BANG

BANG

BANG

He jerked awake rising from the pilot chair he had fallen asleep on and instinctively reached for his lightsaber on the right side of his waist, he unclipped it then hesitated to activate it when he sighed in defeat when he realized who had woken him from his sleep.

He groaned as the throbbing of his headache came back in full force to the point where the light that was streaming in was making the pain worst. He cradled his head and very slowly made his way to the ships mainframe to release the ramp for Rey to enter his transport.

There was a hiss and groan from the ramp as it descended towards. Ben didn't want to deal with Rey right now but this was a small island and there were so many places where he could hide without her finding him quite easily. He groaned as he massaged his temples, eyes closed hoping it would release some of the tension he sat down on the chair he had fallen asleep on.

"It doesn't get better."

Ben didn't hear her enter the ship but he knew exactly how she looked if he were to glance at her right now.

"You know you can stop this horrid headache if you please, open up the bond," she pleaded

Ben slowly raised his head, straightening out his posture and addressed his waker. Her face was pinched, she squinted as she kept her distance she didn't seem to notice that she kept rubbing her temple. She was clearly as much pain and discomfort that he had, he tried to ignore the stab of guilt he felt in his stomach.

"No," he knew he might've been causing her physical discomfort but he wasn't ready to give so much of himself nor have the decision be made for him.

Rey took a step towards him closing her eyes for a few moments, her eyebrows frowning.

"Look Ben, I get why you're doing this, I really do, but don't you think there's better…less painful ways of dealing with this?" she asked, eyebrows crinkled as she struggled to focus through the throbbing in her head.

This conversation was making his own head throb alongside with the side effect of closing the bond. He really didn't think there would be side effects to his decision but maybe there was another way? Rey looked like she might've come up with a plan

"I take it you have an idea as to how to handle this?" he pinched the bridge of his nose as he watched Rey nod.

"The Masters have emphasized that the bond works best when you and I are honest with each other and open up and all…"—she takes a deep breath—"what if you just tell me little things about yourself that I wouldn't know. That way the force cant interfere and when you decide, you can share bigger things with me. It'll be your choice as to what you share and maybe that way the force won't interfere?" she finished, watching him carefully her brow raised questioningly.

It was a good idea in theory. If the force needed them to be in harmony and be equals he could start small. He could tell Rey some things…maybe not the heavy stuff right away and maybe this could even out the playing field. He chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully while still massaging his temples.

"I'll start! I can tell you my favorite color! Now that I've left Jakku and seen more colors and been in different planets I can finally say I have a favorite color," volunteered Rey, her gaze on him.

Ben raised his brow curiously

"Green," she announced, there was a pink flush around her cheeks as she looked away from him.

"Good color," it made sense that she would find that color appealing. She came from a desert planet that didn't have a lot of a landscape.

He didn't really have a favorite color to offer. He liked a wide variety of color for different reasons. Black, red, blue and yes, green as well, it reminded him of the rolling hills of his home planet of Chandrila.

" I don't have a favorite color. I like a lot of colors for different reasons." he shrugged

She nodded in understanding, "So? will you please lower down your defenses with the bond?" she asked, tone pleading.

Ben considered her, she was clearly trying to compromise and was even to come up with an alternative plan. Ben didn't want to get too ahead of himself in hoping that she wanted to get to know him, intimately, but just wanted her headache to cease. He took a deep breath and considered his options. He wasn't particularly happy to deal with the headache, it hurt really bad and the light sensitivity would probably force him to stay in the shadows. No, there was no more hiding, he was going to stand up for himself and accept Rey's proposition. It couldn't hurt to try.

He closed his eyes reached out to the wall he had implanted on the bond and with an immense amount of effort he managed to tear the wall down.

The relief was almost immediate.

The throbbing was gone and immediately he was able to sense her more intimately. The most prominent feeling was the one of relief and hope that flowed easily between them. He looked up at her; she was wearing a bright smile, her dimples flashing at him happily.

"Oh, this feels nice. Please don't do that again," she asked as she walked closer to him her face looking a lot more relaxed

"I cant promise anything but I'll give your idea a shot," he admitted, stretching out his legs before him.

Rey nodded, eyes thoughtful "you should probably share something about yourself so we can be even," she suggested

Ben looked at her curiously. What could he share that will give her insight to himself that didn't reveal too much or opened up other topics of discussion that could quickly go south…

"R2 D2 is the most foul mouthed droid I've ever met, he's a downright menace," he volunteered, he knew that technically this wasn't a fact about himself but she knew of the droid so she could probably identify with this small anecdote.

Rey giggled which in turn made Ben smirk.

Rey peeled herself off from the wall she was leaning at and looked to the ramp of the ship and then looked back at him.

"I'm going back to the hut to clean up. Haven't been there since yesterday!" she explained turning her body towards the ramp.

This piece of information made Ben frown, "Where did you sleep?"

"I uhh…up in the Jedi temple. I didn't have it in me to walk back to the hut with that headache," she answered carefully, looking away.

The pang of guilt came back

"Rey? Can we meet in the huts at noon? I definitely owe you a meal," he offered. He knew that Rey wouldn't hold a grudge for his behavior but the guilt was making him really uneasy.

"Seriously? You can cook?" she asked, looking curious and surprised

Ben smirked, "I know a few things but I will say it'll have to contain fish since that really is all this island can provide," he clarified.

Rey nodded, "Okay! I'll see you at noon," she gave him a small smile and walked down the ramp leading back to the island.

Rey knew she shouldn't be doing this, she knew she shouldn't…

But…

She didn't know if this qualified as 'abusing' the connection she shared with Ben but she was so curious to see what he was making for lunch. The intrigue was too much and she couldn't resist taking a peek. She knew she didn't have to wait for too long since it was almost time to meet up with him by the clearing at the huts which she had avoided to not blatantly peek but she just wanted to see what he was doing…

She felt his force signature getting closer as she got closer to shore. She looked around and realized she was near the caretakers lodgings. She couldn't see him or anyone for that matter, this was odd since Ben was such a tall figure she thought it would be easier to spot him. She walked towards the shade of a nearby tree and knelt one hand planted on the hearth as she closed her eyes trying to locate his force signature. She didn't dare to reach the bond since what happened the day prior.

She felt him nearby so he was definitely within proximity, curious. She looked up at the tree that was shading her and scrutinized how tall it was she grabbed one of the lower branches and tugged it testing its strength. She jumped up reaching the lower branches and heaved herself up using her upper body strength her feet finding it's footing as she climbed the tree a little more until she was high enough. Once she reached about mid way of the tree she sat down on a thick branch, her legs dangling.

She looked around now in this higher display of the island, and still nothing. She frowned, nibbling on her lower lip thoughtfully. This was her first time tracking someone by using their force signature and she was pretty sure she could identify Bens' signature anywhere and anytime so the fact that she couldn't see him made her slightly worry. Surely if something had happened she would've felt it, right?

She looked in front of her at the vast ocean with soft waves splashing the rocky shore. Today was probably one of the nicest days she's seen here on the island since she first visited where there was only plenty of rain. She inhaled the smell of the ocean breeze, the warmth of the sun and the scent of the tree she was sitting on. She wanted to commit it to memory, this island has quickly become a sort of sanctuary for her since she first arrived here in search of Luke. Now she was here with Ben and working towards understanding their bond, she definitely understood it tons better but didn't really understand why it was targeting Ben. Surely she had her own secrets of her own that maybe she could share with Ben? She dug into her own memories as far back as she could recall, the only thing she could think of was the difficult times she endured while on Jakku.

Ben already knew her deep secret. The fact that she had buried deeply the fact that she was abandoned by her parents who were now dead somewhere in the Jakku desert. Rey still didn't know how long he's known, did he find out the only time he invaded her mind? Was it something that was shown to him when they first touched hands in this very same island? No, definitely not the last one, he was firm in telling her that he saw her joining him…

If Ben had known this since back in Starkiller Base she wondered why is it that he didn't tell her right away? That definitely would've shattered any defenses she had up at that time and he would've been able to take whatever he wanted, including the location of Luke and maybe even her…yet he didn't. No matter how many things he's heard of Ben and from him she still considered him to be an enigma. She definitely was aware that he had an incredible difficult childhood. Especially with him being so strong with the force, being incredibly sensitive, and his parents not always being…sensible when it came to regards their own gifted child.

She looked up towards the bright blue sky noting how there wasn't any threatening dark clouds within the horizon. She thought this to be a good omen for an excellent day they were going to have. Heavens know they've had a few difficult days and Rey knew they probably were to have plenty more in the near future. She sighed heavily at the idea of Ben interacting with the force ghosts again. She understood the bitterness he held for Anakin and Luke she caught on pretty quickly that he still held resentment towards them. He seemed to be getting along better with Anakin before his argument with him yesterday. She didn't catch the whole of their conversation but it appears that Ben had tried to reach out to Anakin and was now suspicious as to why now he was willing to help him and not when he was under the heavy influence of Snoke. Rey didn't understand the logistics of when and where the force ghost could appear to others so to Rey Ben's question was valid. What she didn't understand was why Ben was so snarky about Master Kenobi. Ben didn't tell her why he was so passive aggressive towards him. He had teased that he wasn't related to Master Yoda but didn't say if he was related to Master Kenobi, maybe he is? Kriff, how many family names did he have? There was Solo, Skywalker and she assumed Organa as well? Was Kenobi another one on the list? She figured she could always ask him.

There was a movement that caught he peripheral vision and flicked her gaze towards the tall figure walking up from the shore…

He was toweling his hair with a black towel as he climbed up the small hill towards the tree where she was currently sitting at blatantly staring at this version of Ben she's never seen.

She had seen him shirtless in one of their force vision but that was nothing in comparison.

He was very long, with strong legs by the look of them. He was wearing tight black pants the material resembled rubber and it hugged his hips in a flattering matter that exposed the full length of his torso. He had a trail of fine hair that stopped at his naval and around that area she could see plenty of different scars that he had. She could clearly see the jagged round scar where Chewbacca had shot him her gaze flickered upwards looking for the scars she gave him, the one on his right shoulder where she could see his shoulder muscles flex as he moved his body to dry himself.

She watched him towel himself dry and the only thing she could think was how attractive he was. His alabaster skin sparkled with drops of the ocean and glinted with the touch of the sun. His face was relaxed as he looked for a patch of grass to sit down. Rey followed him with her gaze as he placed his towel down next to him as he pushed back his raven hair away from his face the ends of his hair curling slightly around his forehead and neck.

Rey felt her heart rate accelerate as Ben spread out his body on the grass looking completely relaxed, his regal profile and his pouty lips were going to be the end of her…

He was so painfully handsome

He was gorgeous

She wanted him…

That last thought completely startled her, she felt her face redden and squeezed her legs together to ease the tension that was forming down there…

He had his eyes closed and a slight smirk playing around his luscious lips…

Rey closed her eyes and forced here to relax. The effect that he had over her was surprising her it was as if her own body was responding to just seeing his she wanted nothing more but to touch him and help him change into dryer clothes…

Rey shook her heard firmly,

Kriff! Get it together ! She will not be controlled by her raging hormones!

"Rey, can you not think so loudly?"

Rey stilled as she realized that Ben was speaking to her through the bond. She opened her eyes to see Ben standing up, a wide smile on his face as he picked up his towel from the ground. He looked up where she was sitting and raised a teasing eyebrow, smirk still in place.

"See you in an hour," he chuckled at her startled expression and walked away from her.

Oh crap…

AUTHORS NOTE: Thank you for the love and support you guys show for this little story of mine. Hopefully you guys enjoy this nice mellow chapter because the next chapter...IMMA BLOW SHIT UP... It's time to move the plot along and these kids gotta face the music. Next update should happen next weekend. Please feel free to leave a message ! Thanks for all of the subscriptions!