Author's Note: Guess what just got put on Disney+... STAR WARS THE RISE OF SKYWALKER MUAHAHA!

So I'm back. Hellooooo everybody :D

Summary: Ben really, really likes Rey, but he's worried there's going to be some problems with Finn and Poe and he's not exactly sure what to do about it.

It wasn't as if Ben didn't understand. Poe and Finn, objectively speaking, were two very attractive men, and Rey would have to be blind not to see that.

Still, whenever he saw the three of them together, or worse, in pairs, it made him feel irritated. Jealous. Humble, but not in a good way. Lowly?

Because Finn and Poe could make Rey laugh. They teased her, and some might even say flirted with her. They were playful and funny and Rey really liked them. They were good men, and it made Ben feel...

Inferior. That was the word. Finn and Poe made him feel inferior, and he wasn't sure what to do about it.

Take right now. They were all in the dining hall, but Ben was at a table with a bowl of cornmeal in front of him, and Poe, Finn and Rey were standing in the breakfast line laughing at a story Poe was telling. With utmost casualness, Finn slung his arm around Rey's shoulders and she leaned into him, wrinkling her nose in that adorable way she always did. Poe said something to her and she laughed outright again, slapping him in the shoulder.

There was the sound of a chair scraping back against the cement and Ben jumped, embarrassed at being caught staring at the three of them. Leia, his mother, slowly seated herself at the table and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he grumbled, quickly turning himself back to his breakfast and stabbing his spoon into the thick cornmeal sludge.

"You tell me," Leia rejoined with a snort. "From an outsiders perspective it looks like you're in love with all three of them."

Ben felt his cheeks heat. "Don't be ridiculous," he muttered.

"Obviously I don't think that- I know who you're really looking at." Leia rolled her eyes. "But you might want to check that staring if you don't want someone else getting the wrong idea."

"It's not as if I'm in control over it," Ben huffed. "I see them together and it's like I can't look away. I want to; trust me. But I... can't."

"Love is a fickle thing," Leia sighed. "Do you know how many times I tried to throw everything I had with your father away? So many times. Way too many for what we had to be considered a healthy relationship." She smiled wryly. "You want to walk away, but you can't. Because love keeps you from moving."

"It's not- I don't-" Ben smooshed his cornmeal with an epic squelching sound. This stuff was disgusting- why had he gotten it in the first place? He could have been over by the hot food line, with Poe and Finn and Rey.

And being an awkward fourth wheel. Because that's how it was with them.

"The bond between the three of them, regardless of the emotion causing it, is strong," Leia said, reaching out to put her hand gently on Ben's wrist. "But Ben, the answer isn't to break what they have. The answer is to add another piece to it."

"Don't you think I've tried?" Ben asked desperately. "I- I walk over to talk with them and I can't think of a single thing to say. When I'm alone with Rey it's- it's different. We can always discuss the Force or the Jedi Order or- or Luke Skywalker, if there's absolutely nothing else. I don't feel like I'm struggling to find the right words to... to fit in."

Leia let out a laugh and Ben looked at her, affronted. She sighed at his glance, patting his wrist. "Sometimes I forget that you were raised rather... unconventionally," she said with a faint smile. "Most people your age have had to struggle with being left out for all of their teenaged years. You... you were always the center of attention. The chosen child of Han Solo and Princess Leia. I apologize for that."

"You make all of this sound so childish," Ben mumbled, pulling his hand away from hers and clenching his fists. He had the urge to pick up his bowl and smash it on the ground but that would actually be childish so he refrained.

"Not childish," Leia countered. "Just something that children are forced to grapple with. It's just coming a bit... late for you."

"Great," Ben sighed. "So what do you suggest I do?"

Leia looked at him searchingly, and then over at Finn, Poe and Rey. Against his better judgement, Ben looked in that direction too, and immediately noticed how traditionally 'swoony' Poe's hair looked and how well Rey and Finn's heights complimented each others. How could he compete with that? He was bulky and had a giant nose and his hair never seemed to cooperate-

"First off," Leia finally answered, interrupting his thoughts. "You can stop tearing yourself down by comparing yourself to those other two men. Not only is it unhealthy, but it will lead to you looking for every last flaw in their characters, trying to make them seem worse than you so you can feel better."

Chagrined, Ben looked back at his hands. They may not have been the most lovely things in the world, but they were safer than gazing at the three by the lunch line.

"Secondly," Leia went on. "You can make an effort. Have you tried speaking with them today? Or, I don't know... asking Rey on a date?"

Ben looked up, shocked. "Asking- are you serious? Rey would never agree to go on a date with me."

Leia gazed at him, deadpan. "Sure she wouldn't," she said sarcastically. "Here's a thought- Why don't you let her give you that answer herself instead of just assuming what she wants? Rule one of being a good man: Never assume what a woman wants."

Ben made a face. "So, I should stand up and walk over to them and just... ask Rey on a date? In the middle of the dining hall?"

"I didn't mean now," Leia groaned. "Oh my boy, you are truly impossible. Why don't you start with going over and saying good morning?"

"Fine," Ben grumbled, standing and awkward walking around his chair. He looked down at his bowl. "Should I bring my cereal?"

Leia sighed, looking at him with the sort of expression you'd see on someone who truly thought their subject was a lost cause. "The cereal can stay here. I'll... look after it for you."

Making another face, Ben slowly trudged towards Poe, Finn and Rey. They caught sight of him when he was about two yards away and Rey's face lit up in a smile. "Ben!" she called, waving him over. "Good morning."

"Good morning," he replied stiffly, nodding at Finn and Poe. "I... trust you all slept well."

"Man, I had this dream-" Poe started.

"Yeah, we heard it already," Finn interrupted with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, well he hasn't," Poe reminded him, giving him a peeved stare. "Anyway, I had this dream that we were on Endor, right? And the Ewoks were holding an awards ceremony, and they had all of these different honors. And Finn, Rey, you and I were just-"

"I was in your dream?" Ben interrupted, thrown for a loop.

"It's not nearly as romantic as it sounds," Poe rejoined, smirking. "But yeah, you were there. Anyway, the four of us were at this awards ceremony, and they kept calling the medals and I swear they gave every single one of them to General Hux."

Ben was so surprised he let out a bark of a laugh. "General Hux?"

"General Hux," Poe confirmed, grinning that his story had been found humorous.

Rey snorted with laughter, shaking her head. "Can I just mention how weird it was that you were dreaming about General Hux?" she pointed out, reaching up to brush her hair out of her face. "Of all the people in the galaxy, your subconscious picks him."

"They say a dream reveals what's truly on your mind..." Finn teased, reaching out to punch Poe in the shoulder.

"Oh yeah?" Poe shot back. "Well then, I'll remind you that you had a dream about Leia a few days ago."

Rey caught sight of Ben's face and let out another laugh. "It wasn't nearly as wrong as Poe just made it sound," she reassured him, putting a hand on his arm.

See, this was the other problem with spending time with Rey, Finn and Poe. Whenever Rey touched him or, honestly? looked at him, all Ben could manage was an unintelligible: "Guhhh..."

"Dang it, Rey, you broke him again," Finn said, mock-disapproving as he shook his head at her.

Rey winced and patted Ben's arm before letting her hand fall. "Sorry."

"It's... okay?" Ben asked dumbly.

Poe glanced at his watch. "We should go find a seat and eat," he suggested, starting to head towards the mass of tables in the middle of the room. Finn and Rey nodded, trailing after him.

Rey turned around a couple steps in and smiled at Ben. "You coming?" she asked.

She was looking at him again. Maybe it'd be easier to speak if that wasn't happening. Ben switched his gaze to the back of a random admiral's head. "Uh, yeah. I just... need to grab something."

He hurried back to his original table to find Leia eating his abandoned cornmeal. "This really is bad," she commented as she handed him back his bowl.

"I know," Ben replied, laughing a little.

"I take it it went well?"

"Uh, yeah." Ben shot a glance over towards Finn, Poe and Rey, who were taking seats at another table. "I'm gonna go... I'm gonna go over there. Eat breakfast with them." He walked a few steps in that direction before turning around and facing Leia again. "Thanks, mom."

She waved him off, and he went to sit with his friends.

Author's Note: Haha, that turned into more of a bb!Ben struggles with being social than bb!Ben is jealous, but hey... nothing like wise Leia to redeem an off-track story XD