Ben stared into the wide abyss of deep brown flecked with green as she gaped at him through the threshold in raw surprise. Her eyes were so innocent and wide, her mouth slightly parted in shock, and her tumbling hair flowing freely across her shoulders. She breathed his name, the sound signing in his ears. Force, he loved hearing his name on her lips.

Ben would have to find a way to thank Rikk for giving him this gift he knew he did not deserve.

Rey blinked once, then seemed to forget about Rikk next to him as she bolted two steps forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, crushing her torso to his. Ben's breath came out in a whoosh as he caught her, the girl far stronger than she knew. Her strong hands curled into the fabric of his shirt with the urgency of saying goodbye.

Rikk shuffled uncomfortably next to them as he cleared his throat.

"I'll, uh, leave you two then." He said, and started down the hallway.

Rey quickly unwrapped herself from Ben. "Rikk!" She called out, stopping him. He turned, a terribly hopeful look in his eyes as he looked down at her.

"Thank you. Truly." Rey said, nodding.

"You know how to reach me if you need anything." He said it quietly, as if not wanting Ben to hear. Then he turned and continued off down the hall.

Rey's eyes lingered on Rikk's back for a moment longer, then she looked up at Ben to flash her beautiful, wide smile. He felt the corners of his mouth tug into a smile as he stared down at her, beautiful and vulnerable and his. He touched her face softly, letting his fingers linger there for a moment. She turned and led him into her quarters, which he imagined were far nicer and larger than anything she had ever experienced before.

"Tell me," Rey said urgently, as she shut the door behind them. "What happened? With Rikk?"

Ben shrugged as he paced slowly around the room, mindlessly touching random baubles and trinkets. "He came down to my...cell. Just now." He paused as he landed on a small, rusty toolkit, immediately recognizing it as hers from Jakku.

"Was it what happened with Rose?" Rey said as she crossed the room and sat at attention on the edge of her bed. He could sense the impatience in her voice.

He turned to her and crossed his arms as he leaned his back against the wall. He shook his head, "Not just that. It's everything. Rose, the oscillator, what happened between us on Exegol...and my history with him, I think above all." He grimaced, "Snoke would call Rikk weak, letting compassion control him like that."

Rey nodded her head in understanding.

"He said he was likely making the biggest mistake of his life letting me go, giving me another chance. He said he'd be the first to kill me himself if I made him regret it."

"And will he? Regret it, that is." Rey said.

Ben smirked at her across the room. "We'll see."

Rey let out a short laugh, but she rang her hands nervously in her lap. "And what about the rest of the capital? Hanna City?"

"Rikk's going to keep it under the radar for now. I'm not sure he's thought that far. I could sense something came over him, something that called on him to let me go. And...I think seeing what keeping us apart was doing to you played a large part in that decision."

Ben studied her face for a moment as she nodded, her fingers turning white in her lap. He took a few giant steps to close the gap between them and kneeled in front of her on the bed. He took her hands in his, resting them on her lap. "Rey. I have to face this. I'll handle it, one day at a time. I don't really care about the rest, as long as I'm with you."

"We will handle it. Together." Rey corrected him.

His lips crooked into a smile. He nodded as he cupped her face, "Exactly. I have you to protect me."

Rey rolled her eyes and he was relieved to feel the worry melt from her. She gripped his shoulder and leaned forward to kiss his forehead. She pulled away, her nose crinkled. "And you stink. Go wash." She gave him a gentle push towards the fresher room.

Ben stood and backed away from her with his hands up in feigned surrender. She was right. It had been weeks since he had a proper wash.

Ben took his time in the fresher, standing motionless, hands braced against the cool tile wall and head hung as he let the hot water soak his back. When his skin was numb and red from scrubbing, he stepped out of the shower into a cloud of steam. The mirror was completely fogged over and he smiled as he spotted a pile of clean men's clothes that had been left on the counter for him.

He dried himself, shaking out his hair. He dug up a razor from one of the drawers and shaved away the annoying stubble. Finally, he tugged on the loose fitting sleeping trousers and sauntered out of the bathroom. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped short as he found Rey sprawled out across the top of the bed, completely asleep. He took in the peacefulness of her, like a feral cat resting after the hunt. She was laying on her side with one arm beneath her head, her other hand wedged in between the pages of an old book she had been reading.

Ben tried not to wake her as he padded over to the bed as quietly as his heavy steps would allow. He slowly reached down to the book and slid it out from her limp hand. He turned it over in his hands and read the title. "The Jedi Path." He rolled his eyes as he remembered reading this stupid book. He never agreed with the strictness of the old Jedi order and had been glad it was long dead and gone. Ben saw she was on the section about the Sith, the only part of the book Ben ever found interesting.

Rey stirred below him and his eyes flicked down to her. He set the book down quickly on the nightstand, never taking his eyes off her.

She kept her eyes closed as she whimpered and managed to garble out "I'm so tired" which sounded more like "Aye'm so ty-erd", her proper accent sluggish with sleep. It was the middle of the night after all, closer to the morning now.

He stifled back a chuckle and watched as she shifted and crawled under the sheets, making room for him. Her head plopped on the pillow like a rock and her eyes remained closed as she reached a hand out to him and curled her fingers as if gripping the air as she motioned for him to climb into bed.


It had been weeks since Ben had slept that soundly. His dreams were completely black, peaceful in their emptiness. When he woke, he had nearly forgotten where he was.

Thank force... he thought, as he woke slowly, his eyelashes made a 'swooshing' sound on the soft pillowcase. It must not have been a dream.

He turned quickly, silently willing her to still be there, still not totally convinced this was real. He shifted under the sheets and relief fluttered through his chest when he found her lying next to him, her back turned, hair spilling like dark ribbons across the white of the pillow case.

He laid there motionless for a moment, studying the curves of her hair as he questioned for the millionth time how he could possibly be so lucky.

Ben shimmied closer to her as he reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist. He tugged her close so she was melted to him like a puzzle piece, the curves of her body fitting perfectly with his, the heat of her warming the front of his body.

His other arm rested above her head, his face nuzzled in the tangle of her hair. He breathed her in, squeezing her tighter, as if trying to swallow her whole.

"Are you trying to suffocate me?" He heard her say suddenly.

Chagrin filled him, and he loosened his tight hold.

But he saw her cheek rise with a smile, and she reached down under the covers to his arm around her waist and tugged him tighter to her.

"Don't stop." She protested. "Though, I was suddenly having a dream I was being constricted by a giant snake."

He cringed at the image she gave him as he nuzzled his face back into her hair.

They laid there like that in silence for a while, enjoying the warmth of one another as they snoozed. The sun from the window slowly migrated around the room and filled it with a golden hue.

After a while, Rey shifted around under his arm to face him. He looked down to her, face and eyes glowing. He took in a shaky breath as she pressed her face into his bare chest. "I missed you. So much." She mumbled into his skin. She tilted her head up and pressed her full lips to the bottom of his neck. His arm around her waist squeezed her tighter in response.

It had been weeks since he had held her like this and now his desire for her clouded his mind. Ben had tasted her, the sweetest taste, and now he would be forever haunted by that, a hunger only she could placate.

He felt her move her body against him, acknowledging his want and communicating her own. Rey reached an arm up between them, sliding her hand across his chest as she did. She reached his face and turned his head down to her.

Force, she was beautiful. Especially here, now, in bed with him, her hair free and a mess and her sleeping tunic crumpled up around her hips. He swallowed hard. She somehow still made him nervous, something he was likely to never admit outloud.

Her eyes flicked to his lips and he met her mouth with his. He grew more eager, parting her lips with his tongue and kissing her deeper while crushing her to him. He pushed against her until she rolled onto her back and he followed, never breaking the kiss.

'Two that are one' he thought as he pressed his body into hers, feeling her moan and quiver beneath him, her arms wrapped around his shoulders. He broke away from her mouth and began to softly kiss her neck. Her breath came quicker and she deftly wrapped her legs around his hips, pushing her hips into his.

He pulled the tunic around her neck aside as he kissed her chest. He braced himself on his knees in between her legs as he moved lower, lower...

Ben pushed her tunic up further around her waist, exposing the sweetest part of her. He was suddenly overcome with the urge to kiss her there, to taste her in the most intimate way possible. He sat up away from her, her hands moving to rest on his thighs as he kneeled before her, worshipping the sight of her.

She frowned at him, her beautiful face wrinkling in frustration. "Come back" she whimpered, clutching at his legs.

But he had other ideas. He met her eyes with a dark gaze. A look of confusion crossed her face as he kept his eyes on hers, and continued to kiss the top of her thigh, moving lower and lower...

"What are you- oh!" Her breath caught in her throat and her head fell back against the pillow as he kissed the most precious part of her. The sensations he was giving her pulsed through their bond, urging him to keep going. Her hands were tangled in his hair and he breathed against her pelvis, groaning slightly as he dug his fingers into her thighs, pulling the sweetness of her closer.

It was better than he had imagined. The taste of her and the feeling of making her feel this good was paradise. He sensed something build inside her, and her hands gripped his hair tighter, pushing him closer to her.

Ben felt everything he was giving her through their bond. It filled him with satisfaction, a confirmation that he was pleasuring her in the exact way she wanted to be pleasured. His eyes flicked up to her as she draped an arm across her eyes, lips parted slightly. He felt her falling, fall into swirls of color, ocean waves rising into mountains, and the sensation of her being so small until she was completely taken under by the waves. She came, so hard she shuddered beneath him and bit her lip to keep from crying out.

Ben sat up and wiped his mouth slowly with his hand as he eyed her, carefully assessing her reaction. She sat up abruptly and kissed his chest. He closed his eyes, tilting his head back as her fingers danced across his back. He was so filled with want it was nearly unbearable.

Rey looked up at him then, face flushed and pupils so dilated her eyes were black. "How did you...where did you learn that?"

She was half kidding but it wasn't the reaction he had expected. Was she implying that he had been with another woman? He wrinkled his face and cocked his head to the side, shaking it slightly. "I didn't have to learn that from anywhere, I just wanted to kiss you there."

She melted back into him and he felt her smile against his chest, eyelashes fluttering against his skin. "I liked it." She whispered, her breath warm against him.

"I know." He said as he smiled against her hair.

A quick rap came at the door. Rey jumped slightly in his arms and their heads both snapped to the door. Another knock, this time more urgent.

Ben glared at the door and saw out of the corner of his eyes as Rey's head swiveled from him to the door then back again.

"It's Finn." She said.

"I know." He said again, this time annoyance thick in his voice. He was really sick of his time with Rey being interrupted, and he wasn't near finished with her yet. Ben felt a hint of the familiar anger that had consumed him for so many years rise in his core, making his chest hot.

He looked down to her and begrudgingly untangled himself from her legs. "I'll get it." He stood, fixing himself to hide his arousal under his trousers.

He heard her shuffling in the bed behind him. "You sure that's such a good idea?!" She whispered, urgently. "Ben, put on a bloody shirt!"

But he was already at the door, hand on the handle. He flung open the door, filling the threshold with his giant form. He sensed Rey perched on the bed behind him, anxiously fiddling with the sheets.

"Woah! Ok. This is not...ok, uh, woah." Finn stumbled over his words, stepping backwards a bit. Finn's eyes bulged slightly as he stared at the white skin of Ben's chest. Ben stared back at him, expressionless. He could sense how uncomfortable it made Finn, but he didn't care. Rey was his, and he was hers.

A strange droid that looked like a cone-head carelessly slapped onto a small wheel screeched passed his feet and straight into the room, greeting Rey.

"Hey, D-O." Ben heard her say.

"I'll come back later." Finn said, nodding quickly.

Rey sighed, "Finn, it's all right. Just come in."

Finn peaked behind Ben's shoulder to Rey, still on the bed. His eyes bulged again as he took in her flushed cheeks, tousled hair, and wrinkled sleeping tunic.

Ben could sense the awkwardness that radiated off of Finn like a sun. Ben stepped aside, motioning for him to come inside. Let's just get this over with... he thought as Finn stepped inside the room, his hand resting gently on his blaster.