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Deceit, Delusion, and Desire

Summary:

When Rey realizes her student visa is about to expire, she struggles to find a way to stay in the country legally. Her roommate has a terrible idea, and it's just risky enough to work.

Chapter 1: 3 PM Gin

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Rey stomped down Comm. Ave. and darted down a side street toward her apartment. She'd worked the early shift at the coffee shop and sure, she was grateful that Maz was willing to give her so many hours when the woman knew Rey was only sticking around until she somehow got published—or at least a higher paying job—but that didn't mean the customers weren't frustrating.

Then again, choosing to work at a coffee shop on a college campus hadn't been her smartest move, but it was the job she'd worked all throughout her degree program. Job hunting was dreadful, and this one paid the rent well enough—Rey had held on to what had rapidly become a stressful, but reliable source of income.

That didn't mean college students (and often-rude professors) weren't a true pain in the ass. For some reason, that morning had been exceptionally bad. She'd been yelled at by some kid who seemed like the personification of the phrase trust fund baby when she told them no, they in fact, did not make grande pumpkin spice chai tea lattes.

Maz's wasn't Starbucks, for crying out loud.

It was more the "large black coffee" kind of place, and the only deviation from that tended to be would you like that with cream, sugar, or a boot up your ass?

Cold October wind smacked Rey in the face as she grumbled the rest of the way to the brick apartment building she'd spent almost two years calling home, and she tugged her green fleece jacket tightly around her. Even inside the building was freezing. Despite the steep electric bill she'd have to split with him, part of her hoped her roommate had cranked up the heat.

As she climbed up to the second floor, she admitted to herself that this was Ben Solo she was talking about—the guy who could go out into the chilly Boston temperatures even toward the end of November with a light sweater and be comfortable. There was no way the man was human. She'd lived through some of the bleakest winters ever and the most she'd ever seen from him were goosebumps, one night while grabbing ice cream in the middle of January during an ice storm.

Still shivering, she let herself into the reasonably sized apartment (at least, as reasonably sized as apartments got for what she was paying) and didn't bother taking off her coat. It was just as she'd feared. The heat wasn't even on.

He owned the place (to her understanding, it was technically a condo), but she paid him rent and half the utilities and it was damn cold, so in a snap decision she turned up the heat, foregoing their general rule of "put a sweater and socks on first."

Screw that. It was freezing.

Overall, she rarely complained. He made for a great roommate when he wasn't responsible for Rey's teeth chattering. She'd moved in just before the start of the fourth year of her five year Bachelors-plus-Masters English and Creative Writing program, and while they didn't talk much, he was easy enough to live with. Quiet, tidy, never invited guests over, always shared food.

How he looked dripping wet and in only a towel—thick, muscular, edible—had nothing to do with her approval of him as a roommate.

Rey rolled her eyes at herself and her obvious lack of shame, and shuffled over to the dining room table, arms still wrapped around herself in an attempt to warm up. She grabbed the small pile of mail and started checking through the envelopes.

Junk, junk, credit card statement, junk-

...U.S. Department of State?

Compared to the sudden chill she felt, the room was boiling hot. Rey didn't have to open the letter to realize what it would say. She'd come to Boston for school on a student visa.

One that was expiring.

She ripped open the letter and scanned it before seeing exactly what she expected to see and let out a frustrated howl.

How could she have forgotten?

Well… no, that wasn't quite it. She hadn't forgotten. It was more like she'd buried her head in the sand and hoped the problem would go away. Wishful thinking.

Rey glanced sidelong toward the large bottle of gin that sat on top of a set of shelves Ben kept well stocked with top-notch liquors.

He always said she could help herself…


Ben was typing away at his computer when he heard the crash from the other room. He frowned even more deeply than he'd been frowning at the code he'd been debugging for hours and huffed before deciding he should go check on the cause of the noise.

It hadn't sounded like glass, or something breaking, but-

Less than a minute later, he was staring at his roommate, a girl who was normally responsible and not at all the type to drink at three in the afternoon, standing on a stool to reach a bottle of gin tucked away on the top of a very tall bookshelf.

Her hair was still back in the three buns she always put it in for work, and since she hadn't bothered to let it down or change into more comfortable clothes, he guessed her shift had been awful. They didn't talk much, but most of their interactions revolved around bitching about work.

Hers was undoubtedly worse, and Ben knew for a fact that she made a fraction of what he did. He didn't think he had much of a right to complain, so more often than not, he just listened to her.

Rey's voice was one he could listen to for days.

Ben watched her lift onto her toes again, reaching for a bottle he could barely reach, and before she could knock something else to the ground, he cleared his throat, about to offer his help.

Because he was a complete idiot sometimes, he hadn't stopped to think that, one, she didn't know he was home, and two, she hadn't heard him come up behind her.

Rey jumped out of her skin, spun on the already-wobbly stool, yelped, and lost her balance. He let out a noise that was somewhere between a squawk and the beginning of an apology and reached out just in time to catch her in his arms.

It took a minute to register that he was holding her, and when it did, Rey gawked at him. All he could think of was how she was even lighter than he expected. Not that he ever considered what it would be like to have her in his arms.

No, obviously he never considered it, because smart people don't date their roommates outside of rom-coms, but wow, she was just as warm and soft as-

"Uh, hey Ben." Her voice was higher than usual, her eyes unblinking and wide. "Think you could reach the gin? And… maybe put me back down? Not that I don't appreciate- I mean, I definitely appreciate-"

Rey shut her mouth and bit at her lips. She let out a soft, high-pitched laugh, and clapped her hand over her mouth, waiting for him to say something.

Why wasn't he saying anything?

Goddamnit, he'd been living with this girl for almost two years, why was he just staring?

Rey cleared her throat, and he snapped out of it, murmuring an apology as he set her back on her feet. He stepped up onto the small stool himself and grabbed the bottle of 1980s Gordon's London Dry Gin, wondering for a moment if he should tell her it was a $250 bottle.

He stepped down and glanced at her. She looked like her day had been hellish, and she probably needed an expensive bottle of gin a lot more than he did.

Rey gave him a grateful but weary look, accepting the bottle as if it were priceless gold.

Ben nearly had a heart-attack when she opened it, wrapped her lips around the top, and drank directly from it. He gaped at her, rubbing at the back of his neck as he wondered what would make her drink so early in the day, in such a desperate fashion. He'd barely even seen Rey drink, let alone drink like this.

She winced as she gulped down more, and Ben realized she would be in for a rough night if he didn't slow her down.

"Hey Rey," he said, choosing his words with care as he took the bottle back from her, "Why don't I make you a proper drink. Martini? Gin and tonic? I think you can even make Cosmos with gin." The expression she wore was haunted. "Can you tell me what's up while I make us some drinks?"

They weren't friends per se, but there was a certain amount of comfort and trust that developed with a good roommate, and Rey was an exceptional roommate. The fact that they weren't close probably had more to do with the fact that she was a decade younger than him, and she was still at an age where she was likely to go out dancing or drinking with her friends on weekends.

At first, he wasn't sure why he needed a roommate—let alone one who was in college—but even though he could afford the place on his own with no trouble, living alone was lonely.

It worked, because Rey wasn't the stereotypical fresh-out-of-college twenty-something. At least she hadn't been until he'd seen her drink gin straight from the bottle.

"Sure," she sighed dejectedly. Her voice was monotone. "Make whatever, I'll drink it. I'm not picky. Not today."

Ben narrowed his eyes at her and gestured for her to follow him into the kitchen. She leaned against the dark granite countertop as he pulled out triple sec, lime juice, and cranberry juice. Maybe it was a good thing he kept mixers on hand. He got to work making her a Cosmo, and himself a gin and tonic.

Handing her the glass, he frowned."What's up?"

Rey bit her lip, a flush creeping across her cheeks. It seemed like she was about to say something, but she stared down at the drink instead, and then downed it all in one go. Wincing again, she handed him the glass back. "Mind making another? I'll need it."

"Uh, okay. I won't lie, I'm getting worried. Are you okay?" he prodded. He set the glass she'd handed him down on the counter and took a step closer, inspecting her. "Rey, what's going on?"

Ben watched her close her eyes and let out a long breath before giving a sharp nod. She walked over to the dining room table and snatched a folded letter off of it, returning to the kitchen. She shoved it into his hands.

"Go ahead," she muttered. "Read it."

His brow furrowed as he unfolded it and scanned the words printed on it.

"Ah." He blinked at the paper, reread it, and slumped back against the counter. "Your student visa is expiring? Can you apply for a work visa or something?"

Rey huffed, and grabbed his untouched gin and tonic, sipping at it. "I'm a barista. I'm not published yet, and the place I work at won't qualify for that. It would be ideal to have a green card, but to get a green card based on employment you have to have extraordinary ability in something, or you have to be like, an executive or in some other high-up position, which I'm obviously not."

He paused. "Are you going to go back to England?"

The question hurt to ask.

"I don't know," she whispered. Her chin trembled as he looked over at her. "I might have to. But… it's not like I've got family there waiting for me. Everyone I know is here. My life is here, and-"

Her breath was coming in quick, and shallow, like she was about to start hyperventilating. Ben grasped her shoulders, and her eyes snapped to his, wide and surprised. "We'll figure it out. I'll help," he promised. "How else can you get a green card?"

Rey chewed at her lip, and Ben struggled not to reach out and wipe the single tear that slid down her cheek. "There's employment, which I won't qualify for. There are ways for abuse victims and refugees, but for someone like me?" She grasped his glass like it was a lifeline, and murmured, "I think the only way I could get one is through family. There are application forms for fiances or spouses of citizens. If I was a child or sibling of a citizen I'd be okay, but I'm not."

She shook her head and drained the glass. She looked up at him with a sad, exhausted expression—so much worse than the sort of stressed she'd been over her most difficult round of finals—and she whispered, her voice cracking, "Ben, I don't know what I'm going to do."

The fear in her voice made his heart hurt, and then something she'd said echoed in his mind.

Fiances or spouses of citizens.

Ben inhaled sharply. His idea was either very smart, or incredibly stupid. Actually, it was almost certainly stupid.

He paused, and then ran a hand through his hair before saying sheepishly, "So, I have an idea."

Chapter 2: Ideas and Old Friends

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Not two minutes after Ben's idea was spoken aloud, Rey finished another drink. The words had fallen from his lips and she could only gape at him. Then she turned and cobbled together a messier and more gin-centric Cosmo. She had to call it that—otherwise it would be admitting it was straight gin, and Rey wasn't ready to acknowledge how low she'd fallen.

She gulped down the alcoholic concoction and grimaced.

Ben… hadn't gotten any less pretty. His idea wasn't any less tempting.

Rey toyed with the idea of drinking straight from the bottle again when Ben, the not-quite-friend who she was pretty sure had just proposed to her, spoke up.

"I didn't mean to freak you out," he blurted. "I just thought it would help, but if that was creepy, please forget I offered."

He was right. It would help, and she knew he wasn't a creep.

Ben was…

He was sweet. Quiet, a little shy, maybe too serious. As far as Rey could tell, he had expensive tastes for some things, but was modest overall. It was odd that a guy in his early thirties would take in a roommate a decade his junior, but them living together worked.

Of course her brain reminded her that the guy could give her butterflies with a look, but she'd crossed that possibility off her list early on, because, one, you don't sleep with your roommates, and two, she doubted he was into her.

Maybe he was asexual? She hadn't seen him bring any hookups home, and Ben was the kind of guy who could hook up if he wanted to.

Rey shook the thoughts from her mind and sat down the bottle she'd been uncapping. She sighed. "You didn't freak me out. It wasn't creepy. Getting engaged or married to a citizen would be the easiest way to solve the issue, but it's a huge favor to ask anyone, never mind someone who barely knows anything about me, and-"

He interrupted in a murmur, locking his gaze to his own feet. "You claim you only eat seventy percent cocoa or higher dark chocolate, but you sneak Reece's from the bowl of candy we pass out every Halloween. You take your coffee with almost half a mug of coconut creamer, which is weird, by the way. The thing you hate most about your job are the rude college students because it makes you worry you were like that, but you shouldn't be worried, because you're one of the nicest people I've met. There's no way you've ever been that much of an asshole."

Ben paused in his mini-rant to take a breath. She stared at him in disbelief, but he still didn't look her way while he continued. "You buy a cheaper detergent because you prefer the smell, not because it's cheaper, and you tell everyone your favorite book is Pride and Prejudice." He stopped and chuckled. "It's not. I'm pretty sure you don't even have a copy. You'd rather reread the battered copy of the third Harry Potter book that's sitting on the coffee table, and the reason you haven't bought a new copy is because that book is one of the few things you still have from your childhood. You didn't bother with a second date with the last two guys you dated because one was creepy enough to try to get you drunk and the other was rude to a waitress." He frowned, and then snorted, adding, "Oh, and you're terrible at braiding your hair."

Then Ben turned to her, noticed the dumbfounded expression she probably still wore, and shrugged. "I pay attention. Maybe I don't know everything, but we've lived together for almost two years. I noticed a few things along the way."

Well.

That was… something.

But what that something was, Rey wasn't sure. She blinked down at the bottle of gin she'd set on the counter in front of her, wondering if it would help or make things worse if she had more. Finally, she decided to face the weird conversation head on. The alcohol she'd already had would hit her in about ten minutes, anyway.

"I- We- That's—" she stammered, then sucked in a breath. "That's still not enough to marry someone, or be engaged to them."

Ben nodded. "No, but it wouldn't be permanent. If we claim we're engaged, you could apply for a green card, and once things are all set, we could just fake a break-up."

It… it could work. She didn't know if they would only need to claim to be engaged, or if they would need to go through with a wedding, but it could work. It was an ridiculous solution, but it was a solution, and that's all she needed.

Rey tilted her head and studied him. His expression was unwavering, his gaze fixed on her. "You would be willing to do that?" she whispered. "That's a huge favor. It would screw up your social life for a while and you would need to fill out forms and stuff saying we're together. Maybe even do interviews—I'm not sure."

Warm brown eyes shined at her, and his lips quirked into a smile. "Do I look like I have a social life?"

Had the man never seen a mirror?

When she frowned at him, he shrugged. "I wouldn't offer if I wasn't willing. It's bullshit that you'd need to leave. I don't mind helping."

Rey stared at him in stunned disbelief. Hadn't her life been falling apart twenty minutes ago? And now, her hot loner roommate was stepping up with a generous offer to just… fix everything? That was fairly convenient, but it also felt too good to be true.

She forced out the words, and they came out choked. "You're sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure. I promise, I don't mind. Plus," he joked, a little awkwardly, "it would be a pain in the ass trying to find another roommate who's as good as you."

"I think you just mean you'll never find another roommate who doesn't complain about how cold you keep the apartment." She laughed quietly, trying to pretend there wasn't a voice in her head, screaming and demanding for one hell of an explanation for what was going on. She met his eyes and swallowed. "Yeah, okay. If you're okay with this… okay."

Dark eyes mapped over her face in the least subtle way she could imagine.

His words were soft. "I'm okay with it."


"Rey, you've got to be kidding me. You're gonna marry this guy?"

Ben rolled his eyes from the hallway, ducking his head into Rey's room. Finn, a college friend of Rey's, had his arms folded over his chest and a horrified expression on his face. He'd been there for an hour, arriving after Rey got home from work, and he was still freaking out. The guy looked nauseous.

When Ben looked in, Finn was pacing around Rey's bedroom—a room Ben hadn't seen since she'd moved in. It was the smaller of the two, and he frowned to notice that in place of a bed was a small futon. One glance around showed Rey lacked much in the way of furniture or belongings.

For as observant as he was, somehow he'd missed that.

He didn't like it.

Why was she sleeping on a futon? It looked less comfortable than the couch.

"-are we sure he's not obsessed with you or something? Have you made sure there isn't a shrine to you somewhere?"

"Uh, hi," Ben interrupted. "Yeah, hello? I can hear you."

Rey cast him an apologetic wince from where she sat on the lumpy-looking futon and then glared at Finn.

The man's face reddened, and he bristled. "Private conversation, dude. Also, you're trying to get engaged to my friend and you barely know each other, so yeah, pardon me for being concerned."

"Finn," she hissed, "there's a difference between concern and accusing someone of being a stalker. I know Ben. We've lived together for almost two years. Relax."

The man cursed and resumed pacing. "Poe won't like this either. Why can't you marry one of us? If you're set on the green card marriage thing at least consider picking someone you're closer to. This guy—" he gestured wildly toward Ben, "Could be a serial killer."

"So, we're still pretending I'm not here?" Ben drawled, leaning against her door frame. He was sort of glad she had a protective friend, despite what the man was insinuating. "If I'm a serial killer, shouldn't you be more careful about insulting me?"

Finn turned to glare at him, "You, shut it. You're the one who planted this idea in her head. I'm only trying to talk some sense into her."

A pillow flew through the air and knocked the man upside the head, and Ben had to bite back a laugh. Rey wasn't the sort of person who appreciated anyone questioning her decisions. It was one of the things he admired most about her. When he looked over, she was glowering.

"I am not marrying you or your boyfriend, that's ridiculous."

Finn pointed at him, "More so than marrying this guy? He's like ten years older than you and you aren't even dating!"

"You have no right to talk about age differences," she barked. "Remind me, how much older is Poe? If it's acceptable for you, why is it a problem for me?"

The name caught Ben's attention. "Wait… Poe? Not Poe Dameron, right?"

Both of their heads jerked toward him. He'd startled them into silence.

With perfect timing, someone knocked at the door.

"Oh thank god," Finn breathed. "That's Poe. Maybe he can talk some sense into you."

The man breezed past Ben on his way to the apartment's front door, and Ben took the opportunity give Rey a half-smile, and an understanding nod. He had half a mind to make her a drink, but considering how much gin she'd consumed not twenty-four hours earlier, he decided against it.

If not a drink, she looked like she needed a hug, but he hadn't hugged her yet… except for that one time she was sick and heavily affected by whatever cold meds she'd taken. She'd greeted him with a blanket-wrapped hug when he'd gotten home, curling up against his chest like she… needed him. Like he made her comfortable.

It'd tugged at something in his chest, but it hadn't happened a second time.

"What's this I hear about a green-card wedding?" a jovial voice echoed from the living room.

Rey groaned and let her head fall into her hands. "Finn! Tell me you didn't tell anyone else. This isn't something we can be telling people!"

"Of course not," Finn huffed, coming back into her bedroom. He gestured to the man Ben couldn't help but stare at. "Just Poe."

"Holy shit," Ben huffed. "Poe Dameron?"

The man had grown up since they'd last seen each other as teenagers, but the huge grin across his face hadn't changed. "Ben! Man, I haven't seen you in forever!"

Poe pulled him in for a proper hug, forgoing whatever bro-hug was considered more socially acceptable, and patted him on the back. "Rey, you didn't tell me you were living with this Ben! I would have come over to hang out more often."

He released Ben from the hug, beaming as he turned to face Finn and Rey, who were blinking at them like they'd both grown a few extra arms each.

Rey's voice softened. "You two know each other?"

"Yep," Poe nodded. "Grew up as neighbors, moms worked together. Met in the sandbox, graduated from high school together, all the stuff in between." He paused and turned back to face Ben. "Wait, you're Ben Rey's marrying? Oh, that's perfect!"

"Perfect?" Finn exclaimed. "You were supposed to be on my side!"

Poe quirked an eyebrow and shrugged. "What? Ben's a nice guy. They're…" Much to Ben's chagrin, the man tilted his head, glancing between them, and hummed, "Kind of a cute pair. I could ship it. Plus, it's getting Rey out of a huge mess. What's the harm?"

Rey's cheeks were turning pink, but she didn't reply.

After a moment of silence, Finn threw up his hands. He narrowed his eyes at Ben, snorted his displeasure, and looked over at Rey. "Is this what you want? You feel comfortable doing this? You really want to be engaged to Ben?"

He felt a weird spike of nerves when Rey's eyes met his. Not for the first time, he took a moment to appreciate their beautiful hazel color, and the quiet strength that swirled in them.

Ben held his breath, waiting for her to answer.

Her answer was resolute. "Yeah. It solves a lot of problems, and you need to stop giving him shit, because it was very kind of him to offer. I want to be engaged to Ben, so calm down and trust my judgement."

Finn sighed again and plopped back onto the futon next to her. He nodded. "Fine." He glared up at Ben, but his stare was a little more accepting. Not a second later, Finn rolled his eyes at him, and turned back to Rey, patting her knee. "I don't like this, but I'm glad you're not moving back to England."

Everything Finn said went in one ear and out the other.

Ben was too focused on the words that echoed in his head.

I want to be engaged to Ben.

This was either a terrible idea, or a brilliant one.

Chapter 3: Creating the Love Story

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Rey paced between the couch and the coffee table, her rubber-bottomed slippers padding over the dark hardwood that spread throughout the apartment. She bit at her nails as Poe and Finn, both sitting across from where Ben was relaxing on the couch, clicked away on laptops.

After a mere twenty-four hours, Poe had Finn convinced that the fake-engagement plan was her best option, and that Ben was not a serial killer, nor a stalker. She huffed at the thought—the idea of Ben Solo being anything other than sweet and occasionally grumpy was absurd—but she continued pacing. She'd been fine until Finn had pulled up an article on the red flags that tip off immigration officers to situations such as the one she'd thrown herself into head-first.

Ben broke the silence, repeating in a much calmer tone than she expected, "We need to go through with a wedding? You’re sure an engagement won't work?"

Her eyes darted over to Poe and Finn, and she watched as Poe nodded. “Sounds like it. You guys check off a few red flags. There's a big age difference, never mind the difference in social class.” He winced.  “No offense, Rey.”

She frowned. “That can mostly be explained by the age difference, don't you think? Would you call that a difference in social class? If I was thirty-something, I could probably own a condo too, or at least be paying a mortgage on one.”

When Ben didn't reply and wouldn't meet her eyes, Poe piped in with a snort. "Sure, maybe you'd be on the same level if you were thirty-something and won the lottery a few times."

Ben sighed. His expression was uncomfortable, at best. "I'm not sure I'd call that my money—”

"No? So, what, you don’t have a trust fund?" Poe asked, seeming amused. "Might as well admit it. She's going to find out, especially if you introduce her to your parents."

Rey's eyes narrowed. “Is the issue that Ben's got more money than he lets on? Does that matter?” She looked over to her would-be fiance and shrugged. “Isn't that his business?”

"One of the red flags on here is not sharing a bank account, or assets,” Poe explained. “And it'll be a massive red flag to any immigration officer if you don't know who your in-laws are."

"They're…" Ben crossed his arms and paused. "They're sort of known. Poe's right,” he admitted, with a groan. “If anyone was trying to poke holes in this, that would be an obvious one."

She crossed her arms and plopped next to him on the couch. "You're being very mysterious.”

Ben fidgeted with unease. "If you've heard of either of them, you'd have heard of my mom. Leia Organa?"

Her eyes widened. In this state at least, Leia Organa was a household name—maybe not on the level of Oprah or Bill Gates , but she was known. Mostly because she was a Senator pushing for more progressive immigration reform.

"Hold on, is your dad Han Solo?" Finn interrupted. "He was one of the hardest grading professors I had. I barely scraped a C in his class, and that was sheer luck."

Rey tilted her head. "Which class?"

"It was that semester I took an Archaeology elective," Finn muttered. "Remember that professor I kept bitching about? The one who was super famous in his field for making archaeology sexy or something? He goes on digs and writes fiction books about an archaeologist, so I thought taking his class would be great but it almost destroyed my GPA."

Next to her, Ben cringed.

"Yeah, that sounds like him," Poe laughed. "Han's always been a hardass. Sorry, if we'd met by then I would have warned you."

Rey turned to Ben, who groaned again. “Let me get this straight. Your mother is a career politician—one I've admired for quite some time—and your father is a famous archaeologist and author?” She shook her head in disbelief. “And you're willing to help me with this? I don't understand. This is a huge inconvenience for you, and I'm the only one benefiting, and—”

"Rey, stop," he interrupted. "I wouldn't have offered if I wasn’t willing."

But that didn’t make any sense. A million questions buzzed in her mind, but for now, she nodded, and addressed Poe. “All these potential red flags—the age difference, financial stuff, whatever—that means we have to get married? Doesn’t that seem like we’re going too far? I mean... married?”

"Sounds like it would look suspicious if you didn’t," Finn said, giving her a sympathetic smile. "I don't think they would buy it. Putting a ring on and acting the part during an interview is one thing. A legal marriage is harder to challenge.” He paused, and his eyes lit up with an idea. “What if you do one of those quiet courthouse weddings, so it's not some big mess when you have to get divorced?"

It wasn’t a bad idea. She glanced up at Ben, whose expression was annoyingly unreadable. "You’re sure you don't mind doing this? The courthouse idea could work."

"No, of course I don’t mind," he replied quickly, reaching over to give her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I said I'd help, and I meant it. You can stop asking."

Poe coughed, and something about it caught Rey's attention. When she looked in his direction, his face had morphed into something apologetic, and he said, "That might be a problem. The courthouse wedding that you don't tell anyone about, I mean. Secret marriages like that are another big red flag, according to the lists we found. And considering Ben's parents..."

"We would be expected to have a big wedding,” Ben sighed, finishing the sentence for him. “Everyone knows my mother loves a party. There’s no chance she’d be happy with me getting married in a courthouse." His mouth worked, and she tried not to let her gaze linger at his mouth. "What else, Poe? We may as well get all the chips out on the table so Rey and I know what we're in for."

Poe nodded and scanned through whatever he had up on his computer. He flinched at something on the screen in front of him, and showed it to Finn, who let out an exasperated moan after a minute or two of reading.

"You guys might need to take this further than you planned," he muttered. "This says immigration officers look into a relationship closely. Social media, wedding photos… looks like some couples even print out records of their texts conversations. They'll interview you, and this says it can be helpful to have letters from multiple people in your life who can vouch that you're together."

Rey's jaw hit the floor somewhere in the middle of everything that he'd said, but then he added cautiously, "And, it sounds like you'll need to be married for a few years before Rey can file for something called naturalization. This article implies that you could get divorced sometime after that happens."

Ben ran a hand through his hair. His breath came out in a long exhale. "If we're doing this, we may as well go all in and do it properly. No sense in taking the risk if we aren't willing to do what we need to do to avoid getting caught."

"This is ridiculous," she laughed, the absurdity of the situation getting to her. She took a minute to consider it all and then laughed again humorlessly. "My visa expires at the end of the year. That's in less than three months. If we’re doing this, we need to figure it out by then."

Ben grinned over at her, seeming as overwhelmed by the ridiculousness as she was. "December wedding?"

"May as well," she agreed, throwing her hands up. "It should be massive. We can let your mom plan it and we'll take a billion pictures and change our facebook statuses and—"

Finn piped in, "I can't tell if you two are joking or not anymore and I'm concerned because I'm pretty sure that's actually what you'll have to do if you want to make this work."

Oh, she knew—that was why the logical part of her had decided to take a nice little vacation somewhere much warmer than the apartment.

Rey smacked a hand over her mouth and tried to stop the nervous laughter that was threatening to bubble up. Ben snorted and spoke for her. "I don't think we're kidding. At least, I'm not. I still think it’s worth it." He looked over at Rey. "I'm willing if you are."

She hesitated and was just about to respond when Poe let out an awkward laugh. "So, now might be a good time to admit something. I may have let it slip to my mom that you guys are engaged. It wasn't on purpose, but I assumed this plan was set in stone, and—"

Ben interrupted him with a full, booming laugh. "Wow,” he worked out. “Wow, Poe, that—that's… wow."

"I'm guessing your mothers are the type to talk?" Rey asked dryly.

Ben huffed. "I'm willing to bet mine is already wedding planning. I'm shocked I haven't gotten a dozen phone calls yet." He took his phone out of his pocket and murmured, "Oh, what a surprise, four missed calls. All from her. And twenty-four texts. Thanks, Poe."

After a moment of silence, Rey looked over at him with an exasperated smile. “I guess we're really doing this.”

Ben seemed baffled. He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged again. "I guess so."


Rey was still reeling from the conversation as she walked home from work, three days later. It was a Saturday and her shift had been early enough so that she was just leaving as most of the college students started trudging in, all looking either hungover, or like they'd just been up all night studying.

She didn't miss those days.

It was possible she was walking home faster than she normally would, but that was because she had plans for once. Plans that involved pajamas, takeout, her charming and handsome not-fiance, and what was bound to be a strange conversation.

They could have discussed everything while Poe and Finn were over, but it felt weird to “build the love story” with them present. Hell, the idea of having a conversation about their fake relationship with just Ben was odd enough.

Rey came to a screeching halt in the middle of the sidewalk and stared up at the sky in disbelief. This was the riskiest thing she'd ever done in her entire life, and she was just starting to realize that fake-marrying—except not really fake because those papers would be real and legal—the man she was harboring a crush on with plans to divorce him in a few years was the stupidest choice she could make.

It was asking—no, begging —for trouble.

At some point she'd started walking again, and before she managed to quiet all the screaming going on in her mind, she arrived at their front door.

Ben greeted her with a broad smile, a strong drink, a table covered in takeout boxes, and promises of cookie-dough ice cream in the freezer.

Who said there was no such thing as the perfect man?

Rey mentally face-palmed. 

She smiled tightly, excusing herself to her bedroom, and returned minutes later in sweatpants and a hoodie, mirroring Ben's clothing options. Except instead of a hoodie he'd gone for a tight black t-shirt that stretched over his chest and shoulders and left little to the imagination in terms of his muscle tone.

They sat down across from each other, passing boxes back and forth until they filled their plates, and finally Ben cleared his throat and kicked things off. "I don't think we have to change much. Story-wise." She looked up, confused, and saw him swipe another egg roll. "The best lies involve some truth, right? So when people ask, why not tell them something that's partly true? I was looking for a roommate, you moved in. It seemed like an unusual match but it worked, and while living together we got close and fell in love."

Rey considered it. "That's easier to remember and repeat than making up an elaborate story. How long were we living together before we started a relationship? What do you think?"

"Well…" he sat back in his chair and sipped at a glass of amber liquid. "I’m thinking roommate situations like that start with something casual that turns into something not casual. You've been living here for almost two years, and let's say I proposed somewhere around the one-year relationship mark, so…" he shrugged, "Maybe we started hooking up three or four months into you living here?"

She choked into her water and prayed she hadn't started blushing.

"And things were casual for four or five months,” he continued, considering a box of wontons with care. He talked as though they were discussing their next grocery trip. “Just sex, but then we caught feelings, made it official, and started a romantic relationship?"

When he didn't say anything else, Rey looked up and realized he was waiting for her input. "Yeah," she blurted, hoping he didn’t notice how off she was. "That makes sense. Maybe we can't pin down when it got serious..."

"Because we fell in love slowly, while things were casual, and it took a while to admit it?" he finished for her, nodding. "That seems believable."

Rey swallowed, and her eyes flashed up to his as she chewed on the inside of her cheek. 

"Yeah," she said finally, "Yeah, that's believable."


Ben knew something was wrong as soon as he noticed it was  9:45 AM and Rey wasn’t in the living room. They were leaving in fifteen minutes to visit his parents and sure he was nervous about introducing her to them—mostly hoping that they wouldn't see through the charade—but he was a lot more worried about Rey. Their conversation the day before had been off, and she wasn't the type to run late and—

He heard something thump against one of the walls in the hallway.

Rey was dressed in dark jeans and a maroon knit sweater, her hair back in a knobby braid. She was sitting with her back to the wall, her knees curled up under her. He watched, tilting his head as she dropped her forehead to her knees and groaned.

"Hey, sweetheart," Ben murmured. He swore to himself that he was only trying to get used to the pet name and him using it had nothing to do with the fluttery feeling that refused to go away around her. "Everything okay?"

She whined and glanced up at him. "I—I just," her voice was scratchy. "Ben, I looked it up and the things that happen when people are caught faking these things for a green card are awful. You could go to jail for this, Ben, and—" she paused, and sniffled. Something clamped around his heart. "You're doing this to help me but I'm a terrible actress, and what if we seem super awkward today when we're supposed to be all in love and excited to get married and what if when we go to kiss in front of people it's uncomfortable and obvious and—"

"Rey," he interrupted softly, recognizing her oncoming rant for what it was. She looked up at him with wide eyes, and he held out a hand to her. She reached out, tentative, but still put her hand in his, and he gently pulled her up off the floor.

What he was about to suggest was risky, but no more risky than proposing had been, he guessed.

"Would it help if the first time we did certain things wasn't in front of people?" he asked, watching her reaction. He added, "We could start with a hug."

Her hand had just released his—she'd held onto it a lot longer than she'd needed to. 

But then her hands landed on his chest and suddenly Ben was too distracted, watching her nod as she leaned against him. It was a relief. He’d only hugged her once, but that was enough to miss it. He wrapped around her, reveling in how well she fit in his arms, under his chin. She sighed, relaxing against him, and Ben ducked down, nuzzling against her shoulder. 

It was the first time he'd noticed that she used his shampoo.

He didn’t mind.

Rey sighed again. It was almost impossible to do, but he let her go, fumbling and flushing as soon as she looked up at him and said, sounding more relaxed, "What about kissing?"

Right. He had implied that.

Ben’s eyes slid down to where she was biting her bottom lip. He wanted to bite that lip. It was a terrible idea, but he managed to convince himself that it would seem less awkward if the first time he kissed her wasn't in public.

That's why he was doing this. No other reason whatsoever.

He tilted her chin up, captivated as he watched her eyelashes flutter when she closed her eyes. Ben couldn't help but take a moment to stare down at her—at the sweet smattering of freckles and the soft pink lips that were waiting for him to—

"So, are you..." her lips quirked, but she kept her eyes closed as she let out a nervous laugh, "Are you going to ki-"

Ben interrupted her while she was smiling and in the process of asking him a question, and met her in a full, open-mouthed kiss, light-years from the chaste one he had planned.

If he hadn't been so preoccupied with sliding his tongue against hers while pulling her to lean against him, Ben might have thought more of the cute surprised noise she made. After a moment of hesitation, she sunk into the kiss, and reached up to tighten her hold on his shoulders, encouraging him as he tilted his head to slot his lips over hers. His mouth moved slowly over hers, his nose sliding against her cheek.

Ben moved his hand toward the back of her head, and feeling a bit daring, pulled on her braid and continued teasing at her tongue with his own, basking in the way she gasped and sighed into his mouth. The tiny portion of his brain that wasn't overwhelmed with kissing Rey commented that it was good that this kiss was happening in private. 

He wanted to keep doing this. Keep kissing her, turn them around, press her against the wall, make her make more pretty noises, but they had places to go and things to do and this relationship was supposed to be for show. He wasn't supposed to be grabbing her and attacking her with his mouth in the hallway when nobody was watching.

No matter how much he wanted to.

Ben grinned against her mouth and slowly pulled back, leaving her with a few soft kisses, and a gentle suck of her lower lip. When he caught his breath and looked down, Rey's eyes were just opening. Her cheeks were stained as red as her kiss-swollen lips. 

She'd been beautiful before, but now… 

Rey cleared her throat, turned her head and blushed further, struggling against the adorable grin that the corners of her lips were turning up into. 

There was a short, awkward silence, and Ben couldn’t figure out what to say. Mostly he was just trying to not kiss her again. It was taking a shocking amount of willpower.

"So, uh…" Rey breathed, biting her lip as she looked back up at him, "Is that how you would kiss me in front of your parents?"

"I'll kiss you however you want," Ben blurted, then paused, mostly in shock at his own words. "I—I mean, whatever you're comfortable with," he said, trying to recover. He cringed, wiping a hand down his face, and tried not to groan at his own stupidity. "I just mean, why don't you let me know what level of PDA you're comfortable with and we'll go with that. My parents have never seen me with someone, so they won't know what to expect."

He chanced a look down at her and was relieved when he saw that she seemed placated with his recovery. Then she shot his relief to hell with a single smirk, and the words, "I'm comfortable with anything, especially if you kiss me like that. Do whatever feels normal."

Chapter 4: Props and In-laws

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Rey fiddled with her phone after connecting it to the fancy Bluetooth setup in Ben's car, and after some internal debate, she settled on the safe option of instrumental covers. With a bit of guilt, she realized she didn't know what sort of music Ben preferred. He always kept earbuds in while he worked.

Vitamin String Quartet made for decent background music to have on while making awkward small talk with your roommate-turned-unexpected-fiance who just surprised the hell out of you with the best kiss you'd ever had, right?

She cursed her mind for bringing up that kiss again. Another blush rose on her cheeks, and for a moment she contemplated what sort of social situations she could put them in to ensure a repeat performance.

"So there's something in the dashboard compartment.” Ben’s voice was strained and hesitant. It snapped her from her thoughts, and she looked over and, like a fool, grinned at him. They were still sitting in his parked car, in a spot in front of their building. "Mind getting it out? Just… don’t freak out."

He still seemed nervous. Good, maybe he hadn't noticed how ridiculous she was acting. It wasn't as if that had been her first kiss, even if she was acting like it.

Rey took a deep breath and focused on the words he'd said. She opened the compartment he gestured to and recognized that, as she'd suspected, it was organized and sparse, only containing the car's owner manual, a few folded documents, and not a speck of dust.

And a ring box.

What had she gotten herself into?

He spoke up as she reached for it. The wince in his tone was audible. "I know it's weird that I bought one for you, and it's probably even more weird that I checked out one of your rings to get the size right, but if my mom sees you without one I'll never hear the end of it. I’m guessing she’s already pissed that she had to find out from Poe's mom, so—"

He kept rambling, but Rey could only stare at the little box in her hands. It wasn't a typical ring box. Instead it was made of dark wood, with intricate floral designs carved into it. She opened it slowly and gazed down at the ring inside. It was simple—just a band of silver with a diamond that seemed massive as it sparkled in the sunlight that streamed in through her passenger's window.

"Holy shit," she breathed, interrupting his anxious rambling. "Please, tell me this isn't real." She looked over at him, mouth open. "This is fake, right? Ben, tell me you didn't just spend this kind of money on a ring for a wedding that’s less than legitimate."

Ben shrugged. She blinked at him.

"How many carats is this?" she asked, her voice faint. She was terrified to put on a ring that looked like it cost more than her annual rent.

When no response came, Rey glanced over and saw that he was chewing his lip. He sighed. "I'm not sure I should say.." He paused, and admitted, "Considering the financial situation with my family, it would seem odd if you didn't have a ring."

"Sure, a ring, but Ben," she let out a disbelieving laugh, "this isn't just a ring. Seriously, how many carats is this?"

His head tilted, his throat bobbing. “If you want to blame someone, blame Poe and the woman at Tiffany's. They helped pick it out. I have the paperwork at home but… it's around three carats.”

That was the moment Rey realized she didn't know anything about jewelry. He could have said five and she wouldn't have known what that meant. She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before closing the box and setting it on her lap. Then she pulled out her phone.

After a moment of googling she choked out, "Ben! This probably cost more than I make in a year!"

"You don't have to wear it," he said softly. "I just thought it'd help. Plus," he huffed, "It'll stop my mother from scolding me. We're putting on an act, so think of it like a prop. At least while we’re visiting them, please?"

She looked over, studying him, and nodded. Maybe she'd just wear it to lunch with his family and then give it back or something. "Okay, I get that." She opened the box again, fingers shaking.

He could return it after. Get his money back.

"Here, let me."

Ben's voice was quiet and low, and Rey felt a surge of nerves as he took the box from her hand and lifted out the ring. He lifted her left hand and paused, glancing up at her with warm eyes as he slid it onto her finger. It was a perfect fit, and she was too busy meeting his stare to look down and admire the ring she now wore.

Had he always looked at her so intensely?

Their gazes broke off, and Ben pulled the car out of the spot as Rey stared down at the ring she wore. The more she considered it, the idea of giving it back after lunch was… not appealing. 


The drive to the familiar, quiet neighborhood in Wellesley was short and uneventful until they entered the bubble of large estate-like properties. At that point, Ben heard amusing, breathy laughs coming from the woman next to him.

"These houses are incredible," she breathed, just as they passed what could be termed a mansion, with stark white columns going up three stories and a perfectly manicured lawn, surrounded by a gated fence. "People live like this?" She huffed, and muttered, "Well, okay, I know people live like this, but it's one thing to know it and another to see it. And who needs a three-car garage? All of these houses have at least a three-car garage!"

Rey snorted as they passed another home he'd gotten to know well in his childhood, "Oh wait, look, that one's only got a two-car garage. What, are they the paupers of the neighborhood?"

He bit back a laugh as he realized she was just ranting nervously, and reached over to pat her knee. "I'm not sure I'd call my Aunt Amilyn a pauper. I guess she's technically not my aunt either. Anyway, you can ask her when you meet her at Thanksgiving."

She dropped her head into her hands and groaned.

"I'm so sorry, I'm not trying to be a jerk. I'm just overwhelmed."

Ben nodded. "I figured." When she smiled over at him, the grin didn’t meet her worried eyes. He reached over again, this time taking her hand."You have nothing to worry about. I've never brought someone home before, so they're excited to meet you. They'll love you."

"That's not the part I'm as worried about," she admitted, worrying at her lip with her teeth. "I'm nervous about making sure we seem… you know. Together."

That he understood, and it was something he was concerned about, too. The thing was, he was more worried about what Rey would find acceptable in terms of acting couple-y. The day would be a bit of a mess if Rey was nervous the whole time.

Though, she'd relaxed that morning, after he'd hugged her. His heart had warmed with how comfortable she'd seemed in his arms, and—

Ben gulped. 

They pulled into a long driveway that swooped in front of the home he'd grown up in, and Rey's eyes went wide when she saw the ostentatious brick-front of the residence that was too big for only two people.

“How about this,” he murmured, just after parking the car. “Every time you get nervous, just squeeze my hand and I'll help you calm down.”

She was taking deep breaths and nodded to him, giving him a brief grateful smile. They climbed out of the car, and he walked around it, slipping his hand around hers. He brought her hand up and inspected the ring she wore.

"Seems like it fits," he hummed. "Good, I was worried I would get the size wrong."

Rey’s cheeks turned pink from the cold breeze, and he fought the urge to wrap her up and warm her, and—

Oh. He didn't have to fight that urge now, did he?

Hoping she wouldn't mind, he took a step closer and held his jacket open, wrapping it and his arms around her so she was nestled against him, and engulfed in warmth. Rey didn’t even hesitate. Her arms reached around under his jacket to return the hug, and she sighed against his chest.

Ben had no idea how long they stayed there like that, but at some point, he closed his eyes, and pressed a light kiss to the crown of her head 

Her breath caught—that's when it hit him.

Pretending to have feelings for her wouldn't be hard.


A small hand reached out to whack his shoulder with more force than Ben expected to come from a woman with such a tiny frame.

"I had to hear about my son getting engaged from one of my friends!" Leia scolded, scowling at him. "I didn't even know you were dating anyone! You're getting coal for Christmas, Benjamin. Now, move so I can greet my future daughter-in-law."

They hadn't made it three feet past the threshold before his mother descended on them, and really, he should have expected that. He also should have warned Rey, who was standing behind him, wide-eyed as she peered around the foyer.

Ben couldn't blame her. Ostentatious and overdone were the only words that could describe the place. Well-maintained original hardwood floors stretched throughout the entire first floor, and the foyer had two mirror-image curved staircases leading to the upstairs. The room had a cathedral ceiling with tall multi-story windows that allowed for a beautiful amount of natural light.

Just as expected, Rey was panicking. Ben smiled at his mother and tightened an arm around Rey's waist, drawing her a little closer. "Mom, this is Rey." He leaned down to nuzzle into her braided hair, hoping it seemed natural. "Sweetheart, this is my mother, Leia."

It seemed he’d hit the nail on the head with his affectionate actions, because his mother’s face lit up and Rey’s stiffness seeped away.

Rey smiled and reached a hand out to shake his mother’s, but the woman only clutched her hand to inspect the ring Ben was relieved he'd thought to buy. She hummed and nodded at him, "You have better taste than your father, I'll give you that."

"Poe helped," he admitted. "Speaking of, where is dad?"

Leia rolled her eyes, "Oh, that old fool. I had a meeting this morning and left crystal clear instructions on when to put the roast in. I don't know what he did to it, but the thing was scorched when I got here, so he's making amends by picking something up." She looked over at Rey with an apologetic expression, "I'm sorry, dear, I would have preferred to meet you over a proper family dinner. I hope you're okay with Italian, because he's picking up some family dishes from our favorite Italian place. It's nearby, so he should be back any time."

"That's great," Rey smiled.. She paused, and breathed, "You have a gorgeous home. I'm not sure I've ever been in a house like this."

"Well, I'm sure my son can give you a tour.” Then she leaned in and said with a conspiratorial whisper, winking at Rey, "Want to split a bottle of wine with me? I remember how nervous Han was meeting my parents. I practically had to get the poor man drunk first."

Ben sighed with relief as Rey laughed. “I‘ll take a glass, if you don't mind.”

"Not at all, dear," Leia waved her off.

She turned and walked in the direction of the kitchen, and Ben grasped Rey's hand as he faced her, asking "Everything okay so far?"

Rey nodded, and, much to his surprise, leaned up on her toes to plant a soft kiss to his cheek. Then, just as quickly, she let go of his hand and followed his mother.

His breath came out slowly. He touched the spot she'd kissed, ignoring the fact that his lips were curling up into a grin.


Rey was halfway through her first glass of sweet white wine when an older, disheveled man wearing wire-framed glasses and looking every bit the part of an absent-minded college professor (right down to the jacket with elbow patches) burst into the kitchen with a few bags of what she assumed was food.

"Finally decided to introduce us to the fiance, huh?" he said in a tone that was both gruff and charming. The man grinned at Rey and set the bags down on the counter, "Hey sweetheart, what'd my idiot son have to do to convince you to marry him? You're way out of his league!"

"Okay, that's enough, Dad," Ben interrupted, sliding a possessive arm around her waist. Rey snorted and tucked into his arm, amused by both Ben and his father. "Go be charming with someone else."

The man rolled his eyes. "Just being friendly, kid. No need to get all sensitive about it." He went back to smiling at her. "I’m Han. Nice to meet you."

She laughed at the way Ben started grumbling things under his breath, and introduced herself to the man she knew she'd like, following up with, "My friend said he took an archaeology class you taught? That seems like such an interesting field!"

"It's a good one," he nodded, then smirked. "But I'm guessing your friend didn't have a lot of good things to say. Not sure why I keep teaching, honestly." Han shrugged, and swiped the glass of amber liquid Ben had been sipping at, downing it in one go. Ben didn't bother protesting, and Han continued, "Nothing wrong with being a professor, but I'm happier out in the field. But, you need to keep up to date in the academic world to get out on some of the good digs, so I guess that's why I put up with it."

Leia came by and smacked his shoulder, reaching up to kiss his cheek, "It keeps you close to home, you old fool. Besides, you're much more successful with your books."

Ben busied himself by holding her, running fingers over her arms. It was the most comforting thing she could imagine—the urge to forget the conversation in favor of turning and nestling into him was intense. But he froze the moment she spoke up, "Well, I think it's neat that you teach and go out on digs. It's like… Indiana Jones or something."

She'd said something wrong. That much was clear, because Leia pursed her lips and finished her glass of wine silently, and Ben snorted, laughing against her shoulder.

Han's expression grew stern, and she noticed his grip tighten around the empty glass he held. He ground out the words, "That man would have been a menace to the field of archaeology. If he existed. Which, thankfully, is not the case."

Rey's eyes went wide. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

The man's eyes narrowed as he considered her words, and finally, he let out a chuckle, which evolved into a full belly laugh as Rey stared in horror. "Shit, kid, I'm messing with you," he laughed. "Those movies are a terrible example of the field, but they're just movies. Good ones, too." He snorted, and shook his head, "You should have seen the look on your face."

"I married an asshole," Leia groaned. "You idiot, our son’s finally brought her home and you're going to scare the poor girl off."

Rey relaxed back against Ben, who was snickering at her reaction. She tilted her head to glare up at him, and scolded through her smile, "You could have warned me, you know!"

"Sure, but it was funnier this way."

She was about to scold him again when he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, softly, and sweetly, and with a kiss that was more chaste than the first one they'd shared. He pulled away and Rey couldn't stop herself from catching his mouth for another kiss—a deeper, slower one—completely forgetting his parents were right there.

Ben didn't seem to mind, and his hand came up to cup her cheek as he let her take the lead. As her lips slid over his, a throat cleared. Rey pulled back, blushing as Han chuckled. Thankfully, Leia had taken the opportunity to grab the bags of food and start moving toward the dining room, so neither of them had spent long watching her practically make out with their son.

She glanced up at Ben, noticing his cheeks had turned pink. For some reason, she thought if his dark shoulder-length locks didn't cover them, his ears might be turning pink, too.

He ran a hand through his hair and smiled down at her, nuzzling his nose into the side of her head. "We should get something to eat."

"Right, food, yeah," Rey laughed, her voice coming out breathy. "Good idea."

Without a second thought, she let him take her hand, and lead her toward the dining room.


Three massive plates of partially finished food were still spread across the table as Ben sat back in his chair. His parents had taken the news of a December wedding well and without prompting, his mother had offered to help (or, more likely, get one of her assistants to help) plan the wedding—an offer they'd accepted right away.

The fact that it was happening either hadn't hit him yet, or it was a lot less scary than he'd expected, because Ben had thought he'd be panicking by now. For whatever reason, he wasn't. He was about to put an arm around her, but paused at the empty seat next to him. He frowned, realizing Rey had never come back from the bathroom, and his mother—

Shit.

She was gone, too, undoubtedly talking to Rey about who knows what. The conversation from his last visit with his parents—the one about how his mother was worried he wouldn't meet anyone and she wouldn't have grandkids—came to mind and he jumped up from the table, hoping his mother wasn't asking a woman in her early twenties and fresh out of college about her plans for children.

"I'm going to go see if everything's okay," he said to Han, who just shrugged and piled more spaghetti onto his plate.

Ben poked his head into the kitchen and saw his mother pouring another glass of wine, turning to head back to the dining room. His frown deepened.

"Is everything okay? Where's Rey?"

“Everything's fine, don't worry,” his mother reassured. “I think she just has a headache. She's in the guest room you stay in, if you want to check on her.” There was a moment of silence before she added, “Rey seems like a very sweet girl.”

It seemed like she had more to add, and Ben looked at her curiously, gesturing for her to continue.

Her voice got quieter. "You know I'm always here if you need anything, right? If you two need assistance, you'll tell me?"

Ben's eyes went wide before he had a chance to stop them.

"Rey didn't tell me," Leia said quickly. "But while we were talking, an immigration officer called her and... it's none of my business. I'm only offering help if it's needed." She paused. "I've seen cases where even the most committed couples who are very much in love struggle with this process, and I don't want you and Rey to stress about it when you should be focused on your lives together."

Ben let out the breath he'd been holding. If she was under the impression they were a normal couple, in love and getting married and dealing with the struggle of attaining a green card, that was fine. Helpful, even.

"That would be great, mom," he nodded. "I know Rey's worried about it, and I think we'd both rather be thinking about the wedding than all the paperwork and interviews."

Leia smiled sympathetically. "Your father and I will help however we can. She seems like a wonderful girl." She reached out to squeeze his hand. "It's so nice to see you two so in love. Now, go check on her. Make sure she's feeling okay."

His heart skipped a beat, and he nodded before turning and heading toward the staircase in the foyer. He found her not two minutes later, in the navy and gray, sparsely decorated room he slept in during his visits.

Rey sat on the bed with her back against the headboard, knees bent in front of her as she rested her arms on them. It was obvious that she was taking deep breaths and trying not to cry. Something tightened in his chest.

"Hey," he said quietly, climbing onto the bed to sit next to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her against his chest. She let him, burying her face into the crook of his neck. "What's wrong, Rey? Did something happen? Mom said you got a phone call."

"It's not that," she whispered, her voice muffled against his skin. "The call was just informational. Which forms we'll need, that sort of thing." He felt her take a shuddering breath. "Your mom… she—" Rey's voice cracked, and his grip around her tightened. "She said she's always wanted a daughter. And she said she could tell right away that we make each other happy, and that makes her happy, and Ben, I feel terrible. I feel so guilty—your family's been incredible and kind and we're lying to them."

Ben hushed her, smoothing a hand down her back. "It's okay. You have nothing to apologize for, and you're not terrible. I promise."

She seemed placated by that and settled against him. "Sorry, that conversation was just… very sweet, and so overwhelming."

"I understand," he said softly. "Want to stay up here for a bit?"

Rey nodded, and glanced around the room, then wrapped her arm over his waist. "So, you grew up here?"

"Yeah."

"Wow," she sighed. "We had vastly different childhoods."

Ben hummed. "Maybe. Maybe not. It's a gorgeous house, but I grew up lonely. One of the nasty side-effects to having careers that make it so you can afford a place like this is that those careers become your life." He hesitated, and admitted, "I love my parents, but I'm still not sure why they bothered having me. I spent a lot of time alone."

Hazel eyes peered up at him from where she rested against his chest. "Well, you're not alone now."

Warmth prickled across his skin, and his heart picked as his gaze wandered over her face. "Neither are you."

Chapter 5: Committing to the Lie

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Ben watched as his bundle-of-nerves of a fiance—that was still taking some getting used to—paced back and forth in front of him. He was leaning against their kitchen cabinets, listening to her rant about some idiot at work who'd spilled his coffee all over the counter and then blamed her, but all Ben could think about was how pink her lips were, or that he might have dated more in college if he'd met anyone like her.

But he'd never met anyone like Rey.

Sure, he still felt weird about the decade between them, but it was feeling less weird and more... right. He was screwed. They'd only shared their second and third kiss just a few days prior and now, her mouth and the various places she could put it were the only things he could think about.

The next two years were either going to be incredible or torture.

"-so then I gave him another one for free, and the idiot still complained to Maz! I didn't even knock the first one over to begin with," she complained, still pacing. "Obviously Maz knew better, and she'd seen the whole thing, but some of these customers are assholes!"

She paused mid-pace to groan, and then kept going. "Also. I downloaded the info packet on the CR1 form, which is the one we'll need—at least, I think it is—and it looks like a handful."

"Right," Ben perked up. "I forgot to mention, my parents said they'd help with whatever we need. Letters, sponsorships, whatever."

Rey turned to stare up at him. "Are you serious? They're really willing to do that?"

Did she realize how pretty she was?

Ben cleared his throat. “Of course. Also, when we visit over Thanksgiving, assuming you're coming with me, pick my dad's brain about getting published. He's put out a dozen books now—he could put you in touch with someone.”

When her mouth fell open, he couldn't help but be pleased with the reaction. "I— Ben, that's an amazing idea," she stammered. "Sorry I've been freaking out about all this stuff, but—"

"Don't apologize," Ben interrupted. "I know you're stressed out. You'd have to be crazy not to be." He inched closer and glanced down at her. "Anything I can do to help?"

There was something he'd noticed calm her down…

Rey sighed and leaned back against the counter. "I just need to relax. Panicking won't do me any good."

"I can help with that," he blurted out, taking another step toward her.

This… was a risky move. It wasn't like anyone was around to witness what he had planned, so he couldn't explain it away all that easily. If he offered, it would be admitting he wanted to, and he did want to. Was there really any harm in admitting it?

Ben moved forward under the dim light until Rey was backed against the counter behind her, staring up at him as if she wasn't sure how to react. Before he could second-guess the decision, he pressed her against the counter. Her hands landing on his chest, right where he wanted them.

"You always seem to relax after we do this," he murmured, gazing down at her surprised expression. She wasn't telling him not to—she seemed curious about what his next move would be. The corners of her lips curved up, and when he hesitated, her hands slid up and into his hair, pulling him down toward her until their mouths met, lips melding together.

He grinned against her mouth, prodding his tongue between her lips, and tilted his head, working his jaw. Rey sighed into him, sucking and biting at his lips whenever she got the chance. He kept his hands planted on the counter, boxing her in, but when she moaned, he couldn't help but grasp her hips, pleased to feel how much of her he could span with his hands. She leaned into his touch, arching her back over the counter. The movement pressed her chest into him.

Rey's fingers ran through his hair, nails raking at his scalp—something Ben hadn't realized he'd appreciate, and in a split-second decision, he lifted her up and sat her on the counter, then stood between her legs. Her mouth was soft and delicious as he licked into it, and her hands moved to squeeze at his shoulders as she squirmed. The movement sent shivers up his spine and—

Ben hadn't thought kissing her would be like this. The fantasies he'd had that starred Rey were always incredible, but in real life, just making out with her in his kitchen was blowing his mind. It made him wonder what else he'd been underestimating.

He pulled away to mouth against her skin, across her jaw and down her throat as she panted, "Ben, please—” Something akin to pride, or maybe satisfaction, bloomed in his chest, and he had half a mind to just pick her up and carry her elsewhere. “Oh, fuck,” she breathed.

Everything shattered apart at the sound of a ringing phone, coming from Rey's pocket. She froze and groaned, sitting back to rest her head against the cabinet behind her. He pulled away, keeping his hands on her thighs as she checked the hell-spawn device and whined..

"The worst timing," she grumbled, the light flush of her cheeks an obvious mismatch for her now-annoyed mood. "This is the guy from Immigration. I forgot he'd be calling."

She gave Ben a sympathetic half-smile as she picked up the phone. He stayed between her legs, hands sliding up and down her thighs, getting higher with each move, as she talked and occasionally gave him a lewd little smirk, coupled with a quirked eyebrow.

Then her expression dropped and became one of panic again. Ben took that as a cue to stop teasing her. He moved his hands back to the counter, watching her with concern as she swallowed. "Yes, I understand. The first of November? Isn't that a bit soon?" She bit at one of her nails and nodded at the man's reply. "Okay, yes, we'll make sure to both be here." She closed her eyes and uttered, in a voice that was probably supposed to sound calm, "Thank you, Mr. Hux, we'll see you then."

Rey hung up and gulped in a deep breath, clamping her hands on her knees as she struggled to get calm.

"What's going on?" he asked in a whisper, not wanting to increase the nerves she seemed wrapped up in. "Whatever it is, we'll figure it out, I promise."

Her eyes fluttered open. "It's nothing we didn't know would happen. I just thought we would have more time. That was the immigration officer—he wants to come here for a preliminary interview." She paused, and breathed shakily, "He'll be here in two days."

Ben pushed his own panicky instincts, and smiled at her, cupping her face to plant a kiss to her forehead. The gesture felt nothing but natural, and comforting—hopefully it was comforting for her, too.

"That’s okay,” he promised, hoping it was true. “It'll be okay. We'll figure it out."


Rey bit her lip as she looked around Ben's bedroom. She was nervous for a couple of reasons. First, the immigration officer, Armitage Hux, would be arriving in the morning. Second, she and Ben kept… kissing.

Not that she was complaining. In fact, the reason it made her nervous was because she wanted to kiss him more and she wasn't sure how to make that obvious without tackling him.

She shook the thoughts from her mind, focusing on the morning's task. His bedroom was the only room in the apartment she hadn't seen before. It was bigger than she'd expected, and sparsely furnished, only containing a large dark hardwood four-poster bed with striking leaf-patterns carved up the posts, his workstation, and two nightstands.

"This is a bachelor's room," she sighed, noticing a distinct lack of any sentimental objects. "The minute that guy steps in here, he'll know we sleep in different rooms."

Ben raised an eyebrow at her, frowning as he leaned against the doorframe. "You may as well move your stuff in, then. From what it says online, it sounds like he can drop in whenever he wants to check in on us while the application is in process. I'd rather have you move in. It’s better than us rushing to rearrange things whenever he stops by."

Was he suggesting she move into his bedroom? The idea of sharing a bed with Ben was appealing. With those arms he had to be an excellent cuddler.

"That's not what I meant," Rey blurted, trying to keep the blush off her face.

She glanced back at him, admiring the broad shoulders she'd been gripping while they were in the kitchen, not twenty-four hours earlier, and was reminded of the time she'd seen him stepping out of the bathroom in just a towel—his shoulders, chest and abs all on display. Just the memory made her mouth water.

This was way better than fake-marrying Finn or Poe. No offense to them, but fake-marrying Ben had considerably more potential for—

"We're committing to the lie," Ben shrugged, his words interrupting her thoughts. "May as well fully commit to it. It's up to you, but," he hesitated, and added lowly, "I'm willing to bet my bed is more comfortable than that futon."

That had to be true. Rey considered the idea, wondering when she'd lost her mind, and decided she may as well spend the next two years—which were possibly going to be stressful and not conducive to sleeping well—in a comfortable bed next to her sex-on-legs roommate who kept kissing her.

"Do you think it's necessary?" she asked, struggling not to grin. She was on-board with the idea, but she also wanted to make sure Ben didn't mind.

He nodded, seeming serious. "It makes sense. What if he shows up early some morning, or what if you leave blankets and pillows out on the futon? It seems silly to take the risk."

"Oh, yes," she nodded solemnly. "Very silly. We better not."

When Rey looked back at him he was smirking, but schooled his expression to an innocent smile, and said, "The nightstand on the right is empty if you want it. We can move your dresser in and there's room in the closet. How do you feel about us making your room into my office? I can move my workstation in there so you’ll have more room in here for your stuff. We can leave the futon in there, too, and say it's my office and a guest room."

The reality of sharing a room—and a bed—with him started sinking in, and a nervous, fluttery feeling took off in her stomach, just as an alarm on her phone went off.

"Shit," she breathed, checking her phone. She looked up at him with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I have to get to work. All of that sounds fine. Great. Whatever you're comfortable with is good with me."

Ben nodded, and hummed, "I don't have much to do today, want me to see what I can get done while you're at work? I don't mind."

“Sure. Move whatever you want. I promise I don't have any weird stashes of porn or anything, but I apologize in advance for how disorganized my room is.”

Reluctantly, she made her way past him on her way to the front door, but he grabbed her hand on her way by and pulled her back gently, pressing a light and unexpected kiss to her lips. He looked down at her, the corner of his mouth curling up into a bit of a smile. "See you later."

Rey swallowed hard, feeling the fluttering in her stomach swell.

"See you later, Ben."


It was sometime during her walk home from work that she remembered. She’d told the truth about the lack of a stash of porn in her room, but she did own sex toys. Ben probably wouldn't think much of the small bullet vibrator, and he probably wouldn't be surprised by the vibrating wand.

The handcuffs and blindfold, though?

Rey winced.

The worst part was, she hadn't even had a chance to use them. She'd bought them while dating a guy during her junior year of college, but they'd broken up well before trying them out. Though considering how things had been with him, she would have ended up blindfolded and handcuffed and bored out of her mind while he droned on about how she should have picked a more useful degree. There was a reason she'd dumped him.

Rey shivered at the sudden burst of cold wind and realized her walk had slowed to a snail's pace as her nerves skyrocketed, just thinking of how Ben would react when she got home. Would he tease her about it? To be fair, she could own things much more explicit, so they weren't that bad. Maybe he would think it was normal. Maybe he'd even think it was vanilla of her. After all, she had no idea what he might be into, and—

Suddenly her mind offered up the heart-stopping scenario of him using those items with her, and she was sure that her face would have turned bright red if it hadn't already been red from the freezing cold winds.

Rey swallowed her nerves and not for the first time, wondered what on earth the situation was doing to her. It was stupid, so stupid—it felt like she was literally gambling with her own heart, but she felt at home with him, and she'd never felt at home in her life.

Turning to face the apartment building she'd just arrived in front of, Rey gulped in a breath of bitterly cold air and let her heart pound. In a moment of clarity, she chose to listen to her instinct—the part of her that was screaming at her to just trust Ben. 

He was waiting for her when she climbed the stairs and let herself inside. The second she stepped into the apartment and took off her jacket, she almost yanked it back on. As usual, the apartment was freezing.

"How was work?" he asked from the kitchen.

Rey wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, walking through the open-concept dining room and living room to scold him. "Do you have any idea how cold it is in here?"

"It's at sixty-six," Ben frowned. "I was worried it might be too warm."

She blinked at him. "Are you sure you're human?"

"Pretty sure," he laughed. "But I'll make you a deal. I'll turn it up and you can borrow one of my sweaters." Then he gestured to the little platter of fruits, cheeses, olives and veggies he'd been cutting up. "How do you feel about this, coffee or tea, and a board game? I figured we could chat about the stuff that guy from immigration might ask."

Rey sighed contently, thinking for a moment how nice it all was… the idea of coming home to someone like this. "That's great," she admitted, "Just let me get into pajamas."

"Oh, I moved all your stuff in," Ben mentioned casually, just as she was on her way out of the kitchen. She paused, and glanced back at him, wondering if he might bring up what he'd found. He only winked. "Go get cozy. Grab one of my sweaters if you're cold."

There was no way to stop the blush that formed on her cheeks, so she just nodded bashfully and walked off toward… their bedroom. It looked pretty much the same when she walked in, except—

Oh.

He'd gotten frames, and now there were pictures of him and his family, and her with Finn and Poe, propped up on the dresser and nightstands. A new, plush blanket in dark red was laying across the end of the bed, flattering the stark white bedding and dark hardwood of the rest of the room. A new laundry hamper sat next to her dresser, and on top of the dresser there was a small silver jewelry box, about the size of a large hardcover book.

"Uh, right," his voice piped up from the hall. He came into the room and winced, "About that. I dropped your jewelry box, and the top landed at a bad angle." He looked up at her sheepishly, "I'm sorry, but the hinge snapped. I can get it fixed if you want."

Unbelievable. This guy was doing her a massive favor, had spent all day rearranging his own life just to keep up the lie he was telling for her, and he felt bad about breaking a cheap jewelry box she'd picked up second-hand?

"Don't worry about it," she snorted. "I think I paid ten bucks for it." She looked down at its replacement, her eyes widening as she got a better look. "This is beautiful."

He seemed relieved. "I was going to get it engraved, but they would have had to send it out and—"

When he didn't continue, she glanced over at him. "And what?"

"And I didn't know what you'd be doing for your last name," he admitted. "Are you keeping yours, or…”

Or taking mine? Was the implied rest of that sentence.

"What do you think I should do?"

"I think you should do whatever you're comfortable with," he said quietly, his response careful, and controlled.

She'd always hated her last name. Johnson. It had been given to her at an orphanage—the one she'd been dropped off at as an infant, because all she'd been left with was a blanket with her first name embroidered into it. It wasn't, and had never felt like her own name. In some ways it was just a cruel reminder of a past she didn't want to keep holding on to.

"Would you mind if I took yours?" she murmured.

Dark umber eyes cut to hers and widened just enough to be noticeable. He worked his lips together for a few seconds, before clearing his throat. "No, I don't mind." She heard him take in a shaky breath. "I'll meet you in the living room." He turned and closed the door behind him, giving her privacy to change.

Rey Solo.

An unfamiliar, overwhelming feeling washed over her. It wasn't a bad feeling.

She couldn't put words to what it was, but she'd been feeling it more and more, and part of her wanted to know why. A larger, wiser part of her told her to hold on and said she'd put words to it when she was ready to. That's the part she listened to.


The coffee maker timer went off and Rey jumped off the couch, still munching on a handful of grapes. She waved Ben off as he tried to get up. "Stay," she ordered. "I have no idea how to set this game up and you already put all the food together. Getting our coffee is the least I can do."

"I still can't believe you've never played Monopoly. And you get coffee for people all day," he grumbled, "Someone else should be getting yours. Plus, you don't know how I take mine."

"You're predictable. Black coffee, a bit of sugar," she called back from the kitchen. "Am I right?"

"You are." Surprise was clear in his voice, and he asked curiously, "But how about tea?"

"Earl Grey, but you don't add anything to it. You’re also very snobby about how it’s brewed."

She heard him huff from the living room as she poured mugs full of dark, steaming liquid, mixing creamer into hers and sugar into his, laughing as he spoke up again. "Let's try something harder. What's my favorite book?"

Rey snorted and carried the coffee out to the living room. "Are you quizzing me?" She rolled her eyes and handed him the mug, sitting down across from him and thought about it. "You own pretty much everything Stephen King's ever published. I would guess it's one of his." She hesitated, running through the various options. "If I had to guess a single one, I'd say Joyland."

Ben's jaw dropped, and she grinned. After a few seconds of gaping at her, he asked, "Okay, how did you guess? Not that I have an exact favorite, but that one would be in the top three."

"Well," she sighed, sipping at her mug, "I know you like his other books. You seem to own them all, but that one is the only one I can think of that's hopeful. It's a great coming of age story." Rey shrugged. "There’s also the fact that you’ve got a signed copy and a separate copy for reading, which has obviously been read a dozen times."

After another moment of staring, he hummed. "Maybe this interview won't be so difficult. I guess we've both learned a bit about each other since you moved in."

She smiled softly. "Yeah, I guess we have."


Ben had never woken up with someone in his arms before. Maybe that was unusual for a guy in his early thirties, but he'd never been in a serious relationship, and any hookups had always included him going to their place and leaving before he fell asleep. It was easier that way.

Until Rey moved in, the only women who'd been in his apartment had been Leia and the real estate agent who'd showed it to him. That was probably odd, but he wasn't social and there was just something personal about having someone in his home. There was something very personal about having someone in his bed.

But he'd invited Rey into it without a second thought, and now, as the mid-morning sun streamed in through the dark gray curtains he'd forgotten to shut, he couldn't help but stare at her in wonder.

Ben didn't know at what point she'd ended up in his arms, or which of them had been the cause of it, but they were both on their sides facing each other with both of their heads on his pillow, entirely ignoring that there was another half to the bed. Legs were tangled together, and she was wearing one of his sweaters, and her hands were pressed into his chest as his wrapped around her, and puffs of breath caressed his skin as she slept peacefully, and—

And this was what he wanted. 

Exactly this. Rey, in his arms.

Exactly this, for a whole lot longer than two years.

Chapter 6: Interviews and Congratulations

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Everything was warm. Not in the sweaty, gross way it often was when she woke up from a nightmare. It was the sort of warm she could sink into and stay in for days on end. It was a comfortable, safe, soft kind of warm.

Rey was in the habit of sleeping in a ball, curled into herself on the futon, wrapped in blankets that either kept the nightmares out or trapped them in—she wasn't sure which—but at the moment, she was the most relaxed she'd ever been, drifting on a cloud somewhere her dreams of screaming for parents or of awful guardians couldn't haunt her.

A whisper brought her out of her mind and back into reality. "Are you awake, sweetheart?"

She nuzzled into the warmth, not ready for whatever her other options were, and then the warmth chuckled. Rey's eyes cracked open, and she found herself snuggled against a solid plane of alabaster skin. Without thinking much of it, she pressed her lips to the skin in front of her, a silent thanks for the first peaceful night's sleep she could remember, and only looked up at the sound of an inhale.

Messy inky locks came to hang down over her face as Ben rolled her over onto her back, bracing himself over her as he stared down at her. A flush rose on her skin as she realized she was in his sweater. In his bed. In his arms.

"Hi," she said softly, her voice a little thick and scratchy from the morning. A light grin that played at her lips, and Ben mirrored her smile.

His knees landed on either side of her hips, and while he seemed hesitant to touch her—instead choosing to use both hands to brace over her—she wasn't hesitant to touch him.

Rey wasn't sure what was going on between them but it seemed fortunate that they were attracted to each other, especially since they were going to spend a couple of years married.

...Ben didn't plan on dating other people, did he? Not that she'd seen him date, but she supposed he could, if he wanted to. They'd never agreed to any sort of commitment other than the legal marriage, and her anxiety spiked at that thought. She pushed it down and reached up, running a hand through his hair, made messy from sleep.

The sound he made was nothing short of a moan as she dragged her nails along his scalp, using her other hand to shamelessly feel the firmness of his chest and shoulders. It wasn't uncommon for her to find men attractive, but she'd never found a man beautiful before.

Ben was, though.

She watched him struggling to stay at a distance over her while she helped herself to every touch she wanted to give. His eyes shut, his face relaxed, making him seem years younger, and she brushed through his hair and caressed her fingers over his forehead, cheeks, jaw.

His eyes fluttered open when her thumb traced over his plush bottom lip, and without giving her any warning, he dropped down, catching himself on his elbows as he captured her lips, pushing her against the pillow her head rested on. Rey gave in to him, letting him overwhelm her with his mouth and...

Ben would ruin her for anyone else, wasn't he? That seemed to be his goal. He'd barely done more than kiss her, but there was something about the way he kissed her.

A hand cupped her face as he peppered kisses along her jaw and down her throat, tracing a path along the edge of his own sweater's collar. Rey tugged at his hair, trying to bring him back in for another bruising kiss, wondering if she'd ever woken up or if she was dreaming, bound to wake up laying a couple of feet away from an uncomfortable roommate, confused as to why she'd been moaning in her sleep.

If it was a dream, heaven help the poor, damned soul who woke her up.

A loud knocking both confirmed she wasn't dreaming and destroyed her hope of continuing to explore her newfound… whatever it was, with Ben.

Ben's lips left her skin, and he raised back up over her, frowning. "Are you expecting someone?"

"No," she shrugged. "Not until the Immigration guy gets here, and that's not—" The rest of her words were muffled as Ben rolled off her to grab his phone off the nightstand. "Fuck, my alarm was set for PM, not AM. It's past ten.” He glanced back. "I think that's him."

Rey scrambled out of bed, her plans for the morning knocked off-course. She glared at her own phone and realized she'd failed to plug it in. "My phone died overnight," she groaned. "I'm sorry, this is my fault."

"Not your fault," he corrected, pulling a white t-shirt on over his head, "We both screwed up." Another round of knocks came from the front door and Ben huffed, "This guy better not mind that we're in pajamas."

She laughed and looked back in time to see a fond smile cross his face. Pausing for a moment, she admitted, "I slept well last night. Best night’s sleep I’ve gotten in a long time."

Ben's smile got a tad bigger, "Me too, sweetheart." He hesitated and closed the distance between them, sweeping her into his arms for an unexpected kiss that ended earlier than either of them wanted, with another knock at the door. Ben pressed his forehead to hers, whispering, "It’ll be fine, Rey, I promise."

Despite how unlikely that was to be the case, she believed him.


Ben felt underdressed as he handed Armitage Hux, cock-blocker extraordinaire (it had happened twice now and Ben would never forgive the man), a mug of coffee. The guy was in a proper business suit, and Ben was starting to regret not at least trading his sweatpants for jeans. Of course, Rey offered to get them all coffee, but he figured she served enough people at work and he liked the idea of doing that for her when possible.

Hux, a tall and pasty man with slicked-back red hair, sniffed the coffee. His face pinched before he set it down, untouched, onto a coaster on the coffee table. He sat in one of the deep blue upright armchairs that he managed to make look uncomfortable (it wasn't, that chair felt like a cloud and Ben knew because he'd picked it out himself), and clasped his hands on his lap, tapping his pointer fingers together as he looked between the two of them.

They were sitting next to each other on the couch, and this man's positive opinion of the legitimacy of their relationship was essential, so of course, all Ben could think about was the fact that, while in bed, he'd noticed Rey wasn't wearing a bra under his sweater. Suddenly, the oversized, worn, tattered old college sweater was the best thing he owned. He was also a little jealous of it—of a damned sweater .

Focus.

"-over the coming months. Do you understand?"

Rey was looking up at him, waiting for his reaction to the man's words. Shit. Wasn't this just perfect? He was going to fuck up an interview to determine whether they were in a real relationship because he was too distracted lusting after her.

Ben cleared his throat, figuring he had a 50-50 shot of answering correctly, "Uh, yeah. Of course."

The man's eyes narrowed at him, and he frowned. For a second Ben panicked, thinking he'd picked the wrong option. Thankfully, Hux gave a single nod, and Ben realized something important, that he should have figured out a lot sooner. This guy was an asshole. And judging by the looks he was giving them, he didn't buy their relationship for a second.

So, naturally, Ben did something stupid.

He grinned, wrapping an arm around Rey, who hid her confusion at his actions well. Nuzzling into her hair, he muttered, "Sorry, I'm a little distracted. We slept in and—" He paused, decided to make the asshole uncomfortable while keeping up the not-act, "You sort of interrupted something."

Rey turned a deep shade of red and he almost started laughing when he heard Hux clear his throat, "Right, well. I did schedule this meeting in advance."

A beat or two of silence later, Ben looked up and saw the man taking a plain black folder from the messenger bag he'd brought, sighing as he flipped to a specific page. "Anyway," he drawled, "Let's get started." He fidgeted in his seat. "This is a preliminary interview, but I think for many reasons, we should plan to have multiple meetings over the course of this application process."

Ben could feel the tension rolling off Rey in waves, so he tightened the arm around her and pressed a kiss to her hair, wishing he could take on some of that tension for her. Just seeing how this guy's words affected her pissed him off.

"Why is that?" he asked indignantly. Too late, he realized his mother was right about him being a bit too much like his father. "What do you mean, for many reasons?”

Unless Ben was imagining something, Hux rolled his eyes before saying, "Well the timing is convenient, isn't it?" He huffed, and looked over, almost tiredly, at Ben. "Are you going to answer my questions, or should I consider you non-compliant?"

A small hand squeezed his, reminding him she was relying on him to not screw this up, and Ben took a deep breath, and nodded. "Sorry, but I don't appreciate the implication."

Hux studied him for a minute and gave a short nod before moving on. "How did you meet?"

"I was a college student, a few years into my five-year program," Rey piped in. "I was living with my friend, Finn, but he ended up moving in with his boyfriend, so I was looking for a place in the area since I didn't want to bother with dorm living."

He scribbled a few notes down as she talked and looked toward Ben. "And you were looking for a roommate?" His eyebrow quirked, and Ben already didn't like where he thought this was headed. "Is there any particular reason you—a man who was, what, thirty at the time?—decided to rent to a young college student?"

Rey seemed to be a little interested in what he had to say to that question, and he considered it for a moment, deciding he may as well answer with the truth. "I interviewed a few people, and I wasn't comfortable with any of them. I don't know what it was, but Rey was the first one who didn't make my skin crawl when she came in."

From the corner of his eye, he noticed a little half-smile curl at the corner of her lips, and she added, placing her hand on his, "You were so on-edge when I came here that first time."

He laughed, forgetting Hux was sitting across from them, and looked down at her, "Of course I was! I put out an ad expecting to end up with another nerdy, antisocial single guy to end up living here and it turned out, Rey was not the name of a guy."

Her face scrunched up adorably as she laughed. "Of course I wasn't a guy!"

"Obviously," he snorted. "But of course I was on edge. I was expecting a guy to show up, not this gorgeous, brilliant girl."

Her laughter quieted as she stared over at him, seeming taken with his words, and Ben figured what the hell , and added, "You walked in like you already lived here, and lit the whole room up. I knew I needed to let you move in when you rushed over to my bookcase to judge my collection."

"I was impressed," she said softly, looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze. "You have good taste."

Ben reached up to cup her cheek, humming. "Yeah, I think so."

He was about to kiss her when the bastard he'd forgotten about cleared his throat again. How fucking hard was it to let him kiss her? Was that too much to ask?

"And how long after moving in did you start dating?" Hux asked, sounding annoyed and uninterested.

Ben froze as he tried to remember what they'd agreed to, and thank god, Rey answered in his stead. "Actually dating? About a year, but we were…" she hesitated, and blushed. "We were involved for quite a few months before that."

Yeah, maybe, if Ben hadn't been such an oblivious idiot.

Hux nodded and wrote more things down, not looking up confirm. "And you're getting married in December." His eyes flashed up to them. "Who proposed?"

Rey looked beyond panicked for a moment, and Ben was relieved Hux was looking back at his notepad. They hadn't talked about that.

"I did,” he answered.

"How?"

Rey squeezed his hand, and he leaned back, an unexplainable rush of calm flooding over him. "It was a little funny. I'd spent a while convincing myself Rey would never even want to date me, and then when she was dating me, I was half-convinced she might come to her senses and realize how much better she could do."

Rey frowned at him, but he continued, "But this one afternoon, we were in the kitchen and she was talking about this miserable day at work and… and it was the most stressed out and upset I'd ever seen her, and," Ben swallowed hard, not failing to notice how easily the explanation was coming to him. "And I realized, no matter how upset or pissed off she was—no matter how angry she was, all I could think about was how I was in love with her, and how I wanted to make her happy."

He looked up at Hux, unable to meet Rey's eyes while he shrugged. "And I was convinced she'd say no, because why would a girl this incredible want to be with me? But I figured, if I could see her on her worst day and still be so… so taken with her, so absolutely in love with her, I figured the possibility of hearing yes was worth the risk of hearing no, so I asked her right then. I didn't even have a ring yet. I just had to ask."

Hux tilted his head for a moment and pursed his lips. "That's a nice sentiment," he said, a bit dryly. His eyes narrowed, and Ben realized the gesture, subtle as it was, was in Rey's direction. "What sort of things do you like to do for dates?"

Ben chanced a look over at her, something in him still fluttering from his previous answer, and saw that she was staring at him, hazel eyes wide and pretty lips open, her face in an indecipherable expression. She blinked and bit her lip, turning back to Hux.

"We're pretty boring," she admitted, still seeming off. Ben watched as she shrugged, and smiled, "I'm not sure why he puts up with it, but I love watching horror movies with him, so I drag him to some."

She nuzzled into him, and Ben had no objections to holding her closer.

'I wouldn't normally admit it," she laughed, "but movies like that are an excuse to cuddle up with him. I'm a scaredy cat."

Ben snorted, playing the part as he looked down at her, already planning a few movie nights in his head, "Seriously? That's why?"

"Yep," Rey nodded. When he laughed again, she grinned and shook her head, then glanced back at Hux. "Other than that, we get dinner sometimes, but more often we order in and play board games, watch movies, or read. I interact with so many people at work that I would rather relax at home."

Hux made a non-committal hum, and frowned (though, that seemed to be his default), as he looked around the apartment. "Well," he sighed, "mind giving me a tour?"


The smell of coffee and pastries filled the air as Rey bustled around the small space behind the counter of Maz's, nearly colliding with her coworker, Rose as they struggled to work through the worse-than-usual morning rush. Then again, it was about the right time for midterms, so they should have expected this sort of headache to begin soon.

It didn't help that Rey was distracted by… well, by quite a few things.

"I don't want to lie to you," Hux had said plainly, with no sympathy in his voice, "I suggest you hire a lawyer. At the very least, they'll be useful with the paperwork, and they can explain the legality to the situation you're in."

She didn't understand the advice the weasley, grumpy man had given them on his way out of the apartment. The interview had gone well in her opinion, and he still suggested they hire a lawyer?

Her heart thumped every time she thought about it—the interview, not the lawyer.

And I realized, no matter how upset or pissed off she was no matter how angry she was, all I could think about was how I was in love with her, and how I wanted to make her happy.

Rey let out a long breath as she prepared an order of coffees. 

How had he come up with that? Ben had done some impressive improv, and the words had been echoing in her mind since she'd heard them spoken.

Since the interview she'd spent another night in his bed, and that morning she'd woken up in his arms again. If they hadn't both been stressed after the interview, and if she hadn't needed to rush to work this morning, they would have done a lot more than kiss.

He kept kissing her, and he kept taking her breath away, with each and every kiss. Even the ones that were only to her cheek or her forehead, and oh

"You ready with those coffees?" Rose called from the register. It snapped her back to reality, and she grabbed the tray the drinks were sitting on and rushed them over to her coworker, who was too busy to be curious about how weird she was acting.

The rush slowed after hour, much to their relief. Late that morning, Maz came out of a small office in the back to let them know about their schedules for the next week. She was an odd, but fantastic boss, and Rey almost dreaded the day she stopped working for the woman, but she didn't plan to still work there when— if —she got published. Though at her current rate, that might never happen.

For the second time that day, Rey was snapped from her musings as Rose let out a shriek. "Rey! What is on your finger?!"

Maz snorted. "She's engaged. Has been for a week or two now. You're just noticing?"

"I can't believe you didn't say anything!" Rose scolded, grabbing Rey's hand as she tried not to blush, "Holy shit Rey, who the hell have you been dating?"

Rey flushed red, realizing it was time to make the news official. "His name is Ben,” she answered shyly. We've been living together as roommates for a couple years but…" Something warm bubbled up in her chest and she blushed a bit more, "It became… more."

Her chipper coworker let go of her hand and gestured for her to continue as Maz listened on, seeming amused but unsurprised. Rey found that, much to her surprise, the words came easily. "He asked a little while ago, and I just met his parents. They were so sweet. Actually, his dad's an archaeology professor around here. His mom's helping plan the wedding and—"

Maz interrupted her with a cackle. "Are you marrying Ben Solo?"

"I… how—" Rey turned to her. "Yeah, I am. How did you know?"

She snorted. "I've known that scoundrel, Han, for a long time. Not directly, but through one of his coworkers, Chewie." An odd smile formed on the woman's face, and she waved Rey off. "It's a long story. That's a nice family you're marrying into. Good people." She gave a nod, and turned to head back into the office before calling back, "Let me know when you need time off for the wedding."

Rey smiled and thanked her, then let Rose continue to gush over the ring that was, admittedly, a tad ridiculous.

"So, what's he like?" she asked.

Rey smiled. "Rose, he's… he's amazing."


The rest of her shift flew by, and Rey rushed out of the little coffee shop with a fleece wrapped around her torso, still shivering in the sort of temperatures she should have gotten used to by now.

Less than halfway through her walk, her phone started ringing, and she picked it up the moment she saw it was Finn. She hadn't talked to him since he and Poe had helped them research the green card application process, and she'd been meaning to update him. She picked up and rushed along as she shivered again.

"Hey," he said warmly, "How'd the interview go? Ben mentioned it when we were there the other day, and I hadn't heard from you. Everything okay?"

Rey paused. "Wait, when were you at the apartment? And yeah, it went well, I think. It sounds like we'll have to get a lawyer for the whole process and that's going to suck, but… but, yeah, when were you there?"

"Ben had us come over while you were at work the other day," he said casually. "I think he'd just planned to invite Poe, but I helped."

She snorted, trying to keep the dryness from her voice. "What, did you want the chance to interrogate him without me there?"

"Maybe," Finn laughed. "But, he seems alright. Nice guy. He'd gotten your stuff all moved into his room—don't think we aren't coming back to that subject, by the way—and he was worried you wouldn't feel comfortable in there, so we helped him pick out some stuff to make it more homey. Blankets and throw-pillows, pictures, stuff like that."

A smile played across her lips, and if hadn't been so cold, she may have stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. "He called you guys for help?"

"Yeah, the poor guy seemed nervous about it too," Finn chuckled, "He seems like a nice guy. I feel sort of bad for giving him such a hard time before." He went quiet for a moment. "I guess you could have picked someone a lot worse to help with this."

She swallowed hard, and this time, did stop in the street, ignoring the cold as she leaned against a brick building she'd been walking next to. "Finn, I'm not sure I could have found anyone better."

He didn't respond right away, but when he did, his voice was low. "You care about him, don't you? Like—"

Rey had been asking herself that same question.

"You care about him, don't you?"

She bit her lip and admitted it to Finn at the same time she admitted it to herself. "Yeah, I think I do."

He paused again. "Rey, you know I'm supportive of this, but… you know how this ends, right? You've got to be careful here."

Right. Two years. They hadn't even started an actual relationship, and they already had an expiration date.

Rey ignored the throbbing feeling in her chest. "Yeah, of course," she laughed. It was a cold, empty laugh. "I just mean he's a nice guy. I'm just interested in him… uh… physically.”

Finn groaned, but didn't sound like he believed her, which wasn't surprising. She didn't even believe herself. “I can't blame you there. Just, be careful, okay? I don't want to see you get your heart broken.”

Despite how level she tried to keep her voice, it came out all shaky. "Don't worry Finn. It would be casual, at most—"

No, it wouldn't.

"I don't have feelings for him."

Minutes later she hung up the phone, realizing how massively she’d lied to her friend. Rey walked the rest of the way to their apartment, and by the time she'd arrived, she'd come to the conclusion that—unless she was very, very careful—marrying Ben Solo was going to break her heart.

Chapter 7: Getting to Know You

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Ben was still in his new office trying to debug something when he heard the front door to the apartment open and click closed a moment later. He heard Rey sigh and watched curiously as she shuffled past the open door of her old bedroom without looking in.

Maybe she didn't realize he was home?

"Fucking idiot," he heard her mutter on her way down the hallway, headed toward their bedroom. That was something he was struggling to get used to. Their bedroom.

He'd been the type to need his own space for as long as he could remember, but now he just wanted his own space with her in it. The feeling was heady and overwhelming, and he didn't know what to do with it, or himself.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid fool, Rey," he heard her groan.

Ben frowned at her words and poked his head out into the hallway, looking down the hall and into their bedroom in time to see her toss herself onto her side of the bed. The side that had seen little use, since so far she'd only slept on his side, in his arms.

Concern filled him as she continued to mutter to herself and when he noticed she was attempting to smother herself with a pillow, letting out a muffled shriek into it, he walked into the room and over to her, hesitating before asking, "Everything okay? More jerks at work?"

Rey jerked up, rolling over to sit up and face him, apparently having been too caught up in her frustrated mini-rant to see he'd gotten so close.

"Yeah," she blurted, her face red. Ben was sure he still had plenty to learn about the girl in front of him, but he at least knew her well enough to know her smile was fake. "It's nothing," she reassured him, her voice thin and… there was a sad quality to it he couldn't quite place. "Just got off a phone call with Finn. Nothing bad. Nothing to worry about."

His eyes narrowed. "He still giving you a hard time about this? Want me to talk to him?"

"No, no, nothing like that," she waved. It seemed like she was about to say something, but she paused, swallowing her words. Ben's heart twinged when he saw tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. She blinked, tightening her grip on the white duvet that covered the bed as her legs hung over the edge of the bed.

Rey looked up at him, and he knew something had happened. He didn't know what, and she didn't seem interested in talking about it, but something had upset her. Her eyes shone with unshed tears, and her expression was… confused? Conflicted? Maybe even a little scared. Why would she be scared?

He would protect her from anything.

She cleared her throat, and said, much to his surprise, "Do you think you could kiss me?" She looked down at her lap and huffed softly."Sorry, is that weird? I need to get something off my mind."

Something tightened in his chest when he heard how thick with emotion her voice was, but he still took a step further, standing between her legs, and used a hand to tilt her chin up until she was looking straight up at him. "It's not weird," he whispered, knowing he would do whatever she asked of him. "Not weird at all."

He leaned down at met her lips with the lightest pressure, using the hand that wasn't under her chin to let down her hair, one bun at a time. Rey opened her mouth a moment later, and he traced her lips with his tongue while he threaded a hand through thick locks made wavy from being up in buns.

Rey sighed, and slid her hands up his stomach and chest, landing on his shoulders, and she leaned back, trying to pull him back onto the bed with her. Taking the hint, he knelt on the bed, one knee on either side of her hips, and followed her down until she was back on the mattress underneath him.

Kisses became deeper and more fervent and he lost himself in her, holding her head while he tried—desperately tried—to show her everything he'd been feeling, his lips worshiping hers while he reveled in every little moan and gasp she made. Her hands ran through his hair and he groaned into her mouth, and—

As if it was somehow timed perfectly, his phone started ringing.

Against every single instinct he had, Ben pulled away, catching his breath. "I am going to break that phone." He sighed, and looked down at Rey, who managed to look both amused and lost in thought. "Sorry, I'm expecting a call from a lawyer."

She nodded as he answered the phone, still straddling her hips. "Ben Solo, who's this?"

Ben listened to the man on the line, giving the occasional yes, that's right and sure, that's fine while he grinned down at the girl underneath him, tracing light patterns along her collar bones and down the middle of her torso with a single teasing finger. At some point, he hit a ticklish spot—while she'd been calm before, she jerked up, reaching up to bat his hands away.

He snorted at her attempts and tilted his head to hold the phone between his face and shoulder, giving the man who was blabbing away in his ear the occasional non-committal grunt as a response to his questions. Ben captured Rey's wrists, pinning them over her head. Then he decided to be a total asshole, using his other hand to start tickling her, in the same spot near her ribs, almost cackling into the phone as she started wriggling under him, straining against the hand that held her wrists.

"Ben!" she gasped, and he pulled the hand away to put a finger to his lips, gesturing to the phone, then returned to tickling her.

"—time available next week on Thursday, will that work, Mr. Solo?"

His attention snapped back to the phone, and he realized he'd missed a good portion of the one-sided conversation. Ben mouthed the words next Thursday to Rey, who seemed happy for the break from being tickled, and nodded. "I'm not working that day."

"Yeah, we can be there on Thursday," he confirmed. "Any time should be fine."

The call took just another minute, during which he made sure to tickle Rey until she started gasping for air, laughing breathily as she thrashed under him, muttering every swear she knew. He ended the call as quickly as possible, tossing his phone on the nightstand, and released her hands, which flew up to bat his away again.

"You asshole!" she giggled, "I can't believe you pinned me down and tickled me. You know I'm going to get revenge for this, right?"

Ben snorted and grabbed her wrists again, tightening his hands around them as he teased, "Oh, I would love to see you try, sweetheart."

"It'll be when you least expect it," she threatened gleefully. "I will have my revenge."

"Mhm," he nodded. "Okay then, my vengeful fiance." He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. "You seem to be doing better. How would you feel about ordering a pizza for dinner and watching a horror movie with me?"

Rey paused, and started laughing again, her nose crinkling as she managed to get out the words through laughs, "Are you suggesting that because of what I said during the interview? Because if you want to cuddle, you can ask."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, maybe that had something to do with it." Climbing off the bed, he took her hand and pulled him with her, "But you didn't answer my question."

Her expression turned more serious, but she nodded. "Yeah, okay. Pizza and a movie. That sounds good."


Gwendoline Phasma was one of the few people Rey had met who was taller than Ben. Even more remarkable was the way the woman strode around in heels—the sort Rey never dared to wear for fear of falling over.

She didn't seem all that friendly, but friendly probably wasn't in the job description for good lawyers, and considering the office she found herself in, sitting next to Ben, Phasma was an excellent lawyer.

For one, the office was in Boston's Financial District, in a tall building that sat next to a restaurant that had hundred-dollar-steaks on the menu. She only knew that because Ben had suggested they grab lunch and have a drink or two to relax a bit before the meeting. Rey had nearly spit out her wine when she realized the cheapest meal on the menu was a forty-three dollar chicken parm. Nearly spit out her wine, because suddenly she'd been terrified about how much a single glass of it had cost.

At least the wine had helped her nerves, and she and Ben had scooted into the same side of the booth. He'd thrown an arm around her while they practiced playing the part.

It was getting easy to do that. Rey tried not to think too hard about it.

Thankfully, Ben was incredible at cheering her up, whether by kissing her (Rey's preferred method), tickling her (not a preferable option—she still needed to get revenge for that), or by putting on a stupid horror movie ( Killer Klowns From Outer Space had been his pick, something she'd judge him for, for a long time). They hadn't gotten past kissing, and maybe a bit of feeling each other up here and there, and Rey was actually relieved by that. Even with things as they were, she was overwhelmed, and she wasn't sure how much it would confuse things if they crossed certain lines.

They'd finished up lunch in time for the meeting, and now they both sat on one side of a long glass-top table in a conference room with pristine white carpets and floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the city. The woman sitting in front of them insisted they call her Phasma, and with short blonde hair that curled at the ends, minimal makeup, and a sharp business suit, she seemed quite professional.

For the second time that day, Rey wished she'd worn something other than jeans and a sweater, but Ben was dressed similarly, so maybe it was okay?

Phasma's dark, calculating eyes narrowed at them, and the polite smile she'd met them with morphed into something a little colder as she sighed and looked down at the file in front of her. When she looked back up, she cleared her throat. "The fact that you've chosen to hire me and not someone at one tenth of the cost tells me you're either scared, or you like to toss your money around. Which is it?"

Rey was taken aback by the woman's direct question, wondering how much this was all costing, and more importantly, why Ben hadn't talked to her about paying for it. Sure, they were getting legally married, but she didn't expect to let him pay for everything (or anything), especially since he was the one doing her such a massive favor.

She watched as Ben scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, responding with a calm confidence Rey didn't often see, "You know who my mother is, and we both know she's the reason you took this case. We aren't here because we're scared. Rey and I don't need a lawyer. This marriage will be as legitimate as they come. The only reason we're here is because the immigration officer suggested it."

Phasma tilted her head and considered him for a moment before glancing over to Rey, who truly didn't want to get the woman's attention. It like Phasma could read her mind and she looked at Rey as though she knew.

"Do you realize what could happen to him if this marriage is found out to be fraudulent?" she said softly, "I'm not a fool. You two seem close, so I'm sure you would hate to be the reason he ends up fined or in jail. I would like to make sure you understand the risks before we move forward."

Rey started feeling panic rise in her chest, threatening to overwhelm her, until a hand landed on her knee, under the table, and squeezed. She sucked in a breath and steeled her nerves. "Ben's right. This engagement is far from fraudulent. We want to be married, and we would be taking these same steps whether or not my immigration status was in question."

After a moment's pause, Phasma hummed and nodded. "Okay, then. As long as everybody knows the risks, let's get started with the sort of things you'll need to be prepared to know about each other. I've got a packet for each of you. Your Immigration Officer may not ask them, but it's best to be prepared." She paused, and glanced back up at them, asking offhandedly, "What's the name of the officer appointed to your case?"

Ben spoke up. "Armitage Hux."

The room dropped about ten degrees as Phasma let out a low curse.

"Buckle up," she muttered. "I've dealt with that bastard before. You better be damned sure this is the direction you want to go in, because he may seem nice at first, but I've seen that man make people's lives a living hell."

Rey glanced over at Ben, but he just smiled, and leaned over to kiss her forehead, murmuring against her skin, "We'll be fine, sweetheart."

It was as if his words had the power to warp reality because, without another bit of consideration, she believed him.


Ignoring the mild anxiety building in his chest—

(and, the funny part was, the anxiety had a lot more to do with his sudden feelings for Rey, and absolutely nothing to do with the potential jail time and fines Phasma had mentioned)

—Ben set down a bottle of gin and a platter of fruits, cheeses, and crackers down on the coffee table, and grinned over at Rey, who was looking up at him from the couch.

"If we're going to do this," he gestured to the ridiculous packet of questions, "We may as well have fun. Or, maybe we'll just get trashed. I guess we'll find out."

Rey laughed, which was a welcome change from how anxious she’d seemed all day. "So, what, for each one we get wrong about the other, we drink?"

"Exactly."

She nodded and poured herself a small glass of the clear liquid, prepared to do terribly. Ben settled onto the couch with his back against one of the arms, mirroring her position as their legs intertwined a little.

He grabbed his packet and cleared his throat. "We'll start with something easy. What's my mother's maiden name?"

Rey rolled her eyes. "Organa, everybody in this state knows that."

Picking up a few cheese slices and grapes, Ben nodded, starting to munch. "Okay, that's fair, but I don't know your mother's maiden name, so I guess I'll drink. What is it, anyway?"

He looked up when she didn't answer, and frowned when he saw her sipping gin. "I don't know it either," she shrugged. "I guess we'll both need to drink."

Rey didn't know it? He frowned. Now that he thought about it, he'd never noticed her leave to visit her parents. He'd never even heard her call them. He wanted to ask, but she didn't seem to want to say anything else, instead choosing to continue on. 

"Question two. This one's easy, too.” She covered her eyes with the paper. "What color are my eyes?"

He rolled his eyes. As if he'd ever get that color out of his mind. She still had them covered, so Ben did the only thing he could think of, and carefully (so as not to clue her in to his plan) climbed over her and pressed his lips to hers before she could react to him moving over her.

The packet she held dropped—where, he wasn't sure, and she grasped his head, pulling him closer and further into something that was just supposed to be a playful, chaste kiss.

Maybe Ben was kidding himself—nothing he ever did with this girl would be chaste.

After a moment she smiled against his lips, and he pulled away far enough to see that her eyes were still closed.

"Hazel," he said softly, watching as her smile grew. "They're a mix of brown and green that have no right to be as beautiful as they are, and they have bits of gold—"

Her eyes fluttered open to stare at him, her mouth opening, and he hummed as a blush grew on her cheeks. Rey cleared her throat and looked away for a moment. "Right, well… I already know what color yours are, so I guess we can move to the next question."

Leaving her with a kiss to her forehead, he climbed back to his own side of the couch with a grin. "Let's try something harder." He skimmed over the various options, deciding to settle on one that she probably wouldn't get right, and asked with a grin, "Favorite type of foreplay?"

She froze and rolled her eyes, "That is not on here. Nice try."

"Check number forty-seven," Ben chuckled.

Rey narrowed her eyes at him, then thumbed through the pages until she got to the right one, and read over the question, her blush disappearing as she paled. "Are they seriously going to ask things like that?"

Ben tilted his head, meeting her eyes. "I'm guessing you like being eaten out."

The flush on her skin returned, but she pursed her lips, "Drink."

"Seriously? You don't like it?"

She seemed intent on hiding behind the glass of gin she didn't even need to be drinking, and mumbled, "I wouldn't know."

He tried not to smile. He also failed. The edges of his lips curled up, and he couldn't stop himself from asking lowly, "Want to find out?"

Ben bit at the inside of his cheek to avoid laughing as Rey choked on the gin she'd been drinking. She started coughing, and gulped at the clear liquid as though it was water, which just caused her to wince and cough more. He ended up laughing against his closed fist while she struggled to compose herself, and finally, she looked up at him, seeming either shocked or indignant. He wasn't sure which.

"Did you just offer to—"

"I could beg, if you’d prefer," he interrupted. He paused to judge her reaction, and something flared in his chest as he saw her bite her lip, and give a single nod back.

She stood up, set the packet down, and held out a hand to him. "Well, are you coming?"

Ben quirked an eyebrow at her tone and her words. "I guess we'll see."

Chapter 8: Not Opening the Box

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Rey was still surprised with her own forwardness, but any nerves she felt evaporated when Ben stood up and took her hand. She turned toward the bedroom and walked in its direction, but he didn't move. Instead, he pulled at her, turning her back to face him in a quick move that left her a little dizzy and took her in his arms.

He reached out to bury his hand in her hair, leaning down to kiss her, tightening an arm around her waist until she arched against his chest. She barely even noticed it when he started walking her backward, in the direction of the bedroom, too distracted with his lips, teeth, and tongue as they worked away at her mouth.

If he was this good at using his mouth for kissing…

Rey was so focused on returning the kiss with a matching fervor that it took Ben pushing her gently to sit on the bed for her to realize that they'd made it all the way down the hallway.

When she fell back to sit on the bed, he pulled away from her and Rey lifted her arms as he lifted up the sweater she wore, tossing it elsewhere. Her fingers reached out to play at the bottom hem of his shirt, as she said playfully, "Your turn."

"I thought this was specifically to figure out whether you liked oral.” His brow quirked. “How will me taking my shirt off help?"

"How did taking my shirt off help?" Rey shot back. She didn't miss the way his eyes roamed over her now-bare top half, stopping for a long time at her breasts. She tilted her head and snorted. "Plus, are you complaining about either of us getting naked?"

Even in the dim light of the bedroom, lit only by the hallway light streaming in through the doorway, Rey could see the blush that tinted his cheeks. "Okay, fair enough," he laughed, lifting his shirt up and over his head. She hummed, appreciating the view of the body she'd now had the pleasure of sleeping next to.

While he watched her with dark eyes, she hooked her thumbs into the sweatpants she'd changed into when they'd gotten back from the meeting with Phasma. Just before she could lift her hips to pull them off, Ben interrupted her with a soft kiss, and a murmur of, "Let me."

He knelt down on the floor in front of her, and the look he gave her when he glanced up should have been illegal for how obscene it was. His lips curled up at the edges, and his expression only darkened as she bit her lip, leaning back a bit on her hands as if to say go ahead.

Ben reached up and grasped the fabric at her hips, slowly pulling them down. His mouth found the tops of her thighs, planting his lips on each new bit of skin he uncovered.

"Oh," she breathed, mostly from surprise, and she threaded her fingers through his hair, just as she'd noticed he liked.

A ringing noise sounded from the living room, and he left her clothes around her knees while his finger traced up her inner right thigh… but the phone rang again.

"Don't you dare answer that," she ordered.

Warm breath met her thigh as he laughed. "Wasn't planning on it."

His hands returned to her knees, and she watched, enraptured as he finished tugging off the last of her clothing, trailing kisses down her calf, stopping to nip at the skin above her ankle. Rey yelped at that, the noise turning into a giggle as he tried tickling her foot. When she nearly kicked him, he laughed and swapped back to kisses, working his way back up her leg.

He made it to her knee when Rey heard her own phone start ringing. Ben muttered against her skin, "Don't even think about it," and then resumed with open-mouth kisses.

When he got to her mid-thigh, he stopped and pushed her knees apart. Rey was sure she'd turned red around the point when he looked up at her as if she was the dessert he'd been hoping to enjoy. He grinned, and pressed a hand to her abdomen, urging her to lay back on the bed. She let out a soft, contented sigh, a little surprised with how easily she trusted him with something she'd always thought of as being really intimate.

With a gentle lift of her legs, she felt her thighs land on his shoulders, and—

One of their phones rang again.

They both ignored it without a word, and she shuddered as she felt him spread her and lick a slow path from her center, up, swirling around her clit. Before he had a chance to repeat the action, someone buzzed their intercom from downstairs. Ben pulled just far enough away to grumble against her thigh, "Probably got the wrong apartment."

She was in a fog, and didn't say much until he pressed his face back to her, mouthing at her slowly and gently, claiming a quiet moan from her lips. He swirled around her clit again, teasing as he never really made direct contact, and just when she thought she might lose her mind, he flattened his tongue and let it glide right over the sensitive nub, holding her hips with one arm so she couldn't jerk against the contact.

Just as something started building, he went back to lapping and running his tongue through her folds, and she whined at the loss of contact on her clit. She propped herself up on her elbows, ready to scold or even beg, but saw dark eyes staring up at her as he finally started leaving open-mouthed kisses right where she wanted them. And then he  sucked.

Keeping herself propped on one elbow, she reached down to tug gently at his hair, encouraging him as he groaned against her flesh, and-

The buzzer went off again, just as both their phones started going off.

"Please keep going," she breathed, feeling something coil and build inside her belly. "Please, Ben—don't stop."

Not only did he not stop, but one of his fingers slid into her, a second joining it while her thighs started to shake. He crooked them just right, and if he hadn't been holding her down with his other arm, her hips would have lifted off the bed. They filled and massaged and scissored in her and  oh .

Even if it was only for two years, Rey decided right then and there, they'd be doing this a lot more in the future, feelings and potential heartbreak be damned. His fingers picked up, and their motions elicited filthy noises as she panted, pulling a little harder at his hair than she should have. His mouth covered her entirely, and he sucked over her clit, and—

Rey’s legs shook on top of his shoulders, her thighs closing around his head and he continued working against her. The pressure was stunning— delicious.  The overwhelming urge to pull away only increased as she got closer and closer to the edge, but a solid arm held her down, keeping her rooted as she moaned.

"I'm so close," Rey shuddered, surprised by the desperate and needy tone to her voice, "Ben—"

She came with a loud keening noise—the sort she'd only ever gotten herself to make once or twice, and she shook as he worked her down from the glorious high he'd managed to get her to. Rey fell back against the bed, exhaling a shaky breath as she processed everything, from the way he'd looked at her to the way his mouth had felt.

Swallowing, she panted out, "Yeah. I think you got that question right."

His response was a breathy laugh and a kiss to her knee, and he didn't have time to say anything else before his phone went off again. "I should see what the emergency is," he sighed, as though he was disappointed they weren’t continuing right away. She was arguably  more  disappointed. Ben stood and grinned down at her, winking. "Stay here. I'm not done with you."

Rey's breath caught as she nodded, and she stayed, laying at the edge of the bed with her calves dangling over while he walked back out in the direction of the ringing phone, which she guessed was still in the living room.

After a moment it stopped ringing, but she couldn't hear much of the conversation that took place. Ben's footsteps move quickly back in her direction a minute later. "So, that was Poe," he said, sounding a mix of panicked, and amused, "The power's out at their apartment building and it's freezing there, so he asked if he and Finn could stay here tonight."

"Oh, shit," Rey laughed, sitting up quickly. "Was that what all the noise was about?"

Ben nodded. "Yeah, they came by to ring the buzzer but assumed we weren't home since we didn't answer. I hope you don't mind, but I told them they could stay. I'd feel terrible if they had to get a hotel room or something when we have a guest room now."

"Yeah, yeah," Rey waved. "Of course I don't mind. Are they on their way now?"

The buzzer went off again, answering her question, and she jumped off the bed, realizing she was still naked and Ben was halfway there. She muttered a curse under her breath and couldn't help but laugh at the situation. "Put on a shirt or something before you let them in! I'll get pajamas on and be out in a minute."

He paused and looked down, apparently having forgotten his state of undress, and snorted. "Right, yeah, I assume we're not telling them that we're—" he paused, and glanced at her. "Uh. What are we doing, exactly?"

What an excellent can of worms that question was.

"Is now really the time for that conversation?" she asked, tripping over herself as she pulled her sweatpants back on, listening to the buzzer continue to go off.

Ben groaned. "Okay, good point. I'll let them in."

"Put on a shirt first!"

He huffed a laugh and tugged on the shirt he'd been wearing before, then rushed back out toward the door while Rey started laughing in full.

Rey finished dressing and walked out to greet her friends, who were already heading into her old bedroom when she got to the hallway. She waved to them as she poked her head into the room, and she saw Ben pulling extra blankets out of the room's closet, noticing that his face was bright red.

"Everything okay?" she asked curiously.

Poe answered, rather than Ben, with a snort. "Yeah, we were just complimenting Ben for his great sex hair." He waggled his eyebrows at Rey, "All the calls that went to voicemail make a lot more sense."

"Shut up, Poe," Ben muttered, handing his friend a stack of blankets and a few pillows despite his apparent annoyance. "Nothing's going on."

"Uh, huh," the man grinned, teasing. "Sure."

Rey rolled her eyes and looked over at Finn, who was also watching her closely. He smiled at her, despite his confused expression. "Ignore him. Thanks for letting us crash here tonight."

"We weren't going to let you freeze," Ben grumbled. "Just get Poe to shut up and you can stay as long as you want."

"I'm not sure that's possible." Poe smacked him with a pillow, and Finn laughed, "I promise I'll try though!"

"That's all I ask," Ben said with mock seriousness. He grinned and shook his head, taking a few steps to where Rey stood in the doorway, calling back, "Night, guys. Make yourselves at home."

Rey gave a quiet, "Good night!" before turning to head back to their bedroom. Ben followed close behind her, and she yelped and then giggled as he grabbed her ass on the way. She turned back to scold him and he shrugged, feigning innocence. Rolling her eyes, Ben walked into their room, smirking as she heard the door click behind him.

Without turning back to face him, she pulled her shirt up and off, letting it drop to the floor. Having a pretty good idea that it would get his attention, she bent over and slid her sweatpants back down, relishing in the quiet curse she heard leave his lips.

"Sweetheart, as much as I appreciate where this is going…" he came to stand behind her, running his hands over the front of her now naked body, "I think it's time I admitted that sound travels well in this apartment."

Rey froze, understanding the implication, and spun back to face him. She'd never had a guy over, but she'd gotten off regularly. She blinked, asking awkwardly, "Uh, does that mean you heard—"

"Every. Single. Time."

He was smirking, but had the good sense to look bashful as she glared up at him. He shrugged. "What was I supposed to do? That's not an easy conversation to have with your roommate! Can you imagine how that might have gone?  Hey, Rey, I hear you get off a few times a week and I'm pretty sure I can do better than whatever little toy you're using. Want some help? I promise I'm not trying to be creepy."

"Well you wouldn't phrase it like that!" she giggled, smacking against his chest. "You'd just sort of hint at it!"

"Oh, is that what I should have done?" Ben teased. He collected her in his arms and grinned down at her. "Yeah, okay Rey, I should have  hinted  to the cute college girl that I, the anti-social roommate—who's what, ten years older?—was overhearing that. I'm sure you would have been thrilled by that conversation. I don't even know how you'd  hint  at that."

She rolled her eyes at him, scolding, "You're terrible. Absolutely terrible."

Ben snorted, "Yeah, I am. You like it."

He didn't wait for her response before capturing her lips in another kiss, silencing her except for a soft moan. When he pulled away, he nuzzled against her forehead. "As much as I'd like to do more, I'd prefer we not have an audience."

"Yeah," she nodded. "You're right. I don't like it, but you're right."

"Raincheck?"

"Oh, absolutely."


There was something calming about waking up wrapped around Rey. She didn't mind that they'd started falling asleep cuddled up together. It seemed silly not to since they'd wake up in each other's arms every morning anyway. He usually woke up before her, and it was always breathtaking—waking up, looking down, and realizing this was real.  Rey  was real, and that was still hard to believe. She seemed more like a dream than any reality he'd ever experienced.

As he gazed over at her, he thought maybe she might catch feelings, too. Their chemistry was ridiculous, and they couldn't stop touching each other. 

It was more than that, though. There were times he caught her looking at him. Not staring, like she'd do if she was checking him out. It was different. Sometimes he'd notice this wistful look in her eyes, and she'd be smiling, and…

Maybe it wasn't that crazy of an idea.

Were it not for the whole green card marriage thing, he would have said something. He would have put himself out there and she would have the option of whether she wanted to break his heart.

The situation they were in changed things, though. She didn't have any other options, and Ben was nervous that, if he admitted things and she didn't feel the same way, she'd either change her mind and move back to England, or…

Or she'd still marry him and spend two years feeling guilty while he spent two years feeling destroyed.

Shutting up until she decided to say something was the smart option. It was like some  fucked up version of Schrodinger's cat. That conversation could stay in the box—no need to open it. Once it was opened, the conversation had to be had and either things would be great, or everything would go to shit.

Ben wasn't going to open the box, because Ben opening the box was a Bad Plan™. If anyone was going to open it, it'd have to be Rey.

He sighed, pressing his lips to her forehead carefully so as not to wake her up, and untangled himself from her limbs, smiling at her sleeping form before he left the room to start cooking breakfast. Poe and Finn likely hadn't slept well (that futon looked somewhat lumpy), and they'd had a stressful evening with the situation at their apartment, so he figured a decent breakfast (and a large pot of coffee) would be a good plan.

By the time Rey bounced into the kitchen—wearing one of his shirts, and her own sweatpants—he'd finished making pancake batter. He managed to put the bowl down before she got close and gave a little jump into his arms. Without the bowl in his hands he caught her with ease, grinning as he kissed her and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Good morning," she murmured against his lips. Instead of answering, he sat her on the counter and tightened his hold around her, cupping her face to kiss her, morning breath be damned.

She sighed into him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she let him do as he pleased, teasing at her lower lip with his teeth. Moments later, he pulled away and hugged her. "Morning, sweetheart."

Ben couldn't help but touch her, and so far, that seemed to be mutual, so he pressed his lips to her forehead, and left a lingering kiss as her eyes fluttered closed. He felt her relax against him, and she breathed, "Ben, god, this is—"

Something crashed, and someone swore. Their heads both snapped to glance over toward the noise.

Poe was running a hand through his hair, giving them a sheepish, apologetic smile. "Uh… sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I was trying to head back in the other direction, but I uh—" he gestured to the floor lamp he'd tripped over. "Tripped. Sorry."

Ben wasn't sure how to react, but Rey snorted. "Don't worry about it. Is Finn up? Ben made pancakes."

"That sounds great. I'll go get Finn. And… sorry.”

Rey waved him off and then smiled up at Ben when Poe walked off. She met his eyes again, and her mouth turned up into a smile. "I guess there's no harm in them knowing. We  are  getting married."

For some reason, it seemed like the perfect time to bring up that conversation. Well no… it wasn't the right time, but Ben was going to do it anyway.

"Yeah, about that," he said, kissing her forehead again. "If we're going to be married for a while…"

"We should have sex," Rey interrupted. "Like, a lot of it. May as well enjoy the benefits of married life, right?"

Ben flushed at her directness and chewed at the inside of his cheek. "I wasn't going to say it like that."

"Oh, were you going to just sort of hint at it? Because I think we established that you suck at that. After all—"

He rolled his eyes and shut her up with a deep kiss that she moaned into. Ben held her tightly, pouring whatever he could into the kiss, and he couldn't help but hope that she'd open the box sooner rather than later, because he was pretty sure he was falling in love with her.

Chapter 9: Labels and Words

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Breakfast passed uneventfully, despite the curious glances Poe cast between her and Ben. It seemed he was wondering what was going on between them, but Rey was too nervous to put a label on it. Did the friends with benefits label also include sort-of-engaged roommates, one of whom was catching feelings for the other? Was there even a label for what they were?

The train was approaching, and it was going to be a total wreck—fire, explosions galore, and here she was, just watching while wondering when she'd next have some time alone with him.

Rey sat through breakfast quietly, not missing that Ben gripped her knee a couple times, probably wondering if everything was okay. 

She was fine. Screaming internally, but fine.

Finn and Poe left after breakfast, thanking them and explaining that they both had work and wanted to check on their apartment first to make sure the power had returned. She shook her head of the thoughts and fears that had built up over breakfast and hugged them both on the way out.

Once the door closed, Rey found herself pressed back against it, his lips attacking hers for how desperately they moved. A hand clung to her waist while the other tipped her chin up, holding her face in place as he stole her breath, his tongue lapping into her mouth. It took her a moment to realize what was happening, and when she did, she melted into him, letting him pour what she imagined might be love, or something close to it, into their kiss.

She could pretend, right?

When he pulled away, pressing his forehead to hers as he caught his breath, he said lowly, "I have a favor to ask of you."

Rey chuckled. "I already said I'd sleep with you, there's no need to ask."

"Not that," Ben laughed, then hesitated. "Actually, that too. But I was going to ask if you'd want to house-sit for me for the next week. I don't know why they're going away for the whole week before Thanksgiving, but mom said she has some conference in Washington and Dad's going with her so they can take a vacation together. They never give me much notice since I can work anywhere with internet access. Come with me? Please?"

The look in his eyes was hopeful, and sweet. "I wish I could,” she sighed. “But I don't think I'd be able to get the time off. Not with the short notice."

"Uh." Ben quirked his lips, "So… have I mentioned that your boss is an old family friend of mine? She's known my parents since before I was born, and I may have—"

Her eyes narrowed. "What did you do?"

"Well, she may have agreed to it as a wedding present." Ben grinned, "It's up to you, but how does it sound? A week alone, maybe we can shut our phones off…" his voice trailed off, and he cleared his throat. "My parents are getting back a few days before Thanksgiving, and Maz said she's closing that week since the campus is dead, so mom offered to use the time before the holiday to help us out with wedding planning. We'd be there for two weeks, total. What do you think?"

Rey was tempted to scold him for talking to her boss before her, but… but a week alone with Ben sounded like something she had no intention of passing up.

"That sounds too good to be true," she admitted. "You know, most couples start with a weekend away, not two weeks."

"Most couples have sex before they get engaged."

“Ben!” She smacked his chest. “I am not the one who interrupted us last night. Anyway, we'll have plenty of time to remedy that oversight in the next week.”

When he didn't respond, she glanced up and noticed him blinking down at her. He seemed to snap out of it quickly. "Ah, so we should get packing and head out as soon as possible. Traffic, and all that, you know? Yeah, we need to leave, right away."

What an idiot.

Rey laughed, and leaned up on her toes, whispering in his ear, "You realize we have a bed here, right?"

His throat bobbed, and he paused, just before grabbing her around the waist. Rey yelped in surprise as he pulled her against him, picked her up and walked the three or four steps to the dining room table. He set her down on the table's edge and grinned down at her as she locked her heels behind him. "Bed's too far away. How do you feel about tables?"

Rey nodded and pulled her shirt over her head, giving a muffled reply of, "Works for me." He hummed and had his shirt off in seconds, and Rey took a moment to admire his well-sculpted chest, wondering when he found the time to work out. And really, what the hell was his workout routine? Whatever it was should have been written out and marketed because wow.

"Done staring?"

Rey bit her lip. "What would happen if I said no, I'm not?"

His head tipped back with laughter and only stopped when she rolled her eyes and tugged at the upper edge of his pajama pants. "These next. C'mon," she teased. "You were too impatient to make it to the bedroom and suddenly you're not in a rush to get naked?"

One of his eyebrows quirked, and he leaned down to murmur against her neck, "You know, Rey, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were being mouthy. We’ll have more fun if you’re good for me." Heat surged and settled between her hips, and she pulled back to stare at him, feeling a flush cross her cheeks. Ben's lips curled up. "That something you like, Rey?"

Rey cleared her throat, making eye contact with his chest. "Apparently."

When she looked up he was grinning. "That's something to explore later. For now, I just want you naked." He gripped the sweatpants she wore and Rey lifted her hips, balancing on her hands as he pulled them off her, leaving her to sit bare on the table's edge. Dark eyes roamed over her body, and a hand trailed up from the outside of her knee to her hip. "Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous."

She swallowed, trying to shove down whatever sort of emotions were threatening to make themselves known every time he touched her, and she distracted herself by pawing at his remaining clothes until he took the hint and pushed them down his hips, kicking the pajama pants off.

Oh.

Rey hadn't seen him naked yet. Unfortunately, Poe and Finn had interrupted things before Ben had gotten more than half-undressed, and sure, she'd felt him pressed against her once or twice while they'd ended up spooning in their sleep, but—

Ben's brow furrowed. "Everything okay?"

Her eyes snapped up to his face, and she gave him a sheepish smile. "Yep. Yeah. Sorry. I just—uh." She bit her lip. "No, actually, how the hell are you single?"

He frowned, then leaned down to kiss her. Sweet words were murmured against her mouth. "I'm not."

Rey's breath caught at the thought and at his words, though she knew he didn't mean it the way she wished. Before she could dig too deep into that miserable pit of despair, he lifted her chin again and kissed her. He moved to stand between her legs, the high table putting them at the right height for what they were planning to do.

It wasn't that he kept kissing her. It wasn't even the fact that he wanted to have sex with her. No, what was fucking with Rey's head was the way he kissed her, looked at her, and touched her. Like she was the cure to whatever ailed him—the only bright spot in a sea of darkness. As if he'd never get to kiss her again.

As if he loved her.

Stupid. She was so fucking stupid for getting tangled up in a situation like this.

She pushed the dangerous thoughts from her mind and moaned into his kiss. One of his hands ran down her front, sliding over one of her breasts, cupping it in a massive, warm hand. The rough pad of his thumb grazed over her nipple, and Rey bent back, pushing her chest further into his hand.

Ben's lips and teeth sucked and bit at her own lips, and he let go of his hold on her waist so he could continue his assault on both of her breasts, cupping them and teasing at their peaks, rolling and pinching them. She tugged at his hair, encouraging him to kiss her harder. If she didn't lose herself in him, she was at risk of losing her own mind. Her other hand reached between them, grasping at the base of his cock.

He groaned against her as she gripped him, working her hand up and down his length, and he took a step closer, lining them up right where he needed to be. Ben broke the kiss off, panting as she then wrapped her other hand around him.

"Please tell me you're on something," he breathed. "Because I'd planned on picking up condoms on the way to—"

"Birth control. And I really want you to come in me."

"That's the best idea I've heard today," he sighed, putting his hands on her thighs. He spread them further apart and pulled her closer to the edge of the table.

Rey pulled him down for another kiss just as a single large finger pushed inside her and curled. Another finger joined it, and the two began a slow rhythm in and out while massaging over the spot inside her. She pulled away to pant, "Would you just get inside me before something interrupts us again?"

Ben laughed and nodded, grasping himself. He rubbed the head of his cock over her entrance, leaning down to kiss and suck at her neck while he wrapped an arm around her, holding her to him. "You sure?"

"Please," she breathed, looking down at where their bodies were about to meet. She watched him push into her, meeting just a little resistance at first, and she gripped the table. "Fuck you're really big."

"Relax," he murmured against her shoulder. "You're tensing around me. It feels fucking amazing, but relax. I'll go slow."

Rey nodded, relaxing as she reached up to run her fingers through his hair."Go ahead."

He pushed further into her, going so slowly she could feel every inch of him stretch her, sliding in until he was fully enveloped in her. She shuddered, never having felt so full in her life. Ben groaned again, kissing a trail from her shoulder up her neck, over her jaw, and before he got to her lips, he pulled out of her, dragging over a spot inside her that was bound to curl her toes if he kept hitting it.

Rey swore against his lips, and that seemed to spur him further, pulling her that much closer as he pushed back in and—

“Fuck,” she breathed, keening softly, “That—that's really deep.”

"Too much?" 

She shook her head. "No, just… fuck."

Ben nuzzled against her cheek and started working in and out of her slowly, "You're so tight. I'm not hurting you or anything, right?"

"No, not at all, this feels amazing. Faster?"

He stared down at her with an expression that should have been illegal for how it made heat pool in her, and she leaned back on her hands as he grasped her thighs, pulling them up around him to change the angle. He tilted his head, and plush lips brushed against her ear, making her shiver. "Is that what you want, sweetheart? Do you want me to fuck you?"

"Yes," she breathed, nuzzling against him. "Please, Ben."

Ben's hips slammed against hers, making her gasp, and he started sliding in and out of her, overwhelming her as she wondered if she'd ever get used to feeling so full. It was almost too much, but in a way that made her shiver and moan.

"I can't believe how good you feel," he panted against her skin, nipping at her neck. "You're taking me so well. You’re so small—"

He slid a hand between them and used two fingers to rub at her clit, pushing her closer and closer to her climax, which was approaching faster than she felt ready for. Ben caught her mouth with his and muffled her cry at a hard thrust. It felt like she couldn’t possibly take him deeper, and looking down at him sliding into her made it seem even more impossible.

Ben pressed down over her clit with delicious pressure as her legs stayed wrapped around him, all of her concentration pooling at her cunt as tension mounted in her body. She held on, trusting that he'd get her to the edge, and push her over it.

"Please tell me you're close," Ben gasped, breaking away from the kiss to glance down at his fingers. "Fuck—I need you to come—need you to come on my cock."

“I’m— Ben, I—oh my god, don’t stop—”

"There's no fucking way I'm going to stop," he ground out, his teeth clamping down on the flesh of her shoulder. "I want to hear you."

An arm wrapped around her upper back, grasping her as he held her in an almost-hug, his teeth letting go of her skin so he could nuzzle against her, planting sweet kisses over where he'd left a mark.

There was no escape from all the pressure building up in her. He wasn't holding her down on a bed this time—he was simply holding her, and Rey didn't have anywhere to go. Quivers racked her body, and she babbled and almost started begging just as the pressure finally, finally broke, sending pulses throughout her body, out from her center. 

When she squeezed her eyes shut and cried out, Ben grabbed the side of her face and kissed her more gently than she would have expected, silencing her while he continued to thrust into her, his movements slowing, and becoming shaky. With a gasping moan, he tensed, and spilled inside her, filling her with warmth. She shivered.

Her name was on his lips. It was the best sound she’d heard.

Ben's forehead rested against hers as they struggled to breathe. After a moment he started letting out light, breathy chuckles.

"What is it?"

She could feel the smile against her skin as he explained, "Nothing, just… if I'd known what married life might be like, I would have considered it earlier."

"Nice, Ben," she laughed. "There's a bit more to it than sex, I think."

A hand started caressing her back softly, as he smiled and murmured, "Yeah, I hope so." Before she had time to question what he meant, he glanced down at her and worked his lips together. "Think you can come again, or are you too oversensitive?"

"What, right now?"

Ben raised an eyebrow, nodding.

Wow. This whole marriage idea had been brilliant, no matter how emotionally fucked up it might leave her.

"I'm not sure. Feel free to try?"

He backed away, pulling out of her slowly. It left her feeling empty, and desperate for him, and dripping. Ben grabbed one of the chairs from where it was pushed into the table, moving it so he was sitting in front of her.

Rey blinked.

Ben's hands spread her, and he dove in—licking around her clit with the lightest pressure as she sighed and added give Ben a great blowjob to her mental to-do list. He kept his movements soft and slow, swapping between lapping at her and sucking with his lips around her clit. A warm buzz settled over her body.

She wiggled her hips a little and listened to him hum quietly. He gripped her after that, but continued his same ministrations, not speeding up or increasing the pressure he used. He fell into a pattern, barely pressing his mouth to her as he made the faintest touches that left her gasping.

Lick, swirl, suck. Over, and over, and over.

Rey stared down at him, overwhelmed by the sudden shock of how intimate it all felt. His nose nudged at her clit—his lips sucked and tugged at her folds. Her head fell back, and she laced her fingers through his long hair, encouraging him to keep going while she propped herself up on one hand. It was all so much slower—tender, almost. 

Tremors ran through her, shaking her with each swirl of his tongue and the climax he'd been working her toward oh so slowly swelled and washed over her, releasing all the tension she'd built up—her toes curled, and her muscles tensed. She let out a soft cry, watching in disbelief as Ben licked her through it, prolonging the feeling while she shuddered.

Her first orgasm had hit her like a freight train, rattling her, but this one… this one was all warmth, comfort, and stunning bliss. It took her breath away, just like he did.

When Ben’s continued mouthing became too much, she tugged carefully at his hair, and hummed when he looked up at her with a smile. His red lips glistened her wetness, and she slid her hand down under his chin, pulling his face up for a kiss.

Rey didn't have any words, and she tried not to think too hard about the drops that pricked at the corners of her eyes, so she kissed him instead, tasting them both on his tongue.

After a few moments, Ben was the one to break the kiss, grinning at her from where he sat between her thighs. "Was that okay?"

It still felt like she was floating. "That's not what I'd call it."

"Oh?"

"If you think the word okay accurately describes what you just did, I think we need to get you a dictionary."

Ben laughed at that, and nodded, then nuzzled at her thigh. “About house-sitting. I do need to get some work done, but—” he ran a finger along her inner thigh, from knee to hip. “I thought we could use the time to get to know each other better. Not just sexually. We still need to go over the rest of that packet.”

She still felt a bit drunk from everything—warm and giggly—but she had enough sense to nod.

He leaned forward to press a kiss to her belly before sitting back in the chair. "Good. Want to take a shower with me before we pack and leave?"

Rey sighed. "It's like you can read my mind."


Ben took a deep breath when they entered the house that had always felt so cold and empty to him. It didn't feel that way anymore—not with Rey next to him.

His parents had left early that morning, apparently having stocked the fridge for them. Once Ben got some work done, he planned on taking full advantage of having Rey all to himself with a minimal chance of distractions. Based on what they'd done a few hours earlier, he guessed she would blow his mind every time they were together, and he was curious to test that theory. She was already beyond anything he’d imagined.

"Mind if I unpack and look around a little while you work?" she asked. "Do you think they’ve got any of your childhood pictures lying around?"

Ben cringed. "You'll find plenty. Try not to judge them too hard."

"Don't be silly," she laughed, patting his shoulder. "I'm sure you were adorable."

There was no point in arguing. Either she'd find them herself, or his mother would bring them out when she got home, and all he could do was hope Rey found his ears endearing. He rolled his eyes and leaned down to kiss her. "I'll be in the office. It's off the dining room. This won't take more than an hour."

Rey grinned and bounced away as she went off to explore. He shook his head, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

She was adorable.

His mother's office hadn't changed, save for a new picture or two, and he settled down at the imposing dark hardwood desk. He’d always felt uneasy with the way his back would face the door when he sat there, but he didn't think much of it as he pulled out his laptop and powered it up, eager to get to work so he could start doing more enjoyable things.

Once Ben got into the rhythm of things, work went easily, time slipping by faster than he'd expected. Before he knew it, hands landed on his shoulders. He yelped at the surprise and only calmed down as he heard Rey giggle.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she apologized, reaching her hands around to hug him from behind.

"Don't worry about it. So, did you succeed? With the pictures?"

"Yes," she murmured, pressing her lips to the back of his neck. "I was right. You were very cute. I also found a massive tub in the bathroom off the room we're in."

Ben quirked his lips. "Want to go test it out? If you start filling it, I'll bring up some wine and food to snack on."

"That sounds great," Rey sighed. "May as well grab one of the packets while we're at it. If we're going to do homework, we may as well have fun with it."

He nodded, and something calm and comforting filled his chest as she hugged him tighter, reaching around to press a kiss to his temple.

The words slipped from his mouth before he could stop them.

"I love you," he sighed, saying it as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Like he'd already known it for years and said it out loud dozens of times.

Rey stiffened behind him. He could feel the panic that flowed off her in waves.

Fuck.

Chapter 10: Dates and Bubbles

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Rey froze in place. It was like being caught in a weird trance.

Did he mean it? Because, if he did...

Oh, if he loved her—

"Sorry," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. He rested his head back and looked up at her upside down. "Just trying to get used to saying it. You know. For the wedding, and for when everyone's around. I figured it'd be weird if we never said it to each other."

Her heart sunk faster than she'd been expecting, plummeting to depths only deep-sea divers had ever experienced. So much hope tossed out with just a handful of words.

It was fine. She—she didn't love him. That be nuts. Sure, there were feelings there. Rey could admit that, but love?

No, no, of course not. Love was for people who dated and for people who weren't just trying to play a part. For people who weren't taking part in a marriage for necessity, and for people who knew each other and didn't have to worry about answering a bunch of questions in a packet of things married couples should know about each other.

Maybe she could answer many of them correctly, but… no. She'd just picked up some stuff while they'd lived together, and she was good at guessing. Like when he'd asked her what his favorite book was. Educated guessing, at best.

That was all it was.

"Wait. Shit. No, that's—" he stopped, then lifted his head and tugged out of her still-frozen grasp so he could spin around in the chair and look at her properly. Rey was hanging on his every word as if each one was some sort of lifeline, able to pull her up from the hole she'd fallen into.

Ben's voice went soft. "I could see myself saying it someday. Maybe."

Maybe. Maybe was something.

"I don't mean to freak you out," he said quickly. "I know right now things are casual, but it feels like we click well and—"

"Do you want to see if it could be more?" Rey interrupted.

Surprise crossed his face. “Yeah,” he breathed. “Yeah, I do.” 

All the tension that had weighed her down in the previous two minutes released, and Rey sighed, leaning forward to kiss him, hoping to show him how relieved she was. When she pulled away, Ben followed her, standing to wrap her in a tight hug. "You have no idea how glad I am that you aren't freaking out right now," he murmured. "So, you'd be okay with us dating? Is that what we'd call it?"

Her words were muffled as she buried her face in his chest. "Is that what you call it? We’re getting married in, what, a month and a half?"

"Oh. Actually, while I was working, I got an email from my mom. Remember how we agreed to let her do a bunch of the planning since this needs to be a big wedding?"

She tilted her head back to look at him, eyes narrowing. "What are you saying? Also, don't think we aren't talking about how this is all getting paid for."

"It's a little tricky to book at any of the venues she was looking at with short notice and I guess one of them had a last-minute cancellation and she may have swooped in and booked the day, along with the caterer, band, and photographer, since they were about to be out an event. I swear, she did it without talking to me or I would have told you before now."

Rey blinked. "Are you telling me your mother just single-handedly planned our wedding?"

"Minus the dress, suit, and some of the guests?" Ben winced, "Uh… yes?"

She paused, unsure of how to react. It was a shock, but she hadn't been interested in wedding planning, so—

"So, that's a huge relief, right?" she asked.

"I'm so happy you think that. I couldn't care less about wedding planning."

"We're on the same page, then," she laughed. "Okay, so, where is it? And when? Do we just need to get whatever we're wearing? Have I mentioned that your mother may be a saint?"

"I'm sure you won't be saying that when she starts mentioning grandkids," Ben muttered. He huffed in amusement when he saw the face Rey made at that, one that was undoubtedly one of bewilderment. "It’s December first, at a big resort that overlooks Mount Washington. I've never been there, but she said it's gorgeous, and they already have snow. It'll be cold, but—" he smiled softly down at her, "it should be beautiful."

It was so soon. She'd known they were going to get married—that was the whole point—and they'd already agreed on the month, but that was soon.

"It's not a lot of time to invite guests," he continued, "but she doesn't think it'll be an issue with my side. She'd already been planning a big dinner that day, so a lot of our family and friends had marked it on their calendars. Now, it'll be a different location, and a wedding rather than a dinner. We just need to figure out the rest of the guest list, get whatever we're wearing, and the documents we need."

Rey heard maybe half his words. "Holy shit, that's in three weeks."

"Yeah," he confirmed quietly. "That okay?"

Tucking her head back to its spot against his chest, she nodded, listening to the rhythmic beating of his heart. The sound soothed her and helped to silence all the noise of the thoughts running through her head.

"I know it's fast, and if it's too fast, we can tell her to cancel, and do the courthouse wedding we'd talked about. I know that's more risky, but if you're more comfortable with it—"

"No, it's okay," she interrupted, glancing up at him. "Really, it's good. It's just more real now. I knew it was going to happen, but it didn't seem real, before."

Ben gazed down at her, scanning her face. "Are you sure this is okay? It's got to be overwhelming. Most twenty-three-year olds would probably be panicking right now, getting married to someone they've only been sort-of-dating for about five minutes."

She laughed against his chest. "You're the only reason I'm not panicking. And the fact that you want to see if there might be more..." she hesitated, and bit her lip, "Between us, I mean. That helps."

"I'm glad." He leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Still up for that bath?"

"I'll go draw it, and I'll grab the packet. Meet me upstairs?"

He matched her smile and cupped her face. "Sounds perfect, sweetheart."


Ben waited until she'd left the room before slapping a hand to his face.

Rey, I love you. That's probably scary, and it’s way too soon, but it's the truth. I love you.

How hard would that have been? The words had been so easy to say, so why the hell had he decided to come up with an excuse? Why had he not owned up to it?

He sighed. It was because she'd started panicking, and he was too much of a coward to hear I don't feel the same way, which were undoubtedly the words he would have gotten in response. The fact that she'd agreed to see if they could be more, though… that was incredible and overwhelming in the best way.

Maybe she didn't love him, but Rey not feeling the same way wasn't the end of the world. It had been far from a rejection. She was attracted to him, and they got along well, so maybe someday…

Or, maybe he was setting himself up to be heartbroken in a two years when he'd wake up to a breakup and divorce papers. It could go either way, but Ben had always been too stubborn to know when to quit.

With a firm resolve and a lot more hope than he'd expected to have, he nodded to himself and started to make his way to the kitchen. Maybe she didn't love him—at least not yet—but he would spend two years loving her and maybe along the way, things would change.

Maybe.

Maybe was better than nothing.


She was already in the bath, hot water lapping at her skin, when Ben walked in wearing just a pair of jeans hanging low on his waist. He carried a large plate of finger foods, mostly cheeses, crackers, and fruits, two glasses, and a bottle of wine tucked under his arm.

The bathroom she'd found was absurd. It was as big as her old bedroom had been, with a separate room for the toilet, and the tub was better termed a jacuzzi—one big enough for two or three people. Everything in the room was stark white with gray accents, all clean lines and minimal decor, and were it not for Ben and they way he smiled at her, it would have been cold and sterile.

Rey had tried to remedy that feeling with way too much bubble bath. In one of the cabinets she'd found an unopened bottle of lavender and vanilla foaming bubbles and she'd poured half of it in while the water was running, assuming a tub that big would require a considerable amount. 

Ben noticed the issue immediately, and laughed out loud when he saw the ridiculous about of bubbles. "Rey, what did you do?" he teased. "Was this intentional?"

She turned red and looked up at him sheepishly as she sunk further into the bubbles. "No."

"Don't worry," he snorted. "They'll go down after a while. Plus, this tub is the kind that can spill over. That's why there are drains in the floor."

"Oh thank god. I was worried I’d made a massive mess."

Ben snickered, and somehow, everything felt okay. All the nerves and mild panic from finding out she'd be someone's wife in less than a month were just… gone. Even better, he really did care for her. That warmed her heart more than the bath's hot water ever could.

He set down the platter, glasses, and uncorked wine bottle, and she leaned against the edge of the tub to pour them each a glass while watching him strip.

"You know I can see you staring, right?"

Rey rolled her eyes. "Is that a problem? I am your—" she paused, and bit back a smile as she murmured the last word, "fiancee."

"Just wanted to call you out on it."

An idea sparked in her mind and she stood up in the tub, letting soap suds run down her bare body. She rested her hands on her hips and tilted her head.. "Are you trying to claim you don't stare?"

Ben was silent for a minute, and she watched as hungry eyes roamed over her body, following suds as they slid down her neck, over her chest and stomach. Rey cleared her throat and felt an inordinate amount of pride when he snapped out of it and blushed. "Sorry," he stammered. "Just- uh—," he ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, okay, fine. You have a point."

She hummed at having been proven right and sat back down in the water, waiting for him to join her. "Well, are you getting in?"

"You know," he said casually, his next words clearly revenge for how she'd made him blush, "You could just get out and let me fuck you in a bed this time. I brought those handcuffs I found while moving your stuff. That might be more fun than a bath."

Was there a word for something a few dozen steps past blushing? Did she get to name it, if she was the one who discovered it?

Not one to be outdone, Rey ignored her instincts to be shy, and sighed. "I guess that would be okay. On one condition." Rey licked and bit at her own lip, knowing he was watching her every move. "Get five questions right."

When Ben frowned, she pointed to the packet that sat at the edge of the tub. "We need to be prepared for our next meeting with Hux. So… get five right and we can do anything you want."

"Anything?"

His voice was low and promised delicious things, and Rey nodded. "Anything."

Ben’s throat bobbed, and she nearly called off the five questions right requirement because the way he looked at her threatened to make her burst into flames despite the water she sat in. He grinned, apparently agreeing to her terms, and climbed into the tub, sitting down across from her.

"Rey, this has to be half-bubbles," he chuckled, pushing masses of light-purple suds away from him. "How much did you use?"

She cleared her throat, shrugging. "I'm not sure that matters. Anyway—"

Drying a hand on the towel she'd draped over the side of the tub, she grabbed the packet and held it up, eager to get to the question-and-answer portion of the bath. She was about to read one off when he interrupted.

"Wait." He grinned slyly. "I want to amend the deal. I'm not the only one who needs to be prepared, so you need to get some questions right, too." Ben did have a point, and she was curious to hear his suggestion. The tone of his voice promised it'd be an interesting one, so she gestured for him to continue. "I'll give you an orgasm for each one you get right."

She blinked and then burst out laughing. "There are fifty something questions on here. As much as I love that idea—”

"Obviously we won’t be in the tub long enough for you to answer all of them," he drawled. "The fact that we've been in here this long is a miracle. We'll alternate questions until I get five right, and we'll see what your tally is and go from there."

Rey pursed her lips, considering it. "And would those be spread out over the week, or—"

"I was thinking I'd keep you handcuffed until my debt is paid," he shrugged, as if he hadn't just suggested keeping her cuffed to a bed for multiple orgasms.

Tossing back most of her glass of wine, she nodded. "I'm really not sure how you've stayed single until now. Where were you when I was studying for exams in college? I would have had a much better GPA."

Ben laughed and shook his head, gesturing to the packet with a cocky expression. "I was busy being too nervous to hit on you. Ask away."

"Pick a number from one to fifty. We'll do this at random so we aren't just picking easy ones."

“Twenty-four.”

Rey flipped to the page it was on and read off, "Do they drink every day?"

"You have maybe one or two drinks a week,” he answered. “Or, at least that was the case until recently. I'm not sure how much you drink when you go out with your friends, but I've never gotten the impression that you get drunk when you go out."

"You would be right," she confirmed. "That's one for you." She handed him the packet. "Let's go with… thirty-two."

Ben grabbed his wine glass and sipped at it while he skimmed the page, and read, "In an ideal world, how many times a week would they want to have sex?” His eyes narrowed. “I think you're supposed to be answering how many times I would want to have sex."

"The limit does not exist?" she answered cheekily.

"Did you just make a Mean Girls reference?"

“I'm impressed. I'd thought for sure you'd be too old to get that.” She giggled as he flicked bubbles at her, glaring with mock annoyance.

"I'm not that old,” he grumbled. “And I haven't heard you complaining."

"Oh, no, definitely not. So, did I get it right?"

Ben sighed, blushing as he ran a hand through his hair, dampening it. "When it comes to you? Uh, yeah. I guess that's true. Okay, that's one I owe you."

Rey hummed, snatching the packet back from him as he said, "Go for number eleven."

"This is an easy one. Do they like to cuddle while they sleep?"

"Yes, obviously. Every time I wake up you're on my side."

She nodded, handing him the packet, which was started to dampen at the corners, and she reached over to start munching on food he'd prepared for them. "Uhhh, number forty-four."

"Another easy one," he grinned. "Name of my first childhood friend."

"Poe, I'd guess." She paused, and said, "You know, it's odd that it took us so long to find out we had a friend in common. I'm surprised we didn't realize it sooner."

"Yeah, it’s funny. Okay, so we've each gotten two right," he winked, passing the packet, "Let's do… question forty-seven."

Rey chewed at the inside of her mouth, distracted as she felt his legs extend, sliding up to rest on either side of hers. As she looked for the question, his hands found one of her feet and began massaging it as she groaned. "Oh, the perfect man does exist." He laughed softly, and she sighed, reading off, "Do they want children?"

His movements stuttered for a moment before he tilted his head, considering her. "I could see you wanting… two. Not any time soon, though."

"Why two?" she asked curiously.

Ben paused. "I got the impression that you also grew up feeling alone. I might be wrong, but I could see you liking the idea of your kids having siblings." He hesitated, adding, "I'm thinking you’d adopt."

Her heart twinged a little. "Yeah, that's true. On all accounts. So you're at… three? Yeah, three."

His thumbs dug into a particularly tense part of the bottom of her foot and she rested her head back against the tub, sighing contentedly as he helped ease the stress from her body. "Mind reading it off for me?” he asked. “My hands are wet now, and I'm not done here." When she nodded, he instructed, "Answer question eight."

"Do you still have your wisdom teeth?" Rey frowned. "How am I supposed to know that? Is that something spouses know about each other?" She let out another little moan as he leaned forward to start massaging up her calf.  "I guess I've got a fifty-fifty shot. Let's say… yes? You still have them?"

Ben's lips quirked up, "Had to have them all removed. I’m sure my mother has stories about me all drugged up if you want to ask her."

She swore under her breath. "I'm still at two, then. And you're at three." She raised an eyebrow and commented, "Not bad, you haven't gotten a single one wrong. Pick another number."

"Forty-six."

"Am I confrontational?"

"Oh, absolutely."

"I am not!" she exclaimed, splashing water at him with the hand that wasn't holding the packet.

"Are you trying to prove my point?" Ben laughed. "Rey, come on. You are so confrontational. Especially when you're defending someone. Don't think I didn't see how pissed off you got when Finn accused me of being a creep."

Rey groaned.

"That's another one for me," he murmured, lifting her leg out of the water. He scooted forward, pushing bubbles toward the tub walls as he leaned forward and pressed a lingering kiss to the inside of her calf. "Only one more to go."

She took a deep breath, drinking the rest of her wine as she asked, feeling heat rise in her with each kiss he left her skin, "Pick a number for me to answer."

"Thirteen."

"How often do they use social media? I  don't think you do. You don't seem the type to have an account. LinkedIn, at most, but I doubt you even have that."

His dark eyes met hers as he set her leg back in the water and started massaging her other foot, "That's three." He smiled, and crooned quietly, "Good." Something flared in her chest at his words. "Ask me the last one in the packet. Whatever number it is."

Rey swallowed, and tried to focus on the words on the page as she read, "Do I enjoy celebrating my birthday?"

After a moment's pause he answered, "No, but I’m not sure why. In two years I've never seen you celebrate it, or even mention it." Ben hesitated, and said softly, "I'd like to change that."

"I'm sure you would be able to," she whispered. "I'll explain why… someday."

He nodded. "That's five, but you should get to answer one more. That way we've both been asked five questions each. Answer question thirty."

"What amount of PDA are you comfortable with?" Rey grinned, sure she'd get it right. "You're much more affectionate than I'd expected. I would say you're comfortable with most PDA."

Without pause, he released her foot and stood up in the tub, offering her his hand.

Rey laughed, "Are you that impatient?"

"Yes," he admitted, then winked as he caught her staring, "Come on, we should shower all these bubbles off. You got four right and I want to make good on that promise. Today."

Chapter 11: Ties and Tears

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Ben, I swear I will kill you if you aren't in me in the next minute."

He looked down at her with only a hint of sympathy, just before a shit-eating grin spread across his face. "Cute, sweetheart, but you're not going anywhere. I said I'd give you an orgasm for each question you got right. I never said how.” He leaned down, whispering, “I also never said I'd give them on demand."

Rey groaned and let her head fall back to the pillow that was propped under her. He had a point—she wasn't going anywhere. He'd made sure of that when he'd gotten a better look at the handcuffs, scoffed, and tossed them aside, declaring that they looked too uncomfortable. Then he'd tied her up with silky ties, commenting that he'd brought them just in case.

Quite the boy-scout, Ben was. That even spilled into his ability to tie knots. She'd been all smiles and giggles when he'd tied them, but that had been over half an hour ago. He’d spent the time lazily fingering her to a slow peak that made her whole body stiffen, and then shake into a lingering high, and now…

Now the bastard was prowling around the bed, staring down at her from every angle. For what purpose, she wasn't sure. She also didn't care. All Rey knew was that he'd edged her very close to a second one and then just… stopped.

She bit her lip and tried a more diplomatic approach. "Would you please stop fucking around here?"

Ben snorted. "Sorry, I thought you wanted me to fuck you."

"You know what I mean!"

He clapped a hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing, but his shoulders still shook. He was enjoying the hell out of this.

"Was that an attempt to ask me nicely?" he asked, humor in his voice.

"Yes," she gritted out, torn between being desperate, excited, and annoyed. "I'm not sure why I have to ask since this was your idea, but I'm trying."

Ben hummed and leaned over the bed near the nightstand, meeting her lips in the first kiss he'd given her since tying her down. His lips were demanding, working against hers roughly. That was the only part of them that touched. He pulled away too quickly. She couldn't stop the whine that came from the back of her throat.

"Try harder. Come on, you know what you want. Say it.”

She was throbbing, feeling hopelessly empty, and she wasn’t above asking nicely. "Ben, please. You got me so close, and—please?"

"That's better." He leaned back down to kiss her again, this time more gently, nipping at her lip. "Good girl," he crooned, "You remember what I told you? If it’s too much?"

She nodded—he’d been very specific about a safeword, despite her knowing he’d stop in an instant if she needed, safeword or no. “Is there a reason for that?” she asked curiously. “What are you going to do?”

"Nothing that'll hurt you.” He kissed her forehead. "I promise. But you're tied up and I just want to make sure you feel safe."

Rey smiled, tilting her head at him. "How could I not, with you?"

"I'm glad you feel that way," he murmured, reaching over to caress her cheek. His hand slid down her face, neck, and down to one of her nipples, which was achingly hard. Fingers plucked at her nipple, and rubbed over it, and she moaned. Ben’s lips quirked. "Doesn't mean I won’t tease you until you beg."

He leaned closer and kissed her neck as both hands slid to her breasts, pinching and rolling her nipples while she gasped. She wiggled her hips, as least as much as was possible—he'd also tied her feet, leaving a pillow under her hips for a better angle—and he just kept playing with her breasts.

Not that it wasn't great. It was, of course, but it wasn’t what she wanted.

"Ben, she breathed. "In me. Now, please."

The sound he made against her neck was throaty, almost like a purr. "What is it about this situation that makes you think you're in any position to make demands?"

Rey huffed. "You know I'll get revenge for this."

"And you're more than welcome to," he grinned. "But I'm not the one tied to a bed, so… beg me. You're owed three more. Beg me for them."

He… he wasn't going to give in, was he?

"Please?" she whispered.

"You can do better than that. Be a good girl and ask me nicely."

Ben went pack to playing with her breasts and kissing at her neck while he waited for her. Rey bit her lip and felt bits of pleasure shoot through her as he continued to tease, but...

It wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough.

She took a deep breath and nuzzled against the side of his face. "Please, Ben. I need to come. Please, please make me come. I'll be good, I promise. I'll feel so good for you."

Dark eyes glanced up to meet hers, and he whispered along her jaw, "How should I make you come?"

"H—however you want."

He nudged at her cheek with his nose. "Good answer."

Ben promptly stood up and walked around to the foot of the bed, then leaned over it, resting his upper half on the mattress between her spread legs. He propped himself up on his elbows. She looked down at him and realized he seemed to be planning on getting her off with his mouth. It wasn't what she'd been looking for, but at this point she'd take what she could get.

His breath hit her wet cunt, and Rey shivered. He licked up from her entrance to just under her clit, stopping before he got to the sensitive nub that was aching for attention. He did it a dozen times, slowly, as if not trying to work her toward anything. She whined.

"Is this not what you wanted?" he asked innocently. She could feel his words against her flesh. "I guess I misunderstood. Why don't you tell me what you want?"

Ben returned to the slow, gentle licks that were great, but did little to get her closer. "I—I want your mouth on my clit," she stammered. "Please, Ben, lick my clit. That swirling thing you did before, where you suck at it. Please. I need it. I need you."

"Oh, Rey," he sighed, placing a light kiss to her mound. "That's all you had to ask for."

His tongue swirled around her, and her hips bucked. The sudden transition from teasing to not teasing was almost too much, especially since she'd been so close, so tense and on-edge, so near to a second orgasm. Ben didn't seem to care much about how the sudden change was making her shake and moan, instead gripping tightly enough at her hips to leave bruises—as if she cared—and licked at her clit with a steady, unrelenting rhythm, swirling and sucking and oh—

It rose back up, flaring and rushing back to her—all the delicious tension and pressure he'd built up in her body before he'd stopped, and fuck if she had the use of her hands she'd have been gripping his hair and holding him to her while she ground against his face, but that wasn't an option, so she tugged at the ties that bound her wrists, keening as she let her hips act in their own accordance against him.

His tongue moved faster than she'd thought possible, lapping, and whenever he stopped doing that he'd move right on to sucking her into his mouth, not letting up on it for a second, and fuck were those his teeth, grazing her? His mouth covered her, those soft fucking lips—

Rey's back bowed as the pressure that had been building up slammed down and flowed into the rest of her body, leaving her keening and shaking and babbling words of praise and thanks and panted words like too much as she realized he—he wasn't stopping.

He. Wasn't. Stopping.

Rather than holding her hips with both hands, one arm wrapped over her waist, holding her to the bed—more firmly than the ties held her limbs. He used his free hand to thrust two fingers into her, massaging the spot that made her legs quiver around his head.

"Ben— Ben—"

He pulled away just long enough to catch his breath. "Yes, Rey?"

Words escaped her as his mouth covered her again, sucking and kissing and working his jaw against her as though he was starving and planned to devour her whole. At this point, she'd let him. His fingers sped up, curling and thrusting as they rubbed over that spot over and over again, and—

"Ben, I—I don't know—it’s so—" she breathed, squeezing her eyes shut.

He didn't stop. He didn't seem to plan on stopping, either. Maybe he was waiting for her to use a safe word, but as overwhelmed as she was by all the sensations washing through her, out from her center… part of her wanted to see.

Wanted to see what would happen. How it would feel, if she just trusted him and let him push her over the edge over and over until she couldn't handle more.

It hit her before she had the chance to consider uttering a word—it curled her toes, arched her back, and did all those ridiculous, dramatic things that she didn't think would normally happen during an orgasm. She cried out his name, hoping both that he would and wouldn't stop. It was a relief when he slowed his movements, groaning against her flesh as he worked her the rest of the way through it.

Her breath stuttered, but her hips stilled under his grasp, and she let out a long moan just as he pulled away from her. It was like she could feel her own heartbeat between her legs. 

Ben pressed feather-light kisses to her thighs. "Are you okay?" he asked softly, the words drifting over her skin as she let her eyes flutter closed, her body more relaxed than she'd been in a long time. Maybe ever.

She sighed, "Perfect."

Ben nuzzled against one of her thighs, "Yes, you are. Do you know why I enjoy making you come?"

She shook her head gently.

"You have no idea how beautiful you are when you come," he whispered. He must have moved, because she felt his weight shift on the bed, but her entire body was like jelly and she didn't bother looking. "Your whole body tenses. I can feel it, and your jaw drops and—" he pressed a trail of light kisses across her stomach. "You make the best noises. Little gasps, and moans, and fuck, the way you say my name—"

"Ben—"

"Yeah,” he sighed. “Like that."

"No, I—" she smiled, opening her eyes to look down at him. He was kissing his way up her torso, between words. "I was wondering if you'd untie me."

His brow furrowed. "I still owe you one."

"You do," Rey nodded, "but you're being sweet, and I want to come in your lap with my arms wrapped around you, and I can't do any of that while I'm tied up."

Ben blinked, and she felt a puff of warm breath on her skin, just under her breasts. His lips curled up, and he climbed off the bed, starting with the knots at her feet. His dexterous fingers made quick work of them, and he spent a moment at each of her ankles, massaging her skin, even though he'd taken care not to tie anything too tightly. Once both legs were untied, she flexed and stretched them, still feeling shaky from everything.

He sat down next to her, near her chest, and caressed her hand gently as he untied her right wrist, then got up and walked around the bed to mirror his actions on her left. She'd been flexing her right, but turned her head to him when he left a soft kiss on her inner wrist, lingering there.

Rey watched him as he held her hand to his lips, turning it over to press a kiss to the spot her engagement ring would have been, had she not removed it before their bath. It was the spot her wedding band would go, too, and—

It was an odd moment of clarity, as she watched him kiss her hand.

He had feelings for her, and it was incredibly obvious. Sure, maybe they weren't love, maybe not yet, but… but they were more than a little clear, now. His kisses continued over the back of her hand, up her forearm and his hair hung over her and tickled at her skin.

She must have been blind.

"Sit up," he murmured against her skin. Rey did so slowly, scooting away from the headboard. Everything was still fuzzy. He pulled off the last of the clothes he wore and he climbed onto the bed, propping a pillow against the headboard.

Rey turned to watch him sit with his back against it, legs stretched out in her direction. His cock jutted out prominently, swollen and waiting for her.

"Come here," he grinned, though the soft, serious way he said it made it clear the grin was just to detract from the unexpected levity of the moment. He gestured toward himself. "You said you wanted to be in my lap. I made you wait long enough."

She hesitated, not bothering to try to fool herself. The feeling in the room had grown more intimate, though she wasn't sure how, or why. 

Rey nodded once, more to herself than to him, and crawled over his legs, her own still shaky as he helped pull her into his lap. Her knees landed on the bed, on either side of him. Their lips met, gently and sweetly as he helped her position herself, and lower down onto him.

He filled her and stretched her, sliding and nudging against every sensitive part that existed inside her, and Rey wrapped her arms around his neck. She shuddered as she kissed him, his tongue seeming like some sort of lifeline that might have some hope of keeping her sane. Or at least, he might keep her from floating away when she came again.

Ben reached up to hold her head to his, gripping the back of her head. It left her with no other choice but to continue the kiss she had no intention of stopping, and his other arm wrapped protectively around her waist, holding her to him while he started thrusting up into her.

She was sore from everything, and he went slow, moving in her gently. Rey's mind was so overwhelmed from the emotions she both wanted and didn't want to process that she could barely think—she lost herself in how he stretched her with every thrust, or how… how it felt he had complete control, even though she was on top of him. Ben was practically lifting her up and down on him. Her legs were still wobbly, and he held her in such a tight embrace—

His tongue was still in her mouth, licking into her. Rey pulled away only to catch her breath, then rested her head on his shoulder, letting him take over as she kissed his neck and breathed, “Oh, that's perfect.”

Ben hugged her closer, pulling her chest against his as he worked into her, so slowly. Her nipples, oversensitive from stimulation, rubbed against his chest with every move. He nuzzled his face into her neck and kissed her skin, murmuring words of praise.

"Amazing, sweetheart."

His hand gripped her ass, and he rolled his hips up.

"Rey, you have no idea—"

His nose ran up the column of her throat.

"So tight. So good."

Rey moaned, and rotated her hips as she ground down on him, making him groan in time with the sounds she was making. "Ben—"

"I know," he whispered into her ear. "I know."

But—but how could he know what she was going to say when she didn't know it herself? What was she going to say, anyway? And what the hell was that, bubbling up in her—

"Can you come like this?" Ben breathed, tugging her tightly to him, caressing down her back. He nipped at her earlobe.

She nodded, feeling it coil low in her belly. "Yeah—yeah, definitely."

"Good," he murmured, hooking his chin over her shoulder, continuing to bury himself in her over and over. "Rey, love, I can't wait to feel you come around me. Please, Rey, please come for me."

Did he just call her—

Her cunt tightened around him as she squeezed her eyes shut. There was pressure coiling, building—

Did he use the word...

—and spreading until it snapped, and she gasped and moaned through one more orgasm, finally feeling some sort of relief as he pulsed inside her. Ben groaned, and bit down at the skin of her shoulder as he came, buried deep, their hips stuttering, and coming to a full stop. She was shaking, shivering. Crying, maybe.

His heart was thudding against his chest, and therefore, against hers. Hers beat in time with it, and—

Were those tears in her eyes?

How did he make her feel so safe, just by holding her in his arms?

"Everything okay, Rey?"

His words were quiet, and soft, and he asked so much more than those three words suggested. Did he know that? Did he realize?

"Yeah," she whispered, pulling back to stare up into his eyes. "Yeah, I'm good."

His forehead pressed to hers. "No, you're amazing."

She bit back the words that were on the tip of her tongue, and instead, closed her eyes and let him kiss her, this time, on the lips. They were words that should have surprised her, but they didn't in the slightest.

I love you.

Chapter 12: Honesty and Alcohol

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Rey paced in an ostentatiously decorated sitting room she'd found on the first floor. It was all oriental rugs and leather chairs and bookshelves filled with first editions, and this was the family she was marrying into? What was her life?

She listened to the phone ring. "Pick up pick up pick—"

"Hey Rey, what's up?"

Poe's charming voice echoed in the silent room, and she turned off speakerphone. Ben was still out helping his Aunt Amilyn with a computer issue, and Rey had stuck around to make this specific phone call.

It had been three days—three days since she'd thought those three words. The words that made her heart pound and eyes water, made her hands clammy, and left her so jittery it was like she'd had half a dozen cups of coffee. Three days since...

You said if I got five right we could do whatever I wanted. That was what I wanted. You, Rey. Just you.

Poe's voice snapped her back to reality. "Hey, you still there?"

"Uh, yeah. Are you alone, or is Finn there?" 

It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to Finn. He was a fantastic friend, but Rey needed to speak to someone who knew her and Ben, and she wanted to limit the amount of people who knew.

The frown in his voice was evident. "Just me. What's going on? Is everything okay?"

"No," she breathed. Then she clapped a hand to her face and groaned, "Well, maybe? I don't know what to do Poe, but I'm freaking out and everything's been great and comfortable, and Ben's been so amazing. He's such a great guy—"

"So, what's the problem?"

"—really, a wonderful guy, and Poe, I think I'm in love with him. No, no, I know I'm in love with him, and—"

"Wait, what?"

Rey winced. "Yeah, I'm an idiot, but I just—I couldn't help it. But I don't know what to do." Panic rose in her chest, settling there like a weight as she said, "What if he still expects me to divorce him once I'm all set with a green card? We said we'd see if there might be something more to this, but now I'm worried I'm too invested because… I love him. I love him so much, but I was never supposed to fall in love. That wasn't even on the table. This was supposed to be straightforward. Marriage, green card, amicable divorce. He was just supposed to be a friend, someone I'm comfortable with, and now—"

"Rey," he interrupted. "Calm down, it'll be fine."

Whatever else he said went in one ear and out the other as Rey heard someone gasp behind her. She spun and saw, with horror, that Leia Organa was standing in the doorway, eyes wide, clearly having heard… oh no.

"Poe," she said softly, frozen in panic, "I'll call you back."

Without looking down at her phone, she shut it off and let it drop before taking a step toward the woman who held Rey's fate in her hands. "Leia, I thought you weren't getting back for a few more days. I can explain, I swear," she said shakily.

Leia took a deep breath and turned, shutting and locking the door behind her, giving them privacy. She glanced back to Rey. "The conference I was in DC for got cancelled. We spent a long weekend there and came home early to help with the wedding planning. I called Ben, but his phone's been going straight to voicemail."

"Oh. Yeah, he's been… busy." Busy with me , was the unspoken bit.

"Wedding planning," Leia repeated her own words in a whisper. She shut her eyes, shaking her head. "Are you only marrying my son because your visa is expiring?"

"It started that way," she admitted, blinking back tears. "Leia, I'm so sorry. It was his idea, but I'm the one who said yes."

"Of course it was his idea," Leia sighed. She walked over and sat back in one of the leather armchairs with a huff. "Idiot. No offense, dear. I wish I was surprised, but Ben… well, I'm not surprised that he'd be cocky enough to think he could pull something like this off." She looked up at Rey, with a hint of a sympathetic smile. "I assume you know what would happen if the truth came out? Fines, jail time… ?"

Rey slumped into the chair across from Leia, leaning forward, and covered her face with her hands, resting her elbows on her knees. "I didn't know when I accepted his proposal," she groaned. "I swear I didn't. Then, I thought the worst that would happen is me being sent back to England. But, Leia, that's not the problem anymore—"

"Oh, I heard," she hummed. "Quite a mess." After a moment of silence, Rey peeked up to meet the woman's eyes, and saw that she was smiling. "You love him?"

“So much,” Rey breathed. “ So much. It happened so fast, but… yeah.”

"Well, that's a relief."

"No, it's not," she shook her head. "He cares about me, but I don't know for sure if he loves me. What if he decides we don't click as well as he thought, and I have to spend a couple years married to someone I love, who doesn't love me? It would break my heart."

Leia's lips quirked up in a familiar way, forming an expression she'd seen dozens of times on Ben. "I have a feeling that won't be a problem." She hesitated, and asked, "How many people would go through something like this, wedding planning and everything, never mind risking jail-time and countless legal issues, all for someone they didn't love?"

"Okay, but—"

"Do you want my honest opinion?"

Rey nodded blankly.

“I know my son,” Leia snorted. “He's not that good of an actor. Not a chance. I would bet anything he's feeling the same way you are right now. Too in love to act rationally, and too afraid to be honest about it.” She reached across the space between them to pat Rey's knee. “One of you needs to get over it.”

“You think I should tell him?”

Leia laughed, “I know you should tell him.” She stopped and considered Rey before saying, “I assume you'll still get married? The wedding is still on?”

"Nothing's changed, in terms of our plans." She looked up and saw that the woman was still staring at her. "I'm so sorry for all of this Leia," she said quietly. "Things may have started because of my visa, but I love your son. I promise, this marriage will be as real as he wants it to be."

"That's all I need to hear," Leia reassured her. "But you need to tell him the truth."

Somehow, that idea was more terrifying than the conversation she was currently having.

"I'm not sure how," Rey admitted. "I've never loved someone before. No one has ever loved me."

Leia's hand tightened on her knee, keeping her calm. “Tell him at the wedding, then. It's the perfect opportunity. Maybe you could write your own vows, and use them as a way to tell him the truth, or tell him that morning? It would be romantic, and it gives you plenty of time to calm down and consider what you want to say.” Softly, she added, “You're always going to feel vulnerable the first time you tell someone you love them. It’ll be scary, but saying it out loud is worth it.”

"Was it like that for you?"

A light grin played across the woman's face, and she let out a laugh. "The first time I told Han I loved him, I was taking part in a protest at college. The poor man had only come to pick me up because he didn't think it was safe and he ended up getting arrested." She snorted. "Some man had grabbed my arm and Han punched him, only to find out the man was a police officer out of uniform. Something to keep in mind, Rey, is that Solo men can be idiots."

Rey laughed hard at the weary way Leia had said that, and listened as she continued, "So, there I am, holding a sign that said ERA NOW —see, it was the early '80s and we were trying to get the ERA ratified—and poor Han's just punched a cop, so obviously he was arrested, and they were pulling him off to a squad car. I just shouted it out at him. And you know what the worst part was?"

"It gets worse?" Rey giggle-snorted. "Oh, please, tell me."

"The idiot replied with 'I know'. I said 'I love you', and he just smirked and yelled back 'I know'."

"You're kidding," she breathed, "No, he didn't."

"He did!"

They laughed together, and then things got serious again, and Leia smiled at her. "It won’t be perfect. Things never are. But you'll never be sure unless you tell him, and I promise you, if he's an idiot about it, you come back here and we'll share a couple bottles of wine while I tell you more about what college in the early '80s was like."

"Thanks, Leia," she murmured, feeling genuinely touched. "I've never had a mom," she admitted, hesitantly. She couldn't meet the woman's eyes as she added, "I think I would have wanted one like you."

When she looked back up, Leia's expression was a mix of hope, love, and a hint of sadness. She cleared her throat. "I could say the same for you, Rey. I'm not sure I could have hand-picked a better daughter-in-law." Leia leaned forward again and squeezed her hand. "Personally, I think you'll be my daughter-in-law for a lot longer than a few years."

"I hope so. I'll tell him. I will."


To say Ben was disappointed when he got back from Amilyn's—intending to track Rey down and drag her back to bed—only to find his parents waiting for him, would have been the understatement of the century.

He should have been happy for the long weekend he’d had with her all to himself, but Ben had learned something about himself during his time with Rey—he was greedy. Greedy enough to want to keep her in his arms, in his bed, culling as much from her body as she could handle while he got to watch her shake, and squeeze her eyes shut, and—

He groaned. If he kept thinking like that, things would get awkward, because he was wearing sweatpants and his parent's voices were coming from the kitchen, just one room away from where he stood in the entry. Ben swallowed and willed (read: begged) his body to chill. He'd been so close to being successful.

So. Close.

But then Rey's arms curved up and around him, covering his eyes as she lifted on her toes and whispered in his ear, "Guess who?"

He hummed, determined to play along. "You'd better be careful. See, I'm engaged to this gorgeous little spitfire of a woman and I don't think she'd appreciate anyone else touching me. I'm betting she can be territorial."

Rey nuzzled her face between his shoulder blades. "Oh, is that so? And how would she feel about this?"

Her hands left his eyes and ran down his chest and stomach. Ben’s eyes fluttered shut. "She wouldn't approve."

"Hmm. And what about this?"

Much to his surprise, Rey slipped her hands under the band of his sweatpants and grasped him. His own hands shot out to hold hers still just as she started working them down his cock.

"Fucking hell, Rey," he whispered, turning back to her with wide eyes. "You know they're in the next room, right?"

A mischievous glint shone in her eyes. "Yep. And your mother's been bombarding me with wedding details. And we talked about… stuff. Stressful stuff. That's why I've had three glasses of wine."

Ben snorted, reluctantly removing her hands from his sweatpants. "That explains a lot. Sticking your hands down my pants without any lead-up did seem bold, even for you."

He turned to face her and noticed with a bit of dismay that he was hard again. "I can't go out there like this." She gave him a cocky grin, and he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you must be really proud of yourself. We've spent most of the last three days in bed, why is it so surprising that you have a bit of control over—" he gestured down to himself, "This?"

"Not surprising," she shrugged, wobbling a little. "Just flattering."

Ben chuckled, shaking his head. He was about to scold her when she lifted on her toes and nearly fell into him as she met him for a kiss. Thankfully he realized what her intentions were, and he wrapped his arms around her to catch her, but she seemed uncaring about her near fall, continuing to kiss him with the sort of unrestrained fervor that only a semi-drunk person could have.

"Ah—" he pulled away, but kept her in his arms. "Uh, sweetheart, I can't say I don't like where this is headed, but you're drunk and my parents are in the next room."

Rey pouted adorably. "Fine. But I want more wine."

"Great," he sighed. "I should have known my mother would be a bad influence on you. Okay, go back to the kitchen. I'll meet you there in a minute."

She tilted her head, confused, and then happened to gaze down at the obvious outline of his cock. She failed to hide her grin. Ben sighed, realizing he wasn't all that convinced he'd even survive a full year of marriage with her, never mind two.

Or more. Hopefully more.


Ben, with Rey's help, was half-way down a bottle of gin the time they got around to finalizing the guest list. His parents had been happy to see them both and had been even happier when they'd agreed to stick around and finish everything for the wedding rather than going back home since they didn't need to house sit, but they'd begged off to bed early, claiming to be tired from travel.

That left Rey, tipsy from wine, lounging on a plush sectional couch in—

Was this the living room? She wasn't sure. The damn house had so many different rooms filled with chairs and various items, and the one she happened to be in had a massive couch and a tv.

Ben had ordered a pizza, bless him, after blushing when she not-so-subtly asked him if he thought he could be her dinner. Rey couldn't help but feel deprived by his answer, but her mood lightened when he brought out the gin after the pizza delivery guy showed up.

Now the pizza was gone and her tipsiness from the wine had waned, only to be replaced by a fuzzy warmth from the gin. Ben had reached her level of drunk sometime around midnight, and that was when they'd decided it was the perfect time to go over the guest list. Sober Rey would thank her in the morning.

She squinted at the computer, dizzy as Ben busied himself mouthing at her neck. "Do we invite Maz? And my coworker, Rose?" He nipped at the spot behind her ear and she leaned away from him, giggling, "Ben! Be serious! We have to do this. You have like a hundred people and I have—two? Or does Poe count as yours?"

"He's mine, known him longer," Ben muttered, wrapping an arm around her waist. He pulled her to sit in his lap sideways and she laughed, letting him nuzzle into her hair as she lifted the laptop into her lap.

"Fine, Poe's yours, but that leaves me with only three, if we invite Maz and Rose."

Ben stopped nuzzling her and leaned forward to look at the screen. He gasped dramatically. "I know what we can do."

"Ah, another brilliant idea? Because your last one involved ordering pizza to feed people at the wedding and Ben, your mother would—"

He shook his head. "Invite Hux. And Phasma. That'll bring you up to five."

"You want to invite our immigration officer, and our lawyer to the wedding?" Rey asked, amused. The alcohol must have really hit her though, because she grinned. "That's brilliant. I'll email your mom the info. I wonder if we could set them up together."

She took out a minute to type out what seemed to be a legible email, sending the details to Leia, and then closed the laptop. Ben spent the whole time sucking a mark into her neck that she'd need to get revenge for later, but she didn't bother scolding him. Instead, she set down the laptop, and reached up to pull at his hair, whispering into his ear, "Why don't you take me to bed? You can leave as many marks as you want on me when we get there."

Sober Rey would thank her in the morning for that, too. Probably.

Chapter 13: Dresses and Promises

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It took Rey ten minutes to convince herself to get up and climb out of the warm—but empty—bed she was curled up in. Apparently she'd slept naked, and she shivered when she left the blankets, already regretting her choice. Her head was spinning and throbbing, and she took her time padding over to the bathroom, then spent a moment debating whether she'd be sick, but settled for splashing cold water on her face.

What in the fresh hell did they drink? She hadn't been this hungover since her twenty-first birthday. Rey groaned and looked up at herself in the mirror over the sink, expecting to see messy hair and… 

Her eyes widened. Her hair was back in a braid she didn't remember doing, and based on how neat it was, she was certain she hadn't done it herself. That wasn't what caught her attention, though.

No, what caught her eyes were all the bruises, each about the size of a certain man's mouth. Most were centered around her breasts and hips but there was a massive one on the side of her neck and oh, Ben Solo was a dead man. As if summoned by her mental threat, he called from the bedroom, "Rey? I brought breakfast. Want something to eat?"

She huffed and walked back out to the bedroom, gesturing to her body. "Want to tell me what happened last night?"

Ben set down a small tray of food on her nightstand and turned to gaze down her body, a quiet laugh slipping through his lips. "Shit. Those are worse than I thought they might be. In my defense, we were both drunk and that was your idea."

"Was it really?" she groaned. "Actually that's not surprising.” She tilted her head, remembering the day before. “Did I try to..."

"Jerk me off in the entry with my parents in the next room, and offer me a blowjob in lieu of dinner? Yes, and yes. I'm starting to see why you don't drink. Not that I'm complaining about any of that."

Rey clapped a hand to her face. "I'm so sorry. I didn't say anything weird in front of your parents, did I?"

"Nah, nothing like that," he reassured her, taking a few steps toward her to wrap her in a tight hug. "Don't apologize. Last night was fun, and mom mentioned we got the guest list finalized?"

"We did?" Rey leaned back to look up at him and frowned. "I don't remember doing that."

Ben shrugged, "I remember talking about how you didn't have a lot of people to invite, but I got..." He grinned, and leaned down to nuzzle the spot on her neck. "Distracted."

"Is that what you call it? Well, I hope we didn't forget anyone."

"She said it all looked fine, so she's going to send the invites out today since it's a rush."

His lips met her neck then, and thoughts of a wedding or invites left her mind as she sank into his arms, moaning as he held her close. "Ben," she whispered, closing her eyes as he leaned down, his kisses trailing down her collarbone. "Do… uh, do you want to—"

Ben grinned against her breast when she glanced down and nodded. "On one condition," he murmured, his breath landing on her skin, "Drink some water and have breakfast. I brought up a few options. Then…" he winked, "you can do whatever you want."

The corners of her mouth curled up. "Deal."


Rey was beyond grateful it was almost winter, the frigid winter of New England guaranteeing she would need to wear a sweater. Specifically, a sweater that would hide all the marks Ben had left on her—the ones from the night before, and the new ones she'd gained after breakfast.

She got into Leia's car, nervous to spend more time alone with the woman, and that was when Leia announced that they were going wedding dress shopping. Unexpected excitement bubbled in Rey's chest.

Thanks to her future mother-in-law, Rey was less freaked out about things with Ben. Her words had been reassuring and comforting, and Leia seemed to approve of them continuing with things as-planned, which felt like a great sign. It was almost as though Leia knew that the feelings between her and Ben were mutual. It wasn't a guarantee, but Rey was happy to take what she could get.

"Do you know what sort of dress you want?"

Rey looked over at her and shrugged. "Nothing too revealing, I guess? And nothing big that's a pain to move around in? I think those are my only requests."

"Oh, good," Leia sighed. "You aren't picky. That'll make this easier. Since we're so close to the wedding, we don't have time to get anything custom-made, so I hope you don't mind that we might buy off-the-rack."

She snorted. "When Ben and I decided to get married, we planned to go to a courthouse. I would have worn jeans."

When the woman laughed, Rey turned to smile at her, and laughed along with her once she said, "I was right. You're perfect for him. That's something Ben would do, except he'd go in sweatpants."

"Last night he suggested we cancel the catering and just order a bunch of pizzas."

One of Leia's hands left the steering wheel and clapped over her mouth as she snickered. When she caught her breath, she shook her head, “That boy, I swear. Just like his father. You know, Han and I did have a courthouse wedding. He just woke me up one morning and said ‘Hey princess, you wanna get married?' in that scoundrel way of his, and I was young and stupid enough to say yes. Within an hour we were driving down to Rhode Island. See, they don't require a waiting period for a marriage license.”

Rey giggled. "Well, it worked out."

"It did," Leia nodded. "That's true."

They spent most of the drive laughing, mostly at stories from Leia's youth, and finally arrived in front of a store that surprised Rey.

"BHLDN?" she asked, glancing at Leia.

“I'm guessing you assumed I would bring you some place more… designer?”

Rey blushed, and admitted, "I wasn't sure what to expect."

"As nice as you'd look in one of the new Oscar de la Renta wedding gowns, that didn't seem your style," Leia sighed. She reached over to squeeze Rey's hand. "It's your wedding and you should be comfortable in whatever you pick. I thought you would have more preferable options in a store like this."

"Thank you," Rey said softly. "Leia… you don't need to be so nice to me. I feel terrible that we lied to you, and—"

"Hush," the woman scolded. "You love my son and you're marrying him. That's all that matters. Now come on and let me live out my lifelong dream of having a daughter to spoil and dress up."

Where was this family years ago? Rey would have killed to have had a woman in her life like Leia. Instead of dwelling on that, she smiled, climbing out of the car. She even let Leia take her by the arm as they walked into the store.


"I found it."

Leia spun away from a rack she'd been combing through, eyes wide. "You did? Are you sure? Last time you said that—"

Rey groaned. "Lesson learned, not everyone can pull off a mermaid gown. But I think this is the one." She grinned and gestured toward the dressing rooms. "Come on, I'll try it on. See what you think."

Leia had made the right call on her choice of store. Rey was overwhelmed, but so far they weren’t surrounded by employees trying to help or offer various options, and they had time to just scan over the dresses at their leisure. It was less stressful than she'd assumed the whole ordeal would be, and thanks to Leia, it was fun.

Of course, when they'd first walked in, the woman had found the most ridiculous dress possible with a massive tulle skirt and a bodice that plunged to her belly button. Rey had only blinked at her for a moment before Leia had burst out laughing at her expression. Quite the joker, this woman was. Rey loved her for it.

"Okay, okay, go get it on!" Leia said, shooing her toward a dressing room that stood next to a big wall of mirrors. "Let me know if you need any help with it."

Rey was a little worried about what she'd picked. It was simple, and maybe the long sleeves were a little unorthodox, but they were having a winter wedding overlooking a mountain. It was bound to be freezing, and having most of her skin covered seemed appealing. The long skirt was ivory tulle, meeting a lace bodice at her natural waist. Chantilly lace continued up into a boatneck, with sleeves that went all the way to her wrists. Simple, a little plain, but she thought it seemed classic. It was easier to move in than anything else she'd tried on.

Taking a look in the small mirror the dressing room offered, she let down her hair and shook out her waves before she walked out to see what Leia thought. 

Leia looked up the second she walked out, glancing up at her from the padded bench she sat on, and the woman's eyes went soft. "Oh, Rey. You're right. That one's perfect."

"You like it?" She gave a spin so Leia could see the back. "It’s plain, but—"

"It's perfect," Leia confirmed, standing up to walk over toward her. Her hand landed on Rey's shoulder. "The lace is like the kind that was on my mother's dress."

"It is?"

Leia nodded. "I have her veil, if you want to use it. I think it would match this well. It could be your something old."

"Borrowed, too," Rey smiled.

"No," she corrected, pulling Rey into a hug, "It's not for you to borrow. If you wore it, I would be passing it down to my daughter-in-law, not loaning it to her. You'll borrow something else. Maybe my pearls?"

Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes as she rested her chin on the woman's shoulder. She sniffled. "Thanks, Leia."

"Anything for family, dear."


Ben was finishing some last minute bug-fixes for a client when he heard noises from the kitchen. His father was in Boston teaching, so it was likely Rey, back from dress shopping. He shut down his laptop and walked out into the kitchen, frowning when he noticed she wasn't the one making noise.

Instead, his mother was bustling about, starting a pot of tea while she made herself a sandwich, and as he glanced around the room, he saw a distinct lack of Rey.

"Oh there you are," Leia greeted him. She had her hair in the usual crown braid she'd taught him to do, and not for the first time, he noticed more gray than he'd seen before. She tilted her head at him. "Have you eaten lunch?"

"I was waiting for Rey. I wasn't sure if you two would eat while you were out."

"We picked up a snack, but nothing much," she commented, starting to pull together a second sandwich, presumably for him. "We got back a few minutes ago."

"Where is she?"

His mother took a seat at the kitchen's bar, passing a sandwich over to him. "Rey's out on a walk. She's fine, don't worry, but… you should talk to her after you eat. I pointed her toward the trail behind the house."

Ben's eyes narrowed, but he accepted the sandwich—a simple, but delicious cheese with turkey. "That sounds ominous."

When his mother didn't respond, the bite he'd taken turned to dust in his mouth, and he swallowed hard. Finally, she sighed. "I'm sure she's fine, but… has she spoken much about her family with you? Rey's said a few things to me, and if you're marrying her, you should talk to her about them. I noticed that she's not inviting any family members to the wedding."

"I got the impression that she doesn't have any," Ben said softly. "Yeah, I'll talk to her."

He finished the sandwich, and stood up to go find Rey, but was stopped. "Wait, Ben, come back here for a moment. I need to say something to you."

Silently, he turned back to his mother, who looked concerned. She reached out and placed her hand on his, squeezing it. "Ben, that girl is a keeper."

"Uh, yeah," he chuckled, blushing. "I know. That's why I'm marrying her."

A smile grew on her face, and she nodded. "See to it that she knows that. Rey is a wonderful girl, and it's clear that you make each other very happy. It would be a pity if she didn't know how much you love her."

"I do love her," he whispered, possibly the first time he'd said the words out loud with no plan to swallow them.

His mother sighed in relief, if he wasn't mistaken. "I thought you might. Make sure she knows it. Make sure she knows you mean it, and that you aren't saying it for any reason other than that. If you do, I think you two will be very happy together."

Ben couldn't help but wonder how much his mother had guessed about the situation surrounding the impending wedding, but didn't ask. Instead, he smiled, and pressed a light kiss to the woman's crown braid. "I will, mom. Don't worry."


It only took Rey a few minutes to settle down and stop tearing up after she got outside and started walking around the property. Fresh air did her some good, though the cold November air bit into her skin through the fleece that was too thin to be a proper jacket.

Maybe this reaction was silly of her. Maybe it wasn't.

Rey wasn't sure, but she couldn't stop the feelings any easier than she could rewind time. Dress shopping with Leia had been amazing. Leia was amazing. She was everything Rey had ever wanted in a mother. Loving, understanding, firm when necessary…

More importantly, she was there. Just there to listen when it was needed.

Rey had spent years convincing herself that she didn't need parents. Didn't need family. She was better off without them. They didn't want her, and she didn't need them—her abandonment was for the best.

She'd been lying. That much had suddenly become clear.

"Rey?"

A gentle, low voice came from behind her, and just with that single word, half the tension and repressed emotion that was welling in her relaxed. She glanced back, seeing a very concerned Ben, and sighed.

"Hey sweetheart," he murmured. Taking a few steps closer to where she sat on a bench she'd found halfway through the short trail, he sat down, wrapping an arm around her. "You want to talk about it?"

They'd been working to this point for a while, she realized. After all, Hux was going to ask him questions about her family, or lack thereof, and even if he didn't, it was something Ben deserved to know. If she was ever going to tell anyone, Ben was one of the few people she was comfortable telling it to.

"We should," Rey sighed, wiping a stray tear from her eye. He pulled her closer, staying silent. Waiting for her to talk. "I had a great time with your mother today. I'd never thought much about things like wedding dress shopping. Maybe that's because I'm younger, or maybe it's because that's something women do with their moms, and that hurts a bit, because—"

She sucked in a breath, and let the words out, "Because I don’t have a mom. My parents abandoned me. I was young—too young to remember it. They left me with was a blanket that had my name stitched into it, but the orphanage gave me a last name." She bit her lip and looked over at him, nestling a little into his arms. "That's why I wanted to take yours."

Ben's nose nudged into the side of her head, a kiss touching on her hair. His hand tightened around hers, and she relaxed into him. "I grew up in the system. I was too young to remember them, but I still have nightmares of them leaving… though, I don't have them much now."

"Oh?"

Rey nodded. "You've helped. More than you realize. Every time I wake up from a dream where I've been just… thrown away, I wake up in your arms. The dreams are a lot less frequent now."

“I'm glad,” he hummed softly. “Does this have anything to do with why you don't like your birthday?”

“I don't know my real birthday. It's an estimate. That's not what bothers me, though.” A few tears rolled down her face, and she blinked as his hand reached up to cup her cheek, turning her more toward him as he wiped the paths of the droplets. Rey met his eyes, and admitted, “I used to wish, every birthday, that I would find my family. Not on a candle, or anything. We didn't get cakes on our birthdays, but I would still wish. They never came back, though.”

She heard Ben take in a shaky breath as he leaned forward, pressing a light kiss to her lips. "You know I'm not going anywhere, right?"

It wasn't the first time someone had told her that—

"Rey?" he whispered, maybe a bit desperately. "I promise, I'm not going anywhere. You can have my name. You can have me. You can have whatever you want. I promise." Then his voice became a whisper, "I think you've found your family."

—but it was the first time she'd believed it.

She didn't have the words to respond. They all kept getting caught in her throat, so she tilted her head, and answered him the only way she knew how—by pouring the words into a kiss.

Chapter 14: Truth and Revenge

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

A week flew by, full of wedding-related mini-meetings over tea and snacks with Leia, dates with Ben—which were mostly just an escape from the house—and, much to Rey's delight, a couple of sit-down talks with Han over drinks.

Her future father-in-law was an unknown quantity until Rey tracked him down in his private study with two glasses and a bottle of scotch and asked if she could pick his brain about writing and getting published. Rey was determined to get to know the man, despite how Finn had complained about his class.

When she'd walked into his study, Han had tilted his head from where he sat at a dark hardwood desk, his back to a wall that was made of bookshelves with countless texts and random items, one being a rather odd whip that she had no intention of asking about. Indiana Jones, indeed.

The minute he'd figured out her intentions, he'd given her a cocky grin and welcomed her to sit with him, and though they may not have actually talked much about writing and publishing, they'd talked. If she'd thought Leia had some interesting stories, Han could have given her a run for her money. They bonded over stories and scotch, until Leia burst into the room, scolding them both for day-drinking.

Leia had also burst out laughing when Rey gave her side-eye and commented on how she'd offered to split a bottle of wine with Rey the day before, at eleven in the morning.

After that, Leia rolled her eyes and snatched up Han's glass, deciding to join them. Poor Ben had been confused to find the three of them, drunk in his father's study, laughing as Leia reiterated the story of how she met Han—in a jail-cell, apparently, before discovering he was a professor at the school she studied at.

They were incredible at making her feel at home. The more she thought about it, the more she thought… maybe she was home. 

Poe snapped her from the reverie—reminiscing over the previous week—that she'd fallen into while sitting at the kitchen's bar. Poe, along with his parents and Finn, were joining the Solo-Organas for Thanksgiving, and Rey couldn't help but be relieved by that.

"Hey Rey," he whispered, glancing around the room in an attempt to make sure they weren't overheard. "You never called back. Everything go okay? Did you tell him?"

She shook her head as the subject of their conversation walked into the room carrying a few pies, followed by a woman with a shock of purple hair. Ben looked handsome as ever, long hair in soft inky waves, a hunter-green long-sleeved shirt stretching across the chest that likely still boasted her marks. He smiled the moment his eyes landed on her, and he didn't bother greeting anyone before he set the pies down and wrapped his arms around her, ignoring Poe in favor of kissing her.

Maybe it was a good thing they'd done so much kissing, because as his lips moved over hers in a way that was far from chaste. It felt natural. Ben kissed her like he hadn't seen her in a year (false), and like he wouldn't get the chance to kiss her again (definitely false). She loved it and him for it.

That was still a thing she hadn't said—at least not to the person who needed to hear it. She'd considered saying it, multiple times. She'd been so close to saying it when she'd told him the truth about her family, and then she'd almost said it after that, when he'd realized she was cold and insisted on bringing her inside. When he took her by the hand and brought her up to the bedroom they'd been sharing, they'd ended up in each other's arms, rocking slowly against each other while whispering sweet words and promises about family and never being alone and—

The fact that she hadn't said it yet was unbelievable, even to her. Poe also seemed shocked by it—either that, or he was shocked by the way she and Ben kissed.

When Ben pulled away, grinning and humming and caressing whatever parts of her he could get his hands on, Poe stared at him, and cleared his throat. "Hey, buddy, uh, can we talk?" He blinked, and confirmed, "Yeah, I think we need to talk."

She met Ben's eyes and saw her own confusion mirrored in them, but he shrugged, and left her with a kiss to her temple before he turned to follow Poe.

What she would have given to be a fly on the wall for that conversation.


Ben followed Poe into the empty living room where he and Rey had shared far too much gin a week or so earlier, and then stopped short as he almost collided with his friend, who'd spun around to face him. He had a pretty good idea where this was going, and he'd been expecting it since Poe saw them together, back in their apartment. It was only a matter of time.

Poe paused, and then blurted out, "When did this stop being fake for you?"

That was more or less been what he'd been expecting. Ben turned red, and he couldn't stop the smile that formed on his face. "It uh… we're close. It's not—"

"Bullshit," Poe interrupted. "Bullshit. Don't bother lying to me. After almost thirty years of friendship, I can tell you're lying."

Ben hesitated, and said shyly, "I… yeah. Yeah, okay. It's been like this for a while."

"You knew when you proposed, didn't you?"

He looked up, and saw the massive grin on Poe's face, and relaxed. Contrary to what Ben had been expecting, the man wasn't planning on calling him an idiot or telling him there was too big of an age difference or… anything discouraging. 

"Not exactly," Ben admitted, "But I should have. How did you figure it out?"

"I'm not blind. I've suspected it since we went ring shopping. Nobody spends that long deciding on the perfect ring unless they care. Have you told Rey yet?"

...sort of?

"No," Ben said quickly, "No, she has no idea. I sort of said I love you, but she was about to freak out, so I told her I was just practicing saying it so things didn't seem forced at the wedding."

His confusion grew when he watched Poe throw himself dramatically into a chair, cover his face, and groan. "You idiot. You said I love you and took it back?" He groaned again, though it was more of a frustrated yell muffled by his hands. "Oh Ben, c'mon man. You're killing me. Don't you think real feelings might make this mess a lot less messy? Don't you think, maybe this all might be a lot more simple if you tell her the truth?"

Ben swallowed. "We agreed to see if this could be more, but... yeah, I love her. I'm still trying to decide how to tell her."

After a moment Poe nodded tiredly. "Make sure you do. For my own sanity, tell her how you feel.”

He had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from scoffing. He'd showed Rey dozens of times how much he loved her. But actually saying it and letting the words ring true with no intention of taking them back? Easier said than done.

"Yeah, I'm going to," he murmured. "Just need to figure out when."

Another muffled, frustrated noise came from Poe. "Dude, you're getting married in a week. Just tell her. You two are obviously like, stupid in love. Please tell her."

He worked his mouth, hoping —praying— Poe was right, and he was right about Ben needing to be honest with Rey. He would tell her, but that didn't make it any less terrifying.

"I will," Ben vowed. "I promise, I'm working on it."


Rey realized something both sad and heartwarming as they all sat down at the table together. It was her first real family Thanksgiving, and… it actually felt like a family Thanksgiving. Ben sat next to her, constantly leaning over to kiss her, or reaching over to rest a hand on her knee, and Leia and Han—even Amilyn—all smiled at her and asked her questions about her hobbies, likes and dislikes, and… 

It was threatening to become her favorite holiday.

"So, Rey," Han said through a mouthful of mash, "We never got around to talking about your story."

"Oh, you write too?" asked Shara, Poe's mother. She had dark curly hair and sharp, angular features. "What's it about?"

Rey paused, fork midway to her mouth. She wasn't one of those people who advertised they were writing a book, so to hear that question was like winning ten dollars off a scratch ticket lotto. Unexpected, but not displeasing. She dropped the fork and wiped her mouth with a napkin, taking the time to come up with a response. "It's fiction. I'm not sure what to classify it as. I guess it falls under fantasy? Maybe sci-fi?"

To her surprise, she saw that Ben was listening in carefully, and saying nothing. Then it hit her—it was probably odd that her fiance didn't know anything about her story, which explained why he was being quiet.

"Nothing wrong with genre fiction," Han shrugged, finishing off his plate and leaning back in his chair, taking a long gulp from his glass. "Not like my own stuff's high brow literature."

"Which reminds me," Poe huffed, turning to the man. There was a glint in his eye. "Why did you put that cheesy romance in your last book? It’s not your style."

Rey looked between the two with wide eyes. She could scarcely imagine anyone critiquing her own work, let alone having a close family friend point out a flaw in the middle of dinner. Everyone else in the room stopped their own private conversations and were looking at Poe as if he'd just grown a second head, including Finn.

Han didn't seem to mind. “Didn't want to put it in,” he grumbled. “My publisher thought it might add pizzazz to the story. Said they wanted to try something new.” He took the opportunity to cross his arms and enjoy another lengthy sip from his glass. 

"I thought it was weird," Poe nodded. "Especially the whole secret pining thing between the two leads."

Dinner was winding down, and Rey decided that maybe it was best if she didn't finish eating. Depending on how this conversation went she was liable to start jamming forks in meddling friends' faces, and she didn't want the extra food to slow her reaction time.

Han groaned. "I can't stand that will-they won't-they tripe. Just spit it out, if you ask me. Life's a lot easier when people are honest with themselves."

"Need I remind you that the first time you asked me to marry you you'd just gotten home from the dentist and you dropped the ring box in my hand,” Leia laughed. "I'm not convinced you're much of a romantic."

Kes—Poe's father, with dark hair and tan skin that matched his son's—burst out laughing. "I remember that!" he said, banging his hand against the table. "He couldn't even get down on one knee from all the drugs the dentist had given him."

"It was a fine proposal," Han mumbled, voice low and sullen.

"There were curlers in my hair! It was possibly the worst moment you could have asked me to marry you."

Poe jumped in, side-eyeing Rey, who wanted to sink into the floor, "There's something to be said for being honest with the people you love, even if the timing’s off."

Leia huffed, seemingly oblivious to the Chernobyl-level meltdown going in on Rey's head. "There's also something to be said for waiting until the right time," Leia pointed out. "Isn't that right, Rey?"

Rey looked between her future mother-in-law, and her future childhood-friend-in-law and decided that this family was going to be the death of her. But… maybe in a good way?

Or, maybe, they were the reason she almost choked on her wine.


As wonderful as Han and Leia's had been, Rey was thrilled to be back in her— their —own bed. Somehow in a matter of weeks she'd gotten spoiled by the plush mattress Ben was sharing with her. She just knew she'd never be able to go back to the futon. Ben seemed to have no intention of letting her, anyway.

They were a single week away from the wedding, and all the details had been hammered out by the time they left Ben's parents after Thanksgiving. Rey would return to work on Saturday, work her regular shifts until Thursday, and then…

And then they would go to New Hampshire for the weekend. For the wedding.

A white dress with dark blue ballet flats hung in her closet, and Rey tried not to let her heart pound too hard every time she saw it. She still hadn't written her vows, but she knew three words she needed to include. That was a good start.

They returned to their apartment after Thanksgiving dinner, both looking forward to a solid twenty-four hours to themselves before Rey returned to work, and she had every intention of enjoying those twenty-four hours as much as possible.

Within two hours of their arrival, Ben was tied to their bed, smirking as Rey stared down at him, planning her next move. She'd used the same sort of ties he had, though her knots weren't as good. She was worried he might be able to slip out of them, but… well, he didn't seem to want to, so that would have to be good enough.

"Just gonna stare, Rey?".

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Ben. I've got you all tied up and got us both naked specifically to stare. I have no other intentions. None at all."

"I hope that's a joke, because if you don't end up riding me at some point I'm going to be disappointed."

"I guess you'll have to wait and see."

After a moment of considering her, Ben sighed, and shrugged as best he could with his hands tied to bedposts. Rey walked around the bed, stopping near her nightstand, and hummed, sliding her nails down his chest, noticing with a bit of pride that he sucked in a breath at her actions. She climbed onto the bed, sitting over his hardened cock, and his hips thrust up.

Rey only laughed, shaking her head at him.

"You thought it would be that easy?" she scolded. "No way. You practically tortured me when you had your chance. Trust me, I'm going to have some fun before we get there."

Ben groaned, "C'mon, I don't think we need to go that route. Just think about how good it would feel if—"

"Nope," she laughed, leaning down over his torso to press kisses at his neck. "Don't try to convince me," she murmured against his skin. "I'll just want to tease you more."

His hips bucked up toward her again, and she bit down at his flesh, making him moan and struggle against the ties. "What do you want, Ben?" she whispered, between licks and bites as she traveled around his neck and collarbone. "Why don't you tell me what you want?"

Rey backed down his torso slowly, kissing and sucking while he struggled to keep his breathing normal. When she knelt between his legs and nuzzled her face against his dick, leaving light kisses on its soft skin, she repeated, "What do you want, Ben?"

"Your mouth?" he asked hopefully, probably worried she was planning to tease him with kisses. Thankfully that wasn’t her intention. She glanced up at him and caught his eyes, watching her every move.

Holding eye contact with him, she ran her tongue up the length of his cock, swirling it around the tip, and relished in the surge of pride she felt as he groaned and let his head hit the pillow underneath it. She'd discovered this was one of her favorite things to do with him… his reactions were incredible for her ego.

Figuring she owed him for all his teasing, she repeated the lick up his length, swirling in spirals on the way back down, over and over again until he squeezed his eyes shut, asking desperately, "Rey, please?"

She hummed and pulled back to ask, "You'll need to be more specific. I am using my mouth. Isn't that what you said?"

"Would you please suck my dick?" he rumbled. His eyes had gone so dark she could barely see any brown. She grinned at his words. Licking her lips, Rey swirled her tongue around his tip and sucked it into her mouth. Ben’s head dropped back against the pillow. "Good girl," he whispered as she grasped his base, sliding her lips down him, "Perfect, Rey. Fuck. Just like that."

Rey wasn't done teasing, but she would let him think otherwise. She bobbed her head, swirling her tongue in various patterns as she took him further and further into her mouth. Choking on him made him groan, and she worked her mouth, hand, and tongue together, desperate to pull more noises from him. When his hips jerked up, she hummed.

" Rey— oh, god please—"

She took him as far as she could, letting him thrust up into her. Staring up at him provided quite a view as he worked his lips, squeezed his eyes shut, and struggled against the ties she'd apparently tied well.

The perfect opportunity to tease him came when her phone rang. She couldn't have planned it better. With a lewd pop, her mouth left him, and Rey almost had to clap a hand over her mouth so she didn't giggle when she saw the horrified expression Ben wore. It looked like he thought he'd been betrayed.

"I should get that," she said innocently. "Might be your mom calling to discuss the wedding."

Ben shook his head. "She knows how voicemail works. Rey, come on, I was so close—"

"Or it’s Hux," Rey interrupted with a faux apologetic gaze. "Yeah, I should get that.”

"I don't care if it's Hux," Ben swore. "I couldn't care less if it's Hux. You can answer the phone and put it on speaker, for all I care. Fuck, that might help our case," he whined. "Rey, sweetheart, baby, please keep going. That was amazing."

She almost felt bad, but then she remembered how he'd teased her. The phone had stopped ringing, but still she shrugged. "I should at least see who it was," she said, moving as though she was about to get off the bed.

"No, wait," he begged, "I don't care who called. I don't. This is what I want, so please, please, let me come. You're driving me crazy."

Rey grinned, and hummed down at the cock that was straining upward, seeking something hot and wet. "Okay," she nodded, rewarding Ben's relieved sigh by wrapping her lips back around the head of him, sucking him back into her mouth. She settled between his legs and wiggled her tongue along a vein, tightening her hand around his base. With little intention of stopping, she sucked harder around him, working her mouth and hand in unison, lapping and swirling with her tongue as she focused on relaxing her throat to take him more deeply.

After all, she did owe him an apology after all the teasing, and she hadn't planned to do any more… until someone started knocking at the door. People never knocked at their door, so Rey came off him again as he let out a sound like a growl. "Ignore them.”

Rey snorted, wiped her mouth, and stood up, tying her dark blue cotton robe around her as she gestured to the ties that held him to the bed. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I swear," he breathed. "If you don't get back here right now and finish what you started—"

"Bye Ben," she chirped, smirking as she waved and walked out of the bedroom. She shut the door behind her and giggled, walking to the front door of the apartment. Throwing it open without checking through the peephole wasn’t the best idea, but she did it anyway.

Hux.

Damn. She should have kept going with the blowjob.

He was in a suit, as per usual, and frowned at her attire. To his credit, it was a little odd that she was in only a robe just after noon on a Friday. He cleared his throat. "Sorry for the unexpected visit, but I tried calling before I arrived and nobody answered. Is your fiance home?"

She was not going to grin. Or smirk. Or laugh. Instead, Rey bit her lip and answered cheekily, "Ben's a bit tied up right now. This isn't a great time."

Hux narrowed his eyes at her, and then rolled them. "Fine. I want to come back for another interview soon, and I need a short list of friends and family members I can talk to, as well."

"Not a problem," Rey smiled, one hand still on the door. "If that's all—"

The man interrupted her, not unkindly. "That's not all." He hesitated. "Look, Miss Johnson, I've seen cases like yours a hundred times, and I would like to ask again… are you sure this is the way you want to handle this? It won't go well for either of you if this marriage isn't legitimate."

Objectively, she knew he was trying to be nice. That's what his tone indicated, but for some reason it still pissed her off. "I love him," she snapped. "I'm not sure how else I'm supposed to prove that to you, but I love him, okay? We're getting married next week and—"

"Okay, okay," he murmured, holding his hands up in surrender. "That's fine, I just wanted to reiterate the seriousness of the situation." Hux paused and took a step back. "Please send me that list of contacts. We'll talk next week and we can schedule the next interview."

Rey nodded, "That's fine. Next week."

Hux gave her what passed for an apologetic smile and turned to walk back down the stairs. She shut the door, letting out a long breath before turning back to the bedroom. No sense in letting Hux ruin her fun.

The trip back to the bedroom was a quick one, and she swung the door open wearing a smirk, but—

He wasn't there.

She walked into the bedroom, scowling with confusion at the ties that hung loosely from each of the bed posters. "How the hell..."

"You suck at tying knots," a low voice rumbled behind her, just before two arms caught her around the waist and picked her up. Ben dropped her onto the bed, on her knees. His hands slid down over her covered ass and yanked the robe up, clutching at her bare skin. "Now, I think I should get to do what I want. After all, you got your chance to tease. It's not my fault you didn't tie the knots well."

Rey braced herself up on her hands as she glanced back at him. His eyes were wild. He looked ready to sink his teeth into her. A finger traced around her entrance and he hummed, "You're already wet. Perfect. Always so ready for me."

She was squirming in anticipation, and without wasting any more time he sunk into her. Rey moaned, surprised that they'd managed to find a position that left her feeling even more full than usual. He thrusted into her a few times before his fingers found her clit, using her slick to swirl lazy circles.

"Ah—Ben—"

His pace picked up as he leaned over her, pressing his front to her back. With his mouth by her ear, and his voice strained, he murmured, "You're fucking lucky I'm not going to spank you for earlier. Such a tease."

A keening noise that barely sound human slipped from her lips as he continued thrusting deep, circling fingers around her clit, and she huffed out, "I told you I would get revenge for you tying me up."

"Is this what you had in mind?" he asked lowly, his hips snapping against hers. He was relentless.

Rey gripped the sheet under her, her fingers curling in the soft fabric as she gasped, overwhelmed by fullness and pressure and—

"I’m— fuck, Ben, I’m going to come—"

He bit down at the skin of her shoulder, ordering against her flesh, "Do it, then." His fingers rubbed against her and she shuddered, clenching around him as her orgasm ripped through her. She shook, crying out into the mattress below her. Ben's breathing stuttered. He groaned and curled over her back, his hips jerking erratically as he emptied himself in her.

They stayed there, panting. Tremors went through her thighs—she could still feel him throbbing in her. Ben sighed softly and planted a few light kisses across her shoulder blade before he pulled out of her and climbed onto the bed, rolling her over. She nuzzled into his arms as he spooned her, holding her while they both worked to catch their breath.

"So who was at the door?" 

Rey snorted. "Hux. He wanted to talk to us. I told him you were uh… tied up."

"Oh, shit, did you?" Ben laughed, grinning against the skin of her back. "Did you say anything else?"

I love him.

She bit her lip. "I'll tell you about it eventually."

Ben hummed curiously, but didn't ask. He only pulled her further into his arms and kissed her shoulder.

She would tell him eventually… if eventually was in seven days.

Chapter 15: Boxes and Vows

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Rey paced across the floor of the most lavish hotel suite she'd ever been in. To her, a hotel was a place that charged maybe ninety bucks a night, or less if you were willing to pay the creepy guy at the front desk in cash. This place was something entirely different.

She'd spent almost a week being antsy at work, spilling half the things she got her hands on until Rose laughed at her and demanded they switched so Rey could the register. Every break was spent chewing the inside of her cheek and scribbling down precious words she'd been saying to Ben for a few weeks without actually saying them.

But now it was time to say them, and she was panicking—the good sort of a good panicking, if that made any sense, probably because Rey was sure he felt the same way. If she hadn't known it for sure before, she'd known it the morning they left for New Hampshire.

As usual, she'd woken up in his arms. The only thing that was different was that she'd woken up because his fingers were tracing a light pattern, caressing the side of her face as her eyes fluttered open. Ben was staring at her, almost in awe, and his face lit up when he saw she was awake. 

"We're getting married today," he'd whispered.

Her response to that had been a kiss. Ben's response to that kiss had been to roll over so he was on top of her, his hair hanging around their faces. He slid up his shirt that she'd worn to bed, grinning at her lack of underwear, and buried himself in her. It had been slow and sweet and—

He loved her. She was so sure, she’d tossed out the half-written vows she'd been working on in favor of letting the words come from her heart without the risk of them sounding forced and memorized. She wanted him to know she meant every single word.

Now, Rey bit her lip and looked around the room she was in, getting ready to speak those words in about an hour, and her heart thudded against her chest. The room was all white linens and dull gold accents—it was the suite she and Ben would share for the rest of the weekend as a married couple. He was off in the room Poe and Finn had gotten, probably dressing, and she...

She was panicking.

"Ready for me to braid your hair?" a friendly voice interrupted.

Rey turned to see Leia, smiling at her from the open doorway. She was so relieved, she almost started crying. Leia noticed—she closed the distance between them and wrapped her in a hug. "Nervous?" she asked, patting Rey's back.

She nodded, pulling away to sniffle, then smiled down at her future-mother-in-law and wiped at her face, realizing too late that she'd already done her makeup. 

"Sit down," Leia ordered, not unkindly, gesturing to a chair. "I'll braid, you talk."

Rey did as she'd been told, sitting in a padded upright chair that sat in front of a desk. There was a mirror over it, and she watched Leia run her fingers through her freshly washed and dried hair, splitting it into sections for whatever sort of braid she had planned. The woman smiled. "I've always worn my hair in braids. Normally I would braid it myself, or ask Ben do it for me. I taught him when he was younger because it's such a pain to braid your own hair and Han was never patient enough."

As fingers spun and wove her hair, Rey laughed. "That explains what Ben said once. He told me I'm terrible at braiding it. I thought it was an odd comment."

Leia snorted. “Well, now you know you can ask him to do it.”

They were quiet for a moment while Rey watched her work on a loose and dreamy-looking crown-braid, until Leia broke the silence by asking, "Are you still going to tell him today?"

"Yeah," she whispered, meeting Leia's eyes in the mirror. "Yeah, I can't keep waiting. I love him too much not to say it, and I think he feels the same way."

Leia grinned, just as she finished the braid and pulled a few bobby pins from her pocket to pin it in place. "I think you're right."


Ben had to give his mother credit for the wedding's venue. The Omni Mount Washington Resort was stunning, both inside and out. Over a hundred chairs had been set up on a giant off-white stone courtyard, facing a view of forest and mountain that would have been breathtaking on a cloudy day. But, just their luck, December first was not a cloudy day. It was clear, though not too sunny, and the air was crisp, and not as freezing as he’d expected, given the location and date.

It was perfect. How, Ben didn't know—it wasn't as if his mother had any control over the weather, no matter how hard she tried—but he wasn't about to complain.

As he watched their guests mill around the courtyard and start to take their seats, he smiled to Poe, his obvious choice for Best Man. Finn was standing near where Rey would be, ready as her Man of Honor. He listened to the soft rendition of Wonderful Tonight played by a string quartet, and he knew.

Ben knew. He was going to tell her. He needed to tell her. Now. Right now.

His heart started pounding as he glanced around, wondering what direction she was supposed to be coming from. Maybe he could get there and tell her before—

The music changed, and something in him jolted.

It took him a moment to recognize the song. It was slower than the original, played by the quartet without anyone singing the lyrics, but he still recognized it as a Beatles song. Maybe not something he would normally listen to, but Ben remembered the lyrics well enough to turn to Poe, asking, "Did my mother pick this, or—"

"I think you know who picked it," his friend winked, patting him on the shoulder.

Ben swallowed hard, recalling the song title— She Loves You.

"Did she really?" he whispered back to Poe. Rather than answer him, Poe gestured to the aisle between the two sections of seated guests. He didn't even realize people had already sat down, and the music changing should have been a sign, but—

Rey stepped out into the courtyard, and Ben's mind blanked.

He was relieved there wasn't a veil over her face. Instead, it was pinned under her braid. He was able to see that her level of nerves seemed to match his, and he only calmed when she gave him a small half-smile before she started walking toward him.

It took her ages to get there. Or maybe just seconds, but time was doing weird things and part of him hoped that could continue for the rest of their lives, because he wanted to stretch out every second they shared. When she stood in front of him, she let out a shaky breath, and grinned up at him.

Her hair had been done in the same sort of braid he'd done countless times, and her eyes shone as he stared down at her, grinning like a fool himself. Clutching her hands in his, he ignored whatever the officiant was saying between them—something about being gathered here today, but Ben couldn't have cared less—and he leaned down and pulled her in for a kiss.

Rey laughed against his lips, and that was when he heard the amused laughs from everyone around them.

Ben pulled back, blushing as he muttered apologies for something he wasn't sorry for, and gestured for the officiant to continue. Rey's cheeks had gotten rosier, probably not just from the chilly air, and he realized he needed to actively listen to the officiant if he wanted to avoid interrupting again.

He caught what the man was saying halfway through a sentence, "—telling the person you love that you're not going anywhere, and that you'll always be there for them, and that's a powerful commitment for two people to make to one another."

"The vows you’re about to make are a way to share your love and commitment to each other in your own words. I know you've chosen to write your own vows—"

Well, sort of.

"—and these vows are your way of declaring your promise to one another." The man turned to Ben and nodded, gesturing for him to begin.

Ben hesitated, and stared down into hazel eyes he planned on gazing into as often as possible, and the words flowed out before he could stop and listen to them.

"Rey, I… didn't prepare vows, because I have a lot to say to you and I need you to hear it before we do this." Her eyes went wide, but he kept going, "I know this started as just a way to get your green card, but—"

Her mouth fell open, and she slapped a hand over her mouth. That was when he realized he'd said it out loud. In front of all their guests. Shit.

Guests seemed to do a rehearsed collective gasp, and he heard Poe mutter, "Oh, great job, buddy," from behind him. A quick glance into the crowd showed his father looking confused as hell while his mother looked ready to pass out.

As guests started buzzing he snapped, "Okay, everyone, chill out and let me finish." He turned back to Rey and took her hands in his again, "I said, this started that way, but… I need to open the box, Rey."

She stared up at him, bewildered and clearly pissed off. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Let's open the box," he repeated, cupping her cheek, "Rey—"

She pulled away from him, asking angrily, "What box? Do you have any idea what you've just done? Do you have any idea how much trouble we could be in?"

Ben ignored her. "You know about Schrödinger's cat, right? It's in the box and as long as you leave the cat in the box it's both alive and dead because you have no way of knowing which it really is… or, something?"

Rey leaned in, her brow furrowed. Her anger turned to concern. "Did you lose your mind?"

"Our feelings are the cat, Rey. Or… maybe the conversation is?" He shook his head. "Look, it doesn't matter, but if we open the box, we need to have that conversation. The conversation about how we feel about each other. I think we need to do that."

She blinked, turning a little red. "And you thought admitting this marriage was originally just for a green card in front of all our guests was a good way to start that conversation?"

Ben looked around at their now-bewildered guests, chuckled nervously, and shrugged. "Guess so. Look, sweetheart, I want to marry you. Like, for real. I love you so much, and I don't want an expiration date. Forget two years. Forget let's see if there's more. I want all the years, and trust me, there's more, and I think you know that, too. I love you, and I've meant it every single time I've said it, especially the first time. Every kiss, every word. I meant it all, Rey."

She froze and stared up at him. That seemed like a good sign, so he kept going.

"So," he laughed breathily, "Here are my vows. I promise I'll spend as long as it takes learning everything about you so I can answer all the questions in that stupid packet Phasma gave us. I promise I'll spend the rest of my life doing whatever I can to prove that this is real and legitimate because this is the realest thing I've ever felt." He paused, and said quietly, "I promise that you'll never spend another day alone. I promise that every time I say I love you, it will be because that's how I feel, and it will have nothing to do with who's listening."

He took a deep breath. "Your turn. Open the box."

"Are you serious?" she whispered. "You mean that?"

"Every word," he swore. "I'd be saying this whether we were standing here in front of everyone, or whether we were alone."

Every word.


Every word.

Suddenly, Rey had none. She could only stare and let her mouth hang open. Silence settled over their wedding guests as Ben whispered again, "Open the box, Rey."

The whole courtyard may have spun, or simply turned on its axis, or—

Maybe the world had stopped turning.

Everything felt real and simultaneously, it was all too good to be true, but Rey threw herself off that cliff, trusting her gut, and trusting him. She leaned up on her toes, threading her hand through his hair as she put a hand on his chest and met him for a kiss that said everything she needed to.

"I love you, too," she murmured against his lips. Ben wrapped his arm around her waist, dipping her as he kissed her while their still-confused guests clapped.

In the interest of keeping things at least somewhat appropriate, they ended the kiss sooner than Rey would have liked, smiling like the idiots they were as they held hands again, standing in front of the officiant who looked like he'd just taken a trip on quite the rollercoaster.

"I didn't write vows either,” she admitted. “Not really. I tried. I wrote a dozen different versions but none of them felt right. So… I can't promise this isn't about to be a mess."

She hesitated, and said softly, "I promise I'll spend a lot longer than two years loving you, and I'm so glad you feel the same way, because it would have broken me if you hadn't. It's been barely a month and… and you've become my home. The only one I've ever had. I've been told a dozen times by people who were supposed to be family that I'd never be alone, but you're the only one I've believed."

Her eyes started watering a bit, and she blinked, murmuring, "I love you. I'll spend as long as you let me proving that, and making sure you never feel alone, either."

"That'll be a long time," Ben interrupted, his eyes meeting hers. "More than two years… maybe something like fifty or sixty. Maybe more."

A slow smile spread across her face as she nodded. "It better be."


It took mere minutes for the rings and the correctly timed kiss, though they'd already kissed twice during the ceremony, and then… that was it. They were married, and Rey couldn't stop smiling. Ben couldn't seem to either, and her heart warmed at the fact that he hadn't let her go for a moment.

They'd just finished eating the meal Leia had ordered from the caterers when Rey's heart dropped into her stomach. A familiar red-headed man in a suit had stalked up to the table casually, his lips pursed.

Hux cleared his throat. "So. The three of us should talk."

Rey gulped, and was about to say something when another familiar voice interrupted. Phasma swooped in, intent on saving their asses. "No need to harass my clients at their wedding, jackass," she sighed, frowning at him. "I think, from that ceremony, it's clear that the wedding and relationship are legitimate."

"First of all, Phasma, I was invited."

He pulled an invitation from his pocket, and Phasma's eyebrow quirked. She turned to them. "You guys invited your immigration officer to the wedding? That was a bold move."

Hux ignored her. "Second, obviously I believe it. You would need to be an idiot in love to admit to taking part in a green card wedding during the wedding, with your immigration officer in the audience." He side-eyed Ben and muttered, "Idiot."

Rey watched, amused as Ben turned red. "Honestly,” he sighed, “I didn't realize we'd invited you."

"I didn't either," she shrugged.

Poe snorted from beside Ben, piping up to explain. "You guys spite-invited him after drinking gin. You drunk-called me at 2 AM to tell me. I would have said something, but I assumed you'd go over the guest list once you sobered up."

Ben groaned, and Rey said dryly, "Well, that explains a lot." She sighed again and winced. "So, are we in trouble?"

She watched as Hux rolled his eyes. "We'll schedule a few more meetings, but at this point it'll just be getting paperwork in order. You're fine. You're idiots, but you're fine.”

Phasma laughed, shaking her head. "I've got to say, this has been one of the funniest cases I've handled." She looked between them. "At least you figured it out. Good luck with the marriage. Call me if this guy gives you any more trouble." The woman hesitated, and glanced over at Hux. "What do you think, Hux, can we put things aside for one day and dance?"

The man seemed taken-aback, but his lips curled into a smile as he offered Phasma his arm, and led her out onto the dance floor, where most of their guests were.

Ben huffed. "I didn't see that coming."

"Did... did we just help set them up?" 

"I think we did," Ben laughed, standing up from his seat as he offered her a hand. "How about a dance?"

Rey took a deep breath when she saw his charming smile, and looked down at his hand, grinning as she reached out to take it. "I meant what I said," she said softly, as they walked out to the floor, "I really do love you."

He pulled her into his arms and they started swaying to the music. He nodded, a massive grin on his face. "I love you too."

Resting her head against his chest, she closed her eyes, feeling more at home than she'd ever felt. "What happens now?" she whispered. "We never talked about what things would be like after this point."

Ben hummed and nuzzled against her cheek. "I have a feeling being married to you will be an adventure. As far as what comes next… I don't know. But I can't wait to find out."

Chapter 16: Epilogue: Five Years and Five Phone Calls

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Five Years Post-Wedding

The call came in just as Rey was on a tall step-ladder, hanging long curtains in their living room. She and Ben had caved and moved out of their apartment a few months after her second book had been published—thanks to the advice and assistance from her father-in-law—and now they lived in a beautiful house near his parents. That had been a year ago, and she knew the ringing phone might hold news about the last big thing—the last puzzle piece they were waiting on.

Rey almost fell off the ladder in her rush to answer it, cursing herself for being foolish enough to leave her phone on the other side of the room. Ben was up in the office finishing a last-minute fix for a client, and she'd planned to have him in the room for this call, but—

"Hello?" she asked, catching her breath. "Hi, yes, this is Rey."

Three minutes later, her legs were wobbly, and she gripped the phone to keep from dropping it as she blinked back a few tears. "Thank you, yes, that's amazing news. That's—thank you so much.” She sniffed, overwhelmed with gratitude for the person on the other end of the line. “Okay, Tuesday. Thank you. I can't tell you how much this means to us."

A few seconds later, she breathed a goodbye and hung up.

Rey set the phone down, almost in a trance, and let out a long breath.

"Holy shit," she whispered. "Holy shit."


One Year Post-Wedding

"You're kidding."

Rey glanced over toward her husband, who'd just clapped his hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Her eyebrow quirked up, wondering who was on the other end of the phone conversation, but he stepped out of the room before she had a chance to figure it out. She shrugged and went back to filling Han in on her progress.

She was a few chapters short of wrapping up her first novel, a silly, but heartwarming tale set in space. It was full of heroes and rebels and bad guys, magical powers and hope. She hadn't figured out a name for it yet, but she already knew it would be a trilogy. 

"A New Hope," the man blurted out, glancing up at her from his desk. "What about that? Hope is a major theme throughout the whole thing, and I'm not sure how you're wrapping it up, but that leaves you with some flexibility. Plus, it's kind of a call to the Princess's line about only hope."

"Mm, good point," Rey nodded. "A New Hope," she repeated to herself, considering it. "Han, that's perfect. Do you mind if I use it? I'll give you credit, of course, but it's perfect."

"Just glad I could help, kid," he winked, patting her hand. He leaned back in his chair, setting her manuscript down onto his desk before he clasped his hands behind his head. "Gotta say, you've got a gift. This is a fantastic story. Can't wait to read the ending."

Rey laughed. "Give me a few weeks and it might be ready for you." She hesitated, smiling at the man who'd become as close to a father as she could have ever imagined having. "Thanks, Han. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all your help on this. And… everything. Thank you, for everything."

"Don't go getting all soft on me, kid," he said bashfully, rolling his eyes a little. But after a moment, his smile softened. "It's no problem."

Before she could say anything else, Ben stepped back into the room, still laughing and shaking his head. "You're not going to believe what that phone call was about."

Rey tilted her head curiously. "What's up?"

"That was Hux," Ben started, snorting and grinning like a fool. "He's proposing to Phasma and wants help picking out a ring. He said since it was our fault they met in-person, it's only right that I help him."

Rey paused, and then realized Ben wasn't kidding, and let out a laugh. "What an assholish way to say, Hey Ben, you're my only friend, please help me pick out a ring."

"That's what I told him. He's bringing the drinks to game night tomorrow as an apology—he just sounds nervous about it."

Han huffed. "And he thinks you're one to give him advice? Didn't you admit to a felony in your wedding vows?"

"That's besides the point," Ben said quickly, turning a bit pink.

She grinned at his reaction and figured she may as well help him out, so she walked over to him and wrapped him in a hug. "I would say it worked out pretty well, wouldn't you?"

Ben hummed. "I think it worked out perfectly."


Two Years Post-Wedding

The table was set; two place settings with the unnecessary fine china his mother had insisted on gifting them (though, now he was thankful for it), a bunch of roses in a vase, candles, dim lighting, dinner almost fully cooked. He was just waiting on Rey to get home. She'd gone out with Poe and Finn for the afternoon—or, technically they'd done him a favor and gotten her out of the apartment so he could set everything up, and she was due back any minute.

His phone rang, and for a moment, Ben was worried it was Rey calling to say she'd been delayed. Not that it would be a major issue, but it seemed less romantic to microwave food that had gone cold while he waited. A quick glance at his screen told him it was Poe, and he picked it up.

"Hey, Poe, please tell me you didn't get delayed."

"No, no, nothing like that. We just got out of the movie and I walked ahead of them so I could call you. We'll be dropping her back off there in about ten minutes. I wanted to give you a head's up."

Ben let out a relieved sigh. "That's perfect. Thanks Poe."

“Yeah, of course. Hey, uh,” his voice got quiet. “Can I ask why you're so nervous? You guys have been married for two years. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

He thought about it for a moment. "I'm not that nervous. It's just that, when things started we'd said we would get divorced after two years and now that expiration date will be behind us. It's just a good feeling."

Poe snorted. "You two never had an expiration date." He quieted for a moment and said, "Shit, I've got to go, we're at the car. Ten minutes."

"Thanks," Ben said again, just before Poe said a quick goodbye and hung up.

He stared down at the phone and took a deep breath. Poe was right, but the annoying little voice in the back of his head was echoing two years. He knew Rey loved him and had no intention of leaving him, but it would be good to have this mark behind them.

Ten minutes felt like thirty, but then Rey burst in the door, her cheeks stained red from the cold December weather. Her hair was dusted with snow.

"Hey you," she said warmly, walking over to hug him as she unbuttoned and tugged off her jacket. She stopped short when she saw their dining room table and blinked. "Did you do this for—"

"Happy anniversary," he murmured, reaching out to cup her cheek.

"I thought we were celebrating next weekend," Rey stammered. "I'm so sorry, your present isn't even wrapped."

Ben shook his head as he pulled her into a tight hug. "I only want you. I'm just glad you haven't changed your mind about things," he admitted.

She pulled back for a moment, staring up at him in confusion, and he saw when it clicked. Her eyes went wide, and almost sad. "Two years," she breathed. "Oh, Ben. You silly, stupid idiot. Is that what this is about?"

He shrugged. "I would have understood."

"No," Rey said in a hush. "No, I'm never going to leave you." She lifted up on her toes and pulled him in for an intense kiss, slotting her lips over his as she tugged at his hair, as though she was trying to get him impossibly close. She only pulled away to whisper, "You're my home. I'm never leaving. I promise."

Something caught in his throat as her hand cupped his cheek, and she said softly, "I love you."

Ben pulled her tighter, nuzzling into her hair as he questioned how he'd gotten so lucky.

"I love you too, Rey."


Three Years Post-Wedding

"Ben!" she giggled, trying not to knee as she thrashed underneath him on their bed. She'd told the bastard he could do whatever they wanted for their third anniversary, and apparently that included tickling her. "Oh my god, Ben you have to stop!"

A low chuckle rumbled from down by her rib cage as he murmured, "I'm not sure I do." Ben's eyes flicked up to meet hers and he sighed, "Okay, okay, fine, no more tickling, I promise."

Rey hummed, pleased as he switched from tickling to kissing up her abdomen, between her breasts, and up her neck. He grinned just before meeting her in a deep, slow kiss. Ben's lips moved over hers in a breathtaking, familiar rhythm they'd adopted over the years, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, urging him to fill her and—

As per usual, her phone rang from the nightstand, and Rey groaned into his mouth, frustrated at the interruption. Ben pulled back just far enough to get a closer look. "Of fucking course. It's either Hux or Phasma. That's their home line. You should answer."

"I hate Hux. I hate him."

Ben snorted, "That's not what you were saying at game night last week."

"I know," she sighed, grabbing the phone, "But we need to discuss his timing. Unless he's willing to help me beat you at charades again—then he can call whenever he wants."

While Ben laughed she picked up the phone, giving a clipped, "What's up?"

Phasma's friendly voice was on the line, and Rey tightened her legs around Ben's waist as she winked at him and listened to her friend talk. Suddenly, she realized the call wasn't a friendly one, and Phasma was calling her in a different context. Rey's jaw dropped as Phasma said something she hadn't been expecting. She jerked up into a sitting position, nearly toppling Ben as she breathed, "Oh my God, Phas, are you serious?"

Ben's face grew concerned, but a massive smile spread across her face, making his concern grow to curiosity.

"That's great news," she said softly. "Thanks. Yeah, we'll talk this weekend." Rey thanked her again and ended the call, setting the phone on her nightstand before she turned to grin at Ben. "My application's been approved."

His head tilted, but then his eyes widened with recognition. "Your green card application?"

"Yeah," she nodded, hardly believing it herself. They were lucky it hadn't taken much, much longer, but that was likely due to Leia's help with the process. "It's been approved."

Ben's smile matched her own, and he tackled her back to the bed, pressing his lips to hers as she started laughing in surprise and relief. "I hope you know you're still stuck with me,” she murmured.

He pulled back to stare down at her and shook his head. "Stuck isn't the right word. I'm yours, sweetheart. If anything, you're the one who's stuck with me."

"Mm, maybe we can be stuck with each other?"

Ben leaned down over her to kiss her forehead. "Sounds perfect."


Four Years Post-Wedding

Rey bit her lip as she paced in front of their phones, both of which were sitting on the kitchen counter.

"Sweetheart, relax. I'm sure they'll accept the offer."

She let out a shaky breath, continuing to pace in a kitchen that had been hers for six years—but not for much longer. A glance at the microwave's clock made her whine. "Ben, they said we would hear by noon. It's been almost an hour."

Ben reached out to grip her shoulder. "It'll be fine, I promise. I would be shocked if they didn't accept it, and even if they don't we'll find something else. It's not the end of the world."

No, it wasn't, but she'd gotten attached to the house they'd put an offer on. She'd always been more than happy with their apartment, but as Ben had reasoned, he could work from anywhere, and now that she’d left her job at Maz's, with promises that she would visit often, there was nothing keeping them in the city. They'd spent only two days considering areas they could move to before Rey admitted that she wanted to be near family. That's what Leia and Han were now… family.

The house they'd fallen in love with was less than a ten-minute walk from Han and Leia. It was a sturdy older home that they thought would pass inspection beautifully, and Rey guessed it wasn't in need of much more than a little love and an awful lot of paint. It had a large backyard, already fenced in with a literal white picket fence.

She was lost in thought when Ben's phone rang, and his hand darted out to grab it, lifting it to his ear. "Hi, this is Ben." Her attention jerked to him as she studied his face for any indication of whether the news was good or bad. Ben was not meant to play poker. A grin grew across his face and he nodded to her, filling her with relief. "Yeah, we can sign whatever you want. We already have someone who can do the inspection." He went quiet, listening while a voice on the other end talked, and ended with, "Great, I'll keep an eye out for your email. Thank you so much."

The call ended, and she rushed him, whooping as he wrapped her in his arms and picked her clear off the floor. "Told you it'd work out," Ben chuckled. "You were all worried for nothing."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she said bashfully, catching her breath as he set her back down. "We still have to have the inspection, though."

Ben's smile was soft as he cupped her face in both hands and pressed his lips to hers. He murmured the words against her mouth. "It'll work out. I promise."

She believed him.


Five Years Post-Wedding

Rey set the phone down, almost in a trance, and let out a long breath.

"Holy shit," she whispered. "Holy shit."

They'd spent the first few months in their new home splattering the walls (and each other) with various paint colors, not quite acknowledging the elephant in the room that was the fact that they'd bought a four bedroom home.

One room was an office, they'd reasoned. After all, they both worked from home, so at least one office was necessary. One room was, of course, their bedroom.

The other two, though? Those two were an unasked and unanswered question. Or, at least they avoided those questions for the first few weeks, before the anticipation of the necessary conversation caused Rey to snap, at which point, they'd finally talked about something they should have discussed earlier than four years into their marriage.

And now all of that had come to quite the resolution, all with a phone call.

Rey took a few breaths before she realized she needed to tell Ben about the call, and in an instant her feet were flying up a flight of stairs, pulling her closer and closer to the office. She burst in through the door, shaking her phone at him, though the call was over.

"Ben. Ben," she said excitedly, unable to keep the grin off her face.

He looked up from his work, running a hand through his long hair. "Hey Rey, everything okay?"

"Ben!"

He blinked and quirked an eyebrow. “I have no idea what you're trying to tell me. Try words other than that.”

"The adoption application," she blurted. "The—the twins!"

Ben's mouth fell open. "Did they call?" he asked, understanding the gravity of her reaction. "Rey—did it—"

"It went though," she nodded, her eyes filling with tears. "We're picking them up Tuesday. It'll take a while to be official, but—"

"We're going to be parents," he breathed. "Holy shit."

They both went silent for a moment, and Rey took the opportunity to walk around his desk, letting him pull her to sit across his lap. She nuzzled into the side of his face, wrapping her arms around his neck as she sighed, and let her tears come. 

"I'm so glad you asked me to marry you,” she whispered. “I feel like everything good that's happened in the last five years has been because of it."

Ben's arms tightened around her. "I know how you feel, sweetheart. I'm so glad you said yes."

"And I'm really glad you fell in love with me," she sniffed, nuzzling against his cheek.

He pulled back a little to look her in the eyes as he smiled and kissed her softly. "I never had a chance of not loving you.”

"You know..." she hesitated for a moment, and then said, "You were right."

Ben tilted his head, wondering what she was referring to, so she explained further. "You told me a long time ago that you thought I'd found my family."

His expression softened, and he smiled at her as she continued.

Rey whispered, just before meeting him for a kiss, "You were right."

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