Chapter Twenty Three: Reflection

Disclaimer: I own nothing here, chut-chut Watto.

Don't do it Ben!It's not worth the risk!

Yes, you are,

"

"

"

"

is

"you

"

"everything

"

"

"

"

"

Incessant beeping pierced Rey's sleepy awareness like a Steelpecker poking repeatedly at scrap metal. She scowled against the noise and burrowed deeper into the covers and closer to Ben's warmth beside her. The room's automated system had already begun its morning cycle for gradual lighting and Rey tried to bury her face in Ben's black nightshirt in a further attempt to fight wakefulness.

She breathed in his unique scent of melded stone and water, felt his body begin to stir and the growl of annoyance that rumbled off his chest. She smiled through a brief moment of bliss, despite that blasted comlink on his nightstand chirping like a frantic Porg.

With another grumble, Ben turned onto his back and snatched up the device with the one arm not occupied under Rey's torso. She could feel his irritation at the intrusion like a jagged knife, the sense that he was teetering between crushing the comlink in his fist or answering it with a snarl.

He opted for the latter, but just barely. ""

"Ah, Supreme Leader," Hux's usual sickly sweet voice replied. "Will you be attending the council meeting today?"

"No," Ben snapped back, clearly aggravated that the call was not more important. "I intend to resolve the fleet's fuel deficiency today. Ready my ship with a pilot and a TIE escort."

Realizing that any chance for more sleep was no longer an option, Rey pushed herself up to extract herself from bed, only to pause and give Ben's scarred cheek an affectionate kiss. That drew his rapt attention and he raised his arm to reciprocate, but Hux's voice droned on between them and she was effectively out of his reach before he could respond accordingly.

"Very good sir, the council will happy to hear it. I shall make the arrangements personally." Ben terminated the call without another word and Rey glanced back on her way to the fresher, catching his steady gaze as he slid out of bed himself.

He sent her a contented smile and Rey could not withhold her own bashful smile in return as the fresher door severed the silent exchange. The longing in his dark garnets remained in her mind and Rey tried to ignore the thrill it ignited in her veins as she went about her morning routine. Her heart skipped treacherously as she recounted their second night together. By her decree it had been chaste, tender and admittedly much less... intense than the first, though no less dreamless.

As she washed her face, her gaze drifted to the crystal fastened around her right wrist; her new binding, his promise. Realization hit her suddenly, as if she were finally thinking clearly for the first time in a standard planetary cycle. She was now engaged to the Supreme Leader of the First Order... The enemy.