Prepare yourselves!
Chapter 8
Kylo made his way to the throne room after having seen Koita Mathe off on his designated TIE fighter, the promise of sending Rey to the Nest weighing heavily on his thoughts. Would she allow herself to become a Knight of Ren? Or would she deceive him once more? She was good, a blind man could see that, but she was undisciplined and regularly unbalanced, letting her emotions overtake good judgement. A proper teacher would fix that within a month of dedicated study, and yes, she would make a magnificent apprentice. Perhaps even the Supreme Leader the First Order truly needed. Perhaps even a wife…
He pushed the latter thought from his mind. He couldn't think that way, he wouldn't! Loving Rey was to invite disappointment to return to his life which currently, he had none of due to his lack of expectations from Hux. He moved, flanked by two Special Forces Storm Troopers, back to the throne room, where he could refocus on gathering the security plans for the Central Systems and his delicate new capitol.
A Storm Trooper moved quickly through the throng of officers and other Troopers, her thoughts greatly troubled. Kylo frowned, watching as two officers raised their arms to stop her, demanding a reason for her haste.
"I must speak with the Supreme Leader, urgently!" She told them.
"Tell us why you need to speak to the Supreme Leader, corporal," An officer growled.
Kylo lengthened his stride to the Storm Trooper, his guard rushing faster to announce, "Supreme Leader on deck!"
The officers whirled around and clicked their heels together at attention, Kylo ignored them. "What do you have to tell me?" He asked, looking to the Storm Trooper.
The officers parted to let her march forward. "Sir, it was my understanding that upon your instructions no one was to interrogate the prisoner from Naboo other than yourself."
A block of ice fell into Kylo's stomach. "That would be correct, corporal."
The Storm Trooper hesitated, fear twitching her armor. "Sir, it is my obligation to inform you that General Hux relieved me of my duty of guarding her."
"What?!" Kylo boomed, his voice echoing throughout the corridor. "Why did he do that?"
The officers flinched, their eyes looking to where they could run immediately following this encounter.
"General Hux did not give an explanation, sir, other than -I quote him- 'This is my ship and I shall see whomever I please whenever I see fit.'"
His lightsaber slapped into his hand the moment an alarm resounded overhead, halting all movement on the corridor.
"Prisoner breach, sir." Kylo's left guard told him, finger pressing to his commlink. "On the detention level."
Kylo inhaled, and closed his eyes. "I want, every, Storm Trooper, droid, and officer, looking through this ship, until she's found."
He opened his eyes and ignited his lightsaber, scattering every Storm Trooper in his immediate vicinity as he marched to the turbolift, opened the doors with the Force, jumped to grab a cable, and cut the adjacent one sending him flying though the tube. He shot his free hand out, opening the doors to a level where he felt Rey's presence, and used the Force to propel himself out into a perfect roll.
He thrust his head back, whipping his hair from his face, and rose. He turned to his right, finding the moaning remains of a Storm Trooper. He stalked to him, staring him down with utter disdain. "What happened?" He asked, his calm voice silencing the Storm Trooper's moans.
"The prisoner," The Storm Trooper whimpered, "She ran that way." He pointed down the corridor.
Kylo moved his eyes to look where the bloodied arm was gesturing, then turned back to the Storm Trooper. He raised the hilt of his lightsaber to the wounded soldier's helmet, and ignited it.
SWSWSW
Rey tiptoed as fast as she could, arms outstretched, as she moved over a black metal tube beneath the detention floor, moving in the direction her lightsaber called to her. Though her heart was pounding, she forced her breathing to be even. The last thing she needed was to plunge to who knew where and for who knew how long so that Ben could have the perfect excuse to find her and drag her back to that awful chair with that little confident smirk of his. That is, if General Hux didn't shoot her on sight.
How was she to warn Ben of Hux's plan? How was she to convince him that there was a plot among his trusted command to tear him down? She shook her head, moving to a more even platform, she would think of that later. How was she to get off this ship? It wasn't like Star Killer Base that had been so massive she could get away relatively unscathed. This ship was smaller, and Ben knew not to underestimate her this time. The Falcon is here, She thought, But will it be available or flyable?
An invisible pull latched on to her chest and pulled, drawing her attention above her. It was her lightsaber, she could feel someone moving it. Rey hopped over tubes to land on a maintenance platform and climbed the small ladder leading to a hatch. Slowly, she lifted the lid, grateful to the maintenance workers for keeping the hinges oiled, and looked out into the world above.
It was a conference room of some sort, but no one was conferring at the moment. Rey lifted the hatch higher, and stuck her whole head out, looking left and right for any signs of life. Nothing. Not even a sound. Careful not to make any noise, Rey climbed out of the hatch, leaving the lid open in case she needed a quick escape. The Force warned her of danger, but she shook her head. As long as she was on this ship, she was in danger.
She dusted her hands and looked around, taking in the long black table, the modest matte black chairs around it, and the black and white design that appeared to be standard on all First Order walls. She frowned, though, when she looked upon the conference table and instead of seeing a nice floral arrangement or even battle strategies and flat holopads, was her lightsaber, lying out in the open for all to see. She stepped forward, frown deepening. Perhaps someone thought that it was far enough away from her like this?
"You really need a teacher." A deep, monotone voice sighed behind her.
Before her mind could process what her body was doing, the lightsaber was in her hand, the heat from the cracked side was searing her palm, and the sputtering, hissing blue connected with an equally rabid crimson streak, the light flickering in Kylo Ren's eyes.
SWSWSW
Finn inhaled as those who had flown aboard the Raven Starr left the transport that shuttled them to the Rising Dawn, the Rebels welcoming them with much needed medical supplies and emotional support. Among them, BB-8 pushed his way through, rolling to Poe with excited squeals and jabbers in droidspeak at the sight of both Poe and his wound.
"Yeah, buddy, I'm alright." Poe wheezed, his face pale but smiling.
"Heck of a few days, huh?"
Finn turned to see Rose standing next to him, her face somber, but relieved. Finn nodded, "Yeah, it was."
"For them, too," She jutted her chin to the Rebels as they moved in a never ending cacophony of determined anxiety.
"What do you mean?" Finn frowned, glancing at the Rebels.
"Transmission came in shortly before we came out of hyperdrive, they were hit by the First Order on Takodana. Took out only a quarter of the fleet because Chewbacca sounded the alarm."
Finn shook his head and sighed, "What were they trying to get at? First Leia's funeral, then Takodana? I mean, come on!"
Rose cocked her head to the right, "I know. But, at least you had enough of a distraction to…" She trailed off, her eyes moving from his face to stare into a calculating void that rendered her body rigid.
Finn raised his eyebrow, "Rose?"
"A distraction…" She breathed, still looking in the direction of his shoulder. Suddenly, her eyes flicked to his. "Finn, what if Kylo was there to distract us?"
Finn leaned away from her, "Okay… distract us from what, exactly?"
"The dreadnought," She told him, her mind calculating. "The one trying to destroy itself. The mysterious manifest."
Finn straightened, his mind racing to keep up with Rose's, but he couldn't. "What could be so important that the Supreme Leader himself would want to cause a distraction that much?"
They looked to each other, silent. Then, they turned and headed towards the captain's bridge, seeing Poe seated with BB-8, retelling their story to D'Acy as a medical droid worked on his arm.
"Poe," Finn breathed, nodding respectfully to D'Acy. "Colonel D'Acy, the encrypted files from the Vulture, were they destroyed on Takodana?"
D'Acy shook her head, her curls fluttering with her movement. "Um, no. R2-D2 was able to copy them into his hard drive and upload it to an info stick. We don't know what for, we cannot read the thing."
"What are you getting at, Finn?" Poe asked, frowning.
Finn looked back to Rose, prompting her to step forward. "What if the funeral was not granted out of respect for General Organa?" She asked, "What if they only wanted a distraction to reclaim or destroy those files?"
"Right," Finn agreed, "Why would the Supreme Leader show himself to be so weak as to show compassion in front of his enemies? His killed his own father, and now all of a sudden he shows up to his mother's funeral?"
"Because Rey asked him to?" Poe countered, causing D'Acy's hand to fly to her throat in surprise. "But, I get your point." He turned to D'Acy and inhaled, "Try every encryption system we have to try and open those files."
"We'll ask Maz Kanata to help," Rose chirped. "She is better than trying to find a codebreaker."
SWSWSW
Finn watched as Maz's long orange fingers tapped away on the Rising Dawn's keyboard, those fingers lifting every so often to adjust and then readjust her telescopic goggles. After nearly an hour of silence, Finn's head began to bob and his eyelids grew heavy.
"You're right!"
He jolted upright so fast he scraped his stomach against the counter, the movement startling R2-D2 who promptly swore at him with a sharp BEEP!
"What's right? How?" Finn asked, rubbing his stomach.
"About this file," Maz told him, climbing onto the chair to better climb onto the counter and press her nose against the flickering light. "This is very important. Too important for the First Order to lose."
"What's it say?" Finn asked, butterflies erupting in his stomach. "Is it battle strategies? Secret trade routes? Kylo Ren's secret diary?"
"I have no idea," Maz told him.
Finn stared at her, his bubble of hope burst completely. "You have no idea?"
"No," She looked at him, "That's a good thing. It means that they will do absolutely anything to get this file back." She lifted her goggles to peer meaningfully at him.
Finn smiled, the bubble refilling, "Even trade Rey for it."
SWSWSW
Ben was not going to back down an inch from this fight. Rey kicked his legs out from under him, but he merely rolled back onto them, his lightsaber flying back into his hand. She wiped her brow and clamored back to her feet, the heat of her lightsaber burning the blood seeping from her hand. He spun his lightsaber, prepared, and launched another barrage on her.
Rey ducked and swung her lightsaber, catching each of his blows, the buzzing and sputtering of each unstable blade whacking and sliding off of each other deafening in her ears. They moved from the conference room back out to the hallway, the echoing of their hissing blades shooting around them. He kicked her, and she staggered away, the absence of wind leaving her gasping.
He smirked, "You've gotten better." He stalked around her, waiting for her to recover. "You still need work. You should have taken my offer!" He spat blood and massaged his jaw where she had punched him.
Rey ignored him, concentrating on breathing. She smoothed her stomach, trying to remember the Force and how it could uplift her, but pain wracked her body. It wasn't just this latest blow; the tension was everywhere, especially her heart.
"It still stands, you know."
She stole a glance at him, watching him move like a panther in a cage.
"My offer. Join me and we can rule the galaxy together, create a new order. It still stands."
The Force whispered to her, taming her racing heart long enough to allow her to rise. He wasn't telling her the truth. He wasn't being true to her. He was deceiving her…
Rey drew herself up and stared at Ben in his full Dark glory. Suddenly, it struck her. He was not going to give in to the light, he had fought it for so long that he knew what came next. Heartbreak, loneliness, he was tired of feeling it. Correction: they were tired of feeling it. It was his heart that was hurting hers, his pain that she felt within her body. There was nothing she could do with her lightsaber that would make him turn away from this kingdom he had built with his gloved, bloody hands.
She lifted her chin, and breathed, "Liar."
Rey moved her thumb and turned off her lightsaber, her hand thanking her for it though her ears rang. His eyes widened ever so minutely, but he stopped pacing and his chin dropped. He was ready for anything.
"I'm not going to fight you, Ben."
His chin lifted, his own lightsaber lowering a fraction.
"You have fought for so long," Rey told him. "You've fought the light, the darkness. You've fought to have your own thoughts instead of someone else's. I am not going to fight against you." She strode toward him, breath coming faster and faster churning her tears, "But I will always fight for you… even if you kill me."
Her arms shot out and her hands grabbed his collar and pulled his face to hers stopping only when her lips collided with his. She closed her eyes, determined to savor the feel of his plump lips upon hers just once before she died and to feel his body pressed against hers in love rather than hatred. For a solid minute, he didn't move an inch, didn't even seem to breathe. Suddenly, he flinched away, prompting her eyes to fly open.
Ben stood, eyes wider than she had ever seen them staring at her, the hissing and sputtering of his lightsaber the only noise that passed between them. She dropped her hands, heart hammering painfully against her breast. This was it, the end of her life. He moved his eyes from hers to her lips, then back again.
His lightsaber slid back into it's handle, and his free hand shot out to take her waist, the motion digging his cross saber hilt into her side. Rey's breath caught in her chest as his breath blew over her forehead, his perfect brown eyes unreadable. Han Solo had been this close to him in his final moments, had he been this frightened of dying? She closed her eyes slowly, then opened them, her chest heaving with fear. At least she would die in the arms of the-
He pressed the warm metal of his cross saber to her ear, his thumb tracing her chin. Ben arched her back and covered her lips with his. This time it was her eyes that widened, and her breath that stopped. Rey clutched his shoulders, holding on for dear life if only to feel his lips move with hers for just a second more. He pulled away, his eyelashes tangling with hers, lips hovering over their target for a moment. She inhaled, then closed the distance, once. Then twice. Then felt her eyes sealing shut to imagine him and only him. Ben agreed.
They kissed, long and passionately, forsaking time and chaos swirling about them. He adjusted his mouth over hers, hands moving to take her waist to pull her against his body as though he yearned even more to absorb her. Rey wrapped her arms around his neck, her stomach and limbs on fire as her feet dangled, barely grazing the floor.
"How… romantic."
The fire froze the moment their lips wrenched apart and her feet thudded back to the base floor. As one, they turned to see General Hux with what looked like an entire platoon of Storm Troopers behind him. He smirked at Ben, shooting ill feelings down Rey's spine.
"Supreme Leader Ren, you are hereby charged with treason and regicide against former Supreme Leader Snoke and condemned to death in the name of the First Order."
Ben looked down at Rey, his features firm. "You told Hux I killed Snoke?"
She cocked her eyebrow, "You blamed his death on me."
"Kill them both!" General Hux shouted, then backed away out of the room.
Before Rey could even blink, Ben hurtled her against the railing behind them and shot out his free hand, stopping dozens, if not hundreds of blaster shots aimed at them. The Storm Troopers stared, some even looking to their own weapons as a wall of shivering red stopped feet before Ben's hand. Rey gasped as she looked at him, feeling just how superior he was in his control of the Force… then noticed a line of deeper red dripping from his cloak.
She had wounded him, when had she done it? She thought back to their fight, but much of it was flashes of light and bursts of anger. Had it been recent and had it been a carefully placed shot or a careless one? She pushed aside the thought of his capability for fighting. Of course he could fight! He had her beside him. The question now became for how long could he fight? As if in answer, the Force tugged at her, inviting Rey to look over the railing behind her. She turned, looking down at dozens of floors… then at the cream colored roof of the Millennium Falcon.
The Storm Troopers stopped shooting, all of them either confused, afraid, or both. Ben merely bent his elbow, then shot it straight, sending the wall of red blasts back to their owners so that the platoon of white collapsed with smoke fuming upon their chests and bright black holes carved into their armor.
"Ben!" Rey shouted, prompting him to turn.
"Another platoon is on it's way," He told her, joining her. "They would have heard the noise if Hux…" He froze the moment he saw the Millennium Falcon. "You're not…"
She looked at him, "We are."
From behind, they heard the steady hum of feet pounding against the sterile floor, the mechanical voices of Storm Troopers calling to their command center about their fallen platoon. As one, Ben and Rey scrambled over the protection railing, teetering dangerously over the edge. Rey's stomach lurched, feeling the freefall before she even made it. She reached for Ben's hand, finding it reaching for hers. He slid his fingers into the gaps between hers, clutching it tightly as they turned to each other. She couldn't help but smile, he was all in with her, even unto death.
They leapt from the edge, Rey's innards flying to her ears as the levels of the black and white shot to grey all around her, the white of the Millennium Falcon's roof appearing more and more like a slab of marble. Her nails dug into Ben's glove, a desperate apology pressing onto her tongue but could not pass over her lips. She had killed him! She saved him, only to kill him!
Suddenly, their descent began to slow, the threat of smacking stomach first onto the ship's roof lessening. Then, feet away from landing, they stopped, floating spread eagle midair, Rey's heart humming in her ears. She looked up, seeing Ben with his arm pointed down at the ship, palm spread wide in use of the Force. He turned his face towards her, his head twitching. A thin line of blood seeped from his nose.
"Let go!" She shouted, bracing herself for impact.
He didn't hesitate. They dropped the last few feet, Rey turning herself in time to land on her feet before collapsing onto the roof. She fell on her hands and knees, the motion sending a knife-like pain through her right palm. Rey winced, but ignored it, head snapping to her dark flight mate. Ben panted, wincing and hissing as he clutched his forehead, his exhaustion and wounds becoming more evident the more he writhed before her. Rey gasped, brushing his hand with hers.
"Ben, come on," She urged, her voice breaking. "It can't end here."
He shuddered, he was very much spent and they knew it. A blast fired down at them, landing uncomfortably close to Rey's leg. She flinched, her lip curling back to snarl at the white goons positioned overhead. She grabbed her lightsaber and jumped to her feet, her need to protect Ben overcoming the fire that burned her hand. She swung her lightsaber, sending six blasts back to the Storm Troopers that fired them, killing them.
Ben hoisted himself to his feet beside her, using his gloved palm to smack his hurt forehead twice. He growled, shook his mane of ebony hair, and stood tall beside her.
"We have to get inside!" Rey screamed, watching a particularly clever Storm Trooper fire at her, then run to avoid getting shot by the blast she sent back to him.
Ben stomped on the roof until he found it, the roof escape hatch. He thrust his hand out to it, demanding the Force unlock it. A loud shink! resounded and he grabbed the built in handle wrenching it open. He whirled around and grabbed Rey by the waist, nearly dragging her to hurtle her inside before grabbing the hatch handle and jumping in himself.
Rey scampered out of the way as the descent of black cloth and man flew at her, a smile smacking her lips. He knew more of the Millennium Falcon than she did.
"You can fly this junk?" He asked, pulling himself to a standing position.
The smile drained. "This junk has outlasted you and your fleet, I'll have you know."
Ben looked at her, "Right."
He ignited his lightsaber and pushed Rey aside, in time to deflect three blasts from officers cataloging the ship. Ben rushed them, slaying them like cutting through rocks. He looked at Rey over his shoulder, "You fly, I shoot!"
Rey nodded, her chest compressing at the sight of him grabbing and dragging away dead bodies that had once been unyielding servants of his. She shook her head, focusing on the flight ahead. The First Order officers had done a number on the cockpit and smuggling corridor, opening and cataloguing the many drawers and smuggling holes on board. She kicked her way through the mess, plopping down into the captain's chair and began clicking on the necessary buttons to awaken the ancient freighter and activate the shields. From behind, she heard the distinctive pew, pew! of more blasters firing followed by mechanic shouts. She touched a button for the ramp, sending the exhaust steam to seal them in, and prompting Ben to fly from his point of defense to the cockpit.
"How's it coming?" He breathed, the stench of sweat and blood secreting from him.
Rey held onto a particular button, one that would activate the shields and hyperdrive and reached with all her might to the opposite wall where the correct button lied taunting her. "Almost… got it."
"Rey," Ben breathed, calling her attention. He raised his eyebrow and moved two of his fingers in a half circle, activating all appropriate buttons.
The Millennium Falcon burst to life, the shields activating and the hyperdrive powering up. Rey smiled, eyebrows rising with relief at the sight of digits on the hyperdrive panel. "Where are we going?"
Ben's nose began bleeding once more, he wiped it with the back of his hand and inhaled sharply. "Coordinates are in, just fly."
"Then you shoot!" Rey commanded, grabbing onto the steering wheel.
"On it," Ben told her, leaving the cockpit.
For the first time, Rey dared to look outside the main window, seeing a mass of Storm Troopers gather around the Millennium Falcon, blasters pointed at them. The moment the ship lifted off the landing bay floor, the firing began.
"Any time, Ben!" Rey shouted.
An enormous blast fired from beneath the freighter, plowing through a cluster of Storm Troopers to hit a glowing beam of light towards the back of the hangar. The Storm Troopers fired on, their red blasts bouncing uncomfortably close to the Millennium Falcon's windshield. Over the din of the blasts, a siren blared, the heavy steel doors answering this cry by closing slowly.
Rey gasped, then shot the ship forward, prompting Storm Troopers to either jump out of the way or get run over as they rushed into clear, black space. A blue button beeped on the hyperdrive, and Rey slammed her palm down on it, sending a searing pain up her arm as the stars stretched before her, catapulting the Millennium Falcon into a sea of blue and white.
She leaned back into the chair, clutching her bleeding hand to her chest. Her heart began to slow, her breath following suit. They were free!
Ben's heavy footsteps echoed throughout the corridors, causing Rey to turn; he was usually quiet. He appeared in the doorframe, his face taut with concern for her.
"You're bleeding," He breathed, his deep voice oddly comforting.
She looked at her hand upon her chest, realizing that she left a great reddish brown smear on it, then looked at him, "It's nothing."
He took one stride and sat at the co-pilot's chair. Quickly, he pulled off his gloves before taking her hand to look at her wound. "Does it hurt?" His honey brown eyes met hers.
She mashed her lips, warmth ebbing from his hand into her core, then shook her head. "Not really, not anymore."
"That would be your nerves dying." He told her, unwrapping her hand wrap. "You cannot use that lightsaber anymore. It can explode at any second and if you're holding it, it'll take your hands with it. This is only the beginning."
Rey watched his face react with upmost concern as the stained gauze fell away. He was annoyed, but more than that. It seemed to almost physically hurt him that she would be so careless with her wounds. A gasp caught in his chest and he started slightly, peering down at her limb prompting her to look to it, too. The gash had widened, if not deepened as well. His eyes shot to hers, a line creasing between his eyebrows. "Rey."
"I've needed to use my lightsaber, lately." She defended.
"Luke really didn't teach you anything, did he?"
"He showed me how to use the Force. I've used it to keep my hand from getting cut in half and for defeating the First Order."
Ben gave a small sigh and shook his head. Slowly, he turned her hand over and kissed her knuckles, careful to only hold her fingers. Butterflies erupted in Rey's stomach, threatening to choke the life out of her. It felt sublimely wonderful to feel his delicate lips against her skin, even in simple presses like this.
He pulled his face away and stood, switching to hold her good hand. "Come with me."
They moved, one behind the other, to the life support wing, Ben casting a forlorn glance at the fallen C-3PO before turning back to the task at hand. He moved Rey to sit on the padded bench, his movements still so gentle to her. He released her, taking instead the handle for the medical supplies and pulling the drawer open.
"I've used much of the gauze from that box," She told him as the drawer halted at it's usual foot and a half.
Ben ignored her, stepping back and frowning at the wall. Suddenly, he punched the wall once, moved downward to punch again, and turned in time to see the drawer pop out further. Rey started on the bench, watching him open the drawer a further two feet to reveal a hidden cache big enough for an original model, sphere shaped First Order surgical droid.
"I had no idea it did that," Rey told him, eyes wide as he pulled the droid from it's hiding place.
"It's a First Order Surgical droid," Ben told her, "It's illegal to remove their homing devices which," He turned the round droid upside down, "Is exactly what Han did." He flipped it around and peered at Rey from under his wild hair. "He always kept a surgical droid here in case he or Chewbacca was too wounded for regular first aid."
He fiddled with the buttons on the droid's face, prompting three red buttons to pulse four times before the droid levitated from his hands. "There we go," He breathed, dropping his hands to his sides.
Rey hesitated, then blurted, "How do you know where to find these things, Ben?"
He was silent, watching the droid power to life so intently that Rey began to wonder if he had heard her. He swallowed, "I learned every inch of this ship as a boy. Han was always leaving, so I thought that if I learned about the ship, I could be considered one of the 'experienced' crew he was always turning me down for."
"I'm so sorry, Ben." Rey told him, leaning forward.
He shrugged. "What have you to be sorry for?" He looked at her. "You needed a ship and Han trusted you."
Rey opened her mouth to say more, but the droid fluttered to life, rotating towards Ben. "Her first," He told it, raising a hand to his chest and pointing to Rey.
The droid rotated, a dozen or so lights upon it's face blinking rhythmically. It zoomed to levitate in front of her, shooting out a blue scanning beam over her body, going back and forth over her hand. The beam returned to the droid, and a small drawer opened beneath the main blinking lights. From this drawer, folded aluminum arms spread out before her, reminding her of a Jakku Arak spider that once tried to land on her face. Needles shot out of three of the arms and the droid squawked.
Your hand, please, it said.
She hesitated, but held out her wounded hand, resting it upon a side table palm side up. The droid hovered over it, one of the aluminum arms squirting bacta fluid into the gash, all remaining nerves screaming up her arm so that she flinched and bit her lip.
Ben crossed the distance and sat next to Rey, wrapping his arm around her waist. The proximity was soft, and comforting, exactly what she needed as the droid squirted and cut away the burnt flesh. Ben bent his head, his black hair sweeping Rey's arm, and he kissed her shoulder. Her breathing stopped, and she jolted, heart sputtering with uncertainty as she watched him. He ignored her, instead tracing her shoulder with his nose an inch, and kissed her again. She closed her eyes, her emotions teetering with pain and yearning. She lifted her head, her lashes fluttering at the sight of his face turning towards her, his eyes looking to her lips. They touched foreheads, their noses brushing for a moment before their lips met. Rey moved her free hand in an awkward reach to cup his hair against her, his other hand taking the side of her neck, stroking her earlobe as he kissed her. His lips were scratchy, but they knew how to move with hers in long, tender ebbs that simultaneously surged her heartbeat and cradled it.
Rey winced, pulling away from him. The droid had begun stitching her hand with speeding needles and thread, an arm rummaging through a long drawer in it's upper left side for sterile gauze. Ben moved his kisses from her lips to her neck, his hand taking her free one to grasp onto for this last portion.
The droid wove a bandage perfectly between her fingers, covering her hand like a fingerless glove with a perfect "v" shaped pattern. The aluminum arms folded into the drawer, leaving the droid a perfect sphere hovering before her.
Finished, it announced.
Ben lifted his head, waving the droid over. The scanning beam shot out again, halting when it came to Ben's side. The droid zoomed closer, beeping furiously before squawking, Please stand and remove your top garment.
Ben exhaled and obeyed, moving slowly from Rey's side to his feet. His cloak slid from his shoulders easily, but he hesitated when it came to his tunic. He pulled at the fastening hooks with a face contorted with pain, his teeth clenching as he moved and the smell of fresh blood wafting around him. Rey jumped to her feet and helped him pull the garment from his body, her body blazing as she moved. His body was beautiful to look at from where she stood; his muscles were still taut from the battle, and every so often his smooth surface was interrupted by a scar. He hissed, the sudden removal pulling what adhesive was keeping the blood flow from oozing forth. Ben slid down the high waist of his trousers to his hips and turned, revealing to Rey and the droid a cleaner cut about eight inches long and an inch wide down his back from just under the shoulder blade.
The sight of such a wound perverted the beauty that she had found, and sent a deep sense of revulsion into her stomach that almost made her want to vomit. "Did I do that to you?" Rey gasped, turning to him.
He smirked, "You've done far worse." He turned his face to show her the scar she gave him across his eye and down to his shoulder.
Her bottom lip quivered. He was in pain, deep pain, but the same charisma that could withstand the deepest insults still remained. She smiled at him, the fire within her chest blazing once again so that her shame began to dwindle.
The droid beeped to catch his attention, Raise your arms, please.
Ben lifted his arms and rested them on his head, his muscles tightening as he hummed discomfort, sending the droid to his back to begin working. Ben turned to Rey, his eyes melting just as they did moments earlier. Rey stepped forward, her fingers sliding over the moist muscles on his chest, her chin tilting upwards. He wrapped his elongated arms around her body, then swooped down and kissed her. Rey reached up and cupped his neck, opening her mouth wider so that her tongue could just barely brush his lips.
With a quick pull, Rey was arched back. He smelled of sweat and blood, and his kiss tasted of liquid warmth, but the moment her eyes fluttered shut, her thoughts obliterated, and the metal corridors of the ship melted away until she stood in a comforting darkness illuminated by him. In all her life, Rey had wanted to feel love. She had found a semblance of it with the Rebels, and with Finn, but this… Ben adjusted his mouth over hers, moving his hands to position her head in ways that could receive the most of his kisses with the tilt of his fingers. His kisses came faster, more desperate. His tongue touched hers, a heat emanating from his body that drew Rey closer, hungering for more, just more!
He wrenched his face away, his entire body constricting as he gritted his teeth. The droid stopped it's stitching, soft coos beeping rhythmically as an aluminum hand twisted and patted his head twice.
Your abrasion is deep, it told him. This will continue to be uncomfortable the more you move.
It withdrew the aluminum arm, then began stitching once more. Ben groaned and panted into Rey's forehead, searing the flesh, but she didn't care. She readjusted her grip upon his shoulders, pulling him close in a tight, almost uncomfortable, embrace.
"It's alright, Ben," She breathed into his ear. "You're safe here with me."
Ben held her tightly, his breathing coming in rhythm with hers. She closed her eyes, her heart finally finding a livable pulse, and exhaled.
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