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Ben Solo lamented his fortune. It was always out of the frying pan and into the fire - that seemed to be his lot in life. He only escaped the clutches of the First Order weeks ago and was attempting to settle into life in the Resistance - well, as much as one can settle in with people who were trying to kill you weeks prior. However, the universe had other plans and decided to deal him another bad hand.
His first scouting mission for his new comrades quickly went south. Ben was sent to scout some fuel supply stations. A gang on Vandor - who had a major grievance with the First Order - hadn’t gotten the memo that Kylo Ren was no more and Ben Solo was now living in his place. Ben tried reasoning and explaining to no avail. They killed his mission partner and took Ben hostage.
He’d been subjected to beatings and didn’t fight back. He waited for an opportune moment. When just one thug was present, he earned his freedom through the Force. His guard untied him willingly and Ben escaped into the snowy Vandor night. Walking, he found a settlement and hoped he could find help there.
He tried to steady his gait and breath. His thoughts were fuzzy, but he could see the clearly amused looks from strangers around him. They probably think I’m just another drunk gambler, he managed to think with his last functional brain cell. Looking down at the ground, he saw the trail of blood the gash in his chest was leaving against the stark white snow. His legs finally gave out as he reached the center of the settlement. He collapsed to the ground as the snow fell gently around him.
One name fell from his lips again in a faint voice.
“Rey... Rey, come find me. Please.”
****
One standard day earlier, Rey rolled over on her bed in her sleeping quarters in the Millenium Falcon . She sat up straight as the familiar tendrils of something almost-forgotten pulled at her. Looking toward the corner of her small quarters, she saw Ben sitting on the ground, leaning against the way. Pulling her blanket up her chest, she studied him further. He was beaten and bruised. Blood streaked down his forehead.
“Ben?”
Rey, he pleaded wordlessly through their bond. He looked up at her with defeated eyes. I’m on Vandor. Come find me, before - he stopped short.
“Before what?” she asked, her voice shaking.
She never got an answer. Their bond severed.
Rey slept fitfully the rest of the night. As dawn broke, she got out of her bed and marched to find Poe Dameron.
“Where did you send Ben?” she demanded, with hands pressed against a table. Poe studied a map as Rey marched up to him.
“Excuse me?” he asked.
Poe regarding her with minor irritation, silently scolding her for interrupting whatever important task he was in the middle of.
“Is he on Vandor?” she pressed.
“I’m not at liberty to -”
Rey cut him off. “Where. Is. He?”
“He’s on a recon mission with Rinyan Thule,” Poe finally relented. “But why are you asking if he’s on Vandor?”
Rey paused. She hadn’t fully disclosed the bond she formed with Ben in the days prior to Crait. Hell, everyone still believed she killed Snoke. Rey wasn't sure her Resistance comrades could handle a Force Bond explanation. She also wasn’t sure how far she could push Poe before he shut her down about this, but she had to try.
“That doesn’t matter. Something is wrong with him. When was the last time they made contact?”
“Not that you need to be read into his mission, but they’re not supposed to make contact until tomorrow,” Poe countered. Heads of Resistance members in the vicinity began to turn, not so subtly listening to the argument. They now had an audience, of which Poe was acutely aware. Rey didn’t care.
“We need to get in touch with them. Something is wrong.”
“How do you know something is wrong?” Poe replied, the frustration evident in his voice. “Is this some of this kriffing Force stuff?”
Rey scoffed and rolled her eyes. “It’s not kriffing Force stuff and we need to send people to go and find him.”
Poe grabbed her shoulder and pulled her off to the side. “Rey, I know this is because of how you feel about Ben…”
“What does that mean?” she countered.
Poe cocked his head and gave her a knowing glance. “It’s obvious you... care about him.”
Rey had no defense for this. She did care a great deal about Ben. If she were being honest with herself, her feelings for Ben extended beyond simple friendship. Ever since he defected and joined the Resistance, their relationship could only be described as complicated. One moment they could be sniping at each other over something ridiculous - the next stealing soft glances that made Rey’s heart stop.
One of those spats came shortly before Ben left on his mission. Rey always thought there would be time to reconcile tomorrow. Now faced with the possibility of no tomorrow, Rey had to act immediately.
“If you’re not going to send anyone to get him, then I’m going alone.”
“Rey, I need you to stay here. I'm sure Ben is fine and completing his mission. They’re not supposed to make contact for another day or so. If we don’t hear from them by then, we’ll send someone to find them. Until then, we stay put ,” Poe said in an authoritative voice.
Rey opened her mouth to speak, but Poe cut her off. “That’s an order.”
Rey huffed and retreated to the Falcon . She paced until she thought the soles of her boots would give up. Sitting down, she tried to keep her thoughts occupied on things other than Ben being in peril.
Was Poe right? Could Ben, in fact, be ok? Rey’s leg bounced as nervous energy flowed through her. The weight of all things left unspoken between Ben and her was heavy on her chest. Something inside of her snapped. Poe wasn’t going to act, so it was up to her. She marched into the cockpit and fired up the old, reliable ship.
Not really thinking about what she was doing, just knowing she would sort out any reprisal from Poe later, she set a course for Vandor. Saving what she loved was more important. She just hoped it wasn’t too late.
***
Awaking with a gasp, Ben feared the worst as his blurry vision came slightly more into focus.
“Ben,” an almost ethereal female voice called out to him.
This is it, this is the end, he thought, wondering if some sort of angel was coming away to take him to whatever afterlife awaited him.
“Ben,” the voice cried out more urgently. He could only manage a groan.
He propped himself on what he could now see was a dilapidated fountain to get a better view of the source of the sound. As the figure came closer, he knew he was still very much alive. All thoughts of departing this life for the next vanished. It wasn’t an otherworldly angel standing before him...it was his own personal angel who had come to save him. Rey was calling to him.
“Ben,” she breathed with relief, kneeling down on the ground next to him.
“Rey,” he replied looking at her in disbelief. “You came.”
“I’m here, Ben. Where's Rinyan?”
Ben shook his head.
She caressed his face with her hand. “Can you move at all?”
“You’re here. If you want, I can fly.”
Rey chuckled, mistaking his sincerity for delirium. He moved his arm around her shoulder, willing his legs to lift him off the ground. To his surprise, some of his strength had returned. He limped slightly as Rey helped him toward the Falcon .
“And just where do you think you’re going?” a voice behind them called.
Rey turned toward the voice. A man with two companions approached the pair. Rey studied their leader. He was somewhere between Rey and Ben in stature, if she had to hazard a guess. His salt and pepper hair looked like it hadn’t been combed in days. He regarded them with a wicked smile that bared his yellowing teeth. His lackeys looked no better.
“We were just leaving,” Rey replied, feigning innocence and turning back toward the Falcon .
“Who’s that you have there? Looks a lot like a certain Supreme Leader who’s been missing for over a month now.”
“Actually,” Ben managed, “my name’s Ben Solo and we really need to be going, we’re terribly late.”
“Not so fast,” the man said, drawing a blaster. His companions brandished double-bladed weapons from their backs at the same time.
No sooner after he fired, the shots froze in mid-air and the blaster fell to the ground. Rey gasped, turning to Ben who had his hand raised in the air. He fell to the ground, his efforts draining whatever strength he had left. However, he succeeded at stalling them. Rey commanded her lightsaber to her hand.
Her new-constructed weapon flowed into her hand through the Force. She activated the blue double-blades, let out a war cry, and charged toward the three men.
Their leader, now unarmed, was dispatched quickly.
Rey thrusted her saber into his stomach and he collapsed to the ground. Her other foes weren’t about to give up so easily. As they surrounded her, Rey centered herself in the Force. The two men drew closer and Rey dug her heels in. One lunged at her and she began deflecteding their parries. They continued their dance until Rey saw her chance with one of her opponents. Slashing his leg, she delivered a fatal blow, knocking him down.
Locking eyes with the third and final man, they walked around each other in a circle. This proved to be a mistake. When he was close enough, he took small strides over to Ben who laid weakened on his side. Rey’s eyes widened. Dread paralyzed her as he placed his blade just inches above Ben’s neck.
“Now be a good girl and drop the light sword. Kick it over to me.”
Rey deactivated the saber and dropped it in the snow. Her heart sank as she half-heartedly kicked it over. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go , she mused, stating the obvious. She raised her hands in surrender. Glancing at Ben’s body, she remembered her mission: save Ben. The gravity of her motivation surged through her. It was now or never.
“Ben,” she began. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m going to say this anyway.”
“Shut up, little girl-”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you from these thugs. I’m sorry I didn’t get here in time to save your life,” Rey continued.
“Are you deaf, girlie?” The nameless man growled, his neck veins protruding.
“But I got here in time to tell you that... I love you. I needed you to hear that, Ben. I love you.”
Rey released a shaky breath after letting the words out. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the abandoned blaster shaking in the snow. Perplexed, because she knew she wasn’t moving it, she looked over to Ben. The hand that was not exposed to his captor was willing the blaster toward Rey. She feigned ignorance as the gun came flying in the air, catching it at the last possible second.
Her aim was true as she fired off three shots in the sleepy night that landed square in her enemy’s chest. The threat was no more. She dropped the blaster and ran over to Ben, dropping to her knees upon reaching him.
“Ben,” she said, tears beginning to well in her eyes. “Are you okay?”
He rolled on to his back, his eyes fluttering open. “Never better... sweetheart.”
Relief flooded through Rey upon hearing Ben’s new pet name for her. They hobbled toward the Falcon together. Rey brought him to the captain’s quarters and made him comfortable in the bed. After Rey had brought the ship to life, she set a course for the Resistance base and switched to autopilot.
She returned to the sleeping quarters to check on Ben, finding him sitting on the edge of the bed. His chest was bare as he was attempting to dress a gash on it.
“Here, let me help you,” she said with a smile.
Ben relented and laid down in the bed. She sat next to him wordlessly, grabbed the antiseptic and began cleansing the wound. Her task elicited winces and sharp breaths from him. After placing a makeshift dressing on him, Rey sat back.
“I know that hurt a bit. I’m sorry,” she said, breaking their silence.
Ben took her hand with both of his. “Don’t be.”
Rey shot him another apologetic grin. He held her gaze, his eyes becoming darker and more intense.
“What you said before - did you mean it?”
Rey nodded. “Every word.”
Ben smiled and placed a soft kiss on Rey’s hand. Just the brush of his lips against her knuckles made Rey's stomach flutter. She brought herself closer toward the head of the bed. Placing a hand on Ben’s face, she closed the space between them.
They met in a kiss that ensured everything they hadn’t said was now plain as day. Her greedy tongue begged entrance into Ben’s mouth and his responded in kind. A soft moan from Rey elicited a smile from Ben. The need for air overwhelmed them and they surfaced from the moment. Rey rested her forehead on Ben's, releasing a giggle of ecstasy.
“I love you too, Rey,” he breathed.
Rey squeezed his hand. The two had been dealt a lot in life, but in that moment they found solace in one another. They might be dealt more bad hands, but they knew they could face it all. Together.