A/N Question; Do you prefer long chapters or short ones?
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.
She didn't say anything, for fear that her acknowledgement of what took place might upset him. But she stared up at his mess of tangled raven hair, and felt nothing but concern for him. Surprising even herself with her emotions.
He had comforted her in a desperate time of need, she reasoned. And it was her turn, she had felt, to return the favor.
It wasn't until Ben had fully calmed down that he noticed his 'pillow' was breathing against him. And he soon discovered that he wasn't holding one of his bedside cushions, but Rey's body. Her head crushed into his bare chest, and her breath tickling his skin.
He shifted slightly in her grasp after a while. Like he had only just realized that her arms were wrapped around him as well, and wasn't sure how to react. But he made no move to untangle her from him, and she made no move to do so either.
They were both shell-shocked, it seemed. Unable to comprehend what had occurred, unable to process.
Gradually her arms began to tire, and she brought them down to rest at her sides. But he didn't allow himself to remove the arms that he had subconsciously let encircle her. And if she didn't know any better, she might think that his holding onto her gave him some sort of comfort. In fact, it almost felt as if he was holding onto her for dear life.
It was a while before he spoke, and every second that he didn't built up awkwardness and tension. But by the time he decided to break the silence, so did she, and both managed to do nothing but talk over the other.
"What are you doing here -"
"- I'm sorry."
Slowly (and awkwardly) he began to remove his arms from her torso - per his realization of her discomfort and his unnerving lack of it - and when she pulled back from him to reveal her face, he flinched and released her.
He was immediately embarrassed and caught off guard, and had no clue as to how he should act or respond.
Rey swallowed and looked away from him. Partially out of embarrassment for herself, but mostly out of respect of privacy for him.
She doubted that he wanted her to see him without his upper half covered. And even if he didn't mind, she couldn't say that she felt comfortable with it.
Ben stared silently at her for a couple moments, trying hard to process what had occurred. Eventually he managed to find his voice, and he asked;
"What did you see?"
Heat quickly flooded her cheeks, and she had to keep her gaze on the hazy outline of the floor in order to prevent from choking up.
"Nothing, if you didn't want me to," she shook her head furiously, feeling as tightly wound as a coil.
"Why are you here?" his deep voice echoed in her head. His tone surprisingly soft, considering the circumstances.
"I heard you," she swallowed. "Yelling, calling out for someone. I thought it was me, so I came."
"You came," he stated more than asked, like he was mulling the fact over in his head.
She nodded, and turned to look at him. Only for his eyes to shy away from hers.
Silence enveloped them once again. Although this time it was much longer, and harder to stand.
Every second felt like an hour, and every minute felt like a year.
She started to wonder if what she had said was wrong, or not to his liking. But knew better than to try and take it back.
"Ben?" she inquired after a while. Getting those brown orbs to meet hers, and bringing a comforting hand to his shoulder.
The contact, however, only made him feel more mortified than he already was. So he shook it off and rose from his spot on the bed.