'

It was sunny and surprising warm, despite being November, so Rey opted for just a light jacket to wear on her walk into town.

It was Record Store Day and Finn had wheedled her into picking up a limited edition vinyl record that he insisted he needed to carry on living.

Rey had checked the forecast before she left, just in case, but it was good. Although she got to Rebel Music with an hour before the doors opened, there was already a long queue winding its way along the storefront and away down the lane.

So she resigned herself to waiting, hoping that there would still be a copy of Empire of The Clouds left when she finally got inside.

Of course the time passed slowly, as waiting in line always does, unless it's for something like a blood test or smear then it seems time likes to take a sprint just to spite you.

The air started to get colder, a chill wind blowing in, making her zip up her jacket and hunch a little over her tightly folded arms to conserve heat. She really should have worn a proper coat... too late now, thank you captain hindsight.

When it was half an hour before the shop opened for business, some of the staff came round with lists of what was available, fortunately when Rey named the record Finn wanted, the lady said there should be three records left. It was cutting it fine but hopefully nothing would go wrong.

She turned to grin at the man behind her, who had let out a relieved breath when he was told there were still two copies left.

He was huge and she had to crane her neck a little. He had a slightly odd face, which became beautiful as soon as he smiled back at her.

"You here for Maiden too?"

Damn that was a sexy voice. Rey nodded, "Yeah, though I'm here on behalf of a friend."

He nodded, looking a little disappointed, so she added, "I like them, but we don't even have a record player, my friend just wants to own this one as its special edition."

The man nodded again, smiling slightly, "I can sort of understand that, I mean they have only made 5500 copies of this, so it's an exciting record to own… having said that, I do own a record player, and I'm really looking forward to listening to the B side which is an exclusive 21 minute interview with Bruce Dickinson and Nicko McBrain about the R101."

"Oh, cool. I hadn't realised that was on there," Rey laughed, "Not like we'll get to hear it though. Hopefully someone will upload it online sometime," she shivered, enviously noticing his black trench coat with a hoodie underneath and regretting her thin jacket once again.

"If you keep my space for me, I could grab us coffee if you like? You look cold," he really did have a nice smile, dark eyes soft in his pale face.

"Coffee would be great, but I don't know if we're allowed to do that? I don't want you losing your space."

He gave a nonchalant shrug and turned to the people behind them, "You okay if this lady holds my place while I get coffee?"

The couple in question shrank back slightly and nodded their heads. Rey supposed that he looked a little intimidating, but nothing to that degree.

He turned back to her, "What can I get you?"

Rey pulled out a fiver, "Cappuccino with almond syrup would be perfect."

He shook his head at her offered hand, "My treat, thanks for holding my space," and before she could protest, he was striding away. If she'd gone with him, she would have to jog to keep up.

The wind became biting and Rey tucked her hands into the small pockets of her jacket. Of course because it was a womens jacket, only half of her hand fit, really, why was it designers seemed to think women didn't need pockets? It was infuriating, it wasn't like she had abnormally large hands either, sure feminism has come quite a long way, but it really needed to shake up the world of fashion… well, and a lot of other things too, but currently Rey was missing decent pockets, so that's what she was majoring on.

The man returned, bearing two cardboard cups. He gave a nod to the people behind them as he slid back into the queue beside her.

Rey eagerly removed her hands from said tiny pockets and wrapped her fingers around the delicious warmth of the cup he handed her.

"Thank you, so much. I'm Rey, by the way."

"Kylo," he held out one of his massive hands and she shook it, his fingers were as hot as her coffee, she shivered a little at the contact.

They drank their coffees in silence, Rey not caring too much about burning her tongue, just wanting to get the warmth inside her as quick as possible.

The doors finally opened and the queue started moving, if sluggishly. She tried shaking her legs to get her blood going, flexing her calves and bouncing a little.

Then all hell broke loose. Or, well, it started to rain, bitter cold stinging drops of liquid that then turned hard and became hail.

"Shit!" she hissed as she undid her jacket and pulled it over her head, "Fucking forecast lied, again!"

Kylo had pulled up his hood and the collar of his trench coat, "You want to stand closer to me? I can shield you from some of it."

It didn't matter that she didn't know him, any shyness such proximity would usually present her with, failed to rise to the fore, and she moved closer to him as he angled his back to the wind, pulling her against his chest and partially wrapping the sides of his trench coat around her.

She instantly felt a bit warmer, it was a relief but she hadn't expected it to be quite this intimate, yet she couldn't find it in herself to care at this moment in time… and he smelled good, like really good. Spicy and warm and incredibly masculine.

The store staff came around again, like poncho wrapped angels, handing out umbrellas to those still outside. Ben took one for the both of them. Somehow, despite the cold and hail, Rey was warm and dry. He was like a veritable knight in shining armour… well, a knight in a black trench coat anyway. Whatever, she was glad he was there.

The direction of the wind changed as the hail eased, turning back into rain and no longer spitting into their faces.

Rey peered out of the confines of his coat, "The umbrella will probably cover me now, I don't want to crowd you."

He laughed and she could feel the vibration of it in her sternum, it made her stomach flip as warmth dusted her cheeks.

"I really don't mind, and no offense but your jacket is kind of pointless in this sort of weather."

Rey turned to look up at him, he was smiling and up this close his lips looked infinitely kissable. She grimaced at herself, "Yeah, in retrospect it was not a good choice. In my defense though, the weather app on my phone did not mention any rain or hail or wind."

He laughed again and her stomach flipped once more, he raised an eyebrow at her, "It's November."

Rey felt her cheeks heat further and she groaned, "Okay, I am an idiot… but it really was sunny when I left home."

Kylo grinned down at her, "Hey, I'm not complaining, if you'd been wearing a decent coat I wouldn't have got to do this." He flapped the sides of his coat slightly for emphasis.

Rey felt her eyes go wide, it should have been creepy, but somehow it wasn't. As she tried to rack her brain for a suitable reply, Ben let go of her, gently nudging her to turn around. They were at the front of the queue and it was her turn to go in to the shop. Finally.

She ought to feel glad to get inside somewhere warm, happy that soon she would be able to go home. Yet all she felt was disappointment at the loss of Ben's presence.

She shook her head at herself and went and found one of the last remaining copies of Empire Of The Clouds. There were only two copies left, not three.

She snagged both, wanting to make sure Ben got his copy, then loitered around till he entered the shop. He grinned when she handed him his copy.

"There were only two left, not three," she explained as they joined to queue for the till.

He nodded, "Thanks. Yeah, that happens sometimes, people take more than they should and the staff don't always catch it."

"Well, that's just rude, and greedy, but at least we both got a copy… Though it seems a little unfair to buy it and know it won't get played any time soon."

"It's memorabilia," he shrugged, "I doubt your friend will be the only person not opening it up and listening to it."

They fell silent as the queue continued to edge forwards. The shop was operating on a one in one out policy, so it was slow going, but at least they were inside now.

A glance outside the window showed the rain had picked up again and Rey tried to calculate how long it would take her to run to a bus stop and how wet she would get on the way. It didn't look good. Stupid Finn and bloody stupid weather app.

Rey and Ben paid at the same time and both paused before going out of the door.

"Well, it was nice to meet you," Rey said awkwardly as she adjusted her jacket and carefully made sure the record was secure in its bag.

"Yeah, you too… listen, this may be weird but, do you want to come back to mine and wait for the weather to ease? I live like five minutes away… we could even listen to the B side if you like?" The way he was looking at her made her heart flutter.

This was probably a terrible idea but… "If you're sure you don't mind?"

His slightly earnest look morphed into another one of those grins, "I wouldn't offer if I did," he shrugged out of his coat and held it out to her, "Put it on, I can easily change when we get in."

The trenchcoat was heavy, so heavy and way too long, but was deliciously warm and smelled like him as Rey put it on.

He chuckled as he pulled up the collar for her, then took her hand, "Alright, follow me," he instructed as he yanked up his hood with his free hand, then pushed open the door, pulling her along with him.

He set a fast pace and she was towed along in his wake as he shouldered past stressed, bedraggled shoppers.

Rey was breathless by the time he pulled her into a porch and unlocked the door. He didn't let go of her hand and he took her up two flights of stairs, then unlocked another door and drew her inside.

"Sorry about the mess, I wasn't expecting guests," he looked a little sheepish.

Rey laughed, "You should see my place, it's so much worse than this," she gestured at the relatively small amount of washing up waiting to be done in the kitchen area, a few pizza boxes lying around, a scattering of clothes in the living room area, some papers- just normal people mess, signs of life.

He smirked, eyes dancing, "I wouldn't mind seeing your place," and he pulled off his hoodie.

His t-shirt rode up as he did so and holy shit did this guy have abs of steel. Rey swallowed and looked away, shrugging off the trench coat and her own jacket and hanging them on two barstools to dry.

"Take a seat, I'm just going to get another hoody," he disappeared down a small hall and Rey went to sit on the large black leather sofa.

She undid her wet braid, running her fingers through her damp hair, hoping to help dry it.

"Want a coffee or tea?"

Rey jumped slightly, for such a large guy he could move really quietly, or maybe she had just zoned out… "Oh, tea would be lovely, thank you."

"Milk or sugar?"

"Milk, no sugar, thanks," she took out her phone and let Finn know that she had his bloody record and where she currently was, just in case Ben turned out to be a serial killer or something.

He soon joined her on the sofa with a mug of tea in each hand and a fleece throw tucked under his arm.

Rey took her mug and he handed her the throw, "You still look cold," he told her, his eyes warm.

Rey felt herself blush as she took it, tucking herself in and settling back with a happy sigh as she took a sip of tea.

True to his word, Ben put the record on and they sat in silence, listing to the interview. Despite how interesting it was, Rey felt her eyes drooping. This always happened when she went from being cold for too long to being warm, she'd get so sleepy, and even though she put up a fight, she could feel this was a losing battle. Well, this was awkward, what the hell should she do?

Unfortunately, that was her last coherent thought, as sleep released the cords that bound her to the waking world and she floated away.

'

She woke with a start as her phone vibrated in her hand. She blinked confusedly as she put the phone to her ear and looked around.

"You okay Peanut? Thought you'd be home by now," Finn's concern helped her remember where she was, she turned to see Ben, himself curled up and fast asleep on the other side of the sofa, he looked adorable.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said softly, not wanting to wake him, "I'll be on my way soon, okay?"

"Okay, cool, you want Indian or Chinese?" Finn was once again his breezy self.

Rey smiled, "Surprise me. See you soon," she hung up, then carefully got off the sofa without waking Ben.

She tiptoed around the kitchen, trying to find a pen so she could write him a thank you note… and also her number, she'd decided she really wanted to see him again.

"Rey?"

Rey felt a flush of guilt at waking him and being caught sneaking around, she turned to find him sitting up, blinking owlishly in the gathering gloom, looking a little confused, "You taking off then?"

"Yeah, sorry, didn't mean to wake you," she answered apologetically… "But, well, I was going to write down my number, but I can't find a pen?"

The slow smile that graced his lips made her blood heat, he got to his feet and swiftly moved till he was in front of her, his phone in his hand. She rattled off her number as she pulled on her jacket and grabbed the bag with the record in.

"Thanks again," she said shyly as he walked her to the door, "You probably saved me from getting an epic cold."

"It was my pleasure," he paused, for a second looking uncertain, then, "Sorry, but just in case you change your mind, I need to do this."

She had time for a small questioning frown before he pulled her to him, his lips meeting hers. She made no conscious decision, but her bag fell from her hands and her arms wound around his neck, returning his kiss. One of his hands threaded through her hair and the other came to rest at the small of her back, pressing her against him, as he groaned softly into her mouth.

Rey felt the heat rise inside her, blooming over her skin and coiling in her belly as their tongues tangled, as their bodies pressed closer and closer and need built inside them, a growing storm.

Ben pulled away from her, breathing deeply, eyes wild, "Have dinner with me tomorrow? Or lunch? Or breakfast, I don't know, just, can I see you tomorrow? Please?"

Rey huffed a little, giddy laugh, "Yes, I don't mind which, your choice."

The relief on his face almost made her laugh again, but he kissed her once more, this time the urgency was gone, it was a slow exploration, as if the first kiss had been a venture and he was now getting acquainted with his gains.

His lips were soft and hot, the muscles of his torso and arms hard against her and a little shiver zipped up her spine as her mind supplied some images of what he may look like unclothed. They were good images, very good and she silently congratulated her mind for such stellar work. A soft moan escaped her mouth and to her disappointment, he released her again.

Ben took a shaky breath before giving her a rather endearing, goofy grin, "Better stop there or it won't end for a while," he said unsteadily.

Rey nodded and licked her lips as she stepped away, "Yeah, okay… um, so let me know about tomorrow? I'm free all day," she was now anyway, Zumba with Jess could go suck it.

He nodded and handed her her bag, then opened the door, "The rain has stopped now at least."

Rey nodded again, walking backwards a few steps, "So, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

His eyes flashed, a fleeting fire in their depths, then he smiled and it was quenched, for now, as he answered, "Come hell or high water, yes."

'

The weather held and Rey arrived home completely dry... save for her panties. Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.

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A/N: This fic was brought to you by Empire Of The Clouds by Iron Maiden and the shitty BBC weather app, (WHICH LIES).