(Note: I know right now my two major stories seem to share a similar taste. But they'll quickly turn away from each other)
Rey made herself thin, sending herself to hide in the kitchen, Luke had come through so early she hadn't seen him. She felt like she shouldn't be around to cloud the ship with a shadow of herself. She was feeling frazzled and emotional, Ben slept late, she had spent the night next to him. His heavy arm hanging over her middle, his legs tangled up in hers, his breath hot and wet on the back of her neck. She had untangled herself from him early on, leaving the heat of his body for hiding in the kitchen. She hadn't wanted to shut herself into her room, since she hadn't slept there and it wasn't really her room.
Rey swiveled on the bar stool shoved near the corner of the room, she didn't know what to do with herself when she felt decently normal, when she had that cloud of darkness haunting her she could just stare off into nothing. Almost able to taste the taste of the cloud hovering around her. When it was gone her mind felt like slow. Less faded. In her mind she pictured the dark circles the cloud gave her, sucking her life right out of the air. How could the darkside ever give anyone power when it felt like a leech eating the soul.
Musing to herself, so deep in her personal thoughts of a large leech shaped black cloud attached to her back that she didn't even hear the door open. Luke came storming in, a sour mood hanging in the air. His voice barking out an order from the door is what broke her attention from herself. She almost felt selfish for thinking of herself.
"There's a bit of an issue. Get Ben up and get in the cockpit." His voice rough like sandpaper. Had he even gotten sleep last night? Rey's eyes dancing over his drawn and tired face. Looking as if he aged overnight. She hopped off of her perch and jogged out of the room hot on Luke's heels. He went straight to the cockpit while she made a turn into Ben's room. He was still laying on the bed, his hand sitting her where body had been the night before. He glanced over to the door when she came in, his eyes dark and empty looking, Ben sat up without so much a word. Following her out of the room and into the cockpit where the three of them were jammed up front. Bens tall form having to hunch his head so he didn't smash his head against the low top.
Ben's eyes meet Rey's in silent question, the bond fizzing from the closeness of the other. Rey's own questions were loud and clear without even a word. They both turned their attention to Luke, who just stared ahead, pretending he couldn't see their faces reflected in the glass in front of them.
"The ship passed through a meteorite shower that I wasn't aware was passing through. And received some damage to the outside, puncturing the fuel tank and damaging the cloaking shield that some rich snob installed so people couldn't rob them. Now we are detectable by whatever's left of the first order."
Luke was listing through problems that Rey wasn't sure they could even deal with. Not unless they landed, depending on where they are in the galaxy, they're either fucked or saved.
"Where are we?" Rey was the one to ask, Luke made a sour expression that could either mean no where near a living soul or in one of the shadier systems.
"Near a black market outpost. Similar to the outpost Han had picked my ass up so many years ago." Rey's eyes shot over to Ben's, his face didn't change at the mention of his father. If he still hated him or if he still grieved him she'd never be able to tell. He even was holding his emotions close to his breast pocket. His deck of emotions were less like a game of poker and more like a game of Life and death. the backside being pasted with the darkside.
"We'll find the stuff we're looking for… but it won't be cheap or easy, we don't have a lot of money to work with and the gambling is set up to bankrupt you. Not line your pockets with gold."
If she hadn't been so busy staring at ben she would of realized that the ship had left hyperdrive awhile ago, the ship was lazing near the planet Rey assumed was the one that was a trading outpost. Black market outpost.
"We'll be sitting ducks in this thing. It practically has a neon sign above it saying 'scrap me'." Ben's voice quiet, not that he needed to speak much louder, his whole presence drew attention to him. People would fall over themselves to hear him speak, he commanded it by just the look on his face. Rey bit her lip, worrying over his sudden dark demeanor.
"We won't have an issue with that, we're going to sell this ship for scrap, attempt to get enough money to get a new ship and continue on my mission."
"Yeah.. speaking of.. are we really doing this for a booty call or?" Ben's hand rested on the high back of the chair, Luke's face turned a shade of red that was either embarrassment or rage. Rey wasn't exactly sure why. It didn't seem to mean anything to her.
"What's a booty call?" Rey asked, looking between Luke and Ben, Luke's face got even redder as he clenched the hand controls of ship so tightly his knuckles turned white. Ben huffed out a soft chuckle before it turned into a full blown laugh. Rey hasn't heard him laugh with such a sense of snark before. Luke's attempt at explaining was just a bunch of stammered words that ended with him huffing. Turning to bark at Ben whose still half bent over the console next to them, holding his ribs tightly, and his face a shade of red.
"You don't know what a booty call is? Oh my sweet Rey." Ben said, choking out the words before laughing again, his laugh dying out as he reached out to touch her check. Her eyes wide with confusion.
"It's a term for when someone contacts or gets back in contact with a person just for sex. Oh Rey please stay innocent forever." she took a deep breath, not meaning to hold it as her face turned a dark red that had some purple mixed in. Ben started chuckling again watching her embarrassment get written all over her face. Ben rubbed at his eye, his face still a light red from all the laughing.
Rey looking close to getting sick right then and there. "I really hope we're not helping you find my mother. To have sex." Rey's voice sounding rough, she finally left out that puff of air she was holding for so long.
"My sex life is none of y'all twos concern!" Luke yelled, he turned around in his chair, his face a shade of red that shouldn't be possible. "I won't discuss that anymore with y'all!" Ben lost it again, leaning heavily on Rey as he starting laughing again. Nothing was funner than embarrassing someone.
"Okay.. okay I'm done with this I promise." Ben said, holding his hand up, open palm out as he wiped away a legitimate tear leaving his eye. Rey watched Ben's reaction, Luke grumbled to himself about immature children and how they should act better. He wasn't their babysitter and they needed to be the adults they were. Ben still had a soft smile on his face, occasionally catching Luke's eye and winking. Luke's face was drawn in a frown, showing that Ben was getting under his skin,
"Get out of here, go get your shit!" Ben stuck his tongue out at Luke before turning around and leaving the cockpit, Rey followed on his heels. Feeling like a lost puppy, but her personal belongings was a single backpack in the other room.
"Do you really think we're on a 'booty call'?" she asked, doing air quotes around that word, she pronounced it so oddly, like it was a foreign language she hasn't learned yet. She stood in the frame of Ben's door, blocking the sliding door from closing. Ben looked up from his stuff on his bed with a bewildered look.
"Do you honestly think that? It's called a joke sweetie." Rey huffed up, the condescending tone he took ruffled her feathers. She turned on her heel and stomped out of the room; she knew she was acting like a child, but he didn't get to talk to her like that. Ben watched her back go down the hall and into another room, the sliding door shutting with a thump, and he went to sit at the large table next to the viewing window. Waiting for Luke to set the ship down so they could sell this overly padded ship and get something faster. Get this trip over sooner than later; but he wasn't sure how long it'd take them to get the rest of the money it'd take them to get a new ship. Three force sensitives could cheat in chance games very easily; but it's easy to get caught and killed at black market games.
People tended to get crossed more easily, quicker to anger, quick to fight. Ben noted he'd have to keep an eye on Rey too, he pulled out his personal hooded cloak, the one he wore with his Kylo Ren get up. She's small and pretty and someone would take a chance to steal her away and sell her on the slave market. Pretty thing like her would fetch for a lot of money on an ugly planet. Rey joined him at the table, she dropped her bag on the table, and slumped heavily into the chair next to him. She held her face in her hand, staring at him blankly. Her mind a million miles away from where they were sitting at this table, slowing descending into the port city below them.
"Hey Rey." she didn't respond, so he snapped his fingers in front of her face. It jolted her back to the time in front of them.
"Huh? Is it time to leave?" She asked, looking around, out the window in front of them. They hand;t landed yet, but they were getting close. The ship auto darkened the windows as the ship went into automated landing procedure.
"Almost. I want you to have this cloak. Wear it with the hood up. It'll be long on you, but i can cut that off right before we depart the ship." Ben held the long black cloak out in front of her, she gently held it, looking at it with surprised eyes. It was heavy and warm looking without being too heavy or too bulky. It was designed for Kylo Ren, but he was just a character Ben played to survive the dark side. He thought about leaving him in the past, but he wasn't always so bad; just as being Ben wasn't the worst as it once had been, but now that name also didn't fit who he had become in the last couple of months. Rey's eyes had a shiny look to them, Ben leaned forward, worry written all over his face.
"What's wrong Rey?" she clutched it tighter in her hands, and bowed her head.
"I can have this? Forever?" his worry was quickly replaced with surprise and confusion. Not sure what that had to do with her reaction to holding it. He was worried she had some kind of force vision.
"Yes? I don't have any emotional attachment to it, and i feel like it'd fit you better anyway." she quickly looked up into his eyes, a smile on her face. He was sure his confusion was plastered all over his face, he had never been good at hiding his emotions.
"I've never been given a gift. Just people pushing things into my hands, saying change into this, or this is something you'll need. But never a 'Rey i want you to have this.' and this belonged to you. So it's something of yours your giving me." her voice was soft, he had to lean forward to hear her, her smile was one of bittersweet emotions. Happy to be given something, sad to have never received before. Ben couldn't resist, he put his hand on her leg, she brought her eyes up to his. He had a soft frown on his face.
"What did that planet do to you? What kind of loneliness did you live with?" Ben asked, not much above a whisper; Rey leaned forward from her seat, their faces inches from each others.
"The same kind you lived with."
The moment was broken, when a throat cleared off behind them, making them jump backwards in their seats. Ben coughed into his hand, trying to hide the embarrassment on his face. Rey had a horrified look on her face, looking down at the cloak again before standing and swinging it around her shoulders. The cloak hung all the way down to the ground, dragging behind her a good five or six inches behind her. Luke watched as Ben knelt down to the ground, grabbed a handful of the dragging cloak; pulled out a knife and started sawing at the fabric. The serrated edges on the knife's back edge was enough to easily cut through the fabric. It left it a jagged line but it was no longer dragging behind poor Rey. All it'd take is for one person to step on it and cause her to trip.
Ben stood up, sliding the knife back into its hiding place behind his back; his bag hanging from his shoulder. Rey followed suit, picking up her bag and holding it in her hands. They both stared at Luke waiting for the reason he had cleared his throat and startled them.
"I've made a deal with the owner of this glorified parking lot to trade our ship for 3/4ths of the worth of another ship he owns. It's all in working order, much faster and has a protective shield around it as well. So we'll be staying off of others tracking radars." Luke stared at them dully, like they were children getting caught doing something they shouldn't be doing.
"Well, how do we get the rest of the money for the other 4th of this new ship?" Rey asked from deep within the cloak hiding all of her from view.
"We play some games, well enough to win but not get caught of course." Luke said, a large grin cracking across his face. He swept his hand out widely towards the door that'd lead them out to the 'glorified parking lot' and towards the black market casino.
"And… if we get caught?" her concern was evident in the pitch of her voice, which had gone up an octave or two.
"We cut our way out and steal the ship of course." was Ben's response, shrugging as he walked around Rey and past where Luke was standing. Luke's grin dropped to a sour expression.
"We don't just kill whoever gets in our way Ben." the pressure on his name. "Plus, the parking lot owner wants us to give the casino owner a run for his money, clear him out, ruin his name. Some kind of rivalry." Luke continued with a shrug, following after Ben, Rey coming up hot on his heels. Not wanting to get left behind.
"Oh, yeah, ya know. All the easy things to do in life. Without getting caught. Oh silly me." throwing his hands up in the most exaggerated shrug Rey's ever seen someone do. Ben sure does have a snarky attitude, Rey noted to herself, as they walked away from the ship and through narrow streets. Full of people, from all kinds of different planets. Wearing all kinds of their native clothing. The temperature in the air wasn't too hot, or too cold, it almost felt regulated to Rey.
Her nerves were on edge as they were half shoving their way through the crowds. Rey struggling to keep up with Ben and Luke, the bond was buzzing in her ears. As the sea of people got tighter, she could only see Ben's black hair poking out above everyone else's. Someone grabbed her wrist as she had turned sideways to squeeze between two people in front of her. She swung her head around, ready to start swinging. Her heart beat jumping; but who she saw was a small child. She was young, brown dirty hair, dirt on her face; large bright blue eyes that almost glowed. Rey stopped and turned to face the child holding her hand.
"Yes little one? How can i help you?" Rey knelt down to look at the child's eye, she grinned a large smile just in time for a large dirty man's hands to grab Rey by the shoulders. He had claws for fingernails, Rey twisted her wrist away from the child who took off running. The grip on her shoulders tightened until his nails were digging into her skin through the cloak and her clothes. She could feel Ben's panic through the bond, could feel him running towards her, shoving people out of the way. His tall form rushing towards people making them move pretty quickly. Before Rey had even gotten to her feet, he had reached them.
Ben force shoved the man holding onto Rey's shoulder so hard, the man was so shocked that he dug his nails in as strong as he could, the sharp claws piercing deeply into her skin between her shoulder and collarbone. The pain made dark spots appear in her vision. As he was shoved away one of his claws tore through, leaving a line deep cut along her collarbone. Another one of the claws just snap right off, left embedded in her flesh. His claws had torn the fabric from shoulder to shoulder, the cloak and her shirt torn, leaving a large hanging tattered window to show off the blood running down her front.
Rey cursed loudly, shoving her hands against the large gash and the puncture wound. She knelt heavily on her left knee, Ben was busy throwing punches with the guy who put his hands on her. The crowd was forming around them in response to the noise, Luke came shoving through the crowd, seeing Rey kneeling on the ground with blood dripping between her fingers.
He rushed past Rey, grabbing Ben by the back of his shirt as, Ben was too busy smashing his fist into that man's face over and over to care. Rey glanced at her hands, around all the blood coming from her chest there were sores forming on her knuckles as she watched Luke yanking Ben off of the man. His punches landing with a wet smack; his back muscles showing through his shirt with every draw back before the next swing. Luke finally managed to drag Ben's form off of the downed man, once he was pulled off of him. She could see his smashed up bloody face, she couldn't tell what kind of man he was before his face was destroyed. Ben gave him a swift kick to the stomach, he grumbled from the contact. He was still alive; he wouldn't of been if Luke hadn't dragged Ben off of him. Rey noted, Ben's hair clung to his face from blood splattering and from sweat. The front of his shirt was turning a darker damp look as the blood flowing from his mirrored wounds.
Ben rushed over to where Rey knelt, blood dripping on the ground as he knelt in front of her, he touched her face, his full of concern.
"Do you need help standing?" she shook her head, she wasn't totally useless, she had almost killed him in the forest before their bond clicked into place. Rey pushed up off the ground, the struggle to get her legs under her to hold her up was a lot harder than anticipated. He held her elbow and helped her to her feet; the crowd starting to lose interest now that he wasn't pummeling the shit out of the other guy. Ben helped glide Rey in the direction they were originally going, people standing out of the way as they passed. She still held the chunk of clothing that had been torn almost completely off to her chest, at one point she dropped her arm. Rey's arms were starting to feel like jelly but there was so much blood she didn't have to hold the shirt up anymore, the blood was keeping it stuck to her skin.
They went straight past where the underground casino was, a couple of blocks past it and up the stairs of this rough looking building. Rey was just blindly following behind Luke, mostly in her head as her thoughts were starting to get fuzzy. The bleeding still wasn't stopping, it was slowing, bubbling up and out of the cuts across her chest. She vaguely felt Ben's hand still steady underneath her elbow as he continued to pull her in the right direction. She was starting to feel like a ragdoll being dragged behind on a set of wheels that caught every crack in the stone under her feet. Her feet were starting to drag as Ben slowly helped her up those steps Luke had just climbed. It wasn't many, only a handful, but with almost her whole front being soaked through with her own blood she was beginning to slow.
With Ben's help she made it to the top of the stairs where Luke was holding the door open for the two of them, they walked in before him. They were inside some kind of inn from the looks of the meeting room, there were large tables where men were gathered around playing card games with money laying on the table. Another table a group of men were playing dice, at their bloody entrance the room quieted and the trio were greeted with dirty looks and disdain. The employee comes sliding into the room, a teenager, younger than both Rey and Ben, his face full of surprise.
"Your dripping blood on my floor." he pointed to Rey's feet, blood was indeed dripping on the wood floor.
"Damn son, i'll mop it myself if we can get set up with a room so i can stitch her up and then myself." Ben's voice had that tone of command to be followed, his time as Kylo Ren clear in the way he spoke. Even with his long shaggy hair and blood dripping down the front of his shirt, no one would tell him no. Lukes eyebrow popped up in a curious interest to his commander voice. The teenager shut his mouth and nodded, handing Ben a key to a room as he guided Rey up the stairs. Luke hung behind to pay for the room and whatever medical supplies he could get his hands on.
"I'll bring up a med kit for you guys, try to not get blood on the sheets, it's expensive to clean out." the teenager pleaded with Luke, he had soft brown eyes and a mole on his cheek.
"If we get blood on anything, i'll pay for it out of pocket. Don't worry son." Luke followed the pair upstairs, even not knowing the room number he just followed the blood drips on the floor. The silence in the downstairs area broke as conversation and yelling picked back up. They were outsiders even to this place and everyone knew it. The upstairs was mostly empty, it seems they didn't have many guests, those men downstairs must be locals that enjoy a place to hangout, drink and play cards.
Ben was struggling to pull the blood soaked shirt off of Rey without hurting her, the cloak sat in a wet heap on the floor, Rey staring at it with a dull look in her eyes. Rey flinched as Ben pulled her arm out of the last part of the floor, tossing that onto the floor as well. She had lost a surprising amount of blood in the time it took them to get to the inn. Her crop undershirt was drenched in blood, but Ben didn't even entertain the idea of taking that off of her. That'd be passing through too many lines.
"The boy is bringing a med kit up in a few minutes. Try and clean it the best you can while you wait for him. I'm going to be hitting the casino to try and make some money tonight. I'll be less obvious by myself as well." Luke gave them a quick glance over, looking at the clothes on the floor again before looking at the large wounds on Rey. that man's claws had done so much more damage than he would of thought possible.
"Take care of Rey, i'll leave some money with you so you can go to the market and buy her some new clothes. Those should be burned." He left, closing the door behind him. Rey barely noticed him leave, or barely cared. She stood there numbly, her arms hanging limply at her sides. Ben pulled up the stool in the corner of the room and placed it in front of her, he quickly ran out of the room down to the washrooms at the end of the hall. As he was coming back he saw the teenager coming up the stairs with a box in his hands. Ben waved him over and walked into the room. Rey hadn't moved from the spot he left her. He couldn't hardly feel her mind in the bond. Her thoughts fluttering like a hundred butterflies. Not a single solid thought, but a bunch of vague loose ones.
"Put the box on the stool, thanks kid." He said, as he made Rey sit down on the edge of the bed, he knelt in front of her as he took the water damp towel to her injuries. His stinging lightly from the contact, Ben had done his best to ignore his pain during the short walk over to where they were. But as he was dabbing at the injury the pain in his wound was starting to flair. Or maybe he was feeling Rey's pain through his own skin. The bond still confused and filled him with wonder at the kind of connection they have. The young man was hanging at the door frame, staring at the gash across her chest. A deep puncture above her collarbone on the each side above the gash. Ben dug through the box and pulled out a needle and thread. He peaked over his shoulder and saw the kid still standing there.
"Hey kid, hand my that candle will ya?" the room had over head lights, but the candles were for either decoration or for when they overhead lights were turned off.
He nodded and brought the candle over, Ben heated up the needle over the flame to sterilize it. The large gash across her upper chest would hurt a lot and scar. The box also contained kind of metal thread. This med kit looked like it was stocked with things older than Ben, but knowing where they were he's lucky they had anything.
"Don't you have an inn to watch?" Ben's voice startling the teenager, jumping in his spot. Ben stared at him with a bored face, the kid rubbed at the back of his neck.
"My dad came home and told me to help you if you needed anything." the kid shrugged, before coming up behind Ben, looking more intently at the wound.
"Looks like you guys pissed off the wrong Ascould. They're claws can be like 4 inches long." he had a look of horrified interest at the deepness.
"What's your name kid?" the kid puffed up his chest.
"Ardath." he tilted his head to the side, he opened his mouth to say something mean, but he really had no reason to. The kid seems to have been helpful.
"Well...Ardath. Please leave so i can fix her up. That'd be great, you've been a lot of help, but please get outta here." Ben turned back to Rey, he had threaded the needle and was starting the first stitch. She flinched and brought her attention back from her fantasy world. Ardath walked towards the door, closing it behind himself softly and heading down the stairs. He heard an audible gasp from behind the door.
Rey's hand shot out, gripping onto Ben's own injured shoulder tightly. Both of them cursed loudly as they both felt the pain from her fingers accidently digging into the same open wound on his body. The gash not taking up his shoulder to shoulder on his chest like it had on hers.
"Where has your mind been?" He asked, swallowing the lump of pain in his throat, sliding the needle through, stitching together the two sides of the gaping cut.
"I've been thinking of a forest full of plump sweet pink fruit." the corners of his lips tugged up to a stiff smile.
"Fruit huh? Why fruit?" he asked, as he made another stitch, the gash starting to squeeze shut. The red angry flesh making a tightly pressed mouth.
"I love fruit. I didn't have any fruit when i was on Jakku. The desert doesn't support fruit very well." she said, looking down at the top of his head, her hand reached up and twirled a lock of his black curls. The hair was soft and shiny, the sudden movement surprised Ben, his hand stopping before making another stitch.
"Well… i'll get you all the fruit you can eat. You deserve it." she sat up a little straighter. Between the two of them the pain has turned into a dull ache. The stitches no longer stinging quite like it had in the beginning. The bond was odd, it heightened somethings while dulling others. Ben was overly aware of Rey's fingers twisting pieces of his hair between her slim fingers, the tips of her nails lightly glancing the skin of his neck as she reached for a different piece. They had fallen into a comfortable silence as he continued stitching, the long gash across her chest being about 12 inches across. It wasn't a clean straight across cut, it was jagged and rough. The edges looking like teeth being sewn together.
"We're a collection of scars." Rey said, touching the finely stitched together gash, the metal wire cold to the touch while the skin around it was hot. Ben had put the needle down, before pulling a set of tweezers out of the crate. Rey watched with a sour expression, he was about to pull out the broken nail. The long jagged thing was left in her skin, Everytime she moved her arms she could feel it lodged in there.
He walked over to her, he eyes on hers as he gently touched her face. The other other hand held the tweezers as he dug them into the wound. She hissed, tears coming to her eyes as he dug for the edge of the claw. It stung and bled, burning from the trama. He squeezed the side of her face gently, comforting, as he yanked with as much might as he could to pull it out. The claw came out as Rey released a heavy breath. Ben's face was tight, he could feel it too, the pain was in his chest too. He held her face for a moment longer before dropping his hand.
He turned to prepare for his own stitches, he cut some fresh wire, and took his shirt off. Rey watched as he put the crate on the floor and heated the needle over the small candle. So he could begin stitching himself up. Rey got up and took the needle from his hand, threading it without a word as he intently stared at her. The gash he had wasn't all the way across, but still just as long as hers. Rey's hand lightly touched the skin around the gash, before she started to stitch it. The first stitch they both gave a collective sharp inhale. The sting strong enough to prickle at her skin.
She braced with her hand on his chest as she pulled the first stitch through the other side of the wound, pulling it tight enough the skin clung together. He had stitched her up in a standard side to side stitch, while Rey did an X stitch, going forward one direction and then going over with the direction to make the X. It was a sturdier stitch, but took twice as long. She did it in smaller bursts too, going about three inches at a time, before backtracking. She'd cut the thread and start again. By the time she was doing with her X stitching the seam of his cut was thinner than hers, neater and tighter looking. He looked at it was mild curiosity, a style of field stitching he's never seen before. He felt bad seeing as hers looked much looser and not as secure now.
"Let me go back and do that for yours, a second on top of it going the other direction. Im worried it's too loose now." Ben said, after she cut the thread and dropped the leftover thread back into the crate. The needle she placed on the dresser in the corner of the room. Rey softly padded over to where he sat on the stool, him sitting made them the same height compared to her standing height.
"You did a good job. It was a lot to stitch, and even if its loose and makes a wider scar i wouldn't care." she gently placed her hand against the side his neck, careful to not be anywhere near the wound they shared. Her nails lightly touching the soft skin behind his ear, the contact sent a shiver up through his spine. Rey leaned forward just enough to kiss his forehead. Then she turned on her heel and walked out the door and down the hall to the washrooms where they had showers set up. Ben could feel the heat already on his skin; the gentle patter of water against the top of his head. Making him realize just how much blood was on his skin, he followed down to the separate door and took a shower for himself.
A small sharp smile as he turned his water to cold, just enough to sting from coldness, he felt Rey turn the heat up higher on her side to counteract the sudden cold she felt. Ben grinned to himself. The bond they shared made things interesting. The next day would be tiring and being on alert, he didn't want to spend too much time awake. The adventure of today weighted heavy on him as he dragged his freshly cleaned self out of the showers and back to his room. Where he crawled into one of the two beds and Rey not too far behind on his heels, she crawled into the bed next to him. They stared at each other from their own bed, Rey watched as his eyes drifted close. Soft snores coming from his side of the room, sleep was harder for Rey to claim. Sitting just out of reach, her eyes heavy, her body sore and tired, but sleep seemed to be hovering just on the other side of the room from her. Waiting for her to finally climb out of bed and slide in next to the man laying opposite of her. His face peaceful as he slept; and Rey didn't want to wake him. She rolled over to face the other direction and drifted into a fitful sleep.
Waking the next day was hard for Rey, all the pain she had been ignoring was suddenly rushing back over her limbs. Her chest burned from the wounds, the stitches stung at every stitch. The puncture burned a different kind of pain, every movement of her arms sent pain radiating through her upper body. Ben's bed next to her was empty, the sheets and blankets tucked back meticulously back into place, the pillows were arranged perfectly. If she hadn't seen his form snoring softly in that bed, she'd think he'd never have slept in it at all in the first place. She sat up, the struggle making her take a deep breath, the pain bringing her mind back to her body. Her fingers ached dully as she reached up to move loose hairs out of her mouth. The movement making her flinch, she dropped her arms; they thumped onto the bed lightly.
Rey turned her head towards the small table in the room, which was shoved into the corner; she expected to see Ben sitting there. His black curly hair and his broad shoulders, but who she actually saw was Luke, sitting at the table sipping from a mug. The steam coming from the cup making swirls in the air. Luke glanced up from the paper he was reading, a smile spread across his face as Rey struggled to climb out of bed. Her feet dragged behind her as she walked over to the table. Her hair a curly mess from going to sleep with a wet head, the hairs stuck out at odd angles and clung to her face. Sitting down with a heavy thump almost hurt as much as just easing into the chair. The force of the chair back hitting her back made her upper body clenched in pain. A soft gasp come out of her mouth as Luke stared at her. He took another sip of his hot drink.
"Sleeping beauty is finally awake." Luke said, a smile on his face and a glint in his eye. Rey dully stared at him before painfully reaching and taking his cup out of his hand. Bringing it to her mouth and taking a deep drink. The heat burned the top of her mouth but the warm liquid burned its way through her body. Pooling in her empty stomach, the pain was a comfort compared to the rest of her pain. The steam was warming her face as she just held the cup close to her face. The movement of putting it back down would be more painful than just stiffly holding the mug in her fist. Luke had a bemused expression on his face, his eyes flitting over her face, hair and the wounds that were exposed on her chest. The small amount of blood that had leaked out in her sleep had crusted around the edges of the wounds.
Her cropped undershirt was still heavily stained with blood and water, since she didn't take it off when she showered the night before. The effort to do so hurt more than she cared to remove it. The shower had removed some blood, that had stained it, had freshened the cloth up a bit. Rey felt dirty and was considering another shower, but that'd involve taking another shower with the undershirt. Unless she could convince a female employee to help her take it off for her. Or Ben. Her mind filled in, she blushed heavily into the mug still in front of her face, glad that Luke couldn't get a close look at her face in that moment. Luke was looking at his paper again, but glancing up at Rey every few seconds, her face still angled towards her mug, she took another large drink as she imagined Ben standing behind her, slipping his fingers under the edge of her undershirt, and gently helping her pull it off. Ben taking a wet washcloth and rubbing down her sore back as hot water soaked her hair. Rey blushed even redder and shook her head to get the thought out of her head.
She looked up in time to see Luke glance down at his paper again, he'd been watching her and she suddenly felt very self aware of her dark red face and the now empty cup. Rey's mouth felt dry as she put the cup on the table. The liquid warming her insides, her face and shoulders a flushed red color. Rey glanced at the paper Luke now held up in front of his face, blocking the others view of the other. The title on the front page had a large picture of the underground casino, the headline read: Casino owner offering reward for man who beat the house too well two nights ago. With a small picture of a fuzzy image of Luke in the corner of the main picture. The best angle they had was of the left hand upper side of his forehead. So nothing useful at all for trying to find someone; for the first time she sat down she noticed that Luke had gotten a haircut and had cleaned himself up.
Looking less like the old island hermit and more like a man who was important. He looked like the Jedi she had grown up hearing stories about. She pulled the paper down on the to the table, his bright blue eyes looked at her with concern.
"How long was i asleep?" Rey asked, pointing at the headline, Luke shrugged softly.
"Well, two nights, but you knew that." Luke pointed to a bag sitting on the table, it was a light grey bag, that had some strange transparent paper sticking outta the top. Rey reached over for it and started pulling stuff out of the bag. The first item being a new clean simple shirt, similar to her training shirt. She glanced up at Luke confused.
"Ben went out and got you all new clothes, since he burned the rampents of the cloak he gave you and the remains of that bloody torn shirt." Luke said picking the paper back up.
"He'll be back soon from shaking the casino down again in a few minutes. We clean up and clear out for awhile. I'll be heading back in a few now that i changed my appearance again. They were busy looking for an old dirty man they didn't even notice Ben coming in with his curly black hair until he turned and headed out the door with over half the money they kept on premise."
Rey pulled more things out of the bag, a new undershirt, new jacket, new pants, even new shoes. And at the very bottom of the bag, her hand touched something thick and coarse. Her hands shaking as she pulled out a new cloak. Just as black as the one he had given her the first time; but this one this time had been cut to length with proper tools. The end hemmed up so it wouldn't tatter. The hood deep and thick, Luke pretended not to notice her reaction as she held the cloak in her hands. She dropped the bag on the floor with all the other clothes half haphazardly shoved back into the bag. Her eyes watered as she ran a finger over the stitching on the inside edge of the cloak. There was a pocket sewn into the inside, big enough for a lightsaber if she wanted to put it there. It had been an after add, something Ben had asked them to put in. The rest of the inside had a soft fur like fabric on the inside, and the neck had a wrap over clasp. Meaning she could cover the lower part of her face with the cloak, she wouldn't have to carry an extra face wrapping around when one was built in. Rey swallowed a lump in her throat, this was even nicer than the cloak he had given her, this one was designed from a colder place than where they were; he wanted her to be prepared for the next adventure they went on.
Rey's stomach growling brought her out of her mind, away from the cloak. Luke looked up at her from his paper, he'd been reading the same page for awhile now, she didn't mind that he was watching her. He looked down at her stomach as she meckly held the cloak tightly to her chest.
"I'll head down, order some food, and tell Ben you're awake. He should of been on the way back once he felt you were up through the bond." Luke said, lightly touching his chin as he rose from his chair. He headed out of the room as she gently placed the cloak on the table. Spreading it out to get a better look at the full length, it was long, the bottom edge of the cloak had that same soft fur lining the bottom. It looked like the nicest thing she's ever and probably will ever own.
She pulled the other clothes out of the bag, and pulled out the clothes that she also brought with her, she had enough under clothes to last, but the crop undershirt he'd gotten for her was also nice than any other one she's owned before. Made out of nicer fabric and wasn't too small for her compared to her other undershirts. The clothes the rebels had given her were also nowhere as nice as the ones Ben had picked out for her. The capris the rebels had given her weren't her favorite cut, they hung too loose around the calf and too tight on the thigh.
As she was standing there admiring the clothes, gently touching them and folding everything up neatly to fit it into her bag, the door opened. Ben came in holding a tray of food with a chipped tea cup with steaming liquid and a plate full of fresh cooked meats, soft cheeses and fresh fruit. Rey quickly glanced back down at the table, folding up the rest of the clothes as quickly as she could and dumped the remainder on the bed before moving the paper Luke left behind. She cleared off the table as best she could so Ben could put the heavy looking, over flowing tray down on the table. He set the tray down, and started putting the plates on the table in front of where Rey sat, the large colorful fruit is what caught her attention. He had meant it when he said he'd get her the best looking fruit he could find.
As Rey quickly snatched one of the fruit from the plate, she looked up with a large smile on her face. To thank him for finding her fruit since she suspected this inn wasn't known for its breakfast lay out. Her words dyed on her lips as she saw Ben's hair. He had cut most of it off, the thick dark shoulder length curls she'd grown to enjoy, was half gone. What was left was a much shorter curly hair style, it poked out around his ears, pushed back from his forehead and showed his widow's peak. The curls were tighter, curling sharper and back away from his face. Rey's mouth hung open limply as she took in his hair, he sat down next to her in the seat Luke had left. Ben didn't say much of anything as he picked up a fruit for himself and put some of the soft cheese on his plate. He had a smirk on his face as he looked over at her; Rey still hadn't found her words as she bit into the fruit.
The fruit in her hand was a bright pink and purple swirled colors, the bottom half of the fruit had spikes on it as the top half was smooth tender skin. The fruit resisted a small amount as she bit into it, the sweet juice popping as she applied more pressure to it. The fruit was soft and tender. She drank a mouthful of sweet juice from the fruit as Ben took a piece of meat, coating it in the cheese and bringing it to his mouth. She had a clear view of the way the back of his hair curled around on itself. Rey swallowed her mouthful, setting the dripping fruit on the table.
"I like your new haircut." she said softly, leaning to the side to try and get a better view of the cut on the back.
"Are you sure you do? Your expression didn't seem to be one of enjoyment." He had a joking expression, but his words had a bite to them. It must of hurt his feelings just a little at the surprised gapping she'd done at his hair.
"No i like it. I was just surprised." Rey said, reaching out to touch it, she flinched ever so slightly at the extending of her arm but continued to reach for his hair. She twirled one of the fatter curls around her finger. It was just as soft as it had been before, Ben had a dull expression on his face.
"I've only ever seen it long. I also didn't realize how heavy the hair was to straighten out half the curls. Now that it's shorter the curls are just everywhere." she said, forgetting about the food in front of them, he pulled her hand away from his hair. A small grin on his face.
"Well good. Cause i cut it myself and was worried it looked bad." she liked the fact the hair was curling away from his face, it allowed for her to get a better look at him. She smiled back at him, picking up the fruit again and taking another deep bite. It squished into her mouth as the pressure of her bite; she hummed happily to herself. They ate in silence for a long time. Ben finishing way before Rey, who kept piling all the food she possibly could onto her plate. Ben sat back and watched her eat, a smile gracing his lips, as Rey stuffed herself with food. Once the plates were all practically licked clean, and Rey was rubbing her belly with a contented smile on her face did Ben finally speak again.
"Do you like the clothes i picked for you? I wasn't sure your size so i just guessed." Rey let out a large burp, covering her face in embarrassment. Earning a pleased chuckle out of Ben.
"Yes, i do." she croaked out from behind her hands. "I'd like to shower again before putting them on.. But.." she looked over at the clothes on the bed, then down at herself, pulling on the edge of her undershirt gently. Her face turning red from real embarrassment. Ben leaned forward, uncrossing his arms.
"But? But what Rey?" he asked, his face showing every emotion that passed through his mind, the expression settling on a frown.
"I can't … pull my undershirt off on my own…" Rey stared away from him, her face blazing red, she squeezed her hands together in her lap. Her nails digging into her palms. Ben left out a breath of air, leaning back in his chair, relief one of the emotions on his face. Concern still being another.
"Rey, all you had to do was ask for some help. You're not alone, you don't have to struggle on your own anymore." Ben reached out, his hand closing around hers, he pulled them out of her lap and pulled her fingers open. The back of her hand sitting in his open palm, as his other hand laid on top of hers, palm on palm. She blinked at him slowly, a blush still on her face.
"After we relax for a few, let your food settle, i'll help you out. You don't need to be afraid to ask me to do anything for you. I would do anything." he said it so casually, he picked up the plates, stacked them on the tray and left the room. The door clicked shut behind him, leaving Rey in the room by herself. The smell of food still lingered, creating a pleasant smell.
(thanks for reading everyone. Schools going to be starting again, and i have a huge class load this semester so writing might be slim. I mostly attempt to write fanfictions to get my terrible writing up to a higher skill. My learning disability makes it a slow progress. But i hope you all enjoy and will review for me.)