Christmas is only two days away.

It's only two days away and Rey realizes something. Well, she wouldn't have realized anything if Shara hadn't smiled sweetly at her at breakfast the next morning and asked if she'd like help wrapping her presents.

Presents.

She had no time to think, no time to run out and get gifts. She has no idea what to get anyone. It's not like she's ever bought anything for the boys before. Their presents to each other are their time. Some pizza, some movies, a cake and cookies. They share their presence and for Rey, who never had a family, never had a real home, that's more important than anything.

But here? Here there should be presents.

"I…that is…" she tries to say.

Poe gives her a sympathetic look. "We didn't have time to go shopping before we left."

Rey grimaces. "School," she says. "And you know…work was…really busy." There's no lie there at least. Finals are always tough. And it's the time of year when everyone suddenly remembers that they needed to get snow tires on and oh my gosh, we're going on a trip and can we sneak in for an oil change and oh that check engine light yeah that's been on forever. December is never easy as a mechanic.

So she's been busy.

But that's not the whole of it.

She gives Poe and Finn a panicked look and Finn quickly interjects. "We can all go shopping this afternoon!"

"Right!" Rey says. "Exactly. This afternoon. We'll do that."

Shara gives them a look and makes a tisking noise in the back of her throat. "You can't go shopping together," she says as if that were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Of course not," Poe says, the dutiful son and all.

"I don't know the area," Rey starts to say.

"I know!" Shara says, clapping her hands together. Rey watches as her gaze falls on Ben for a moment. Ben, who is sitting sullenly at one side of the table, an extra chair between himself and the rest of the family. Ben who is already on his second cup of coffee and even still he looks no more awake than he did when he first came downstairs. Dark hair a mess of waves around his head, eyes hooded and just a little bloodshot. She wonders if he didn't sleep well, or maybe he'd been drinking the night before. Maybe it's his way of coping with his family. She's not sure if that just makes her a little melancholy or a little angry. Poe's family is lovely. Maybe a little more conservative than Rey would like. But they're wonderful people. "Ben can take Rey!"

Poe chokes on his coffee and Rey turns to stare at him as he tries to catch his breath. Poe, no, she thinks moments before he opens his mouth. "I think that's a great idea. I'm sure that Rey would lovefor Ben to take her." He pauses there and Rey cringes as Finn lets out a small snort of laughter.

Ben is glaring at him.

Rey is watching Ben.

Shara seems oblivious as she looks from Poe to Rey, a little furrow between her brows.

"Shopping, that is," Poe finishes with a little wave of his hand. "Rey would love to go with Ben. Right, darling?"

"Um, sure." She turns to glance at Ben and he's watching her now. There's no glare on his face, just lips slightly parted. "That is, if Ben is ok with that."

"I don't like to shop," he mutters.

"Yeah well, neither do I," Rey shoots back with. He's going to make it difficult. Of course he is. He's an asshole, Rey. She can hear Poe's voice echoing in her head.

Ben cocks his head slightly to the side as he stares at her, as if she's some weird species of bug that he needs to study. "I thought all girls did."

"Do you know any women at all?" Rey doesn't mean for the words to sounds so harsh.

"Apparently not," he shoots back.

Shara gives them all a rather indulgent look. "Ok children, enough fighting."

Rey almost shoots back with I'm not a child but then realizes just how childish they're all being. She's really not sure if going shopping with Ben is a good idea. Not when she's supposed to be Poe's girlfriend. Not when she wants to drag Ben off and have her way with him. Oh bloody hell. "After lunch, Ben can take Rey to the mall." She shoots her nephew a rather harried look. "No arguing." She points a finger at Ben and he looks suitably cowed. The woman has a way about her, that's for sure.

"Great," Poe says. "I'm going to take Finn out for another hike. We can hit the mall or something on the way home." Rey is staring at him and so Poe leans closer. "I know how you hate all that manly stuff."

"You should know by now Poe that all that manly stuff doesn't bother me," she points out. Anyone who knows Rey knows she's a bit of a tomboy.

"Right, but hikes, dear?" She sighs at that. He's going so far overboard trying to look like the super straight manly man boyfriend he's not that he's going right on over into misogynist territory. She really should talk to him about it sometime. It's ok to be yourself, Poe. Not all straight men are like you think they are. He's trying so hard that it looks fake on him and she tries not to cringe as she rolls her eyes at him.

For a moment her mind wanders to what Ben might by like as a boyfriend, if he would go on hikes with her and work on cars with her, and then she tries to push that out of her mind. She's going to have to spend an afternoon with him and the last thing she needs is to be thinking about is how she'd like to jump him the entire time.

"Do you really hate to hike as much as Poe thinks you do?" Ben says. They've been in the car for what feels like forever. Not that she's complaining entirely. The car is beautiful, an old 1977 TIE Fighter that she's only heard about, but never seen in person. Sleek and black, the latter of which is no surprise to her. She wants to ask about it, about who does the upkeep, where he has it serviced, but then she's afraid she'll end up looking like she's somewhat off her rocker.

Guys tend to have no idea what to do with a woman who knows as much about cars as she does. So she remarks on how pretty it is and lets it go at that. Ben gives her an eye at that, as if he somehow expected more, but lets it go.

Rey lets out a snort. "Not at all."

"Then why…"

"He and Finn…" She chokes that back, can feel her face reddening a little bit. Fuck. "They seem to think girls don't like that."

Ben glances over at her. "And you don't disabuse him of this nonsense?"

"Says the guy who thinks all women like to shop?"

"Touché," he mutters. "What do you see in Poe anyway?"

She glances over at him and she's not sure if he's honestly curious or just trying to dig further. But there's no smirk on his face, just a slight grimace as he says Poe's name.

"He's good to me."

"You said that earlier."

"Well, he is." She hates how defensive she sounds. "I met him when he rescued me from being locked out of my apartment." It's not a lie at least. She hadn't met Poe before when he came to her rescue. It had been a frigid evening when she arrived home to find her keys had gone missing and Finn was out for the evening. She had texted Finn with no response. He was on a date. She knew that much at least. And then this guy drove by and took one look at her bedraggled form and pulled her into the warm interior of his car.

She'd been interested.

She can't even lie to herself now. He'd been handsome, her hero, saving her from the cold and a night of waiting on the doorstep for Finn to appear. Finn had finally texted her where he was with his date and she and Poe crashed it shortly after receiving the text.

And then she'd seen the way Poe looked at Finn. And Finn had walked out on his date and come with them to "save her." It had been a completely insane night, but it ended up with Finn hooking up with the guy she had thought had been into her and now here she was.

"How gallant of him." There's a bit of petulance behind the words, maybe a bit of sarcasm. "Poe Dameron, Rescuer of Damsels in Distress." Ok, definitely sarcasm.

"Can we not talk about Poe anymore?"

He shrugs. "Sure."

They fall into a somewhat uncomfortable silence then and after another five minutes of driving and no mall in sight, Rey lets out an exasperated sigh. "Just how far is this mall?"

Ben snorts. "The nearest mall to the Damerons is approximately a five minute drive. They're everywhere down here."

"Where the hell are we going then?" They've been driving for at least a half hour at that point and she's starting to feel a little nervous.

He shoots her a look and then looks back at the road. "Another mall."

"That's all you're going to tell me?"

"It's better, ok? The mall closest to their house is a pathetic kitschy little thing."

"I don't have the money to afford some expensive gift!" she shouts at him. "I'm a bloody college student."

"I didn't say it was expensive."

"Yeah for you, you mean? Not all of us can afford a 1977 TIE Fighter."

That seems to give him pause. "You know what this car is?"

"Fuck," she mutters. Then she finally sighs. "Fine, yes. I may be a mechanic in my spare time."

"May be?"

"Ok fine. I might be in school for automotive engineering." She doesn't tell people that very often. She definitely doesn't tell men she's interested in that. Not that she's gone beyond a few first dates and a couple disappointing hook-ups.

"Fuck."

"Sorry, I…"

He laughs, this short bark of a thing. "My father would have loved you," he mutters.

"Would have?" The words come out softly.

His lips clamp together and he says nothing for a moment. "I don't want to talk about my father."

She cringes. "Sorry. I didn't know."

"There's nothing to know," he says and then goes quiet again. A moment later, he turns the radio up. Loud heavy metal hits her like a blast of cold air, cutting off any chance for further conversation. She supposes she should be thankful for that at least. It was getting really far too awkward and maybe just a little too personal for either one of them.

The place they end up at is gorgeous. Nestled in the mountains, it's like a Christmas card come to life. "Holy fuck," she whispers as she steps out of the car.

"You like that word, don't you?" Ben sounds sarcastic, maybe a little annoyed, but when she glances over at him, he's watching her with a strangely soft look on his face. The small half-smile softens his features and all she wants to do is lean over and kiss the bastard. She turns away though. What can she do? She's dating Poe.

Or at least, he thinks she's dating Poe. And worse, he knows that Poe is gay and he probably feels sorry for her, that she can be so easily duped into being with someone who is trying to cover up who he really is.

And fuck it all, that's becoming a complication she really doesn't like. There's a part of her that wants to tell him that she's not really dating his cousin and that yes he is still as gay as he thought he was back in high school. But what can she say exactly? Poe is fucking Finn and if you don't mind, could we go back to my bedroom and fuck like rabbits please because I'm pretty sure you'd be an amazing fuck even if Poe does think you're a 30-year-old virgin?

"Sorry," she murmurs.

"Don't be. I just find it amusing that such a potty-mouthed girl is staying at the home of the most pious Damerons."

She gives a small huff of laughter. "You don't approve?"

"Of you?"

"Of them, I mean."

He shrugs. "I was raised rather differently from Poe," is all he'll admit. He turns toward the little village then and she's surprised when he directs her forward and one of his hands rests briefly on her back. It's warm there. Warm and big and she likes it. "This little village is basically the brainchild of a family friend, Maz. She's eccentric to say the least."

"Eccentric?"

"You'll see."

"I suppose I will."

He stops then and turns to her. "Just…look…don't tell her you're dating Poe."

"What? Why?"

"Just trust me. You do not want Maz digging into that part of your life. You'll either want to strangle her for it or fall madly in love with her for it."

"Maz is really that…"

"Unique. Yes. Just…trust me, ok? Don't let Maz dig into your life."

She nods but she can't help the way the curiosity creeps up inside her at just who and what this woman is.