A/N: Hope you guys are all staying safe and indoors! It's crazy where I live. Anyway, fluffy (I guess) chapter here. Preview for next is short, but it's a good one. Things get serious quick!

~XI. Move In Day~

~i. Roommates~

After work the next day, Rey packed her suitcases and a box of knick knacks that she was able to take from her shared apartment with her ex and was accompanied by Finn and Rose to Ben's apartment. It was on the other side of town from Rose's, but much closer to her office. Ben lived in a one-bedroom loft turned apartment complex a couple miles from the Santa Monica Pier. Although he wasn't a slob, Phasma was right that he had been moping around his apartment for the past month, so it was unusually messy. As promised, Hux and Phasma agreed to help him tidy up and move his weights and exercise bike outside to his balcony so Rey wouldn't trip on them and so the living area would be a bit more spacious. As much as they wanted to make this move-in a quiet affair, blame it on Poe for spilling the beans the day before, resulting in everyone wanting to revel in the moment when Ben and Rey were officially living together.

"Phasma, hey!" Rose greeted when they arrived. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"Hey guys, come in," she stepped aside to let the trio inside the loft.

Rey and Finn stepped in first, making their way to the living room.

Rose stayed behind for a second to talk to Phasma.

"Wow this place is huge," Rose observed.

"Yeah. Hux and I came over earlier to help Ben clean up. You know how messy boys can get," the two ladies laughed. "Also, we're just curious to see how this whole thing will play out with Rey and Ben," she admitted.

"Girl, that's why me and Finn are here," Rose giddily agreed.

Hux and Ben were in the balcony, neatly stacking his weights off to the side as to cause no harm when they heard Phasma call for them. The men stepped back inside Ben's loft to join the growing crowd.

"Hey guys," Ben waved at the couple. "Hey Rey." A wave of shyness washed over him.

"Hi," she returned the gesture; emotions included.

Rey was holding her box of knick knacks while Finn and Rose were carrying her three suitcases. They all stood in awkward silence for a moment.

"Let me help you with that," Hux offered to grab one of the suitcases Finn had.

"Yeah, here let's put the bags aside," Phasma got the hint. "Ben, we'll bring them to your room for now?"

"Uh yeah, that's fine," He said to his friend.

"I can take them, it's my stuff anyway," Rey offered.

She figured it out. They were trying to leave them alone.

"No, no we're good. Plus, I wanted to show Rose this… thing," Phasma tried horribly to think of something on her feet.

The others immediately caught on.

"And we want to see it too, right Hux?" Finn motioned.

"Yup, let's go over to the room and see the thing," a robotic Hux chuckled.

The four of them disappeared into the hallway before Ben or Rey could put in another word.

And for the first time since Vegas, Ben and Rey were alone.

He nervously fiddled with the hem of his shirt, while she averted her eyes away from his direction.

"Nice place," she said, taking in the surroundings.

She placed her box on top of the couch that she was leaning on. It was a comfy studio, a very open floorplan, making that small space seem much larger than it was. It had a few things here and there to make it seem lived in, but Ben was a bachelor, so it wasn't so much homey as it was a well-kept man cave.

"Thanks. I tried to clean up as best I could. Want you to have enough space for your things… you know for the time being."

"Ben you didn't have to," Rey felt awkward. "I don't want to be any more of a bother to you. Plus, I don't really have much stuff to begin with."

"No, it's not a bother at all Rey," he assured her. "But I mean, we have to at least make it a shared space for when the counselor visits every other week, right?"

"Oh right, forgot about that." Rey said. "Well, I don't think my little trinkets will make much of a difference here. We might have to buy a throw pillow or two to make it look more…"

"Homey and less bachelor pad?" Ben joked.

"Something like that," Rey chuckled. "A woman's touch is all we need to mix it up."

"By all means be my guest. Phasma has been complaining for as long as she's known me, I only ever decorate in neutral colors," he said.

"Well I can't blame you, grey is my favorite color," Rey shared. "But maybe we'll add a bit of blue or green or even red if we're being bold to make it colorful," she said and they both laughed.

If this lighthearted conversation could stretch out to six months, then maybe Rey and Ben will make it through with as little awkwardness and complications as possible. Wishful thinking though.

"Dude, how did you even score this sweet loft?" Finn asked when the others reappeared from the hallway. He was impressed by the view from Ben's balcony of downtown.

"Well it was originally a home office space my mom had when she started her company with my uncle. Luke lived here before they bought an actual building and he moved to Los Feliz when he got married. She kept this place though, was a good storage space until I came back from college and she let me take over the lease."

"That's so cool," Rose said.

They all settled into separate comfortable conversations until the front door of Ben's loft swung open. In stepped the ever-charming Poe with a crate full of various bottles of alcohol and a grin so wide the people in the space station could probably see it.

"Who's ready to partyyyy?!"

~ii. Settling In~

After a group effort of convincing Poe not to throw an impromptu party that evening, Ben managed to get everyone to leave as it was still a weeknight and most people had to go to work in the morning. Things started as how it would be expected when Rey was finally alone with Ben in his- correction their loft- with absolute awkwardness.

Rey was sitting on a counter stool at the kitchen island and Ben was fidgeting with the coat rack next to the door that he just shut his friends out from. After a very awkward and elongated silence, Rey polished off her glass of water and decided to take some cups to the sink that we previously used by their guests.

"You don't have to do that I can clean up."

"It's not a problem, really."

Ben made his way over to the kitchen and put away the bottles of alcohol Poe had left behind while Rey finished rinsing the used cups. The effort to try to busy themselves was short lived as Rey finished her last glass just as Ben shut the refrigerator door. They stood awkwardly next to one another.

"So, I uh cleared up some space in the closet for you to hang some clothes. And the dresser next to the closet is all yours."

"Thanks, Ben. I hope it wasn't too much of a bother. Honestly, I don't have much stuff," Although thankful, Rey still felt like she was barging in – despite that this was a legal obligation.

Ben shrugged it off. "I hardly stored anything in there anyway. My mother insisted I buy an entire bedroom set when I purchased my bed frame. It came with two nightstands a tall dresser and a matching chest. She's a bit of a space artist," he chuckled. "And I barely had clothes to fill up my closet, let alone drawers."

"Well, being a girl, you'd think I'd have a ton of clothes but I either moved around so much or lived in a dorm, so space was limited and my wardrobe stayed limited as well. But thanks for the drawer space. I appreciate it," she gave him a warm smile.

"No problem," he bit his cheek, hoping not to let a blush surpass him. "A-and feel free to add whatever you want to the bookshelf," he motioned towards the built-in shelves that lined up the wall on the opposite side of the living room area. "I'm not too big of a collector anymore since I bought a kindle, but I just couldn't let go of a few books. All I've got here are random things and some model planes because well, you know, nature of my job," he joked with her.

Rey went over to the couch where she had placed the box that she was originally holding when she first arrived and brought it over to Ben.

"I don't have much to contribute to the book collection other than my Harry Potter and Jane Austen books," she sheepishly smiled while taking out her sets.

"Wow you really are English," he playfully jabbed.

This earned Ben a light tap on the shoulder from the book Rey was holding followed by a small giggle.

"Well the more the merrier! What else you got in there? Really feel free to decorate with your things. This place is very Ben and needs a touch of Rey to please Snoke."

Rey had little to nothing else in her box to show after handing her books over for Ben to add to the shelf.

"Like I said, I don't really have much. Rose gave me a candle."

"Let's put this on the coffee table," he suggested. She nodded and he set it aside for now.

"I have a few office supplies that I can put on your desk if you don't mind."

Ben signaled that he didn't.

"And this is a jewelry organizer that I'll probably put on top of the nightstand. Hobbie's apartment was decorated with his things, the only way you knew a woman lived there was that it was ridiculously clean and always smelled like cookies," Rey shared. "At best, I had a nook with a desk and that was where I was allowed to decorate with my things."

Ben only knew about this Hobbie guy from whatever Rey had shared with him. Each new bit of information made him despise the man more and more. It's as if he never let Rey have any freedom.

"Well, this is Casa de Solo, and since you are 'Mrs. Solo' for the next six months, you are free to add a touch of Rey to the loft," he offered. "But no fuzzy pillows please. My mom decorated my childhood home with fuzzy rugs and throw pillows. They were soft, but my dad's old mutt Chewie lived up to his name and not only ever chewed up the throw pillows, but also pissed on them as well. I don't think I have to tell you about a dreadful time I laid my head on one of those pillows and met a warm yellow substance with my face." This story made Rey fake a gag and laugh. "Therefore, please. No fuzzy pillows," he chuckled.

"Duly noted," she fingered the 'ok' sign at him.

When they were finished adding her books to the collection, Ben got up to put the candle on the coffee table and her office supplies on the desk. Rey curiously observed some of his belongings on the other shelves. She was impressed with the old plane models displayed. He shared with her the night they met in Vegas that he and his dad bonded over model airplanes when he was younger. They'd take an entire day to finish gluing a plane together, and he'd always get in trouble by his mom for staying up way past his bedtime.

There was also a Dodger's pennant, an encased signed Sandy Koufax baseball card, and a Clayton Kershaw bobble head on another shelf.

"Baseball fan? How typically American," she jabbed back at him from his 'English' remark earlier.

"Touché," he chuckled.

There were also some framed photos of his parents with him as a younger boy and the infamous brown dog Chewie, as well as a college graduation photo of Ben, Hux and Phasma. Surprisingly she also saw his high school grad photo and noticed a cleanly shaved baby-faced Poe smiling with Ben and their friends. She had to make a note to tease Poe about it later. Then there was a photo of Ben and an older man who resembled his mother – probably the uncle who used to live there – smiling while the two men were fishing. There was one other frame; an odd one. It was on the second highest shelf, the one that reached comfortable eye level and Rey picked it up.

By this time, Ben came back to where Rey was with a few things in his hands.

"What happened here?" she asked him. The frame was a simple mahogany that encased a half-ripped photo.

"Oh," Ben said. He really should put that photo away completely. "That was a photo of me and my ex-girlfriend…"

"Oh."

"Yeah. I know I should toss the whole thing, but Phasma took on professional photography and that picture was the first professional photo shoot she ever took. She was the one who ripped it, said I still looked good even alone, or in her words 'solo'."

The tortured pun made Rey laugh a little.

"She's my best friend so I just kept it up. It's lame, I know," he nervously scratched the back of his head.

"Not lame," Rey encouraged. "It's supporting a friend. Besides, at least you've got photos. I've got a total of three."

She pulled out the frames one by one.

"Obviously of my friends."

She handed it to him, and he found a place on the shelf for it.

"Of me and my foster parents." She sadly smiled at the photo. She missed them so much.

Ben took it from her and lightly grinned, finding a suitable place for it on the shelf.

"And…"

Finally, Rey pulled out a simple grey framed photo about the same size as his and handed it to him.

"A lighthouse," Ben was amused. Surely it was a beautiful photo, the deep blue ocean surrounding the remote landmark was almost idyllic for the towering white building.

"Yeah, I kind of had a thing for lighthouses after I read Virginia Woolf one summer," Rey shared. "This was my lone contributing piece of décor in the apartment that fit into the theme of 'boring businessman'," she joked. Ben could easily envision her ex's apartment to be as monotonous as the man himself.

Despite Rey joking about the photo, Ben had a feeling she cherished it enough to frame it, so he decided to sit it atop the shelf, next to his ripped photo.

"There we are. Kind of completes the look, huh?" he grinned.

"It's perfect, thanks," she appreciated the sentiment. She stared at it for a bit, then shook her thoughts away, collapsing the box so she could set it aside for later.

Ben was staring at her for a second, wondering the importance of said photo. Maybe she'll tell me about it someday, he thought.

"So what have you got there?" she motioned at the objects he was holding in his hands.

"Oh, uhhh…" he wasn't sure how to explain this next part. "Well, Hux brought up a good point that we probably should put up one of our weddings photos…"

Rey was startled for a second, but she understood Hux's reasoning – even though he most likely had more than one reason.

"I guess that makes sense," she said.

Ben handed over the stack of photos and started opening the back of an empty frame while she looked through the pile.

"It would be a bit easier if we didn't look so drunk in every shot," she made them both laugh.

"Yeah, well… Vegas, right?" he chuckled.

"I guess, this is the least obvious one that we look sloshed," she handed him a photo.

It was – thankfully – one that was taken before they wore those ridiculous loaned outfits for their ceremony. It was in front of a backdrop of the Vegas strip, and Ben and Rey, though drunk, managed to smile lovingly at one another, while he held her in his arms. Though they weren't looking directly at the camera, it very much looked convincing that their sexual attraction could be mistaken for love.

"Uhm," Ben cleared his throat when he saw the photo she picked out. "Y-yeah, this is a good one." He quickly slipped the photo inside the frame and placed it somewhere on the shelf.

"I guess we can put the rest in like a photo album or something. Maybe place it on the coffee table. Show Snoke we have more photos of us?" she suggested.

"That's not a bad idea," he agreed. He made a note to buy a small book the following morning.

They admired the look of the bookshelf in front of them. Six years living in that loft and for the first time Ben's shelf was full.

"Right so, let me finish giving you a tour of the place," he offered.

"Sure, that'd be great."

Ben led Rey towards the hallway.

"So yeah, down this hall, to your left is the storage closet, then to the right is the washer and dryer."

"In-unit laundry, fancy," Rey teased.

"Yeah, it saves me a bunch of quarters and a trip to the laundromat that's for sure," Ben chuckled.

They walked further down the small corridor.

"And here's the bathroom. It's got a main door here and another door accessible inside the bedroom."

"That's convenient," Rey said.

"It really is," Ben agreed.

They reached the master bedroom, it was so spacious for having a king bed, two nightstands, a dresser and chest, like Ben had mentioned. The walk-in closet could have also doubled as another room.

"Wow, this is like another living room," Rey was amazed by the space.

"Almost, but I think it's almost ten feet smaller on both sides," Ben said.

He walked over to the tall dresser he mentioned she could utilize. Apparently Phasma figured the same since she had Finn, Rose and Hux place her luggage in front of the storage already.

"Again, feel free to make yourself at home. Honestly, I don't mind."

"Thanks Ben," Rey tried not to let herself blush at his generous hospitality. Although she knew it was a court order, she appreciated his kindness, nevertheless.

Ben and Rey stood in place, awkwardness filling the air once more around them.

"I better start unpacking then," Rey announced. She grabbed one of her bags and started unzipping the suitcase.

"Yeah, um… I'd offer to help with that but… I mean… uh…" Ben wasn't sure how to continue. He wanted to be helpful, but Rey would eventually start unpacking her 'intimate' articles of clothing. And although admittedly he's seen her with much less on, he was trying to be a gentleman.

"It's alright," Rey chuckled. She figured out what he was thinking. "I think I can handle putting away some clothes. Really, you've been so kind."

"Yeah no problem," Ben grabbed at the nape of his neck. He didn't think he was doing much, seeing as they were ordered to live together. Still, he wanted this to be as easy as possible for the both of them.

"I'll probably just grab myself a glass of water and get ready for bed," Rey said.

"Oh I almost forgot!" Ben suddenly remembered. He gestured for Rey to follow him outside, back to the kitchen.

They walked over to the space, Rey sitting at a stool at the kitchen island. Ben opened the freezer door and pulled out a small box, bringing it over to Rey.

"I remember when we talked about food that night that you mentioned how much you liked brisket. When I was at Trader Joe's this morning, I picked this up for you."

He handed her a frozen box of the barbecued meat.

"I know it's frozen, but don't knock it 'til you try it!" Ben assured her. "I got sweet bread and pickles too if you wanted to make sliders or something. So… yeah."

Rey was shocked at the kind gesture. "Oh Ben, this is just so thoughtful of you, thank you," she meant it. "We shall eat this tomorrow for dinner, alright?"

"Hey, I won't turn down barbecue," Ben happily agreed.

"You really need to stop being so nice," Rey couldn't help but blush.

"Erm," Ben was fighting his own blush when he saw her cheeks tinge pink. "Also, help yourself to the Keurig." He revealed the coffee machine tucked next to the refrigerator. "Extra k-cups are in the storage drawer under the breakfast table." He pointed at the small bistro set-up near the front door.

"Keurig? Okay now I just feel spoiled," she giggled.

"Yeah, well my mother went a little overboard when I moved in and bought me too many things to fill the loft," he laughed.

Ben returned the frozen package to the freezer and brought out two water bottles, handing one over to Rey.

"So yeah, this is our humble abode," he said. Ours. He needed to start getting used to calling the loft their home.

Rey took in a deep breath before gently smiling at Ben. She too needed to get adjusted to calling this shared space their home.

"Here's to the next six months," she raised her bottle to him.

He smiled back, tapping his water to hers. "Welcome home, roomie."

A/N: Preview of next chapter: Falling Into A Routine

"Hey are you alright?"

"Do you ever get the feeling that no matter how much time and effort you put into something, you just don't have anything to show for it?"