chapter ten: i guess i'll hold you tight

Rey wakes by 6:00 the next morning. Nervous energy courses through her veins, driving her out of bed before anyone else is awake. She goes for a run on the treadmill Zorri keeps in her office, hoping this will burn off some of her anticipation. It doesn't. Maybe if she could jog the familiar walking trail outside the trailer park like she always did when something was on her mind...but there are no open fields where she can leave her buzzy feelings here. Only buildings and sidewalks and business people off to work.

She showers and spends more time getting ready than usual, trying to tell herself that the extra effort is only because she's not going to be getting herself messy at the shop or bugging out in tactical gear and staking out Han again. That's all it is. She leaves her hair down instead of putting it up like normal, and applies a little mascara where she usually doesn't wear any.

It's silly, and she knows it. But she doesn't wash it off.

Zorri is up a few minutes after Rey sits herself at the counter with a bowl of yogurt and granola. She takes one look at Rey and grins.

"Hey there, pretty girl. Whatcha got going on today?"

Rey clears her throat and focuses intently on her food. "'Not much. Just meeting with someone."

"A handsome someone?" Zorri teases.

Yes. But Rey shoots her friend a sideways glance anyway and hedges, "A professional someone."

Zorri's eyebrows raise in intrigue. She pours herself a cup of coffee. "Oh! Does this have to do with your little chat with Luke Skywalker?"

"Sort of, I guess. But it doesn't have to do with his company. It has to do with Empire."

Zorri grimaces into her cup. "Horrible brand. Why are you messing with them? Stay as far away as you can. They love to exploit people."

Rey doesn't take this opportunity to tell her that she's planning on walking right into the heart of the operation today. Instead, she pushes her food around with her spoon and says casually, "I'm not messing with them. I'm helping someone get out of there."

"Good luck to them, then. I used to work there a long time ago. They make it difficult to just walk away. But I hope this friend of yours can do it." Zorri appraises Rey's look again, smirks knowingly and adds, "Whoever he is."

She drifts off to do whatever it is she's gotten up to do, and Rey tries to focus on her breakfast, instead of the knot of anticipation curling in her stomach.

The others are up a while later. Finn races around like a madman, bellowing about being late for class before he barrels out the door. Jannah is distracted, texting back and forth with someone while she gets ready for work. Poe guzzles a protein shake and goes to work out. Nobody harasses Rey more about her unusual appearance. Just before Jannah leaves, she glances up and gives Rey a tiny smile.

"I think I might have a date tonight."

"Really?" Rey is pulling a few things together of her own. "You ready for that?"

"Not ready for it to go anywhere, no." Jannah shrugs, but there's still that little smile on her face. "But I am ready to have some fun and explore a bit. I've never dated anyone but Phas."

"So who is this person?"

"A coworker," says Jannah. "I know, I know, bad idea. But like I said, it's just casual fun."

Rey grins. "Well, enjoy yourself."

"You too." Jannah finally seems to notice Rey's altered look and her brows arch. "Wherever you're off to today."

After Jannah leaves, Rey checks the time and decides to head downstairs. It isn't raining today — at least not for now. It's one of Seattle's rare glorious autumn days, the sun bathing everything and everyone in golden light. Rey forgoes the rain jacket. She wants to feel every drop of that sunshine. She finds a decorative boulder outside the apartment complex and perches atop it, tilting her face to the sun and closing her eyes to its comforting warmth.

When she and Mando lived in California, she had sun all the time. She didn't appreciate it as much then as she does right now. Back she had just come from Arizona, and she was sunsick. All she craved was rain, and it pretty much never rained the whole time they lived there. One day it did, though, and the whole city of Fullerton went bananas, like it was the end of the world. She laughs a little to herself at the memory, observing the rain-hardy denizens of Seattle shedding their layers to bask like cats in the autumn sun. Funny how life works like that, she muses, closing her eyes once more and drinking in the light.

The sun is in a friendlier mood here than in Arizona, where it glares ferociously down on a baked landscape and turnes sidewalks into hot skillets. In Colorado it is a fickle thing, at times fierce and unforgiving, ready to inflict burns on skiers and hikers or just those caught off guard by the altitude, and at others, sweet and mild, like when it gives them 60-degree days in January.

Here it kisses her in fond affection, gentle in its greeting.

Rey only opens her eyes again when the aggressive rumble of an engine disrupts her peaceful rumination, cutting off directly in front of her. It isn't the deep-throated hum of the Maserati, though. It sounds like a motorcycle. She opens her eyes to glare mildly at at the intruder.

It is a motorcycle. She takes in the smooth black lines with red accents, the crouching, waspish frame and the Beemer badge on its nose. She nods a little, suitably impressed. That is an expensive bike. The rider pulls off his helmet, and it's Ben, which doesn't surprise her. What does, though, is the way his lush hair doesn't seem at all affected by dreaded helmet head.

Hopping down off her rock, she makes her way over to him. "I like your other ride better, but this one is pretty nice too."

"The forecast called for something a little more open," he explains, and there is a hint of some kind of grin playing over his mouth. "Besides, yesterday's procedure left me feeling less comfortable driving around in the Maz today."

The way he says it conjures up in Rey's mind the image of the tiny psychic in handcuffs, and she smiles in private amusement. "The repair did that? The incident with your buddy should have been a big red flag way before I ever put the tape on," she says. "That's a pretty flashy car to be your daily driver. Your insurance must be insane."

He shrugs. "I don't mind. I like the car."

"Yeah, of course you do." She rolls her eyes good-naturedly. "Everyone likes that car."

He motions to the bike. "Have you ridden one of these before?"

"Nothing this fancy," she says, "But yeah. I'm comfortable on a bike."

"Have you been a passenger though?" He qualifies this carefully. "It's different than being a driver."

"Yes, I have," she sighs with impatience. He's being overly cautious, which is weird, and a little exasperating. But then, he doesn't know her history, how she made money in high school before working at the auto shop by buying broken motorcycles, fixing them, and selling them for a profit. She is extremely comfortable around bikes.

Come to think of it, though, she doesn't know his history either. She gives him a side-glance. "Okay, if we're doing safety checks — my turn. How much experience do you have on these things?"

Ben smirks. "I've been riding since I was a teenager."

"Have you ever driven with a passenger before? It's different than riding alone."

He nods. "I know. I have."

"Okay," she bobs her head once in satisfaction, drawing in a big breath. "Then I don't see us having a problem here."

He hands her a spare helmet — full mask, like his, but white, unlike his, which is black like everything else he owns, apparently.

"Intuitive choice of hairstyle," he says as she takes it from him, his perceptive glance taking in her appearance, and it sounds like a complement even though he just means it'll be more comfortable than jamming a bun into the helmet.

She slides it on. It fits exactly right. She lifts the visor. "Good?"

Another reserved suggestion of a smile curls at the corner of his lips. "Good. Before we go, I should warn you that I want to make a few stops before we end up at Empire. Is that alright with you?"

Her eyes narrow. Is this all a ploy to get her away from his dad's shop? To get her to spend time with him?

And if it is, does she actually mind?

After a moment of consideration, she nods. "Okay. Yes. I don't have anything else going on today. Whatever you want to do."

He puts his own helmet on, but not before she catches sight of an undeniable flash of pleasure in those sable eyes of his. He plants his feet to steady the bike and signals that he's ready.

She climbs on behind him, and that's when things get abruptly awkward. This is…close. It's really close. The second seat on the bike is small, requiring a lot more body contact than she anticipated. And she has to — hold him. At the waist. Hold onto this relative stranger who first introduced himself by cornering her in a smuggling tunnel. Who may or may not be a terrible person willing to throw his family away like garbage. But who is undeniably beautiful and mysteriously compelling in a way she can't put her finger on. Someone she responds to in such a confusing, infuriatingly powerful manner. This is the person she has to embrace around the middle and cling to with her whole body while they hurtle through the air.

She sucks in a sharp breath. This isn't exactly what imagined would happen today.

Still, she grits her teeth and puts her arms around his waist, discovering that his jacket has convenient hand-holds ready made for a passenger. Jeez, how many times has he done this to need a riding jacket like that? She puts her feet up on the pegs, settling her thighs against his hips, and tries not to lean into him too much — but that will become a moot point the first time he breaks.

She's never felt this awkward being passenger on a bike before. But then, she's really only ridden behind Mando, and there's nothing weird about that. In fact, she used to cuddle up behind Mando and savor those rides as the closest thing she really got to a hug.

This … this is not like a hug.

Ben turns his head, and she gives him a nod that she's ready. The bike bursts to life beneath her, and then they are off.

Riding with Ben is fun.

He is skillful and smooth, the machine responding to his movements like it knows him, and they glide along the streets of downtown effortlessly. He takes the corners well, enough to give her a thrill from her toes to her fingertips, but not enough to make her think he's trying to give them road rash. His body is relaxed under her grip, and she finds herself sinking comfortably into him. He's not afraid of speed, but he's deft in his acceleration and his breaking so neither is a jarring experience. Their helmets only bump a couple times when Rey gets distracted trying to see over his shoulder at the speedometer and forgets to brace herself properly. Despite his speed, she can feel that this bike wants to go even faster than he's allowing. She wonders what it can do on an open salt flat.

And maybe it's good they can't talk. Then neither of them can say anything to provoke the other, and they can just enjoy this moment.

But it doesn't last. Soon he is pulling in to a line of cars and snaking his way over to a toll booth at the far left of all the lanes. He pays the fee, then edges past the other cars to line up behind the bicycles. Once planted, he cuts the engine and pulls off his helmet.

Rey lets go of him and takes hers off too, looking around. The cars and the bikes are waiting at the edge of a pier.

"A ferry?" she guesses.

Ben nods. "We're going to get coffee at my favorite place. It's over on Bainbridge."

Rey considers this curiously. The last time he took her to one of his favorite places, her friends had said it was definitely a date. He's doing it again. And she has to wonder why. Why does he want to show her these places that are important to him? Why that flutter in stomach when she realizes she wants to see them?

"Is that alright?" he asks, turning his body so he can see her better.

Oh. She realizes she hasn't actually said anything, so quickly reassures him. "Yeah, it's good. Like I said, I'm up for anything."

"Hmm," he rumbles. "You may regret giving me that kind of liberty."

"Why?"

She sort of regrets asking it the moment the question leaves her, certain he's going to get that cheeky look on his face again, like she's suggested something, or made an innuendo she didn't intend, and then she's going to be annoyed and embarrassed.

But he doesn't. He just slides her an almost playful glance.

"This is a big place, and you've never been here before. We could waste the whole day, end up not going to Empire at all, and then I'll have bought my father another day."

"Ohhhh," she says in feigned epiphany, and no small degree of relief. "That's what this is about. You don't actually intend to quit, you're just trying to distract me from my real purpose here."

"Guilty," he says, and she can almost, almost hear a laugh behind the words. She marvels.

The ferry arrives and docks, the vehicles and passengers from the other side pouring out in a big gush of humanity. There are way more arriving than there are lined up to go. Commuters, Rey guesses.

They don't bother putting on the helmets for the short drive into the belly of the ferry. When they're parked, Ben takes the key out of his bike and drops it into his pocket. He locks the helmets onto the bike and then signals for her to follow. She does. He leads her up a flight of stairs, and then another, up and up to the topmost deck for a better view.

Rey gasps when they come through the door to the stairwell and the whole skyline of the city sprawls out on the shore before her. There is a big Ferris wheel one one of the nearby piers, and the skyscrapers rise by degrees up the steep Seattle streets. The sun paints everything in a sweet, nostalgic glow. The city shines. It doesn't look real.

"Wow," she says quietly. "It's so beautiful."

Probably Ben has seen this view a hundred times and no longer finds it fascinating, because he's not even looking at the skyline. He's watching her. Still, he nods. "I think so too."

The ferry starts to move and Rey watches the city slowly fall behind them for a few minutes, until eventually she turns to her companion.

"This is probably old hat to you, isn't it?"

He smirks. "Not today, it isn't."

"You really go to all this trouble for a cup of coffee?"

"It's really good coffee," he says smoothly, his gaze flashing with mischief.

Rey squints at him, but he turns around to survey the mostly-empty deck. There are a few other passengers taking in the view. One guy puts on his headphones and starts power-walking laps. The various areas for sitting are completely vacant.

He nods at them. "Shall we find a seat?"

They do, picking a bench with a nice view but that's out of the wind starting to wash in off the prow. Rey curls her legs up under her criss-cross, turning her body to face him and propping her elbow up on the back of the bench. She makes herself comfortable. He sits stiffly, as if he doesn't know what to do with his own body.

"You were kind of joking about not ending up at Empire, right? You do want you quit, or don't you?" she asks, trying to read him and gauge his reaction.

He nods once."I do, yeah. Empire is a dead-end for me. I'm not fulfilled there, it's a terrible environment that makes me angry all the time. It's like you said, life's too short for that."

"What will you do after?"

Ben shrugs, his gaze leaping away from hers, towards a couple other passengers wandering the deck, taking in the view. "You were right when you guessed that I have assets that could support me. I don't have to come up with a plan right away." He pauses, and then adds carefully, "But to be honest, I'm not sure which direction to go in. I've never considered a life outside this industry. It's all I've ever known."

Rey is surprised at his candor. He's not being guarded and prickly. This is possibly the right time to ask him about his family, but Rey isn't going to do that right now. They're trapped on a boat on their way to an island, and the only way off is to get back on the boat — that's way too much time to be stuck with him if her prying leads to an argument.

So instead she asks lightly, "Well, what do you love?"

This gives him pause. He frowns, dark eyes darting in the search for an answer.

Rey doesn't know him well enough to supply any suggestions, except the only thing he's told her explicitly that he likes. "Except for hole-in-the-wall restaurants with little old ladies who make Swai fish, and fancy cars."

This coaxes a brief smile and a snort. "You got me. I do love those things."

Rey grins with triumph at having won that tiniest of concessions.

He glances at her, amused. "What about you? Do you love bounty hunting? Is that why you do it?"

Ugh, damn him. He wants to talk about that again. Every time she manages to peel back a piece of his enigma, he pins her down and tries to do the same thing. She does not want to defend her career choice to him yet again. But she can't afford to get testy about it here. So rather than defend her vulnerable center with snark, she retreats.

She unfolds from the bench, wandering away from him and approaching the railing once again. It feels like the ferry moves slowly, but they're already good distance away from the city now, and into open water. She looks down at the waves and swells, deep indigo swirled with white foam. A stiff, cool wind sweeps around her, making her shiver.

After a minute, Ben comes up beside her. He leans his forearms on the railing and looks out at the Sound stretching far beyond them. He doesn't say anything.

They are two difficult, armored creatures trying to pry each other open. Trying to understand. This time, though, he isn't forcing the issue, and her defenses feel shaky at best.

Rey sucks in a deep breath. Time to be vulnerable. "You were right," she tells him.

"I usually am," he says, giving her a mischievous look. "What about?"

She rolls her eyes, but smiles a little despite herself. "Your theory that I want to be a bounty hunter because I want to emulate someone important to me. You were right."

His expression softens. He does not gloat in his victory, but watches her and waits for her to continue. She appreciates this. Feeling a little emboldened, she gives him the pieces of her puzzle he's been seeking.

"It's my…well, he's my guardian. Mando. He's been a bounty hunter for most of his life, and for as long as I've been with him, since I was ten. He doesn't want me to follow him, but I have to. I'm afraid…" she trails off.

Kriff. This is really hard. Her heart trips a little faster, nervous like she's stripping naked in front of him. This is so desperately personal.

"What are you afraid of?" Ben asks gently.

She looks up at him. The wind toys with his dark hair behind him, mussing it the way Rey's fingers itch to. His face his intent, listening as if she's telling him the most important thing in the world. His dark eyes are soft, full of genuine interest, like he really cares.

"I'm afraid that if I don't, if I don't make myself his partner, he'll move on without me. I'll fade out of his life, and Dyn's life. And I'll be alone again."

It hurts so much to say it out loud. A sharp lancing pain cuts through her chest at the admission. But when it's finally out of her heart and into the air, some of the tension inside her releases. She exhales slowly, willing the wind to dry up the unspilled water that has pooled in her eyes. Her next blink sends a single tear escaping down her cheek anyway.

Before she can wipe it away, Ben does it for her, his thumb gentle and his pressure feather-light as he wicks it off. She looks up at him and he pulls his hand back, looking away self-consciously.

"Sorry."

She doesn't say anything else, and for a minute, neither does he. Then he finds a way to drag his gaze back to hers and says with more intensity than she's ever heard, "That won't happen. You're not alone."

She still doesn't know the story of why he left SI or his family, she still doesn't really know as much about him as she should, but even so, his words land with powerful impact. He understands. Somehow, he understands exactly. She doesn't know how, but she can see it clearly: their pain is the same. And neither one wants the other to hurt like this.

Her gaze drops to his lips, and then away, her breath shaky. She swallows. "I don't want to arrest your father, Ben. I've broken the rules and gotten too close to him. But I must. I have to see this through to the end. For my…family."

She's not supposed to use that word.

But it's the only word she wants to use.

Ben's brow comes together a little in the middle, and he doesn't reply. She can't tell what he's thinking right now, he has become suddenly opaque in the last few seconds, and she wonders if he's angry that this moment she's given him doesn't change her trajectory.

But before she can get too far down this uneasy speculation, the ferry horn blasts, a shockwave of sound so close, so sudden, and so loud, it makes them both jump clean out of their skins and snatch at the railing. Their hands end up overlapped, Ben's fingers tight against her own, which they quickly flinch from as soon as the sound dissipates.

The sudden scare has broken the tension, at least.

"I guess that means we're here," Rey laughs, her heart still racing.

Ben passes a hand over his face, shaking his head as he tries to recover — and then the second blast sounds. It's so loud it feels like it's going to rattle their bones into a thousand pieces. Ben grabs for her and together they run for cover, dashing through the door and descending the steps into the second level cabin area where most of the other passengers are. The sound is muted and distant down here, and they can breath again. They aren't there for more than a second though when an announcement comes on, asking drivers to return to their vehicles, and then they descend again.

Rey can't stop laughing, and when they get back to the motorcycle, she sees that Ben is grinning too.

They don their helmets and Ben mounts first, steadying it so she can get on next. This time she doesn't feel quite as awkward about sliding her arms around his waist. In fact, if she's completely honest with herself, she kind of likes it.

They park in front of the coffee shop. It's a tiny little thing that would definitely miss the notice of anyone casually driving, or even walking by it. It's the kind of place you have to know to look for. It has a little sign above the door with no words on it at all, but a logo of a book open to a page of a steaming mug of coffee. It doesn't look like a coffee shop from the outside. It looks like somebody's private book collection crammed into the window of an old house.

Ben opens the door for Rey to go in first.

Inside is pretty much the same as the outside. It doesn't look like a coffee shop at all. There are two plush couches and two plush armchairs arranged separately around two little coffee tables, and everything else is books. Shelves full of books, stacks of books piled in random places here and there, books sitting on a ladder you could use to to get to higher books, books under the chairs and couches, books everywhere.

A positively ancient little man comes out from one of the free-standing shelves, and Rey realizes it's disguising the door to another room. He smiles when he sees them.

"Welcome back, sir." He pulls a couple pieces of laminated paper off a shelf and shuffles over to them.

Ben gently brushes his hand against Rey's lower back, indicating they should sit. She picks one of the couches, and he sits on the other side of it, ample space between them. The old man hands them each a paper.

Ben hands his right back without glancing at it. "I'll have my usual."

Rey browses the menu briefly. "Can I get a peppermint hot chocolate?"

The old man smiles and nods. He shuffles away again.

Ben gives her an amused look. "Hot chocolate? Are you a child?"

She rearranges herself on the couch, curling up again and leaning her back against the armrest, throwing him a little glare without any venom. "I don't really love coffee, okay? It's bitter. I have to put in a ridiculous amount of sugar to make it bearable."

A cat jumps down from somewhere, startling Rey. It's a black-and-white tuxedo, a little pudgy, lamplight eyes yellow-green, its fur sleek and glossy. It rubs up against Ben's calf. He reaches down to scratch it.

"Actually, I don't know why I'm surprised," he says. "That seems to fit your personality."

"That I don't like coffee?"

He nods. The cat climbs into his lap and presses its forehead into his chest. Ben scrubs his fingers behind its ears and along its cheeks like he knows exactly what it wants. They seem like old friends.

"How do you find these tiny places?" Rey asks, tearing her attention away from this giant man and this little cat, taking in the books and the warm smell of old binding glue and paper. It's ridiculously cozy and charming.

"I pay attention," he says. "I like to try the places most people don't notice."

"You don't like crowds," she guesses.

He huffs a soft little laugh. "Yeah, I hate them."

Rey grins.

The cat settles down on Ben's lap, tucking its legs under it, making itself into a loaf.

"Besides," Ben says softly, swiping a finger between its ears one last time, "I enjoy supporting these little businesses. They usually haven't compromised any pieces of their authenticity in pursuit of profit. At least, not yet. They're still whole. I like that."

There is a sweet little ember glowing in Rey's chest, observing him speak so fondly of these hidden treasures of his, surrounded by books and a happy feline and the faint smell of roasted coffee beans. The warmth of this ember radiates throughout her chest, making her feel soft and comfortable and perfectly at ease. She could have never guessed when she woke up this morning that they'd end up sitting here like this, like the whole world could turn outside and nothing would disturb them in here.

"So do you come over here a lot? To Bainbridge?" Rey asks after a minute, her gaze flitting away before he can see the wonder and pleasure radiating through her face. He's too perceptive. He'll know that she likes this, and that will just feed his ego, probably.

The old man returns with their drinks and sets them on coasters on the table.

Ben glances at his coffee, then at the cat, who has now become a miniature motor, purring steadily. He doesn't move. "I used to live here, at Luke's house."

"Oh?" Rey leans over and grabs his mug for him, along with one of the napkins the old man set down. She hands it to him carefully so nothing spills. "I didn't know you lived with Luke."

He nods gratefully, his glance flashing up to her. "He didn't mention that?"

"No. He just said you intern'd with him at SI."

Ben's eyebrows lift, but in a look that is not surprise, closer to cynical expectation. He sips at his coffee. "Interesting that he left that out. My mother sent me to live with him when I was finishing high school. She thought he'd be a good influence on me."

"And was he?"

"No." He seems amused by the question.

Rey's hot chocolate tastes like a melted, creamy Andes mint. She curls into the coziness of it, her whole body relaxing. "This is really good."

Pleasure warms Ben's features. "He does well enough in the summer months with all the tourists here, but I think they're missing out. The cold of autumn and winter really bring out the best in his drinks."

Rey nods. "They come at the wrong time. This is perfect."

They each fall silent as they nurse their drinks, only the sound of cat's rhythmic purring between them. Rey is completely happy — and not just because of the chocolate, or the couch, or the books. She is comfortable with Ben. It's such a change as to be almost dizzying. Telling him the truth about why she's pursing this job was the most vulnerable she's ever let herself be with someone, and his response was exactly right. It has put her at ease in a way she didn't know was possible.

When he isn't looking, she lets herself assess this strange conundrum of a man, difficult but compassionate, intimidating and magnetic. He looks so harmless right now, so natural, as if he's exactly in his element. But she remembers him in the tunnel, and in the alleyway. How imposing he'd been. How dominant. How angry.

"Who is Dyn?" Ben asks, glancing back at her.

She blinks, surprised out of her musings. "What?"

"You mentioned him on the ferry."

"Oh. He's — he's Mando's other orphan. He's five. I love him like my little brother."

This intrigues Ben. He shifts a little and the cat peeps in protest. He settles again, but now he's leaning forward, ready to hear more about her life. "He's five? How long have you had him?"

"Mando found him as a baby," Rey says. "We were out searching for this skip, and Mando was pursuing on foot, when he found this tiny baby crawling around the woods. He was a year old, barely able to take a few steps unassisted. The skip got away, and we took the baby to the hospital to get checked out. He was malnourished, but otherwise fine. They said they were going to take him into the foster system until they could locate his parents. Mando was already a foster parent, because of me, so he offered to just keep the baby until then. They never did find his parents."

Ben's brow lifts in mild surprise. "Your guardian sounds like he takes orphans in pretty easily."

"Easily," Rey repeats, more bitterly than she intends. "Kicking and screaming would be more accurate. At least, with me. With Dyn he just…he just accepted it."

The little old man comes out again, interrupting their conversation with a plate of freshly baked lemon blueberry muffins. He sees the cat and makes a disapproving tsk'ing sound, lifting the animal off Ben's lap.

"That's rude, Taps. They're eating," he scolds.

"It's alright," Ben assures him, but the man is already depositing the cat gently onto a bookshelf. It sits, tail twitching in mild irritation, before eventually stretching out on top of the books and dozing off again.

"I promise he isn't allowed into the kitchen," the man says, giving Rey a worried look.

Rey shakes her head. "It's alright. I like him."

Reassured, he toddles off to do whatever it is he's doing. Probably reading.

The rest of their time at the little shop is mild and pleasant. Ben eases off trying to ask her about her family dynamic, and instead switches to asking her about books she likes to read. It's safe conversation that dredges up no wrenching emotions from either of them, and it reveals a little something more about Ben:

He is an avid reader. He has read so many things across such a wide genre, it makes Rey's head spin. She has a healthy appetite for it herself, since reading was her main escape from reality from the time she figured out how. It's how she learned most of what she knows about cars, which she freely admits to Ben. She doesn't tell him that she started reading car manual's she'd find still shoved into the glove compartments of wrecked cars at the junkyard where she lived and hid.

Ben likes talking about books, and when he finishes his drink, he gets up and drifts around the little shop, pulling beautifully illuminated antique books to show her, clearly at home among the old man's collection. He has an affinity for calligraphy, Rey learns. And when she questions him about it, he admits that yes, he took classes and can do it himself. This delights her.

Bit by bit, her perception of him shifts, morphing into a more rounded understanding of him. There are still big pieces missing, but the more they talk, the more certain she feels that he will eventually tell her about it. About his family.

When she's done, he pays the old man and they head out the door.

"What's next?" she asks him expectantly.

However she thought this day would go, she's now thrown all of it out the window. This is better.

He gives her a smirk. "How do you feel about hiking?"

"Yeah," she says in surprise, her grin growing. "I like hiking."

He nods. "Good, because this is the part where I get you isolated in the woods for whatever nefarious plans I have to keep you from following through on your plan to arrest my dad."

Once, after their first meeting, probably, she would have believed that was indeed his exact plan. Now, however, she laughs. "Ah, well, if you must. Just don't make my grave too shallow, please."

"Can't really fit a shovel on a motorcycle," he says apologetically.

They climb on and helmet up, and Rey scoots in close, asking herself where the turn happened when she actually began to like him instead of despise him. Because she does, and it's starting to feel like maybe that regard is putting down roots deep into her where they'll be hard to dig out again. She doesn't know what it means yet, and probably she'll regret everything about this day later, but right now she doesn't let herself examine it too closely. She's just going to let herself be pulled along this current and figure it out later.

"Ready?" Ben says, voice muffled through his helmet.

Rey nods. "Ready."

A/N:

More bonding time ahead for our little emotional intercourse virgins, and an unexpected intruder on this sneaky date which Ben has tricked her into. Also, oh yeah, they still gotta go to Ben's work so he can quit! Hopefully I'll have the second half up by Friday.