Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A pause in the steady murmur of soft spoken conversations is all that greets Ben as he enters the dimly lit bar off West 6th. He's stuck in some flyover town in his way to a much needed vacation in a sunnier climate than he currently finds himself in. Shaking off the excess snow that has gathered on his jacket, he scans the room in an effort to find the least noticeable spot to spend the remaining hours before his flight. 

The theme of this bar is quaint, easy. A literal hole-in-the-wall that is meant to mirror those speakeasies of the past while also carrying its own sophistication and modernism. It's nothing Ben hasn't seen repeated ad nauseam throughout every tiny borough of New York City, but there are worse places to kill time and find a buzz. 

Most of the light illuminating the room comes from the bright backlights of the bar as it reflects off the shiny counter across from it.  Small scentless candles deign every table with a faint flickering luminescence that doesn't help much in the way of actually being able to see anything. 

As Ben folds his jacket over his arm he makes his way to the beacon of light that is the bar and huffs onto one of the many unoccupied stools. Loosening his tie and rolling up his sleeves, he allows himself to finally feel a semblance of relaxation at knowing that he's well and truly stuck here. Nothing can be done about cancelled flights, layover hours, or the case that broke the camel's back and sent him running. 

From the corner of his eye he sees a curtain pull back and a large container of ice be carried towards the bar. He can't see who's hauling the tub, but they must have some strength to carry it around with ease like that. He watches with mild interest, eager to know who he may be spending most of the night ordering drinks from. What he saw when the empty tub of ice was brought to the ground was almost enough to make him do the same.

He's never been one to be caught off guard by a woman's appearance, let alone have a screaming thought of how beautiful one happens to be. He didn't even have a picture in his head of what the bartender could look like but it surely wasn't this sunny-eyed angel he had suddenly locked eyes with. 

He doesn't realize how long he's staring until she's right in from of him with a smile so sweet he feels his heart stutter from its usual pace. He mentally schools his frontal lobe back into working order as he dimly registers she's speaking to him. 

"Sorry, what was that?"

His voice is an unused croak and he quickly clears his throat, caught off guard by nearly everything about her. 

She gives him another smile but with a touch more softness. She'd been wiping the spot in front of hi with a damp rag and pauses when he finally acknowledges her. 

"I said, what can I get you?" her accent breaks through the strange haze that has come over him and restarts the engines of his brain. 

British?

Behind the surprise of her accent he also recognizes her teasing tone and he clears his throat again before speaking. 

"A strong whiskey please. Neat."

Her eyes crinkled when she smiled at him again and oh lord...are those freckles? Scattered across the bridge of her nose and flowing over her cheeks? Sent from heaven to truly break him from reality?

"Coming right up Sir."

Her voice is a different story from the rest of her. It's smooth and confident, but there's a fire hiding there that's unmistakable. Sweet on the outside but sour or spicy on the inside? 

When she returns with his drink he notices a second glass and glances up at her with a raised eyebrow only to be greeted with another upward turn of her lips. 

"You looked like you needed another." was her only response before making her way to the other end of the bar with a grace that didn't belong in this alcove bar in this nowhere city. He watches her greet another customer as they amble their way to the bar but finally forces his attention down to his drink. He takes a deep swig and relishes the comfort of the warm burn given to him by the whiskey. Without much thought, Ben tips his head back and downs the rest in one gulp. 

She was right; he definitely needed another. This drink however, he nursed for a lot longer than its predecessor. He found his mind occupied by the glittering amber as it sloshed in his glass and allowed the steady hum of the patrons around him to envelope his mind with a comfortable embrace. Her high octave voice is still able to pierce through the cloud coverage of his brain and draw his focus back to her like some sort of bizarre beer siren. 

She catches his glance again and says a few quiet words to the man whose beer she had just served before returning to stand in front of him. This time he notices the honey color of her eyes and even does a quick glance down to the whiskey in his hand before returning to confer that yes, her eyes are in fact the same color as his poison of choice for the night. God help him. 

She silently grabs the empty glass next to his hand and begins pouring another two fingers for him. He should probably say something to her. Lay down a line or just ask for her name for Christ's sake but somehow this woman, with her honey-sweet smile and starscape of freckles, has managed to cease all verbal motor functions he previously though he had. 

"You can keep my tab open." he finally says, breaking through the unspoken air between them as he slides his card across the bar. 

"Sure thing, Mr.," a quick glance down at his card, "Solo. Anything else I can get you to make your night better?" 

Her tone is as if she already knows what he's been through. As if she can see through the withered and crumbling facade he's barely been able to keep up for months. He stares at her a little incredulous before the word,

"Conversation."

comes spiraling out of his mouth without his consent . 

Instead of the confused, or possibly even uncomfortable, look on her face he was expecting, he sees another one of those summer time smiles bloom on her cheeks. She stares at him for a few seconds before giving a sharp nod, a crease in her brow that speaks of a decision made. A game set.

"Alright then. In that case we'll need these."

She pulls out another glass and fills it with a different brand of the liquor. It's darker in color and significantly more full that the bottle she'd been pouring him. He feels entranced by her, unsure of what his next move should be or if he should even have one. He's feeling an ease he hasn't known in months. Frankly, in years. There's just something so comfortable about being in this hideaway bar in the middle of this who-gives-a-shit-city as a literal ray of sunshine pours him drinks. Her smile is the climate he's been searching for when he fled and her voice has a more calming effect on his nerves than any ocean wave every could. He thinks he's in a dream. Surely this feeling is too insane for him to be lucid. 

"Cheers" her English lilt pulls him from his roaming thought and he realizes she's holding a glass up of the darker whiskey, waiting for a toast, "to shitty days that end in exciting conversation."

His mouth is about to gape open but he quickly catches himself and clears his throat before giving his own raspy, "Cheers" and downing the remainder of his drink.

He switches the two glasses in front of him and watches as she moves to refill the empty one. He glances over at her drink and sees the tiniest imprint of pink lipstick pressed to the side of the rim. His eyes flick back to her lips then and finds a smile waiting for him. Quickly he glances back up to her eyes and ok, he has to be dreaming because he knows that look. Is pretty positive he's been wearing that look from the minute she lowered that tub of ice to the floor. 

"What's your name?"

The tremble in his voice is gone, replaced by a steadiness that he can only ascribe to the fact that he suddenly knows how to play this game. The dumbfounded fool who managed to get him to this point has taken off for the night as Ben remembers that he's a grown man damnit. He can make conversation with a beautiful woman without reducing himself to a tongue-tied Neanderthal. 

"Rey, but with an e." is the response that flows from her upturned lips and Ben almost fully loses his mind. His ray of sunshine, this ray of sunshine, is real and tangible and with a name that matches the light flowing from her every pore. He feels like he's in a cheap paperback romance novel; a pawn in serendipity's game that just met his match. 

He feels his hand extend out toward hers without realizing what he's doing. 

"Well, it's very nice to meet you Rey with an e." his hand hovers over the trio of whiskey glasses and the shimmering bar top as he waits for her to meet him halfway. 

He sees her eyes flit down to his extended hand and he could've sworn he saw a dart of pink tongue come to swipe across her lips before he feels the warm embrace of her tiny palm. 

Every cliche Ben's ever heard comes flitting through his brain in response to her touch. The electricity he feels from just the smooth skin of her hand is more potent that all the previous intimate encounters he's had combined. Her eyes bulge a little and he notices the most adorable little flush of color creep across her cheeks before she gently pulls her hand away to rest it on the counter. 

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Solo." the breathy tone in her voice is the only thing his hindbrain can focus on. Is she feeling this too?

He lifts his glass to his lips then, eyes still locked on hers, and fully throws caution to the wind when he gives her a wink and finishes the remainder of his drink. 

Her blush deepens and he feels as if he's won man's most coveted prize. A voice from down the bar calls out to her and she gives a quick shake of her head before offering him a shy smile and moving to help her other customers. 

For the first time since he ran practically screaming from his office, he feels as if he has all the time in the world. No worries of upcoming flights or impending trials, just the cozy image of the remainder of the night spent with little miss Rey of sunshine herself. 

He wonders if she's this warm to every customer that graces her stage. If she's liberal with her smiles and blushes for any man that speaks to her with a low tone and implications. He watches her serve the doughy 50-something man at the end of the bar who is failing miserably at keeping his tongue in his mouth and his eyes to himself. She doesn't seem to be responsive to his advances or even appear to care all that much that he's trying. It quells the sudden onslaught of possessive anger that roils through Ben's brain.

Jesus he really needs to get a hold of himself. Three glasses of whiskey and a couple of batted eyelashes from a pretty girl has him ready to rip this stranger's throat out for even looking at her. He fixes his face when he sees her begin to make her way back over to him. 

"So, Mr. Solo," she begins, refilling both of his empty glasses, "what brings you to Jaba's?"

For a second he's confused by her question, not having any idea what the hell a jaba is, but then he glances down at the paper napkin under his glass and realizes it's the name of the bar. He hadn't bothered to learn it, too distracted by the beer goddess behind the counter. 

She couldn't have known how loaded her question was and he suddenly has no energy left in him explain it all. The situation at work that left him reeling, the lack of any support or human being to help him, the loneliness that finally ate away at him enough to see him buying last minute flights out of New York. She doesn't need to hear those things and if he's being honest with himself, he doesn't want her to. He likes the easiness that has settled between them without having to know every detail about the other.

"Wrapped up some business, needed a place to unwind for the night." The lie is smoother and much easier to swallow than I may or may not have had a nervous breakdown two days ago and am now fleeing from every responsibility in my life.

Yeah, much easier.

She hums her understanding as she takes a slow pull from her own drink. A new imprint of pink blooms in the spot right next to the first and Ben takes a gulp of his own drink if only to pull his eyes away from it.

"Must have been some rough business then." she says, eyes scanning over his disheveled shirt and tie and the mussed mop of hair on his head. There's a tiny smirk at the corner of her mouth and the realization that she's fully teasing him hits him square in the caveman part of his brain. So maybe she doesn't share whiskey and blushes with every male customer she meets. 

He gives her a small smile of his own, something so unfamiliar to his muscles that they seem to creak with being used again in this way. 

"Nothing I can't handle sunshine."

The deep blush that erupts on her cheeks is more than worth the risk of moving into full on flirting territory. She takes a quick sip of her drink to hide her expression and he mirrors her, smirking as he takes a sip along with her. 

"What about you?" he asks before she has second thoughts about spending her shift talking with him, "How does a little thing like you become a bartender in a place like this?"

Her eyes turn wistful as her own history seems to play in rapid succession passed her eyes. Instead of a long drawn-out story, she just gives him a small shrug and another balmy smile. 

"Unfortunately both school and being alive requires money, so, here I am." she waves her arms out around her as if all the explanation he could need is written plainly on the walls and tables of the bar. The cheekiness in her tone only further fuels his desire to dig deeper into all the pieces that make her up. He has a pretty strong inkling that there being more than meets the eye would be an understatement for this girl. 

"And what is it exactly you're putting yourself into debt to study?" 

A bubbly giggle escapes her lips at his words and he has to consciously stop the reaction it brings out of him. Just when he thought her smile was the sweetest thing about her, she went ahead and upped the ante by having a laugh that sounded like that. A melodious caress to his ears that leaves only one idea in his head; I need to hear it again.

"Mechanical Engineering. I have one semester left." the happiness that flows from her at the idea of finishing her degree is enough to cause Ben's lips to turn upward once again in a smile. The reflection of the bar lights on the counter are bouncing in her eyes and jesus is she not the most adorable thing he's ever seen?

"Congratulations on both your degree and your debt." he says, tone full of jest and glass of whiskey raised in front of him to toast her. 

She giggles again and clinks glasses with him before throwing her head back and swallowing her drink without an ounce of reaction to the burn she surely felt from it. He stares at her a little awestruck before catching himself and taking a healthy sip from his own glass. 

She refills her glass, to Ben's astonished delight, and quickly excuses herself to serve the men at the other end of the bar. He tries to return his heartbeat to a normal rhythm but every second he spends around this woman makes that task more and more unlikely. He finishes his fourth glass of whiskey before sliding the fifth in front of him and vaguely feels an itching thought that maybe letting his guard down with alcohol may not be the best idea right now. Before he can listen to that voice though, she returns with another smile seemed just for him and effectively shuts up any idea of leaving her presence. 

She gives a look toward his empty glass and raises her eyebrow in question. His eyes are locked on her when he gives her a small nod of affirmation and stay locked on her as she pours him yet another glass. He should probably look away. Should probably not spend stretching seconds of time cataloging the chestnut and coffee browns of her hair. Should definitely not be openly memorizing the shade of pink that paints those sweet lips of her. She doesn't seem to mind however. Doesn't turn away in disgust or awkwardly shuffle herself away from him. She just returns his probing gaze. Searching his eyes and the moles of his face for what? 

"How long are you in town for business Mr. Solo?" her voice is breathier than it's been all night and he would have to be an idiot to not hear the underlying question hidden between her words. He's not sure how she knew he was from out of town but it must be painted all over his face that he does not fit in around here. Or maybe it's that she's able to read him perfectly already even though they just met. 

He clears his throat again and holds the gaze that she has pinned on him, "That depends on how...lucky I am in a deal I'm working on." 

Her pupils dilate the slightest amount and he suddenly feels he's exposed himself a little too much. He finishes the rest of his drink if only to find something else to do with his mouth and hands. She takes a gulp of her drink, and then a second, then a third before placing the glass back down on the counter. Their eyes are locked back on each others and for the first time in his life Ben feels the breath leave him, scared of losing this moment with this person, scared of not getting more time to bask in everything about her. 

"Hopefully your luck doesn't run out then," she says, voice much quieter than it's been all night. As if she's saying something meant only for him. "otherwise you'd be stuck here with only me for company." 

"If I had any luck at all I'd have you for company all the time." The words flow from his mouth before he even realizes what he's saying and there's a moment of silent panic in his brain as he watches her eyes widen fully and her cheeks turn redder than they've been all night. He's about to apologize for being too forward, too weird, too everything, when he sees her teeth sink slowly into her bottom lip to hide a smile. Her blush remains in place on her freckled cheeks and because he loves tempting fate, he says, "Would you like that sunshine?" 

His voice has a rasp to it he's never heard before and it seems to be the exact thing needed to make her cheeks blush even further. He watches her take a deep breath that leaves shaky through her lips. 

"I would." is her whispered answer and Ben feels his lips stretch tighter than they have all night with the smile he's wearing. His eyes flick down to the teeth sunk in her lower lip before returning to the honey orbs of her eyes. 

"I'm glad we're on the same page then." he responds, slowly reaching his hand forward to grab his second glass before pushing the empty one towards her with its own leisurely pace. She seems to shake the stifling aura that settled around them and quickly glances around the bar, almost as if to check and see no one caught them doing things they shouldn't. She looks back at him and her eyes have a determination in them now that sets off new signals in Ben's brain. 

"Do you have a pen?" she asks, tone almost too casual. 

He regards her with confusion for half a second before reaching into his checkbook and pulling out the pen he keeps in it. She snatches it from his hand, fingertips barely brushing against his skin but enough to cause his breath to hitch in surprise. He clears his throat again to try and cover the noise but the smirk on her lips tells him she caught his slip up. She grabs the paper napkin from under his drink and bends over the counter to scribble something onto it. When she slides it back over the corner is scrawled over with an array of digits that sear like a brand onto his brain. He looks back up at her and she just shrugs before biting her lip again. 

"I get off at 2." 

Her voice is pure temptation draped in sweet-smelling roses and he's lost count of how many times tonight he's become convinced that she's just a mirage. A figment of his fractured mind trying to fully send him onto the road of insanity. He glances down at the numbers scratched on the napkin and folds it up neatly before placing it in his checkbook along with the borrowed pen. 

"I'll be here." he says to her before lounging back more on his stool to get more comfortable, eyes staying planted on hers. That lovely wave of pink heat crashes across her face and swallows her freckles as he continues to stare. He's unable to pull his eyes away even as she nods slightly and moves down the bar to do the job she'd been previously neglecting. 

So maybe the vacation he was looking for wasn't a tropical beach paradise. Maybe it's the whirlwind of sweetness and intrigue that he found himself caught in the minute he saw her face. He pulls his phone out and pulls up his flight scheduled for tomorrow morning, thumb hovering over the screen as he debates doing something even dumber than running away from work for a month long vacation. Before his fears can take control he pulls the trigger and cancels the flight meant to take him away from his problems and towards relaxation. He laughs to himself as he thinks that he has all the sunshine he needs right here in front of him. 

Chapter Text

She must not have expected him to stick around after getting her number if her jittery movements were anything to go by. There's a nervousness bubbling up in her that is the most endearing thing he's ever seen, making it near impossible for him to be anywhere but as close to her as he can be. 

She flits back and forth between the other patrons at the bar before stopping for a minute or two to chat with Ben as they sip their whiskeys. It's pockets of conversation about little things like what movies they like, what music they're into, or if they prefer chunky or creamy peanut butter. Seemingly insignificant bits that have begun to build as a the time ticks on and it strikes Ben that he's learned more about her in these few short hours than he has about anyone in recent memory. 

Her laughs ring in his ears for minutes after they cease, rattling around in his brain and shining a light on every surface they bounce across. He finds himself trying anything he can to hear those giggles burst from her pink lips and float around him like the sweetest song in the world. She's bright, effervescent, but with a roughness to her that never fails to catch him off guard. It takes him very little time to realize she's also smart as hell. A literal math whiz who flew through the early years of education and was, according to her own words, "the only 8th grade kid in a class of pimply-arsed seniors."

He laughed at her words then and it had surprised both of them. Her because it was the first time she'd heard it, and him because it was the first time he'd heard it in a long time. His face begins to feel warm and he can't tell if it's from the whiskey or the conversation; either way he feels something flowing looser between them, making him itchy with the desire to be alone with her. To allow the current of energy pulsing under his skin to be channeled onto every surface of hers. 

She asks about his job and he gives her the minimum information needed to answer. A lawyer from New York. She doesn't pry any further, doesn't ask about his "business" in her city or what kind of "deal" he's working on. Ben is almost positive she's known from the beginning that his words were a load of bullshit but for some reason that doesn't seem to send her running. She accepts them for now and eventually steers the conversation toward his hobbies. 

He hasn't given much thought to what his "hobbies" would actually constitute. The only thing that pops in his head when he thinks of what he enjoys doing is reading but what a boring answer that is. His mind flashes to his calligraphy set stored in the top drawer of his desk at home and the stacks of inked papers that litter it. He's convinced she'll laugh at him if he tells her so he keeps his silence for longer than necessary for such a simple question. 

"Surely there's something you enjoy doing Mr. Solo?"

There's a hint of a challenge in her eyes as she asks and he's not sure why he hasn't just told her to call him Ben yet. The proper title spilling from her lips winds him up every time he hears it and the only answer he can suddenly think of is that he enjoys her.

He leans back and ponders her question with a mask of false concentration. Even taps his chin and tilts his head as if he's thinking as deeply as he can. His eyes flick over to her and he sees a small smile creep onto her face at his teasing, eyes locked on his fingertips as it rhythmically taps his chin. He stops his movements and she glances up to his eyes. 

"I enjoy watching tiny British women carry around heavy tubs of ice."

Her laugh rings loudly throughout the bar, enough to draw a few stares from patrons whose conversations had been suddenly interrupted. She's shaking her head in mock disapproval and continues to giggle slightly as she takes another sip from her drink. 

Ben glances at the clock and sees that only half an hour of purgatory remains for them. He can tell she's become affected by the whiskey and he'd be a liar if he said that he wasn't as well. Neither are at a point of inebriation where they aren't making conscious decisions however, instead it seems the liquor has created an effortless warmth between them, breaking down whatever barriers the other may have put up to remain in control. 

He catches her take her own glance at the clock and sees a look of surprise cross her face at the hour she finds. 

"I hadn't realized the time, I have to start cleaning up the bar for the night." She says this a little sheepishly, like she's usually more on top of these sorts of things. 

A litany of emotions seems to traipse across her face and he patiently waits for her to come to whatever conclusion that high-powered brain of hers is reaching towards. He finishes off his eighth (ninth??) whiskey and silently pushes the two now empty glasses fully towards her, allowing her to grab them to clean up completely for the night. He doesn't stand or make a move to leave though, just leans back in his stool once again.

"I'll be here when you get off."

He knew what he was saying when he said it and the deep crimson that paints her cheeks is enough to send blood rushing to some very inconvenient parts of his anatomy. She quickly grabs the empty glasses and nods to him before scurrying away to start her closing routine. He holds back the laugh that threatens to bubble up from her reaction. He can't seem to get enough of pulling those beautiful little blushes out of her and watching as she seems at a loss as to how to react to his forward words. Not for the first time tonight he wonders what her reactions will look like when there's no one else around.

God, he's going to eat her alive. 

Ben watches idly as the last few customers make their stumbly way out of the bar and towards whatever bed awaits them for the night. He takes the small space of time left to him to arrange a hotel for the night. Making a quick call to the nicest option Google can find that's as close as possible to her place of work. 

He'd been so preoccupied with his task he hadn't noticed that Rey was in the main seating area blowing out the decorative candles on each table and giving them a swipe over with a rag. She makes her way closer to where he sits at the bar, systematically moving through each table until she begins working on the one nearest to him. 

He watches her for a half-second, amused by the crease in her brow as she does her job as diligently as she can.

"You missed a spot." he calls out to her, causing her to jump slightly at being shaken out of the work mode her brain had set itself in. 

She feigns a look of annoyance and gives him a shake of her head before she finishes wiping the table. 

When she passes by him on her way to the back of the bar he feels a sudden pinch to the back of his arm.

"What the hell??" 

His words are laced with laughter as he rubs gently at the pinprick of pain she had caused. The devious look on her face has him huffing out a laugh before shaking his head in admonishment. 

"Little savage." he mumbles to himself, but she hears him anyway. Even gives him a fucking wink before disappearing to the back of the bar. 

He's only known her a few hours and already he can tell she's a handful. One that has every intention of managing thoroughly. 

The bar lights suddenly flicker off and leave only the exit signs as sources of light in the deserted bar. He turns the flashlight of his phone on as he waits for her to emerge from the darkness of the back room. He vaguely see the plush curtain be pulled back and can hear her soft footsteps as she comes closer to his light. 

"Are you scared of the dark Mr. Solo?" she teases as she sidles up next to him. The bright beam from his phone finds her face and he sees the smile that drew him in like a lighthouse to his sea-weary eyes. There's a laughter in her voice he wants to drown himself in but he'll be damned if he lets her keep pushing his buttons without retribution. 

He turns off the flashlight and watches as her face becomes bathed in the slight red glow of the exit signs. He lifts his hand and tucks a stray hair behind her ear, thumb caressing the skin of her cheek in the process. He hears her slight intake of breath and feels a smirk of satisfaction form on his face. 

"There's one thing you should know about me sunshine," he whispers, leaning in close to her ear until his lips are only a hair's breath away, "I thrive in the dark." 

He pulls back suddenly and watches her bite down on those plump little lips of hers, feeling a sense of victory sweep through him at being able to rattle her even just a little. 

She gives her head a quick shake and clears her throat, regrouping in a way, before slipping her arm through his and giving a slight tug. 

"Well in that case, shall we venture out into it?" he can still see a glow shining in her eyes as she looks up questioningly at him. He really shouldn't be this wound up by such minimal contact and her breathy voice but if one thing has become painfully obvious since he first saw her it's that he has absolutely no control over the reactions she pulls from him. 

"After you." he responds, tone low and warm as he lets her lead the way out the door. 

He stands and waits in the chilly winter air as she locks the front door. He offers his arm to her and she takes it with a small smile and a bat of her eyelashes. For a second they both just stand there, arms linked and faces aimed at the other, neither one seeming sure of just where to go next. He almost laughs at the absurdity of it. How little thought and planning has gone into the past few hours of his life. And yet, he feels more in control of himself than he has in ages. Feels secure in the thought that he's meant to watch the night bleed into day with this gorgeous woman by his side. 

"My hotel is a block from here." he says offhandedly, keeping his voice low, not wanting push her or ruin whatever fragile thing is building around them.

She gives him a shy smile, one accompanied by a blush he can't miss even in the dimness of the night. Her eyes give a quick glance to his lips before she wraps her arm tighter around his.

"After you." she echoes, and Ben can't help the chuckle that escapes his lips. 

They begin a leisurely stroll towards the hotel, both hiding secret smiles as the realization of what they're actually doing starts to set in. They come to a crosswalk and stop at the glowing red hand in the distance. Ben takes in the buildings surrounding them as they wait for the light to change. The city offers a strange mishmash of skyscrapers and older facades that fill in every scrap of space available. The occasional church spire can be seen jutting up above the lower buildings of the area and just further down the street he can see what looks like a gateway to some sort of park. 

"Do you live around here?" he questions, honestly curious about how far she travels in her day to day life. 

She hums a rumbly mmhmm and then hitches her thumb in the direction opposite of where they were headed. 

"About five blocks back that way." is her response and he nods before seeing the red hand of the streetlight change to allow them to cross. 

He grows more and more restless as they get closer to their destination. Reality hits him hard with every step he takes forward and again he has a feeling of being in an incredibly vivid dream. The feeling lingers until he sees the bright lights of the hotel grow larger in front of them. He thinks he feels a slight tensing of the arm in his but he's a little too preoccupied with his own nerves to think to much about it right now. 

He holds the door open for her and she passes through with another small smile and a set of crimson cheeks. They stand in the opulent lobby of the hotel as Ben allows his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness of the building around them. The decor is all gold embellishments and luxe furniture that combine together to give the place a royal sort of air.  He tells her to wait there as he heads to the front desk to check in and pick up his room key. 

While he waits for the receptionist to finish checking him in, he turns back toward her and sees she's fiddling with the sleeve of the black long sleeve she’d worn all night. Watches as she chews on her bottom lip and fidgets in place under the looming crystal chandelier. When she looks back over at him all he can see is the beaming smile that spreads across her face. The lighting of the lobby gives it a shine far brighter than the backlights of the bar had and Ben feels his heart skip a literal beat at the sight. He gives her a conspiratory wink before he hears the receptionist call his name and turns to see his room key extended out in her hand. He grabs it with a mumbled "thank you" and makes his way back over to where Rey waits for him. 

When he's finally close enough to see her freckles again he gives her a warm smile before extending his hand to her instead of his arm. She glances down at it then looks up at him through her lashes, slowing slipping her hand into his. His palm closes over her smaller one and gives it gentle squeeze before tugging her in the direction of the elevators. 

As they stand waiting for the elevator to arrive, Ben's mind begins to run free with images of what may await them once they're finally alone in his room. A mirage of tanned skin and freckles that's dusted over with tiny sighs and moans. His much larger hands engulfing her lithe little body while she shakes and squirms underneath him. That delicious blush on her face travelling down her skin to paint the rest of her in a rosy hue. 

The loud ding! signaling the arrival of the elevator cuts his fantasies short and as the doors begin to slide open he takes one more look down at Rey to make sure this is all really happening. He finds her doing the exact same thing as her head swivels up to look at him with eyes more searching than he's seen them before. Without much thought, he lifts their conjoined hands up to his mouth and presses a chaste kiss to the smooth skin on the back of her hand. The tension seems to melt from her shoulders and the light of her eyes returns full force as her cheeks crease with a smile. They enter the elevator and the air seems to thicken the minute the doors slide shut. 

Ben's thumb absentmindedly rubs the back of her hand in a steady motion and he feels a gentle pressure against his arm as she leans closer into him, eventually resting her head against the curve of his shoulder. Before he can stop himself he's leaned into her as well and plants a slow soft kiss to the top of her head. Her hair smells faintly of the night air and some sort of floral shampoo. He hears her sigh and feels her relax even more into his embrace. 

In all his 29 years of life he's never felt someone be so at ease with him. Especially someone he hadn't known existed 12 hours earlier. His throat closes for a fraction of a second as emotion comes clawing it's way up from his heart and he has to swallow it back down before it spills over and disturbs the peace that has settled around them. 

When they arrive at their floor she gently removes her head and allows him to lead her towards his room. She stands silently beside him as he pulls out his key card and unlocks the door. The click of the motorized lock is the only sound breaking the tension of the air between them but Ben swears she could probably hear the thundering thump of his heartbeat as well if she listened hard enough. He pushes the door open halfway before pausing and looking back down at her. He takes in all the little features that coalesce to create the soft edged angel beside him. Her honey-steeped eyes search his as well, both seeming to need a moment before what feels like a massive jump into fate's arms. They're standing in the threshold of his room, door ajar, bodies half-in and half-out of decision. 

"Are you sure you want this sunshine?" his voice is barely a whisper and even he can hear the slight tinge of fear that colors it. He's not sure what he would do if she suddenly wakes up and realizes he's not the kind of man to spend the night with. Not the kind of man who could give a girl like her what she wants. What she needs. 

A smile softer than any she's given him so far forms on her face and he watches her hand raise up and lay itself gently on his chest. She's craning her neck to look up at him and they're so close to touching now he can feel the warmth roll off her body. 

"More sure than I should be Mr. Solo." her tone is intended to tease and lighten the mood but he feels her words on a deeper level than they were meant for. They speak of the insanity of the situation. The complete lack of caution that is most likely warranted for a circumstance like this. 

"Call me Ben." is all he says in response, and the smile that explodes on her face disintegrates any lingering doubts left floating in his brain. 

"Ok Ben." she whispers before slowly lifting herself up on to her toes, eyelids drooping, intentions clear as the light in her eyes. 

He softly shuts the door behind him as her lips meet his and the world fades away. 

Chapter Text

The first kiss is hesitant, a gentle press of her lips to his as the door closes and fully settles them in their decision. The second kiss is firmer, more demanding, an impulsive need to chase after the feeling of want that drove them to this moment. With each kiss that follows, any lingering doubts or worries begin to melt away leaving only the heat of their shared attraction and the excitement of diving headfirst into something brand new. 

They stand in the doorway kissing for a little while longer, neither feeling the need to rush or tear clothes off in a frenzy. Ben's head feels like it's soaring and swimming at the same time. Light as air with every small noise that escapes her and sunk down deep when her tongue slides lazily against his. She's even sweeter than he imagined she'd be. Surprisingly nervous and reserved with her kisses but still laced in the heat he sensed simmering underneath her from the moment he heard her speak. His hands make a slow journey up to her face and one travels further to cup the nape of her neck, fingers twining into the soft tresses of her hair while the other holds her blushed and freckled cheek. He feels her hands tentatively place themselves on his chest and her fingers flex into his muscles. Her touch is electric, sending sparks and alarms off in every corner of his brain as he tries to register that this is all really happening. 

Ben pulls back to gaze down at her. Lips red and puffed up from his kisses, eyes glassy with a need that he's sure is reflected in his own, and even a small dimple forming on one of her cheeks from the smile that begins to grow. His thumb strokes the smooth skin of her face as he takes all of her in and if she's uncomfortable with his perusal she doesn't show it. She stands and stares back at him, the patience she's showing giving away her nerves but the teeth sunk in her lower lip broadcasting her desire. 

"Do you know how beautiful you are Rey?" his voice is scratchy and raw from the emotions her kisses have managed to pull out of him but he can't resist feeding in to her nervous nature, finding a strange delight with every blush and embarrassed look that crosses her face. Her eyes finally leaves his as they look down towards her hands. She's uncomfortable with compliments, unfamiliar with praise, unaccustomed to being adored by anyone and god help him if it doesn't rile him up more than anything else about her. He's going to ruin her for anyone else and she's going to love every second of it if it's the last thing he does. 

Ben pulls his hand from her face and places two fingers under her chin, lifting it slowly until her eyes return to his. She looks lost, unable to figure out what to say or do, waiting for him to make the next move in their game. And Ben is all too happy to comply. 

He leans in and places a kiss to her cheek, her nose, her forehead. Between each kiss a whispered beautiful flows from his lips and ghosts across her skin before he finally returns his lips to her with a more demanding force. She melts into him immediately, arms wrapping around his neck now as a small whimper escapes her. His own arms find their place around her waist and he pulls her fully against him now, feeling the energy flowing through him from the contact of her body pressed to his. 

A thought floats through Ben's brain that if all he could get from this girl were these shy kisses and whispered gasps it would be more than enough. He already feels like he's in possession of something that shouldn't belong to a man like him. Like a thief coming in and stealing away precious heirlooms. Her lips a ruby trinket, her eyes treasured honey stones. 

Her hands loosen from their grip around his neck and make a slow path back down towards his chest. He feels her nimble fingers begin an unpracticed fumbling with the knot of his tie and the eagerness underneath her movements is the most endearing thing in the world. He pulls back from their kisses and watches with an amused smile as she finally manages to loosen the material around his neck. With every second it took the blush on her cheeks grew deeper and the feeling it creates in Ben is enough to make him nearly combust. She's just so damn sweet. 

He removes his hands from her waist to pull his tie fully off and feels his stomach clench when her fingers move to begin work on the buttons of his shirt. He's lost in her again. Standing motionless while she peels his layers away figuratively and literally. When the last button is loosened for its hold, she finally glances back up to his face, teeth sunk into her lip, eyes boring into him with an irresistible intensity. 

Before he floats away from reality, Ben grabs her face with his hands and kisses her roughly. Trying to tether himself down to her side, unable to control the need within him any longer. 

He starts backing her up towards the king sized bed that dominates the modernly designed room around them. The pillows are plush and numerous, the comforter a flowing cloud over the mattress. The need to see her spread out in a sea of white pounds in Ben's head with a steady rhythm. 

When he feels her legs hit the edge of the bed he pulls back to look at her once more. Her eyes are on fire, consuming every inch of his face and chest, demanding a heat from him that he couldn't refuse even if he wanted to. He grabs the bottom hem of her shirt and pulls it up and over her head, leaving him with nothing to look at but the simple baby blue bra underneath. 

She's averting her eyes again, cheeks a steady blaze and lips swollen from the constant worrying of her teeth against them. His fingers skate over the soft swell of her breasts and he watches the splotch of her blush travel down to her chest as well. Can she be any more mouth watering? The body of a vixen with the temperament that could rival a nun. He can tell she's hungry for more but there's an invisible tether holding her back from speaking it into existence. Fortunately for her, Ben has all the time in the world to coax her desires out of her. One word at a time. 

He props her chin up to look at him again, desperate to see her desire as it spills from her face. 

“Tell me what you want sunshine and I’ll give it to you.” He leans in for a slow kiss, “I’ll give you everything.” 

Her eyes bulge at his words, seemingly unable to process what’s going on around her, so he gives her a warm smile to try and coax her out of her shell. 

He watches her take a deep breath before that determined look crosses her face once more. The same one that appeared before she gave him his number. The one that speaks of a decision made fully. 

“I want you to make me feel good Ben.” 

Her voice is barely a whisper but it hits him like a triumphant exclamation. His gaze feels almost predatory with how eager he is to do just that. 

"With pleasure." he says, voice laced with a hungry growl he almost can't recognize. 

Grabbing her waist, Ben lifts Rey up and tosses her lightly on the bed behind her. The blush of her cheeks forms a delicious contrast to the pristine white of the bed spread around her and again Ben finds himself dumbstruck at the beauty of her. 

He takes his time joining her on the bed, allowing his body to hover over hers, leaving her no space to run or change her mind. His hands find a place on either side of her head, forcing her eyes up towards his. Excitement practically rolls off of her and he knows the feeling all too well. He's keyed up like a touch-starved teenager and the feeling is so new and enticing it distracts him momentarily. 

Leaning in closer, he gives her a deep kiss, smiling to himself as he feels her arms wrap around his neck once more. This time it's her tongue that breaks the seal of their lips and the groan that slips out of Ben had no chance of being contained. Her eagerness emboldens him so he finally presses more of his weight against her, settling himself on top of her and feeling every kiss she gives him like a jolt of electricity straight to his toes. 

Before the feeling becomes too much, Ben starts a slow path down her body. Lips caressing the exposed skin of her torso before hovering over the band of her jeans. His eyes flick up to hers, a silent question behind them, demanding her affirmation of his intentions. He watches the understanding cross her face and holds back a laugh at the heat that fills her cheeks once more before she gives him a nod and flops her head back down on the mattress. 

As Ben unbuttons the denim clinging to her body, he finds himself almost giving his arm a pinch in order to confirm that yes, this is happening, I'm not hallucinating. 

This literal angel is going to let me unwrap every inch of her and take what I want.

A groan breaks through the steady rhythm of her breathing when he begins tugging her underwear down to join her discarded jeans. He looks up to see just how red she is now and isn't disappointed by what he finds. Her teeth are sunk heavily into her bottom lip and her eyes are screwed shut, almost as if she's afraid to look and see just how he plans to unravel her. 

The dichotomy between her shyness and eagerness is setting fire to Ben's ego. Watching her fight against her introverted nature to chase after her desires is something he wants to spend the rest of his life indulging in. He hasn't even had her yet but the screaming thought of her belonging to him and him alone is too loud to ignore. 

It feels as if he's teetering on the edge of sanity. Thrown fully into the unimaginable the minute he lets his mouth meet her warm skin. 

They both react instantly. A surprised wet gasp from Rey and a satisfied rumbling groan from Ben. 

He dives in fully, not wanting to waste another second of his time with this literal piece of sunshine spread out for him to feast on. Her hands shoot out and fist into his hair, giving a healthy tug that only causes more of Ben's blood careening south. He moans into the wetness of her skin and revels in the sweetness of her taste. He knew she'd be mouthwatering. Could tell from the minute he met her. He wasn't prepared for how hard it would be to pull himself away from her however. Had no idea how instantly addicted he would become to her moans of pleasure and inability to be still underneath his tongue. 

A featherlight "Ben" came floating out of her lips at the same time that he felt her thighs tighten around his ears. He wasn't sure if he could actually survive feeling her come on his tongue but if that's how he's going to go out then he can't say he has any complaints. 

When she finally crashes into her pleasure it's with a scream that reverberates the room around them. His name garbled somewhere in the litany of moans and gasps as he draws it out of her as long as he can. 

She gives his hair a firm tug to pull him away from her and he obliges, kissing her thighs and leaving some of her juices to cool on her skin. 

She lays there panting, trying to return to reality, and Ben is lost in the image of it. She finally cracks one of her eyes open to look at him and gives the smallest shyest smile he's ever seen. It hits his libido like a heat-seeking missile and suddenly the need to be buried in her is too much to bear. 

He drags himself back up to be face to face and kisses her without thought to her taste coating his tongue. She doesn't seem to mind either if her hungry response is anything to go by. They stay locked in each other's embrace for a while longer before Ben's patience has finally had enough and he pulls back. 

Staring down at her, he takes in the smattering of freckles that float in a sea of heated skin. The shining of her eyes that are more open and expressive than they've been all night.

"Tell me you want me Rey. Tell me you want this." 

He should be embarrassed by the naked pleading that his tone is steeped with, should probably feel ashamed at how desperate he's become without her doing anything to him besides kissing. But the answer is written so plainly in the curves of her face. It shines out of her in a beam of mutual want and any second thoughts he'd been worried she might have disappear from his mind when he feels her fingers work at the button of his slacks. 

"I want you Ben," the drag of his zipper cuts through the air, "I want to feel all of you," she pulls his pants down at the same time she leans up to caress his ear with her lips, "every inch."

He growls for real now, too wound up from her words to even care how feral he sounds. Leaning away, he quickly removes the last remaining layers between them before settling himself perfectly in the space between her legs.

A brief moment of sanity breaks through the haze in his brain as he remembers that they're virtually strangers with no real clue about each other's past experiences in bed. 

"Condom?" he croaks out before his caveman brain fully takes over and has him take her without a thought to protection. 

He watches her blush again and smiles a little at the idea of her being just as swept up in the evening as he was. 

"I uh...I'm on birth control..." her timidness doesn't match the words coming out of her mouth and Ben raises an eyebrow in question, needing to hear exactly what she's getting at.

She's looking anywhere besides him now but he still catches the quiet, "It's been a while since I've been with anyone." that rushes out of her lips in embarrassment. 

He can't help himself when he groans and gives her another searing kiss. The idea that she's been without a partner for some time does ridiculous things to his testosterone-fueled brain. He continues to kiss her deeply, wanting to chase away the embarrassed feelings that permeated her words. 

He pulls back to look at her once more, one hand coming up to cup her cheek while his thumb strokes her skin. He never stood a chance against her. From minute one he has been wrapped around her finger and the alarm bells that should be going off for a feelings so intense are conspicuously quiet in this moment. 

"It's been a while for me too."

It comes out in a whisper, a noise so small it barely shakes the air between them, but it's enough to cause a blooming smile on her face. The understanding that fills her eyes solidifies the moment, and before Ben can allow himself to second guess everything, he slowly brings himself to line up with her entrance. They share another few seconds of just taking each other in before she nods her consent and the final barrier of the night comes crashing down around them. 

The twin moans that fill the room are so loud that Ben can't distinguish which are his and which are hers. The heat and wetness of her body is almost enough to make him lose his control within seconds but he pauses to let his body get accustomed to her. He sees her hooded eyes as she also grows used to his presence and he gives a sharp jolt just to watch them fly open in surprise. Her gasps are a siren's song to his ears and the only thought floating through his head is that the time to wait is over.

He starts a steady rhythm that wrings whines from her lips and sends her nails digging into the skin of his upper back. He kisses her until he runs of out breath and then kisses her some more. With each thrust into her she grows bolder, letting loose fragments of sentences to fill the air. How good he feels, how big he is, how she's never felt anything like this. 

Each declaration takes a large piece of his control with it but there's no way in hell he's going to stop her now. She's a dream, a vision, a mirage he doesn't deserve. Her skin flushed from their exertions, her mouth an open o as she takes everything he gives her. He feels her legs begin to twitch and clamp around him as she comes close to edge once again. Ben is close as well but he's determined to watch her tip over the edge while buried inside her and so he increases the tempo, leaning his face into the crook of her neck to suck little lovebites into her skin. 

"Come on sunshine, show me how pretty you look coming on my cock." his words are a breathless growl but she keens from them nonetheless, hands tugging the hair on his head with a violent thrust. 

"Oh Ben!" is all he hears before the feeling of her clamping down on him sends him in a delirium. He pumps into her mindlessly, both basking in the drawn out pleasure of being together. When he finally stills his movements he lifts his head to look at her face. Her eyes are closed but there's a softness around the edges of them that speak to a peaceful and sated mind. A small tug at the corner of her lips shows a smile just waiting to form and her freckles seem to dance on the heated skin of her cheeks. He kisses her nose softly, then her cheeks, then her lips. When he pulls back again she's staring misty eyed back at him. One of her hands comes up to cup his cheek and the softness of the moment is something Ben has never experienced before. 

"That was amazing." she finally says, voice a breathy whisper, eyes alight with pleasure and comfort. He gives her another forceful kiss, unable to form the right words to express just how amazing it truly was. 

"There's no way you're ever leaving my bed again." he grumbles, already fighting the sleep that is threatening to overtake him. 

He feels her body shake with light laughter and smiles into her skin at the way it jump starts his groggy heart. 

"Maybe I don't want to leave." she whispers, words laced with nervousness again. 

Ben lifts his head up to look at her once more, needing to see if there's truth in her words. When his eyes meet hers he finds himself stunned by how much she seems to mean what she said. What did he do in his life to get a gift as perfect as the girl in his arms? How is it possible for the course of his existence to take such a dramatic turn for the good in such a short amount of time? Whatever the reason, far be it from him to look a gift horse in the mouth. 

"Then don't." the answer is simple and out of his mouth before he could stop it. She smiles broadly in return and sighs out a contented breath before getting more comfortable on the bed. He also arranges himself on the mattress, turning her over so that her back is pressed against his front in an embrace he's rarely ever done. He feels her breathing even out, senses her muscles relaxing and her defenses lowered fully as sleep comes to claim her. 

He pulls her closer to his chest, lips leaving a soft kiss to the tangled hair on her head. 

"Sleep well, sunshine."

She doesn't respond, already snoring softly in his arms and allowing the events of the night to overtake her. Ben's eyes droop as well and he feels sleep come to him easier than it has in years. 

Chapter Text

It's an hour so early in the morning that even the night owls of the city have become victims to the Sandman. There is little to no noise coming from the streets below; only an occasional roar of a passing truck or the twiddle of an early-rising bird. Those noises are masked by the steady hum of the heater under the window as it circulates between on and off. Apart from this litany of late night/early morning noises, there's a rhythmic inhale and exhale that can be heard coming from underneath the plush comforter of the hotel bed. 

Ben feels himself be slowly pulled into a state of wakefulness and he takes in his surroundings with a slow-moving pace. There's something tickling his arm and chest, shaking the morning grogginess from his brain. Looking down, he finds a pool of chestnut hair flowing across the pristine white of the bed as well as the pale expanse of his skin. Flashes of the events that took place before sleep came to claim him come barreling through his mind and suddenly he feels more awake than ever. He resists moving, opting to lounge in the warm cocoon they have created under the covers and take in the peaceful figure of the woman beside him. 

Rey sleeps with an expression as soft and sweet as when she is awake. Her defenses lowered and the creases of her face smoothed over as her chest rises and falls with a metronomic pace. There's a smile threatening to burst on her lips and Ben wonders if she's dreaming of something pleasant or if she's just always smiling no matter what state of consciousness she's in.

He's still battling with the feeling of this being his reality. His life has turned completely upside down over the past 24 hours and yet, right now, he feels as if this was always where he was meant to go. The destination of being curled up in bed with this freckled beauty always where his path was leading. And how insane is that thought process? That he can feel so convinced of his destiny in life after the first blind hook-up he's had in years. That a bartender girl from nowhere has somehow come in and taken the reins of his present (and most likely future) actions.

He wonders if she has any idea of the stirrings she's created in him. If she could even begin to imagine the hole in his loneliness that she's been steadily thawing from the first shared smile across a bartop. The thought of being insane flits through his brain for the millionth time since meeting her but the even louder thought of please don't fuck this up, takes center stage of his attention. 

The sun has yet to rise so the room around them is still bathed in the dimness of the night. He watches her in this muted lighting, sleep the last thing on his mind now. His hand reaches up with careful control and he brushes away a few loose hairs that cling to her face. Her nose scrunches up in response to his touch and he can't help the chuckle he gives. It shakes them slightly and causes her eyes to bat open with their own easy pace. He sees her go through the same obstacle course to consciousness that he just went through. Watches her take in her surroundings piece by piece before the sleep fully slips from her eyes and she turns backwards to look at him. 

The smile that gives a slow spread across her face causes the blood in Ben's veins to run with a sudden intense heat. The overwhelming feeling that last night truly did happen, and time and sleep didn't cause any second guesses to form. She looks nervous, almost as if she too is trying to ensure last night wasn't just a figment of some kind of imagination. 

"Hi." is all Ben's able to mumble, voice laced with early morning gravel and broken with disuse. 

Her smiles grows even larger when she answers, "Hi." right back to him.

He watches as she turns her body to fully face him, hands tucked under her cheek, knees brushing against his own as they lay side by side and take each other in. He leans forward hesitantly, unsure if she would be accepting of stale morning breath kisses. Her meeting him in the middle was all the answer Ben needed as they spend the next few minutes re-exploring the feeling of each other's lips on theirs. One of his hands makes its way around her waist and when he tugs her in closer to his chest, he feels more than hears the soft gasp that escapes her. 

There's a faint light coming in through the windows now, a sun still far from being fully risen, but it matches the slow build-up of heat occurring under the blankets. Her fingers intertwine into his hair as his dig into the soft flesh of her hips and lower back. They each let out a small moan at the same time causing both to pull back and give small laughs. His hand raises to smooth over the skin of her cheek, feeling a warmth spread through him when a smile forms on her face from his touch. 

"So what are your plans for today sunshine?" he asks, with a lightness in his tone that even he can't miss, "And could they include staying in this bed with me all day?" 

She laughs openly now and the sounds crashes over Ben with a warmth he's already fully addicted to. 

"I was supposed to meet some friends for bottomless mimosas...” she replies, eyes alight with happiness and face beaming with the light that comes naturally from within her, "But staying in this bed does sound rather appealing." 

She says this last part as she slowly raises herself above him in the bed. Her eyes scan from his face to his chest before locking on to his mouth. As clear a sign as any that Ben isn't the only one caught up in this insane whirlwind. 

He rises up to meet his lips with hers and his hands find the flow of her hair before grabbing on tightly. 

Her moans are enough to let the heat that was kindling between them become a full flame and Ben rolls her over and grabs her hands before pinning them next to her head. Hey eyes are wide and even in the scant lighting he can still see how huge her pupils are. She’s so open. So ready. So unlike anything he’s ever experienced in his entire life. 

He kisses her again, not trying to stir the fire, just trying to convey the intensity of how she makes him feel. She returns the kiss as if she knows exactly what’s he thinking and at this point he’s slightly convinced that she does. 

He pulls back and gazes at her swollen lips, never tiring of how they look from his kisses. 

“Could I take you out to dinner, Rey?” 

He should’ve asked that from the moment he met her. She deserved a man that whined and dined her, not someone who got tipsy on whiskey and took her back to his hotel. Regardless of how unbelievable the night spent together may have been. 

She seems surprised by his words. As if him asking her on a date is the most outrageous thing she could've possibly heard. But then a slight blush and a reserved smile fill her face and she’s practically beaming at him when she answers, “Yes.” 

Ben gives her a smile of his own before capturing her lips and rolling on top of her. 

“Good thing we have plenty of time until then.” 

She gives a giggle filled with nervous energy. Ben is foreign to the idea of someone being so effected by him and having that person be the gorgeous creature beneath him, well, that’s enough to plant some hasty seeds in his head. 

***

The sun does a near full rotation and yet the clothes they wore when they came in have not moved an inch. There were showers and room service sprinkled in to more rounds of sex Ben has ever had in his life. 

He’s never considered himself to have a high sex drive but that’s out the window thanks to freckles and accents and mouthwatering sweetness. 

He hides the smile that grows on his face when he hears Rey call her friends to cancel brunch plans. She doesn’t give them much information but he can tell that they are trying valiantly to dig for every piece. She finally gets them off the phone after nearly 10 minutes with an exasperated “I love you too, goodbye.” And turns to give him a sheepish smile before tucking herself back into the bed next to him. She's just so fucking cute when she's embarrassed that he can't really be blamed when he has her coming on his tongue a few minuets after.  

***

They’re walking towards Rey’s most recommended restaurant. The night is frigid with a biting wind and specks of snow that have ill tidings. She’s tucked her hand into his pocket and intertwined it with his as she leads him. She hasn’t told him what kind of restaurant it is, only that it’s called Takodana’s and that the vibe is kinda different. That he’d like it. Trust her. 

He’s finding that frighteningly easier as he spends more time with her.

When they arrive to the restaurant, Rey is greeted with a hug and warm smile from a short older woman who regards him with a strange look in her eye before escorting them to their table. The only way Ben can describe the space around him would be that it's some sort of weird mix between biker bar and space cantina, but with a softer edge. It's homey, comfortable, and strangely endearing. Rey was right; he loved it. 

Dinner passed with easy conversation. Light questions about each others families. He speaks to his mother rarely and his father passed three years ago. She never knew her parents and spent her childhood ingratiated in the local foster care system. He was surprised at her words but didn't let them take over the conversation, instead shifting gears and asking about her friends. She happily jumped on to the new topic and the rest of the meal was spent with shared smiles and light laughter. 

They were waiting for their bill, both sipping on a glass of whiskey, smiling at the familiarity. Ben feels as if he's dreamt the last 24 hours and he'll be damned if he's letting her out of his sight tonight. 

"Rey?"

She looks up at him, startled from her perusal of her drink, and answers, "Yes?"

Her cheeks are rosy from the alcohol and there's a satisfied light in her eyes from the meal and favorable company. He suddenly feels entranced by her, finding insufficient air to work his lungs and pump his heart. She's just so damn open. Not a single ounce of her reserved from him. Instead she's inviting. Alluring. Fucking irresistible. 

"Come back with me tonight." 

He was planning on asking her but the look on her face already answered the question for him. There's only one place she belongs and they both know exactly where that it. 

Her smile is coy and shy at the same time. Her internal struggle minuscule in the dim restaurant lighting. When her eyes land on his mouth he already knows she'll acquiesce. He's beginning to feel that she too is captivated by the rightness that flows between them. 

"Ok Mr. Solo." 

She gives him a wink before downing the rest of her drink and Ben feels the blood rush south at break-neck pace. This girl is going to be the death of him. 

Chapter Text

The click of the hotel door as it shuts behind them causes the warm haze that has settled around Ben's brain to dissipate completely. He's suddenly extremely aware of the situation he finds himself in with Rey and he's terrified to lose her because of what he's left unspoken between them so far. His next few weeks have no agenda or structure whatsoever but he's keenly aware that Rey's do. She's a student with a part-time job and a social life. He's just some flyover hookup she spent the weekend with who has been vague about the reasons he's even in her city in the first place. 

Rey had wandered over to the bed and began kicking off her shoes. There was a pink hue along her cheeks that he watched grow with every gulp of whiskey she took during dinner and a soft smile that caused Ben's heart to either skip or stop entirely. He doesn't deserve something as sweet as she is, but for the first time he wants to try to. 

"Rey?" his voice is soft but the room is quiet enough for it to carry over to her ears.

She turns up to look at him expectantly and he finally decides to leave his spot by the door and join her on the bed. Reaching for one of the hands she has folded in her lap, Ben brings it up to his lips to plant a soft kiss along her knuckles. Her eyes are a darker shade from their usual honey and he knows with startling clarity that he could easily forgo his old life in favor of drowning in the little glimpses of desire she's able to let loose. How could he care about missed deadlines and unfinished reports when the whole universe feels narrowed down to the expressiveness of the eyes staring up at him?

His thumb skates over the skin of her hand and his eyes stay glued on hers when his voice diffuses the energy between them.

"I'm not here on business." 

At first she seems confused by his words but then understanding paints in steady streaks down her face. Ben braces himself for her to inevitably realize the insanity of their situation as well. To have the very real thought that the man she's with is a complete stranger who's handful of first words to her were lies. Sure she may have known that he was fibbing, but she could have no idea at what his situation truly was at the moment. 

"Ok." her voice is soft enough to almost be missed by his ears but he knows he didn't miss the unwavering look in her eye. While the rest of her face processed what his words meant, her eyes remained stuck in that same bronzed hue that had caused him to confess to her in the first place. "Why are you here then Mr. Solo?" 

The strength returned to her voice and with it came a light mirth. Ben felt trepidation in fully believing she was teasing him, especially since he felt as if he dumped parts of his unwanted baggage on her, but the slight crease of her lips convinced him otherwise. 

"I ran away." he said this trying to throw her off and end her mocking tone, but the minute the words left his lips he felt transported back to a thirteen year old boy with gangly limbs and overgrown ears. 

Her raucous laugh further cemented him in the image of being a child and he sat and stewed while waiting for her to get it all out of her system. For some reason though, her laughing at him didn't spark the urge to throw a fist or a object through the wall. The usual angry defense system of complete explosion is conspicuously absent and instead Ben finds himself wanting to exert his anger out on her in other ways. 

"Are you done being a brat?" he asks, a small amount of defeat barely registering in his voice. She wipes her eyes quickly and begins breathing through the chuckles and laughs that can't seem to be contained. When she finally relaxes and looks at him again, it's with a lightness that he can't remotely understand. 

"I'm sorry for laughing," her eyes and flushed cheeks clearly speak otherwise but she continues, "I just wasn't expecting that is all." 

Her lips are biting back another laugh so before the chorus begins all over again, Ben grabs her face and pulls her in for a fierce kiss. All hilarity has left the atmosphere as she responds, hands fisting in his hair and a satisfied moan rumbling against his chest. He grabs around her waist and positions them so that he has her little body pressed underneath his. The white of the down blanket he's pinned her to creates a softness to her that borders on angelic and Ben has never felt more like a devil in the midst of corruption. 

Her face takes on its own seriousness as she looks up at him and he feels her palms as they frame his stubbled jaw. Her eyes do a languid scan of his face before settling back on his own. 

"You don't have to tell me why." she says, voice reserved and shaky, "It doesn't matter to me."

He can feel the surprise as it shifts his face around as well as the desire to pinch himself. The life he ran from could hold anything. A family. A wife. Commitments. There's no way for her to know what he abandoned but the unsettling feeling that she already knows him perfectly is hard to ignore. He's never felt more transparent in his life but the even scarier notion is how ok he is with it as long as it's with Rey. The girl he met not even 48 hours ago. 

Jesus Christ.

He really is insane. 

Instead of responding to her with words, Ben decides to show her his own resolve. Their lips meet in frenzied acceptance and before long they're both filling the air with gasps and expletives that only serve to increase the temperature around them. 

He's managed to have her stripped once again, body spread out and blushed just for him. He's got her legs slung over his shoulders in what is becoming his absolute favorite place for them to be, when she sits up to look at him. Up until this point she's refused to watch as he does this and he knows it's her shy nature winning out on her once again. Seeing her with her eyes glued to his gripping hands as well as darting to his waiting mouth, Ben gives her a smirk and leans in to one of her thighs to plant a soft kiss. 

"Are you ready to watch now sunshine?" 

Her face burns so brightly at this Ben feels almost diabolical. He can't help but stoke her further. 

"Are you ready to watch me make you come?"

A small squeal is her only response and the embarrassed arousal that shines from her face is the closes thing to a kink that Ben's ever come experienced. He wants to eat this woman alive while she tries hard not to want to watch. 

Her eyes are on his now and she's trying to keep them from shutting of their own accord. She gives him a meek little nod with her teeth buried in her bottom lip and oh no no, that won't do at all. 

His ghosts his lips closer to her center but stops with just enough space to blow gently against her sensitive skin. He hears a muffled cry from above him and he looks up to see her squeezing her eyes shut. 

He gives her thighs a quick squeeze that causes her eyelids to fly open, pupils wide and searching his for explanation of his hesitance. 

"Eyes open." 

The command shakes whatever nervous resolve she was battling and Ben watches in amused surprise as she calms and watches him, chest heaving slightly at the panting she wanted to let out. He gives her another soft kiss to the skin of her inner thigh and begins rubbing his unshaved chin along the sensitive flesh. She cries out in surprise but still keeps her eyes open and even Ben is ready to end the wait. 

"Tell me what you want sunshine. Use your words." 

His sentences are broken up by kisses to her thighs, but before he went any further he looked up at her with cocked eyebrow. Waiting. Hovering right above where she clearly wanted him most. 

"Lick me Ben."

The words squeaked out of her lips and the flaming color she wore spread smoothly down her neck and chest. God it's fucking ridiculous how sweet she is. 

"Lick you where Rey?" 

He knows deep down he shouldn't be teasing her like this but he knows even deeper down that he never claimed to be a good man, and seeing her squirm did things to him that he couldn't ignore. 

Her eyes shot to his with a fire behind them that only fueled Ben even more. She wanted to fight, wanted to protest. But he knew she wouldn't. He has her right on the edge and they both know it's up to her to tip over completely. 

"Lick my pussy." comes out grated between clenched teeth and Ben feels his stomach do a complete flip at the filthy words coming from her mouth. 

"Only because you asked so nicely." 

She was about to protest for real this time before Ben effectively shut her up with his lips on her skin. The taste of her permeated his tongue as well as his brain and Ben let out a moan of uncontrollable happiness. How is it that nothing can compare to this? To the feel of her responding to his tongue and the taste of her arousal that never seems to stop. When her moans begin to hitch upward and her breaths quicken in pace, Ben adds two of his fingers with little to no resistance from her soaked center. This new addition sends Rey's back clear off the bed and the strands of Ben's hair are pulled with a force bordering on painful. Her cries are a mix between his name and begging pleas that are almost enough to tip Ben over himself. He's openly moaning into her now and the feel of her finally contracting around him causes his brain to white out momentarily. 

He eases her down and takes in every breathy inhale along the way, saving the memories of what he's done to her for a rainy day. 

He pulls back finally and places a sloppy kiss to her thigh, then to her stomach, then upward until his tongue was dragging across hers and allowing her to taste the aftermath herself. They stay in this slight embrace, just kissing in slow easy movements, until Ben grabs her to arrange them in a snuggly spoon. His nose is buried in her hair and all the thoughts of leaving this room and returning to the real world are absent and silent as they breathe in tandem. Ben can hear the change in her breathing that he already knows signals her sleep and before his nagging thoughts can take hold in his brain, he allows the exhaustion he feels to send him off to sleep beside her. He can face whatever comes to him in the morning sunshine. 

Chapter Text

It's not the sun or an alarm clock that causes Ben's eyes to open. It's not even the snoring that rumbles from the tiny body beside him. It's the gut-twisting feeling of the end suddenly staring him clear in the face. He had arrived here on a Friday night, never planning on being around long enough to see Saturday afternoon, and now he finds himself in the early processes of Sunday morning. When he'd cancelled his flight the whirlwind of the moment had completely seeped into his brain and eliminated all second thoughts. Now that he's spent two nights with the stranger who feels nothing like a stranger laying next to him in bed, he can't see a future that doesn't feature her in it. Even if he couldn't say what that image looks like for the life of him. 

He glances down at the warm body he's holding in his arms. It didn't take long to learn she's a cuddler and Ben quickly realized that he must be one too if it meant holding her like this. Feeling her curve along his body, nestled in sweetly against his chest while his much bigger form overwhelms her with the size difference. The peaceful look she wears in sleep is something Ben's usual fretful slumber can't comprehend. Her openness is constant and intoxicating even when she's unconscious. 

She's using one of his biceps for a pillow even though the bed has plenty of more comfortable options. The warmth of possession that blooms in his gut is ignored for the moment as the tides of uncertainty came crashing over him again. That's the thing about Rey, she makes him completely forget all the thoughts and doubts that circle his mind. As if she just pools the plug and drains them, replacing the space with sunshine and smiles instead. He slowly lifts the arm he's almost positive she's drooling on and runs his fingers along the soft hairs that line her forehead. The strays that are too short to stay tucked or kept in place. The ones that always stick to her face when she's sleeping; or when she's screaming. 

His wandering thoughts have stirred parts of him that he shouldn't be thinking with right now but then Rey shimmies back into him slightly, a soft moan of sleep escaping through her cotton candy lips. 

Fuck.

He's a complete sucker if he thinks he can walk away from her. 

She shifts and turns now, nose burrowing and breathing in the scattered hairs of his chest. Her hands are folded up in front of her but one of them shoots out suddenly and lands on his hip, squeezing when it finds purchase. He almost believed she was still asleep but she couldn't hide the smirk that flashed across her face. His own hand glided down from its spot on the small of her back and repeated her actions but with the meat of her ass instead of her hip. It took willpower to suppress the laugh in his chest when he saw Rey peak open on of her eyes to look at him. A warm pink across her freckled cheeks and a small smile shoved against the skin of his chest.  

He only raised an eyebrow at her, not wanting to speak just yet, comfortable in the dreamy haze they found themselves in. 

"You were thinking so loud it woke me up." her words are clearer than they should be for first thing in the morning but the warmth was still present all the same. He must have looked surprised by what she said because the most heart-stopping laugh came bursting from her lips and the only thought that could find purchase in Ben's brain is that he needs to wake up like this everyday. 

He lifts the hand that was still gripping her ass and brings it up to run his fingers over the little hairs that had caught his attention earlier. Her eyes take a leisurely stroll across his face but all Ben can do is watch her roving stare. She's unreserved in her open appreciation of his face, something he's very unaccustomed to. She wears her thoughts across the planes of her cheeks and crinkles of her eyes. Not to mention that internal thermostat that sets fire to her cheeks when he finds the right words. After spending years with locks and chains around his air-tight life, he finds himself scrambling to be as open as she is. 

"Thanks for proving me right." he mumbles, mostly to himself but she hears it anyway. Her confusion is unmistakable and this time it's his turn to laugh, or at least chuckle, "that you're a mind reader." he says in explanation and she laughs again, all confusion swept away and replaced with it's distant cousin: curiosity. 

"A mind reader eh? What would ever give you that idea?" she says this with a light in her eyes that is practically skipping and Ben is positive he's never met someone as bright and vibrant as her. 

His fingers cease they're casual path along her scalp and come down to cup her face in his palm. 

"Only because you've been doing it since the minute I met you." his tone was meant to be as teasing and collected as hers had been but the truth behind the words still managed to burst through. 

Her eyes take on an exploratory hue for a brief moment before he sees that telltale fire spread across her cheeks. Her teeth sink into her bottom lip and she stares up at him through her lashes, fully trying to reroute all the blood in his body. 

"It's funny," she finally say, voice not quiet enough to be a whisper but not strong enough to be heard outside of their encircled arms, "I have been thinking the same thing about you." 

The humor is back in the honeyscape of her eyes but Ben is positive she's unaware of how deep her words have hit him. 

Before he can fully process what just passed between them, he feels her close the distance with her lips and searching hands. All self-control he was previously holding on to is nowhere to be seen when Rey's tongue breaks through his lips and swipes across his own. His answering moan is the loudest they've been since waking up and he can feel the chuckle bubbling along her lips. He rolls over to cover her fully and her giggles find their escape, crashing in the smothering space between them and adding fuel to the fire Ben can no longer keep tamed. He gives her a quick heated kiss before pulling back to take in the flush he knows she wearing. Eyes, skin, and smile all glowing in the sunrise that had just begun to show its face. 

"Do you want to hear what I'm thinking of right now?" he asks, the gravel in his voice having nothing to do with being asleep a little bit ago, "Or do you already know?" 

Her laugh is effortless and Ben could almost swear it makes the sunrise brighter as it fills the room. 

"Tell me Mr. Solo. Tell me what's in that mysterious head of yours." Her tone is anything but sweet and it contrasts so vividly with the freckled angel it flows from that Ben's head is ready to spin right off his shoulders. 

He leans in closer to her, resting more of his body weight against her naked skin, and breathes in the scent of her that is always so strong right in the crook of her neck. 

"I'm thinking that I'm not ready to share you," he's pressing the words into the skin of her neck and collar bone, mouth skimming every smooth inch of tanned perfection laid out in front of him, "that I don't want to release you back to the real world," his hands have traversed their way down the slopes of her waist and hip before making a direct line for where he wanted her most, "that you are too fucking sweet to be anything but mine." his final words are punctuated with a thrust of two of his fingers and the slippery warmth he finds easily is enough to cause them both to groan. 

He starts a slow pumping in and out and sucks hard enough against her collarbone to leave a mark. One of her little hands has fisted in his hair with the other claws against his back as he continues to stroke her gently. She's letting out little gasps and quiet moans of his name but Ben knows without having to look that she's painted a beautiful cherry hue just for him right now. 

Without disturbing the rhythm he's set, he finally lifts his head up to look at her and his dick actually fucking twitches at the blown out look in her eyes. "Do you like being mine sunshine?" his eyes are locked on hers and he feels lust flow hot and heavy through his veins at her struggle to keep her gaze on his, "Do you like what I do to your pretty little pussy?" 

She flushes even deeper and lets out an embarrassed squeak that goes straight to Ben's dick and solidifies how much an asshole he must be to enjoy it that much. She gives him a few jerky nods of her head and as much as he'd love to continue her torment, he's much too wound up himself to wait any longer. 

Lifting up fully now, Ben begins to line himself up along her soaking center and just barely pushes the head in before stopping. Her eyes fly up to his in clear desperation and fuck, fuck, fuck she is everything he's ever wanted. 

"Tell me this won't be the last time Rey. Tell me I can have you again." 

He wasn't expecting the naked pleading that came out through his words but at this moment he was too far gone to control it. Her eyes that were previously confused have shifted to that set in stone vibrancy that speaks so clearly of her wants. 

"This won't be the last time Ben." 

There's a half-second pause before but lets out a strangled thank god and plunges fully into her. The pace is frantic, searching, nearly overflowing with energy. Both seeming to be on the same frequency with the other as the realization that walking away isn't going to happen just yet. Her arms are wrapped around his neck and they've barely begun but he can already feel her clamping down around him. Her cries give her away as well, always reaching a certain octave when she nears that peak inside her. He cages her head between his hands and lifts his chest up enough to look at her face. 

"I want to watch you come." he says in answer to her unspoken question, and the roll of her eyes in response kick starts Ben back into a punishing rhythm. 

He has felt on edge since fully waking up this morning and he knows for sure that once Rey tips over, he's following right along with her. Ben rears up and snakes one hand through the hair at the base of her scalp before giving a tight tug. His other hand lands palm first against the wall that the headboard of their bed smacks against. Her voice is pitched so high now that Ben knows it's only a matter of time before he sees the explosion he's craved since the last time he'd caused it. There's a steady chant of his name that is broken up only by moans but suddenly her grip tightens strong enough to almost break the skin, and then she's arching and screaming her pleasure without a care of how loud she is. The clench of her climax sends Ben right off the edge and they both twitch and groan as they come down together. 

The sun has risen fully now and they stay in a sweaty panting embrace for a few seconds longer before Ben flops over onto the empty space beside her. His chest is still rising faster than normal and the peace he feels when she curls up next to him is more addicting than any substance Ben can think of. 

Her fingers skim playfully along the dewy surface of his chest and Ben's dance a similar pattern along the skin of her back. Her head lifts slowly, cheek still pressed against him but eyes trained on his. 

"I get off work at 10 tonight." 

Ben continues to stare at her, unsure of what her meaning is, when she speaks before he can ask.

"Will you come to my place after?" 

The question hangs in the air between them and Ben feels the corners of his mouth curl up in response, even feels his lips separate to show off his crooked teeth. He couldn't have stopped it if he tried but the reflected smile she wears quiets all worries of his goofy looking smile. He gives her a kiss meant to be chaste but one that finds a heat of its own the longer their lips touch. He finally pulls back and watches her bite that infuriatingly delicious bottom lip of hers and knows there isn't a universe in existence where he says no to her. 

"Of course sunshine, I'll be there."