They slam into his room, kissing heatedly as their hands tear at each other's clothes. He tries to press her against the closed door, but she nips at his lips and pushes him back, dropping to her knees.

She has his already straining length out of his trousers in no time and immediately takes nearly all of him into her mouth. Somehow, she's figured out how to relax her throat and he just about dies right there at the sensation as he feels himself slide all the way home, her lips at the base of his cock.

Then she pulls back and her eyes sear into his as she commands, "Watch me. Watch me prove that you're mine."

He nods blearily, and she holds his gaze as she plunges down on his cock once again. Oh gods, he never thought he'd see something so perfect as her red lips around him, never even imagined something could be so damned hot.

This time, his orgasm doesn't come on him fast and relentless. They'd already had an active morning, so he's able to really focus on the sublime feeling of her luxurious mouth, how her tongue moves along his shaft, how she sucks at the tip.

Force, he's never going to recover from the sight of Rey on her knees in front of him like this. On some level, he doesn't like her prostrated before him, but the darker, baser part of him feels like roaring in triumph.

Again and again, she takes him deep inside her, the sensation of sliding down her throat unlike anything he could have ever fathomed. How is she doing that? It feels so good, but he doesn't want to finish, not yet. He wants her to find her pleasure first.

He pulls at her shoulders and she growls, deeply, pulling back. "Mine" she declares in a possessive voice.

"I'm yours, utterly yours. Let me show you. Let me show you how completely I'm yours."

He wants to worship her the way she's lavished him with such attention. Her eyes waver, and the image of his hard, weeping cock against her cheek makes him groan. He's seen holos before, but it was never, ever like this.

"Please," he begs, grasping her more firmly. She nods and he lifts her to her feet, and then they're struggling out of the rest of their clothes. Once she's beautifully bare before him, he presses her down to the bed, beginning to cover her body with his. But she surprises him, as she swiftly flips him on his back. He thinks she used a touch of Force to manage to get him prone so easily.

She straddles him, and oh gods, her slick folds slide along his shaft. So close, so close to being inside her and he whimpers, wanting so badly to shift and find his way into her tight heat.

Her eyes are blazing as she continues to undulate along him. Oh, Force, now he's feeling the pleasure build, threatening to overtake him.

"No one but me touches you," she snarls.

"No, no one but you. I hated her hand on me."

She bends forward and kisses him in a way that makes him feel completely owned. "These lips are mine," she growls low in her throat.

"Only yours."

She draws herself up his cock and, gods, gods, gods, she shifts and he knows he's right at her entrance. If she moved her hips just so, he'd be inside Rey. Wait. Wait. He doesn't want their first time to be in the midst of jealous fury. He needs it to be … special and he pulls her up his body, separating them.

"What—"

"Not yet, Rey," he explains. His belly twists with the lack of friction, but he ignores it.

All her possessive fire dims and she looks almost hurt. "You don't want—"

"I do, Force, Rey, I do … just … not like this."

It's a decision he wants them to make together, when emotions aren't so high. When Rey isn't just coming down from her insecurity being so badly battered and he feels centered. He's been all over the place for days.

"I need … I need to make love to you, the first time." Not this frantic coupling that his body is screaming for.

She nods, but her eyes don't show understanding.

He sighs and moves them to their sides, so they're on equal standing. "Don't you think it's something we should talk about? It's a big step." Slowly, he feels himself calming.

Rey looks almost hurt and he cups her face. "Tell me what I've done to make you upset."

"I just … I needed to prove to you, to me, that you're not going anywhere."

His eyebrows furrow in anguish. He really did hurt her, badly, when he talked of leaving and he hopes she'll learn to trust his adoration soon.

"I love you. I love you so much I was willing to take my heart out of my chest in order to protect you— "

"I don't want that—"

"I know. I see that now. And I'll never offer to tear myself apart like that ever again. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not even sure I could have, anyway."

"But you do … you do want … me?"

"Oh, sweetheart, you're all I've ever wanted." He strokes his thumb along her cheek.

"What about Darrah?" she asks with an undercurrent of jealousy mixed with fear.

"Not even in the same universe. You … gods, you … You're everything."

Her eyes take on the shine of memory and she whispers, "You once told me I was nothing."

"What?" he asks, confused and filled with the desire to punch … himself?

"But then you said but not to you. It took me a long time to figure out what you meant."

"Well, I certainly could have phrased it better," Ben says with a frown.

Rey smiles and seems more like herself. "I'm not sure what happened, but you … you weren't great at words, in the future."

"Hmm," he says, thinking he's not so great with them now, either, if his behavior the night before is any indication.

She puts her hand on his chest and looks into his eyes earnestly. "I am ready, for us to take the next step."

He breathes in sharply, trying to figure out if he is. He wants her like he's never wanted anything in his life, and the idea of merging their bodies is heady, transcendent. But … he wants to manage at least a few days without his chaotic mind dragging them down, first.

"I … I'm not," he confesses. The look in her eyes makes him quickly amend, "I want to, stars, I want to … but everything has been so … so …."

"Dramatic?" she offers with a raised brow.

He snorts. She's not wrong. "If you like. I just … I want to show you that I deserve to be trusted with that gift."

Rey makes a face, "Well, I know you are, and I've been waiting a lot longer than you."

His heart tightens in his chest, and he's again feeling threatened by himself. The thought of her wanting both versions of him should be comforting, but instead it leaves him worried that she's not really seeing him as he is now. And he knows she doesn't see the man he hopes to become.

"I love what we have now. Can that be enough?" he asks, suddenly afraid she won't be satisfied with their curious exploration of what their bodies can do outside of making love.

But she smiles and snuggles into him. "I'm happy, Ben. As long as I get to touch you, talk to you, it's more than enough."

He sighs out in relief and cradles her close. Then he finds her lips and her kisses pull him into that place of trust and devotion. With Rey by his side he can take on the entire galaxy.


Thankfully, they're both dressed and cuddled on the settee in the family room when he hears his parents come home.

"Oh good, you're awake. Finally," Leia remarks in an overly cheerful tone as she glides into the space.

Han follows, carrying two large boxes, the kind meant for data. Ben sits up straighter, suddenly quite curious.

"Mom?" He gestures to the containers.

"We'll explain it all. But it's going to be a long conversation. Have you both already had lunch?"

Of course he's made sure to feed Rey. "Yeah, we've eaten."

"Well … if now is a good time …" Leia trails off and Ben sees how nervous she is. After the revelations of last night, he's not surprised. He doesn't quite know how to behave around her, either. He's been able to push away his questions about Vader to the back of his mind, but now with her warning of a long conversation, he's wary.

Han grunts as he places the boxes on a table while Leia sits in her favorite chair. Han leans against a wall with his arms crossed.

"You might as well sit," Leia grouses. "This is going to take a while."

"I've been sitting at your offices all morning, I'm good," Han grumbles and Leia shrugs lightly.

Rey has stayed quiet, watching it all unfold, but now she asks, "Is everything alright?"

"Well … it will be. I was up the rest of last night thinking. Ben, I'm done trying to protect you, you and Rey. You're both adults and I think it's time we all start talking."

Ben and Rey both nod, and Rey scoots a little closer to him, taking his hand. She's clearly concerned about how he's feeling.

Mostly, he's just relieved. Though part of him thinks this kind of openness would have gone a long way to helping him understand himself sooner.

"I know that it was wrong to keep so much from you. I'm sorry, Ben, truly sorry."

"Well …" Ben starts slowly. "I do wish you'd told me about Vader. Finding out from someone else, even Rey …"

"Wasn't ideal … I know. Part of the data in those boxes is the classified accounts of final stages of the Galactic Civil War. Luke's debrief is in there."

Ben's eyes widen. "How did you …?"

Leia smiles serenely. "What's a few Jedi mind tricks between friends?"

"Mom!"

She rolls her eyes. "Just don't tell Luke."

"Still spooky, if you ask me," Han mumbles from the corner.

"That's a huge amount of data," Ben observes. "What else did you liberate?" he asks with narrowed eyes.

"Everything I could find about unaccounted for Imperial officers, Empire sympathizers, Murakami orchids … anything to help us understand how and when the First Order begins."

Ben blinks rapidly. His mother stole data from the Republic? He looks over at his father in bewilderment. Han smiles smugly. "This is the woman I married. Nothing gets in the way of my princess."

"Well, the Rebellion began in my family's sitting room on Alderaan. With a group not so dissimilar to this one. If evil is coming, we're going to be prepared this time. Palpatine could have been stopped if we'd understood what was possible. This time we're ready for him."

"Wait. Palpatine is dead," Ben says.

Rey winces. "Well … actually …"

BR

"Is there anything else I need to know?" Ben asks in exasperation. He could have lost his temper over this rather significant revelation, but instead he just feels weary.

"I don't know," Rey says, her bearing open and honest. "I don't know what's important, and what's not. But I promise, I won't keep anything else from you."

"And neither will I," Leia chimes in.

Ben's jaw works, and he finally sighs. "Yeah. Okay."

"Hey, kid. I had to watch your mom make out with Luke, so it could be worse."

"Han!"

Ben gasps, "What?!"


He hadn't been ready to watch his uncle's debriefing; he's still feeling too raw and he doesn't want to push himself while he's still feeling fragile. The last thing Rey needs is for him to have another breakdown.

Now, his eyes are beginning to cross and he's feeling vaguely ill after combing through so many old Imperial records. The stark language used to describe atrocity after atrocity is truly chilling.

Yatan, Sleen - Cleansed Quol. 3,629,427 undesirables eliminated. Commendation recommended.
Tris, Gentra - Commandant of Kashyyyk. Productivity increased 15%.
Hux, Brendol - Commandant of Arkanis Academy. Republic experience. Promotion recommended.

Wait. Hux was on the list of escapees …


"We should contact Luke, find out what he knows about Snoke," Ben offers to the room. They're all nose-deep in their respective data pads, and Leia blinks blearily as she looks up.

"I should have known Snoke was up to no good," Leia says bitterly.

"Wait," Ben stops her. "You know him?"

"He approached me in the Senate, said he wanted to visit the New Jedi Temple. I put him in contact with Luke." Her face is full of dismay and she won't look at Ben.

Ben swallows thickly. Snoke had obviously wanted to meet him in person and orchestrated his charade. He snorts. As if Snoke really cared about plants. Wait … the orchids!

"Is there anything on him in these records?" he asks, panic in his voice.

"Ben, what is it?"

"He said he was a horticulturist. The orchids. I would bet my lightsaber he's doing something with them." He shudders involuntarily, remembering how they'd cried out for him.

Han rifles through the data spikes, and crows, "Got it!" as he tosses it to Ben.

Ben catches it, quickly transferring the information to his datapad and begins to read.


Sitting back, Ben lets out a huge yawn. There hadn't been much on Snoke, just a spare biography and a list of truly mind-numbing academic articles.

"We should call it a day," announces Han.

Leia sighs in frustration, but she nods. "Alright. I'll order some dinner."

Han goes up to her and starts to rub her shoulders. "We weren't going to find answers quickly. You remember."

"I know … I just … starting from scratch …"

"Hey, this time you have me!" he says with a cocky grin. Leia rubs his hand and smiles, her eyes shining with love.

Ben watches his parents and realizes that they really do love each other. It's startling, but makes him feel warm inside.

He glances at Rey and finds her face tight and worried, so Ben gets up from his spot on the floor and puts his arm around her. "What is it?" he asks.

"I just … I was hoping to find something about the stormtrooper program."

"Oh! They were clones, from Kamino. I think I saw something—"

"No, I meant the new program, of the First Order."

"They have stormtroopers, too?"

"Yes. But … they didn't use clones."

"Enlisted?"

Rey shakes her head. "No. They stole children."

That article he'd seen on missing children. He smacks his forehead and quickly searches the holonet until he finds it again.

"Does this seem familiar?" he asks her.

Rey scans the words and her face grows more and more concerned. "Yes. This is them, I'm sure of it."

"Mom!" Ben calls out excitedly. "We have a real lead!"


"Well, looks like we're headed to Atalyn," Han says after everyone has read the bit of news. "They might be able to tell us more."

"Before you start tearing all over the galaxy, let me try diplomatic channels," Leia says firmly. "This isn't from a very reputable news source, let me confirm it at least."

Han makes a face and throws up his hands. "Just trying to be helpful."

"When has that ever worked?" his mom asks with asperity. "And don't say the death star!"

Han lets out a noise of frustration and Ben snags Rey by the hand and pulls her out of the room. He may have begun to understand that his parents' marriage is far stronger than he'd ever recognized, but he knows how this argument goes.


"I need to water my orchid," Rey says as he starts to lead them to the kitchen. His mother might be planning to order dinner, but he'd wanted to feed her a snack at least. However, her face is determined.

As soon as they reach the conservatory, Rey goes to her orchid and smiles, gliding her fingers over its waxy green leaves. "I think it's beginning to recognize me. It's … happy."

He comes up behind her and rubs her biceps. "Good, I'm glad."

She quietly communes with her orchid but she still seems upset.

"Rey? What is it? What's wrong?"

"I just … I have a friend; he'd be around 13 now. He was a stormtrooper. I knew I couldn't save him, too, but now … now I wonder. They would have taken him by now."

She turns and looks up into his face. "And before you get all jealous, Finn really was only my friend. My first friend, honestly."

"And they have him," he confirms grimly.

"Yes," she agrees with a hollow voice.

"We're going to fix this, all of it. I promise." He pulls her into his arms and presses her head into his chest.

She nods against him, but he can still feel her doubt.


A/N: Thank you, ArtemisBare, for always being so in-tune with what the story needs!

Thank you, Readers! I'm home and the streak should continue! Thank you for your patience! *Big Perry Hugs*