The Ewok cutlets were even better than the ones the shuttle had rustled up. Hard to go wrong with Ewoks, but these were particularly good, as you would expect; juicy, falling off the bone, wonderfully marinated in something like Jandarra. Finn did his best not to recall an adventure vid he'd seen that had featured the furry little guys; brave caravan, or something like that.

Rey finished her meal and sat back, hand on stomach. She took another sip of Tuskan wine. Was that her 5th or 6th glass? She was hitting it hard tonight. The veil was back on, to make sure she wouldn't forget it, she said, but positioned higher up like a drunk, sloppy tiara.

"Shaak roast was wonderful. I think I'm going to bust out of this."

"First time I've seen you wear anything like that," Finn remarked, taking in the elaborate outfit again. He'd switched from the wine to merenzane gold and the evening was getting more blurred with each sip, "I'd like to see you at work in that. Having to step on petals would put you at a big disadvantage in a duel."

"Not really me, is it. I'm more an activewear kind of girl. But my stylists said I needed to 'push my personal boundaries', 'escape my comfort zone', 'evolve my narrative'. All that crap."

"You've got a stylist now?"

"Stylists. There's a team of them. Stylists, brand managers, creative consultants. I don't know, they just turn up."

"For what? What do they do?"

"Make people love me, basically," she admitted.

"And I thought I had a tough job."

"Meeowww. Says you. I think I make this thing look good."

"So..." she changed the subject extremely casually, looking around the restaurant, "Who were you on the phone to earlier?"

"Oh, nobody," Finn said, but he knew she knew.

"Looked quite emotional."

Finn shrugged.

"It wasn't Rose was it?"

"Oh yeah, that," Finn feigned realization. "Yeah, I had a nice chat with Rose while I was waiting for you. Good to talk to her again."

"So are you going to hook up with her once you're shot of me?"

"I don't know. She wants to, you know, but she's busy building a religion. And as I keep telling you, I need to break out, do something new."

"Good," Rey remarked quietly, as she continued to glance around the restaurant.

"Still, you never know, we have a special connection."

Her eyes flicked back to his face.

"What?" he protested, "You're always a bit weird about Rose."

"No I'm not. Why would I be weird?"

"No idea," he considered this a moment, "You're not jealous are you?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm officially the most awesome babe in the galaxy. How could I be jealous?" she scoffed, "I just worry about you with that psycho. That's all."

"A lot less dangerous than hanging around with you."

"True," she said sadly.

A sudden distraction, and she glanced to her side. "Yes." she muttered, "I'm getting to it," and then "I am not. Leave it.". Solo again. What were they talking about?

She finished off her glass, reached for the bottle, poured another, downed it. Uh oh.

"Finn. Darling. I have an ulterior motive this evening." She chewed her lip.

That sinking feeling again. "Ok."

"As you know, Ben and I have this relationship. Obviously there are some obstacles that complicate it."

"You being alive and him being dead."

She shot him a look. "'Corporeally challenged' is the correct term. He is unable to directly interact with the physical plane, that's all."

"Ok..." Finn doubted that was his only challenge, but let it pass.

"So that makes any kind of physical intimacy difficult." She looked really uncomfortable now.

"Right..." As was often the case with Rey, he was getting a bad feeling about this.

"However, he has worked something out." She took another drink. "I need your body."

"Fuck no," he held his hands up, "No more Force healing experiments. Are you kidding? I'm never going to get the feeling back in those toes again." He couldn't believe she had the nerve to ask; he was lucky to still have a liver.

"No, no," she looked to the heavens for the resolve required to spit out the words. "I need your body for sex. There, I asked."

"What?" He must have misheard.

"Ben has perfected a technique," she wore a perfect poker face as she explained in clipped tones, "whereby he will be able to occupy your consciousness and senses for a short period of time. He will be able to experience what you experience and direct your actions to a limited extent. It's an extension and amalgamation of Force projection and mind control. Genius really. He's amazingly talented. The things he could achieve if he were still ali- corporeally unchallenged. "

Finn let this sink in for a moment. "So let me get this straight. You and I have sex. Ben is in my head and gets to experience it."

"Yes," the mask wasn't cracking, "we thought this would be the best way to develop our relationship and take it to the next level."

"So even corporeally challenged guys want to get it on?"

She shrugged.

"Why me? Why not some random stud? The Council could have a lottery."

She relaxed, the mask falling away, and she reached across the table to touch his arm. "It can't just be anyone," she couldn't look him in the eye. "I need someone I can trust. Can you imagine if people found out?"

"Are you sure it'll work?"

"He's experimented on other couples to perfect the technique."

"Wait, so he's been..." Finn stopped short. He was fairly sure that Force sex with random girls was cheating, even if it was in pursuit of having sex with your actual girlfriend, but did she really need him to point that out? "Rey, are you cool with all this? Seriously?"

"If it keeps us together," she shrugged. "Are you cool with it? That's the question."

Was he cool with it? It sounded like the worst idea since Maz told him to go find some guy in a casino. The worst idea since Anakin opted for the non-flame retardant pants. He would have to be the biggest fucking idiot in the galaxy to think letting that bastard Solo into his head was anything but a complete nightmare hellride poised and waiting to happen. The biggest sucker in the whole of Canto Bight.

But. She did look hot tonight.

He downed the last of the merenzane and slammed the glass onto the table.

"Cooler than a wampa in a whiteout. I'm there for you."