Ben and Rey make their way to the auction on Arkanis. Ben helps Rey with her hair, while resists the alluring temptation of his lap–for now.


Rey was half-way to the shuttle before she realized that she'd forgotten Rose's combat umbrella, plus the other things she needed for her job. It was like Ben had taken her hand, and all thoughts and reason had flown right from between her ears. How embarrassing. Fortunately, 3PO had to run back to grab some accessories for Ben, who changed his mind about an outfit halfway into the shuttle, so he grabbed Rey's bag of things.

The length of the shuttle's interior could fit at least six sentients, but it was just Ben and Rey sitting on the wide, nerf leather seats. With tinted windows and holo displays, the shuttle was more intimate than the craft they'd taken from the docks, and Rey was acutely aware of how extremely alone with Ben she was.

Fortunately, Rey was able to find a space to sit that didn't put her into direct contact with him. Because she already knew how susceptible she was to this man's touch and the last thing she needed was to be distracted on the way to a job. 3PO slipped Rey's bag into the shuttle before closing off the back compartment and settling himself in the front, which truly meant she was alone with Ben, and soon after, they were off.

She'd opted for a covert blaster this time around. Normally, she'd have a holster at her hip, plus any number of other backup weapons in her boots or in hidden pockets, but Maz had insisted she not draw attention to herself. While the threats against Leia Organa were credible, there was no reason to believe that there was any reason to be overly concerned about Ben, at least, not yet.

They were more likely to run into deranged fans, than anything else. And Rey was quite certain she could handle that. Still, she wasn't going in completely unarmed and her cover blaster—a remodeled version of the A280-CFE, was nestled along her back, just in case.

Rey stared out of the shuttle windows, marveling at the rain, which had started to pelt the craft as soon as it had made it sway out of the hanger. Rey was glad that she had her combat umbrella, for the rain, if nothing else. As the shuttle skimmed along through the air, the windows darkened as the privacy tinting was activated, blocking the outside world from seeing in.

Ben looked over at where she sat as the shuttle slipped through the airspace. She was about as far from him as she could manage. He didn't comment on it, but his eyebrow quirked and she knew he was laughing at her on the inside.

Don't be a dick, was what she thought.

What she said was, "I thought you were ready? Why'd you send 3PO back for more clothes?"

A slow smile spread across his face and Rey knew he'd heard her thoughts loud and clear. "I'm ready for the red carpet, but not the main event. I'd be eviscerated if I didn't have at least one change between being seen and being auctioned."

Rey made a face while Ben stretched his long arm over the back of the plush seat. His legs slid open, spreading wide as he settled in for the ride. His clothes shimmered as he moved and Rey tried to keep herself from staring, but the glitter of his clothing kept drawing her eye—that, and the fact that he was all laid out, indolent, and beautiful.

Normally, it was irksome to Rey when sentients spread themselves out like they were the supreme leader of the galaxy, but not with Ben. No, if anyone was the supreme leader of the galaxy, it was him, anyway. But with his legs and arms wide, and his body relaxed, it honestly looked like an invitation more than posturing.

She could settle into that lap, get comfy on those thick, muscular legs, and then…

Shit. No. Not now. Think of something else. The weather. The rain. Uhh…

It was suddenly way too hot in the shuttle and Rey, scrambling for something to distract herself with, asked, "How long will it take to get to the event?"

Ben dipped his head, side-swept, dark hair skimming over his shoulder as he replied, "About thirty minutes. Why? What were you wanting to get up to?"

Rey swallowed thickly. Again, caught in the act of admiring him. She tried to play it off with some sass. "I just need to know how long I've got to sit here and deal with you for."

Ben leaned forward. Long legs sliding up, and arms shifting so he could rest his head on his palm and look at her. "The only one who needs to be dealt with is you, Rey. Come here."

"Excuse you?" she balked.

"Come. Here. You're a mess."

"And?"

"And I can fix it," he assured her with a sharp smile that did nothing to ease her concerns. "So, be a good girl, and come here."

For one, horrifyingly long moment, Rey had the distinct impression that he was going to curl off of his seat, crawl over to where she sat, and pull her over to him. And that was the last thing she'd be able to handle. Far from looking submissive, the very thought of Ben crawling over to someone like her made her muscles clench. He was every bit the predator in this situation, and she needed to act wisely unless she wanted to lose her head.

Or my heart.

Before he could move, Rey was shuffling awkwardly through the shuttle and taking a seat beside him. Which was what he wanted, but at least it took away the possibility that he'd crawl across the shuttle before hauling her to his side.

"What do you want?" she grumbled, entirely put out that her plan to keep about as far away from him as possible had failed.

Naturally, he'd realized her plan from the start, and was elated that he'd gotten his way. Ben hummed a lovely tune as he pressed into the side panel of the shuttle. It opened with a soft hiss, revealing what seemed to be some sort of hidden makeup cabinet.

"You have lovely hair," Ben said while fishing around in the cabinet. "And I understand the inclination to keep it in a braid for your work, but let me show you how things were done on Alderaan."

Rey didn't know much about the tragic planet, but she knew enough not to be blunt about it. "Did your mother tell you stories about it?"

Ben turned back to her, a soft smile in place. "Yeah, and fortunately there is enough of a diaspora that many of the traditions and customs were able to be passed down. I grew up on their fairy tales," he said before urging Rey to turn around.

She hesitated, so he added, "I don't bite. Not unless you ask very nicely."

"You're the worst," Rey huffed but turned around so her back was facing him, none the less.

"And that's why you adore me," he said before his hand reached up and pulled at the tie in her hair.

Ben's fingers threaded through her hair. It was getting kind of long, but getting a haircut was just another expense that she didn't want to deal with. Generally, if she complained enough to Rose or Finn, one or the other would help her with it, anyway. But getting help from her friends wasn't quite the same as getting it from Ben.

The way he touched her… It wasn't friendly, it was intentional. His fingers gently massaged her scalp as he slowly worked the braid from her hair—her friends most definitely didn't do that. The gentle pressure was both relaxing and distracting because it was really hard to stay grumpy when he was so lovingly skimming along the sensitive skin of her hairline.

Eventually, a brush replaced his fingers, and Rey had to take a shaky breath at how nice it felt to have someone else gently work with her hair. Ben kept humming the same soft tune as before and it was so lulling that Rey felt a little drowsy.

"What song is that?" Rey wondered softly while Ben gently guided her hair where he wanted.

"It's a lullaby my mother used to sing me," he murmured.

"Oh," Rey replied because she didn't know what else to say. From what she could recall, no one had ever sung her a lullaby before. And it was… nice, actually.

Ben was remarkably good with his hands, and in no time at all, he had her hair braided and tied off. It was much better than what she'd started with as her hair was off of her shoulders and entirely out of the way, meaning it wouldn't distract her from her bodyguard duties.

"Where'd you learn to do something like this?" Rey wondered. She'd gotten the sense that Aristos didn't much do anything for themselves, so the fact that Ben could style hair so well was a little surprising. Then again, he was always surprising her in one way or another.

"I learned it from my mother. Hairstyles have meaning in Alderaanian culture and it was important to her that this part of her heritage was passed down," he revealed. That was kind of interesting. Rey added it to the list of things that could have special meanings to Aristos—beauty marks, clothing colors, hairstyles…

"And what does this one mean?" Rey asked while she shifted around to look at him.

At first, he looked a little sheepish, but then he smiled and said, "I'm not sure. My mother was always better at this kind of thing. It's been so long since we last talked about it, that I can't quite remember. But I always loved this kind of braid. Looked brilliant in the holos she used to show me as a kid."

For some reason, Rey got the feeling that he was lying, but maybe he was just embarrassed that he'd forgotten. Either way, the style felt comfortable, even if it was more elaborate than what she'd done to her hair before. Rey's fingers skimmed over the pattern he'd woven into her hair, trying to get a sense of what it looked like, but Ben reached back and grabbed a hand mirror from the compartment for her.

"Thanks."

"I hope you like it," he said, looking sweet and vulnerable enough that she had to look away or risk falling even deeper for him.

Rey took a quick peek in the mirror, and she had to admit, it looked lovely. Starting at the front of her dark hair, he'd woven a braid along the side before fashioning the remainder into a loose bun. Two small woven locks had been tied into the hair at her nape, but they were pulled and tied into the main braid. It almost looked protective, the way the smaller braids wound around the main construction.

The only time her hair ever looked this nice was when Finn did it for assignments. She'd have to see if she could find anything about Alderaanian culture later, but for now, she thanked him and tried not to let him know just how much she'd enjoyed having him play with her hair by gushing too much.

"You're a professional," Rey marveled as she handed the compact mirror back to Ben. "If the whole Aristo thing doesn't work out, I'd say you've got quite the future in hairstyling."

His eyebrow quirked. "High praise, coming from you."

Rey shrugged. "When it's due, it's due. Though, I'm beginning to understand why your hair always looks so nice. And here, I thought a droid did it."

Ben shook his head. "There's only one droid I trust in my life, and he's no good at hairstyles—gods know, we've tried. But on to the next step for you…" Ben trailed off.

"What else?"

"Well, I'm not saying you should put some makeup on."

"Well good, because I did not mentally prepare for that today."

"Which is why I'm not saying it," he assured her. "But I am going to recommend some powder. The cameras are merciless and unless you want to look as reflective as one of Iego's thousand moons…"

"Okay, I get your point. Powder me up, I guess." Rey could recall instances where Aristo makeup had gone awry—glossy faces, smeared makeup, that sort of thing. Galaxy Glitter was always merciless when one of them had a slip-up. The last thing she needed to be remembered as was Ben Solo's glowing bodyguard. The less attention she drew, the better.

Ben seemed relieved that Rey'd given in so easily and quickly slipped his hand into the compartment to fish out what she needed.

"If you could just shimmy a little bit…"

"Oh, sure," Rey said while shifting her hips.

She was about to shuffle back a little so he could properly tend to her face, but as she shifted, some sudden turbulence shook the shuttle, and powerless to stop herself, Rey fell right into Ben's lap.

And her suspicions were confirmed. His lap was a very nice place to be, indeed. Too nice, if she was being honest because, this close, it was very hard to resist the allure of his presence. The way his scent coiled around her heart—the way his heat drew her in—the soft smile he gave her while she stared up at him, lips parted, as she forgot herself entirely.

He was good at that, making Rey forget herself. His hands came down to steady her body as he gently shifted off of his legs and back into her seat and she was almost sad to lose that closeness. Ben plucked the compact from where it had landed and swiped some makeup onto the pad before holding it between them.

"Ready?"

Rey sighed. "Yeah, I guess so."

"You'll thank me when it keeps your face from glowing in the holos later."

"Hopefully, I won't be in any holos," Rey said as she closed her eyes. The gentle swipe of the cosmetic pad over her face was strangely soothing, or maybe it was just that she enjoyed Ben's touch, no matter what it was doing.

"I hope so, too," Ben admitted softly.

Rey opened one eye and peered at him as he applied the makeup. His face was concentrating on his work, a few lines had furrowed their way into his brow, and Rey had to admit that she found the look endearing. "Don't want anyone seeing your nobody bodyguard?" she joked.

Ben shook his head but didn't deviate from his work. "I know how bad the paps can be. I wouldn't wish their attention on my worst enemy."

"But… you're always in the news!" she exclaimed softly.

"Not always when I want to be. It's an addictive cycle. I hope to keep you entirely out of it."

Her eyes flickered open as he pulled his hand away from her face. He wanted to keep her safe? That was remarkably sweet for someone who also seemed to take pleasure in pulling her into his world, despite her protests.

"I could just not work for you," she suggested.

A scowl marred his handsome face. "Unacceptable."

"Really? I mean, if you want to make sure that I stay out of the holos, I could just walk away right now."

"I said I want you out of the press, not that I want you out of my life."

"And why do you want me in your life, other than to drive me nuts, that is?"

"Do I drive you nuts?" he asked before reaching into the compartment again. This time, he slipped out what looked like some sort of lip gloss.

"A little."

"In a good way?"

Rey huffed. "Sometimes, but you're avoiding the question."

Ben pulled the applicator wand out of the gloss, considered it thoughtfully for a moment, and then slid a coat of the clear makeup onto his full lips.

"Purse your mouth," he directed.

"Hmm?"

Ben made a kissing face, which Rey mimicked, assuming he'd swipe the same clear gloss over her lips, and he did, but not in the way she expected. Ben slid his arm along the top of his seat to steady himself as he leaned close.

"What are you—?" Rey started, but Ben hushed her softly.

"Lips pursed, Rey," was all he said before he softly plucked her lips between his own, gently kissing the gloss onto her mouth as Rey forgot to breathe.

It had to be the least effective way to get the stuff on her mouth, but Rey was about as far from caring as she could be. His lips were a little sticky from the gloss as he pressed against her mouth, again and again. The gloss tasted like artificial grapes, and though the impulse was there, she managed to keep her tongue from darting out to have a taste—of the gloss and of Ben.

Okay, so maybe I won't protest so much about wearing makeup if he's going to put it on like this…

After long, gentle moments, Ben pulled away and surveyed his look. Huffing softly, a smile spread across his face as he reached out to gently spread the gloss with his thumb.

"Perfect," he breathed before dropping his hand.

"They're a little purple," Rey said softly as she looked at her lips in the mirror. The gloss mixing with his lipstick must have released some of the so-called kiss-proof makeup.

"Good," Ben said with some finality.

"Why?"

"I like you dressed up in my colors," he admitted with a wink, before cheekily clarifying, "Ideally, I'd like to see you dressed up in nothing but a hint of my colors on your lips, but I'll take what I can get."

Rey pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just couldn't resist yourself, could you?"

"When it comes to you? Never."

Rey was about to grumble something back, but shuttle stutter-stopped a little, and she realized it was because they'd into a shuttle procession.

"Are we close?" she asked. All she could see were more shuttles, no buildings or sentients yet.

"Probably. You going to be okay with all of this?"

Rey shrugged. "How bad can it be?" If Aristos could handle it, why wouldn't someone like her be able to? She'd been in plenty of stressful situations before. How could this be any different?

"I'm not sure you're not ready for this," Ben mused while Rey wondered just how bad this while 'celebrity thing' could be if he was worried. "I should have prepared you better, but there wasn't much time."

"Nobody's going to be looking at me with you there," she assured him.

Ben cocked his head a little. "I hope so."

"Don't want to share the attention?" she quipped.

"Don't want to share you, period. I have half a mind to keep you tied in the shuttle."

"I'd like to see you try that."

A satisfied smile spread across his face. "Normally, I'm the one that insists on being tied, but I'm willing to indulge you."

Rey could feel her cheeks flushing, not only because of what he'd said but what his words had evoked. "You're embarrassing me to distract me from being worried."

"Am I that transparent?"

"Soon, you'll have no secrets from me," she threatened.

Ben laughed. "Oh, I doubt that. I have too many secrets, sweetness."

"Mmm, that's what they all say."

The shuttle suddenly pulled up short before leveling out. They'd arrived at the event and, much to her horror, Rey did feel a little nervous.

"Shoulders back, chin up. A small smile, if you can manage it. Don't forget to breathe. And don't look directly into the flashes and ignore the yelling," Ben directed while taking one last look at his makeup. His hands gently smoothed and arranged his clothing, which had been mussed a little during the trip.

Ben reached out and gently gave her hand a squeeze. "You're going to be fine."

"Okay," Rey agreed, uncharacteristically compliant. She'd seen holos of Aristo events, but for some reason, it hadn't dawned on her that she'd be a part of one while doing work for Ben until it was an inevitability. This was going to be some kind of experience for her.

The shuttle door hissed and opened a crack as the noise from outside flowed into the cabin. Voices were already calling his name, flashes were already anticipating his movement, the world waited for Ben Solo to reveal himself as he took a few moments to slide that Aristo mask into place.

"Come," he said softly, voice resigned. "Step into my world."

And Rey took a deep breath and readied herself for the chaos that was yet to come.


Author's notes: Any guesses on what her hairstyle means? Ben, you ole softy. Anyway, as things often do, the chapter got insanely long, so I had to break it up because I don't wanna edit like 12k in one sitting. But! Fun fun, I'll get the second part up fairly quickly. Just need to finish writing a scene to earn that "Inappropriate use of the Force" tag (though it'll be edited to keep in line with this site's guidelines and, just a reminder, all the unedited content is on my account over on Ao3). And just a warning, this might be a little longer than 20 chapters. I'm sorry! I originally did plot it out for a specific number, but when I sit down to write, Ben and Rey just keep talking (seriously). It doesn't generally work like that for me lol.

Thanks for reading and for all your lovely reviews. I know Rey is sad and that's kind of the point for me. A lot of the story (in canon) glossed over how truly horrible it would be to basically rase yourself and the fact that it would have a lasting impact on how you see the world and interact with it. But don't worry. She's definitely getting a stinking happy ending. Cheers!