Ben was so happy that the force had connected him to Rey, he was truly terrified that he would never feel her presence again. He could feel her presence around him soothing him in ways he didn't quite understand. He had been in the dark for so long and although Rey had lived such a hard life she was still full of light. A part of him that was self-serving wanted to bask in the feeling of her around him.

He was overjoyed to be connected with Rey, but there was a sense of frustration and unease growing within him. It was hard for him to believe that she didn't see him as a monster and was willing to communicate with him. He selfishly needed the reassurance of seeing her eyes and her touch, to wash away his dought.

Rey could feel Ben grow weary and frustrated across the bond, his frustration was so mixed up with joy, grief, regret, and other emotions it was hard to understand what was making him frustrated. Thought the bond she communicated her confusion in hopes that Ben would be able to explain in some way.

She also acknowledged for the first time how tired her body was. Communicating in this way was new to Rey and took quite a bit of effort.

She could feel his unease? Had he sent that though the bond? Or were all his emotions so strong that they were spilling though?

She was confused, how could he explain his need for her?

All he thought of was just sending it all the bad and the good the regret and the need that coursed through him.

Unprepared Rey was slightly shocked by Ben's flood of emotion, it was so strong and untamed yet gentle...like him.

He felt so much guilt and regret but he also felt so much need for...her. Her eyes started to water from the sheer strength of his emotions. He felt so alone and uneasy and all he truly wanted was her. No one had ever wanted her like that, not even her parents they had thrown her away as if she meant nothing.

Although he has said such awful things to her she knew now that he truly didn't mean them. This being said she still couldn't truly forgive him yet for what he had said and done.

The fear of seeing him had started to fade away as they shared more of themselves with each other.

The best way that Rey could think of to respond to his honesty was with the truth of how she felt. Rey let all of her frustration, pain, and need flow through the bond toward Ben.

All of Ben's fear was carving out his chest as he waited for a response from Rey. Had he shown too much of himself? As soon as that thought crossed his mind he felt her all around him, all her emotion swirling through him. At first, it was overwhelming but once he began to make sense of it he could feel that she was no longer confused, she was happy yet frustrated. He could feel her hesitant forgiveness, she was so hurt and raw. Finally reached her need for him, she felt the same, her need to touch him was the same as his need to touch her.

She was also so exhausted, only when he felt her exhaustion did he feel his own. He was too excited and caught up in… well … Rey to be concerned with his body. This new way of using the bond was new to them both but he had a feeling it was particularly hard on Rey since she didn't have much training.

Truly feeling the full extent of her exhaustion Rey stood up, picked up her boots and made her way back to the ship. Before stepping inside she took one final look at the water reflecting the light of both the moon and the stars across its surface. With one final deep breath, she stepped inside, once inside it was clear that Chewie was already asleep.

With heavy feet, she made her way to her cabin. On the way to her cabin, she saw the books still lying on the bench where she had put them earlier. Gathering up the books, she reached her cabin and closed the door behind her. Her tired body bent down to place the books where she had found them.

Once she was in bed she wanted to reach across the bond one last time, Rey focused all her remaining energy on two words 'good night'.

So suddenly Ben almost believed he had imagined it, the soft tone of Rey's voice drifted through his mind.

"Good night, Rey '' was all Ben could say to the air of his empty quarters before he felt her presence leave the bond connection. He could still feel her presence in a small way, enough to know that she is safe but not enough to know her emotions.

Now, completely alone in his quarters Ben noticed the chill in the air and the emptiness around him. While he was connected to Rey he had not felt anything other than content.

Had Snoke just made the emptiness around him seem less noticeable? Without Snoke Ben truly felt the loneliness he had created for himself, he had pushed away, and killed anyone close to him in order to what? Become more powerful?

He had done so many awful things, at the time they seemed to be the only way, he was justified and right in his actions, but now the weight of all he had done was crushing.

Knowing that one day he must face what he has done terrifies him, for now, he was able to push it away in the hope of finding escape in sleep.

Rey, although she had disconnected from the bond could still feel Ben. It was not intrusive, it was a dormant kind of connection, she knew he was safe, and if she needed she could reach across the connection and feel his presence.

All of her life Rey had never truly been connected to someone, she rarely even talked to many people. Before the thought of ever being connected to someone, having feelings for someone was unsettling it made her too vulnerable. With Ben, it did not make her feel raw and vulnerable it made her sharp edges of emotion soften and hurt less. Gliding into sleep Rey did not feel as restless as she had before, knowing Ben was there, in some way, was a comfort.

Rey and he were standing in Snoke's throne room, both breathing heavy after they had defeated the guard. Rey was radiant, her cheeks were flushed and her skin was glowing nothing in the whole universe could compare to her beauty. Ben then took a small step forward and dropped his lightsaber leaving it forgotten on the ground as he made his way to Rey. Her eyes full of the same need in his, she took a step toward him and also left her lightsaber behind her. They stopped when they reached each other, they stood inches apart, he could feel the warmth flowing off of her body.

"Ben" his name escaped her lips as she reached up and brought her hand to his cheek.

Ben then placed his hands hesitantly along her waist, he was afraid she would cower away from his touch, but she didn't she moved further into his embrace.

Suddenly their scenery changed instead of embracing in Snoke's throne room they were in quarters that looked similar to his.

"Ben... please hold me"

Ben had no ability to refuse her, even if he wanted to, as if her words had cast a spell over him he embraced her more deeply. He ran his hands over the exposed skin along her arms, she was truly beautiful in every way. Ben knew this was a dream, that the Rey in his arms was not real but even if she wasn't real he could not lie to her.

"Rey, I love you"

Not wanting to hear what the fake Rey would have responded he forces himself to come awake. The sudden loss of her in his arms was crushing, he wished and pleaded that one day that could be a reality, that one day she will ask him to hold her.

Although it was too dark to see he knew his face was flush with desire and his member was standing half erect.

Ben felt like a teenager, cheeks flushed and standing half erect after a dream. During his adolescence, he wasn't particularly interested in any person he found himself around, he wasn't obsessed with sex like his peers seemed to be. When being honest, the thought of having sex just for the carnal aspect made him uncomfortable. A life of celibacy is what he had expected but now with Rey, all he wanted was to hold her, to touch her, to love her in every way he could.

Ben imagined Rey as she had been in his dream cheeks flushed and skin glowing. Her body under his as he touched her beautiful skin. With these thoughts flowing through his mind Ben mindlessly grasped his member in his palm, stroking it gently. Moving slowly toward the peak of pleasure Ben continued to imagined how Rey would look writhing in pleasure under him. Their bodies working together with both giving and receiving pleasure in perfect harmony. The thought of Rey and her reactions almost caused him to finish but he steadied himself wanting to live in this perfect fantasy for as long as possible.

"Rey…" Ben mumbled as he continued to stroke his member. He hadn't pleasured himself like this for years. He wondered if Rey every pleasured herself if she had ever brought herself to climax. The thought of her cheeks flushed as her toes curled and back arched to the sky as she reached her peak caused Ben to also reach his. To caught up in his fantasies and pleasure Ben wasn't able to grab a tissue from the bedside table and spilled into his hand. Aftershocks of pleasure rolled through his body as his muscles relaxed. Grabbing a tissue off the side table Ben did his best to clean himself up.

Knowing he would not be able to find sleep again Ben turned on the lights of his quarters, his eyes stinging slightly as he adjusted to the light. Rolling out of bed he felt like a teenager as he made his way to his shower to clean himself up.

Rey woke up and her body felt rested after waking, the muscles in her body were relaxed and ready to move. The first thing she did when she woke up was check the bond, making sure Ben was still there, that what she had shared with Ben had been real. She felt him in the back of her mind, safe and there for her if she needs him. She always had this low sense of needing him but this morning she woke up and it was different. Her cheeks were warm and she desperately wanted to touch him. Trying to ignore the heat in her body Rey got out of bed.

Pulling on her boots Rey opened the drawer that held the books she had found yesterday. For some reason the simple act of looking at them caused a smile to make its way across her face. When Rey finally made her way to the common area she found Chewie sitting, almost as if he was waiting for her.

"Good morning Chewie! How did you sleep?"

"You out late last night. You alright?" So that what it was Chewie was worried about her, she knew that the Wookie had felt like he needed to take on the role of a father figure to Rey since Han was gone and Luke certainly wasn't going to do it. She actually really enjoyed being around Chewie. He had a strange sense of humour and they both understood that sometimes silence was best. Both of them understood grief and how silence is sometimes comforting not lonely like how others seem to think of it. They also were extremely alike when it came to fixing problems on the Falcon, they had only every once or twice argued about how to fix a problem.

"It was so beautiful outside I just wanted to watch the sunset, sorry if I kept you up" Rey knew that she was lying to Chewie by not telling him about Ben but she truly didn't know how to explain their bond. The fact that someone was worried about her being out late was also completely new to her, throughout her whole life, no one has ever truly cared whether she lived or died. Now she has Chewie, Finn, Poe, and Leia, all who actually care about her. She didn't know yet if Ben was a part of that list, she cared about him and she knew he cared about her, but it was in a different way then the others.

"Come to the village?" Chewie asked, there was a look of knowing in his eyes, he knew that she wasn't telling him the whole truth.

"Are you sure it is safe?" Rey asked she knew that Chewie had paid off the First Order stationed her but there must be First Order troops on their way to apprehend them….or worse.

"Safe for now, First Order will be here soon, not today" Chewie responded.

"Chewie, what if they come sooner there is so much risk in staying here" Rey knew that Chewie was confident in his plan but Rey couldn't help but feel like something was coming for them.

"Coming to the village?" Chewie asked as he got up ignoring her protests to stay here.

"Fine." was all she could say, she watched Chewie leave the doors of the ship. Rey quickly ran and retrieved a portion pack from the gally and caught up to Chewie. She sucked her breakfast out of the foil wrapping as they walked over the hill toward the small village.

As they approached the village Rey began to notice how truly colourful the village was. The small buildings were made out of white plaster-like material, all the buildings had canopies that were draped in colourful fabric. The contrast between the white of the buildings and the colour of all the fabrics that were used to make shade covers were beautiful. The structures were similar to those on Jakku, simple clay homes and clusters of shade canopies. Unlike the brown colours of Jakku, these were beautiful Rey could tell that people cared about their homes. All the fabrics used had intricately died and embroidered patterns across them. The brightness of the reds, purples, and blues stood out to Rey the most. Caught up in the sheer beauty of the village Rey had nearly not noticed Chewie leave her side and make his way to a small building.

"Chewie where are you going?" Rey asked as she followed him into the building. Once inside the building, she realized that it was a Dejarik bar. There were tables set up all around with different games and people gambling on the outcomes.

Chewie turned around his large body almost touching the ceiling of the building. "Fun to win, come?" The Rey liked playing these games, she was actually very good at them, she was just too uneasy to relax and play any games.

"I don't think I want to play right now, I am going to explore the village a bit more. Will you stay here? Rey said looking up at Chewie. He seemed to have his reservations about letting her off on her own and she tried to show reassurance with her eyes but she didn't know if it worked.

"I stay here, stay safe" Chewie said finally

Turning away from the bar Rey made her way down the main road in search of something interesting. Rey then found a humanoid clothing shop that sold clothing made of the fabric that was all around the village.

Once inside the shop, the fragrance of burning incense and other spices moved around her.

"Hello dear, what can I help you find today?" said a small old woman sitting behind a desk.

"I was just wondering if I could buy a small piece of that stunning fabric that is all around town?"

"Oh my dear," the old woman said "let's find you something beautiful to wear"

The old woman's eyes had wrinkles around them but they were so bright and intelligent it was as if she could see into Rey's past.

"No, no I couldn't possibly, I don't have much money, I only have 35 credits right now"

The old lady seemed to consider this and then bat her hand in the air.

"You are too pretty to wear that," she says as she points to Rey's dark grey tunic and leggings. Rey looks down at her clothing, she silently was thankful that she had worn her newer clothing instead of her older white clothing.

"That is very kind but I cannot accept your generosity, I will pay full price for whatever I can afford"

"Silly girl, fine, I will just lower all the prices, then you can pay full price." The old woman was clever, Rey decided she liked her very much. Taking Rey gently by the wrist the old woman guided her further into the store.

Thanks for reading!

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