The Art of Broken Pieces

Porgilicious

It wasn't something he even had to consider, kissing her. The night was cool around them, but where Rey's body touched his was warm. The emotions still tumbling through him were chaotic, but her touch soothed them, leaving stillness in her wake.

He bent. It wasn't even a choice.

Rey's lips were soft, and the kiss was gentle, almost questioning. It tested the boundaries between them, tugging softly at their connection. Ben tasted the lingering evening air in her breath, and as he drew back slowly he opened his eyes and met hers almost hesitantly waiting to see what he found waiting there.

Rey smiled, just a twitch of her lips upward. Something was falling into alignment, filling places inside her that she hadn't even known were empty. Her hands crept up his arms, his shoulders. Then his cheeks were rough and warm beneath her palms, and she was tugging him down to kiss her again, putting all the answers she could give him into one firm, warm push of body and senses. She wanted him to feel it. In the Force, and in that kiss.

It didn't feel safe to love him, but that no longer mattered. She did love him. And she wouldn't let anything happen to him.

Lingering tension was swept away in the sensation of her mouth on his, the kiss deeper, more insistent than before. The emotions that rushed towards him in the Force left no room for doubt or confusion. He wound his arms around her, hands on her back as he pulled her against him. He let the kiss become the center of his world, feeling her lips part as his tongue met hers, and he lost track of everything around them.

It was like a gentle static had been building between them, and at a touch, the spark cracked. Suddenly, for Rey, nothing else existed. Nothing but Ben, his chest hard against hers, his mouth and his tongue overwhelming her senses until she thought they might short out. Her skin was alive with nerves, ready for every breath, every brush of fingers or clench of arms. His hair was in her hands again, cool and thick and begging to be tugged harder.

She heard the soft, keening sigh she made as Ben's hands pressed her into him, felt the strength in her legs vanishing. Sitting down felt like a wonderful idea. Climbing into his lap felt like a better one.

Ben supported her weight as she sagged against him, enjoying the sweet feeling of her curves molding to his body and her hands in his hair. One of his hands slid to her lower back, flattening out in the hollow of her spine. He hunched deeper into the kiss, losing track of time as he ran his tongue across hers, exploring the textures of her mouth, tucking away little observations about the motions which made her go weak against him.

Rey's whole body was heavy and weak, as though it were about to dissolve into the chemical rush pumping through her system. Terror and elation clashed in her chest, sharpening the sense of Ben's mouth full on hers. She wanted to memorize the way it felt, the pliant softness of his lower lip, the roughness of the stubble around his mouth. The way he smelled of sweat and cold air and something burning...

It took her kiss-addled senses a moment to realize that it wasn't Ben who smelled of char, but the little quadruped she'd forgotten to turn over the fire for the last several minutes. With a yelp of surprise, she dragged herself from his arms and ducked to the fire, cursing as she grabbed up their dinner, which was half burned.

The sudden emptiness in his arms disoriented him for a moment, but watching Rey flailing about the small beast, cursing and shaking hot fingers, Ben snorted out a laugh. Her hair was pulling out of the ties with which she held it back, and her face was flushed from both the heat of the fire and the heat of their kiss. She looked completely discombobulated, and it made him want to sweep her up again and test what else she would allow him to get away with.

Instead he moved over to help her, eyeing the half-blackened meat suspiciously. "Still edible?"

Rey sucked at a burned finger, but nodded. "Just a little crispy on one side," she said. "But...uh..." she glanced back, finding it suddenly difficult to look him in the face, except... "You're..."

Smiling. Ben was smiling. Not much, but the perpetual downturn of his lips was turned up, his long, hollow cheeks crinkled. Those eyes like Correllian whisky were gleaming with amusement.

She wanted to kiss every millimeter of that smile.

He frowned, brows drawing together slightly. "You're staring at me. Why are you staring at me?"

She set the little creature on the coals, and stepped back toward him. "I've never seen you smile," she said, her own grin spreading.

Unsure of how to respond to that, Ben's frown deepened slightly. "I-"

"Do it again." Rey stepped forward, too delighted by the memory of that scant expression to be nervous, and put her hands on Ben's chest, just at collarbone level. She lifted onto her toes, grinning as she bumped her nose against his. "Do I need to kiss you again to make it happen? Or do I need to burn some other poor creature? I can kick a porg into the coals."

"I know a fat one that would cook up well." Ben agreed, trying very hard not to smile again, although she was making it difficult. "And if you're not careful, you're going to burn the other half of that one." He pointed with his chin towards the fire.

Taking her hands, pulled her down near the fire, sitting so that his hip brushed hers as he reached out and gingerly pulled the meat from the coals to let it cool. He felt Rey lean into his shoulder, a sense of closeness and contentment pulling them together under the dark star-sprinkled sky. 

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(Authors' Notes)

Yes, we know this chapter is very short.  The next chapter is VERY LONG!

And you're welcome in advance. ^________^