Bond (Kylo Ren x Rey)

Busy

Rey sat down and tried to steady her breathing. She hadn't seen Ben in weeks. And this interaction--if she could even call it an interaction--hadn't been great. Disastrous was the best way to term it, Rey thought. Why had he seemed so frightened, so alarmed when she had tried to thank him? It was the least she could do for the lengths that he had gone to perform such a kind act.

She closed her eyes to call back the memory of him standing in front of her. Even in Ben's fear, she realized how her heart pulled towards him. His mess of dark hair had been unkempt, as though he had given up on taming it. A whisper had clawed into Rey's mind, urging her to run her fingers through it. Thank the Force she hadn't listened. His scar traced diagonally down the length of his face. Didn't the First Order have the common medical supplies to completely heal the mark she had given him? The Resistance did, and they were significantly depleted compared to the galactic superpower. The wound should have disappeared, made invisible. Her eyes grazed over it in her mind, reminding her of the cold night on Starkiller Base. Involuntarily shivering, she shifted her mind to his eyes. Dark and wild in the dim light of his quarters. Rey wanted to give in and fall into them, into Ben. They had sucked her in, making her stutter like a fool in front of him. He had been scared, but then again so had she. Her inner confession of love the day before had altered how she interacted with him. Rey was more apprehensive.

She reprimanded herself, whispering, "You survived Jakku. This is nothing compared to that."

But was love truly easier?

Rey never had relationships with anyone on her cruel home planet. There wasn't a whole lot of time for those sentimental feelings when she was fighting for survival every day of her life. She had received some advances from other scavengers, but her interest had never been peaked. Let alone her having love for someone. But now that her most basic needs had been taken care of here with the Resistance, it seems that her heart had opened up. For friends. For...Ben. Rey was still hesitant to admit to herself the love that she held for this man, the Supreme Leader. She was nothing if not stubborn. A prized quality for a scavenger.

She glanced at the chrono to find that it was getting late. They would be flying to Vrogas Vas early the next day. That in mind, Rey stretched up out of her sitting position on her bunk and walked over to a corner of her tent, changing into a long tunic. After going through her nightly bedtime routine of unwinding her hair from their signature buns and brushing her teeth, she crawled back into her bunk. Rey pulled the thick blanket around her body and let out a breath. She needed to calm her mind from the events of that day so she could get at least a wink of sleep.

Closing her eyes, she pictured the cliffs of Ahch-To. Small stalks of grass and patches of moss grew out of the rocky outcroppings while nests of porgs dotted the landscape, tucked into crevices that sheltered them from the fierce wind. Rey smiled at this memory. It was a peaceful one. A thought without conflict. She let the waves crashing against the cliffs and the howl of the wind take her into sleep.

----

Rey was awoken by shouts and footfalls passing outside of her tent. She threw on a shirt and cropped pants from the meager pile of clothing in her possession and unclasped the canvas flap that served as the doorway to her tent. What she saw before her looked like pure chaos. The light of early morning cast lavender hues over the pilots, technicians and other crew members mulling about the base. Ships were being loaded with cargo as mechanics performed a last-minute check of all systems aboard the x-wings. Today was the day.

The Jedi walked swiftly over to the mess hall, snagging a piece of fruit and a cup of caf. Rey dodged crew members threatening to upset her drink with their urgent business as she made her way down the passageway towards the general conference room. She swung open the doors, chucked the remnants of her breakfast in a bin, and looked at the crowd before her. Leia was busy at the center of the room, giving commands to harried assistants holding holopads full of data for the day ahead. The general must have sensed Rey's entrance into the chamber because she looked up from all the anarchy to give a thin smile and motion the girl over.

"Rey, good to see you. We need some help overseeing the more novice technicians as they do the checks for our ships. A few people have mentioned to me that they are a bit," she put a finger to her chin, "'bumbling', I think was the word they used. If you report to Poe outside with the pilots, they will point you to any crew members that reported struggling with their tasks."

The scavenger gave a quick nod in confirmation and swiveled on her heel, heading back out into the passageway. Rey chugged the rest of her caf and deposited the mug back in the mess hall before exiting the compound. She spotted the roguish pilot from afar, his curls and dashing smile instantly recognizable. Rey trotted up to meet him at one of his ships.

"General's orders to help out with the technicians, sir!" She said, faking a salute.

"Alright Miss Jedi," Poe grinned and pointed over to a man with cropped blonde hair fiddling with wires, "Caysyn is having issues making sure the hyperdrive is connected. Mind giving him a hand?"

"No problem," Rey replied, and walked over towards the technician without a second glance back at the pilot.

"Need some help?"

Caysyn couldn't have been older than sixteen. He looked up at her with blue eyes and a defeated look on his face.

"Yes, please," he sighed in relief, "I've been trained, but it was such a crash course that I'm kinda fuzzy on some aspects the chief technician taught me."

"No worries, let me take a look and see what I can do," Rey smiled.

He shifted over to give her a better look at the panel as she leaned in to inspect it more closely.

----

Rey had helped a few other technicians by the time Poe announced to the flight crew that takeoff would happen shortly. After helping a young woman reattach some cables, she wiped her grease-stained hands on her pants before heading off to the Millennium Falcon. She would be copiloting Han's old ship to Vrogas Vas with Chewie at her side. As she walked up the familiar ramp, a furry face popped out of the hatch, greeting her with a yell.

Rey smiled at the Wookie, replying, "I know, I know, Chewie, I was late because some crew needed my help. I hope you haven't been busy playing holochess instead of making the flight checks!"

At the scavenger's teasing remark, Chewbacca let out a protest. Amused, Rey rolled her eyes and made her way to the cockpit. She traced her fingers over the dusty walls of the passageways leading to the cockpit, drudging up memories of the smuggler who owned it. How many times did little Ben run down these corridors?

Rey pushed the question from her mind as she entered the cockpit, and took her place in the copilot's chair. The seat was scuffed with decades of wear, but she liked it that way. It had a worn-in, comfortable feel. She heard the metallic snap of the hatch closing, and minutes later a mass of fur plopped down in the pilot's chair.

"Alright Chewie, let's fly," Rey announced, punching in coordinates.

They shot into the sky, coordinating their departure with the other ships in tow.

"To Vrogas Vas."

To Ben.

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Rey thinks Ben is hot! Rey is helping others! Rey is a badass! What else is new?

Let me know what you think! We're gearing up for the battle, slowly but surely!