The morning after Ben's foray into drinking had gone about as well as Rey had thought, hangover and all. He had woken up briefly, only to later fall asleep once more as she laid against the wall, his head resting on her chest.

She was absently flipping through one of the books she had left behind when Rose stuck her head through the door. "Ben still passed out?" She asked, softly enough not to wake him.

"Yeah, he's not much for alcohol it turns out."

"I had a feeling about that when I didn't see you at breakfast." Rose entered the rest of the way, carrying a small plate of food. "So, I brought you some instead."

"Rosie! You're a lifesaver." Rey said gratefully as she took the plate of food. "Honestly I don't think I could get up even if I wanted to."

Rose laughed, taking a seat at the workbench as Rey started on the food. "I didn't get to hear your answer earlier, about how long you're staying."

"Mm, I'm not sure. Long enough to see what we can do to help, although it would be nice to go home eventually."

Rose smiled. "I'm really glad you found something. What planet did you end up on?"

Rey paused, before slowly shaking her head. "With how much they've been through, I think it best to leave it unknown. Eir was kind enough to let us stay there and I don't want to betray her trust."

"I hope it has at least has some green for you."

Rey nodded, a smile lighting her face as she thought of Ekair. "It does, actually, and the main village is right in the center of it."

"That sounds amazing! I know what you said, but do you think there's any chance we could visit? I'd love to see it."

"That would be nice. I'll have to ask Eir the next time I see her, but I'm sure we can work something out. She's pretty understanding."

They continued to talk for a while, catching up on all the things that had been missed while they had been gone. Projects they had been working on, things they had missed going on in the galaxy, and even some of the adventures they had on Ekair.

"She sounds adorable." Rose said after Rey told her about Kira.

"She's really sweet to, and really smart. She's been a great help in rebuilding Vikki's ship."

"Vikki was the wanderer, right?"

"Yeah. All we need to do now is finish the engine and she'll be set to go."

It was at that moment she could feel Ben beginning to stir awake. He readjusted his hold on her, rubbing his face against her as he tried to get more comfortable, a small noise of protest escaping him as he wasn't quite ready to be awake yet.

"Is he waking up?"

"Just a bit."

Ben's eyes opened slowly, blinking a few times sleepily as he looked up at her. "Rey." He said, a soft smile slipping onto his face.

"Feeling better?" She asked, her own smile making its way onto her face.

"Much." He paused, before moving up and giving her a kiss. "Good morning, sweetheart."

Rey couldn't help the laugh that escaped her, adoring his determination to keep up with her favorite daily ritual. She leaned forward, returning the kiss. "Good afternoon, Ben."

"That late already?"

She nodded. "You slept past most of the morning. Are you hungry? I still have some toast left."

"Where did you get food?" He paused, before looking behind to find that they were not the only ones in the room. "Ah, hi Rose."

"Afternoon, Ben!" Rose smiled.

"Rose was keeping me company while you were sleeping."

"I can see that." He placed his head against her once more, hiding his face and Rey had to stifle a laugh as she could tell the edges of embarrassment creeping into him.

"Alright, since Ben's awake, I guess I'll leave you two for now." Rose said as she stood up, making her way for the door. "There's some things that I need to check up on, but we'll met up later, right?"

Rey nodded. "Count on it."

With a smile and a wave Rose was gone, leaving the pair of them alone once more.

"You should have told me she was here." Ben muttered; his voice muffled slightly.

Rey laughed, giving him a squeeze. "And miss my morning kiss? I don't think so."

"Alright, I suppose I can give you that one. When did she get here?" He said with a small sigh.

"A little bit ago. She figured that you'd sleep through breakfast and brought me some food."

"You could have just left to go get some."

She shook her head. "Staying with you was more important. It's terrible waking up alone when you don't feel well."

"Finally decided I'm more important than food, huh?"

"Definitely." She laughed softly, leaning forwards so that she could kiss him once more.

/

By the time they made their way outside and just onto the base proper when they were interrupted by the excited beeping of a certain white and orange droid barreling toward them.

"BB-8!" Rey smiled, quickly closing the distance between her and the droid.

"So, this is the droid." Ben mused. It was almost funny; all that effort put into finding it and yet here he was, coming face to face with it as easily as breathing.

BB-8 looked over at him, as if just now noticing that Ben was there. He beeped angrily, moving forwards, electrified tip at the ready.

"Calm down! He's with me now." Rey caught the droid before he could get too far, who looked between Rey and Ben in surprise.

"Aw, c'mon, you could let him avenge me at least a little."

They looked up at the sound of the voice, just as Poe stopped next to them.

"Right…about that," Ben began once the pilot was close enough, rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke, "I really should apologize - "

Poe waved him off. "Don't worry about it, you told us everything last night. I do intend to hold you to it though."

"Really…?" He trailed off, his brow furrowing as he tried to remember.

"Listen, about what happened…I know it won't make things alright, but I want you to know that I am sorry." He was halfway through his second glass, and somehow it seemed as if the nerves were slipping off, making the right words easier to come by. Perhaps what they said about alcohol being liquid courage had been right; even if things were a bit fuzzy around the edges. "It's not enough, and it never will be, but with Rey's help I'm trying." He wasn't looking at them, instead watching his glass as he swirled the contents around, "I want to do better. Be better. To actually put good out there for a change."

Poe grinned. "After last night, I don't think anyone is ever going to be scared of you, Mr. Supreme Softie."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "What did you call me?" He glanced at Rey, who was busy stifling a laugh.

Do I even want to know?

Only if you want to be even more embarrassed.

Ben sighed. "Definitely never drinking again. It's not worth it."

"In other news," Rey said, changing the subject before Ben decided to die of humiliation, "anything new happen this morning?"

Poe nodded. "Yeah, actually. We just got some new intel concerning the First Order and were gathering everyone to discuss it."

Not as long of an update as I was originally planning, but life has a habit of getting in the way and I was feeling bad for taking so long to update. I've got a new apartment lined up though, so hopefully by mid November when I get to move in things will start to calm down and I can spend more time writing.

-Xire