back towards his ship, taking off to return back to Snoke's ship.

Rey awoke to find herself alone. Her hand had reached out for him and he wasn't there, but she could still feel the lingering warmth from where he had been. He had been there, it had been real. She wrapped her arms around herself as she remembered the night before. She'd given herself to him fully, and she didn't regret it like she once would have. She looked at the time before getting up to get ready to regroup with her friends and meet up with the fleet.

She made it back to the Falcon to find her friends already in the cockpit.

"Well, Princess?" Poe asked, "Was it worth it?"

Finn shot him a look, "You can't just ask her that."

Rey waved him off. "It was, but we should get back to the fleet before the space battle kicks off. I promised the General."

Rey sat down and initiated the sequence. "Let's do this."

Ben found his thoughts drifting as he flew back. He was nervous about the day's plan. He was worried that he may not be able to protect Rey. Their master plan was to have her sneak onto the ship during the middle of the space battle. He'd provide her with the location of an empty hangar bay and she'd make her way in. They'd pretend she was a prisoner, and then they'd attack. That had been the plan they discussed last week, and he had been confident in that plan... until now. Now he was worried that Snoke would sense a shift, or that they wouldn't be able to pull it off. He couldn't risk losing her. He made a pact with himself, that if the situation arose and it came down to either him dying or Rey dying... he'd die. More people would miss Rey and be impacted by her death, where if he died... people would probably celebrate and he'd just be another casualty on the long list of deaths from the war. No, he would not lose Rey today.