Halo
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to their respective owners.
A/N-thank you very much to everyone who kindly reviewed the last chapter.
Chapter Thirty-Eight-A Peaceful Interlude
"Ben." Rey yelled as she threw her lightsaber to Ben after he had been disarmed by the last of the Praetorian guards.
The fallen Supreme Leader's Elite Praetorian Guards, had charged towards the Force-sensitive duo from all sides with the intent of avenging his death. Although the two were eventually separated and forced to contend with multiple guards on their own, they both held their own and continued to strike down one Praetorian after another, until the last had overwhelmed Ben as he started to tire. He swiftly thumbed Rey's saber on and off, letting the blue blade pierce through the last Praetorian's head, killing him.
Ben knew he would faint when his stomach gave out. It felt like his innards were being replaced by some kind of black hole. Then nausea crept from his abdomen to his head and the world went black. Han and Rey noticed him swaying on his feet, they rushed to him, catching him quickly before he fell, taking his weight between them as they guided him toward the base of the throne so he could sit down.
Han hunkered down in front of his son, alarmed at how pale he looked, as if he'd been painted with white-wash - even his lips were barely there. "Ben, what the hell did that monster do to you?" He asked gruffly.
"It doesn't matter." Ben muttered. His eyesight blurred, but not because tears were welling up. Everything became fuzzy; then he saw nothing at all. His consciousness was floating through an empty space filled with a thick static. Throughout the inky space his heartbeats pounded loudly, echoing in his ears. Feeling in his body drained away until finally all was black.
"He needs food and water." Rey told Han as she gently lifted Ben's head until it was propped in her lap. She was familiar with the affects prolonged starvation could have on the body. It was obvious Snoke had been depriving Ben of nourishment in order to weaken him.
"That bastard." Han swore grimly. "Right." He said, quickly regaining his composure. "Its my turn now, kid. You've done enough. You stay with Ben while I locate Chewie's cell. Together we'll find a way out of here. Trust me."
"I do." Rey replied, answering for Ben as well as herself.
The corners of Han's mouth lifted up into a smile. "Stay safe, kid. I'll be back as soon as I can." He promised before leaving.
Ben woke up to the most beautiful sight in the world-Rey's smiling face. As soon as she smiled, his fear and pain faded into the background. Excitement rushed through his veins. Happiness flared in her eyes at seeing him awake and for the first time in a while it began in his too. Even if the world around him continued collapsing, his heart would not get crushed as long as he was looking at her.
"Your smile is brighter than the stars." Ben complimented her. Rey's smile widened into a brilliant grin that had Ben beaming at her. He was feeling slightly delirious. "What's so funny?" He asked when she started laughing.
"You." Rey smirked. "That's such a corny thing to say. But nice."
Ben shrugged his shoulders slightly, but immediately regretted it when the small movement aggravated his wounds. "I'm Han Solo's son. Corny is all you're going to get." He teased, despite the pain.
Rey's lips pressed together, accentuating her dimples as she tried to hold in more laughter. "That's right, blame the parent."
Ben gave her a smile that was so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness that it made unexpected warmth rush through her. "In this case I will. My dad isn't great at expressing himself."
"Yeah, you're definitely your father's son." Rey agreed as she brushed a stray strand of hair from his forehead.
Ben's smile faded as his expression turned thoughtful. "If you had said that to me a few months ago…" His words ending in a weary sigh.
Rey hated seeing him so forlorn. She stroked his hair soothingly. His soft lips stretched into another smile but didn't quite reach his dark eyes. They were lit with sadness, and the forced expression of the contrary on his mouth would have looked comical to her if it didn't make her heart feel heavy. "Things are different now." She reassured him. "You and Han have found each other again."
"But all those lost years, Rey." Ben lamented. "If my mother hadn't sent me away to train under Skywalker, my life would have been so different. I might not have lost contact with him. When I was growing up, I wanted to be just like Han. But she didn't ask me how I felt about it, she just sent me away like what I wanted didn't matter. Like I didn't matter."
"That's a conversation you need to have with her." Rey gave him a placating smile.
"I don't think that's going to happen. Sometimes I think it's easier just to let the past die."
"It's easy to say that when you have a past." Rey said bleakly. "Mine's nothing but a blank slate."
Gods, he could be so self-centred sometimes. "Rey, I'm sorry." He apologised. "It was a crass thing to say."
"It doesn't matter." Rey smiled weakly as she tried to brush it away like it meant nothing.
"It does matter." Ben insisted as he struggled to rise. His skin turned ashen as he attempted to lift his head and Rey hastily admonished him for even trying. "Just stay still until Han comes back with some supplies. Until you have something to eat and drink your blood sugar levels will continue to drop."
"I'm an idiot." Ben groaned in defeat.
"I won't argue with that." Rey was back to teasing him again. "You did well to hold up in that fight with the guards."
"It was a blur." Ben adjusted his head on her lap so he could get a better look at her face. His eyes zoned in on her mouth. Her lips were so pretty. He remembered the feel of them under his, the way they had sent his mind into a sensual state of intoxication when they'd kissed. He noticed a slight blush rise on Rey's cheeks and realised that thought had slid from his mind into hers. "Sorry." He mumbled in embarrassment.
Rey reached toward his face and touched his lips lightly. The urge to kiss her grew stronger and he saw her blush deepen. He mumbled his apologies and she smiled shyly. "You're practically shouting at me." She explained.
"I'd blame it on my exhaustion but that would be a lie. I just really want to kiss you right now." Ben confessed.
"You won't faint again?" Rey asked as the precious dimples on her cheeks crinkled in another smile.
"If I do, it's because you take my breath away, every single time I see you." Ben responded with an answering smile.
"Ben, that is even cornier than the last one." Rey laughed as she leaned down until her lips were hovering just above his.
"If I had a star for every time you brightened my day, I would be holding a galaxy." Ben tried again as he lifted his head just enough to close the gap. As his lips brushed against hers, they were interrupted by the sound of rumbling laughter.
"You're gonna have to do better than that, son." Han chuckled as he heard Ben groan in irritation at the interruption. "Remind your old man to give you some tips when we get out of here."
"Hey, Han." Rey greeted him with an amused smile. "Hey, Chewie. And BB-8." She tagged on at the end as she noticed the little droid half hidden behind Chewbacca's hairy legs. "You got here quick."
"When I left you, I went straight to the Falcon. It was still in the hangar bay. They only had one trooper guarding it. I found BB-8 hiding inside. It didn't take long to locate Chewie when I got BB-8 to tap into the ship's schematics." Han explained hurriedly.
"Good work, BB-8." Ben said as the little droid rolled toward him and began inspecting him for damage.
"I brought supplies." Han's expression turned serious as he motioned for Chewie to help him lift Ben into a sitting position.
Ben lost the colour from his face as his father and the Wookie pulled him upright. It was as if his heart had suddenly stopped beating and all the blood had run down into his boots. He swayed for just a moment until he regained his equilibrium. Han handed him a flask of water and a protein bar. Ben took them gratefully and quickly chugged some of the water down to ease his parched throat. When he'd slaked his thirst enough, he made short work of the protein bar. He was about to reach for another when Rey warned him to take it slow.
"You will be sick if you eat too fast. Believe me you want to avoid that."
Ben heeded her warning and took a moment to let his stomach settle. He hated to think of how many times that she had been close to starvation in her life. He reached for her hand and she squeezed his in understanding.
"Do you think you can stand now?" Han asked. "I don't think its safe for us to hang around her for much longer."
"I'll be fine." Ben gritted his teeth as he leaned against Chewie as the Wookie helped him to rise. His breathing became shallow as he struggled to maintain his footing. At least his head wasn't spinning anymore and the gnawing ache in his stomach had eased now he'd had a bite of food. "I'm okay. Let's go."
"Chewie, stay with him." Han drew his blaster. "Kid, you're with me." He said to Rey as she ignited her saber and joined him up front.
"Where do you want me?" BB-8 beeped in his binary language.
Han refrained from rolling his eyes at the little astromech's question. "You stay with Ben and protect him." He suggested sarcastically.
The little lighter shot out from BB-8's base as he gave Han his version of a thumb's up. "Crazy droid." Han muttered under his breath as he raised his own thumb in response. He noticed the others smirking at him and he scowled in annoyance as he led the way out of the throne room.
A/N-thanks for reading! Please review.