They made their way out of the Destroyer without any further mishaps, and crossed the blistering sand to climb up the ramp into the blessedly-cool interior of the Resistance vessel. Upon their entrance, the rest of the team perked up.

"Any luck?" Rose asked.

Rey fished out the chip she'd salvaged. "There's a lot of carbon scoring," she warned as she handed it over.

"It might work," Rose said uncertainly, grimacing as she turned it over in her hand. "I'll see how much I can clean it off."

"There's still one more hangar I want to check out…"

She trailed off as Ben quickly spun and strode down the corridor, toward the berths at the back at the transport. She frowned after him.

"What's with him?" Poe asked callously.

"He's probably going to meditate," Rey guessed.

"Is that all he ever does?"

"Hey," she scolded. "It's important for Jedi to meditate." She looked back down the corridor, to where Ben had disappeared. "Besides… I think I scared him. He may need some time to calm down."

"What?"

"How?"

Rey shrugged. "A transport came loose from its tether and, ah, crashed into the vessel I'd been in."

"What?!" Poe screeched. Finn and Rose gaped at her.

"Are you okay?" Rose gasped.

"I'm fine," Rey assured them. "It's a hazard of the profession. I'm used to it. But he isn't. I think he thought I was going to get squished."

"Well of course he was!" Finn exclaimed. "Most of us wouldn't react so calmly if we saw a multi-ton ship hurtling toward us!"

"I'm fine," Rey reiterated. She pointed to the chip. "Can we help you clean that off, Rose?"

Successfully deterred by the threat of chores, Poe and Finn went off to find something else to do. Rey settled next to Rose at the table as the engineer picked up the chip and started to gently clean off the carbon scoring. Rey watched in silence, bracing her chin in her palm.

As she worked, Rose swept her gaze around the cabin before settling a piercing look on her friend. "Rey, I've been meaning to talk to you about Ben," she said softly, returning her attention to the chip in her hand.

Rey tensed. "What about him?" she asked, glancing up at Rose.

"Look, I know I'm not Force-sensitive like you guys," Rose admitted. "But I understand people. I'm pretty good at reading someone's character and intentions."

Rey could feel her hackles rising. "I trust Ben with my life," she started to argue, but Rose cut her off.

"That's not what I'm getting at," Rose said placatingly. "Not at all. I trust him too." She picked at a particularly delicate portion of the chip before continuing, "I wouldn't normally say anything, because I don't like to meddle, but… Well, I figured with your upbringing on Jakku, and his training with the Jedi, neither one of you might realize…"

When she paused, Rey prompted her to speak. "Realize what, Rose?"

"You don't see it, do you? The way he looks at you?"

Rey frowned. "How does he look at me?"

"Rey. He's got it bad."

"What do you mean?"

"He likes you, silly!" Rose whispered. "Trust me. I've been with the Resistance for years now. He's never acted like this before. But because it's him, he'll never admit it in a thousand years."

Rey felt her heart squeeze in her chest. "Wait, wait, wait," she said, waving her hand through the air. "Ben likes me? As in Benjamin Solo, Jedi Knight, tall, dark, unconventionally handsome, just through there in the other room—that Ben?"

"Yes, that Ben!" Rose hissed. "Surely you had some inkling?"

"No," Rey whispered back. "No, I didn't. I mean, I… I knew we were friends, but… I could never get a read on him." She fell into a dazed silence.

"Trust me, he likes you," Rose assured her. "He was an absolute rancor yesterday while you were in the Destroyer, pacing and snapping at every little thing until I finally suggested he take his work outside. I think pounding on some metal helped him a little. He's very good at hiding his emotions—until he thinks no one is looking."

Rey leaned back in her seat and let out a slow breath. "Wow."

"How do you feel about him?" Rose asked. "Do you like him? You seem to."

Rey nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I do. But I've never cared for someone like this before. How…?"

Rose studied her. "How can you be sure?" she prompted.

Rey nodded.

"What does your heart say?" Rose asked softly.

Rey put a hand over the organ in question. It was pounding in her chest. "Er… quite a lot, apparently."

Rose smiled. "There you go."

Rey thought back, recalling a conversation she'd had with Ben back on Ahch-To, about how nice it would be to have someone in this galaxy to call one's own. All the quiet moments, all the little smiles and shared glances…

"You aren't alone anymore…"

"Want to try?" He reached out his hand…

"Please… don't judge me like that…"

"You'll think I'm a monster…"

"Do you trust me?"

"Rey… Rey!"

Rey sucked in a breath. "Rose, what do I do?"

Rose smiled gently at her. "Take it slow," she recommended quietly. "Whatever you do, don't go barrelling in. You'll scare him off, and probably yourself, too. You know him, though—probably better than any of us. Trust yourself to know what to do." She blew some of the carbon dust off the chip.

"But what about the Jedi Order?" Rey questioned, remembering something she'd read in the ancient tomes. "Aren't they forbidden to have relationships?"

"Look," Rose said seriously, setting the chip down. "Ben is a man of his word, and he'd never lightly break a vow. But I don't think he'd let that stand between the two of you. He cares about you too much. There's something in the way he looks at you…" Rose smiled. "You're very important to him.

"But like I said," the engineer continued in a more cheerful tone, "I wouldn't normally have said anything, but I want the two of you to be happy. You both deserve it, more than anyone I know."

…

After everyone had gone to their berths for the night, Rey lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Sleep would be a long time coming tonight. She had a lot to think about.

She'd been alone for most of her life, only recently discovering what it was like to have regular human contact again. It was wonderful, and she loved her friends very much, but sometimes she found herself getting overwhelmed with it all and desperately needing to be alone. How, then, did that figure into actually caring for someone in a deeper, more romantic sense?

She wasn't sure when her feelings for Ben had crossed over from friendship to something more, but somewhere along the way, they had. Was she ready for this? Was she ready for their relationship to change?

And what if he didn't actually feel the same, despite what Rose claimed? She thought back on her previous interactions with the man. He was so often a closed book, only rarely opening up enough for her to catch a glimpse of him behind his carefully-constructed walls. How could she be sure that he felt something for her beyond their budding friendship?

Rose had made some good points, though. Something was going on with him.

Frustrated, Rey rolled to her side and curled up. She hadn't gotten the chance to speak with him any more that day. Ben had retreated to his quarters after they'd returned from the Destroyer, and he hadn't emerged except to grab a ration for dinner before immediately returning to his self-imposed isolation. She'd even tried reaching out through the bond, but she could only surmise that the hard, cold feeling she'd been met with meant he had shut off his side of their connection. She wondered if the incident in the hangar had truly unsettled him that badly, or if something else was going on. With Ben, she couldn't always tell.

She drifted into a fitful sleep, tossing and turning as she dreamed of dark labyrinthine hallways and a shadowed specter in a mask. The figure haunted her, chasing her down corridor after corridor, hand outstretched and trying to catch the trailing hem of her clothes. Other times, she was chasing him, searching, screaming, and sobbing as the dark hem of his cloak just barely eluded her around the next bend.

Sometime in the middle of the night, she awoke with a start, jarred from her dreams by something that immediately disappeared like a puff of smoke. She pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly, willing herself to relax, then curled deeper under the blanket—

Only to grow still, opening her eyes with a frown. There was a fluttering at the edges of her mind, soft and sparkling like effervescence…

The bond. It's open.

Ever so gently, she reached toward the sensation. The other side was quiet, and as she listened, she got the impression of soft, even breathing. She smiled. He was asleep, then. It seemed that his control over the bond relaxed in his slumber.

She tentatively pushed closer, and as she did, the cot behind her dipped with his weight. She leaned back, coming to rest against a broad, warm chest. A heavy arm looped over her, pulling her back the rest of the way, and a long nose buried into her loose hair.

She took a steadying breath. This was nice. And somewhat unexpected. And she hoped he didn't suddenly wake up and react badly to where the Force bond had deposited him. But for now…

She gently laid her hand over his and linked their fingers together. His arm flexed around her, tugging her back against him even closer. He nuzzled against her shoulder, sighed deeply, and settled again.

She bit her lip against a squeak. Who would've thought that big, tall, stoic Ben would be a cuddler? He seemed about as dysfunctional as she was when it came to basic human contact, if not more so, and yet he was curled as close to her as he could get, his frame cradling hers like a glove. Like he was starved for it.

She hugged his arm closer around her, biting her lip now to keep tears at bay. Stars, this man was frighteningly dear to her. She might never know everything that had happened to him in the past, everything that had made him so reluctant to trust and accept friendship now, but she would do everything in her power to be there for him from now on. She'd prove it to him, one way or another.

"Rey?" he murmured softly.

She went very still. Uh oh. "Yes?" she whispered.

But then he took another slow, deep breath, the sound peaking on a light snore. He was still asleep. She relaxed back against him with a silent sigh of relief.

Determined to enjoy this while she could, she exhaled slowly and closed her eyes. She nestled back against him, listening to the sound of his breathing and smiling as the little puffs of air stirred her hair and tickled her bare shoulder. He gave off heat like a furnace. Safely cocooned in his warmth, she started to drift off again.

But then his breath hitched. He muttered something again, this time unintelligibly, and she opened her eyes, listening for him to continue.

He twitched involuntarily, his hand jerking beneath hers, and she realized he was dreaming. But this didn't seem like the gentle twitches that children or small animals experienced. No, this seemed like something else. Was he still thinking about the crash in the hangar?

He muttered again, but this time it sounded more like a moan. He shifted behind her, then groaned again.

"Mmnh… n-nuh…"

She listened with growing concern. No, this was no ordinary dream. This was a nightmare. But she wasn't sure what to do. Did she hold him? Let him ride it out? Did she wake him up? Or would that trigger something worse?

His arm suddenly tightened around her, so tightly she couldn't breathe, and he shuddered behind her, keening softly in a pained, wordless cry. She'd never heard such a heartbreaking sound before, and the ache of it cut into her heart so sharply that tears sprung into her eyes.

That was it. She wouldn't let this go on a moment longer. She twisted to face him—

But he wasn't there.

Cursing the Force bond for possibly the worst timing in the entire galaxy, she jumped out of bed and hurried out of her room. She realized she was trembling. The knowledge that Ben Solo, always solemn and in control of himself, could be reduced to such a state meant that whatever he'd been dreaming… She wasn't sure she wanted to know. All she knew was that she needed to get to him.

Padding quickly down the corridor to his berth, she tried to open the door, but it was locked. Cursing the thing, she placed her palm flat on the metal surface and willed the lock to unlatch. She heard a soft snick, and then the door slid open. She let herself inside, closing the door behind her, and reached over to the digital panel to switch on the floor illuminators.

Ben was curled on his side, around a space where she could've fit. His toes were poking out from beneath the edge of his blanket, and he was shivering, his breath coming in stifled gasps.

She crossed the short distance and perched on the edge of the cot. "Ben?" she whispered.

He didn't stir.

She reached out and shook his shoulder. "Ben!"

He startled awake with a gasp, his eyes snapping open and casting about wildly before landing on her. He frowned in confusion. "Rey?" he mumbled, still breathing hard. "What're you doing'n here?"

"I heard you." It wasn't entirely untrue, after all. "You were having a nightmare."

He shifted, and she moved so he could sit up on the edge of the bed next to her. He scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed deeply.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

He immediately shook his head in the negative. "No," he replied emphatically. He sniffed and let out a shaky breath. "Sorry I woke you," he added quietly.

"Are you all right?"

To her surprise, he didn't automatically dismiss her. He didn't respond at all for a moment, but finally, he shook his head.

"No," he admitted aloud, his voice catching on the word. "No, I'm not all right."

When she looked closer, she saw that his eyes were red-rimmed. He leaned forward on his knees and raked his hands into his hair, clenching the strands between his fingers. His back heaved with a deep, shaking sigh.

Oh, Ben.

Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly. The broad muscles of his back tensed in surprise beneath his sleeping tunic, and at her touch, snippets of his dream flashed before her eyes—her, leaping out of the Imperial transport just in time; the guttural purr of a red lightsaber; Ben, cradling someone's pale, limp body to his chest as he stared ahead with glassy eyes.

A hand came up to grasp her arm, but rather than pull her away, it held on tight. He sucked in a ragged breath, and then another, the sound of it carrying the desperation of someone trying hard not to cry.

She curled an arm around his head and pulled him into her, resting her chin against the messy dark crown as she held him tightly. Distantly, she was surprised he was allowing her to do this. The nightmare he'd had must've been truly awful. His breath gusted against her as he trembled in her arms, catching over and over as he tried to get a hold of himself. She rubbed her hand over the sloped muscles of his back in long, calming strokes, breathing in the scent of him as she combed her other hand through his hair.

"It's okay," she murmured against him. "It's okay. It was just a dream. You're safe. I've got you."

But at her words, he jerked away from her. He was shaking his head, and his eyes were wide and glassy. "But what if I can't stop it?" he whispered. "What if—" He broke off with a moan and leaned back against the fuselage wall, pressing a hand over his eyes as his chin wobbled. His other hand knotted firmly in the blanket beside him.

She bit her lip against her own emotion. She didn't like seeing him like this, so uncertain and afraid. She didn't like not being able to take away his pain.

Hoping she wasn't about to cross a line, she made a decision. Shifting across the cot, she dipped under his arm and nestled into his side. She burrowed her head against his chest, threaded her arms around his middle, and hugged him tightly.

The strong barrel of his chest shuddered with one violent sob before his arms came around her in return. He clung to her like a lifeline, one hand cradling her head while the other held her around the middle, firm as a durasteel band. His harsh breath stirred her loose hair, and she held back tears at his every stifled cry.

She cuddled closer, tucking herself against him as he worked through whatever horrors had haunted his dreams. They stayed like that for a long time, entwined together on his cot. She ran her hand up across his chest and down his arm in long, calming strokes, then pressed her palm against his pounding heart to ground him. He shivered beneath her, remaining curled around her as he held on tight.

After a while, she felt him take a deeper, steadier breath. His cheek came to rest against her forehead as his shivering subsided, and his arms gradually loosened until they were simply looped around her. Beneath her ear, she could hear the sound of his strong, steady heartbeat, slowly pounding out a comforting rhythm. She took a deep breath and relaxed against him, listening to his heartbeat while he held her.

She only stirred when he shifted beneath her. Carefully extricating herself from his arms, she peered up at him. His eyes were heavy and tired. Shadows still lurked in their dark depths, but he looked far calmer now than he had when she'd come in.

She reached up and smoothed a hand over his forehead, pressing a thumb against the crease between his brows and combing away the messy locks of ebony hair. "How do you feel?" she whispered.

"Exhausted."

"I'm sorry if what happened in the Destroyer earlier had anything to do with it."

He shook his head. "It isn't your fault."

"Do you think you'll be able to sleep?"

"I don't know. I'll be fine, though."

She carefully tucked an errant strand of hair behind his ear. "Are you sure?"

He nodded.

She watched him for a moment longer, not entirely convinced. He met her eyes with a soft, tired gaze, quietly taking her in as she studied him.

She really, really didn't want to leave. He'd never looked at her quite like that before, so openly and vulnerably. His eyes flicked over her face, landing briefly on her brow, her nose, her lips, and back to her eyes. She badly wanted to stay with him, burrow back into his chest and lay back on the cot and cradle him to her. She wanted to kiss his forehead and smooth his hair back and chase away his nightmares while he slept.

But this was Ben, and no matter how vulnerable he looked right now, no matter if he might welcome her presence in the moment, she was sure that come morning, he would be mortified at the idea of having slept with her, no matter how innocent their intentions.

It was time to go.

"Okay." She slid away from him and stood up. "If you need anything," she said, tapping her temple, "call me."

His lips quirked up in a half smile as he snorted a laugh.

"Goodnight, Ben," she murmured.

"Goodnight," he replied. "And… thank you."

With a brief smile, she let herself out of his room and quietly returned to her own. It was a long time before sleep came again.

…

The next morning, when she came into the cabin, Ben was already there. Aside from looking a little tired, he seemed calm and collected, walls firmly in place.

Part of her was in awe of his strength, but the other part of her worried for him. If last night had been a glimpse into what he hid behind those walls, then he must live in a nightmare every day. Whatever he'd experienced to spur such dreams… it must've been truly horrific.

For the umpteenth time, she wished he'd let her in.

He didn't look at her as she sat next to him to share their customary cup of caf before starting the day. She wanted to ask him how he'd slept the rest of the night, or if he'd gotten any rest at all, but she didn't want to bring up the nightmare again. He hadn't wanted to talk about it last night, and she doubted he'd changed his mind in the light of day.

Eventually, Ben broke the silence. "Are you going to the other hangar today?" he asked, swirling the last bit of caf around in the bottom of his mug.

"Yes."

He lifted the mug to his lips. "I'm coming with you," he said decisively from behind the rim, and drained it.

He stood up, but before he could leave, she reached over and lightly squeezed his forearm. "Thank you," she said quietly.

He glanced down at her and nodded sharply. But as he put his mug in the cleaning droid and retreated down the corridor to the fresher, she caught a glimpse of the tips of his ears, poking through his hair.

They were bright pink.

…

Geared up and ready to go, Rey and Ben once more walked across the sand to the ion engine. They retraced their steps, climbing up and down through the turbolift shafts, carefully making their way down the collapsed corridor. This time, they went to the left, into the last of the hangars on the crashed Destroyer. If they didn't find a usable chip here, they would have to find another site, or hope the charred one Rey had found the previous day would work. Rose still wasn't confident that it would.

With the way the massive Destroyer had landed in the crash, the port side of the ship had been badly damaged, dragged along the sandy surface of Jakku as the hulking structure had ground to a halt. The hangar was half-filled with sand, with a jumble of metal parts sticking out of the grit in the downward-sloping part of the room.

With dismay, Rey realized there was only one shuttle of interest in this hangar. It had slipped its tethers and come to rest in a folded position on top of the sand, but was still intact enough that she felt safe exploring inside.

Climbing through the viewport, she knelt by the panel and made quick work of the computer. But when she opened it, the chip had cracked in two places. With a frustrated huff, she slammed the computer compartment shut.

"No good," she announced, dropping back onto the hangar floor.

Ben bit his lip, looking at her sympathetically. "At least we got one, right?"

"Yeah." She gave the hangar one last look over her shoulder.

And then she paused.

She couldn't explain it, but suddenly she had this feeling. Like there was something else here. Something that needed to be found.

Her feet turned back to the crumpled pile of ships of their own accord. Without contemplating it, she dropped into a crouch and let herself skid down the sloping floor to the bank of sand.

"Rey, what are you doing?" came Ben's voice.

"Ben," she murmured, sweeping her gaze over the ship parts emerging from the sand. "I… It's here."

She looked back up at him, at where he stood near the door. "Help me," she entreated.

Something in his eyes changed, as if he recognized what she was feeling, and then he was sliding down the floor to meet her. "Tell me what to do," he said, holding her gaze.

She looked back at the sand, searching for something. Her eyes caught on a piece of metal, and then she was kneeling down, scooping her fingers through the sand, brushing away the grit until the hull of a ship began to take shape.

"Step back," Ben directed.

She did so, and he held out a hand. As if a gust of wind had blown through the hangar, the sand began to drift away, piling up at the sides of the room faster and faster, until the entirety of the shuttle had been revealed.

Hardly knowing where she was putting her hands and feet, Rey climbed into the cockpit. She pulled the computer out of the control panel and popped the compartment open, then reached inside.

And withdrew a pristine chip from its reader slot.

It took her a moment to register what she was seeing. With trembling fingers, she gently turned the chip over, inspecting it for any imperfections. It was completely undamaged, with not so much as a speck of carbon scoring marring the tiny components.

She climbed back out of the viewport, holding the chip safely in her hand, and dropped down onto the sand. Heart pounding, she turned to face Ben.

He was watching her closely, waiting.

"Ben… I think we found it."

She held up the chip, illuminating it with her headlamp. He reached for it, his fingers gently brushing hers as he took the chip and turned it over in his hand.

"I think we did," he agreed, and looked down at her with wide, wondrous brown eyes. It was the equivalent of jumping up and down and whooping in excitement from anyone else.

He placed the chip back in her palm, curling her fingers around it and holding her closed fist between his hands. She beamed up at him. His lips twitched in response.

"Can we get out of here now?" he asked.

"You really don't like it in here, do you?"

"No, I really don't."