[for ben]

[strongerthanblood]

After Rey has come home from working on her bike, showered, and fed herself, she ends up being terribly bored. It's a little late but not that late, and she isn't really all that tired, so she does what she always does when she's bored and lonely. She opens the bond.

With a blink, she's standing in Ben's bedroom. He's sprawled on his back in nothing but his underwear with a book on his chest, fast asleep, and Rey's heart nearly bursts with fondness. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps, and she knows that she should probably let him rest, but she finds herself moving closer to the bed.

If she misses him, surely he misses her back, right? He'd probably be pleased to see her, even if it means being woken up.

At least she can make sure that it's a pleasant awakening.

Carefully, she plucks the book from his chest saves his place with the bookmark on his nightstand. After setting the book down, she crawls onto the bed and straddles his waist, leaning over him to press a few soft kisses to his face. One to his cheek, another to his brow, and one to the corner of his mouth.

"Ben," she whispers, grinning as she feels him start to stir. She kisses the tip of his nose and slides her hand down his flank, tucking her fingertips into the waistband of his underwear. "Ben, wake up. I'm bored."

Comments

[weakandfoolish]

Ben was already awake by the time she crawled astride his lap, laying motionless beneath her as he struggled against a smirk.

"Shouldn't you have come over, then? Or are you expecting me to make a dash across town, again?" He said, without opening his eyes.

[strongerthanblood]

“I’m not just going to come over uninvited,” she murmurs against his chin, knowing full well that she just climbed into his bed without any invitation at all.

She kisses him softly on the mouth as she shifts her hips so she can rock them against Ben’s, sighing happily as she reaches up to rest her hands against his chest.

“Are you going to make it worth my while if I run over there?” She pushes against his chest until she’s sitting up, rolling her hips lazily as she looks down at him.

[weakandfoolish]

"Really," he said placidly, opening his eyes and arching a brow. His hands found his way to her hips, dragging her closer, energy crackling between them everywhere they touched.

"There's only one way to find out."

[strongerthanblood]

“Mm, really?” Ben’s big hands settle on her hips and she wonders, not for the first time or even the tenth, what it might feel like to have him inside of her like this. “Is this you being a tease?”

She wriggles out of his grasp and slides down the bed, grinning up at him as she tugs the waistband of just underwear down just enough to reveal the head of his cock. She touches the tip of her tongue to it, nudging it under the foreskin before sitting up abruptly.

“Or maybe that’s me,” she says brightly, giving him a big grin and a jaunty wave before blinking out of view.

Her laughter rings through the bond as she pulls on leggings and a sweatshirt, and she stuffs her feet into a pair of sneakers before heading for the door.

Don’t start without me.

[weakandfoolish]

Laughing breathlessly, Ben stayed sprawled on top of the sheets, his hand going idly to his crotch. He touched himself distractedly, feeling her warmth and her laughter, grinning sleepily up at the patchy ceiling above his bed.

Blinking in the darkness of his room, he turned to look at the clock. After eleven.

It would take her a good fifteen minutes to make the walk, and not for the first time, he thought it was time to put an end to these late night dashes.

[strongerthanblood]

Jogging through the city with heat flaring between her legs is becoming an all too familiar occurrence. She doesn’t mind it, not if it means that she gets to see Ben, but if he thinks she’s going to keep doing this once winter hits he’s got another thing coming.

She just wants him to ask her. It’s gotten to the point where she worries that maybe he just doesn’t want to live with her. Maybe he values his own space, maybe this is enough—

As lost in her thoughts as she is, Rey fails to notice the crack in the sidewalk until it’s too late. Her toe catches the jagged edge of concrete and she goes sprawling, landing hard on her knees and palms as she skids along the sidewalk.

Pain flares through her and she hisses, whimpering as she rolls over onto her back and stares up at the night sky. Her palms are scraped up and bloodied, and she lifts her head to see that her leggings are destroyed, shredded at the knees and along one shin to reveal torn skin.

The last Jedi, taken out by a raised bit of pavement. She would laugh, if she wasn’t in such pain.

Ow.

[weakandfoolish]

Suddenly, Ben was no longer alone. She crashed down onto the floor next to the bed, crying out in pain, and before he knew it, he'd rolled off of the bed, landing in a crouch at her side.

"What is it, what's happened?" He demanded, thinking at first that she'd been attacked. He looked around instinctively, though he could not see where she was, or what sort of threats might surround her.

[strongerthanblood]

It isn't a surprise to suddenly see Ben at her side. He's there in an instant, crouched in a fighting stance in his underwear as he looks around for a would be attacker, and Rey can't help but to laugh.

She's embarrassed, cheeks flushed with it, but she can't cover her face because her hands are bleeding, so instead she just rolls onto her side with a groan.

"Calm down, tough guy," she says, leaving herself in a pathetic sprawl on the ground. "Unless you want to fight a bit of sidewalk."

[weakandfoolish]

Blowing out a breath, he said, "Oh."

He coughed, the sound if it suspiciously similar to laughter, though it was directed more at himself than at her.

"Okay, that's enough of this," he said, resting a hand gently on her shoulder. With his other, he reached for her bloodied hands, wincing with sympathy. "How attached are you to that apartment?"

[strongerthanblood]

Rey lets Ben take her by the wrist and pulls herself into a sitting position. The question is so out of left field that it takes her a moment to even process it, and then she looks up at him in surprise, mouth falling open in vague outrage.

"This is what gets you to ask me?" She huffs and pulls her hand from Ben's grip so she can get to her feet on her own, brushing bits of dirt and gravel gently from her knees before straightening up. "Out here, while you're naked in the street?"

A man jogging by turns to give her a quizzical look, and Rey huffs and waves him off irritably before he can stop. He shrugs and keeps running, passing just behind Ben, and she barely waits for him to pass before she continues. "Because I'm clumsy?"

[weakandfoolish]

"Because you're bleeding," Ben said, a confused frown creasing his brow.

"What, were you waiting for me to ask? You could've asked," he said, his voice rising with his own growing indignation.

Had she been testing him? Why?

[strongerthanblood]

"Of course I was!" She puts her hands on her hips and then winces, shaking them a bit as she stomps her foot instead. "I wanted you to do it!"

It's easier to be irritated than to admit her own insecurities, and that isn't the only reason anyway. She thought that maybe he needed the space after all he's been through, that maybe she would be underfoot too much.

"I wasn't testing you," she huffs out, taking a guess at deciphering the confused indignation in his expression. Her shoulders slump and she stares down at her hand, frowning as she digs a small piece of rock from her palm with the edge of her thumbnail. "I just wanted you to want me there. I was willing to wait for that to happen."

[weakandfoolish]

"I want you there, Rey. I've always wanted you there," he insisted, unable to explain why he'd waited.

Perhaps, after pressuring her so much to join him, to take his hand, to rule with him, he wanted her to know that she was allowed her own space. Her own decisions.

He sighed.

"I don't know what I'm doing."

[strongerthanblood]

At the soft admission, Rey lifts her chin to look up at him. One corner of her mouth quirks up and she shuffles forward to rest her face against Ben’s bare chest.

“I don’t know what I’m doing either,” she admits, letting her injured hands hang loosely at her sides. “But I do know that I would give up that apartment tomorrow if it meant that I get to live with you.”

[weakandfoolish]

"Where are you? Are you closer to your place or mine?" He asked, hands sliding from her shoulders to her wrists, his touch careful and perusing. Apart from a few scrapes, she seemed uninjured, but he still felt compelled to check and recheck, his nerves still set on edge from the momentary fear he'd felt at the sound of her crying out and sprawling on the floor next to him.

[strongerthanblood]

Rey sniffles a bit as Ben checks her over, taking her hands in his with such care that she feels a little overwhelmed by it, in a good way.

She should have just asked him. It would have saved them both some trouble.

“I’m only a few blocks from your place,” she tells him, looking up at him for a long moment before stepping away. “Get out the first aid kit, and I’ll be there soon.”

The bond closes and he blinks out of view, but she can still feel his concern as she turns and heads for his building, albeit a bit more carefully this time. It’s only a few minutes later that she lets herself into the apartment, finding Ben and giving him a helpless shrug at the state of herself.

“I really liked these pants.”

[weakandfoolish]

Opening the first aid kit on the bathroom counter, Ben went to wait for her in the living room, his arms folded across his chest to keep himself from descending into an anxious tantrum. When the door opened, he blew out a breath and offered her his hand.

"Come with me," he murmured, turning to lead her into the bathroom, where he'd already put the toilet seat down for her to sit. At the mention of her pants, he smiled faintly.

"We'll get you some new ones."

[strongerthanblood]

There is no doubt in Rey’s mind that Ben cares for her, deeply and very much, but seeing him waiting there for her with such concern in his expression still makes her heart do a funny little flip in her chest.

She had always wanted so badly to be loved and now she is, in great abundance. It’s an extraordinary feeling.

“I’m okay, Ben,” she assures him as he leads her into the bathroom. She wriggles carefully out of her pants, wincing slightly as she works them over her knees. Once she’s stripped down to her hoodie and pale blue underwear, she turns to sit on the lid of the toilet and presents her hands for inspection, palms up.

Under the harsh bathroom light, they don’t look as bad as she initially thought. Her palms are terribly scraped, with blood oozing from some places and bits of dirt and rock dug into others, but she’s had much worse. Still, this will make working on her bike difficult for a few days, until it all scabs over, and her lower lip juts out in a slight pout.

[weakandfoolish]

The bathroom was cramped, the sink close enough to the toilet that she could easily reached the basin from where she sat. He turned on the water and waited for it to warm, urging her palms over the porcelain.

"I know," he murmured, turning on the vanity light and bending in close to inspect her hands. With a soft washcloth, he wiped away the dirt, letting the trickle of water rinse her palms clean, the pink swirl of it disappearing down the drain.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, after a moment. "I do want you here."

[strongerthanblood]

It’s a bit of a strange thing, having someone there to care for her like this. She had to do it for herself for so long, but now she doesn’t. Now there is always someone there for her. It’s wonderful.

She watches as Ben cleans her hands, and then turns her head to look at him when he speaks. Her expression softens and she rests her chin on her arm for a moment before lifting her head again to nudge the tip of nose against the bridge of his.

“You don’t have to be sorry. I could have asked you,” she says quietly, biting briefly at her bottom lip. “You really want to live with me?”

She’s never lived with anyone before. Even during her time on the base with Leia, she had her own chambers.

[weakandfoolish]

"Yes, I do," Ben said, one corner of his mouth upturned into a faint smile. "It might be a test of patience. Yours and mine."

Rinsing her palms clean, he gently blotted them dry, then turned to fish a little tube of antibacterial ointment from the kit.

"A worthy challenge for us both."

[strongerthanblood]

"It wouldn't be the first time," she says wryly, smiling at him before sitting up a little to hold her hands in front of her. They seem so small cradled in his, and Rey can't help but to be soothed by the gentle way he touches her, like she's something precious. She's learned that this doesn't mean that Ben thinks that she's fragile. It means that he loves her.

"There's the spare room here, and there's always the Falcon," Rey murmurs as Ben carefully applies ointment to her wounds, because she knows that each of them will still need their own space sometimes, even if they do share a home.

It really seems to hit her, then. They're going to share a home, like families do. It's enough to make her eyes sting a bit and she lets out an embarrassed chuckle before leaning in to press her mouth softly to his, smiling as she pulls back enough to press their foreheads together.

"You know I like a good challenge."

[weakandfoolish]

"Plenty of places to run to," he teased, dabbing the last bit of ointment on to her skin.

"We'll wrap them up, just for tonight."

In the morning, the wounds would do better with some air, but she would be able to sleep better with them covered.

"I'll be sure to keep you on your toes."

[strongerthanblood]

“I’ll be sure to do the same,” she replies, watching as he wraps her hands in thin gauze. It makes her realize how long it’s been since she wrapped her arms. What was nearly a daily ritual has become obsolete here.

Once her hands are wrapped, she leans back against the toilet tank to present her bare knees for the same treatment. Seeing him there, kneeling before her, reminds her why she was running over here in the first place.

“I suppose I ruined our plans,” she says ruefully, reaching out to touch his hair and realizing at the last moment that she can’t, so she huffs and rests her wrapped hands on her thighs, palms up.

[weakandfoolish]

Chuckling softly, he said, "It might be nice to sleep next to you without completely wearing ourselves out first."

He kissed the top of her thigh as he blotted at her scrapped knees with a warm cloth.

Putting the cloth aside, he once again dabbed a bit of ointment on her knees, covering on of the deeper scrapes with an adhesive bandage.

"Would you like some tea?"