Chapter 8

It was quiet now, the heavy rain that had hammered on the ship's hull moments before having finally passed. The wiring Rey was trying to mend was proving irreparable and she sighed in frustration before pausing suddenly, sensing a disturbance. She could feel him and his irritation well before she could hear him. Moments later, she heard Chewbacca roar a greeting to Poe from the innards of the Falcon.

"Not now, Chewie," Poe said over his shoulder as he stomped up boarding ramp, the metal reverberating loudly beneath his boots, "Where is she?"

Rey hoisted herself out from within the ship to stand in front of the entrance to the Falcon, curious as to what had Poe so fired up. Momentarily, he seemed stunned at her quick appearance before the shadow of anger replaced it.

"What's wrong?" Rey questioned cautiously, wiping her hands on an already grease-streaked rag.

"Well? Where is he?" he crossed his arms, looking annoyed.

"Ben? What do you mean, he's back at the room –"

"You sure about that?" Poe cut her off, a haughty look plastered on his face, one eyebrow raised.

Rey opened her mouth to continue but paused, taking a deep breath through her nose instead, centering herself. Reaching out with the Force, she looked for the unique signature that Ben emitted. He appeared in her mind like a light on a radar display, bright and pulsing, except he was not where she expected him to be. What was he thinking? And better yet, what was he doing?

Poe watched her face as she puzzled out the situation, "Connix comm-ed and told me she saw him hustling through base in the rain. Alone."

"Poe, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation," Rey reasoned, reaching out to touch her friend lightly on the shoulder.

"There are rules, Rey. I literally let him get away with murder. And he can't even follow one order," he turned his shoulder away so that her fingers never found purchase.

Rey had no good answer for him and let her arm drop to her side. Ben had said nothing to suggest he had planned on leaving their room, and she had only been working on the Falcon for little more than two hours.

"Going somewhere, Supreme Leader?" Poe stepped from around the corner, just feet from the door to Rey and Ben's room, catching the latter just as he was reaching for the door.

Ben froze, his hand still in the air towards the door handle. His eyes shot to Poe's face and then shifted when Rey coming into view from behind the young general. Disappointment and confusion were etched on her face.

"Ben?" Rey questioned, her voice sounding small.

"Rey-" he began, standing up straighter and letting his arm fall to his side, his fist clenching.

"I knew I'd regret this!" Poe interrupted, his hand moving towards the holstered blaster on his hip.

Rey reached her arm out and firmly gripped her friend's forearm to stop him before calmly speaking a single word, with a just little help from the Force, "Stop."

Poe Dameron immediately relaxed, his eyes glazing ever so slightly, but keeping their icy glare upon Ben.

The young woman approached her…lover? Soulmate? Equal? She placed her right hand on his chest, feeling the heat from his body even through the cool, rain-drenched shirt that clung to his skin. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to simply feel. Within Ben she found no maliciousness nor deception, but rather a bright hope and a burning determination.

"I know where to start," Ben finally spoke, barely above a whisper.

Rey blinked, taking a moment to digest what he had just said before she whispered back, "Already? How?"

"Maz," Ben shrugged, a trademark Solo smirk breaking the tension between them.

Behind Rey, Poe threw up his hands in frustration, "Just what the kriff is going on? Is this some kind of weird Force stuff?"

Luckily, Rey had been able to persuade Poe into calming down enough to allow Ben to explain himself. Even the roguish former spice-runner softened slightly at hearing Ben's plan to delve into Rey's family history. There had been a lot of back and forth and Finn, too, had joined in his dissent with his co-general. After the heated discussion, Rey and Ben retreated to their room to await their final decision.

Finn walked quickly to keep pace with Poe, following him to a more secluded area of the caves that housed the base's communications.

"We're going to let them go, aren't we?" Poe spoke, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms, looking at the ground.

"That look on her face when she talks about her parents. I've never seen her look so vulnerable; definitely not that rough and tumble scavenger-Jedi girl I know. But I understand the feeling. I don't know how I could say no to that, Poe," Finn's shoulders slumped, and he took a seat on a rock near his friend. He had never known his parents either, only the First Order formed his earliest memories.

"I still don't trust him. And the two of them, it's always like they're having some weird silent conversation. I trust Rey, but…"

"She can handle her own. Plus, now we have an errand boy. We need intel on those crime syndicates running rampant on Coruscant. If we ever want to have peace, we'll need the Core worlds to come back to order," Finn smirked, thinking that if Solo ever got out of hand, she could give him a nice whack with her quarterstaff. He knew the sting from experience.

Back at their room, Ben closed the door with a sigh and leaned his back against it. That had been exhausting. He had managed to keep his fiery temper in check, but that, along with the emotions flowing through their Bond, had taken great effort. This whole diplomacy thing was hard and unfamiliar. Ben was used to the cowering submission of stormtroopers. He did not have the sharp, negotiating prowess his mother had had.

Rey fell back on the bed, arms spread out, with a sigh of her own. Ben walked over to where she lay and bent over the bed, placing his hands on the bed on either side of her with a tired smile. In response, she wrapped her arms around his neck, dragging him downwards into a kiss. It was still midday, yet the usual noise of voices, metal clanking or landing crafts were abruptly replaced by a deafening silence. All Ben could hear now was the rush of blood drumming in his ears, so loud that he was sure Rey could hear it, too. He eased himself down on his forearms, hovering only centimeters from her body.

He slid his hands beneath her back, gathering her to him. Rey yelped in surprise when he lifted her up, standing up straight at the side of the bed, her feet dangling inches from the ground. Instinctively, she hooked one of her legs around his midsection, even though she inherently knew he would never drop her.

Their kiss unbroken, Ben made a muffled groan from within his throat, but proceeded to slowly ease her down until she was standing flush with him. When he pulled back, his own mischievous smile earned a broad grin from Rey, her cheeks pink, making her look more enticing, if it were even possible. He tucked his chin and bent his head so that his forehead rested against hers and closed his eyes. She smelled of earth, rain and a hint of mechanical oil. The silence continued, interrupted only by the nearly inaudible sounds of their breathing. Ben felt a flutter, a slight caress against his mind by her own. No words were spoken over their Bond, but rather colors, images, and feelings.

After a few moments, Ben let out a gentle sigh before speaking softly, "We should pack for the trip. And make sure the ship is ready and supplied."

A pouty huff came from Rey and Ben couldn't help but breathe out a small laugh. He kissed the tip of her nose and took a step back, running his hands from the sides of her neck and down her arms to her hands.

Rey looked down at their interlocked fingers and looked up at him through her lashes, blushing furiously, "To be continued?"

Ben gulped noticeably, clearly rethinking his more practical afternoon plans. He released her hands and quickly grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her back in for a deep kiss. When he pulled back again, he smiled down at her.

"To be continued," Ben agreed.

Ben followed Rey, her carrying two bags filled with their small assortment of clothing and Ben carrying an oversized box full of rations. As they neared the Millennium Falcon, a knot of anxiety pitted within his stomach. Rey noticed the unease coming from him and stopped in her tracks, turning to look at him over her shoulder, her eyes full of concern. She gave him a small smile of encouragement, and some of his edginess dissipated.

Chewbacca walked down the ramp as Rey approached, roaring a happy greeting and nodding his head, conveying that the ship was ready to go. Ben stopped a few paces behind her, waiting for the awkward moment he had been avoiding since they had arrived on the base.

Rey continued up the ramp, leaving the boys to hash it out amongst themselves. The large wookie fell silent and stared into Ben's eyes. Ben remembered how huge Chewie had seemed when he had been small, a giant uncle that he had climbed and wrestled with on this very ship. Now, he was only a head shorter and much more intimidated.

Chewie broke eye contact and emitted a small noise before turning around and waving a huge, hairy hand, motioning for Ben to follow. Confused, Ben followed, placing the box down at the top of the ramp and looking to Rey who waited with wide eyes. He shrugged, continuing to follow and Rey joined him.

Chewie showed them to his quarters where he then dug in a low drawer. He sounded a groan of success and pulled out a small holo-chip. In the corner, R2-D2, who had been resting in low-power mode suddenly activated, a slew of beeps gaining their attention. Chewie placed a hand on the droid when it rolled over towards him and inserted the chip into the correct slot.

Still confused, both Rey and Ben watched in silence as a flickering blue light was projected from the faithful droid. A hologram began to play, and the shriek of a child was heard. They watched as a small, chubby faced toddler with dark hair ran into view and collided with the leg of a wookie, wrapping his small arms around it and giggling. In the holo, Chewie bent into frame and swept the child in his arms, almost hiding him from view with his long fur, and earning further squeals of delight from little Ben.

"Ben! Chewie?!" A man's voice yelled off camera, and the hologram flickered out.

Rey felt Ben's anguish at the sound of his father's voice. She moved to take his hand and looked at him, seeing that he was still staring at the spot the hologram had played from. To her left, Chewie let out a mournful grunt.

Ben turned towards the wookie that had been one of the central figures of his life from before. How could one apologize for such heinous acts with something as useless as a pile of words?

"I could never be sorrier for anything that I've ever done than I am for what I…for what I did to Dad," his voice sounded small, and it broke on the last word. His gaze fell to the floor, unable to look into his pseudo-uncle's eyes and say the words at the same time. The shame and sadness in the room was palpable.

Ben couldn't see what Rey saw and was too consumed with his own self-hatred to sense Chewie's current emotions. Rey could feel no anger or malice and knew that Chewie had shown them this for a reason. He was trying to show Ben that he remembers the good within him, even if what he did was unforgivable.

Chewbacca nodded to Rey, and turned to leave, R2-D2 rolling after him, warbling questions at the wookie.

This moment needed no words, so Rey simply took Ben's hand, and led him back outside, where the sun was getting low on the horizon, giving the forest an amber glow. She took a deep breath and her lips curved up into a smile, the clean, earthy air of the jungle never getting old to her.

An idea came to her just then, and she unhooked both Luke and Leia's sabers that had been clipped to her belt. Before Ben could utter a question, she shoved his mother's lightsaber into his hand and ran off towards the training course.

Ben turned the weapon over in his hand and looked after Rey, who had turned to shout over her shoulder with a mischievous smirk, "How about a rematch, Solo?"

The playful challenge quickly made his sadness shrink to a smaller place within him and he hurriedly began to follow her, a small smirk of his own appearing on his face.

Well that was a long one for me! Next up, some playful fluff before their big adventure. Thank you all so much for sticking with me this far!