Star Wars: Reylo chapter II

Rey's eyes were slightly panicked when she finally asked Leia.

"Could you help me? I don't know how to get ready for a feast and I don't have any other clothes besides this…" She motioned at her filthy scavenger outfit.

"Well, I don't think I have anything in your size, but I could ask to have something made, although that would take too long." She pondered as a much deeper voice interjected.

"There's a spare room in our ship, it used to belong to a female high in our ranks. You could use that; it's got its' own fresher and the clothes are still there." Ben was standing much closer than Rey had expected. And she jumped at his presence. His lips pulled down just a little when she did.

"Who was she?" It came out much to quick and accusatory. But she couldn't help it.

"One of Hux's girls." Ben frowned when that seemed to immensely relive Rey. Rey was now very embarrassed and quickly thanked him and walked away. Leia had that suspicious smile again and it made Rey think she knew too much.

Rey entered the ship and asked one of the knights of Ren, which was very strange, where the rooms were that belonged to one of Hux's girlfriends. This sounded very strange to her, but they seemed to know what she meant and pointed at a door. Rey opened the room with the force and shut it quickly. She fell back against the closed door and slowly slid until she sat with her knees to her chest. Today had been very strange. The war was over, and Ben was here, but he didn't look at her until he offered this room. Did that mean he did want her? Or was she over thinking it? He did give all his supplies to the people; this was not quite different. She shook her head in confusion and pulled herself up.

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw a bathtub in the corner of the room. She had never taken a bath. She walked over slowly. She decided that after this day she deserved one and turned the knobs till she found the one that sprouted warm water from the end. She noticed some bottles on the side of the bath and inspected them, one of them smelled like soap and lavender. She poured some in the bath and a wonderful smell filled the room. She had never smelled anything so wonderful. The bath was filling quickly, and she threw off her clothes, checking that the door was locked. Then she slipped into the bath and let her body relax.

She thought if there was a heaven, it could not be as good as this. She enjoyed the water for some time then she started to scrub her body clean. Every inch with warm lavender-scented water. She had never been so clean, she thought. When the water started to cool, she stood up and wrapped herself in a fresh towel and dried off. With the towel secure around her chest she walked over to the closet. In the drawer she saw some things that appeared to be underwear, though it looked nothing like anything she had ever seen. She remembered that these would have been worn by Hux's girlfriends and shut it closed. Inside the closet she found an array of beautiful gowns. She didn't know if that would be appropriate for tonight.

But she didn't think that Leia Organa was going to pass up on an opportunity to have a sophisticated party after years of war. So she decided that a gown was the way to go. There was a red one that she liked but the low-cut V-neck made her very self-conscious and when she thought of Ben seeing her in that she quickly took it off and put it away, a blush creeping up her neck. After trying a few dresses, all to revealing for her. She found a grey silk dress. It fit her perfectly in such a way that she would not need to wear her breast band. She looked at herself in the mirror and decided that that was as good it was going to get. Now, her hair. She found a brush and surprisingly got through her locks with ease. It much have been the lavender product because her hair was usually a disaster, not really a priority in times of war. She looked at the make up in the drawers but decided against it. She didn't know how to use it and would probably just make herself look like a clown. She heard someone knock at the door just as she found some matching low heels that she thought she might actually be able to walk in.

"Who is it." Suddenly panicking, realising it could be him, her dress immediately felt stupid. But then she heard the voice of Leia from the other side of the door.

"It's me, dear, can I come in." Rey waved the door open. "Of course, I'm sorry I thought you were…" She had almost given it away and quickly added. "Someone else." She smiled nervously.

"My dear, you look absolutely stunning!" Leia exclaimed and took Rey face in her hands. Rey felt like she was the mother she never had and got a little teary eyed. "Are you sure? I don't want to look stupid?"

"You look amazing." Leia said and she took something from her pocket, it was a small box.

"Here, this finishes the look." It was a small necklace, silver, with a pendant that seemed to be make out of pure white crystal. "Leia- I can't take this…" Rey couldn't believe she would want to give it to her.

"Nonsense, you will accept it or else I shall be hurt for eternity." She said it with a smile in her face. There was no arguing with Leia Organa. Rey thanked her again and Leia left. "I'll send someone to escort you to the party, can't show up alone looking like that. Or the wolves will descend!" She added with a laugh and then she was gone, leaving Rey in panic over who this person would be. She knew who she wanted to go with… She stared at the mirror a bit saddened by the realisation that she would probably have to endure more indifference from him tonight. Yet she still clung to what Rose had said. She would give him some space; things might be different after a few days when things had settled a bit more. He had asked her to rule the galaxy with him… that had to mean something. Rey was distracted by her thoughts her door opened and she saw Ben in the doorway. She jumped up and spoke. "Don't you knock?"

She almost shouted, really. He seemed taken by surprise and just stared at her; it wasn't lost on Rey that his mouth was slightly open. She felt his eyes on her again, like the day they had fought together. She felt a blush creeping up and tried to cover herself with her arms. This seemed to snap Ben out of it. A hint of sadness passed his face and he seemed to be weighing whether he should say something or not. Rey's voice much softer now. "What is it?" she asked shyly.

Ben looked into her eyes, with that stare that made her catch her breath, and he said:

"You're beautiful." He said it so softly, Rey almost wasn't sure if he'd said it at all. Why did he do that to her. She blushed feverishly and cast her eyes down. Ben extended his arm and spoke again.

"We should go, the celebrations have started."

Rey took his arm, and he laid her hand on his forearm, leading her to the feast. Rey could still feel her cheeks blushing and she tried her best to control herself. They walked all the way in silence. Rey looked very calm, but her mind was anything but. She didn't know what to make of his reactions. He had told her she looked beautiful, but his eyes had been so filled with sadness moments before, what did it mean. She was well aware of her complete inexperience in matters of the heart, but how she wished she had more insight in how he felt. Her mind drifted off to their connection. If she could just… Then she could see what he felt.

But his walls were firmly drawn, and she felt it. They had been, ever since he had arrived. As if their force bond had never existed. Rey couldn't help but feel hurt at that realisation. Maybe that's what he wanted, for their connection to be gone, forgotten. But she had unknowingly gotten incredibly attached to it. Suddenly she felt a surge of the force. She hadn't noticed before, but there had been a slight change in him since he walked into her room. His walls were still drawn but it felt like he was constantly checking that it was still in place, desperately making sure she could not enter.

Rey couldn't understand what had brought about this change. Did he want to get rid of her this bad? She was starting to feel emotional; it was all too much. The war was over, Ben was here, now he was walking her over to a celebration where she would have to behave like a hero of war… It was overwhelming her, and she had to slow down to focus on calming herself.

Ben noticed her panic before she changed her pace.

"What's wrong?" He stopped them both and turned to her. Rey looked up at him and didn't know what to say.

"It's all too much." Was the only thing she could bring herself to say, drowning in his eyes. Hers filled with tears as she admitted how weak she was in that moment. Ben held her arm more tightly and bent down so only she could hear him.

"Just keep your eyes on me, lean on my arm as much as you need. You'll need to be here and see certain people, but once your duty is done, I'll bring you back and you can sleep." Rey couldn't believe was she was hearing. She knew this was Ben Solo and not Kylo Ren, but she had never had a conversation such as this with him. Her eyes teared up some more because she realised the bond did mean something. He knew her. He knew she hated these events; he knew that she just wanted to curl up and sleep until her mind could make sense of things. She hated admitting it, but she didn't deal with change very well and he was the only person who utterly understood. She wiped her eyes and smiled at him. Ben's eyes softened and suddenly the atmosphere changed. Rey didn't realise it, but she had just been staring in his eyes, not answering, just smiling like an idiot, and staring. Ben however didn't seem to be doing better. His eyes were fixated on Rey's, and he looked more like Ben Solo than ever before.

Suddenly a loud noise interrupted their staring session and both Ben and Rey pulled their faces away from each other. They had gotten much closer than she realised. It was laughter from the party that had disturbed them. It brought Rey back to reality and she realised she had still not answered his question.

"Thank you." She managed. "I think I'm ready now." And Ben led them to the door.

Once arrived, Rey caught her breath, they had managed to make the old interior of one of the stranded ships look like a veritable ballroom. It looked beautiful and she couldn't help but smile. Leia had come up to them and immediately begun Rey's first night of walking around, making polite conversation, and being introduced to a dozen people. Leia seemed to thrive in the environment and Ben was surprisingly well-suited to it as well. He was Leia's son for sure. Rey, however, found it terribly difficult and tripped over her words more than once while trying to sound sophisticated. Ben smiled a little every time and that made her feel better. He held her arm the entire night and they only parted when she went to say hello to her friends, leaving Ben talking to one of Leia's oldest friends. One of the only people, she realised afterwards, who would have known him as Ben Solo when he was young.

Rey walked over to Poe, Rose, and Finn and hugged all her friends. There were already pretty drunk and laughing at just about anything. She stayed there a while and talked to Rose about how beautiful she looked and how strange it felt to be having a party when so few days ago they had been thinking of battle plans. Her conversation stalled when Rose looked over her shoulder and noticed that Ben was walking towards them. Rose nudged at Rey's shoulder. "Your boyfriend's coming." Then giggled. Ben reached them and Rey turned to him.

"May I have this dance?" he asked politely, asking her as much as her friends.

"Yes!" Rose half yelled as she pushed Rey int Ben's arms. Poe and Finn couldn't hold it any longer and burst out laughing. Rose tried to apologise but it was barely heard over the guy's laughter. Rey shot them a mean look and then laughed herself and turned to Ben again.

"I guess I have no choice." Ben didn't seem to be happy at that remark. The music slowed and before he could change his mind, Rey took his hand and guided them to the dance floor.

"I'm sorry they're very drunk, but they mean well." She said, thinking of her adorable idiots of friends.

"It's fine if you don't want to dance with me." He said, very softly. Rey didn't answer she just put her arms around his neck and stepped into his arms, their bodies touching. Ben's eyes shot up and caught hers. She was blushing. Ben put his arms on her back and started to move slowly to the music, not losing eye contact. Rey felt as if she were in heaven. Her body pushed against his, his arms supporting and encircling her body. They danced and Rey thought she had never been so happy.

The music stopped and Ben stopped moving. Rey was snapped out of her happy state and felt him pull away from her. She reluctantly slid her arms down from his neck. Ben took a deep breath and looked in her eyes. She could not understand this man.

"We've done our duty; do you want to go?" Rey suddenly felt her tiredness returning. Now that she wasn't caught in his embrace anymore, she could feel the business of the room again. Tough she hated feeling lonely, her years of loneliness had led to her being unaccustomed to large groups of people for longer periods of time. And she had about just reached her limit. They walked back as she waved goodnight to her friends, ignoring their pleas for just one more. She laughed but signalled at Rose, so she understood why. They all did, but Rose was the least drunk. Then they passed Leia.

"Mom, we're leaving." It still felt so strange hearing Ben say that. It was adorable to Rey though.

"So soon?" She asked, eying Ben suspiciously. Ben stared back as if to warn her not to say something.

"I'm sorry Leia, I'm not great with this many people..." Rey looked at her apologetically. Leia smiled and put a hand on her face.

"Not a problem dear, get her to her room safe." She said to her son, with a wink that Rey did not quite understand. Ben rolled his eyes and… blushed a little. Rey couldn't believe her eyes. It was the absolute- most adorable thing she had ever seen. As they walked back, Rey couldn't tear her eyes away from the distinct light pink colour that shaded his cheeks. Ben just looked ahead and wouldn't meet her gaze. Rey realised she was staring and quickly averted her eyes. But she was too curious to let this go.

"What did she mean?" Rey asked before she could lose the courage to do so. Ben didn't really react at first. Then he looked at her with that same sadness in his eyes.

"It's nothing." He said as if he were explaining it to himself rather than her. Rey thought that that must have been the least clear answer anyone had ever gotten in the entire galaxy.