Rey's stomach growls impatiently and Ben could kick himself for dragging her into the middle of nowhere without thinking of the mid-day meal. He's been so selfish, speeding her away for his little breakdown. He has to take better care of her!

"Ben, stop. I can handle being a little hungry."

"Not on my watch," he grumbles. Regretfully, he begins to untangle himself from her and sits up. "Let's get you back to the apartment."

"But it's so beautiful out here. Couldn't we explore a little?" she asks him, as she turns on her side and props herself up with an elbow.

"I swore to myself I'd never let you starve!" he says angrily.

Rey blinks, sorrow filling her eyes. "This … this isn't starving."

"Oh, gods …" He runs his hand through his hair and his memory is filled with the ragged people of Jakku. "I didn't mean …" he trails off helplessly.

"I know you didn't."

"I just … I hate that you've suffered."

"So have you."

"Not like you, not like you."

"It's not a competition."

"No, but I … I know I had so much growing up, so much I didn't see."

"And I had the peace of my own mind. You never had that. Please … the sun is out, we're surrounded by rolling hills, and I've never even seen trees like this. How about we head back, but slower this time?" she suggests with a teasing smile.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"No, it was fine. Though maybe I could handle the trip back?" she asks hopefully.

Ben nods. "Sure."

Then she's squealing and leaping up from the very flattened grass and races back to the speeder.


As they meander along the countryside, Ben spots a bit of civilization and excitement sparks in his chest. If he's very lucky, he can solve Rey's hunger and give her more time outside of the city; she so loves nature.

"Pull over here," he requests, and Rey does as he's asked, smoothly bringing them to a stop in front of the small outpost. Getting out of the craft, he takes her hand and surveys what's on offer.

There are around six small buildings, quaintly crafted from wood instead of durasteel. And then he sees it. There's a stand selling fruit and he grins, eagerly tugging Rey to follow him.

There's fresh jogan fruit, as well as amakain apples, but what really catches his attention is the lylanberries and he tells the proprietor, "We'll take two baskets of lylanberries, two pentra peaches and a jogan fruit."

She smiles and asks, "Enjoying the day?"

"Yes, she's never been to the countryside outside of the city."

"Well, there's a stream not far from here." The seller gestures to a winding path not far away from the buildings. "Just follow that and you'll get there soon enough."

Rey is eying the fresh fruit and his lips quirk up into a small smile. Looking around, he notices that there are also some cured meats available and he points out a nice looking sutro salami. "We'll take that as well."

"Nice day for having a meal by the water," she says affably.

"That's the idea."

He digs out a few credits and pays for their food.

"Do you want to see the stream?" he asks.

"If you'll feed me those berries, I'll follow you anywhere."

Ben laughs deeply. It feels good after losing control so completely to be in the bright sunshine with Rey, simply feeling free.


They come around a bend in the path and the most picturesque scene greets them. The brook burbles along, lapping at large river rocks, the sun streaming through the lush green trees. There are little white flowers growing on the banks and Ben thinks he couldn't have planned better if he'd tried.

One of the banks is covered in a short grass, and he settles Rey before planting himself next to her. She nearly dives into the basket of food, grabbing a huge handful of the lylanberries. She crams them into her mouth and grins as juice runs down her chin.

"I love fruit!" she exclaims. "I'd never even tasted it until the day I met you!"

"The day I kidnapped you," he says, confused at her joy.

"I don't … I don't think about that part much. I think about how sad your eyes were. And how handsome you were."

Her enthusiasm is infectious, and he pulls out a small knife from his belt, beginning to slice the cured meat. He hands her the first piece and she pops it into her mouth.

"Mmmm, that's good."

"Wait'll you taste the peach." They've always been one of his favorites.

She plucks one from the basket. He's about to offer to cut it up for her, but then her sharp little teeth bite into it. Her pink tongue darts out to catch the juice, and he has to shift, the tightness in his trousers growing uncomfortable. Watching Rey eat fruit might be the most erotic thing he's ever seen.

Then again, simply looking after her fills him with a satisfaction he's never known. That he happens to also enjoy watching her is just a marvelous bonus. Then she sucks at the succulent fruit and he groans.


"That was perfect," she says as she lies back in the grass. Her hair fans out and he's taken by the tranquil beauty of it all. Rey is sated in all ways, now, and peace settles deep in his soul. An entire life with her spins out in front of him and he needs to kiss her.

Swiftly, he covers her body with his own and kisses her deeply. She tastes of sweet fruit and he wants to live forever in this moment.

"I love you," he murmurs.

"I love you." Then she gets a concerned look on her face. "Are you … are you alright."

He'd hoped they wouldn't have to talk about it, but that's never worked out very well for htheim. Sighing he shifts off of her and rolls onto his belly, holding himself up with his elbows.

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"Has that happened before?" she asks quietly.

He scoffs. "Since always," he admits.

Rey nods, but stays silent and he lets out a long breath. "I … I wasn't really encouraged to share my emotions as a child. From my mom it was about diplomacy. From my dad it was about never being vulnerable. So I learned to choke it down …"

"But you can't do that forever."

"No, it turns out you can't. I've never been able to handle stronger feelings. Well, you know … you know how bad my temper can get."

"You know you can talk to me?"

He looks over at her and smiles. "I do. For the first time, I feel like someone understands me."

She smiles, then she's pulling him back to her, kissing him so sweetly.


The sun sets as they approach the city and the wind ruffles Rey's hair. She reaches over and takes his hand, pulling it to her lips, kissing his knuckles. "Thank you for a wonderful day."

He frowns, remembering his frantic need to be anywhere but his own head. "Well, it didn't start out so well …"

"Hush. Don't ruin it. Look," she says nodding toward the horizon.

The sky is a brilliant riot of pinks, oranges, and a deep red at the edges before it dims into indigo. It's one of the most spectacular sunsets he's ever seen and he sighs happily.

He looks over at her blissful face and says, "You're right. Perfect."


"Where'd you kids get off to?" Han asks as they tumble through the front door, laughing and kissing. Gods, she makes him so, so happy.

"Ben took me out to the countryside," Rey says, grinning. "Then we found a little stand selling fruit. It was amazing!"

Han gives Ben an exaggerated wink, then very obviously plucks a bit of grass from Rey's hair. "Nice to see the Solo charm didn't skip a generation."

Ben glares at his father, wanting to correct his assumption, but he's not far wrong.

"Oh, you're back, wonderful!" Leia says as she comes to investigate the commotion. "Han and I are heading out for dinner; would you like to come?"

He's not ready to share her, but Rey perks up and Ben sighs. "Yeah, sure. Let us get changed. Where are we going?"

"Etra," Leia answers and Ben groans. He doesn't want to have to put on a suit. His father can get away with just looking less scruffy, but his mother will demand he look the part of the little princeling.

But then he thinks of Rey, and how much he knows she'll enjoy the food. It is excellent.

"Come on, sweetheart." Then he looks at his mother, "You made sure Rey has what she needs?"

"Oh, absolutely. There's a diplomats' dinner later this month and a number of other functions. Rey, dear, wear the black."

Rey grins. "You're sure?"

Leia looks at Ben knowingly. "Oh, yes."


The black turns out to be a lovely, demure dark sheath dress. And then he catches a glimpse of her back in the mirror and his eyes bulge. There's nothing there, the fabric cut indecently low. He's going to kill his mother.

"What do you think?" she asks, as she twirls.

He wants to beg her to change, but she looks so excited that his jaw works for a moment before he says, "You look stunning." He wishes he could bring his saber, make it clear that Rey is off limits.

"It's not too much?" She gestures to the back, or lack thereof.

If they weren't going anywhere, he'd be thrilled with this creation. Then he realizes he'll be able to stroke her silken skin throughout the evening and he decides to forgive his mom. A little. "No, you look delectable. I've half a mind to keep you here, all to myself."

She makes a mock pout and he can't help but smile down on her.

"You look pretty amazing yourself," she observes, smoothing her hand along the fabric of his jacket. She runs her hand through his hair and he almost stops her; he'd spent a bit of time getting it to lay just right. But it feels so good when she does that that he decides he'll look a bit more roguish this way.

He has to admit, now that he's reached his full height and he's filled out quite a bit, a suit does look much better on him than it used to. He'd always felt as if he was playing dress-up when his mother would proudly pin the Alderaanian crest to his lapel.

Ben offers Rey his arm with a flourish.


Rey stares at him in confusion when he pulls out her chair for her. He swiftly realizes she doesn't know the custom and he gestures to the waiting seat and quietly says, "Sit here, darling."

She wobbles a bit when he pushes the chair in and cranes her neck to look at him.

Once he's seated, he murmurs in her ear. "It's tradition that a man hold a woman's chair. It's a way of showing respect."

He smirks as his father rushes to pull out his mother's chair and Leia rolls her eyes. "What?" he says.

"It's nice to see that you still remember your manners, Ben," Leia says with approval.

He'd better. She'd drilled it into him constantly as a child and at every visit home. As he got older, more often than not, she'd drag him to her events while his father was away. If he'd understood why he traveled so much, Ben might have just tried to stow away.

Once they're all settled, their server arrives but he's too lost in watching Rey soak in the atmosphere of the restaurant to take much notice. It's decorated in shades of white, the walls hung with ivory velvet and somehow, they've suspended spheres of light throughout the dining room. It gleams but is warm at the same time.

Rey looks back to him, her face filled with awe. "Ben … I've never seen anything like-"

"Ben!" a chipper voice breaks into his adoration of Rey and he looks up to find the Twi-Lek he'd briefly spent time with during his last visit. Nothing much had really happened with her, but the predatory gleam in her eyes has him nervous. She'd been the one to kiss him, and though he'd certainly liked it at the time, he can't even remember much about her. Rey obliterated every other woman the minute he laid eyes on her.

"Darrah," he acknowledges after having to think a moment.

That's when he realizes that she's their server and he catches his mom's eyes frantically. She only gives him an apologetic smile. Well, bantha spit.

"It's so good to see you!" she gushes. Then she makes a pout he's sure is meant to be enticing, but it just makes her overly painted lips seem garish. He much prefers Rey's clean, fresh face. "You never wrote like you promised," she almost whines.

Because he'd forgotten about her the minute he got back to the temple and immersed himself in training. Then there was Rey. He's also fairly sure he hadn't promised anything of the sort.

Rey … she's stiffened next to him and looks at him warily. He tries to soothe her by stroking her delicious skin, hoping she can sense how uncomfortable he is with this situation.

Leia breaks in at that moment. "Darrah, is it?"

"Yes, Princess," she responds demurely.

"We're actually quite hungry." There's a touch of admonishment in her tone and Darrah's cheeks go pink.

"Yes, of course. Here are your menus."

She presses a button on her wrist band and at each place setting, a holo of what's on offer for the evening appears.

"Would you like any suggestions?" The Twi-Lek directs her question at Ben. Blatantly.

"Uhm," he stammers, and Rey draws away from his touch, making him frown.

"I think we can handle it," Leia says swiftly. "A bottle of the Benthen '76, please."

"Oh. Right, I'll get that right away," Darrah says with sadness in her eyes. But she leaves, thank the gods.

As soon as she's out of earshot, Han is chuckling, rather loudly and then he exclaims, "Ow!" when Leia kicks him under the table.

"Rey?" he nudges.

Her eyes are wide, and she feels very far away. "Who was that?" she asks with a wounded tone.

"Just some girl I used to know," Ben dismisses.

Rey nods, but her enthusiasm has dimmed considerably.


All through the meal, Darrah had found excuses to touch him and he's about ready to grab her wrist and throw her hand off of him the next time it rests on his shoulder. Then he feels her hand again and his skin absolutely crawls.

But then she snatches it back with a squawk and Ben looks sharply at his mother, who simply smiles at him placidly. Apparently, she will use the Force when the occasion calls for it.

Rey just keeps shrinking into herself more and more and Ben is beginning to panic. She doesn't think that the Twi-Lek is a … rival, does she? Doesn't she know that's simply impossible?

But he never has the opportunity to truly talk with her. So, all he can do is clench his knee with one hand so hard it's sure to bruise and keep trying to hold her hand with the other or make patterns on her back. She just smiles wanly.


Rey emerges from the 'fresher wearing a long pale green nightgown, this one much less … suggestive. It's elegant, made of lush silk, but he can't shake the feeling she'd chosen it to signal that he wasn't to touch.

He'd changed into his sleeping pants already, and now he wonders if he should add a shirt. He doesn't want to push her.

"Rey, what's wrong?"

She just shrugs and sits on the bed. Cautiously, he sits next to her.

"Darrah … she was just a girl I met the last time I was home."

Rey shrugs again. "It's none of my business."

"Of course it is! If you'd kissed someone else, I'd want to know."

Her eyes grow almost hurt and she asks in a small voice. "You kissed her?"

"Uhm … well, she kissed me actually."

Rey nods. "I've only ever kissed you. My first kiss was just before you died."

That hurts. His older self had had the privilege of Rey's first kiss, and his fist clenches. No, he can't let his jealousy get the better of him. He won't ever let it win again.

Then her face clears and she's reaching for his hand. "I'm being silly. It was just kissing."

But he doesn't think she is. Somehow, that she'd been faithful to their bond when he had unknowingly trespassed a few times makes him feel ashamed, as if he should have known. Then he realizes why she's so upset.

"Rey, listen to me. It wasn't like kissing you. I feel our soul sing when I kiss you. It wasn't anything like that with her."

"That's not just how kissing is?"

"No! No, it's not. What's between us … it's special. I could never be with anyone but you, not now."

"I hated how she kept touching you," Rey spits with surprising venom.

"Me, too," he agrees ruefully. "If my mother hadn't been there, I would have immediately taken you somewhere else."

"Really?"

"Of course. I hated that you were uncomfortable."

"I just … she was so pretty, and so elegant. I felt like a sandrat who didn't belong."

"No, no … you were the most beautiful woman in the whole restaurant. Hell, you're the most beautiful woman in the whole galaxy."

Rey rolls her eyes. "You don't know that."

He cups her cheek and makes sure she's looking at him when he seriously says, "Yes, I do."


A/N: Thank you, ArtemisBare! Excellent suggestions for this chapter!

Thank you, Readers! I'm going to Hot Springs, Arkansas for Valentines Day, so the chapter a day streak must come to an end. I might manage a chapter, but I would be surprised if it's more than that. You are all the bees knees, the cat's meow, and the butter on my biscuit!