"Life as a Dyad"
By EsmeAmelia
Chapter 18
Ben hadn't stayed in a hotel since he was a child, when he and his parents used to vacation together. As such, he didn't know what to expect when he and his wife entered the hotel lobby. Immediately he was hit with the clean, fresh smell of various flowers, which were set up on every desk and table. A dark red carpet decked the floor and holos of various Coruscant recreation spots hung on the walls. There was the top of Coruscant's one remaining mountain, an indoor water park, an aquarium – Ben wondered if maybe they could visit some of these places sometime soon as well.
The droid behind the desk checked them in without giving Ben a second glance, which Ben took as a positive sign even though the droid was likely programmed to be courteous and friendly to all guests.
When the couple made it to their room, Ben actually smiled. The room carried a clean, inviting smell, as if it actively wanted to make people comfortable. A dark blue comforter covered the couple-sized bed, which sat under a holo of an ocean. The window gave a magnificent view of the cityscape and the speeders forever darting up and down their skylanes, but to Ben's delight, it also had a curtain that could be pulled over the window for privacy.
"This looks wonderful," said Ben.
Rey wrapped her arm around her husband's shoulders. "So what do you think? Would you like to get settled in first or try out the pool now?"
The pool. It had been so many years since Ben had last gone swimming for fun and not for training or battle. For a moment his mind went back to his childhood, his parents teaching him to swim in one of Naboo's lakes. "Pool," he said, his smile widening.
. . .
The pool was on the roof of the hotel, surrounded by lounge chairs. The water sparkled in the sunlight, once again reminding Ben of the lakes on Naboo, though the sharp smell of chlorine brought memories of hotel pools from when his parents would bring him along on missions and make it into a vacation.
Next to him, Rey was wearing a dark blue tank-top swimsuit, the sun highlighting her hair as it curled around her shoulders. "So," she said, "ease or jump?"
"What?"
"Sorry," said Rey. "When Finn taught me how to swim many years ago, he told me that some people like to ease themselves into cold water to slowly get their bodies used to the temperature while others just want to jump in and get it all done with. So which do you prefer?"
Ben shrugged. "It's been a long time since I went swimming for fun and I honestly don't know."
"Okay," said Rey, "well personally, I jump."
Then, as if she wanted to give a visual demonstration, she ran up to the deep end of the pool and jumped in, creating a giant splash that probably would have bothered other patrons if there was anyone else currently in the pool.
When she surfaced, her body was shivering, but she maintained a smile in spite of it. "Come on in, Ben!" she shouted, slapping the water. "The water's great!"
Though Ben still wasn't sure what his answer to the ease-or-jump-question would be, seeing his wife jump motivated him to jump himself, which he did . . .
. . . and immediately he was sputtering and shivering.
"It wakes you up, doesn't it?" Rey said, grinning at her husband.
"You m-might say that," Ben sputtered through chattering teeth. "Okay, I have an answer to your question: I'm an ease person."
Rey laughed, swimming up to her husband. "Don't worry, it only takes a few minutes to get used to it." She bobbed upright in the water, reaching out to him. "Here this should help you warm up."
She took his face into her damp, chilly hands and kissed him. Her lips were cold against his and he could taste the water purification chemicals, but still he eagerly responded to the kiss, wrapping his arms around her as they bobbed up and down together.
"You're right," he said after they pulled out of the kiss. "That did warm me up."
"Told you."
Both halves of the dyad leaned back, letting the water carry them. Ben soon found that Rey was right – his body didn't take long to get accustomed to the water temperature. His breath instinctively came in and out in long heaves, but he didn't mind it. It actually felt . . . calming, unlike during countless failed meditation sessions with Luke when the deep breaths made him dizzy.
"Remember the Death Star wreckage?" he suddenly asked.
"What? Why do you bring that up?" Rey exclaimed.
Ben flipped his body upright so he could look at his wife. "All the water. I think that was the last time I've seen so much water in one place. And, well, it's an important memory." He took a deep breath, his exhale making tiny ripples in the water. "I mean, it's not exactly a happy memory since Mom died and all, but it was where I woke up from the dark side." He gazed into his wife's shining eyes. "And that moment when you healed me, that was when I knew I loved you."
Rey gave an embarrassed chuckle, looking down and blowing her own ripples into the water. "I think some part of me started to fall in love with you then too."
. . .
After spending at least an hour in the pool, Rey and Ben settled themselves in the lounge chairs to let the sun dry them off. Ben leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes, absorbing the sunlight on his face. Had he forgotten how warm the sun was after so many years inside? Or had he just never noticed how good the sun felt on his face?
"I'm going to get something to eat," Rey said. "Do you want to come?"
"No," Ben mumbled. "I'm too comfortable."
"All right," said Rey. "I'll be right back."
Ben remained still, absorbing the warmth, letting it lull him into a pleasant drowsiness.
Within five minutes, he fell asleep.
. . .
It seemed only a moment later when a sudden cold, sharp blast of water spritzing right into Ben's face woke him up, followed by a tiny voice shouting somewhere nearby.
"Bad man Kyo Wen!"
With a sputter, Ben opened his eyes, finding himself face-to-face with a little human girl who only looked around two or three years old, pointing a toy water blaster straight at him. "Bad man Kyo Wen!" she repeated, glaring at him and holding the toy up as seriously as if it were a real blaster.
"Shirla!" an older voice shrieked. "No!"
With that, a woman came running up to them and scooped the child into her arms. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she screamed. "I told her to stay away from you! Please don't hurt her!"
"It's okay," said Ben.
The woman slowly started backing away, holding her hand up as if trying to block a blasterbolt while the child kept the water blaster aimed at him. "Stay away!" the mother screamed. "Stay away! Don't hurt us!"
"I'm not hurting anyone!" said Ben.
But still the woman's fear pulsed off of her. "Don't hurt us!" she repeated as if she hadn't heard him. "Please, please, stay away, we're leaving, PLEASE DON'T HURT US!"
She ran off with her daughter still in her arms, leaving Ben staring after them, his hands starting to tremble, his breath starting to shorten.
Finally Rey came back, holding a smoothie in each hand. "I brought you a smoothie," she said before she noticed her husband shaking and her lips crinkled into a frown. "Ben? What's going on?"
Ben took a deep breath. "Nothing," he mumbled. "I want to go back to the room."