Chapter 37

Rey took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly after Finn left her in a guest room on the cruiser. She had endured what felt like hours of explanations on who the new Resistance members were and what stakes they had and so forth from Poe. Didn't he know that she couldn't process all that in a single go even on her best days? At least BB-8 had found them after a while.

Furthermore, Rey had forgotten how chatty her friends were. As much as she had missed them, they overwhelmed her. She was ready for quiet… and Ben.

Rey scanned her new bedroom briefly to ensure no one else was there. Thankfully, the room was simple enough that there was not much to check. Bed, small refresher, underbed storage, and a small desk and a chair-all anchored to the ship, as was standard on a cruiser that expected to see action.

Rey took in another deep breath. She sat down on the bed, reached for her bond to Ben, and tugged it gently to let him know she was ready to connect.

How long had it been since she had parted with him, after all? Rey wished she had some easy way of checking the standard cycle time. She lived by the rise and fall of the sun on both Jakku and Ahch-To, and the rest of the time she could easily check the time in the ship cabin, but here in this bedroom there was nothing.

The bond opened while Rey was examining the room. "Looking for something?" Ben asked.

"How do people normally track the standard cycle time when off-planet?" Rey asked.

Ben frowned at her. "The same way they do anywhere. A watch."

It was Rey's turn to frown. "What's a watch?"

Rey watched the subtle changes to Ben's face. The slight lift of the eyebrows, the smallest separation of his lips, and a small wrinkle in his forehead as he tried to restrain his still very obvious shock that she didn't know whatever a watch was. Her face burned in a mix of humiliation and frustration, even knowing that he would not hold it against her.

"Let me show you," Ben said, and he pulled up his sleeve to reveal a device strapped to his wrist. He took it off and handed it to her.

"I've seen these! Unkar Pouty always said they were worthless."

Ben shrugged. "Generally, they are. Would you like to keep it?"

Rey eyed the small mechanism. It had a small display with numbers and coordinates attached to a strap that adjusted for wrist size.

"Thank you," she said. She tried strapping it to her wrist and failed.

Ben took it gently from her and fastened it for her, then kissed her wrist above it. "So the Resistance got a new ship?"

"How did you know?" Rey asked. She had wanted to tell him, but wasn't sure how to bring it up. What would he think of everything?

Ben smirked and nodded at the bed behind her while holding her wrist gently. "You're in a bedroom with anchored furniture, so you're on a ship that's not the Falcon. A ship big enough to have guest bedrooms to spare, and since you were heading to join the Resistance, it's the logical conclusion."

Rey nodded. May as well break it to him. "Not just one new ship. They were joined by a fleet, and Poe hasn't convinced them to agree to peace terms with the First Order."

"A fleet?" Ben said, shaking his head with disbelief. "How? And how will we fix this?"

"Poe hopes that I can influence them as the jedi of the Resistance. I don't have experience with that kind of thing, but I have to try. What else can we do?"

Ben gazed at Rey. "I know that look. They cornered you and overwhelmed you, didn't they? I'm sorry, Rey. You shouldn't have to go through that."

Rey glared at him. "What else can I do? I can't give up."

"No, you can't. I just don't want you to become a pawn in this, Rey. You mean everything to me." Ben crushed her in a hug. "Don't let them make you into something you're not.

Rey wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his back, recognizing he was scared for her. "I won't, Ben. I won't let them change me. Do you want to talk to Poe directly? I'm sure he would want to. He had a lot of questions for me about everything."

"I think that would be a good idea. Is he still the official leader?"

Rey shrugged. "As far as I know. He has less power because he did not provide the fleet, but he's still calling the shots from what I can tell."

Ben sighed. "That's a relief. What of Finn and Rose? Is Rose's ankle healed up?"

"Not quite." Rey shook her head and smiled. "You should have seen Finn fuss over her. He really likes her. I'm happy for them."

Ben smiled at that too, and he gazed at her. "No chance we can just fly off and leave everything behind, is there?" he asked her.

"Not while there's hope for reconciliation, Ben."

A knock came on the door, and Rey reached out with the force to identify it. "Poe is here, alone. I'll let him in."

Rey opened the door with the force and watched Poe enter the room. She and Ben weren't currently touching, but she could see Ben following her gaze anyway.

"Hey Rey, just realized you probably don't know when mealtimes are around here, so I thought I would drop off a schedule. I meant to send Finn, but he disappeared. Probably somewhere with Rose. I can't find her either." He gave the pamphlet to her, and Rey made sure to avoid physical contact with Poe in taking it..

"Ben's here," Rey said. She watched Poe freeze. "He wants to speak with you."

Poe slowly straightened up. "The bond thing, right? I had nearly forgotten you two could do that." He scratched his head. "I wanted to speak to him too, and I do have a few minutes, so sure, why not?"

Rey glanced at Ben and offered her hand. He took it, and Poe gasped as he became able to see Ben.

"Even knowing what to expect, that is freaky watching you just phase in," Poe said. "Is that your room I'm seeing? Is that Growlie?"

Ben offered a slight smile. "It's good to see you, Poe."

"Likewise, Ben. Oh, am I still supposed to call you that? Do you prefer… um… It would be weird to call you Supreme Leader, considering."

"Ben is fine," Ben said. "I wish to congratulate you on your new forces, and also to discuss their impact on the peace treaty we had been working toward."

Poe frowned. "Thank you, and I'm concerned. If your mother were still here, I'm sure she would have gotten them to agree to peace, but they don't know me as well. They do all know of Rey though. She's a hero."

Ben frowned. "So I hear. Were you the one who decided to dangle her in front of them and hope they bite? Will you be putting her in fancy clothes and doing her hair and makeup too, Poe?"

"Hey, it's not like that. They don't trust me. They don't trust Finn or Rose. We're all young upstarts… and yes, Rey is too, but what they know of her is legendary. They see her as the next step to Skywalker's legacy. I mean, she did convince him to train her, and then she convinced him to return to battle, and while we may know it's not true, she is the rumored slayer of Snoke. Her word carries weight that mine doesn't," Poe explained.

"That doesn't give you the right to force her to-"

"Ben, he's not forcing me to do anything," Rey interjected. "And who knows? Maybe I would enjoy those things, Ben. I've never even tried them before. Would you object if I wanted to be pretty for myself?"

"Of course not, Rey," Ben said. "I just want to make sure they don't try to mold you into something you're not."

Poe shook his head vigorously. "Look, being perfectly honest, I considered it, but I checked with her and Finn, and Finn reminded me that Rey is extraordinary as herself. However she looks and acts, it will be her decision. She won't go through what you went through, Ben. That's what this is about, right? About how your parents initially tried to make you into some poster child for the Resistance?"

Rey looked sharply at Ben, and he squeezed her fingers as he glared at Poe.

"Don't hurt her," Ben said.

"I won't. How could I? I'm a decent shot, I suppose, but she has the force."

"I know she can fight well. You don't get it. She cares about you and your friends. I'm saying don't pressure her. Don't let her down. Don't ruin the part of her that believes in people."

Rey hugged Ben. "I'll be fine. Trust me. Even if he lets me down I'll be fine. I've got you." Rey tugged the hand closer to her and leaned into Ben's chest.

"And that's my cue to leave," Poe said. "Ben, anytime you need to chat, just let Rey know."

Poe stepped out, and Rey and Ben stared at each other. "I would like to make sure our beds line up again," Ben said.

Rey gazed at them. "You do?"

Ben kissed the top of her head, her forehead, the tip of her nose, and then her lips. "Yes, I do."


Life happened and I burned out for a week there. Sorry, guys. I'm back. I also ended up starting another reylo fic called Premonition to help me work out the emotions I was dealing with. it's rated T and will be a mix of dark humor as Kylo deals with the absurdity of being undercover in the Resistance and then angst dealing with Rey. Here, a description:

Kylo Ren keeps having visions of Rey dying. He's still mad she left him, but he decides to go undercover to prevent the vision from happening. However, he isn't fooling Rey or Leia one bit with his act.

Anyway, it's there if you want to try something new from me.

And please review. Your feedback means a lot, and thanks so much for the praise on how well I'm doing Finn's character. I'm working with the same material y'all have access to, so the praise means a lot.