Archive of Our Own ^beta

 Sometimes , Ben thinks, life as a Jedi Knight isn’t all it it’s cracked up to be .

Sure, there are less boring drills, more spacious quarters, fewer mandatory classes and training sessions, a lack of sleep-inducing lectures on Jedi history from uncle Luke, and no more Padawan braids (seriously, those things don’t look good on anybody ).

Being an errand-boy for uncle Luke was definitely not the type of glamourous and exciting task Ben thought that Knights should be completing for the New Jedi Order, though. Perhaps if all the Padawans weren’t incompetent little kriffs , then they could do these kinds of mundane chores instead of uncle Luke sending his best Knight, whose skills surely could be put to better use somehow.

On top of it all, Luke had insisted that his Padawan partner come with for the trip. The grizzled Jedi had given him a whole list of reasons for why she should come with : the girl had hardly traveled at all in the galaxy, she would be an excellent co-pilot, she would keep him company on the long trip, they could continue their team-training, they could work on their bond - and what was that supposed to mean, anyway? Luke had been all about bonding lately, insisting that the Jedi Order needed to be a tightly-knit group in order to preserve and expand their order while being prepared to be the galaxy’s peacekeepers and champions of Light. Or at least that was the kind of nonsense he had spewed at their last Knight meeting.

Ben Solo is all about working in tandem with his fellow Jedi; however, Luke’s vision seemed to consist of them all holding hands, talking about feelings , and probably skipping around in a field of kriffing flowers, for all the Knight knew. And Ben certainly was not going to talk about his feelings with his peers and the snot-nosed pipsqueaks that passed for Padawans these days.

In any case, Luke had won out because he is the Master, after all, and Ben was forced to take Rey with him so they could get to know each other better, among other things. At least Rey isn’t like many of the other Padawans in the Order; she’s smart, talented with her saber, resourceful, and not afraid to work hard and get her hands dirty. On the other hand, she is headstrong, easily frustrated, and often overconfident in her abilities: the girl seemed to think she could best Ben Solo anytime she wanted. In other words: Rey is (in general) an incompetent kriff like all the other Padawans, but she is his incompetent kriff.

She’s also devastatingly attractive, but that’s another matter entirely. It’s not like his attraction to her had played into his (still somewhat begrudging, because Ben is a man who likes his personal space) eventual acceptance that Rey would have to tag along on the off-planet trip. He probably would have been able to get out of bringing her along if he had tried hard enough, or as Luke would probably call it, had “put up a fit” (and really, they aren’t fits , he just gets very emotionally charged sometimes, okay?). Ben had decided it wasn’t worth the fight, and besides, they could get a considerable amount of training done in the few days of their trip without the usual distractions around the Temple. Or at least that’s what Ben’s telling himself.

“Let’s get moving, Rey. I’d really prefer not to sit in the hangar all day waiting for you to finish playing around with the ship’s parts.” His voice reverberates strangely around the metal-floored hangar where the battered little freighter is currently docked. Ben is resisting the urge to tap his foot at his Padawan partner impatiently, knowing how childish the action would come off to the younger girl. Ben Solo is a Jedi Knight and a grown man, dammit, and he refuses to let his partner get on his nerves before they even leave the planet. As it stands, he’s about t-minus three minutes from grabbing the little desert rat by the collar and dragging her on the ship - how long could the girl possibly tinker with the craft? Clearly it was space-worthy, otherwise Luke never would have assigned it to them for their little errand in the first place

“You agreed to let me ‘ play around ’ with the ship, remember Ben? Or would you rather this trip take five days instead of three? Because if I’m not able to finish reconnecting the hyperdrive to the improved cooling system, we’re going to be moving a heck of a lot slower. Surely you can wait fifteen more minutes in order to save two whole days ?” Rey raises one delicately-arched brow at him, then quickly goes back to her task, some sort of mechanic’s implement clenched between her teeth now that she’s finished giving Ben her retort. The ex-scavenger is elbow-deep in a section of the ship’s guts, and something in Ben’s chest clenches and unclenches when he sees the smear of engine grease high on one cheekbone. His fingers itch to smudge it off.

“Fine,” Ben responds, the tone of his voice upset, but both Knight and Padawan know it’s mostly a front. “You have - let’s see - thirteen minutes and twenty-five seconds, now, and then we’re taking off, whether you’ve finished your little engineering project or not.”

He’s not sure when the tension between them had morphed into this little game, needling each other, banter like a form of foreplay. Ben couldn’t tell if it lessened or increased the electric charge between them that had sparked that day she had stumbled upon him exercising in the deserted Jedi Temple - when she had first looked at him with desire in her eyes, stumbled over her words once he had caught her staring , and blushed so prettily that he had nearly grabbed her by the back of the neck and kissed her senseless right there in middle of the Temple.

He hadn’t been able to get her out of his thoughts after that. Ben made it his personal mission in life to elicit that beautiful flush on her cheeks - whether it be from physical exertion, frustration, embarrassment, or arousal. So far he had been mostly successful; she could hardly have made it easier for him to find, and subsequently push, her buttons. A few times it had backfired in his face spectacularly whenever she had managed to catch him off guard on and turn the tables on him unexpectedly; the girl was nothing if not resourceful and quick-witted. He still can’t decide if he should be mortified or incredibly aroused every time he walks past the Temple’s steam room.

Rey startles him out of his thoughts (although he wouldn’t admit being caught unawares by her, even under threat of torture) when she bounces up behind him, brandishing a part she had apparently removed from the ship. “I’ve replaced the coolant pump, so this outdated hunk of metal can go in the scrap bin and we’re good to go. It looks like it only took - let’s see - four minutes and forty-two seconds, but who’s counting?”

Ben is loathe to admit to himself that he is impressed with the girl’s mechanical skills, especially since they’re primarily self-taught, but he does know when to draw the line between responding with sarcasm and giving the girl the praise she deserves and so rarely got growing up isolated on a desert wasteland planet.

“I get it, I get it - you’re a damn mechanic prodigy.” Ben might sound sarcastic, but his eyes are sincere and the comment is softly spoken and accompanied with a quick squeeze to the shoulder. Rey rolls her eyes at him, but Ben can see her action is part of a facade, too, one corner of her delicately curved mouth quirking up into an expression of amusement or perhaps contentment. Maybe too small of a detail for most people to notice, but Ben has managed to become an expert on Rey’s face ( it really isn’t as creepy as it sounds, alright? ) and he knows when she’s faking her sass for the sake of their game.

She strides past him up the ship’s ramp, then, calling over her shoulder - “Let’s go, then, I thought you were in a hurry to leave !” Ben is in a hurry to leave, of course, but he stands dumbstruck for a few heartbeats, wondering exactly when she had learned his little trick, the one to walk so that his deep brown Jedi robes billowed out behind him. Giving me cheek, I can tolerate, but blatantly copying my signature walk...?

The gall of some Padawans, these days , Ben shakes his head as he follows the girl up the ramp and onto the craft.

The first two days of their errand have gone better than Ben might have expected, in all honesty. Despite how their constant bickering might appear to an outside observer, the two really were quite similar and could get along spectacularly if they chose to.

They were comfortable with each other, fine with bringing up bits of their pasts in conversation and sometimes even talking for hours on end - like they had  a few times over the past two days in the cockpit while co-piloting the little freighter. Ben wouldn’t tell her this, maybe not ever, but some of the thoughts and memories he shared with her were things he had never told anyone else in his life. It felt good to have a friend that he could trust unconditionally, even one that occasionally made him want to Force-punch a wall. Exactly why he made her feel that way was something Ben didn’t want to examine too closely. Annoyance - sometimes; attraction - nearly always; but something deeper? Maybe, but he didn’t want to dig into it and risk messing up the thing they had between them now, whatever it might be called.

On the ship, they quickly settle into a “normal” routine - completing their usual meditation, sparring, and drills at their routine times, eating their freeze-dried space ration meals together, and participating in the usual exchange of insults without any real malice behind them whatsoever. The day just wouldn’t seem complete to Ben if she didn’t call him a “hot-headed, arrogant Jedi Knight prick ” one time at minimum.  

With everything going so swimmingly at first, it shouldn’t have been a surprise that something was bound to come back and bite them eventually. It was the type of luck he usually had, at any rate.

Rey’s sitting in the pilot’s chair when Ben walks into the cockpit, toweling his hair off from the ‘fresher. He has a moment of indignation at her chosen seat, which, by the way, is totally his spot, and her stealing it just proves how childish she can be, taking his spot like a petty little barbarian. He had so totally called dibs on it.

The spot-thieving Padawan turns in the too-big-for-her pilot’s chair, face serious, and starts with an ominous, “Ben, there’s a bit of a problem here.”

“What kind of a problem might that be? Is it a problem with the ship, and can you fix it?” He asks, genuinely concerned about what might have changed between now and the ten minutes (or maybe closer to twenty - he might have lost track of time when his mind drifted to some very unprofessional thoughts regarding his Padawan) he had spent in the ‘fresher.

“It isn’t a problem with the ship, or I’d have it fixed already. It seems our route has been completely blocked by an asteroid storm that came out of nowhere. We should be safe here, but we can’t get around it until it clears up, so we’re effectively stuck here.”

Ben feels incredibly conflicted at her words. He really didn’t want to be away from the Temple longer than necessary, every day he was away was an opportunity missed to train with Master Luke and the other Knights back on Yavin IV, or to be assigned an actually important mission from his uncle. The idea of being stuck on this clunky little freighter for an undetermined amount of time made his skin itch as well - he loved space travel and flying any type of spacecraft, but being stuck and not in control of their situation made him extremely uneasy, to say the least.

He also has a strange and almost giddy excitement at the idea of being stranded here, alone , with Rey. They had been dancing around their mutual attraction for months now, footwork more intricate than when they were sparring with sabers on the practice grounds. Being well and truly stuck here together might finally force them to confront what’s between them and what they want to do about it; Ben realizes it might very well end with them deciding that any type of relationship beyond their Knight-Padawan partnership and their friendship is unwise, but no matter what the outcome might be, Ben just wants them to defuse the tension between them once and for all so he can stop being so damned confused about his feelings when he’s around the girl.

Ben must have been looking at Rey very intensely while the thoughts ran like a rancor through his head, because suddenly she’s turning away from his gaze, flush high on her cheeks. A point for me, Ben thinks, grinning now with a plan slowly formulating in his mind.

“Stuck, you say?” Ben says with his most rakish grin,  “well, I hope you like holochess, Rey, otherwise we’re going to have to find some other way to entertain ourselves while we’re here.”

It turns out that Rey has never played holochess before, but somehow manages to simultaneously learn the basic rules and crush Ben to a pulp during their first three matches.

“Surely you’ve played the game before, there’s no way --” Ben watches in horror as she closes in on him again, her pieces obliterating his and setting him up for an inescapable defeat.

“Would I really lie to you about something like that?” she laughs victoriously, “It’s not my fault you’re a sore loser!”

Ben pushes back from the table in mock-disgust with himself for losing so thoroughly to the younger woman.

“Well, I think we’ve exhausted ourselves of holochess, so we better think up some other way to entertain ourselves now, hmm Ben?” Rey gives the Knight a smirk to rival some of his own better ones,  and dammit that girl needs to stop trying to copy him. Her smugness does strange things to Ben’s stomach which he resolutely will not refer to as butterflies.

They end up spending the rest of the day training, working through some advanced meditation and mental exercises, completing a rigorous set of drills, and finally moving into the large open space in the freighter’s still-empty cargo hold to spar.

This time, their mock-fight is hand-to-hand with aid of the Force, the practice crucial for any situation where a Jedi might be separated from their lightsaber and forced to fight without it. Ben may be physically stronger and larger than Rey, but she’s fast and slippery and moves like a goddamn little sand weasel. A good half hour into the fight, both are panting and sweating from the exertion and Ben can feel various bruises forming on his body - he can already tell the one on his hip from a particularly forceful kick is going to be huge and an especially ugly shade of mauve. The cargo hold starts to feel uncomfortably warm, and as much as he might like to tease her a bit and elicit that beautiful blush of hers by shedding the clothing covering the top half of his body, he knows that the effect of her skin on so much of his would likely distract him just as much as her. For now he resigns himself to find other ways to taunt her, and live with the increasingly sweat-damp garment over his skin.

Ben’s trying, as much as possible, to play to his advantages. She may be faster, but she’s more than likely going to tire first and his gangly limbs give him a much longer reach. He has more training with the Force, but he’ll grudgingly admit that she’s got more raw power with it, so in that way they’re almost equally matched.

Rey’s rushing at him now, right shoulder down and prepared to barrel into the taller man. Ben has plenty of time to react to the move, and braces himself for the impact, using no small amount of the Force to cushion himself against her bony shoulder. He pushes her backwards with a wave of his hand and she stumbles back, slightly thrown off balance by the Force maneuver.

Taking advantage of the momentary opening, Ben closes the small gap of space between them and takes her down (again using the Force, this time to cushion both of them. In in hindsight, the unforgiving metal floor of the cargo hold maybe wasn’t the best area for sparring). She lets out a whoosh of breath and a snarl as they roll, fighting tooth and nail to come out ahead in their tussel. Ben thinks he feels a bite to his bicep, an actual bite , and who does that? He thinks ruefully, you can take the scrappy little scavenger out of the desert, but you certainly can’t take the desert out of her .

Despite his larger size, Ben is quickly overwhelmed by the speed and ferocity of her wrestling, and suddenly he’s is blinking up as the slight girl towers over him, body pinned by her weight and the Force combined. He’s been well and truly bested.

Ben’s expecting to be let up quickly, now that he’s lost for all intents and purposes, but the seconds stretch on as Rey holds down his wrists with her own small hands, knees bracketing his hips with her weight pressing him down into the floor. The look in Rey’s eyes is intense, but Ben can’t quite read what it is, exactly, on her face - is she waiting for him to try and break the hold? Does she not realize that she’s beaten him?

What he does recognize, however, is that suddenly his nerves are alight wherever her warmth and weight is pressed against his body, sparking most brightly where the skin of her palms and small fingers encircle his wrists.

He grits his teeth as he tries to force his body to not react to their position, their closeness, the sight of her over him and the scent of her swirling around him. Being a Jedi is all about control, but Ben had always been rubbish at that part of it, and apparently that little weakness is going to come back to bite him in this particular situation as well.

He can’t hold her gaze any longer as he feels his body reacting, inevitably, to everything about this situation. There’s no way she can’t feel Ben’s arousal, now, and she’s never going to let him live this down, he’s never going to be able to spar with her again without his mind going to this inappropriate place.

Ben’s expecting her to laugh at him, delight in his lack of composure, but instead he sees an answering flush, a wicked smirk, and she pushes down against him for a fleeting moment before springing up off of him, satisfied look on her face.

“Good match, Ben,” she says, reaching down a hand to help him up out of his supine position. I’d rather just melt into the floor right now, thank you , he thinks, but takes her hand anyway and stands up.

Looking at her face, Ben knows that she knows , that she had felt his body’s response, but she’s not ribbing him about it for once. Without saying much else, they walk out of the cargo hold, each making a beeline to one of the ship’s two ‘freshers, needing to wash the quickly drying sweat off their now-exhausted bodies.

Before they take separate forks of the corridor, Rey shoots Ben an intense look that goes straight to his groin. If he takes an unnecessarily long time in the ‘fresher after that, well, he can always tell Rey it was because he needed the heat to relax his sore muscles. It’s only half a fib, he supposes.

In the little seating area that serves as their dining room aboard the craft, Ben and Rey wolf down their rations quickly, bodies starved after their extended and difficult training session today. Ben feels like the low hum of electricity that usually exists between them has increased exponentially - now a steady electromagnetic pulse through both of them that can’t be ignored.

He had hoped that the training would be a distraction, that the sparring would release some of their pent up frustrations instead of aggravating them. Things had to come to a head soon, Ben could feel it in the heated looks they exchanged, the quickening of their pulses when they were in close proximity.

They exchange a bit of small talk after they finish their meal, discussing when the asteroid storm might clear enough for them to finish their errand and critiquing each other a bit on their performances during the day’s training. Rey is the first to excuse herself from the table, mumbling something about being worn out, and as she pads down the corridor to her quarters, Ben catches her looking back, unreadable expression on her face. Had she wanted him to follow?

Ben puts his head into his hands, tugging on his long hair slightly in his frustration. Why does this have to be so difficult ? He’s a Jedi Knight, battle-proven and capable. He isn’t about to back away from this particular obstacle - things between him and Rey were going to go sour if they didn’t sort this out somehow. Ben might combust if he has to hold in this tension any longer. He resolves to have a conversation with Rey tomorrow, bracing himself already for any way that it might go.

He stands up quickly from the table, confident in his decision, pushes in his chair hastily and moves towards the corridor. Before he can take a step, though, his robe catches on the arm of the dining chair and his arms windmill to catch himself before he faceplants into the durasteel floor. He yanks the traitorous robe from where it’s caught, impossibly thankful that Rey hadn’t been there to witness that particular embarrassment.

Smooth, Ben, real smooth. He storms down the corridor, doing what he knew Rey would describe as pouting , (despite how many times he told her that Knights didn’t pout , he was brooding , which was much more mature, really) and hoping that somehow he doesn’t manage to faceplant tomorrow during their conversation, metaphorically or literally.

Ben may have thought he had everything thought through and planned out for how his talk with Rey was going to go - as was the norm for him though, when it came to Rey he was colossally incorrect yet again.

At 0600 hours on the chronometer, he had padded barefoot and bleary eyed into the common area of the freighter, looking to start up the pot of caf and meditate a bit before Rey awoke. Upon entering the tiny kitchen, though, he was surprised to see Rey already up and wide awake, sitting cross legged in one of the dining chairs with a steaming mug of caf balanced on one knee and a thick book spread open on the table in front of her.

Rey looked up at him, apparently startled to see him there as well, and Ben ran and hand through his dark hair, taking a deep breath and resolving himself to just start the conversation now and be done with it. “Rey, I wanted to talk to you about -- “

“Good, I wanted to talk to you too.” she cuts him off abruptly, and Ben gives her a wounded look, because it’s rude to interrupt, thank you very much, but the girl keeps barreling on anyway. “The storm looks like it’s going to clear later in the day and I was looking at our course and thinking that there might be a faster way to get to Barseg - it might be a little risky, but if you let me pilot the ship I could manage it and we could cut nearly a whole day off of our travel time.”

“Absolutely not. I’m the pilot, and we’re staying on the route that Luke and I charted out before we left. We’re not going to do anything risky to save a bit of time.”

This certainly wasn’t the conversation Ben had been planning between them, and he wasn’t really in the mood to get into a shouting match or power struggle with the Padawan. He usually didn’t use his Knight status to get his way in arguments (although Rey might beg to differ), but he wasn’t above playing that card right now if he needed to in order to settle the argument.

“It’s not even that risky, that wasn’t the right word to use -- it’s more of a touchy route, a bit more calculation involved, and that’s why I need to do the flying.”

“Rey, I’m the Knight here and I’m the one who gets to make these kinds of decisions. We’re sticking with the original route and that’s that. It’s not open for discussion.” Ben pinches the bridge of his nose, because it’s too damn early for this shit , he hasn’t even had his morning caf yet and he hates starting out the day on a discordant note.

Rey’s eyes flash daggers at him, and she stands up slowly from her chair, calmly setting down her mug and closing her book. “Don’t you dare try to pull the ‘I’m a Knight, and what I say goes’ bullshit on me, Ben Solo. You know I’m the better pilot, you’re just being a total dick because you’re on a power trip, as always.”

“Master Luke put me in charge here, and I --” Ben stops mid-sentence as the look in Rey’s eyes suddenly changes from fury to a calm understanding. Is she really going to give it up that easily ? That would be most unlike her normally headstrong self, but perhaps she has finally come to accept and appreciate Ben’s wisdom, and is ready to give him the respect he deserves as a Jedi Knight.

“ You will allow me to change our course and pilot the ship, ” Rey’s eyes are intense, her brows furrowed slightly in concentration. Ben momentarily feels the tug of compulsion, but easily shakes it off. Was that little kriff really trying Jedi mind tricks on him?

“I most certainly will not, Rey.”  As if Ben Solo, Jedi Knight, could swayed by a Padawan like he was some weak minded bantha -

“ You will allow me to change our course and pilot the ship, ” she repeats, and this time Ben feels the tug much harder, much stronger, and he is about to agree with her before he snaps out of it once again.

“Rey, don’t try this with me, it’s not going to work.” Ben’s voice must betray his lack of confidence on this particular point, however, because Rey flashes him a predatory grin and repeats the line once more.

“ You will allow me to change our course and pilot the ship, ” this time, a thick fog settles in over Ben’s mind, and he can’t possibly imagine why he ever would have argued with the girl. Of course he should allow her to change the course and pilot the ship, what had he been thinking to try and argue with her over it?

He hears someone repeat back her command, “ I will allow you to change our course and pilot the ship, ” and it takes him a moment to realize it’s his own voice he hears speaking. His mind is so fuzzy, he feels like a puppet being jerked around on its strings, and for some reason he is completely accepting of his fate, ready to follow any command the girl gives him.

Ben’s walking with her to the cockpit, then, and he feels like he’s sleepwalking, his feet barely touching the ground. He angles himself towards the co-pilot’s bucket seat, when something nags at the back of his mind, the sudden and jarring thought that Rey is going to sit in his spot . His spot! He shakes his head, trying to dislodge the mist hanging around his consciousness, and he feels Rey’s presence in his head. His outrage that she had managed to trick him and tried to steal his spot is all the push he needs to break free of her mental grasp, and he lashes back, delving into her own mind with the Force. The girl needs a taste of her own medicine.

Apparently she hadn’t withdrawn out of his head completely, because once Ben’s linked himself into her mind, suddenly there’s a feedback of thoughts, feelings, and sensory input, and it sends both of them reeling.

“Get out of my head!” Rey shouts at him, gripping a section of the control panel for balance against the dizzying sensation in their heads.

“You get out of mine, first!” Ben counters back, moving to grab the girl by the shoulders.

When his skin meets her own, it’s like a bolt of lightning through the both of them.

Ben apparently had lost consciousness for a few heartbeats, and so had Rey, because they’re in a heap of limbs on the floor now. Ben clutches the side of his head, still feeling her presence in his mind but much fainter. He attempts to push her out, but nothing will budge. Then he attempts to draw himself back out of her mind, figuring maybe he just needs to be the bigger person here ( as usual, of course ) and make the first move to end their fight. Ben oddly finds himself stuck, like maybe she’s holding him in somehow.

“Rey,” he starts, “Get out of my head, now ,” his voice has dropped to a low growl and he feels something like fear sink into his stomach at the thought that maybe she’s been trying already, as unsuccessfully as him.

“I -- can’t?” she says, voice small, and somehow Ben knows it’s the truth, he can feel it as though they had been his own words.

I think we may have fucked something up pretty badly, Ben sends tentatively over their newly-forged Force link.

No shit, Ben. Is that the kind of mind-blowing wisdom they teach you as a Jedi Knight?

Having Rey in his head is an odd and frustrating sensation, like a grain of dirt stuck in his eye that he can’t dislodge, the feeling irritating and ever-present. Mostly Ben and Rey seem to sense each other’s emotions when they’re most intense, such as when Rey manages to use the Force to pull Ben’s chair out from under him before he sits and he falls right onto his ass on the cold, hard durasteel floor. The burst of mirth he had felt from Rey had almost won out over his righteous anger and embarrassment. Almost.

Occasionally Ben will get a stray thought or image from Rey’s mind, popping up into his own. Mostly it’s mundane things: her wondering what her fellow Padawans might be up to back on Yavin IV, thoughts on how she might be able to tinker with the freighter to improve its speed or performance, or the images of a clear blue sea and lush green forest that she uses to help her meditate. Sometimes it’s more interesting; a fleeting memory of Ben’s bare chest, their skin sparking on contact, or the heady rush of power and desire Rey felt any time she had pinned him in a sparring match. The bond seems to be pulse the strongest when they’re in close proximity, and when they make contact, skin-to-skin, it’s like a dam between them has burst and Ben can’t tell where he begins and Rey ends.

Ben thinks the strangest effects of their bond show through once they settle in to completing their daily training routines. Meditation had been fine; Ben has gotten very skilled at clearing his mind by now so pushing the little spark that was Rey out of his conscious mind wasn’t any more difficult than pushing aside his other thoughts or emotions in order to slip into a meditative trance.

Sparring, however, is a different story. It becomes a bit difficult when each hit Ben lands on Rey reverberates back to him, a phantom pain echoing over his own skin as though he had been the one to take the blow. Rey doesn’t seem to be slowed down by the sensory feedback, though, absorbing or ignoring the pain like a little berserker. She even has the gall to call him a whimp and laugh in his face when he starts pulling his punches, lessening the impact of his hits on Rey.

“Ben, you little baby!” she taunts, “you could dish the hits out, but you can’t take them yourself now?” She’s panting as she dances around him, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she dodges a low kick and counters with a blow to Ben’s side with her double-ended practice saber. A whoosh of breath is forced from Ben’s lungs at the impact, and he stumbles back a few steps.

“I just never realized how hard I hit before,” Ben grits back at her through clenched teeth, pushing the pain back and thinking sourly, she didn’t even flinch from that hit, and it nearly knocked me over!

“Well don’t start pulling your punches now on my account , Ben,” she smirks back at him. The Knight isn’t going to rise to her ribbing, though, and he shifts his focus back to the fight instead of their banter, his desire for victory increased even more from her taunting.

The slippery little weasel of a girl is quick to make up for Ben’s avoidance of phantom injuries, though, and Rey redoubles her own ferocity. The fight ends with Ben a panting and groaning mess on the floor, trying to clutch his side, elbow, and shin at the same time. How the little ex-scavenger is managing to ignore the echoes of Ben’s pain is a mystery to him, and Rey starts laughing even harder at that thought.

The overall effect of their bond is unsettling, but there’s simply nothing to be done about it for the time being. He’s confident that Luke will be able to find some sort of solution once they’re back on Yavin IV, but for now it appears to be one of the many trials and tribulations Ben Solo has had to face in his life. Such as every time he has to listen to his dad tell one of his damn smuggling stories. Everyone’s heard those, like, ten thousand times already, dad -- why does it even matter who shot first?

Rey has acted mostly unaffected by their strange Force link, and her spirits have been high since Ben decided to compromise on their flight plan: Rey could pilot, but they would stay on the same course as originally planned. The asteroid storm had cleared up enough for them to continue on their route to the tradepost on Barseg on the afternoon after their mental incident , and both Jedi were pleased to be able to make some forward progress on their little mission again.

As they settle into the cockpit to prepare for the jump back into hyperspace, Ben doesn’t need the aid of their Force link to sense the satisfaction coming off of Rey in heady waves as she moves to sit in the pilot’s seat. Ben scowls at the girl, turning to offer a suggestion.

“Rey, how would you feel about piloting from the co-pilot’s seat? You must be more accustomed to the layout of the control panel from over here and I’m sure you can reach whatever you need even from this seat -”

Ben could practically feel Rey’s eyes rolling in his own head as she turns to him. Her mental voice rings through his mind, a stray thought settling crystal clear into his own consciousness: for fuck’s sake, Ben, stop being such a man-child over this goddamn chair, her own voice reaching his ears a few seconds later.

“Not a chance, Ben Solo, not a kriffing chance.” She swivels the chair away from him, her mind supplying to Ben my spot now, bitch, and starting to flick switches and turn knobs at a nearly alarming rate to prepare them for the hyperspace jump, and Ben doesn’t need to actually see her face to know exactly what kind of smug expression she’s wearing at the moment.

The rest of the trip to Barseg is quick and painless, and as Rey takes the ship out of hyperspace and preps the craft for landing, Ben feels a flare of nervousness from the girl. She’s been off-planet so few times, had grown up mostly isolated on Jakku and then went directly to the praxeum on Yavin IV. From what Ben knew of the girl, he didn’t think she had many opportunities to venture onto other planets since the start of her training.

“Barseg is an interesting place, to say the least.” Ben tries to quell her nervousness with conversation, otherwise he thinks her apprehension might transfer to him and Ben refuses to try and deal with the coarse and often arrogant Barsegians with anything other than a completely level head. “They’re an ancient tradeworld, and they have some barbaric customs, but they’re usually quite reasonable when it comes to trading and are one of the few peoples who have kept trade open to anyone with the credits to pay them, instead of taking political sides and shutting out the Jedi from doing business with on their planet.”

Rey gives him a small smile and a nod, simply commenting “I’ll just let you do all the talking, then, since you’re such an expert,” her sarcasm lacking most of its usual bite. She fiddles with the control panel as they come into the planet’s atmosphere and aim to land near the planet’s bustling central tradepost looking ( and feeling , Ben can’t help but notice) calmer.

Once they exit the ship out into the writhing mass of beings of all shapes, colors, and species, Rey’s overwhelmed again. Ben gives her hand a gentle squeeze with the Force, trying to be comforting, but she snaps back mentally I don’t need you to hold my hand, I can manage myself perfectly fine, thank you . He can’t resist the eyeroll that results from her comment; the girl is so damn stubborn about everything. Not that Ben is really one to talk when it comes to being stubborn, really.

They weave their way through the crowd, Rey trying valiantly to not be distracted by the vendors selling things she’s probably never even imagined existed, but she’s failing spectacularly, eyes the size of satellite dishes as she takes in the tradepost’s market. Despite her earlier protests, she does let Ben guide her gently to their destination with a phantom hand on the small of her back. He can’t hide much from her when they’re in such close proximity, but he hopes she doesn’t feel how much he wants it to be his flesh-and-bone hand there instead of the Force, how right it feels to be walking alongside her through the middle of the market, almost like they were two lovers and not a pair of Jedi on a mission from their Order.

The small, satisfied smile she flashes him is all the indication he needs that she had indeed felt exactly what he was feeling, and he curses himself for being such an open book when it comes to his emotions with her. She seems to be more skilled at shielding her own consciousness, or else Ben is just hopeless at perceiving her thoughts and emotions, because Ben doesn’t feel much of anything back from her other than an echoed sense of contentment at his company. Even that is enough to make something in his chest squeeze with hope and desire and longing .

Ben guides them to the stall of the trader Luke had specified to him, the one who would have their cargo. He approaches and speaks with the Barsegian, thankful that Galactic Standard is spoken throughout this system as they hadn’t brought a protocol droid with them for this trip and Ben’s Barsegi is a bit rusty these days.

“Ah yes, Skywalker said this cargo was very precious, that he had to entrust the errand to his best team,” Ben’s taken aback by the comment, realizing that maybe this had been a real mission after all and not just some frivolous little errand. “I would agree with him, it’s not like kyber crystals come cheaply these days, and there are certainly those that would try and steal the cargo if they knew its contents. Luckily for you and your master that I’m nothing but a professional when it comes to dealing with my customers, and their security and safety is of utmost concern, provided they can pay for it.”

Ben blanches at the realization that they’re transporting a load of kriffing kyber crystals for their Order, not some mundane ship parts or rations as he had initially supposed. He reaches into one of the folds in his robes, fumbling out the Credit chip Luke had given him to pay the man. Ben’s suddenly cognisant of how important it’s going to be to get off planet before someone who might have overheard the Barsegian’s none-too-quiet spiel decides that it’s worth taking on two Jedi for the chance at their precious cargo .

The man also explains that there are some more run-of-the-mill goods in their Master’s order, and that all the crates will be delivered into their freighter’s cargo bay by his highly dependable team of loaders. Ben and Rey feel a shared bolt of distrust towards the humanoid, and Ben asserts that they will accompany the team of movers to ensure the safety of their items.

Lightsaber crystals? That’s what we’re transporting back to the Temple? Rey’s voice is pitched high with concern even in his mind.

It seems as though we are. I’m not sure why Master Luke wouldn’t have told us, or why he would have sent us on a clunky old freighter with hardly anything in the way of defense or offense if we happen to be tracked off this planet. Ben responds back as they stride quickly through the market, making sure to keep the team of movers lugging the heavy crates towards their waiting ship.

Rey has to shove a few haggling Toydarians out of her way as they come within sight of their ship, the crew now waiting for them to open the cargo bay doors so everything can be loaded. Normally, Ben would have liked to stay on the planet for at least a few hours, exploring the stalls and trading snippets of news with the myriad of smugglers, traders, and adventurers that were drawn to this type of place. Now, though, the only thing on his mind was getting off this planet and back to the Temple with the crystals (and hopefully their skins) still intact.

Running ahead now, Rey disappears up the ship’s ramp to open the cargo bay doors from the inside. Ben stands outside to watch over the stacked crates and the burly humans and humanoids that serve as the loading crew.

He turns suddenly at the sense of someone approaching, reaching instinctively for the saber in his belt but not drawing it until he knows it will be necessary. A small, battle-scarred, and heavily armed group strides up to Ben, one woman breaking off from the group to speak with the Knight one-on-one. She’s short with a shaved head and a myriad of rings through her eyebrows, nose, and ears, and she fingers her still-holstered blaster rifle blatantly as she starts to speak.

“We heard you had some rather valuable and interesting cargo. Perhaps you might be willing to make a deal with us? We’d pay more than whoever you’re delivering to, of course, and you can just say some sort of accident befell you or the items. Or take the Credits and vanish, your choice.” The tone of her voice lets him know that she doesn’t think it’s his choice to refuse them; that if he doesn’t sell them the load of crystals they will take them over his cold, dead, body.

Ben doesn’t like that kind of threat, unspoken or not.

He pulls his blade out of the fold in his robe, then, igniting the impressive looking saber. It burns a bright purple with two quillons forming a cross shape above the hilt - his own design, and one even Master Luke had been impressed with when he managed to pull it off.

The ringleader of the group is the first to shoot, but blaster bolts from the three behind her are quick to follow. It’s like child’s play for Ben to send the shots ricocheting harmlessly into the ground near their feet, though, and in one smooth and unbroken move he also manages to cut the woman’s blaster in half, both ends falling smoking from her hands as she gives him a look of surprise.

“Suffice to say we’re not interested.” Ben responds coolly, and when he reaches out and senses that the cargo had been loaded and Rey had prepped the ship for takeoff in the scant minutes of their little confrontation, he extinguishes his blade and pivots around to walk onto the waiting craft.

He doesn’t quite trust that these thugs won’t try to take shots at his back or at the ship once they leave, so as he walks away he grabs the weapons from their hands and crushes them thoroughly with the Force, leaving them a twisted heap of plastic and metal at the group’s feet.

Rey’s eyes are wide as Ben takes his now-customary co-pilot’s seat, and Ben can’t help but preen a bit under her slightly awed gaze.

“Let’s get out of here, then,” Ben starts, and Rey doesn’t need to be told twice as they both spring to action, hands flying over the control panel as they take off. As soon as they’ve broken the planet’s atmosphere, Rey keys in Yavin IV’s coordinates and the ship jumps into hyperspace, stars stretching and blurring through the cockpit’s window.

They simultaneously let out a breath that neither of them had really been aware they were holding, and Rey lets out a nervous laugh.

“I guess this isn’t such a boring and useless trip after all, then.”

The first day of their travel back is tense, every moment feeling like it could be the one where they’re sucked out of hyperspace by an enemy attack. Rey and Ben hardly leave the cockpit, taking turns to sleep and eat and relieve themselves, so that someone is present at all times in case they needed to make sudden defensive maneuvers.

Once they’re past the first day and are nearing their end destination, however, they’re lulled into a sense of security. Surely if they were going to be followed and attacked, it would have been when they were as far away from their destination as possible? Ben points out that he really must have made an example of that gang back on Barseg, but Rey just rolls her eyes at him and he catches a snippet of what sounds like damn cocky showoff from her mind as she shakes her head and walks towards the now partially-full cargo bay to run through some training exercises.

I just can’t do anything right by you, can I? he thinks ruefully, and goes to do a bit of tinkering on his saber; he had noticed the weapon was just a hair slow to respond when he had drawn it on Barseg, so he figured it might be in need of a tune-up. An hour later, muscles protesting from misuse after sitting at attention in the cockpit for hours on end the previous day and then spent bent over the intricate innards of his lightsaber just now. He descends down into the cargo bay, needing some physical activity to help ease the stress of the last 36 hours.

When he enters the hold, he finds Rey perched on top of a stack of crates, legs folded under her in the standard meditation pose. He takes a few heartbeats to take her in, how peaceful she looks, and he can feel the Force flooding her consciousness if he reaches out just a bit. Her hair is pulled back from her face in a single top-knot, the style highlighting the delicate features of her calm face. Force, she’s beautiful he thinks, and also Force, I want her . He mentally shakes himself, clearing his mind as much as possible so he can focus on their training.

“I thought you wanted to work on drills,” Ben shouts up to her, startling her out of her trance. She leaps down gracefully from her perch.

“I already did, Ben. Maybe if a certain Knight would actually join me for training instead of playing with his saber ,” her eyes flash at the double entendre, already trying to rile him up, “he would be able to complete them with his partner. You’re on your own today, I’m just going to work through a few of the lightsaber forms and then I’m done with my work for the day.”

“Keeping everything perfectly tuned when the beam has to be split into three plasma streams is tricky work, Rey,” Ben retorts as he rifles through the the pile of equipment in one corner of the bay for a suitable practice saber for drills.

Whatever you need to tell yourself, it’s clearly just an excuse so you don’t have to get your ass kicked by a Padawan during training yet again. Rey’s now wielding her customary bowstaff-style practice saber, smoothly transitioning from block to parry to thrust and back again, moving through the form with a powerful grace. The wicked smirk on her face is the only thing that betrays her thoughts, her desire to inflame Ben until it comes down to a spar and she beats him yet again.

He doesn’t validate her mental comment with a response, resolutely refusing to play her little game today. He needs to decrease his stress, not exacerbate it, and he won’t let himself be affected by her taunts. I’m going to be the bigger person here, as usual .

We’ll see about that, she responds back, mind still apparently focused razor-sharp to his own, and Ben splinters the wooden hilt of the practice saber in his frustration.

Breathe in, breathe out, feel the Force around and through you . Ben repeats the mantra to himself, valiantly ignoring the pesky little desert rat vying for his attention. She had tried challenging him, insulting his skills and abilities, and even moved to petty name calling and insults to his person. He does not dye his hair, Rey, thank you very much , it just happens to naturally be several shades darker than his parents’. And even if he did dye his hair, which again, he doesn’t , it’s surely not something even worth making fun of, really.

Ben Solo, Jedi Knight, was an immovable rock, proving himself the better Jedi by virtue of not responding (outwardly, at least) to her taunts. Although, when he thought about it along those lines, Rey’s calling him a big-headed snob with an ego bigger than a Sarlacc kind of did ring true, he had to admit.

Now, though, his choices were limited when it came to Rey. Either he acts like his usual aloof self and maintains what he can of his authority and impressive Jedi Knight image around her, or he gives in to his emotions and become a lovesick and lust-addled wreck. He doesn’t think for a moment that Rey will let him live it down if he lets his facade crumble around him;  knows he won’t be spared the embarrassment and humiliation. His dad had always given him a hard time about being too emotional, showing too much of himself to others, had told him that others would take him for weak and soft and laugh in his face if he didn’t conceal his feelings.

So here he was, forced to act like a stone when he’d like nothing more than to fall to his knees in front of the Padawan and confess his feelings towards her. Or, you know, tackle her to the ground and kiss her senseless .

He blames the combination of those desires and his typical lack of control when he finally does snap under the pressure.     

Ben could withstand her mocking, her ire, and her taunting (mostly because he knew there was no real heat behind any of it) but he should have known he wouldn’t be able to withstand her desire. He’s moved past the meditation and back to drills now, gritting his teeth to keep focused, and all the sudden he’s aware that Rey isn’t even in the cargo bay anymore, but he can still feel her like she’s a few paces away.

He becomes dizzy at the sudden flashes of sensation, the fleeting impressions of thought and memory, and he dimly realizes that she must be in the ‘fresher on the craft’s main deck. He feels hot water and steam on his skin like it’s his own, feels the phantom sensation of her small hands over his body. The practice saber falls to the floor forgotten, and Ben clenches his fists, nails leaving half moon indentations in his palms.

She has to be doing this on purpose , he thinks, but he can’t be sure why . Is this just another tactic to taunt him? To flaunt in front of him exactly what he desires most but can’t have? His stomach flutters at another possibility, the possibility that he’s being seduced.

The low murmur of his voice, the feeling of him trailing her skin with tendrils of the Force that day in the Temple’s sauna, the spark in his eyes and the smiles reserved only for her echo in Ben’s own head as Rey’s mind flickers through the images, sensations, and feelings, each with an undercurrent of desire for Ben alone. He feels her hand slip over the wet skin of her lower belly; feels simultaneously like he’s being touched by her and touching her himself, and when it’s accompanied by her normally teasing voice now laced with a very real desire for him, saying are you going to come and join me already, Ben, or do I have to this by myself, too? he’s already up the stairs to the main deck before she can finish the thought.

(jump to ~steamy~ deleted scene here!)

If Ben, in his haste, accidentally steps into the the ‘fresher fully clothed and Rey laughs at him for a solid two minutes, well, that’s probably the type of thing to be expected from him now that he’s surrendered to being a lovesick and lust-addled wreck.

The rest of the evening passes uneventfully, the two of them having come to a mutual understanding. Neither really knows exactly why they had waited so long to act on their shared desires, although Rey had cited concern over being distracted from her Jedi training and Ben had grudgingly admitted his fear that he would be laughed at or seen as weak if he told her his feelings.

They had both assured the other that their fears were unfounded. Ben wanted Rey to rise to Knight status nearly as much as she did herself, and was always willing to put in hours of difficult training and volunteer for Master Luke’s various tasks and missions. Rey then had reassured Ben with the most sincerity he had ever felt from her, from any person ever, really , that she would never laugh at him or humiliate him for his feelings. She even went as far as to tell him, who the fuck does your dad think he is to tell you that you needed to put up walls around yourself, to hide your feelings? Ben loves his parents, but her righteous anger at his father feels good, like someone finally understands the challenge of being the son of someone who was sometimes more of a legend than a man.

During the last few hours of their trip, they play a few rematch rounds of holochess. Ben finally manages a victory, after which Rey congratulates him by settling into his lap and peppering his neck and jaw with kisses and gentle bites.

Ben’s more than a little disappointed when they have to break away from each other to head back to the cockpit, lips now swollen and Rey laughing as she rubs her thumb over an angry red mark just above Ben’s right collarbone. Have fun explaining that one to Master Luke, she says voicelessly, and Ben is hopeless to think of any excuse that might make even a little sense to his uncle. Luke had a way of figuring things out, in any case, and he has a feeling that the change in their relationship wouldn’t have been a secret from him for long anyway.

They open their communication lines with the Temple, and a concerned Knight comes over the line, the Jedi having learned of the asteroid storm and their subsequent delay in finishing the errand. Ben can hear the buzz from the Temple’s communication room, relief upon the Knight and Padawan’s safe return palpable even over the commlink. Rey brings the little freighter in for a landing into the small hangar, and once the ship is powered down Ben tugs her by the wrist, needing to talk to Master Luke about a number of things and sensing his presence just outside the hangar.

Once they’re out of the hangar and back in the familiar humid atmosphere of Yavin IV, Ben spots Luke coming towards them. The Knight crosses his arms over his chest, steeling himself for the possibility of an argument with the Master.

“What were you thinking , sending us in that awful tincan of a freighter to pick up a crate full of kriffing kyber crystals? ” Ben tries to contain his anger as much as possible, but it’s a difficult task when Luke’s expression is one of quiet amusement.

“You can think of it as a test, Knight --”

“What kind of test is it to send us on an errand to pick up some of the most valued objects in our Order using a ship that could have easily been overwhelmed by enemies, or to send just the two of us to the pile of thug garbage that is Barseg, where we could have been outnumbered a hundred to one by a gang if they found out what we were loading onto our craft? Explain to me how that’s a test , Master Luke.” Ben’s seething now, he can’t help it, and he can feel Rey put one of her small hands on his bicep, sending waves of calm to him through the Force. He doesn’t swat her hand away, but it’s a near thing. I am not in the mood to cuddle right now , he mentally grits out at her.

Alright, if you feel the need to have a little hissyfit in front of the galaxy’s last Jedi Master, then be my guest. It’ll be entertaining to watch, if nothing else.

“Calm yourself, Ben,” his uncle starts, and waits to continue until Ben has taken a few deep, cleansing breaths. “The nature of the test was for you to be unaware that you were even being tested. I’m well aware of the challenges and the dangers that the mission entailed, but I correctly assumed my best Knight and most promising Padawan would be able to complete the task without too much trouble.” Luke gives a nod to Rey, who bows and flushes at the praise.

“So what exactly do you think the results of your little test were, Master?” Ben’s calmed down a bit, but his uncle sometimes seems to get as much satisfaction as Rey does from making him flustered and frustrated.

“For one thing, I see you two have sorted things out.” The grizzled Jedi pointedly looks at the purpling mark on Ben’s neck, and both the Knight and the Padawan turn a deep shade of crimson.

“ That was part of your test, Master Skywalker?” Rey can’t hold back her own puzzlement, now, and Luke answers first with a chuckle.

“The amount of pent up tension and frustration between you two wasn’t healthy. What better way to resolve it than to stick the two of you together on a ship in the middle of space for a few days?” Ben wonders when his uncle had noticed what was between them, if he had taken it into account when he had let Ben pick out Rey as his Padawan partner. “You two will be infinitely more powerful together than you could ever be apart, and it was in the best interest of our Order and the Resistance that you finally, well, got together. ”

Rey looks like she wants the ground to swallow her whole right now, and Ben can’t help but feel the same. Master Luke had tried to set them up ? As if Ben didn’t have enough game to initiate their relationship on his own.

I wouldn’t be so sure of yourself, there. Remember who, exactly, made the first move? Rey somehow manages to smirk at him mentally along with her comment, and Ben sends a bolt of annoyance back at the girl.

“About that, Master Skywalker, we seemed to have developed some sort of Force bond during the mission and we’re not really sure how or why or if it can be, well, fixed.” Rey politely chimes in.

“I certainly sensed there was something deeper between the two of you now. I can’t say I know a great deal about those kinds of links, but I do know that they are complicated beasts that usually can’t be removed without some very powerful and intricate Force work. I’m not sure we’ll be able to safely remove the bond, but I can certainly train you both on how to control and fine tune it so it can be a valuable tool between the two of you.”

Ben feels an odd pull at the idea of severing the bond between the two of them now that their relationship has changed so fundamentally. He can also see the tactical advantages of having a comrade who he could communicate with mentally during a fight. He feels the sentiments echoed in Rey’s own mind, as well. He gives her a nod and turns to Luke to say, “I think we’ll learn to live with it for the foreseeable future, Master.”

“I’m quite satisfied that’s all settled, then.” Luke clears his throat suddenly, his face taking on a serious expression. “The other purpose this test served was as a preliminary for whether you both are ready to advance to the next stages of your training with our Order.

It was necessary to see that you could work together, that you could take even a mundane task seriously, and that you knew how to handle yourselves in difficult situations. Lastly, we of course needed more crystals around the temple, if certain Padawans are to build their own lightsabers.”

Ben and Rey’s eyes widen in nearly perfect synchronization. A Jedi Master? Ben can scarcely believe it, questioning in his mind if he had heard Luke correctly.

“Rey, you will have first pick of the crystals as your reward for successful completion of the mission. I believe there should be at least one set of twin crystals that would be excellent for a double blade. Once you’ve completed the saber, we’ll discuss when you’ll begin the Trials.” Rey nearly falls over at Luke’s words, Ben quickly moving to grab the girl’s arm and hold her up. She barely manages to squeak out thank you, Master Skywalker . Ben’s heart swells with pride at her accomplishment, and their shared excitement swells through their link.

“Ben - I know that traditionally raising a Knight to the level of a Jedi Master was a long and arduous process, involving much discussion and deliberation on the part of the Jedi Council. Since I’m all that’s left of the Masters of our Order, and with no other council members to consult, I’ve decided that it’s time to raise your rank. You’re by far the most capable of all the Knights, and I need a second-in-command, someone ready to take the helm whenever it’s needed.” Now it’s Ben’s turn to learn on Rey as he feels his own knees go weak at the prospect of being raised to a Master.

“Thank you, Master Luke. I will be honored to serve our Order in any way I can. I am ready for the Trials whenever you deem it fit.”

Luke gives him a smile, then pulls his nephew in for an embrace. “I’m so incredibly proud of you, Ben. I’m honored as well to finally be able to accept you as an equal in our Order.” Luke draws back, gives them both a smile.

“Now, then, I will let you two get on with your business. Rey, I suppose you’ll want to go through the kyber crystals; the crate’s been moved into the storage facility on the West side of the Temple.” Rey’s nearly vibrating with her excitement, her desire to find the twin crystals that will call to her and make up her own blade. She rushes out another thank you, Master Skywalker, and a hurried yes, Master , and Luke gives them both a nod of dismissal.

Rey’s grabbing Ben’s large hand in one of her smaller ones, then, nearly running as she pulls him after her. Come on, you’re slower than an AT-AT. I’ve got a lightsaber to build!

She would be an excellent Knight, Ben knew. Brave, impossibly strong and clever. She would also be stubborn as hell, without a doubt, and they would have their share of challenges ahead of them now as soon-to-be Knight and Master. But he knew it wouldn’t be so bad as long as he had her, his insufferable little desert rat, by his side.