After only a few days aboard the Millennium Falcon, Rey and Ben were already finding each other disagreeable. While trying to shift into hyperdrive, the Falcon had lost power. Shortly after, the backup generator kicked on dim backup lights.
Rey scrambled to find her way through the ship. Bursting open a side panel, her hand carefully whisked through a bunch of wiring. "It is completely corroded over here! There must be some kind of leak. Hand me…"
Her eyes darted up to see that Ben already had the tool she desired. "We should try to land on that planet to make our repairs." He merely suggested.
A low growl escaped her. "Back on that again! That planet is uncharted. We do not even know if they, whoever they are, would grant us access to land. I can fix this… I just need more time."
Her clear annoyance made him smirk. "I thought you were supposed to be the calm one. The planet does not appear to be developed."
Taking to her feet, her hand snatched the tool from him. It was as if she could beat him over the head with it. "I already told you, do not presume to know me." The tool frantically waved in the air as she spoke. "That conference is supposed to start in two days. We cannot risk landing on some forsaken planet, and getting into some kind of trouble."
"I would not have to 'presume' to know you if you opened up a little. I think I could handle knowing you." He grasped the tool back from her grasp. After his knees buckled, he began to make the repair himself.
Her arms folded across her chest, and she let out a long sigh. "The last thing I need is your handling."
Her choice of phrase caused him to burst into laughter. "Choose your words wisely, Rey." He teased while closing the side panel. The lights flickered back on, making the ship temporarily functional. "The repair is only temporary. We still need to fix that leak before entering hyperspace." Upon standing, he moved closer to her. Tempting eyes looked over her face, and noticed her flushed cheeks. "I am glad I have the power to unsettle you. By the way, I think my handling is exactly what you need."
Just as she was about to snap a retort, the ship jerked forward. The sudden descent downward caused Rey to lose her footing. Consequently, her body crashed hard into his and knocked him off his feet.
Ben landed briskly against the nearby corridor with her on top of him. A soft moan trailed from his lips as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Are you alright?" Rey inquired with wide eyes.
Another grin pulled across those canny lips as he responded, "I am now. I must admit… I did not expect you to be so eager that you would jump me."
She snarled and pushed him away, which made his head collide with the hard steel wall again.
Worried eyes wondered about the space. "I have a bad feeling about this…" Just has she spoke, the Falcon took an even deeper plunge forward. They both tumbled down the floor of the hallway and landing against the wall outside of the cockpit.
Rey crawled over Ben to make her way through the doorway. Secretly, she was racing to beat him to her seat. With one wrong move, she stumbled and fell against the passenger's seat. Ben was right behind her. His arms cradled around her to hold her in place.
"Careful, sweetheart." his deep voice whispered.
Again, she pushed past him and finally landed in her seat. Her fingertips quickly flicked switches, pressed buttons, and grasped at the steering wheel. "Buckle up."
After clicking his seatbelt, his eyes wandered over to her. "Y-you buckle up... I thought you weren't landing the ship on that planet?!"
Her head shook frantically. "I wasn't… The planet is pulling us in!"
"Rey!" He unfastened himself and fought his way over to her. Hands swiftly fastened her seatbelt tight, while he shielded her with his body. Blasting through rows of tall trees, the Falcon crash landed into a shallow body of water.
Moments passed as they looked upon one another. Locked in the other's embrace, the silence was broken by laughter. Rey pressed her forehead against his.
"You're okay..." They expelled simultaneously.
"Best to survey the damage… But first, let us have a look around." He took to his feet and headed towards the door. "Aren't you coming?"
Rey was still struggling to undo her seatbelt. "Just a moment, it's stuck…"
Though he could have used his powers for such a simple task, he would rather take advantage of the opportunity to be close to her once more. Making his way back over, he took her hands into his. "Allow me."
"I don't need your help..." Her hands eased back and managed to undo the seatbelt herself. "Come on…"
The planet's heat was intense like Jakku. However, the climate was wet and sticky. The forest was full of lush greenery, and unique wildflowers of all colors. Enormous trees hovered over them, which helped shield them from the planet's sun. For a moment, Rey was taken back by the beauty. Feet carried her over to the patch of color, while his wistful eyes followed her every movement. Dazed by her pure curiosity, he stood back to see her pick one of the colorful blossoms.
Rey brought the luscious red bulb up to her nose to breathe in its' sweet aroma. Shock ran through her body, which forced her hand to release the scarlet bulb.
"Rey…?" He muttered out as he began to wander back over to her side. Just as her name rolled off his tongue, she collapsed into the greenery. Her fall was graceful and moved slowly through his eyes. Every detail of her descent was taken in by him. He noticed the way her robe's fabric flowed in harmony with her hair, the peaceful expression that washed over her face, and the lightness of her landing. Upon making it to her side, Ben lifted her head from the grass as he kneeled beside her. Among the flowers, she appeared as though she could sleep for one hundred years.
Those dazed eyes slowly opened, and Rey felt bewildered. "What happened?"
Ben's hand already grasped a hold of the same bloom. "This flower...I have read about these. I thought they were just in folktales. They are called truth blossoms… It is said that breathing in their pollen can cause minor side effects, such as fainting…"
Rising up, she rubbed her head. "Then why are they called truth blossoms?"
His eyes lit as a villainous grin pulled across his lips. "They also act as a truth serum. Of course, it is not a sound argument. We will have to test the theory."
Worry began to eat away at her belly, and she felt as though she should run away. "I would rather not..."
"Tell me something about my appearance…" Confidence bled through his pores, and he continued to smirk.
"You have unusually large ears." Just has words spilled, she gasped and placed her hand over her mouth.
Her truth was followed by his sigh. "It's working…" All his confidence had bled away. After standing, he peered down at her. "Need me to carry you?" He was only teasing, of course.
Still feeling the side effects of the truth blossom, Rey found that it was hard to stand. "Yes." Before the serum, Rey would have never admitted she needed his help.
For just a moment, he was frozen by her acceptance. "Oh…" After stripping off a layer of his robe, he stooped down and allowed her to crawl onto his back. Feeling her arms loosely tied around his neck was almost too much for him to handle.
Like a torpedo, Rey flung one of the truth blossoms towards his nose. She had hidden one in her pocket. The sudden threat of truth snapped him out of his trance. He grasped her wrist just in time. Using his free hand, he gripped the collar of her tunic and flung her over his head. Before hitting the ground, he caught her and eased her down. She laid pinned beneath him. "You tricked me!"
"It is only fair that we both succumb to the truth serum." she pleaded with him playfully.
"I don't need the aid of a plant to tell you the truth, Rey… How do I even know if it is really working? Tell me something true..." he glared down at her.
"I want you to kiss me..." bold words of confession escaped her.
Without hesitation, he eased forward to her lips. Just before they graced her own, Ben turned his cheek and whispered softly into her ear. "No." After freeing her, he made his way back onto his feet. "Now we are even." Again, he crouched for her to crawl onto his back.
They spent some time traveling through the tropical forest scouting out the area. Rey remained upon Ben's back through it all. At some point, their outing became a bit excessive. Darkness would soon fall, and it was nearing time to head back. Stopping by a tree, Ben looked up to the sky. Without any warning, a torrent of rain began to pour down on them. Swiftly, he lowered Rey from his back and nestled her between him and the tree's trunk. "Has the effect worn off any?"
Though he meant to shield her from the rain, it mattered not. Both were drenched in one another's sweat.
"Yes, it has for some time." Lips offered him a cunning smile to go along with her response.
At first, he took comfort in knowing that her strength had returned. That is until he realized she had once again outwitted him. "You mean to tell me that I carried you for nothing?" The palm of his hand slammed into the tree, while his eyes focused on her intently.
Rey looked over at his hand and followed the contour of his tightened muscular arm until she reached his face. "It's called payback. You made it too easy."
"Payback, for what? Not kissing you?" A twinge on his cheek forced his lips to curl into a devilish grin.
Thrown off by his blatant guess, she began to trip over her own words. "No, that's not what I meant…"
Ben had cornered her, and there was no escape. The rain washed over them, while they locked eyes.
"Fine, I will do it. I will kiss, right now." He moved forward and closed the small gap that was between them. Rough hands smoothed over her arms, while his body pressed against hers.
Rey had not expected this moment to come so soon. She knew what was in her heart, but tried to keep those feelings locked away. However, her body yearned for it, and what better place to accept it.
Once he noticed the seriousness in her eyes, he snickered lightly and pulled back.
Immediately, she gathered that he was toying with her again. Unable to control her fury, her arms shoved him away and she stormed off.
...
Darkness had long fallen, and Rey had yet to return. The planet's moons had risen high in the nighttime sky. The downpour of warm rain ceased.
Ben had chosen to give her some space and spent a few hours making repairs to the ship. Once he finished, he built a rather nice fire near an assortment of blankets and a pillow. The camp was meant as an unspoken apology. This way, Rey could sleep under the stars. Sitting back against a rock, anxious eyes looked about. Still, there was no sight of her.
"Damnit! She better be in trouble..." Clutching a fist, he stood and headed into the dark forest. He passed the tree from before, and could suddenly sense that she was not too far. Traveling through some shrubs, he found his way to an enormous rusted piece of technology. The machinery was unlike any he had ever seen.
"About time you got here, I was starting to get worried." Her voice came from above. With that said, Rey jumped down. A piece of scrap metal rested in her hand.
"Me?! You're the one who stormed off and disappeared..." He nearly fell over at her presumptuous remarks. "I could have used some help fixing the Falcon… what were you doing out here anyway? Don't tell me, you are reverting back to scavenging?" Words were carefully chosen to get under her skin, no doubt.
Not only did it get under her skin, but it made her blood boil.
Realizing what he had done, his eyes diverted away from her. His hand nervously smoothed through his hair before speaking again. "Just tell me what you were doing out here…"
His comment bruised her, and she feared he would always see her as a simple scavenger. Rey took a moment to find her center, to calm herself. "It is a piece of ancient technology. When I came upon it, I suspected that it was what drew our ship to this planet. Despite its rusty state, it was still active. To be so old, it is certainly a sophisticated piece of machinery with unusual magnetic properties. It must have been built as a weapon, to make ships crash. I managed to deactivate it's energy source. We should be able to take off now."
"You clever thing…" He mumbled to himself as his eyes admired her.
Rey was to distracted to notice the way he looked at her. "Do you feel that?" Body froze, while sharp eyes searched through the darkness.
Just then, the ground began to tremble. A horrible sound of trees cracking, in the distance, was accompanied by the loud crash of them falling down. Whatever was coming, it was huge and blocking their way back to the Falcon.
"Take my hand, I don't want to lose you." Ben reached out to her.
Without a second thought, she took his hand. The two ran up along side a river with a fierce current. With every passing moment, the creature got closer to closing in on them. Rey yanked Ben's arm and pulled him to a stop just before a tree fell nearly right on top of them. "We're trapped…"
Desperately, he searched for another way around. His attention kept being drawn to the river. Their eyes locked, and all was quiet for the moment.
Rey understood, and offered him a simple nod of approval.
Just then, he weaved his fingers with hers. "I won't let you go." With that said, he pulled her along into the raging river. The two had escaped the formidable foe for now.
Fighting through the current, Ben manager to keep Rey afloat. Despite being thrown and pulled under the water, his hand never lost hers. The river spat them out in the shallow pool of muddy water near the ship.
Both laid back in the mud trying to catch their breath. Rey turned her head to meet his glance. Looking down, she saw his hand still grasped hers. Ben had kept his word. A word she never doubted.
Leaning over, he placed a tender kiss upon her forehead.
Her bit of comfort was shaken by the beast's growl.
They made it aboard the Falcon just in time to blast away from the planet. Neither looked back.
Soon they arrived in a different star system and made it to their destined planet. Once they were granted clearance to land, Rey parked the Millennium Falcon among other freighters, cruisers, and vessels.
After entering a local inn, the two approached the inn manager while completely drenched in water, sweat, and mud. Among the elegant splendor, they seemed even more so out of place.
Despite the manager standing right before them, Ben rang the buzzer and cleared his throat. "We are in need of a room."