Author's note: still don't own Star Wars. Poe chapter=cussin'. Also, lemons. Hope you all are enjoying the story still. My sincere apologies for the infrequent updates, so here's a longer chapter! xx
Field of Vision
Chapter Thirteen
The Rebel base was crawling with activity as an entire fleet arrived on the far side of the jungle. Occupants of the compound sprang into action as soon as rumors spread over who had just arrived, and with unexpected flare.
Rey and Rose were sitting with a small team of engineers watching the excitable chaos unfold in the barracks when they heard the rumor. Word passed between pilots that a Council briefing would commence after dark to disseminate the new developments. Beaumont had rushed over to spread the excitement.
"He's back!" Beaumont exclaimed, practically falling into Rose's lap as he skidded to a halt.
"Who?" Rey asked.
"He's just made it in—from the old Endor system—and he's brought company!"
"Who?" the group asked together, anxious to learn.
"General Calrissian! Who else, you cheeky muffs," answered Beaumont before scurrying off again.
Rey and Rose looked at each other so fast, their ponytails fanned out behind them. "Finn," they urged in unison. The girls smiled wide and jumped up, running together towards the commissary eager to find Finn, whom they both knew idolized the legend of the General.
xx
Fewer moments of heartbreak stood out to Leia during the last war against the Empire, than those involving Lando and the Falcon. Early that morning, a message had been sent directly to her, coded of course, asking permission for immediate landing. Friendlies were in need of a helping hand. But, R2 had been the one to receive the transmission, not a Rebel radio. The manner of the message intrigued Leia, but knowing the source code and the location from which the message was sent, was a dead giveaway. She was surprised to have even heard from him again.
It had been many years since she had last seen Lando Calrissian.
Word from Luke had finally reached their ears that their son had gone AWOL and fled the temple with a handful of Luke's students. She and Han had just lost Ben to madness. Leia was devastated; her worst fears had come true and Han was anything but helpful. Lando and Chewie had been there to console her while Han took off on a week-long run in the Falcon around the Bakura system. But after he left, all hell rained down on Leia as she alone dealt with the repercussions of Ben's violence from the Republic. It wasn't a pretty sight when Han returned, but Lando had been there for her through it all.
Lando had been there for Ben's birth, too. He'd kept Han from running away that time.
But Lando was suddenly back and had an entire fleet of former Stormtroopers in tow, fresh from being stranded on Kef Bir. They were here to join the Resistance; to fight back against their former captors and take vengeance for their lives, memories, and families stolen from them by the First Order. The galaxy had declared it would not remain silent, nor would it wait any longer for this scourge to keep taking and taking from them. Leia was proud of them all for it, and rushed across the darkening jungle to meet them.
xx
"Where is he?" Rose asked, craning her neck to get a better look through the crowd in the mess hall, searching for Finn.
Rey steered her by the arm through an opening in the crowd of pilots.
"I wish he carried a communicator with him and make this wild goose chase so much easier…" Rose complained.
Rey and Rose finally made it through the crowd and into the emptying mess hall. They turned, looking for him. Just as they made it through the clearing, BB-8 could be found rolling towards them and chirping excitedly about the new arrivals. All personnel on base seemed abuzz of current events. Rey greeted BB-8 with kindness, accepting his offer to join them. Rose asked the droid if he had seen Finn.
"Do you think he's with Poe?"
"Or maybe he's already found the General," suggested Rey. "Either way, I sense he's not here. Let's split up. I'll go towards the ship yard and you follow the crowd. Maybe he beat us there."
Rose nodded, anxious to get back into the crowd to see the new arrivals. "Let's go then."
Just as Rey and Rose exited the mess hall with the crowd, a crack of thunder could be heard echoing high above in the atmosphere. A light rain began to pitter patter against the ground, causing steam to rise steadily from the earth. The jungle was already humid, but as the rain began to fall harder, the air became thicker. Rey could taste the rain on her lips, her mind suddenly jumping to thoughts of Ben. She wondered if he would be there in the gathering crowd to greet the new arrivals, but brushed off her naive thoughts. It wasn't like him, even now as he tried to turn a new leaf, to be eager to join crowds and willingly greet people from his past like nothing had ever happened. Another thunderclap rumbled loudly over their heads, but the two girls and a droid pressed on through the thinning crowd and beginnings of a storm.
xx
With the onset of a sudden downpour, Poe and Ben had to stop repairing X-wings and wait until it passed. The jungle's steamy rainstorms became unpredictable this time of year, but most mechanics could work out when they needed to stop for the afternoon. Most.
Inexplicably, the sun shone bright through patches in the clouds while the rain poured through the tree canopy, dousing all the camp fires and remaining workers in the ship yard. These rainstorms came hard and fast, and often left as quickly and as noisily as they arrived. Poe invited Ben into the shelter of his X-wing and pulled two Jawa Juices from the nearby cooler, popping the lids off with his multi-tool. Ben took a seat on the tool chest close to Poe and accepted the drink with a grateful nod. They clinked their glass bottles together and drank deeply in unison, watching waves of mechanics dash from their workstation seeking shelter from the rain.
Ben found himself in this same blissfully odd situation a few times a week now, perplexed by the sudden change in heart from the pilot, who on occasion, still referred to him only as 'hey asshole.' But if it meant Ben had finally achieved some measure of trust from him, even after everything he had done, he'd take it.
The hard work was done for the day and the two men drank in silence together, listening to the rain patter and the distant thunder clap above them. More mechanics ran across the ship yard, chattering loudly and excitedly, though Ben and Poe were too far out of earshot to hear what they were yelling. Just as they lowered their bottles from taking another long swig, Rey could be seen entering the ship yard, soaking wet and her white outfit partially covered in mud. BB-8 trailed loyally behind her, avoiding the large puddles that had formed in the down pour.
"Hey, there's your girl," said Poe quickly, punching Ben in the arm.
Ben swayed as he was punched. It was an affectionate punch, not meant to wound. But, Ben threw Poe a warning stare anyway. It had been made clear that Rey was supposed to be off limits in their playful banter.
Unsatisfied with Ben's lack of retaliation, Poe was adamant to get a response out of him.
"She still mad at you?" The alcohol in Poe's system fearlessly encouraged him to poke the sleeping bear.
Ben cut on the drama and glared spitefully at Poe, using the Force to levitate the nearly empty bottle out of his hand and into the air between them. Without blinking, Ben crushed the glass bottle with the flick of his wrist. Poe nearly fell off the cooler and into the mud trying to avoid the shards of wet glass imploding everywhere.
"Goddammit, Ben. You're not supposed to be fuckin' doin' that!"
"Gimme another one. This is good shit," said Ben evenly, a smirk growing at the corners of his dimpled mouth as he watched the pilot struggle.
Conceding because he knew he started this little tussle, Poe reached into the cooler and grabbed another pair of Juices. He tossed a bottle to Ben without another word about Rey. Smiling, Ben caught the bottle and offered a quick word of thanks as he cracked the lid off, also using the Force.
"Goddamn show off," said Poe, tossing his own empty bottle carelessly behind him. "You'd better hope the Council doesn't see you doin' that shit." He watched Ben stare wistfully into the distance after Rey, his dark eyes following the same path she had taken. He wasn't paying attention to him anymore, so Poe gave it up.
Their newfound friendship was surprising, most of all to Ben, especially given how the two started off. Turns out, binding and torturing another person did not make you friends with them. Poe liked to test boundaries and push his buttons. Yet, he still found that Ben was full of surprises.
"You know, I could've fallen in love with her with my eyes closed," said Ben before taking a long, thirsty drink from the new bottle.
Upon hearing this unexpected confession, Poe eyed his odd companion curiously as he opened his second bottle. He listened, anxious to hear this untold story. Poe had yet to finagle an answer out of him if they were lovers or not.
Ben drained half the bottle before he could bring himself to speak again. He liked the way the alcohol loosened his tongue and softened his harsh demeanor when it mattered.
"Turns out, my eyes have been closed this whole time."
Poe leaned forward to rest his elbows on his thighs, contemplating Ben's words. "Tha's deep, buddy… And 're they open now?" His's voice slurred a bit from his drunkenness, trying to follow his companion's meaning.
He watched Ben sigh heavily, his thick shoulders rose and fell with the effort.
"I sure as hell hope so."
xx
Last Week
Maz's gift of the lightsaber toolkit signified a turning point for Ben as far as his perception went. He no longer suffered the jeering taunts and hard stares from the Rebels in which he shared this base. While Ben knew the limits of this newfound respect only reached so far, he didn't expect to land himself in "anybody's crew" either. He had always been a bit of an outcast and after going through thirty years of life, he preferred it that way. The only change to that loner lifestyle Ben steadfastly accepted was the inclusion of Rey. Like fresh water to a parched mouth, her companionship mattered too much for Ben to allow himself to continue being the solitary creature in the darkness he'd been his whole life. He needed to drink.
"Will you work on it today?" Rey asked excitedly, eyeing the ancient box he still held in his hands.
Ben walked heavy-footed through the ship yard with his head in a daze. Everything had happened so quickly. Too easily.
"I don't know… I don't think I should."
Rey's pace came to a jarring stop, her entire countenance shrouded in disbelief. "What?"
Every decision he had made since the moment he'd decided to leave the First Order, foreswearing all darkness for the ray of light that stood before him now, has been weighed and measured. He knew he was an addict to power and didn't need any form of temptation to draw him back into the darkness. He thought possessing the power of another lightsaber would go straight to his head, and drag him back down into hell. He didn't want that. Every moment after that decision, in which he surrendered his heart and then later, his body and soul to that same ray of light, felt like freedom. He didn't need power anymore—not when he had her.
"A lightsaber is the extension of a Jedi's strength and ability; you need one," Rey had tried to reason with him, quoting straight from the ancient Jedi texts. Her expression alone told him she didn't understand. But her feelings, wide open to being read through their Force bond, confirmed even more that she didn't understand and didn't try to, either.
"But, I'm not a Jedi," said Ben softly, patiently. He held his head high, despite the challenge to his identity.
"You're not a Sith."
"I'm neither. I'm just… me. Whatever that is; I just know it isn't that simple."
Ben stood there, opening his feelings to her so she could try to understand.
If Rey had been more receptive to his feelings, she would have known Ben was overwhelmed.
Every big change in his life had happened so quickly—his mother's resurgence into his life and the forgiveness she offered him. The shadow of Kylo Ren had been lifted, banished even. And all that remained was the hollowed-out boy he used to be—or who he should've been, had the darkness never taken him. He couldn't pick a side the same way she could. He had to remain neutral, or risk falling back into what spurned him into darkness in the first place.
Uncomfortable, Rey shifted her stance, no longer blind to his opinions. He didn't want to be tempted by the power again; despite what little ability remained within him to resist. Yet, her stare hardened. Once again, Ben—a prince without a kingdom— was being given more than she—a nobody scavenger—ever would. Maz had handed him the means to repair his legacy, and he was turning it down. It angered Rey that he was being so selfish. He came here to prove himself changed—and in a way, she assumed he would take up arms and fight against the First Order like everyone else. Suddenly, he was changing those terms and it irked her.
"Your mother gave you a new, stable Kyber crystal… it would be different from what you had before," Rey tried to argue still. "Because you're different!"
Ben simply shook his head. He didn't want to have this conversation anymore.
"Was I wrong?" Rey asked suddenly, her voice trembling as she spoke.
Ben didn't need to answer her. He could feel everything coming from her through their bond; every last little heartbreak. All over a weapon.
"Wrong about what?" He asked, feeling a little hurt by her overreaction.
Through their bond, Rey reminded him of an early visitation—the one where she saved his life. Caught in the crossfire between Rebels and Stormtroopers, Kylo Ren had taken heavy blaster fire and was dragged into a closet by the scavenger he had once despised.
"What does that have to do with anything right now?" Ben asked, his temper beginning to rise. She was bringing up the past that he thought had nothing to do with what was currently being discussed.
"You still can't accept it, can you?" Rey said, tears beginning to stain her cheeks. "That others want to help you—but you just can't accept it, can you? I thought you'd changed!"
Ben bared his teeth and slammed his fist against the nearest thing he could break, momentarily giving in to his dark and destructive temper, roaring, "I don't need anyone's help!"
The force of his furious temper had blown debris from a tool chest across the area, knocking into a nearby droid. His temper was dangerous and he was quickly losing his fragile, newfound favor with the Rebels. He hadn't realized his mistake until it was too late. The droid had taken the brunt of the force of the damaging blow, but two mechanics were knocked backwards to the ground, and one pilot thrown into the side of a speeder.
The next few moments were a blur as his temper and his arrogance blinded him from seeing the consequences of his outburst. Medics descended on the area and guards had seized him by the arms as he watched Rey run away in tears.
It took Leia another 42 hours to reason with the Council to release her son from prison on the very same day they had granted him carte blanche. She convinced them with grandeur it was all a big mistake and that his powers were difficult to control during this transition. Aside from the droid, no Rebels were seriously harmed, and the damage was repairable. Somehow Leia spun a tale that additional imprisonment would be detrimental to his positive development and reintegration into society. He'd still have to deal with consequences, but Leia at least prevented it from becoming permanent imprisonment.
Leia was becoming exhausted having to constantly cover for him. Her favor with the Council was beginning to run out over her turncoat son. She knew her pleas were all a load of bull and couldn't keep giving the same reasons over and over again. Soon they would figure it out. Ben would have to learn on his own, the hard way, from now on. And she needed to have a talk with Rey.
xx
Present Day
Rey had felt his eyes on her in the ship yard. Her face burned red with embarrassment. In her haste to find Finn, Rey had slipped in a massive mud puddle, sliding into the muddy pit that formed during the rapid rainstorm. She hadn't realized where she was walking at the moment, unaware she was on a heavily traveled dirt path along the outskirts of the ship yard. Utility carts and vehicles traveled this path, leaving muddy ruts for unsuspecting passers-by. The rain had only aggravated the unsafe terrain. BB-8, while helpful in trying to console her for the embarrassing misstep, could do nothing to try to pull her out of the puddle without endangering himself too.
Finally out of the muddy rut, Rey looked at herself, infuriated. Today was not going well so far. She couldn't meet the legendary General Calrissian looking like this. Kessel's spice miners looked cleaner than her right now.
"BB-8, I've got to get cleaned up. Find Finn for me please? And tell him I'm on my way."
The droid chirped his response, spinning around to seek out his next mission.
By the time Rey had passed through the muddy ship yard, she had felt his presence lingering in her mind; his regret and longing to return to her was made abundantly clear. It took her everything she had to keep walking through the yard and out of sight. She was still mad at him.
xx
Last Week
Leia had searched high and low for Rey after the incident. Her son was once again in a cage, though not for long if she had anything to say about it. She would give him time to cool his heels first, and hers before she sought out the Council.
The general finally found Rey hiding in the jungle, up in the branches of a tree. Clutching her knees and trying not to cry anymore, Rey sensed the general approaching.
"Rey come down here please. Don't make an old woman climb up there."
Obediently, Rey climbed down the tree, brushing the dirt off her white pants as she awaited her lecture. Leia wasted no time bringing the girl into her arms for a hug. Then, set her at arm's length, gripping her slim shoulders tight as she spoke briefly and urgently.
"Rey, I see a lot of myself in you," Leia started, "And now that I've lived long enough to see how my actions have affected others, it's time I give you the same lesson I had to learn."
Uncomfortable, Rey shifted her stance; ready to hear whatever the general was about to say.
"Being a princess will only get you so far."
Rey blinked, unsure if she should be offended or not. "I… but, I."
"Sweetheart, I can't thank you enough for bringing my son back to me, truly. I will never be able to repay you for what you've done," she said hurriedly. "I know you've spent all this time with him… more than anyone else has in these past fifteen years. And I know my son is stubborn. He's arrogant. He's even a little vain."
At this, Rey snorted, in complete agreement.
"But he's still troubled. He's easily manipulated—I know because I was too at his age. So he was twisted by the darkness—that same darkness which he now fights against everyday. And I know he struggles with that."
Rey remained silent, listening. Her heart sank a little at being scolded this way, but it could've been a lot worse.
"Don't push him any further than he can go, dear."
xx
Present Day
His decision finally made, Ben held out his unfinished drink for Poe to take.
Seeing double because he was a damn lush, Poe momentarily stared down hard at the twin bottles being offered to him, unsure if he would grasp the right one.
"Finish this one for me?" Ben asked evenly. His gaze was fixed on the path Rey had taken.
Poe reached out to take the proffered bottle, watching as Ben rose from their spot under the shelter of the X-wing to follow after Rey. Through his double-vision, Poe saw that Ben's walk was that of pure determination, completely oblivious that he was walking through a muddy deluge. Under the X-wing, Poe smiled wide and polished off the last two Jawa Juices by himself.
xx
By the time he entered their shared quarters, Ben could hear the water running. He called her name softly and waited for an answer, despite sensing each other's solid presence through the bond. She knew he was there. It had been almost a week since the incident. Even after Leia's lecture, Rey had wanted some space between them, so he gave it to her. All the more, Ben had conceded to sleep in his former jail cell and kept himself from reaching out to her through the bond. He'd left her alone during the spat and hoped it would be enough.
Ben took off his mud-covered boots and socks and placed them next to Rey's muddy shoes by the door.
Can I come in? He asked her through the bond. Still, he was met with silence.
Soaked from his brief journey through the downpour, Ben kept walking through their quarters, eyeing the metal saber kit on the table as he made for the bathroom. Where Kylo Ren would have destroyed what vexed him in a tantrum, Ben Solo chose to keep calmly walking by instead. He'd address that box and its contents soon enough.
He slipped through the bathroom door to find Rey still in the shower, her back turned to him. The closer he got to her, the more their connection intensified. Ben didn't hide the fact that he wanted in, nor did she hide her feelings from him. Part of her wanted him there—to call a truce and make things right again. But another part of her bristled at his presence and didn't even want to look at him. Hurt by her latter feelings, he hoped baser instincts would win out.
Ben slipped through the plastic curtain fully clothed and placed his hands lightly on her hips, feeling her body tense up at the contact. Aware of the thickening tension between them, he leaned down to send an apology through their bond while placing light kisses on her shoulder.
I'm sorry I lost my temper. I lied because I was afraid. I need your help more than anything.
Soon, the little waves of enmity that met him when he first walked in began to fizzle out. He trailed his nose along her jawline hoping to regain her favor.
"Will you still have me?" He whispered, barely loud enough over the hail of water from the shower. Heat flooded her body as his grip tightened, holding onto her like a lifeline.
From the moment he'd entered the shower, water began to rinse off all the mud and the grime from his clothes, collecting in the drain by their feet. Rey kept her eyes closed in the steady stream of warm water, pressing herself into Ben's chest as he held firmly onto her hips. No sooner had the water washed away all their dirt than her answer had been given.
Rey sighed deeply as she felt his hands rise from her hips along the length of her body, then settled around her neck to cradle her head, pulling her chin towards his kiss. His lips tasted of alcohol and rain. As Ben pulled her closer, he couldn't help but notice all his favorite parts of her seemed fuller. Her breasts, her hips, her belly and her lips. Perhaps the unfortunate past week spent apart caused him to forget what she looked like, a mistake he didn't plan on repeating.
Rey moved to turn around, but Ben held her body firmly in place, reminding her through the bond that she didn't want to see his face right now. The sharpness of his wit was palpable on her tongue and she demanded to take it back from him. Rey rolled her ass indelicately into his hips, fisting her hands into the fabric of his clothes to make her position clear. His mind went blank as she ground against him, getting him hard.
I'm sorry I hurt us… hurt you, Rey conveyed to him through their bond. Her feelings of regret and being lost in their lack of togetherness washed over him like a wave in the ocean. She wanted him back now.
In response, Ben tried to make quick work of his wet clothes, struggling gracelessly to remove his snug pants. Spinning around, Rey wrapped her arms around his neck as she pulled him down for another kiss, pressing her wet skin greedily against his. It was then she noticed the facial hair growing on his chin and under his nose.
"You need a shave," she said laughing, eyeing the new goatee and mustache that had grown during their week of absence from each other. It was shapely and black, just like the rest of his hair.
"I kinda like it," he said, touching his chin. "New look, new saber, new life." He uttered those words like it was an equation he'd just worked out, making all the sense in the world. "Will you help me make a new one?"
Without questioning exactly which one he needed her help with, Rey lifted up on her toes to kiss him more urgently than before. Ben took all of it in, smiling in between heated kisses with each greedy pull from her hands on his remaining clothes. His tangled black shirt fell to the floor with the sounds of wet fabric slapping against tile. Finally naked to her satisfaction, Ben parted from their kiss and knelt down in the small space. Holding onto the side walls of the narrow shower, Rey lifted her thigh over his shoulder to seek succor only he could bring her. Through the hail of warm water, Ben's mouth kissed a wet trail northbound along the inside of her thigh while his free hand sought the softness of her belly. The dyad moaned in unison as he plunged his tongue into her folds as deep as he could reach, desperate to drown himself in her. She tasted sweeter than he remembered.
But it wasn't long before Rey's fingers dug into his shoulders, drawing him up from his knees. Today, they would make quick work of each other.
Keeping his eyes closed as he stood up through the stream of water, Ben pulled Rey into another kiss, sliding his tongue into her open mouth to taste more. They spared no time for gentleness, as Ben trapped her between the wall of the shower and his body, taking each of her hands in his own and holding them fast above her head. Rey gasped at the sudden contact of her warmed skin against the coolness of the tile, savoring his heated kisses. Rey lifted one of her legs up around his hip, pressing him impossibly closer in the small space.
Unable to wait any longer, Ben took both her wrists in one large hand and continued to restrain them above her, while his other hand reached down to guided himself into her. She was so slick and tight, Ben groaned knowing he wouldn't last long.
Never let me go, Rey said through the bond. Her voice was already occupied making little noises of pleasure, and the dual-impact of her message made him melt.
"Never," he said, leaning down to kiss her again, tugging on her lower lip with his teeth. He thrust harder and faster, drawing a breathy chorus of needy exclamations from them both. Rey wrapped both her legs around his waist as he finally released her wrists, choosing to steady his hold on her ass to keep them from slipping. Rey muffled her scream by biting down on his thick shoulder muscles as she came, holding onto him for dear life. Her tightening walls surrounding him were definitely too much to take and Ben felt his vision blur and his muscles quake.
The world fell away as he came, but she burned bright like the sun and he knew he was a lucky dog to have her back.
xx