"Rey, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," Leia says over breakfast the next morning.
"Yes?" Rey responds.
"I've been thinking about Jakku, what you told me about how you grew up. Slavery has always been an issue in the Republic and I think it's beyond time we really do something about it. Would you come with me into my office today to help me sketch out a plan?"
Ben sighs. He knew his mother would have to go back to work, he's frankly shocked that it's taken this long. But he's enjoyed having her just … here.
Leia looks at him and she reaches for his hand. Hesitantly, he allows her to take it. "Ben, I promise, it won't be like how it used to be. I'm going to put you first from now on."
He shakes his head. "I know what you do is important."
"Not as important as my son. I could have lost you."
Ben feels a lump form in his throat and he looks away.
She squeezes his hand. "I'm sorry, Son."
All he can do is nod, afraid to speak.
With one final squeeze, she releases his fingers. "Now, what do you think, Rey?"
"I … I'm not sure how I can help."
"You have the experience. I have ideas, but I need you to tell me if they make any sense at all; you know what it's like to be a slave."
Ben blinks. He hadn't really put it together that Rey had been owned and he feels stupid for not asking her more about her childhood. He knew it was beyond hard, but that she'd been a slave makes his stomach sour and he pushes away the rest of his breakfast.
He's never gone hungry a day in his life and that's all she'd known. Even though it would have been beyond complicated, he wishes little Rey were still here. At least then he could do something about how she lived.
"I … I'd like to help. Do you mind if I go with your mother?" she asks Ben.
"No, of course not." Though he's not sure what he's going to do with himself while she's away for the day. He's not used to having a whole day with nothing to do.
They're in the foyer, waiting for his mother. Rey is wearing a smart looking tunic with a high neck and long, flowing trousers. She's put her hair into a single plate down her back. Rey looks … she looks like a woman to contend with and Ben sees all of her experience in the steel of her spine. He's … he's proud of her.
Then his girl is back when she looks down at herself. "Is this alright?"
"You look like you could be addressing the Senate," he says truthfully.
"Ah, Rey, you look perfect!" Leia exclaims as she glides into the foyer. She's in a regal dress with her hair intricately braided.
"I don't want to embarrass you," Rey admits with pink cheeks.
"You could never do that. Ready to go?"
"Almost." Then Rey steps up to him and lifts her head, inviting a kiss.
He'd meant to keep it chaste, but before he really considers it, his tongue is in her mouth and he's kissing her like he won't see her for a week. Then his mother clears her throat and he smiles, drawing back.
"Sorry."
"Oh, I remember being that age, but the speeder is waiting." Then his mother winks at him and Ben isn't quite sure how to feel about this new aspect of his mother.
"Shall we?" Leia asks.
"I'll see you tonight," Rey says with her hand on his chest.
"I'll miss you," he says, not able to keep the wistfulness from his tone.
"I'll miss you, too."
Ben fritters away time poking around the holonet, trying to find any mention of the First Order or Kamino. But apart from a strange post about missing children, he doesn't find anything.
Sighing, he tosses his datapad aside and looks out the windows of the family room. Maybe there's something on the news holofeeds? So he turns on the emitter and settles into watch.
After about an hour of nothing but puff pieces, his father wanders in. "Hey, kid."
"Hey, Dad."
"Wanna watch the pod race? It's the final heat before the championships for the season."
Ben hasn't followed pod racing in years. He'd never really seen the appeal. He'd watch it with his dad, but never got as caught up as his father.
But what else is he going to do with himself?
"Did you see that!" his father hoots.
"I know! I've never seen anyone fly like that!" Ben exclaims. He's riveted. Somehow, now that he flies himself, knows what it's like to feel a speeder really go, he's finally getting the excitement.
"Well that's Jren Tals for you. He's a once in a generation racer."
Ben glances over at his father and wonders when everything between them had gone so wrong. How had he let his mind be so thoroughly corrupted?
"No!" Ben gasps.
"What the hell kind of call was that!" Han shouts at the hologram of the game.
"It's bantha shit!"
"That was clearly on course!"
"Go, go, go!" Ben calls out, standing with his hands clenched in apprehension. Jren Tals and Gaf Huradet are trading back and forth between first and second place as they take the last leg of the course.
Han stands beside him, gesturing wildly at the holo. "Come on, come on!"
Huradet takes a corner at too much of an angle and he hits the side of the course, losing speed. Tals races past him and Ben can't breathe, the anticipation too much.
Then Huradet recovers and they're neck and neck until … until …
"Yes!" Han shouts and Ben is hollering in triumph.
They hug each other and shout out their sense of victory. Then they slap their hands together.
"Closest race I've seen!"
"The way he handled the sand trap?"
"How about that obstacle course!"
They're both a few Alderaanian ales in when Rey and Leia return. Ben hadn't even heard them come in, too caught up in his father's tales.
But the minute he sees her, he's on his feet. "Rey!" he cries out joyfully.
Leia smirks. "Good race?"
"Sweetheart, you won't believe what happened …"
Ben is too focused on Rey to pay any more attention to his parents. She's smiling at him and he pulls her into his arms, kissing her firmly.
"Have fun with your dad?"
"Yeah … surprisingly."
"Why surprisingly?"
"I'd never really cared much about pod racing, but … it was fun."
Her lips are quirked up, but the light doesn't reach her eyes."
"Hey, love … what happened?"
"Oh, today was just hard. Remembering everything like that."
He hadn't considered that impact on her and he takes her cheek in his hand. "Are you alright?"
She shrugs slightly. "I will be. I just need you."
"Well I'm right here."
"I know," she says as she snuggles in close. He strokes her braid and tightens his arms around her.
Rey seemed to recover herself over dinner. They'd ordered in a rich pasta dish that Rey had positively demolished. Gods, he loves feeding her new things.
Now they're in the conservatory while Rey looks after her orchid.
"It seems … sad," Rey says.
"Are you beginning to bond with it?" he asks.
"I'm not sure. I think it's lonely."
He remembers all the other black orchids and he pushes away his guilt for what was probably a less than optimal end.
"I'll talk to my dad; maybe we can get another."
"Really?"
"Of course, sweetheart. Of course." He'll do anything for her.
He has his hand in her underthings and she's gasping under his touch. Tonight, she'd selected a delightfully sheer black nightgown that had made him instantly hard.
But then she's pulling away and he blearily says, "Rey?"
"I want to try something," and she's pushing him back onto the bed.
He'd really been enjoying how her hips had moved against his hand and had just been about to try using both hands, but then her fingers are at his waistband.
"Is it alright if I …" She tugs at his sleeping pants and he realizes she intends to have him fully bared. Part of him twitches at the prospect, but he can't deny that he's nervous. He can't remember ever being naked with another person to see him.
Then her eyes heat and she purrs, "I want to see."
That has his cock straining towards her, and he nods. He helps her with his sleeping pants and soon he's completely exposed. Oh gods, will she let him see all of her, too?
She actually gasps when she sees him, and he can't quite decipher her expression. Then she's grinning and he breathes a sigh of relief. Rey moves up his body and the fine fabric of her chemise makes him groan, her tightened nipples dragging along his chest.
Her sharp little teeth nibble at him, just like she had that peach and his mind is filled with images of how she'd sucked at the juicy flesh. Force, would she ever consider …? Then he pushes the thought from his mind.
Now she's moving down his body, and he cries out when she sucks at his nipple. Godsdamn, that feels amazing, but she keeps kissing a trail down his torso and he whimpers in disappointment. Wait … she's actually going to … and then he can't think as she licks the head of his leaking cock curiously.
His hands clench at the bedsheets, the feeling of her tongue on him unlike anything he's experienced. She takes just a bit of him in her mouth and she sucks. He's swearing and his heels dig into the bed.
When she takes in as much of him as she can and draws back, he loses his damned mind. The feel of her hot, tight mouth and tongue swirling along him has him bellowing her name. He knows he should be quiet, but he just can't. Thank the maker his parents' room is at the other end of the apartment.
Wait. Wait. He wants to taste her, too and he doesn't like that she's giving to him so selflessly. He should look after her first.
"Rey," he moans as she keeps moving up and down his shaft. "Let me … let me …"
She pulls back from him with a loud, slick sound. "Don't you like it? You seem like you like it."
"Oh, I like it. But what about you?"
Her eyes gleam at the prospect. "After. It's your turn now."
She descends again and his head thrashes from side to side. Nothing has ever felt even close to this good and, Force, he's going to come. Then he absolutely is going to finish in her mouth because she starts using her hand on him, too.
The twin feelings of her mouth and her firm hold has him calling out, "Rey, you have to stop or I'll—"
But she hollows her cheeks and manages to take more of him into her hot, perfect mouth and it's too late. White hot bliss zings up his spine and his release is pulled from him so hard he's just wailing out in ecstasy.
Wait, Rey is coughing and he pushes himself up on his elbows, finding Rey sitting back, swallowing with difficulty.
"Rey!"
"I'm fine," she assures. "There was just … more than I'd expected."
It hits him, then, what's truly happened. He'd just come in her mouth. She had his release on her tongue, and even though he's just orgasmed, his belly twists violently at the realization. Oh, he must kiss her, and he drags her up his body, finding her mouth.
Tasting himself like this, knowing Rey had given him such a gift, he can't really fathom it and he's overwhelmed with devotion. Though a rather large part of him just wants to snuggle her up and fall asleep, he refuses to give into it and he flips her on her back.
His face inches from hers, he pulls at her nightgown. "Now you."
Nervousness fills her eyes. "You don't have to."
"But I want to. Gods, I have to taste you. Please."
"You really want to?" she asks, doubt lining her face.
"More than I've ever wanted anything in my life."
She grins wickedly and sits up, pulling her nightgown off in one swift motion. The sight of so much of her sun-kissed skin makes him whimper. "Stars, Rey, you're so beautiful," he breathes out.
Lying back down, she hooks her thumbs through the fine silk hiding the last of her, and he places his hands over hers. "Let me," he almost begs.
He wants to be the one to unwrap the last of Rey's treasures, watch avidly as the scrap of fabric finally reveals her.
Working her underthings down, he takes in a sharp breath when the thatch of fine curls peeks out as he slowly draws the silk past her hips. His face is so close to her that he can smell her, and it makes him want to just bury his face there.
Once he has her completely naked, he places an open-mouthed kiss on her belly, enjoying the taught flesh. A bit awkwardly, he situates himself between her thighs, placing her legs over his shoulders.
Oh. Oh … he thought he'd seen beauty, but the glistening pink of her steals his breath. That's when he realizes he doesn't really know what to do. He can finally see her, know what he's been exploring, and he decides to begin with the center of her pleasure, though what he really wants to do is thrust his tongue between her folds, feel her tight around him.
Rey, however, clearly prefers when he circles her delectable bud, so he swirls his tongue around the hard little nub. Force, she tastes like his desire for her, and he only wants more. She lets out a little, "Oh," and he keeps running his tongue around her.
He knows he should focus here, but he wants more of her juices, so he lets himself finally delve his tongue into her tight heat. She's so wet, so delicious, and he can almost feel what she'd feel like, her walls holding him close.
While he would like to continue this, lapping up her flowing wetness, she's begun to whine and shift her hips impatiently, so he returns to her swollen bud, making the circles she prefers.
"Harder," she gasps and he happily complies, applying more pressure. Her thighs begin to close around his ears and he thinks he could spend forever with his face lost in her folds. Just being able to focus like this, make her feel good, it's all he wants to do for the rest of his life.
He'd known he'd like this, instinctively understanding the intimacy of it would speak to him, but he godsdamned loves it.
Her heels press down on his back and now her hips are moving in a rhythmic beat, chasing more stimulation. He presses his tongue against her even more firmly, and swirls his tongue up under the hood, hoping she'll like it.
Rey begins to keen and he smiles into her heat. He's giving her this, she's responding so beautifully, and he ignores how his jaw is cramping. Clearly, he's going to need practice. It won't be a chore.
Breathy, high whines begin to fall from her lips and her hands find his scalp, grasping his hair. As he speeds up his pace, excitement coiling in his core, she's pulling so hard at his locks that it almost hurts. He doesn't care.
Now she's pressing her hips into his face and he's fairly certain she's getting close. Yes, yes, yes. He desperately wants to feel her come apart against his tongue. Needs her too.
He almost feels like the tension in his abdomen will make him join her, he's so enthralled by her pleasure. That's when she cries out and her hips buck wildly. He can barely manage to keep his pace, she's moving so much.
But he does. When she calls out his name, it's almost as if he can feel her release rip through him. Then she calms, panting, trying to catch her breath. He slows his tongue and gives her one final lap.
When he lifts his head, he finds the most perfect picture of satisfaction.
"Force, Ben … what did you do to me?"
"Something I'm going to do to you at every opportunity."
Rey smiles a languid sated smile and pride fills his chest. He did that. He made her feel so good.
She pulls at his shoulders. "C'mere."
He doesn't have to be told twice.
A/N: Thank you, ArtemisBare! You always make excellent catches.
Thank you, Readers! I woke up early and banged out some lemons. We're heading out shortly, so now the streak stops. Really. *muse mockingly smiles at me* I'm so grateful to all of you for every person who reads, follows, favorites, or leaves reviews! All my love.
