A day early again! Yay! There was no way I could wait until tomorrow to post… this chapter is not a Sunday morning coffee type of read, it's much more of a Saturday night cocktail type of update 😉

I had other plans for this chapter, but when I tried to send our favorite space pair toward the next plot point, the characters refused to budge. They were not finished having their moment from the last chapter. This is the fun of writing, when the characters begin to feel so real that they make their own decisions. So, you can blame this Force-rollick on Ben and Rey 3

You guys are amazing, thank you for all of the feedback, really your comments are the reason I'm writing so fast. It's a huge help to me, so if you are liking my work… please let me know!


Rey had almost forgotten the others were there, she was so wrapped up in Ben's kiss and the power of their entwined Force buzzing in the night air.

But when Poe raised his voice from the far side of the tree, his tone thick with sarcasm, she realized her friends were all gaping at her with varying levels of disgust and fascination on their faces. "So, uh… either Rey is suddenly the most inappropriate mime in the galaxy, or I take it she found Ben."

"Mime? What?" Finn wrinkled his brows, his expression just visible under the light of Yavin's moons. "Wait, you still can't see him?"

Rey pulled away from Ben's embrace, breathless and warm everywhere. She hungered for more of him, but a sinking feeling had settled into the pit of her stomach with her friends' words.

"Should I be able to?" Poe asked.

"He looks completely solid to me now," Finn said, shaking his head in confusion. "I thought he was actually here."

"I still can't see him, either," said Rose.

Chewie growled his agreement.

Rey reached up, brushing her fingertips along Ben's jaw. "But, I see you as solid as I see them," she whispered, her elation dampening into cold dread.

Fear threatened now, like the point of that Sith dagger pressed against the skin of her breastbone.

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. The Bond is stronger.

"Then why can't they see you?"

What you see is still a projection. I'm still… there. In the In-Between.

His words plunged the dagger into her heart and twisted.

He reacted immediately to her emotions, sending soothing warmth down the Bond. Rey. Nothing has changed. I still want… I still feel… He grunted in frustration as he grappled for words. The Force has given us this gift. At least I can move around in the World Between Worlds, and we're away from them.

"But for how long?" She didn't want to be yelling at him, but the fear was gripping her completely, squeezing the words out at twice her intended volume.

Ben didn't flinch. He was running comforting fingers along her arm.

But Rey's heart was thrashing an angry rhythm against her ribcage now. Her fingers tingled with it, the power of her rage, and with the rushing torrent of her fury beginning to carry her away, she pounded a fist against his chest and screamed. "You heard Malak! They won't let you leave!"

Waves of comfort lapped against her chaotic thoughts as his Force, his energy, cradled her protectively. He was trying to help her control her fear. We'll find a way.

And before she could argue back, his strong arms were wrapped around her, holding her to his chest.

"You feel so real," she said, voice choked with emotion.

If our Bond can do this, can make me so solid here, then who knows what else we are capable of? He took her face between his hands, and the hope she saw in his eyes burned away the icy fear in her veins. Force Rey, when you sent that energy to me through the Bond, and I could wield it, he shook his head in disbelief. There's still so much we don't know about the power of our connection.

"But if you're still in the World Between Worlds, won't they find you?"

We know if they do, they won't hurt me. They don't want me. They want us. They need the power of the Dyad.

She wanted to hope, but with the disappointment and fading adrenaline, came the return of the throbbing pain of her ankle. Stars, she needed some pain meds, maybe there was some numbspray back on the Falcon.

"I just thought…" she sighed. "It felt so good to think we'd actually had a victory."

I'd say this is a victory, wouldn't you? And after seeing the life drain from him at the hands of the Sith, maybe he was right. Even if this was just a projection, it was a kriffing beautiful one. Solid, just as she remembered him from Exegol.

He didn't give her a chance to answer before he captured her mouth again and she softened, instinctively drawing closer. When he deepened the kiss, demanding more, she yielded to him, willingly helpless in his arms. She was surprised by her desire to surrender everything to him, to let him control her. Had she ever dreamed she would trust anyone enough to make her feel this way?

She heard Rose's voice from the other side of the tree. "Do you guys think there's a tavern or something at that little colony we passed? Want to go get something warm to eat?" Rey didn't miss the commanding tone in her voice. Bless her, Rose was trying to give them some privacy.

"Yeah, there is. We'll just… uh. See you back at the Falcon."

"Yeah," Finn agreed.

"This is not getting any less weird," she heard Poe mumble as their footsteps receded into the night.

The stars peaked through the Great Tree's canopy and she gazed up at them. Ben's eyes followed hers and he held her close, silently watching the galaxy move around them, feeling the Force between them, reveling in the deep connection to each other and the overwhelming life all around.

Where would you want to go? When this is over.

"I don't care where I go, just who I'm with."

His eyes found hers and they were wrapped in each other all over again. His hands found their way under her tunic, exploring the curve of her hips. His touch was the only thing that could make her forget what she'd seen today, and Maker did she want to forget. Around her waist, up her sides, her back, his warm fingers kneaded her bare flesh. A half-strangled moan escaped her lips as she realized what a strange feeling this was, to have Ben so close, but to still be longing for him.

I… Ben's voice was obviously strained, but evened out a bit as he spoke. I want to be with you, Rey. But I've never, I mean… I don't want it to be while I'm still there.

She growled her frustration at that. "Then just touch me." She shifted her weight to be closer to him, forgetting about her ankle. She sucked a breath through clenched teeth as a shock of pain up screamed up her leg.

Without a word, Ben whisked her off her feet, holding her to his chest and carried her away.

She squeaked. "What are you doing?"

He didn't slow down. In fact, he was picking up speed. With his long strides, they'd be back to the Falcon in minutes. Well, you need something for that foot. And we can't exactly do, well do this properly out here.

"Why not?"

I don't know. I just thought…

He held her close to his chest, and she felt overwhelmingly protected. In her years on Jakku, she'd never needed protecting, having earned her survival minute by minute with her own two hands. But she found that she didn't mind letting Ben care for her. It felt good.

She looked up at him, and her breath caught. The slightest blue-green glow framed his face. "Ben. You're fading."

His brows furrowed in thought and he looked down at her and back at the Tree. His expression slackened with the same dawning realization she was having.

"The Tree," she whispered.

Let's do a little experiment.

He corrected his course, turning back toward the Tree again.

Several paces later, there was a notable difference. "It's working," she said, noticing the glow beginning to disappear as he slowly became more solid.

I suppose it makes sense. He had the look of a scientist now, puzzling out a problem with her. The Tree serves as a way to view the World Between Worlds. And when you're near it, it strengthens your connection to me in the In-Between.

"So… we'll just never leave this spot."

The roguish half-smile he gifted her in that moment was the most sensual thing she'd ever seen in her life, though she supposed she didn't have much in the way of that kind of experience. Still, it heated her instantly and she was ready to have him wherever.

You need to stop looking at me like that.

"Or what."

Or I'll never be able to stop touching you.

"Would that be so bad?"

His need rippled across the Bond, and she shivered as she let the sensation wash over her.

I wanted to get you something for your ankle, he insisted, now gritting his teeth as he tried to focus.

"It's fine. Just, lay me down at the base of the tree over there."

Oh stars. Lay her down. What was she asking? Were they really going to…

Rey, he said. I, this. I mean… He swallowed hard and was looking anywhere but at her.

Even with the Bond still completely open, practically screaming how much he wanted her, he was still adorably shy about speaking these innermost thoughts.

"Ben. I want to. Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but right now, you are solid and I want to touch you."

He did as she asked, laying her down gently in the soft grass at the base of the tree.

It's just, I can't believe you feel the same way.

"Please, you can sense my every desire," she said, feeling her lips turn up into a smile.

He sat down in the grass beside her, eyes turned up to the stars in thought. I almost kissed you in that elevator. He brought his gaze back down to her to study her reaction.

"I know," she said.

I would have, if I knew I could have hidden those feelings from Snoke.

"I wonder if it would have changed things." She remembered the electricity she'd felt in that moment, and every moment they'd been together since then.

Please, he said, eyebrow raised. One kiss and you would have been begging to join the First Order.

She laughed and pulled herself closer, resting her head in his lap. So much had changed so quickly. From enemies, to this. Either way, the connection had been there, but she much preferred this to fighting.

Rey looked out at the edge of the forest. The leaves were tipped in moonlight, swishing in the breeze and she had to admit, there was something magical about green places. There was just so much life.

You were so infernally stubborn. A year of Force connections and a year of you ignoring me completely. It killed me a little more every day.

"You know why I couldn't talk to you."

He was silent for a moment, thinking, his lips pressing together as his thoughts churned in his mind, feelings bleeding down the Bond. So many times I wanted to walk away from it. To come find you. But I always told myself it was too late. I'd done too many wrongs for too long. Then when I felt mother… The rest of his sentence was lost in the swirling torrent of his emotions. She felt them like a rushing river down their connection as he confided in her. I saw my dad. Just a memory, but he looked so solid.

"He would be proud of what you've done, what you are going to do," she said.

I don't deserve this. You. Any of it. The sharp edge to his voice wrenched a bit at her heart. He was still so broken.

"You get a lifetime to prove that you do."

He gave a sad smile, taking a lock of her hair that had fallen from its tie and twisting it around his finger.

You are the only reason I'm still here.

"And you are the only reason I'm still here. I nearly fell… to the Emperor," she said, wanting him to see that even that, the pull to the darkness was something she could understand. "That loneliness, that fear was so overpowering, the idea that I could strike him down was…"

You had no other choice.

"Until you gave me one," she said, reaching for his hand and lacing her fingers through his.

She would never forget that moment. The relief, the pure joy of seeing Ben Solothrough the Force Bond for the first time. That precious instant when she realized Kylo Ren was gone and it was Ben who had appeared to show her another way.

"And you had no other choice," she said. "Until you found another way."

Ben lay back then, gathering her in his arms to lie side by side, pulling her head onto his chest to gaze up through the canopy together. Insects buzzed and glowflies hovered overhead, blinking their conversations to each other in the night.

With Rey's body curled comfortably next to his, it was easy to imagine a life after this. A life where she wasn't alone.

You'll never be alone again. I promise.

And they were kissing. Tangled in each other, the tangy scent of grass mingling with the intoxicating smell of him. The sounds of the night melded with his breathy gasps as, all the while, the Bond lay open, their souls bared for one another.

He rolled her over onto her back, cradling her head in his hand and kissed her fiercely. His need was obvious, pressing against her hip now as he grazed kisses down her neck. She fisted her hands in his hair as his mouth found the tender skin of her collarbone.

His hand pulled at her belt, finding its way under her tunic, caressing her exposed navel, her hips, her waist. He stilled, and she sensed his hesitation. She helped him along, pulling her tunic over her head and freeing herself from the layers of fabric.

In the moonlight, his gaze seemed reverent, his eyes paying homage to every inch of her exposed skin. Oh, but this wasn't fair. He had so many layers on and she was bare besides her breastband and pants.

She gave him a look from underneath her lashes that she suspected might ease his nerves before reaching to help pull off his outer robe. He shrugged it off, tossing it aside in a gesture that made her toes curl. Oh stars, this was taking too long.

His fingers worked at his belt and he slid it off as she fumbled for his overtunic. He pulled this off revealing one more frustrating layer which she helped him shed, and finally Rey found herself marveling at the perfection that was Ben's muscular body. She remembered the first time she'd seen him bare chested, feeling instant attraction despite wishing he would just cover himself up. She flushed at the memory and the realness of him before her now.

She was biting her lip as he lowered himself down to her.

He hummed a contented sound in her ear as their skin finally pressed together, warm and smooth. Her hands worked of their own accord, stroking his shoulders, his back, and fueled by his raw desire practically screaming down the bond, she moved them lower.

He sucked in a breath as her hands found the perfectly sculpted muscles at his rear and she pulled him onto her, centering him to gather his delicious weight on top of her, just there where she needed him.

The guttural sound he made in response turned her insides into a quivering mess of need and he kissed her again. Only, this kiss was different. This kiss was a year's worth of desire unleashed. This kiss was his tongue showing her just what it could do to her body.

Her heart was a fluttering thing in her chest now as tingles erupted across her skin. She needed him to touch her. Everywhere.

His tentative fingers reached for the edge of her breastband, searching, fumbling. Rey found the corner of the wrap, pulling it free and placing it in his trembling hand. His breath was shallow now as he unwrapped the band of cloth with agonizing caution. Finally, unbound and exposed to the cool night air she ached for him to touch her. She saw his lips press together, worrying the way they did when he was contemplating a problem.

His tentative care as a lover would have been endearing, had it not been for the fire now raging fully between her legs.

She grabbed his hands and pulled them to her, hissing a breath through clenched teeth as his hands cupped her breasts and started moving, rubbing, caressing. Oh Maker, his fingers grazed the curve of her breast and she was melting.

Rey didn't know the details of how everything worked, but what she did know was that she needed his hands everywhere.

"Ben." She hardly recognized her voice it was so rough with need. "Touch me."

She saw his unspoken confusion in the knit of his brows.

I am -

She reached for his hand, abruptly cutting him off, and guided it under the waistband of her pants.

Ben, Maker bless him, didn't hesitate much longer despite his wide-eyed expression. He shifted some of his weight to his elbow and pushed his hand to that raging center of her heat. She felt him harden against her leg, pressing himself closer.

His breath was hot in her ear, voice ragged. Rey, are you sure this –

"Yes," she hissed. "Please."

He exhaled softly, pressing kisses to the shell of her ear, sending a shiver through her and his hand was so close. So excruciatingly close and she could feel how wet she was for him. Kriff.

He drifted closer, feeling, stroking, but he wasn't there yet. She took his hand, guiding his fingers to part her folds and showed him just where to touch her. When his fingers grazed perfectly against the center of her, she couldn't help but rock her hips to meet his hand as he worked up a delicious rhythm.

Ben was propped on an elbow now, kissing at her neck, and his fingers, slick with her desire, were now getting bolder. When he slowly slipped one finger inside of her, she nearly came undone, bucking and pressing herself harder against his hand.

She felt a deep rumbling in his chest. He'd actually chuckled a little at that.

"Alright hotshot…" She intended it to be a rebuke, but was undermined by the breathiness in her voice.

There was no way she was going to let him give her all the pleasure. She would find a way to make him beg for her. She had no idea how he liked to be touched, but the Bond itself was crying out with his desire and she was sure when she had it right, she'd know.

So she adjusted her position just enough to reach him, gathered her courage, and slipped her own hand underneath his waistband and around his length. She swallowed hard, trying to focus on him despite the waves of pleasure threatening to drown her.

His skin was impossibly smooth, silken in her calloused hands. She caressed him, moved her hand against him, trying to find what he liked best, and when he groaned, she didn't need the Bond to tell her that he liked it this way.

Then, as if moving to some ancient instinctual dance, they fell into the rhythm of their hands. Eyes closed, she focused on just feeling. The brush of his lips, the heat of his skin, the stroke of his fingers.

He was thrusting into her hand now, his own ministrations becoming more clumsy between her legs, and she knew he must be close. She found his mouth again, biting his lip and teasing it with her tongue. As she felt his rhythm quicken, she tried to match him, kissing him hard as he began to tense. He moaned into her mouth as his release came hot against her palm.

His heart pounded so hard in his chest, she felt it against hers as he nuzzled closer to her, his panting breaths tickling her neck. As he came back to himself, his hand's exploration resumed with dizzying intensity. Now he'd found where to put the heel of his palm to deliver a light pressure she could rock against. Oh stars, she was close. Her body was meeting the glide of his finger and he got the beautiful idea to add a second digit. She whimpered as he took her closer to that edge. He was watching her writhe and moan underneath him as each caress of his hand wound that sweltering knot inside of her tighter and tighter.

Her entire being became the rhythm of his fingers.

More her body begged. More, more, more and with one last stroke of his fingers, the knot in the core of herself dissolved into liquid fire, melting into a puddle of blissful sensation and she rode those waves for what felt like eternity, trembling as she clutched his muscular arms.

When she stopped shaking, he slowly extricated himself from her underclothes and sank heavily down upon her.

She relished his crushing weight as they lay there in the grass, hearts pressed together, panting and bare from the waist up.

Stars, he was heavy. But she felt so safe, sheltered there underneath him, she didn't dare to move. Even when her arm went numb, she tried to ignore it. Finally, he must have felt her squirm a bit below him, because he sighed dreamily, rolling over onto his back. He gathered her into his arms and pressed a tender kiss to the top of her head.

That was not exactly how I imagined that would go. A flash of embarrassment down the Bond came with his next words. I've just wanted you for so long.

She pressed a finger to his lips. "It was perfect," she said, smiling. "Though I imagined less laughing," she said with a smirk.

I'm sorry - he began, but she shushed him before he could finish.

"I said, you were perfect," she assured him. Then, stretching languorously in his arms, she realized she hadn't even thought of the pain in her ankle. "Way better than pain meds or numbspray."

He rumbled another low chuckle. That's not very reassuring.

But she didn't need to use reassuring words to tell him how she felt. The poignant truth of it was already flowing between them through their connection. She burrowed into that soft space between his neck and shoulder and inhaled deeply, letting his scent wash over her, relaxing into his tender touch as he ran his fingers through her hair.

With the Bond blindingly bright and the intensity of his Force wrapped around her, there was no denying what she felt. Their bodies were built for each other and Rey would ensure that she had many more chances to explore how they fit together.