Rey held Ben's hand the whole way back to her room. There were still a few people out around the base, lugging cases to storage, marching by on a mission, or trudging back to the barracks for the evening. A few of them glanced their way, noticing their clasped hands, but no one said anything.

Ben came to a stop before her door. There was still a hint of wariness in his eyes as he glanced back down the corridor the way they'd come; he looked tense and uncomfortable. But when he looked down at her, he gave her a little smile.

"What are your plans for the evening?" he murmured.

Rey shrugged. "Take a shower and read a little before bed. I'm too tired to work on the armor anymore. You?"

"Same."

She studied him. In the space of a couple days, his appearance had already made improvements, but he still looked tired. His health had a ways to recover.

After a moment, he started to look mildly uncomfortable at her scrutiny, and she gave him a faint, apologetic smile. "Will you stay again?" she asked quietly.

Mild surprise flashed through his eyes, followed by carefully guarded hope. "If that's what you want," he replied, voice pitched low.

"Of course it's what I want. Can't you tell?" She squeezed the large hand she still held. "I love you, Ben. I want you to stay forever."

"You've been saying that a lot, lately."

"And I'm going to keep saying it until you believe me."

He held her gaze for a moment longer, and finally nodded. A smile played about the corners of his lips. "I'll be back soon."

She tugged his hand up and pressed a quick kiss to his knuckles. "You better be." She lifted her chin and adopted false airs as she added, "I might have questions about my book."

The smile finally broke free as he snorted a laugh. "All right. I won't be long."

As he headed down the corridor, she ducked inside and went about her evening ablutions. She was dressed in her sleeping clothes and combing out her damp hair when a soft knock came at her door. She let him in with a wave of her hand.

"Show off," he teased, shutting the door behind him.

She shot a smirk over her shoulder. "Only for you."

He gave her a little half-smile.

"I was thinking about my armor design while I was showering," she commented, plopping down on her cot. She patted the space in front of her as she continued. "Or more specifically, a weapon that would suit my armor design." She cocked her head to one side. "Would a Knight of Ren carry a staff like the one I have?"

Ben shrugged as he settled on the foot of her cot. "It's possible."

"I'm most comfortable with a staff, so I thought it might be more believable if I carried one."

He nodded. "Sounds reasonable to me."

"How about you? Are you going to make a weapon to carry, or are you going to use your lightsaber?"

"I think we should both have our lightsabers, just in case, but the Knights of Ren are only Force sensitive, not Force wielding. They are not Jedi or Sith, so they don't carry lightsabers. We should only use ours for emergencies, not as our primary weapons. I will devise something else to carry, too."

Rey looked over at him apprehensively. "When do you think we'll be ready to go?"

"I don't know. Perhaps within the coming week, if we work quickly."

"That isn't much time."

There was a beat of silence. "No, it isn't," he quietly agreed.

"I'm scared," she admitted softly.

"So am I. But I'm ready to have this over with." His lips turned up at the corners. "I have things to do with my life other than fight this war."

Warmth fluttered in her belly at the promise in his words, dispelling some of the bad thoughts. "Oh?"

He nodded, his smile growing. "Mmhm."

Leaning forward on one arm, she grinned up at him. "Like what?" she murmured.

"Lots of things," he murmured back.

She curled one knee under her, inching closer to him. "Such as?"

"Reading, tinkering, practicing calligraphy—"

She gasped in mock outrage, and then dove at him, digging her fingers into his sides and tickling him mercilessly. He flinched and curled in on himself, grinning from ear to ear as he attempted to shy away from her.

"You—utter—tease!" she accused, laughing.

She stumbled upon a trigger spot entirely by accident, and suddenly he burst out laughing, great big belly laughs as he tried to fend her off.

"Rey, stop!"

"No!"

She pushed him down on the cot and jumped on top of him, trapping him beneath her as she continued exacting her retribution. He was laughing so hard he was crying, head thrown back and gasping for breath between bouts of mirth. She was giggling alongside him, scritching her fingers up his sides and over his abdomen as he flexed and twitched away from her.

He made several wild grabs for her wrists before finally catching them and pulling them up above his head. She was forced to lean over him, struggling against his grasp, but he was too strong for her to break free. But this close, an idea hit her. She swiftly ducked down and brought her lips to his neck, close but not touching, and gently blew across the expanse of pale flesh.

He groaned beneath her, shoulders seizing up to his ears as he tensed all over. When she pulled away, she saw his neck and arms had broken out in gooseflesh. She smirked down at him, and something deep in her belly tightened at the embers in his dark eyes.

"What other things?" she prompted again, quirking a brow.

He smiled softly up at her. "Things like this," he whispered, a breathy edge to his voice.

She eased down onto her elbows, bracing herself on either side of his head, and he released her wrists to bring his hands to her waist. He ran his thumbs along her sides as she settled comfortably against him.

She'd been thinking about this for most of the day, letting things mull over in the back of her mind as she'd gone about her work. The way the day had started, his intense and unexpected reaction to her ministrations. Again that afternoon in the shop, when he'd finally let go of his self control and kissed her. The way his kisses had made her feel. It had given her quite a lot to consider, and now she had something she wanted to try.

"Do you mean like this?" she whispered, and slowly leaned down to press a feather-light kiss against his cheek.

He sighed, and his eyelids fluttered closed.

"Or this?" She moved up to brush her lips across his temple. "Or this?" She kissed his forehead, and then the tip of his nose. "Or…?"

She shifted to the other side, trailing more kisses in her wake. She carefully brushed strands of midnight hair out of the way, then leaned forward to press a kiss to the shell of his ear. To her surprise, he didn't object, although his breath hitched at the touch of her lips.

His breathing was suspiciously measured by the time she reached his jawline, slow and steady through flared nostrils. She could feel the tick of his jaw muscles beneath her lips as he clenched his teeth against the sensations she stirred. She smiled against his skin.

From his chin, she moved down the slope of his neck, tracing the indentation where muscle met windpipe. She could feel his pulse there, pounding hard and strong, so hard she could see the faint flutter beneath his flesh. She gently nipped the place with her teeth, then traced the same spot with the tip of her tongue.

At the touch of her tongue, he lost his composure in a gusty moan, and began to pant through parted lips. His fingers knotted in her shirt as she continued her attentions, and she felt him shift restlessly beneath her.

She still didn't know much about what she was doing, but as far as she could tell, he seemed to be enjoying it, if the hands kneading her sides and the little choked-off sounds he was making were any indication. She'd certainly enjoyed it earlier, when he'd done it to her. She recalled the coiling feeling deep inside her, and wondered whether he felt anything similar now. Simply being this close to him was enough to start that coiling in her again, and bringing about such reactions in him was a heady feeling, indeed.

She continued on, kissing her way down his neck to his collarbone, to the notch at the base of his throat. The bones still jutted beneath his skin, far more sharp than was healthy. She paid special attention to them, kissing gently along the ridges as she trailed her fingers across the opposite side. In time, she would see to it that he fully recovered.

She braced herself against his chest, feeling the rise and fall of his breath as she continued to the other side. One hand moved up, over his collarbone and along the opposite side of his neck as she breathed gently over the pale flesh of his neck before kissing it again. She parted her lips and pressed an open-mouthed kiss over his pulse, and he shuddered beneath her with a faint gasp.

She kissed him slowly and purposefully, again and again, licking and nipping at the skin there. His hands tightened around her waist as his breath grew more erratic, peaking on a breathy gasp. She curled her fingers around the back of his neck to hold him in place as she laved his skin with her tongue, brushing her teeth against the place before sucking gently.

A soft sound escaped him, sounding almost pained, and his hands tightened like steel clamps around her waist. Smiling against him, she did it again, and he shivered. His fingers dug into her hips as he shifted again. She felt the muscles in his abdomen flex beneath her, tripping the coiling sensation low in her belly, and she moaned against his throat.

That little sound was his undoing. In an instant, she was flipped onto her back and he was pressing her into the thin mattress, burying his face in her neck as he sank his teeth into her flesh. She gasped at the sudden change in position. His breath was harsh and guttural on her neck as he replaced his teeth with his tongue, laving and sucking at the flesh there. She tangled her fingers tightly in his hair and wrapped her legs around his slim waist, holding him close in a silent plea not to stop. A whimper broke free—

In a flash, he met her lips with his, pressing into her with nearly bruising force. She cried out into his mouth before opening to him, meeting his tongue with hers and tangling her hands in his hair as she kissed him madly. The coiling was growing ever tighter, she was on the brink of losing her mind…

But then he began to slow his pace, gentling his kisses until he was just barely brushing his lips across hers.

She blinked blearily, trying to clear her vision. "Wait… what…?"

He gently kissed the bruise she could feel forming on her neck. "Not yet," he rasped.

"But I want you," she breathed.

He braced himself on his elbows and met her eyes. She could see the heat in them, simmering just below the surface. "Trust me, sweetheart, I want you too," he promised hoarsely. "But not yet."

"Why not?" She reflexively shifted against him.

He bit off a groan. "Careful," he warned in a low voice. "I'm not nearly as in control as I should be."

She almost said good, but then her ears pricked at his phrasing. "'Should be'?"

"I was raised with better manners than that," he said, meeting her eyes. A significant look passed between them.

"What do you mean?"

"You, um… you know when you said you wanted me, but if I couldn't do it yet, it was okay? That my wariness wasn't a conscious choice? Well it—it wasn't just that." He watched her for a moment, seemingly waiting for something. At her blank stare, he averted his gaze. "It's entirely too early to have this conversation."

"Tell me."

He sighed. "You know I was born on Chandrila. There were, uh, certain customs… views regarding relations before, um…"

"Yes?" she prompted carefully.

"Well, I-I know it isn't shared by the majority of the galaxy. Quite a lot of people would probably think the whole idea is terribly outdated, actually…"

He was rambling. That was exceedingly rare. Smiling, she placed her hands on his cheeks and gently kissed him. "Just say it," she whispered.

He met her eyes again, this time with wariness etched along his furrowed brow, and blurted, "I want to marry you first."

It took a moment before he seemed to realize exactly what he'd said. "I-I mean… that is… I know it's too soon, you hardly know me, a-and there's a war, but…" He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I was going to ask, eventually," he finished quietly. "Once everything was more certain. It's important to me."

Rey thought her heart might burst. He wanted to marry her? Not immediately, of course, but eventually? They would be together, permanently. She would have a place to belong, as would he. They'd be a family.

She was surprised when a short sob of pure joy broke through her sudden, radiant smile. She was smiling so widely her cheeks hurt. "Oh, Ben," she whispered. "I already know the answer."

He gave her a startled look, brown eyes blown wide, and then he began to smile. It transformed him. His eyes crinkled at the corners, and for a split second he beamed down at her with a wide, toothy grin before he was pressing his lips together again, like it was the only thing keeping him from flying apart.

"Really?" he murmured.

"Yes, really." She reached up and gently pushed the hair out of his face, tucking it behind an ear. "I love you."

He studied her for a moment, brow creasing faintly, and then he nodded. "I know."*

"You do?"

He nodded again, smiling softly. "Yeah."

He leaned down and kissed her. This time, the gesture was tender and sweet. He melded against her, slanting his lips across hers, and kissed her gently. She smoothed her fingers through his hair and down his back, hugging him against her as she returned his kisses.

In time, he maneuvered onto the cot beside her, pulling her with him so they could both lay comfortably side by side, and pressed one last, chaste kiss against her forehead. She curled into him, burrowing against the warm swell of his chest, and sighed contentedly.

She'd never been so comfortable as she drifted off to sleep.

…

By the end of the week, Rey was putting the finishing touches on her helmet. Turning the rounded helm over in her hands, she tested the servomotors, tapped a finger against the voice modulator, then closed it up and set it on the worktop with the rest of her completed armor pieces. Ben's suit was laid out next to hers. He'd fashioned a vibroaxe out of spare parts for his weapon, and it stood against the table alongside her trusty old staff. Kylo Ren's helmet sat next to hers.

She stood for a moment before the table, silently observing the spoils of their work. A shiver shot down her spine, and she chafed the cool skin of her upper arms, trying to ward off the chill of fear creeping in the corners of her mind. She desperately hoped they were able to pull this off. As Ben had said, she had things to do with her life other than fight this war. Namely, to spend that life with him.

As if her thoughts had summoned him, she heard the door open as the man himself stepped into the shop. "Rose finished installing the chip and says everything seems to be working," he announced. "Poe and Finn are fueling up now. We'll be ready to go first thing tomorrow morning."

She felt his eyes on her, studying her, but she couldn't bring herself to respond. Her hands tightened on her arms.

He came up behind her and wrapped his long arms around her shoulders. She felt his chin come to rest on top of her head.

"You're worried," he observed simply.

She nodded.

He kissed the top of her head, then rested his chin there again. "You won't be alone."*

"Neither will you."*

His arms tightened around her, and he leaned down to kiss her temple. His lips remained there for a moment, pressed against the delicate flesh, then he kissed her again and rested his cheek against hers. She felt the light puff of his breath graze her shoulder.

"It's going to be okay," he murmured.

She leaned into him, and he nuzzled his nose against her neck.

"I promise," he whispered against her skin.

One arm dropped to curl around her waist, and he simply held her, cradling her against him as they studied the fragmented deception before them.

A/N: Starred (*) phrases were borrowed from Star Wars!