A/N: You guys, we're about at the halfway mark! I'm pretty much done introducing and setting up sub-plots. The next half of this story will be filled with romance, laughter, excitement and of course drama!

I'm a second-act kind of gal. I know that stories need to build to start off as it is very important to peak interest. I think the real depth, however, comes in the second act. So, here's pretty much the start of Act II. Enjoy!

Sorry for posting a bit late. I try to post in the mornings before work so I won't forget. But this time well... I'm playing the Final Fantasy VII remake and I kind of stayed up pretty late last night once that sucker downloaded on my ps4 lol I'm a 90's kid with nostalgia overload. I promise I'll still be on schedule and post every other day though!

~XVII. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?~

Every time they settled into a comfortable routine something always had to happen to mess up the balance. Every. Damn. Time. Ben thought. It was like the universe was punishing him and Rey for their irresponsible Vegas weekend and was keeping them in this limbo that they always found themselves in. After the disaster of a night he had with his college buddies and his horrible confrontation with Rey, they were literally back at square one. Worse than square one. More like square negative fifty.

Rey returned from her dinner that night very late. She had debated whether to stay the night at Finn's or Rose's, but she knew better not to show Ben that what had been said by his friends affected her. Especially what he said. So, she swallowed her pride and tiptoed back to the loft just before midnight.

When she had left, Ben eventually came out of the bedroom after composing himself and walked over to the kitchen to grab that soda he was meant to have before any of it happened. Hux knew something transpired between him and Rey so he managed to rile up the others and get them to leave with him to go to a nearby bar. Ben was thankful for his friend and proceeded to tidy up so Rey would come back to a clean place. If she came back, he sadly doubted. He was trying to figure out what to say to her; trying to figure some sort of gesture to really apologize. By the time she came home, however, she saw him passed out on the computer desk. He had been reading his booklet to try and pass time for her arrival. On another night, she would have admired his dedication to getting his pilot's license, but she still couldn't face him. Not tonight. Not yet.

This silence had droned for a couple weeks. When they first moved in together, they had done their own things in perfect harmony, not getting in each other's way though acknowledging each other's presence when their paths crossed. Now, Rey seemed to avoid crossing paths with Ben as much as possible. She got up earlier than usual and left for work by the time he awoke. Likewise, she would stay late and grab dinner before heading home. By the time she got to the loft, she would go straight to bed. Ben caught on with her new routine after a few days and reluctantly accepted it. He wouldn't push her. He was beginning to accept that the final two months would be just that. Sharing a space with someone who he rarely sees.

With Rey avoiding Ben for the past two weeks, he still tried to keep his promise to himself (and Rey) to study for his exam. Without her tutoring, he looked into going to a one-week review session on the other side of town. This helped with the avoidance of confrontation for the both of them. On his last night of the class he arrived back at the loft ready to relax after a grueling week. The review was good for him, but it wasn't nearly as good as the sessions he and Rey had that he was really able to grasp everything comfortably and feel less overwhelmed.

As he reached his front door and was about to unlock it, he heard muffled sounds coming from the other side. It couldn't have been the counselor since he had stopped by already yesterday. Boy was that one of the hardest check-ins they've ever had. It couldn't have been Hux or Phasma because they were visiting Phasma's grandparents in Irvine that evening. Maybe it was Rey's friends? But she hardly had them over. Curiosity peaked and Ben unlocked the door, stepping inside to find the last two people on earth he would've ever guessed to be there.

"There he is! The man of the hour!"

"Ben dear, it's so great to see you!"

"Mom. Dad." He was in disbelief.

Sitting on stools at the kitchen island were Ben's parents. Rey awkwardly stood on the other side, pouring a glass of wine for his mother. She shared a brief, timid glance with him. He could tell she was a bit shocked to receive visitors that night as well; his parents, nonetheless.

"Hey," she softly greeted him.

Her voice broke his initial shock. She hadn't spoken to him in nearly two weeks. God he missed her voice. Coming back to reality, his surprise was quickly replaced with anxiety.

"W-what are you guys doing here?" he treaded lightly.

"Now is that any way to greet your parents?" Han, Ben's father chuckled.

"Sweetheart, why didn't you tell us you got married?" his mother, Leia asked.

"Uh-"

"I know you're still mad at me for firing you son, but you get married and didn't tell us? Or even invite us?" Han huffed.

"Dad, I-"

"Listen, kid," Han stood up and walked over to him. "I know we're not in the best standing, but you're still my son, our son. That was hurtful."

"Don't be so dramatic, Han. As long as our baby is happy." Leia got up from her stool as well and walked over to hug her son. "Your father and I didn't think you'd ever settle down. We're so proud of you. How you ever found a lovely girl like Rey, we couldn't be happier." The shorter lady beamed at her son hovering more than a foot taller than her. Something about that made Rey smile.

Ben looked over at Rey after his mother let go of her embrace as she and Han walked back over to the counter.

"Um, Rey," Ben spoke. "Can I talk to you real quick in the room?"

Rey nodded and finished pouring that glass for Leia. She briefly excused herself and walked towards the hallway with Ben following right behind her.

"They're probably going somewhere private to kiss, huh sweetheart," Leia giggled, speaking loudly on purpose to get Ben and Rey to blush. Han laughed heartily.

"Ah to be young again," he winked and kissed his wife's forehead.

Ben could not get Rey to walk fast enough to save the two of them from further embarrassment. When they reached the bedroom, he quietly shut the door. She sat on the bed patiently waiting for whatever he wanted to talk about. For a moment Ben leaned his forehead on the doorframe. He let go of the breath he didn't even know he was holding in. Then he turned and sat at the edge of the mattress.

"I had no idea they were coming over. I swear," was the first thing he said.

"Honestly, they surprised me too," Rey sighed. "I had just gotten home and not even two minutes later someone was at the door. And five minutes after that thank God you stepped in."

"What are they doing here?"

"They wanted to check in on you, see how you were doing since you… left your job. Leia was reprimanding Han for handling the situation horribly," she shared with him. "She wants you and Han to talk it out."

"Shit, sorry," He realized it was his fault that they came over. "I guess I should've called them," He shrugged, reaching for and scratching the back of his head regretfully.

"It's fine. I mean sooner or later we'd have to face them, right? I don't think you could've hidden this from them for six months," she said.

"You'd be surprised. They never come over. Well to be fair, they hated Baz, so they avoided her like the plague," he tried to kid.

"I can see why," she lightly chuckled. It was the first light conversation the two of them had in a while. She missed this. She missed him.

Ben was a bit nervous to ask Rey this next question.

"Um… did you say anything about Vegas?"

"No," Rey quickly responded and shook her head. "I didn't think it was my place to say anything without knowing if you wanted to tell them."

With a sigh of relief, Ben thanked her for not bringing it up with his parents.

"Do you… do you think we can keep that between us for now? I mean, I don't have the best track record with them. If they found out about the court thing…" he trailed off. His thoughts were diverting to the many times in his life he'd disappointed his parents. That he wasn't worthy of being called their son.

"I won't say a thing," she gently patted his hand. He looked up at her and was assured by her soft smile. Too soon, she let go of her touch and retreated her hand back to her own lap.

Then something dawned on Ben.

"How did they know we were married?"

Rey sheepishly raised her left hand, this part was her fault, and shyly chuckled while reminding him that she was wearing her wedding ring.

"Oh. Right," he laughed along.

*Flashback to about 10 minutes before Ben came home*

Rey stepped inside the loft and set her bags down before shedding her cardigan. It was the start of summer and the beauty of living in Southern California was that the weather was slowly transitioning to t-shirt and flip-flop weather. She figured another week and she would no longer need to wear a sweater until September. She walked over to the counter and scanned the mail that Ben picked up before he went to his class. As much as she felt guilty for avoiding him the past few weeks, she was happy that he wasn't giving up on his studies and found other resources to help him prepare.

Unexpectedly, the there was a knock on the door. Rey placed the mail on the desk and curiously walked over to see who it was.

When she opened the door, she didn't need to wonder who the two people standing in front of her were. The woman, a short lady, was none other than Leia Solo, business maven and CEO of Skywalker Enterprises. The taller gentleman, however, gave it all away. With his broad shoulders, strong jaw and slightly crooked nose, she knew that he was Ben's father. Ben pretty much inherited everything from the man, with the exception of his mother's deep brown eyes.

"Why hello there," Leia greeted the strange girl in her son's apartment.

Normally when she would visit, which wasn't as often anyway, the women in Ben's apartment weren't even worthy of acknowledgement. Ben was a lady's man, she knew that. She only wished her son wouldn't pick such low hanging fruit like his last girlfriend, Bazine. But this girl. With soft brown hair, welcoming eyes and a kind smile – this girl was certainly different. In a good way, Leia thought.

"Um, hello," Rey said shyly. "Can I help you?"

"Hey sweetheart, we're Ben's parents. Han and Leia. Is he here?" the man greeted.

That confirmed it.

"Unfortunately, no he's out at the moment. He should be back soon though," she said to them. Not wanting to be rude, she kept talking. "Why don't you come in," she stepped aside and let his parents enter.

"Sorry to intrude, dear," Leia said as she placed her purse on the breakfast table. "You probably heard from Ben that he and his father got into a little spat at work. I'm forcing my two grumpy boys to make up."

It was weird that Leia had assumed Ben and Rey shared personal things. It was even weirder that she and Han didn't seem to be suspicious of some random woman's presence in their son's loft.

"So," Han propped himself on a stool at the kitchen counter. Leia sat beside him. "What's your name, beautiful?"

"Rey," she managed to say. "Would you two fancy a beverage?"

"Love one," He smiled. "I like her, she's nice," he said to his wife.

Rey walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. Thankfully there were still some bottles left from Ben's poker night. She twisted it open and handed it to Han. Leia had requested wine, so she grabbed the extra wine bottle from the shelf that Phasma left during their dinner, grabbed the proper utensils and brought them to the counter. As she prepped to open the bottle of wine, Leia spent the time carefully studying her.

"Dear, don't take this the wrong way, but who are you?" she smiled warmly.

She really didn't mean any offense since Rey understood that there was much clarification needed. However, Rey was a deer in headlights, not knowing what was safe to say about their current situation. For the first time in the past two weeks she desperately wished for Ben to come home and save her.

"I'm… Ben's roommate," she said.

Han almost choked on his beer. He laughed so hard that the room practically vibrated from his voice.

"Is that what you kids call it nowadays?"

Rey immediately began to blush.

"Han don't be rude," Leia swatted at him, though a smile crept on her face as well. She turned back to Rey. "Roommates you say. Ben never mentioned having a roommate."

"Y-yes," Rey said. "It was fairly recent. Ben was very kind to let me move in so fast. We're mutual friends with Poe Dameron. Ben says you know him."

"Oh that's wonderful! We haven't seen Poe since Ben was in high school."

"Yeah, he and Ben were a handful back then," Han chuckled.

"I wasn't even aware Poe lived nearby."

"He lives down in Venice Beach," Rey shared. "But he owns the Cantina on the Pier."

Rey raised her arm and gestured to the direction behind her to emphasize where Poe's bar was located in conjunction to their loft. She didn't need to, but she was nervous, so she didn't really think about her actions.

Leave it to Leia to study her actions intently. Suddenly, her eyes widened; a measured smirk splayed across her face.

"Rey, is that really all that this is? You and my son being roommates?"

She tried to feign confusion. Damn this woman was clever. She was about ready to come up with a believable explanation when Leia gently reached across the island and paused Rey from uncorking the bottle of wine that she was struggling to do so this whole time. Normally it was easy to open, but Rey was so nervous about this whole conversation that she was fidgeting with everything she touched. Leia grabbed her left hand and gently lifted it for all of them to see.

Her ring.

Hans eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

"Is that… are you…?" he was at a loss for words.

She was cornered. There was no other way out. She slowly took in a deep breath before completing Han's sentence.

"I'm… Ben's wife."

*End Flashback*

"I mean," Ben huffed after Rey explained what happened moments before he got home. "I'm not surprised my mom figured it out so fast. Nothing gets past her," he chuckled.

"Yeah," she let out a sigh of relief. "She said that other than the ring, your place seemed cleaner than usual."

"Does everyone think I'm a slob?!" he exclaimed. She lightly giggled at that.

"Come on, we better get back out there before you dad thinks we're doing something else," she shuddered at that thought.

Before their poker night incident, there were nights where Rey's thoughts might have wandered to the night that she spent with Ben in Vegas… And yes, she may have thought about how it would feel doing that activity with him again… And Ben, well, he definitely thought about it too. But that was inappropriate right now, and Rey thought how horrible it would be if Han was thinking the same thing while the two of them were hiding in their bedroom.

With that, she got up and walked towards the door. Before Ben stood up, he felt like it was his chance to speak.

"Um, Rey?" His voice was riddled with remorse.

When she looked at him, finally after two weeks, he was at a loss for words.

She knew what he wanted to talk about. And while she would have still wanted to avoid it, she knew they should talk. But now was not the time as they had to survive an evening with his parents without bringing up their current legal obligations. Instead, she gently smiled and assured him that everything would be discussed later. She reached over and offered her hand. He took gladly it and stood up to follow her out the door. Although she had only offered her hand to help him up, neither person thought to let go. They stayed interlinked as they walked back to the kitchen where his parents were waiting. Leia was the first to notice their connection and boy did she beam when she saw them together.

"Adorable," she cooed.

Ben ordered some dinner to be delivered and thankfully it would take less than twenty minutes since the restaurant was only a couple blocks away. The four adults sat at the counter and steadily formed a casual conversation. As he and Rey suspected, most of it would be about the two of them.

"So how long have you two been together?" Han started.

"Not long, few months," Ben answered.

"And you got married?" Leia furrowed her eyebrows.

Here comes the criticism, Ben thought. He only hoped they wouldn't shame Rey. He could handle them, but he didn't want anyone hurting her.

"Oh, come on Leia, don't act so surprised. We barely dated six months before getting married," Han shared. "Kids these days are so fast paced. Pretty soon after one date they'll be running to the alter."

Neither Ben nor Rey dared to make any eye contact with themselves or his parents. They didn't know if they'd make it out alive tonight.

"You're right, Han. It doesn't matter. Our son's happy. It's all that matters," she smiled proudly at Ben.

Han polished his beer and got up to grab another one.

"You want a beer son? Rey?"

"No, Rey and I aren't drinking." Ben said ever so casually, not thinking what the implications would mean to his parents.

For the second time that evening his mother grew wide-eyed.

"Are you two expecting?!"

"You're pregnant?!"

"What?! N-" Ben and Rey tried to get a word in.

He and Rey were stunned, but then again not surprised that they came to that conclusion. Still, they were startled at their reactions.

"Is that why you two got married so fast?" Han put his beer down and came face-to-face with his son. "I mean, it's the admiral thing to marry the mother of your child but did you two think this through?! Apparently not enough because you knocked her up!"

"No, no, no! Dad, Rey's not pregnant. And that's not why I married her, okay? Can we all just calm down?!"

His parents were dumbstruck. Was he telling the truth?

"Sorry for the confusion," Rey said calmly, holding on to Ben's arm to keep his temper at bay. "What Ben meant was that we are on this new diet and are cutting back on alcohol for a couple months."

Nice save, he mentally said to her. Hopefully they take it, she nonverbally said to him.

"So… no one's pregnant?" Han needed the clarification.

"No sir," Rey answered. "All good," she tapped her belly. This made Han chuckle.

"Alright. Sorry for the blow up, kid," he patted his son's shoulder and sat back down next to his wife.

Thankfully the food came shortly after and they all sat and ate for a bit, with light conversation following that unintended blow up.

"So Rey, by your accent I assume you came from across the pond, am I right?" Han joked.

Rey giggled and nodded, "Yes, I'm from London. I came to California for college about seven years ago. Got a job right after so I stayed here."

"What do you do?" Han asked.

"I work at a nonprofit for underprivileged kids in Mid-City. Just right here in downtown Santa Monica."

"Oh, how wonderful," Leia replied. "What got you into wanting to work for that type of organization?" Leave it to Leia to be so formal in business affairs and what not around the dinner table.

"Um," Rey hesitated.

Ben knew this answer because Rey had told him before. He also knew the sensitivity of the subject.

"Hey, you don't have to answer her if you don't want to," he reached over and patted her hand. Then he turned to his mother. "Mom let's not get into too much specifics please?"

Leia looked concerned as she witnessed Ben soothing an uncomfortable Rey.

"I'm sorry did I said something offensive?" she was sincerely confused.

"No, it's okay," she reassured Ben, even flipping her hand under his to grab his fingers for a light squeeze. She then turned to Leia to supply an answer. "I grew up in the foster system, so I know how these kids feel. Just want to play my part and help them out. I know I'd be glad if I had help when I was their age."

"Oh, my dear," Leia went into full mother mode, got up from her chair and walked to the other side of the counter, hugging Rey from the side.

"Mom," Ben grumbled.

"Oh hush, she's my daughter-in-law now, I can hug her if I want to," she swatted Ben the same way she swatted Han.

Rey giggled a little at that. She was also slightly surprised and dare she say happy when Leia had given her the title of 'daughter-in-law'. Legally she was, but it didn't dawn on Rey until just now that although this was temporary for her and Ben, she was again part of a family. This both thrilled and saddened her.

After their embrace, they settled back into the conversation.

"What is it that you do at your nonprofit?" Leia asked.

"I'm the outreach and planning and development coordinator. It's a small firm so I wear a lot of hats. We're preparing for our gala at the end of the month."

"Are you talking about the gala in Catalina?"

"Yes, ma'am," Rey nodded.

She knew Skywalker Enterprises had gotten an invitation. It was the wealthiest business in the greater Los Angeles area. Even a small firm like hers would be dumb not to send an invite their way. But of course Rey wouldn't dare try to schmooze Leia with her work. Especially not after just meeting her and introducing herself as her son's new wife.

"Han sweetheart, didn't I mention that I got an invitation from my assistant about that?"

"I don't even remember what I had for breakfast this morning, princess," Han chuckled. "But that does sound familiar."

"Rey, do you know an Amilyn Holdo?" Leia asked her.

"Yes, she's actually a benefactor of ours. Long time. She's good friends with my boss, Lando Calrissian."

"Ah Lando, of course! We've done business with him before. He's an old friend as well. Good man."

"Your boss is Lando?! He's probably a handful, that son of a gun," Han chuckled.

"Wow, you really are in the big leagues like my mom," Ben smirked at Rey. She shot a teasing glare at him in return.

These small moments between the young couple put a smile on his parents' faces.

"Rey's been shouldering all the planning for this event," Ben bragged about her to his parents. He knew she wouldn't, and he wanted her to get the recognition she deserved. "It's going to be huge," he squeezed her hand. She smiled at him appreciatively but flushed at the attention she was getting.

"Ben please don't try to persuade your parents to come to the event," Rey was embarrassed.

"It's going to be a good one though," he sing-songed to his mom. "Right?" he asked Rey.

Even she had to admit it would be grand. She was planning the whole thing anyway.

"Yeah, okay. It's actually going to be great," she chuckled. "You two really should consider."

"Well now that I know it won't be too boring, maybe we should go honey," Han suggested to his wife.

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea after all," Leia agreed.

Ben winked at Rey as she nudged his shoulder and mouthed a 'thank you' to him.

"So," Han changed the subject. "What're you up to these days, son? Find another job?"

"Han," Leia warned him.

"No dad. Unemployed at the moment."

Ben brought his hands under the table to rest on his lap. He did that when was tense, Rey had noticed lately. It helped him control his emotions.

"Of course," Han scoffed about ready to get into it with his son.

Ben tried his best to keep his composure for the sake of the ladies at the table.

"Actually, Ben is studying to take his pilot's exam," Rey offered. She didn't know if that was a good or bad thing to say but she tried her best to help.

Rey slowly reached over to his lap to rub the top of his resting hand. This helped him calm down immensely. Not wanting her to let go, he flipped his hand over and intertwined their fingers. Although they were on the other side of the island and this was happening under the counter, Leia knew exactly what was happening between the two. It didn't help that a tiny blush crept up on both their faces either. It warmed her heart to see how affectionate and caring this woman was towards her son.

"Oh, he is huh?" Han was half-amused. "You actually going to finish it this time?"

"Don't make me hit you in front of our son and his wife," Leia sent a final warning.

Han held his hands up to surrender, agreeing to stop with his brashness.

"I'm going to finish it this time, dad. Don't worry. Rey's been helping me study and I took a review course for it."

"Wow, this seems serious," Han was surprised at Ben's confidence. "You got a background in aviation? This stuff can get pretty heavy," he asked Rey.

"My foster dad was a mechanic so I can sort of grasp a few of the technical terms. Enough for Ben to hold all the information in at least."

"A mechanic huh?" Again, Han was impressed. "Well, you're a good influence on my boy. Thank you, sweetheart," he winked at her.

Ben squeezed Rey's hand, showing her appreciation. She glanced at him and smiled. They certainly missed this closeness from the past two weeks. In that moment, they forgot all about why they were distant and happily fell back into their comfortable bubble with ease.

Ben and Han went out to the terrace after their meal. Leia had told them to reconcile else she would take matters into their own hands. Scared of the tiny woman, the two men went outside to talk. It took a while, but they eventually settled the air and hugged it out. Now they were talking about random things – probably baseball as Rey knew Ben and Han shared the love for the sport. Leia stayed behind and insisted in helping Rey clean up and do the dishes. As she wiped one of the plates dry, she peered outside and smiled at her two men finally being on good terms.

"Here you go, dear," she handed Rey the clean plate and put the dish towel on the counter.

Rey took the plate from Leia and before she put it away, she glanced at the sight that Leia was observing. She saw Ben and his father having a good time. This pleased her as she was happy for Ben that he was reconnecting with his family.

Rey finally put the plate away with the rest of the clean dinnerware. She offered Leia a cup of coffee, and when she brewed them, the two ladies sat at the small table to sip their drinks.

"You know," Leia started, "Ben has dated very… different women. But you are easily my favorite one."

"You're too kind," Rey said softly, sipping her mug to try to keep a blush from forming.

"I don't need to ask how this came to be with you two, I'm just happy you found each other."

"Leia," Rey couldn't hide this blush. "Thank you."

"My son, he can be closed off at times, but if he trusts you, he won't hesitate to say what's on his mind."

"He's truly a kind soul," Rey muttered.

She looked over to where he and his father were at the balcony, still laughing and so happy. She didn't realize a smile had formed on her lips. Leia of course noticed and knew the way Rey was looking at her son that this was pure love. She couldn't help but feel pride in knowing that Ben had found a suitable partner for himself.

"Take care of him for me, will you?" Leia asked her softly.

Rey simply nodded and smiled. In that moment, she chose not to listen to the voice in the back of her head trying to remind her of how complicated this entire thing really was, and not to make promises to a kind lady that she didn't know if she could keep.

Han eventually stepped back inside with Ben and walked over to the ladies.

"Well, this has been a great evening," Han said. "But I have to take the missus home. She's got an early morning in Van Nuys tomorrow."

"We should do this again."

Han, Leia and Rey were shocked to hear those words come out of Ben of all people.

Leia was ecstatic; she almost broke into tears at what her son had said. Then she perked up remembering something.

"Oh sweetheart, you and Rey should come to the family picnic this weekend. It's the Fourth of July and your uncle Luke is having a barbecue."

"Do you want to go?" he asked Rey. It was one to introduce her to his parents, but this soiree would involve more people and more explanation of their nuptials. However, he thought Rey might enjoy it, and he just wanted her to be happy.

"It's sounds like fun," she said to him. "If you think it's fine, we should go."

"My uncle does make a mean brisket," he told her, knowing her love for the food.

"Say no more, you convinced me!" she giggled.

"Well count us in then, mom," he said before hugging Leia.

"I've taught you well son," Han chuckled at his son's decision. "Happy wife, happy life."

"It was such a pleasure to meet you dear." Leia gave Rey a strong embrace.

Ben and Rey once again thanked them for coming and shut the door once they left. They both breathed a sigh of relief and looked at each other before bursting into hysterics.

"Oh bloody freaking hell! We're actually going to hell, aren't we?" Rey laughed.

"That felt like hell already. I was super worried of how the night would go," Ben chuckled.

Rey proceeded to bring her and Leia's coffee mugs from the table to wash them in the sink. Ben appeared beside her shortly as she was placing them on the rack to dry. She turned to him shyly.

"Thank you for doing this. It meant a lot to me."

She smiled at him.

"Your parents are lovely."

He grinned. How can someone like Rey, who he messed the past two weeks up with be this kind to him? He really didn't think he deserved her compassion.

"And Rey?" he said to her.

"Hmm?" she turned around to face him.

"I'm sorry," his eyes, vulnerable and pure, begged for forgiveness. "For everything."

"Ben, it's alright," she started to tell him.

"No. I want you to know that I don't think like my stupid college friends. Not anymore. And not about you," he pleaded.

"Let's just forget it happened, alright?" she kept her smile, showing him that she meant it, showing him she didn't want to waste any more time together in an awkward place.

It took a moment, but Ben finally accepted it and he smiled back. Any remaining awkward air, they both felt, had instantly gone away.

She offered him a hug as truce, and he enveloped her into a warm embrace. She sighed into his chest, closing her eyes, not wanting this familiarity to ever slip away. He held her tight, digging his nose in her hair, not wanting to ever let go.

They should've talked more. Cleared up the air. But Rey knew and Ben knew that their time was limited. Only two months to go until their court appearance. Though they didn't want to admit anything else, they did want to continue this level of closeness for the remainder of the months they had left together. The two of them realized that tonight when they had dinner with his parents that they cared about each other, and they made each other happy. Why waste any more time apart?

A/N: Preview of next chapter: Fourth Of July

"So," Hux cleared his throat, releasing Rey from her bliss. "I take it you and Ben made up?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Ben keeps looking towards us and while I should be flattered, I'm pretty sure that permanent goofy smile on his face is actually for you."