Thank you all for the incredible response! I almost feel bad for thinking this story wasn't gonna do well. Thank you all who reviewed, followed and favorited! I have listened to your reviews and thank you for the compliments!
Just a head up, in case you didn't know (Which I'm guessing none of you did) this will be a slow burn, at least through the first few chapters. I like the tension to build up, makes everything better.
I said longer chapters, but, I might just do 2k ish words per chapter but make updates more frequently. Really not sure yet
This will include some fighting scenes so expect the rating to go to T.
Don't worry, all the fluff in the world will come in time. It'll be like Build-A-Bear by the time I'm done.
Expect weekly update around Sunday/Saturday. If I get excited about a chapter (which ends up happening a lot) it might be mid-week.
Whatever the case, thanks again. Everyone follow is a blessing.
Thanks, London.
Chapter 2
The rise of many murmuring voices rose into a firestorm. Rey looked at Ben, he stood proudly. He is proud to be a Solo she thought with a smile, catching the attention of Finn. He was evidently pissed, and confused. Pissed and confused, the look on his face was that of shock and awe.
"How could you bring this monster back!" He hissed between gritted teeth, not only did she stand there with him, she was smiling at him. Jealousy boiled beneath his skin. He felt betrayed "Rey!" His voice echoed powerfully between the trees. She turned, a little shocked by the anger in his voice. Ben did too and the groups murmurs were silenced. "Why?" He yelled again. Rey, taken aback slightly approached the disgruntled Finn.
"Finn, calm down." She walked up to him, locking eyes with Finn so he would know she meant what she said. "Ben saved me, he save us all." The group gasped again and the murmuring arose from the crowd. Ben, expecting a worse reaction, was honestly pleased.
"Murderous snake!" A long female voice called from the crowd. "Coward!" Another insult rose above the rest of the whispers. Finn's angered slowly died, but he was still mad. The insults that rose from the crowd had Rey feeling bad for Ben.
"Stop it!" Rey called to the crowd, and again the whispering hushed. She pointed towards Ben who stood "He saved us! Without him, the who galaxy would be under Final Order control." The murmuring picked up again, but Rey wasn't finished. Ben felt true compassion for the first time in ages, and she wasn't even being honest. Rey saved them, he just helped her. "I died, after defeating my gran-" She slipped up on her own tongue, the crowd gasp "He revived me." She turned back to Ben, smiling "He found the light." He was smiling too, and Finn noticed. Enraged with jealousy he stormed off. How can she defend him like that? What? She was dead? He could be fooling us! Rey watched as he left, a pang of empathy stabbed through her chest but quickly vanished. Finn shouldn't be mad for too long.
"How can we trust him?" A man called from the group, the others voiced their agreement. Rey opened her mouth to reply, but Ben stepped forward and signaled for her to let him take this one. Rey obeyed and closed her jaw.
"You have too. The war isn't over, and you will need all the help you can get. I know what I have done..." He looked around at the group. He sensed fear radiate from the crowd. Searching for the right words he found them "I will pay for what I did, but first let me get my revenge on the First Order. Let me earn my redemption by fighting along side you." The crowd still looked hesitant, but some of them relaxed a bit. His mini speech had smoothed the waters for now.
"Where is Leia?" Rey asked as she went up next to Ben, he nodded to her question, he was eager to see his mother again. The crowd went silent for the third time, but something was different about this silence. That's when Rey saw her, the young lady who worked with Leia. Tears ran down her cheeks and Rey felt her stomach drop.
"Sh-she didn't make it.." The girl could barely push the words out. Rey stood still for a moment. She was crushed, and so was Ben. He looked around, the group noticing his emotions, they almost took pity for him. They did however had pity for Rey. Who's eyes swelled with tears. Poe, having stayed to watch Kylo after Finn ad rushed off, went up to Rey to hug her. With open arms she embraced him, Ben just stood still.
"We thought you died too... we are so, so sorry." Rey started to cry, technically she had died. But the embrace of a person, like Poe, pushed her over the edge and she began to ball. The group slowly dispersed as to not make the moment anymore awkward, leaving just Poe, Cheewie, Ben and Rey. While Ben didn't cry, he felt the strangest sadness. His mother had died before she saw her only son turn to the light, it almost felt empty. He stood their in his own thoughts for a while and Poe and now Cheewie went up to comfort Rey. She was a loss for words.
"Can- can I see her" Rey whispered softly, why was it that she saw as a parental figure have to die? Was she bad luck? Am I bad luck? Tears streamed down her cheeks and onto the shoulder of Poe. Who pulled away to look at her, delivering what he thought was bad news. Ben still stood motionless
"Her body, Maaz said, disappeared shortly after she died." Rey's eyes got wide, still shinny with tears and Ben turned quickly to face him. Poe was confused, but didn't question it.
"Force ghost.." Rey murmured, confusing Poe even more. He shrugged and walked away, turning back to look at her. She is still with me, I can feel it. Rey thought with a beam of reassurance.
"Well if you need anything, you know where to find me." He walked away towards the base, the birds chirping in a delightful song. Rey scurried back to Ben who still stood in the same spot. She wrapped her arms around him, if anything Rey felt worse for Ben then for herself.
"I'm sorry Ben, I thought I felt something happen to her, but I completely forgot..." She felt the pain of sadness burn in her chest remembering the fight on the Death Star wreckage. He looked down at her with soft eyes, feeling the warmth of another persons sympathy was a foreign feeling for him.
"I know how this happened." He broke the hug and looked into Rey's eyes. They were red and puffy, evidence of her loss. "She spoke to me, on the Death Star; she must've given her life to me.. for me to change." He shook his head, this overwhelming sense of importance flooded him. Rey nodded and walked away slowly, her icy resolve showing once again. Most of her pain came at night, when she struggled to sleep. Her dreams over the past year were plagued with the visions of her becoming the Empress, but that was out of the picture now.
"It's okay... follow me." She said without looking back, Ben followed her right away. This wasn't his home, and he wanted to do everything he could to get on the good side of his new allegiance. "I have a small hut you can stay in for now, if you're comfortable with that." She added, turning back this time with a look only Rey could pull of. Ben had to say yes, or else he would have to deal with the fury of Rey.
"Yes, yes that's fine with me." He replied catching up to her as she took him up the side of the lush hill. Rey noticed some glances of her fellow Resistance fighters were that of disgust, while others were that of joy. She knew bringing Ben back would change the view of her in some of the soldiers, but who cares, right?
"Good, now you will need to keep a low profile around here." So will I... Rey thought as she spoke "But stay with me, while the others might not show it, I want you around." She finished as they reached the top. Ben smiled wide, She wants me around! He thought as he gazed upon the small wooden hut. It was quaint, but very Rey. She opened the door and faced him. Her eyes were less red, but the same sparkle in her eyes when they kissed was back, and Ben noticed.
"Thank you" He said before lightly ducking to enter the room. Light shinned into the singular room, casting warm shadows in patterns of the vines which hung over the window. In the corner to the right was a lone hammock, next to shelf full of books and random parts an pieces of things from Jakku. An orange doll of what looked to be a Rebel pilot sat on the top of the shelf. In the center was a pit with charred wood, encircled by a ring of larger pieces of wood mostly used for sitting. In the far back was a stove and a sink with what appeared to be running water, god knows how Rey manufactured that. To the left of that was a large chest with extra garments near it. There was a small empty space before there was a small table and one chair, a lamp and a pen. The last piece of furniture in the hut was a small couch.
"Welcome to my home.." Rey said softly as she closed the wooden door behind her. Placing her hands on her hips she gazed at her own home. "I miss my home in Jakku a lot sometimes." She brushed past him, lightly touching his arm when she did so. Sending ripples of feelings through Ben's body. "Finn accompanied me to get some of my stuff back from Jakku. I would never want to go back forever, but I do want to visit again." She moved to the hammock and sat down. "I'm so tired Ben..." Rey let out a sigh, feeling her aching muscles and bones cry for sleep. "But we need to get you some clothes and a shower." She chuckled at the last bit. Ben gasped in a fake way, he hadn't joked around with anyone since he was a boy. It felt, nice.
"Fine." He paused breifly, lost in his thoughts. "I need some clothes, please, if you can" He looked around and sat on the couch. It was shockingly comfortable. Rey giggled, laughing at herself for forgetting the he needs needs clothes.
"I have a small water fall I found on the other side of the hill I use for showering." She stood up, heading towards the exit. "No one ever goes back there, I will take you there and you can clean up while I find you some clothes." She tilted her head, eyes shining bright "You can borrow my soap until Julia makes more." With that, Rey opened the door and exited into the mid afternoon sun. Ben was close behind her as they made the trek down and around the base of the hill. However, after cooling down, Finn was heading to Rey's hut to apologize. But when he neared the pathway up to her hut, all he saw was a smiling and giddy Rey leading the man he still saw as Kylo Ren behind the rebel hangar. Assuming the worst, fiery jealous burned in his chest and below his skin. He clenched his fist and stormed off.
Once behind the hill; Rey pushed back a couple of huge leaves and sure enough, there was a small, almost personal waterfall with crystal clear water. The grey, smooth and stony rocks gave way to a small shallow pool which lead into a small stream. It was well hidden but light did penetrate the trees and foliage. Ben smiled at the sight. The world seemed so much more colorful outside the First Order. Rey walked up the socks and waited for Ben to catch up. She opened a small box that rested on a small indention in the rock wall.
"The soap is in here, sorry if you smell like a girl!" She giggled again, her cute teethy smile beaming through the late afternoon air. "I will leave you be for bit, I'll find you some clothes." Ben smiled and walked over to the box as Rey walked away towards the exit. He waited until her body had disappeared out of sight before he undid her belt and slipped of his clothes. He hastily went over to the box and opened it. Inside he saw multiple kinds of soap, a razor and some cream. He also noticed a bottle of pills. What are these Rey..? He thought for a moment but closed the box after grabbing a white half used bar of soap. Ben jumped in and felt the water was warm, happily, he began to wash.
Meanwhile, Rey had returned to the main hub of the Resistance. Normal chattered had resumed, but she heard talks of a planned celebration later for the victory. Many thoughts danced throughout Rey's head as she entered the hanger, strange new feelings consumed her as well. Its okay Rey, a goodnights' sleep and you'll clear up all these mumble-jumble thoughts. She knew they weren't mumble-jumble, but they were so strong it almost scared her. Smiling, she approached an acquaintance of hers.
"Hey Paul, do you have some extra clothes I can borrow?" The question caught the man named Paul off guard. He lifted his head up from under his table and gasp. He was about the same height as Ben, but a little skinnier. Rey was a very hard woman to say no too.
"Uh-errr yea. Here, follow me." He stood up. The Resistance had a locker full of extra clothes for any refugees or deserters who needed a place to stay. Rey happily followed him to the back room. Once they arrived he opened a door and allowed Rey to enter. "Are these for..?" He questioned. Rey held her tongue for a moment, but quickly thought of an excuse.
"Oh, uhh no. I am looking for some clothes to be cozy in." She answered with a petite smile and tilt of the head. The fib worked, and he went over to the of male larges. He was aware of the size cozy clothes needed to be. He stepped back and let Rey dig through the pile of clothes. On bended knee Rey looked through all of them, picking out the ones she thought Ben would like. I bet he would look great in blue.. she thought with a smile.
"Well, I will let you do this in peace Rey. Don't forget to close the door on your way out." Paul said as he left the room. Rey gave an 'mhm' as an acknowledgement to his statement, but kept her focus on getting enough sets of matching clothe for Ben. A few moments passed and Rey got up, in her arms she carried a large pile of everything Ben would need. Walking away from the vault, she closed the door behind her with the force as to keep her hands free.
Once she cleared the hanger, she walked neatly back behind the hill again. But before she rounded the turn, she noticed Finn watching her from across the runway. Rey gave a smile and headed around the bend. Finn waved back nervously. Everything I wanted to do with Rey that monster accomplished in mere minutes. Of course, that wasn't true. But he didn't know that.
Rey heard the splashing of water as she neared the entrance to her secret waterfall. Smiling at the thought of Ben having fun for the first time in age she forgot to let him know she was coming back in with the clothes. Pushing back the large green leaves, Rey entered the secret space..
"Here you go- Be-Ben..." Rey trailed off as her eyes grew wide. Once again, the very muscular top half of Ben was showing. His fair skin glistened in the light, reflecting off the water on his body. Startled she dropped the clothes onto the ground and let out a squeak. "I'm sor-sorry I forgot to knock..." Rey began, but her eyes were locked on Ben's pecs. Rey began to feel a warm almost tingly sensation grow within her lower stomach area this is new... She didn't notice how she was staring, and she bite her lip without even knowing. Ben just looked up at her, he felt strangely comforted by her reaction.
"Its okay, Rey." He said with a calm voice as he lowered himself into the water to be more covered. "Thanks for the clothes." She nodded and quickly came to her senses and looked away, putting her hand up over her eyes to shield herself. Ben smiled, she was so adorable. Her other hand rested at her side, but his was clenched into a ball.
"Get dressed." Rey said, her voice a notable higher octave. Ben nodded and stepped out of the water. Rey heard the sound of the water as he moved and heard the drops of water hit the stone as he got out. "I won't look." Rey added as she felt him reach for the clothes. The tingly arm feeling in her lower abdomen had spread to all of her lower regions now, and she had to squeeze her thumb to block it out. What's wrong with you Rey? She thought to herself while Ben go dressed.
"You can look now." He said with a smooth tone in his voice. Rey quickly turned around and felt her cheeks grow hot. Ben looked great in blue, just like she had hoped. Get a grip of yourself Rey! She internally hissed at herself. Ben placed the soap back into the box and noticed the pills again, curious he decided to ask about them. "Rey, what are these pills about?" He turned to face her, his hair sparkled with water droplets. Rey clenched up for a moment; only her, Leia and Doc. Keller knew about her sleeping troubles.
"I need..." She looked down and back up. Ben's once cold eyes were warm and inviting, almost comforting. "I need those to help me sleep sometimes." Rey looked away again, this time into the water. "It gets really bad sometimes." Ben felt a pang of sympathy towards the scavenger. He did know what that was like, and he stepped towards.
"Its okay, I feel it too." Ben said, looking down at her. He really didn't, but he wanted to comfort her. Rey looked up into his eyes, and she felt the same tug she felt when they shared a kiss on the floor of Palpatines thrown room. She placed a hand on his chest, and looked at his lips. The same tug she had felt when they were in the elevator, before they teamed up to kill Snoke. The same tug she had felt during their force talks on Luke's island.
"Ben..." Rey whispered, using her hand to grab into is shoulder and pull herself closer to him. He felt her embrace light the hot feelings in his chest he had felt on Exegol. He looked into her eyes, they were so sweet. He felt his new pants tighten at the waist, and he grabbed Rey's hand and took it off him.
"Rey, you need to rest." He said, looking down at the beautiful girl before him. Somehow, he had managed to resist the temptation he felt for her. It needed to be the right time. But in doing so, he saw Rey's eyes grow sad and she frowned. He was right, but her body cried out for more.
"You're right." Rey shook her head and went for the box with the pills in it. Grabbing one, she popped it into her mouth and swallowed. Ben had already started to walk away towards the hut, and the tingly in Rey's pants died away. She scoffed at herself in anger. What the hell were you thinking? Idiot. Rey shook her head and followed him up and around the hanger to her hut. They didn't speak a word, and by the time Rey got there the pill had kicked in and she could barely keep her eyes open. She flopped down into her hammock and drifted into sleep. Ben watched from the couch as he did so, smiling as he thought of her dreaming happy dreams. She is something special... I can never loose my only ray of light. Never. Ben thought as he too drifted into the realm of sleep.
Thanks again for the amazing response! I love every review and follow just as much as I love Reylo.
I put some pop culture references and some foreshadowing in this chapter, as well as some call backs to the three movies in the trilogy.
If you can spot some of them, drop them into the reviews and I'll shout you out in the coming chapter!
Its currently 1:30 a.m. where I am, so I'll keep it short.
I love all of ya, and thanks again!
- London
