A/N: You guys are too kind with your reactions from the previous chapter! Made my day :)

Alright, down to business... Let's be real. Gone are the days of tiny crushes and coy behavior. They had dinner with his parents, celebrated together on the Fourth of July, spent a beautiful weekend in Catalina together, and went on an 'almost' date. Ben and Rey know there's something there.

So from this point forward, their thoughts and interactions will evolve to more mature, more... blunt feelings. It's not longer "I have a school girl/boy crush on you." It's straight up "I WANT YOU."

Enjoy!

~XXII. Hard Work Pays Off~

"How about best two out of three? Loser does the dishes," Ben offered.

"You really are trying every possible way to get out of doing the dishes, aren't you?" Rey was tickled by Ben's aversion over a simple task.

"It's possibly the most boring chore I ever had growing up," he groaned in disdain.

"Are you kidding? You're standing in one place and playing with water. Sure, you have to clean stuff, but it's the laziest and easiest chore in my opinion," she retorted.

"Hey if you like it so much, I won't stand in your way," he joked.

"Again, you aren't going to get off that easy," she poked back.

"Well then I'll take my chances." He held his arms out for the challenge.

She impishly rolled her eyes at his childish gesture.

"Seriously?" she stifled a laugh.

"I never joke when it comes to this," he tried to say sternly but the situation wasn't helping.

Rey finally let out that laugh and gave in.

"Fine, but none of this two out of three stuff. Sudden death. Loser does the dishes."

"You're on!"

She got up from her seat and walked over to him.

"You ready to lose, Andor?" he tried to psyche her up.

"Just don't cry like a baby when you lose, Solo," she goaded back.

She set herself up in the same position. They glared at one another.

"ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS…"

"Oh yeah! Rock beats scissors, I win, you lose!"

Ben danced happily in taunting circles around Rey. She let out a garish laugh as she was entertained by his juvenile behavior.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're such a sore winner?" she teased him.

"Has anyone ever told you that you suck at rock, paper, scissors?" he jabbed back.

"Fine I'll do the dishes, but you owe me one," she narrowed her eyes at him facetiously. She friskily shoved him and started to gather their plates.

"Alright, how about you choose what we get to eat for dessert, deal?" he suggested as a compromise.

"Ohhh deal!" she happily agreed.

Ben helped Rey take their cups and utensils to the sink before mockingly wishing her to 'have fun' doing this tedious chore that she loved oh so much. After being splashed by Rey before she got started, he scurried away from her reach before his shirt got any more soaked.

Ever since the night they shared the bed, Ben and Rey had transformed their 'relationship' into something more, emotionally and physically. Of course, they chose not to label it though. The dirtied couch cushion was ready to be picked up the next day as promised, but Ben never resumed sleeping on it. They had agreed to share the bed, seeing as there was no harm in the communal activity. Rey never mentioned to Ben that she had awoken in that intimate position with him that first morning. She was too nervous to acknowledge it aloud. Though to be fair, Ben had his own secret moment of intimacy with her as well. A couple of nights after that first one, he awoke wanting to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. He was surprised to find that Rey had swung her leg over his legs, curled up to his side and was resting her hand subconsciously on his chest. Though he knew she was fast asleep, he couldn't help but wonder if this intimacy could one day be a normal thing for them.

Actually, those late night conducts went on almost every night. Whoever woke up first usually found them both in compromising positions, but they would never mention it to each other when they were both awake. Whether it be they liked it and neither protested, or they were anxious to bring it up so they just let it be, Ben and Rey couldn't deny that they enjoyed the intimacy, nevertheless. It was almost as if they were expecting it each night. Who knows with these two!

While their subliminal nighttime intimacy brought them even closer, they still hadn't outright admitted a thing to one another about their own feelings. There were certainly feelings there that they couldn't deny anymore; they each came to this realization on their own when they spoke with their friends on the phone on their 'almost' date night. The days were getting shorter as their court date was only weeks away. Could they admit their feelings before that or keep this temporary bliss for a little longer because they didn't want to fear rejection and face their inevitable split? The clock was ticking.

Ben sat at the computer desk, opening his pilot's exam handbook and quickly started prepping for a study session with Rey once she was done with the dishes. He and Rey had been studying nonstop for the practice exam that he took a week prior. He had been taking his time to study the material, but she felt that he was ready to do the real thing. While he took free practice tests online, Rey encouraged him to take an official practice exam to test his environment out and better prepare himself for the real thing (which was in less than a month). She was right to suggest it as he was a bit nervous the morning when he took the practice exam, but later eased into a groove and was pretty confident he did well afterward. Practice exam aside, he knew they still had a lot of work to do for the real thing.

He was starting up his internet browser when he got a ping from his email client on the bottom of the screen.

'Private Pilot's License Practice Exam Results'

Ben's heart raced when he read the subject of the email. He wasn't expecting the results of his practice test for a few more days, nor was he expecting to be this nervous about it. Okay, maybe a little. It was only a practice exam for crying out loud! But the thought of rejection once again was lingering in the back of his mind.

It's now or never, he thought.

Anxiously, he clicked on the notification and was taken to a new tab to view his results.

Rey was lightly humming random tunes as she wiped the last dish dry from their dinner and neatly put it away. She thought of what they could have for dessert since she was able to bargain with Ben to get to choose their sweet treat after duping her into doing the dishes. She was craving ice cream, and for once the usually stocked freezer was out because Ben had eaten the entire tub for lunch earlier that week. Maybe I can convince him to run to the store to grab another tub, she thought. She was about to voice her request and turn to him when suddenly a strong grip on her sides had caught her off guard. Ben appeared behind her and lifted her up off the ground, trapping her in a huge bear hug and swinging her body friskily from side to side.

"Ben, what's going on?" she couldn't help the giggles.

He pulled her away from the sink to an open area in the living room and twirled her around some more.

"I passed my practice exam!" he screamed with delight.

"Oh my gosh!" Rey exclaimed. He put her down and she quickly twisted around to properly congratulate him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. "Congratulations Ben! I knew you could do it!"

Ben answered her hug by lifting her up once more and spinning with her around the room, just like their disc golf celebration during the Fourth of July weekend. "I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you, Rey!"

She laughed even harder as his embrace got tighter and the spinning made her giddy.

"Ben, put me down, this tickles!" she cried between hysterics.

This only made him hold her longer and make her laugh even harder.

"What? I can't hear you! I'm celebrating!" he cheered.

She begged him again after giggling so hard that she was hacking her lungs to try to get more oxygen in her. He eventually gave in, laughing with her as he finally brought her back down to the ground.

Ben placed Rey back on the ground for the second time and she let go of her embrace around his neck, though he seemed to not let go of his grip on her waist. With an adrenaline high, everything happened so fast. It was so spur of the moment. She looked at him wondering why he was still holding her, and he was beaming so brightly with glassy eyes staring back at her.

Then he did something impulsive – he kissed her.

It was a peck really. Maybe a second or two long. But he did it and she felt it.

Immediately, he realized what he had done and promptly let go of her, standing awkwardly in place. Rey was just as shocked and speechless, yet she was screaming inside. She stole a glance from him and lightly giggled, letting her blush flow freely on her hot skin. He scratched the back of his neck and chuckled nervously, trying to hide the rose tinted cheeks already darkening on his face.

"Um, sorry," he sheepishly smiled.

"No," she couldn't help but smile as well. "It's okay. I liked it."

"Oh. Good." He couldn't help but grin even wider by her response. "Me too."

They glanced at each other again, this time holding their gazes and openly blushing as they matched the upward curls on their lips.

"Hey, why don't we celebrate?" she boldly asked, relieving the tension between them. "You worked so hard for it you deserve it."

"Sure," he grinned. "How about Sloan's? I finished all the ice cream in the freezer," he chuckled.

"It's like you read my mind," she smiled back.

Thankfully, there was a Sloan's ice cream parlor that they could walk to just down the block from their building, so the commute over there wasn't too long, as they were still in a state of awkward (and shocked) silence. When they arrived at the ice cream shop, they shared a large banana split ice cream sundae topped with a mixture of their favorite toppings. They took turns scooping spoon fills of the sweet treat into their mouths, stealing quick glances and bashful expressions. While they were acting so shy on the surface, below the table was an entire story in and of itself. They were playing footsies with each other, with Ben brushing his calves on Rey's knees, and Rey caressing her toes on Ben's shins. What this meant to them, who knows. They were just enjoying the moment.

A worker was wiping down the tables near them and happened to pass by, noticing their goofy smiles.

"Evenin' folks," he said. "You two celebrating something tonight?"

Rey scooped a bit of their shared dessert onto her spoon before responding. "Yes, we are. He passed an important test for his pilot's license," she said proudly.

"Is that so?" the employee happily asked.

Rey nodded and took a bite of her ice cream, smiling at Ben, prompting him to blush.

"Congratulations," the worker greeted Ben.

"Thanks," he nodded at the man. "I couldn't have done it without her, though. She helped me study the whole way," he gestured to Rey.

The worker glanced at Rey, noticed her coy expression and chuckled.

"This you husband, miss?" he asked her.

Even five and a half months into this whole thing, they were still surprised when people asked about their legal status out of the blue. That's not to say they didn't like it. Of course, this person only deduced this because he had gestured at Rey's ring finger and motioned to Ben, the possible person who gifted her with the shiny jewelry.

"Yes, he is," she pleasantly smiled at her 'husband'.

Then the employee turned to him.

"You're a lucky man, son. Beautiful and smart wife."

"Thanks." He really needed to stop blushing. "She's definitely better at both of those than me."

It was Rey's turn to blush again.

"Ah young love," the man crooned, making Ben and Rey feel even more giddy about the situation. "Congratulations again! Have a nice evening you two."

When the worker left them alone, Ben and Rey glanced at one another and smiled.

Ben was starting to get used to the title of being Rey's husband. In fact, he craved when people asked about it. Rey still flushed when people discovered she was married, but deep down, she couldn't hide the giddy feeling she'd get when someone mentioned her title as Ben's wife. If only they were more open about this stuff with each other, right?

"I'm really proud of you," Rey said to him.

"Honestly, I couldn't have done it without you," he shared the credit.

"Nope," she shook her head. "This was all you, Ben," she smiled at him.

"Thanks," he beamed proudly.

"Just think, you're one step closer to achieving your goals," she reminded him. "What are you going to do when you get your license?"

"Probably find a job," he chuckled. He reached over to scoop some more ice cream onto his spoon.

"Oh you know you what I mean," Rey playfully nagged, stealing the sprinkles from his scoop of ice cream.

They childishly fought for that scoop of ice cream for a little bit (Ben won, of course) before he responded.

"I don't know I never got to planning anything. I definitely want to fly somewhere new though. Do something fun before I look for work maybe," he said to her.

"You should fly to all the major league baseball stadiums around the country," she suggested. "Your dad mentioned to me that you two once went on a road trip to a couple places in the Midwest when you were younger."

"That's actually not a bad idea," Ben nodded at that thought. "I've never flown anywhere outside of Los Angeles behind the pilot's seat yet. So that'd be a new experience."

"Same," she said. "Well, not 'same' same, since I can't fly," she giggled.

He laughed along with her, understanding what she meant.

"But you know like I've only been to Los Angeles. Other than coming here for school, I lived in London my whole childhood. I know that place inside and out."

"Yeah, especially all the best pastry shops and pubs in town," Ben winked, reminding her of one of their very first conversations. "I'm sure you know the food inside and out too," he teased.

Rey was impressed. He really did listen to her.

"Oh really? You're interested in trying something other than pizza?" she poked fun at him.

"Of course," he said. "I'd love to figure out why you guys call them 'chips'."

"Is that so?" she asked amusingly.

"Yeah, and then explain why it's wrong," he smirked. "They're not thin potatoes strips. They're fries!"

"Aren't chips fried too?" she retorted.

"But they're not chips! Even tots sound better than chips," he teased.

"Yeah well I'd love to figure out why you guys call them french fries. Were they invented in France? Hmm?" she jabbed back.

"Who knows, I just love 'em!" he chuckled.

"Well if you can manage to look past the name 'chips', I actually know a great pub with the best fish 'n chips in town," she giggled.

"Of course you do," he playfully rolled his eyes.

"Mock me now, but if you're ever in London wanting to know where to find a late night bakery to curb your sweet tooth, don't say I didn't offer," she stuck her tongue at him.

"Oh I'm not mocking," he chuckled. "It's just if one goes all the way to London, you'd expect to at least check out Big Ben or something."

"Meh, it's just a clock," Rey joked.

"Oh and you didn't try to hike up to the Hollywood Sign when you first got to Los Angeles?" he teased.

"Fair point," she tried to be serious, but instead laughed.

Indeed, when she first met Rose and Finn, they hiked with her one weekend to the infamous white letters.

"I rest my case," he smugly grinned. Ben rewarded himself with an extra large scoop of ice cream.

"If I were you, I'd just travel everywhere. Alaska, Brazil, Australia, Greece," she daydreamed. "It'd be amazing to just travel the world."

He couldn't help but smile at her, those wishful thoughts comforting him as well.

"Then let's do it, Rey," he said to her.

She looked at him quizzically.

"When I get my pilot's license, let's travel the world," he stated.

"I'm going to hold you to that, so this better not be a joke," she playfully glared at him.

"I pinky promise," he held out his hand with his pinky in the air.

"You pinky promise?" she snickered. "Really?"

"Hell yeah. Trust me. Pinky promises are a huge deal here in America," he smirked.

"I'll never understand your whimsy," she giggled.

"Right, like 'chips' is any better," he teased. "Or 'wanker', as Poe said one time!"

"I swear, you tell Poe one thing and he just ruins it," she laughed along with him.

"So, what do you say?" he smiled at her, pinky still in the air waiting for her to accept his sincere offer.

"Alrighty then," she sing-songed and they locked fingers. "Pinky promise."

They giggled at their gesture and finished their dessert in silence, but this time, a more comfortable silence – that was certainly a thing.

When they tossed their trash and stepped outside, a lingering moment was spent between them.

"You've got a chocolate speck on your cheek," Rey noticed on Ben's face.

"Huh, where?"

Ben tried stretching his tongue over his cheek to cover said spot, erratically bobbing his head around to which Rey had no choice but to laugh at his ridiculous actions.

"Did I get it?" he said sloppily, still blindly trying to find the spot with his tongue.

"Oh my god, stop," she laughed at his poor attempts and reached over with her own hand to wipe off his chocolate stain.

"See how easy that was?" she teased him when she was done, showing him the chocolate speck on her finger.

He laughed at the comment.

"What's the fun in that if it's not a challenge?" he joked.

"You're impossible sometimes," she rolled her eyes at him.

Without thinking, she brought the thumb she used to wipe the bit from his cheek to her mouth and sucked off the chocolate on her finger. If she wasn't thinking about it then, she was definitely thinking about it now. That small action indeed surprised them both as Ben's jaw slightly fell and Rey's eye bulged in their sockets. She couldn't hide the crimson blush on her face even if she tried. She slowly brought her hand down and tried to look away from him to cool off from the unintentional risqué act she just displayed.

Rey couldn't deny that she was thoroughly enjoying Ben's physical presence. While her heart was still trying to figure out how to voice her mixed emotions for him, her gut freely told her that Ben was sexy with a capital damn. Thank the seasons it was summer because now he worked out with either a white cotton beater or no shirt at all, and Rey did not mind one bit. Ben even started sleeping in just his boxer-briefs, it's like he was teasing her without even knowing. With their physical closeness in the loft, sitting on the couch and even sleeping on their bed, she'd stolen chances to feel his firm muscles and she was getting overwhelmed with his six feet two of demi-godness. It was really hard for her to think and act clearly in moments like these because she didn't intend to be forward with her actions. But in the back of her mind she had hoped it stirred something in him as it did for her. Everything he did these days stirred something in her.

As of late, Ben had found himself getting more and more attracted to Rey, emotionally and especially physically. Granted, he has always found her attractive. The moment they met he was drawn to her hazel eyes and soft smile. But these days, especially with their extreme level of comfort at the loft, he couldn't get enough of seeing her body – her long legs showed off when she wore shorts and summer dresses (thank you, summer), her cotton nightshirts (which by the way he had fantasized her wearing one of his shirts many, many nights) that always exposed a shoulder which made her so alluring, and hell even the little things like licking or biting her lips when she was thinking or blushing lightly when she was nervous. This woman was driving him over the edge.

Which was why he really wanted to kiss her again at that moment, and he could tell she wanted him to kiss her too. What with her sexy lip biting when she glanced at him in a sensual way just now. When he met her gaze and smiled, her demeanor had flipped as she bashfully grinned and turned away, her cheeks tinting red again. Gawd Dayum… When she did things like that, it drove him insane. Ben loved the way Rey could be so wanton and alluring one minute, then coy and demure the next. She was an enigma, and he was lost in her trance.

"Erm," she cleared her throat. "Shall we head back now?"

"Uh, yeah… Let's head back," he said.

But nobody moved. They stood in place for a minute, awkwardly wondering why no one had taken a step to leave the ice cream shop already.

"Um…" she lightly giggled.

"Right," Ben chuckled. "After you," he gestured with his arms.

In the midst of their walk back to their apartment, Ben's hand slightly brushed against Rey's knuckles. Without a second thought, he caught her hand the second time mid swing and trapped his fingers between hers. She paused her steps for a moment to comprehend what he was doing. Stopping in his tracks too, he hesitated for just one second. Maybe he had gone too far? Crap, crap, crap…he thought to himself. Instead, she smiled brightly at their connection, then up at him. She squeezed their hands in acceptance and tugged him gently forward to proceed their walk together.

Ben felt like he was on top of the world. He had passed his practice exam, taken Rey out for another "almost" date, and was now walking with her, hands intertwined and simply euphoric. Oh, and he couldn't forget that impulsive kiss!

This was it. He was going to tell her tonight how he felt.

A/N: Preview of next chapter: Late Night Visitor

"He got into a bar fight with someone."

"What exactly happened?"

Rey was confused. In the almost seven years she's known Poe, a bar owner no less, he had never gotten so drunk that he fought with others. Poe was a happy drunk.