A/N: If this looks familiar, its because I labeled two chapters 7 in my word doc, and this one 8. Oops. I never uploaded the real chapter 8, but have now done so. If it felt like a scene was missing before, it was. Feel free to go back now and read it :).
Chapter IX – Stranded
They managed to reach the speeder before the brunt of the storm descended. Rey snatched up a day-bag she'd packed for the trip, motioning for Ben to grab the shelter-spikes Zengahl Reth had included for a hundred extra credits. She hadn't argued about the price, never having had such luxury thrown in as a bonus before.
They scrambled away from the vehicle, now more a liability than a boon, knowing it would become a catapulted, crushing weapon if it was wrenched up into the sky.
Wading through sand already starting to gather high, they worked together to dig the spikes into the ground, eventually using the Force to make sure they were buried deep enough. Particles rent the air, diminishing visibility until they couldn't make out their own hands. Their powers threaded together like stretched, reaching fingers seeking to entwine, gentle, then throttling as they hurried to erect the shelter. Gales grew furious, and Rey yelped as they tried pulling her from her feet. Ben felt her surprised fear rather than heard it, and shot his arm out where she'd last disappeared in thick, swirling plumes, snaking it around her waist to anchor her in place.
"I've got you," he clung to her while keeping hold of the last spike.
When they switched on the shelter's field, a triad of glowing nodules with sixteen hours of reserve power lit an enclosed space that instantly went still. Exhausted, the pair sank down, leaning their backs against each other. Dust coated them, making them almost camouflaged against their backdrop
"Will it hold?" Ben hung his head as his flooded adrenaline began to drain, blinking itchy grains from his eyes.
Rey leaned her own on his shoulder, surveying the energy shield as gusts pummeled it mercilessly. "I hope so," she rasped. She had swallowed so much sand, it coated her tongue and filled her teeth with grit.
They sat like that as the wind whipped itself into a frenzy, howling and raged, content to rest their abused frames for a few numbing minutes. Ben wiped his face, smearing away enough dirt not to feel like a tuskan raider. Rey echoed his actions, brushing her front as he started patting his arms and legs.
"Good thing we didn't expend a lot of our energy on swordplay," Rey muttered wryly. A cough erupted from her chest, and she sat up to clear her lungs. She heard Ben shift behind her before settling a palm between her shoulder-blades.
His frazzled nerves and growing fatigue left his side of the bond broadcasting at a demanding decibel. Concern buffeted with more strength than any flung sand, and Rey hunched as a fit of hacking overtook her. Her barking coughs made his concern spike to panic, and he shuffled around on his knees to examine her from the front.
"I'm okay," she gasped out. "Don't worry."
Ben couldn't manage words, his agitation growing to a cacophony between her temples that made her wince.
"Ow," she closed her eyes, groping through the air and finding his cheek. "Stop, Ben. You're hurting me."
Her plea roused his lucidity, and he wrestled for control, quieting the clamor swiftly.
Rey mustered a tremulous smile, knowing he needed unassailable reassurance her state wasn't about to worsen. Flitting her eyes open, she thumbed the underside of his chin.
"Much better," she mumbled.
He continued searching her face, wiping a lingering smudge at her nose. "Are you though?" The question was incredulous.
"I could use a hug," she said simply.
Ben obliged without further coaxing, sliding the hand still at her back down to circle her ribs, nearly pulling her from her seat. His other hand smoothed over her frayed updo, ruining it further. He'd trapped her arm between them in his embrace, and she wiggled it loose enough to dart it up around his neck. They clung to each other, exchanging relief in the intimate privacy of their bond and this new, skittishly-tested territory of physical closeness.
Ben sighed, resting his chin atop her hair. "Why did you choose this planet again?" The words rumbled against her forehead. "I'm preemptively vetoing any other desert worlds you decide we should visit in the future."
"It was far away," she defended.
"When the galaxy has learned of your unparalleled deeds? Why would you want to escape celebrating?"
Rey's response was incoherent, muffled in his tunic, and he bent his ear.
"You picked Carajam for me," Ben breathed, hearing thoughts she tried too late to mask. "So the tribunal would forget about me."
She shifted to the nook of his neck. "They don't understand," lips brushed his skin. "They don't know what I do."
Ben released her as if touching her burned, scooting back. "No," he agreed hollowly. "They didn't witness me killing my father or slaughtering an entire force on Mustafar to find the Sith wayfinder."
"Ben, that's NOT what I m—," she began, but he cut her off.
"You see more than what's there, Rey," he muttered. "Like everyone else."
She crawled back to him, letting him feel her anger. "That's not fair and completely untrue," reaching out, she grabbed his shirt. "I'm not one of the larger-than-life people from your past, Ben," her clutch turned to a hard yank. "I don't want to mold you into anything. I just want to be with you – the real you – without anyone trying to keep us apart."
He looked away, even as she pulled him almost nose to nose with her. "I don't want you to give up everything for me," he declared. "You shouldn't have to hide like a criminal to protect me."
"I'm not losing anything—."
"I haven't changed," he met her eye. "Not really."
"W-What?" She spluttered. "Of course you—."
"I'll never be a Jedi," Ben whispered, the title choked as it left his lips. "I'll never be all light and goodness and selflessness."
"I told you, I like who—."
"For now, maybe. But—."
"Stop," Rey growled. "Stop interrupting me and trying to steamroll everything I say with your own inner narrative. You know how I feel about you. What you mean to me," she opened her fingers from their vice, sinking back onto her heels. "I'm here, fully aware of the demons you still wrestle with, trying to let you navigate your own way," she stared over, her gaze imploring. "I just wanted you to know you're not alone in your struggle."
Did he know how she felt? Ben dove into her mind, and she ceded control, allowing him to search unimpeded. He hunted for her constructs of him, and a suffusion of blushing warmth sprung, blooming from the memory of Kef Bir. It was the moment his mother had passed on, and Rey had bent to heal the wound she'd just inflicted. They'd stared at each other, he shocked, her sorrow-filled.
Ben skirted the rest of the memory – realizing he was imposing too much. Her most personal feelings weren't his to investigate just for reassurance. "Hell," he palmed his face. Regret crashed into his core. "I'm sorry. What's wrong with me?"
Rey smiled mirthlessly, wrapping her memories back up. "You're a moody bastard," she replied. "But white suits you enough to overlook it sometimes."
Ben scoffed, letting his hand thud down into his lap. "I'd never take you for a shallow woman."
She shrugged. "I think you've brought it out in me," she paused to consider. "Or maybe Finn started it?"
"Oh, you're funny."
"When you let me actually complete my sentences."
"Cheeky too."
Her smile warmed. "Still upset?"
He drew his knees up, resting dangling wrists. "Less so."
"Are you the one who needs a hug now?"
Ben shook his head vigorously. "I'm not a hugger."
"That might be something I change."
Ben bit off a piece of the travel ration Rey had packed, growing increasingly aware of the confines of their shelter. They had assembled it in a rush, thinking only of the storm, and he eyed its dimensions with an acuity he'd lacked before.
They had no fuel for a fire, but the spikes infused the meager area with enough heat not to need his outer covering. Rey was eating at her usual pace, watching the violence sundering above intently. She seemed unconcerned with the triangle of protection's size, and Ben worked his teeth into the dry, nutrient-rich, flavor-absent square just to focus on something.
"How long before this passes?" He asked, failing in his struggle.
Rey shoved the last of her ration into her mouth before speaking, despite the obvious fact there was no one who could traverse the weather to take it from her now. "It's young," she cupped an ear. "It'll last until dawn at least."
Ben's swallow stuck. "So… all night?"
She waved his trepidation away as she finished chewing. "Don't worry, I don't bite," she moved for his piled-up shawl, discarded in a great cloud of dust, shaking it open before spreading it out on the ground. "It'll be just like camping on patrol or something. No big deal."
It was a VERY big deal. Momentous in fact. Ben fumbled for glibness, trying to lighten his mood. "What if you drool?"
Rey shot him a flat look. "Then in the morning, claim it was cute and maidenly or something."
How could she be so blasé? Ben jolted. Had she done this before? With Finn? Or that obnoxious x-wing pilot, Dameron?
He had seen how she'd saved the former stormtrooper on the ocean moon of Endor, hurling him to safety before a crashing wave had swept him away. She'd even shown Kylo Ren her back in the effort, so focused on protecting Finn from the fray.
Ben kept his musings to himself, but his face betrayed him, creasing in misery.
Rey made a big show of checking the contents of her pack, unsure of this sudden surge of reticence. Was the idea of sleeping next to her so repugnant? She raised her sand-burned arm, giving a surreptitious sniff. Not too bad, she thought – a hint of exertion, but mostly just earthy tones of desert.
"So, you've done this a lot…," he tried for casual, failing horribly. "With friends?'
Rey started. Oh. That was it. "No, not really," she closed the bag and crawled atop the poncho, patting a space beside her. "I've never been trapped in an eight-foot wedge with them though."
Ben stared at the open half of the makeshift blanket like it was the Dark side whispering viper-like pledges at his temple.
"Stop being so prim," she exhaled in exasperation. "I'm not going to take advantage of you or anything."
His eyes bugged. "P-Prim?!" He inched forward on his knees, plunking down with a glare. "You just haven't thought this out like I have."
"Psh," Rey blew out. "It's only a big deal if you make it one."
"Uh-huh."
Rey laid down without any more announcement, turning on her side to face the energy shield. Ben tried reclining on his back, but there wasn't enough room. He rolled for the opposite side, but he had to crane his neck back to avoid the field, and there was nowhere for him to put his hands unless he kept them pinned down at his waist. With a grumble, he flipped over, curving his frame along Rey's.
She stiffened, emitting a squeak of surprise, and he nodded glumly.
"See?" He said. "I knew this would be awkward."
"Okay, okay," she agreed. "You were right. I was wrong," she squirmed, trying to get comfortable.
Her fidgeting continued – shifted hips and rubbed legs readjusting with tenacity – and Ben clenched his teeth. This could reach a whole new level of awkward in a few seconds. She was going to make his body start reacting if she didn't quit it. Soon.
Without warning, he dropped an arm over her hips to keep her still. "That I could hear again," he spoke as if he hadn't just risked taking great liberty with her person.
Glancing over her shoulder, Rey stuck her tongue out at him. "Some men would use an opportunity like this to be charming."
"I don't possess an ounce of suave," Ben said mildly. "And am far too preoccupied to attempt any now."
Color rose in her cheeks. "That wasn't bad."
"I think you have a low bar."
"Or your arm is crushing the air supply to my brain," she groused.
Ben made his limb go heavy. "Then let's deplete you of more oxygen to make me seem debonair."
Rey laughed, lifting his arm in shaking mirth. "Already not so awkward. So I was right."
"The night's just begun, Rey," he cautioned. "I'm confident I'll be proven correct by its end."
A/N: My husband INSISTS Han had an emergency tent he set up on Hoth to save Luke, but I swear I saw him sticking lighted poles of some kind in the ground. Either way, I've spied shelter spikes in some other sci-fi setting (Star Trek perhaps), so I can't take credit for the (very convenient, and certainly not trope-filled) idea which allows them to cozy up alone in a small space overnight. ::whistles innocently::.