Star wars: Reylo chapter III

They reached the door of the ship and as they stepped over the threshold, Rey tripped and fell. She already had her eyes closed, waiting for impact, when she felt two strong arms catching her and quickly picking her up. Ben carried her inside the way he had the first time they had met. And Rey was too tired and enjoying herself too much to complain. They reached the door and Ben opened it using the force. He then walked over to the bed and just as he was going to place her on top of it Rey shrieked.

"Wait!" She realised that she had pulled herself very close to Ben's face. Ben stood up straight and looked into her eyes, completely bewildered. "You said the room belonged to one of Hux's girlfriends, I don't think I want to sleep on the bed that they… you know…" Rey turned positively crimson as Ben realised what she meant.

"Right… Where would you like to go? Your previous room?"

"No, Rose will be coming home late and she might want the privacy." Again not really saying what she meant, but Ben understood.

"Then where?" he asked, as if wanting to make a suggestion. "My rooms have a couch. You could take the bed if you wanted to." Rey didn't think that she could blush even harder but her cheeks did their best to prove her wrong.

"Um.. sure, if you really don't mind." She managed and looked straight into his chest while saying it. Ben didn't respond and just started to walk to his room. Rey still had her eyes fixated on his chest when they walked into Ben's room. He closed the door and walked over to the bed. Then he carefully laid her on his bed and promptly pulled his arms back and turned around. Rey was sad to let go of his warmth so quickly. But Ben seemed to want to put as much distance between them as possible. Rey was hurt but she didn't want him to see, so she started to pull the blanket over her. Suddenly she realised that she was still wearing her silk evening gown and shoes. She took off her footwear and put them next to the bed. That's when a certain decision from earlier this evening came crashing down on her. Firstly, she didn't have anything to sleep in, secondly, and much, much worse… she wasn't wearing anything under her dress. She remembered putting the dress on and not wanting to wear her filthy rags underneath but also not the underwear left by the previous owner. Which had led to the current situation; she was on Ben's bed, in nothing but a dress.

"What is it?" Ben must have felt her heartrate go crazy as she realised that. Rey met his eyes and couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I don't have pyjama's with me." She said. Ben shook his head slightly and promptly took off his shirt and offered it to her. She gratefully took it and ignored the desire to pull the warm soft fabric against her chest. Ben was just wearing a black pair of trousers at this point. Rey had seen him bare chested, but this was not in a bond through space. He was here, near her, almost naked, while she wasn't wearing underwear. She could feel desire building up in her stomach and quickly averted her eyes.

"Do you- Can I go change somewhere?" she asked, still staring at her feet.

"There's a bathroom over there." He stated matter-of-factly. Rey rushed into the bathroom and closed the door. She fell back against it, still clutching the shirt. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She was going to give him space and then she would carefully win him over. This was too fast and she felt like she was losing him. He was clearly unaffected and she was dying in his bathroom.

Little did she know that in the room next to her, Ben was trying extremely hard to control his emotions. She was here… in his room. She had willingly let him carry her unto his bed and now she was going to sleep in his shirt. He had to keep putting up his walls again and again, because she was distracting his mind so much and he could not let her see his thoughts. That would be the end of their friendship, he was sure. If she saw what he had thought when he saw her in that dress… But then again she had danced with him… but she could have just done that because she's nice. He could still feel her skin on his hands. Then his attention was grabbed by a movement of her force signature. Seconds later she emerged from the bathroom, still dressed. Ben's heart immediately sank and he was sure she would want to leave.

"Could I take a bath?" She asked fiddling with her fingers.

"I know I already took one today, but yours looks very nice and it really helps me relax." She spoke very softly and very quickly. Ben needed a minute to adjust, she didn't want to leave, she wanted to be naked in very close proximity to him, I mean, take a bath. He realised that with her background it must seem like an immense luxury to be able to take two baths in one day and he felt almost guilty. It was very adorable though, how she'd defended that to him.

"Yeah, no problem, I'll get the water for you." He passed closely by her and let the water flow into the tub. Rey watched as his back arched and tensed to reach over the tub. She almost let a sigh escape her lips but caught it before Ben could hear. He turned and went back to the couch. Rey said a small thank you and closed the door behind him.

She stood at the tub and her heart raced, she had wanted to take a bath, but in his rooms... Maybe she wanted to be exposed in his presence. She could still feel his hands on her back. She wished he had let them roam. The tub filled and she turned it off. Realising that, now, anything could be heard. She let the dress slip from her shoulders and fall to the floor. The silk made no noise, for which she was grateful yet slightly disappointed. She then stepped into the bath, the water was wonderfully warm and she forgot her earlier attempt at making no noise and just let her self be encompassed by the steam.

She had had it better after joining the resistance, but being able to take two hot baths in one day… That was something she had scarcely been able to imagine some years ago. She enjoyed it so and it made her forget all those years in a desert climate. She settled in the water and washed her hair, not bothering to stay quiet. After a while she started humming, some song she had learned after joining the rebels. Her mind drifted off and she almost forgot who was in the other room.

Ben was sitting on the couch staring at the bathroom door. He could not believe that she was there. Just a few steps away, completely naked. He could not help imagining what she must look like now. But whenever he let his thoughts roam to her naked form, he caught himself feeling guilty. And unimaginably sad. He knew that she had a certain trust for him. She had been the only one who believed in him. But he knew that she could never feel the way he did. And this feeling, this knowing, it tortured him. He sat there in his agony not able to move. He imagined her naked and felt guilt, he imagined her with him and felt pain. This cycle kept on until he heard the unmistakable sound of someone rising from the tub. He closed his eyes and willed away the pain. His shields were still up, she couldn't know anything. He eventually sighed and laid down on the couch, which was uncomfortably too small for his size. He closed his eyes and hoped that she would assume that he was sleeping by the time she came back.

Rey dried herself off and put on Ben's shirt, she was painfully aware of her nakedness underneath the shirt, but she could hardly ask him for a pair of his underwear. So she took a deep breath and opened the door. He was laying on the couch with his eyes closes, though she could feel he wasn't asleep. He may think she could feel nothing with his shields up but it was just that, that was making it known to her that he was wide awake. Rey decided not to make anything of it and climbed into the bed, making sure that the shirt kept covering her most delicate parts. She looked at him and realised that he must be horribly uncomfortable. His head was pushed up by the arm rest of the couch and his knees were hanging off the other end. She felt a little guilty letting him sleep like that while she took the bed for herself. But she could hardly ask him to share the bed… She was practically naked. Still, he was nice enough to let her sleep here. He had carried her and supported her this whole evening. She couldn't let him loose a night's sleep over her. So she gathered all her courage and cleared her throat.

"Ben." His eyes shot open and stared right into hers at the end of his bed. "Yes." He replied suspiciously.

"You don't have to sleep there, you know. You don't fit on that tiny couch and there's enough room here… it's a large bed." He raised one eyebrow. "It's just, I don't want you to lose sleep because you let me sleep here."

Ben didn't move for a solid half minute and then he opened his mouth carefully.

"You're asking me to sleep in bed with you." He stated. Rey was struck by the complete indifference of his voice. She knew it, he didn't want her. The tears threatened to start welling up but she kept them down. He was being a wonderful friend and she would not make him feel bad just because she had feelings for him. So she swallowed her tears and answered.

"Yes, if you want. If you sleep like that, you'll have a stiff neck for a week." She added a small smile to lighten her own mood and the conversation.

Ben couldn't deny that this position was extremely uncomfortable and he wanted very much to sleep in the same bed as her. But he was worried that it would not be his neck that would be stiff if he got in bed with Rey. Rey was still sitting up and looking at him. Ben smiled softly. She looked absolutely beautiful and he made a decision. He was never going to have her, so he might as well enjoy this while he could. It was agony but sweet agony was better than nothing. At least he could hold on to this night. He got up and walked over to the bed. Rey laid back down and he got in on the opposite side, trying to give her as much space as was possible. Rey turned away from him, a single tear escaping her eye. She knew it was unfair to Ben so she hid it. "Goodnight." She tried to sound as normal as possible.

"Goodnight Rey." Rey's heart sunk because she was pretty sure that this was going to be the last time she would hear that in this context, them lying in bed next to each other.