The Falcon seems to have a mind of its own. They've barely so much as steered the ship since the jump to hyperspace, and have been more or less cruising since then — though it's hard to tell exactly what they're cruising to.
There were spare clothes in the captain's quarters — far more practical for space travel and more suited to Rey's personal preferences for apparel — that they'd changed into as soon as it became clear they didn't really need to stay in the cockpit for their entire journey. The Falcon isn't cold, per se, but it's also not the warmest place on earth, so she doesn't mind the slight insulation her new white jacket and pants combination provides her.
Time doesn't seem to work the same way on the ship as it did on Naboo. They've been flying for what must be hours at this point, just judging by the sheer number of planets they've passed. But she doesn't feel like she's been on her feet for more than a few minutes.
The sense of rightness that had manifested when they'd boarded the ship has only grown stronger in the intervening hours. Now it's not so much as a sense, but a tug pulling her somewhere… though she can't quite identify where.
She feels free in a way she hasn't felt in a long time — maybe ever. There hasn't been a time in her life before now that she could go anywhere and do anything without fear of consequences. The thought that there are people who've lived their whole lives like this is unfathomable to her. Do her friends know, she wonders, that they too could feel this free if they chose to? Is this feeling what they were all fighting for all this time?
What she still doesn't feel, however, is the Force bond she and Ben share. She can sense him in the ship, she knows he's nearby, but she can't feel that invisible string that's usually so taut between them. It had been easier to ignore on Naboo — the planet was full with enough beautiful distractions — but here, in this confined space, the quiet is disconcerting.
The ship jolts forward, knocking her into one of its durasteel walls.
A shout of "Dammit!" echoes through the hall at the same time.
She's able to trace the noise back to its source — Ben, at a control panel — in a matter of minutes.
"What happened?" she asks as she approaches.
"Tried rewiring this thing," he huffs. "Obviously didn't do a very good job of it."
He shakes his hand out and winces. Rey reaches forward and clutches his hand in both of her own.
She inspects it, turning his hand over and finding no sign of any injury.
"You seem okay," she says.
"I just jammed it, I think."
"It hurts?"
She doesn't wait for his response before she starts massaging his palm.
"You don't have to do that if you don't want to," he murmurs.
"And why wouldn't I?" she modulates her voice to match his.
"My hands are dirty."
"So are mine," she smiles up at him.
They lock eyes, he smiles back at her, and then suddenly she's not massaging his hand anymore — she can't, because her hands are crushed against his chest. Technically all of her is crushed against him — chest, hips, mouths. He's crouched down as low as he can but she's still on her tiptoes, letting most of her weight be supported by Ben's free hand, which is wrapped around her lower back.
They stay like that for a while, for long enough for Rey to lose track of just how long they've stayed like that, until a few pleasant realizations pop into her head in rapid succession.
The ship is sailing smoothly again, they have an indeterminate amount of time before they reach whatever their destination is, and the captain's quarters has a relatively comfortable, large bed.
The bond isn't open, but it still seems as though Ben's just read her mind, judging by the way he's bent down a little more, trailing kisses down her jaw, to her neck, finding a pulse point and sucking on it lightly. His grip on her has tightened — her feet are barely touching the ground anymore.
It's a tiny jump, barely any effort at all, to hook her legs around his waist. He adjusts immediately to support her better — not totally necessary since they could both just trust the Force to keep her aloft — but it's a thoughtful gesture nonetheless.
"Ben," she sighs as she tangles her fingers in his hair. "We should probably take this out of the hallway."
He mumbles his assent between nips at her collarbone before tossing her over his shoulder and heading for the captain's quarters.
If she thought she'd lost track of time before, then she feels completely separated from time now. Time has stretched out in every direction, and compressed to exist only this room. Time is limitless and yet it begins and ends in this room, lying in bed, bare skin to bare skin, with no barriers between them.
She still hasn't caught her breath, she hasn't been able to for — minutes? hours? — and yet at the same time, she feels like this is the first time she's ever truly been able to inhale and exhale fully.
They're both sweaty. The bed beneath them is slightly damp. It should be uncomfortable, and maybe it is, but she just can't summon the desire to pull herself from where she's curled into Ben's side. Disentangling their legs and breaking away from the gentle circles he's tracing on her shoulder seems like a criminal offense at the moment.
"Do you think it can still be like this, when we go back?" Ben asks, breaking the comfortable silence they've spent the last however-long basking in.
"Back to Naboo? Of course it can."
"No, I mean back to the Resistance."
A chill runs through her, as if an icy breeze just blew through the room.
"We don't… we don't have to go back," she stutters. "I thought you wanted to travel?"
"I do, but eventually we should. I think there's still something you have to do, Rey."
"I saved all of their lives. What else could I possibly have to do?"
Ben doesn't respond. He just pulls her closer to him and kisses the top of her head.
"Never mind," he says. "It doesn't matter yet."
She feels a flash of annoyance at Ben for both bringing the topic up and for dropping it so cryptically. Then a second later she realizes her real annoyance comes from there being a topic for him to bring up at all.
But she doesn't really have time to analyze her feelings beyond that because the Falcon drops and settles, and it immediately becomes clear that they're no longer flying.
"Looks like we're here," Ben says.
"Any idea where 'here' is?" she pulls back just enough to look at him.
"Not at all."
Ben kisses the tip of her nose then rolls out of bed.
She should follow him, and she will, but there doesn't seem to be much harm in taking a beat to flop back onto the pillows and appreciate the view of a very naked Ben in front of her.
Or, a previously naked, now half-clothed Ben — which is still an excellent sight in her opinion.
He either notices her silence or feels her eyes on him because he turns around slowly, a smirk playing on his mouth.
"Sweetheart," he sighs, trying and failing to sound perturbed, "do you really think it's fair that you get a whole show and I get nothing?"
"Hmm," she pretends to think. "I suppose not."
She finally gets up, taking extra time to pull the covers off of herself and stretching more luxuriously than is totally necessary once she's finally standing up.
Her clothes are floating toward her within a matter of seconds.
"You want me all covered up so quickly?" She quirks an eyebrow at him.
"No. But it's either that, or we never manage to make it out of this room. And I'd really like to see what planet we've landed on."
"Just as well," Rey sighs as she slips on her pants and jacket. "Now I get to look forward to the next time you take all of this off of me again."
When she pulls Ben back to her for one more kiss, she's fairly certain she hears him growl.
She's not sure what she expected to find, but as they disembark from the Falcon and find themselves standing above a bustling city, she knows it wasn't this. They've landed on some sort of platform that connects to a bridge that stands at eye level with the tops of an innumerable amount of buildings. And surrounding all of it, on all sides, are clouds.
So many parts of the universe she's never gotten to see. So many worlds still left for them to discover together.
Rey clutches Ben's hand and looks up at him.
"Any idea where we are now?" she asks.
"Actually yes, but—"
He cuts himself off at the appearance of a blue-cloaked figure approaching them.
"Rey! Ben!"
She recognizes that voice.
"Welcome to Cloud City!"
Lando's smiling when he finally gets close enough to pull the both of them into a hug.
"Didn't expect to see you two here," he says, "But come on in, I'll show you around."
They follow him through a building that's all white walls and wide windows, bustling with people, yet calm somehow. Everyone they pass seems unburdened and unstressed as they casually mill about.
"It's good you came," Lando says as he leads them down spotless corridor after spotless corridor. "You should be safe here for as long as you need."
"Safe? Safe from what?" Rey asks.
"We've managed to stay under the radar and out of his control," Lando continues as if Rey didn't speak at all.
"Whose control?" Ben asks.
"The emperor, of course," Lando says.
Rey looks up at Ben at the same moment he looks down at her. She's not exactly sure what her face looks like but she imagines it must match the perplexed expression on his pretty well.
"We've— we killed… the emperor's gone," Rey stammers out.
"Well he's not here, that's for sure," Lando chuckles.
"Uncle Lando," Ben tightens his grip on Rey's hand as they ascend a short flight of stairs that leads to a large sliding door. "We're not looking to hide out or keep safe from anything. We're just traveling."
"It's our honeymoon," Rey adds uselessly. "We're not on any kind of a mission."
"Ah," Lando smiles again and stops in front of the door. "Well then, I think you'll enjoy it here even more."
He presses a button and the door opens to a large open room, outfitted — much like the rest of the building — in all white.
White cushioned chairs are arranged in a circle around a crystalline sculpture that stands in the middle of the room. A few tasteful silver decorations accent the white walls that blend into a white tile floor. The ceiling is comprised mostly of a large window, which provides access to a view of white clouds, with the occasional cloud car cutting through the sky.
"I'll leave you two alone," Lando says, already backing out of the room. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know."
The door slides shut behind him and Rey flops into one of the chairs.
"Do you recognize this place?" she asks.
Ben is still standing by the door, staring at it as if he expects something to jump out from behind it.
"Ben?" she prods when he doesn't answer.
He shakes his head.
"I've never been here before, but my uncle used to be the Baron Administrator here."
"Looks like he is again."
Rey motions for Ben to join her. He walks to the chair next to the one she's sitting in and pushes it closer to her before sitting down and pulling her legs into his lap.
"It's odd, isn't it?"
"Why would it be odd?"
"It's just… my parents spent some time here, when they were fighting the Empire. It didn't go so well for them. You don't find it to be a strange coincidence that we're here now?"
"Not particularly. From the stories I've heard, it sounds like your parents went a lot of places. We were bound to end up in one of the same ones eventually."
Ben frowns as he runs a hand up her calf.
"Maybe. But I've just…"
"What?"
"I've got a bad feeling about this."
It hadn't taken them long to find the bedroom attached to the sitting room, and it had taken them even less time to put it to good use. It, like the rest of this suite, has a glass ceiling, letting the sky light the room naturally.
When they'd entered the room it had been bright and sunny, but now the room is awash in golden hues — a byproduct of the vibrant orange and pink sunset Rey is watching play out above her.
Ben's just gone to use the 'fresher — it's too small to fit both of them, they'd already checked — leaving Rey to enjoy the view of the sky, which is unobstructed save for the clouds.
This could be a nice place to stay for a while, if they wanted. Certainly nicer than any bunk on a resistance base has ever been. Maybe they could stay here a while — Lando seems like a more than willing host.
Something flutters through the sky, pausing right above where Rey is laying. She squints to get a better look and sees it's a small blue butterfly, hovering in her direct line of vision. The second she identifies it, the butterfly flies away and out of sight.
Rey's stomach grumbles. They really should have asked Lando where they could find some food. She hadn't realized until just now that she hasn't eaten since they left Naboo.
Rey rolls out of bed and pulls her clothes back on. The 'fresher is still running. She'll probably be back before Ben even comes out.
She heads out of the bedroom, through the sitting room, and back into the corridor that led them here.
It only takes a few turns for Rey to figure out she has no clue where she is. She can usually find her way back to or out of anything — it's a skill that's served her well over the years — but all of these halls look so identical, like so many blank slates, it's almost impossible to pick out any distinguishing feature that could anchor her.
She's been out longer than she intended to be and certainly by now Ben is wondering where she's gone. The halls are not nearly as bustling as they were before. In fact, she's struggled to find a single person to ask for directions, and she's starting to feel anxious about being this far from Ben. Without the benefit of their bond, it's too hard for her to know exactly where he is or to make sure he's safe.
It would be better to just get back to him and together they can figure out how to contact Lando. Her grumbling stomach can wait.
She turns down another hall — she's fairly certain it's the one that leads to their room —and finds a sliding door.
Without pausing to double check, she presses a button and the door slides open.
But it's not their room. Far from it.
It's a small, narrow enclosure, most of which's space is taken up by a long dining table. And at the end of that table is a figure, shrouded in a dark cloak and hood, suspended in the air by a mechanical apparatus, his bony, decaying fingers one of the only parts of him she can actually see.
It couldn't be him, and yet somehow, it is.
On instinct, Rey reaches for her lightsaber, but it's not there. Why the hell did she leave it on the ship?
She freezes in place, unsure of what to do, silently panicking. Her hand flexes again, reaching for a weapon she knows isn't there. It seems unfair, cruel even, after everything she's been through, for this to be the way she dies. It can't happen now, it shouldn't, it—
The door slides shut again and Ben is gripping her shoulders and turning her to face him. There's panic in his eyes the likes of which she's never seen before.
"Rey, what's going on?"
She's not sure how she does it. She doesn't know exactly what "it" is, but suddenly everything is moving very quickly in reverse. She being whisked through corridors, and back into their room. Ben disappears then reappears. The sky changes from orange to blue. And suddenly they're both reclined on chairs in the sitting room, her legs in Ben's lap.
Everything is as it was several hours ago.
"It's odd, isn't it?" he says.
The room is still spinning a little bit to her, but Ben seems unfazed. She blinks a few times to reorient herself.
"Sorry, what?" she asks.
"I said, it's odd, isn't it?"
"It… is odd," Rey says. "Maybe we should get out of here."
"Agreed," Ben smiles. He leans forward and presses a kiss to her forehead. "We'll thank Lando on the way out. Sound good?"
"Sounds excellent."
She swings her legs back to the floor and stands, extending her hand to Ben. He takes it and they leave the room, and the white halls, and all the sliding doors behind.