Author's Notes…

Here we are!

For Carla

Chocolate

Chapter Five

Cookie Dough

The clang of Rey's épée meeting Finn's rang repeatedly throughout the practice room. As she was an instructor and Finn had only a basic concept of fencing, she was kicking his arse. That was entirely the point. She had a lot to vent about.

"Rey!" Finn cried. "Go easy, man!"

"No!" she panted behind her mask. She'd carelessly let herself get out of shape, and now she was paying the price for it. Not that it would make a difference to Finn. "You need to learn when to keep your trap shut!"

"Man, c'mon!" He parried, barely keeping her at bay, but also backing up, unable to hold his ground. "We're all best friends! And it was a while ago! He asked if you saw that guy again, and I said no! So sue me!"

"I don't want Poe to know anything!" Rey swiped. Finn literally ducked beneath her épée and made a run for it. "Finn! Get back here!"

"Catch me if you can!"

Grrr…

Rey flew after him, pissed off enough to cut his feet out from under him with a leg swipe. He hit the ground, his épée flung off to the side. Rey yanked off her mask at the same time he did, her face flushed. Finn's was covered in sweat.

"This is beginning to feel very personal," Finn rasped, his hands held up in surrender.

"It is!" Rey shouted, frustrated. She put her free hand on her hip and bowed her head. She could feel where her hair was plastered to it in its messy bun. "Finn… don't tell Poe anything from now on! It's none of his business!"

"Okay, okay!" Finn returned. "Geeze…"

She kicked his leg. "Don't 'geeze' me!"

"WOMAN!" Finn burst. "Watch the violence!"

"I'll show you violence…!"

"Oh, God, no, I take it back—Rey—no—come on—I'm so ticklish—please—"

"Ahem."

Rey gasped and stood up so fast she almost tripped over her own two feet. She gave Finn a murderous expression, something along the lines of, "I can't believe you invited Ben here!" His response was an emphatically silent, "Bish, face your fears! I'm tired of hearing you whine about it!"

A mental round of épée began, firing off in quick succession.

I don't whine that much!

You whine enough!

That doesn't mean—

"Sorry to interrupt," rumbled Ben's wry baritone. "But I was under the impression that you were done with work for the day."

Yeah, and who gave him that impression?

Well, you sure weren't doing anything! Someone had to take action!

"Is there a reason the two of you are making faces at each other, or…?"

"Yeah, Rey's a little bit of a scared-y—" He broke off at the light blow to his stomach, coughing. His voice grew strained. "She's wonderful. Perfect. Like an angel. Lights up the sky. Real killer."

"I—ah—I didn't know you were going to be here," Rey said. She desperately wished she wasn't sticky with sweat and kitted out in fencing gear. "I wasn't prepared, so…"

She didn't like it when he cropped up out of nowhere. It completely threw her off guard. He made her world tilt, and she had to prepare for that. She could barely deal with him when she was prepared. Her wobbly knees were a testament to that, though they were behaving for the moment.

Finn sprung to his feet, taking his mask with him. "I'ma go get changed… and then head out. See you, Rey." He clapped her on the shoulder and took off.

Tricksy bastard—

"This is kind of… interesting." Ben had that predatory smile on his face again. Rey fumbled, bumping into a column. She used it to hold her up. The room was ancient, as ancient as the rest of the university, and it was styled accordingly. Columns were a regular sight.

She folded her arms and tried to lean on it in a way that suggested it was on purpose. The last thing he needed fed was his ego.

Oh, who was she fooling? He knew.

"Interesting?" she echoed.

"Finn said you were a fencing instructor…" He tucked his hands into his front pockets and rolled onto the toes of his shoes. He was dressed casually again, a comfortable T-shirt, equally comfortable jeans. "I guess I had to see it to believe it."

"Oh… well…" Rey played with the mesh of her mask. "This is me. This is what I do. Heh… now you know."

"I haven't seen you in a couple of weeks," he said, blazing right past the small talk. "You're not avoiding me again, are you?"

"No." She walked across the room, engaged in the process of taking off her gear. "You… haven't exactly texted me, either."

"Because you're like a skittish horse. I have no idea what the hell is gonna set you off." He curved his lips into something that wasn't quite a smirk.

"Then what are you doing here now?" Rey hated that she'd thrown on athletic wear before she left her apartment to meet Finn. She wanted to be… she didn't know. Not like this. Prepared. Pretty. Right now, she was gross and could only hope that her deodorant was holding up.

He shrugged one shoulder. "I missed you. Finn talks. A lot. By the way, do you know how to make him shut up?"

"No," Rey deadpanned. "We've been trying to figure out the secret to that for years and haven't been able to come up with anything. I mean, pot makes him chattier. I was in the emergency room with him once, and he got a shot of morphine, and that made him run on and on for hours."

She was speaking so casually with him. That was new. It made the back of her neck flush. "Ah… I've got to get all of this together. What did you want?"

"Seeing y—"

"Besides seeing me!"

He tugged on her bun, earning a slap to his wrist. "You wanted to know more about me, right?"

Rey stalled. "I… don't remember… saying that exactly…"

"There's an ice cream place near here that I like. Want to take a walk?"

"An ice cream place?" She huffed at that, fussing with putting the gear back where it belonged. "You don't strike me as the sort to get ice cream and walk through the city."

His voice was closer than she had initially thought when it shivered over her neck. "What do I strike you as, then?" He snugged an arm around her waist, anticipating her fall. She was both grateful and resentful. "Tell me."

"I…" Words had left her. She struggled to find them—she knew they were in there somewhere. But she could feel his breath on her ear as he spoke, and she… she… "I don't know. That's part of the problem."

He cupped her chin with his forefinger and tilted it up to make her look at him. His smile lines were evident, accompanying that irritating amused twinkle in his eyes. "You can't figure it out if you're avoiding me."

"I wasn't—"

"Avoiding me. You said."

"Then don't make me repeat myself."

His face inched closer to hers. She inhaled, her hand bracing on his shoulder, her eyes fluttering closed. She could feel his lips… any moment now, and he'd…

He kissed the corner of her mouth and drew away. "If you don't want ice cream, then what? I'm open to suggestions." His grin was a little too devilish for her liking, and she pushed a bit at his shoulder in passing. He fell after at his own measured pace.

I'll just bet you are. Rey picked up her gym bag and slung it over her shoulder. "I look like shite. You should recognize the signs. You pointed it out to me twice."

Ben said nothing as they walked through the corridors of the University of Coruscant. A few professors waved in greeting, which Rey returned with a nod of her head. She was taking classes here, too. When she wasn't holding fencing lessons, she was working on… some sort of degree. Her major was undecided.

She enjoyed fencing. She just wasn't sure if she wanted it to be her career.

Fine time to learn it. Twenty-five, and already so much time dedicated to the sport…

Rey dug out her sunglasses. It was bloody bright outside. She had no idea how her retinas hadn't seared off.

Ben was her constant shadow.

Rey walked across half the campus, wondering if she said nothing, he'd get the hint and go away. She… She needed time to prepare to be around him. And not to mention a shower! The man was oozing game—everyone's head was turning—meanwhile, she was Pig Pen from Charlie Brown, an athletic mess.

Argh! Why had Finn thought that would be a good idea?!

She stopped near a fountain. Students laughed amongst themselves or chatted on their mobiles. Ben halted a foot away from her, head tilted in question.

"Can I change first?" she asked exasperatedly.

"Is it important to you?" he replied.

That threw her. "What do you mean?"

"I'm fine with you how you are. You're fucking beautiful, I told you," he said bluntly. "But if it'll make you feel better to change, sure." He leaned in suddenly, an impish smile crossing his mouth.

"What?" she asked warily, clutching onto the strap of her gym bag.

"I'll know where you live," he drawled. "Sure you want that…?"

"We can go now!" she said half-hysterically. No! Absolutely not! Out of the question! "Right! Which ice cream shop? Lead the way!"

When had she turned into such a spaz?

Ben's laughter trailed behind her, a promising warmth in her heart.

If only she let it.

He took her hand, holding it loosely between them as they strolled.

She let him.