[ She still holds onto him as he lets her stand on her feet, her limbs feeling a little like gelatin. The water still feels nice, and she pats his cheek, grinning at him. ]
I don't know how that's any different than any other day.
[ Her smile softens as he kisses her forehead, her arms slowly loosening around his shoulders, palms sliding down to his chest as she steadies herself. ]
No, that's true. Just means we'll have to get creative with foreplay, for a few days.
[ She bites her lip, tilting her head up to his, just resting the bridge of her nose against his jaw and closing her eyes, enjoying the closeness for a moment. ]
Or we could file your claws down. The scales don't bother me. Nor do the wings.
[The softness isn't lost on him. Part of him still rages against the fact that it's him she's chosen and that he far from deserves it. The other part of him wants to bask in this. She was akin to holding pure sunlight in his hands.]
What you don't like having holes poked into you?
[He chuckles, sweeping her hair over one shoulder so that he can kiss the one he's bared. It was tempting to stay like this until the water became ice, but he moves back a step so that she can have her own space.]
If you want to get cleaned up again, I can wash up once you're done? I feel like if I keep you in here the water will just get cold and I might not be able to completely behave myself.
[ Rey scrunches her nose at him, turning her face to his as he moves to kiss her shoulder. When he steps back she continues to smile at him, her hands lingering on his forearms. ]
You, not being able to behave yourself? That is news to me.
[ She bites her lip before letting go of him, turning to fish her washcloth from the bottom of the tub where it lay forgotten. Scrubbing herself down in the messy spots is a quick affair, and the water has already done most of the work for her, so once she's clean she turns to climb out of the shower. ]
[He smiles a bit, shaking his head. Before she can get too far, he stops her to kiss her cheek one more time before letting her go.]
I'll be just a minute.
[It strikes him how domestic they're being. It wasn't a bad thing, though it felt foreign to him. Once he's clean, he turns the water off, shoving his hair back out of his face. If she manages to walk away to find clothes, he has a few minutes alone in her bathroom to stare at himself in the mirror.
It was still strange to imagine that this could be his life with her if he wanted it. They were already on the edge of something, if he wasn't so afraid to take the leap. It was one thing to decide he wouldn't ever be with someone else, but there were still parts of him that were afraid. It was hard to tell of what exactly.]
[ She smiles warmly when he kisses her cheek, touching his with her hand before going to get a towel and leaving the bathroom. Her heart feels light as she moves around her room, drying herself off as she moves, picking discarded clothing up and moving it to its proper place.
When he emerges from the bathroom she'll have on fresh underwear and a t-shirt that he'll probably recognize as one that he's left behind at some point. It's far too large for her, which is a lot of the appeal for her. She's sitting on the bed scrolling through her communication device. She looks up at him and smiles, pointing at the clothes she's left folded at the end of the bed. ]
Fresh boxers and sleep pants. I know you don't like sleeping with a shirt on and the wings certainly won't help.
[ Rey's eyes close briefly and she smiles when he kisses the side of her head. She finishes up what she's doing on the communicator, putting it on the bedstand while he eyes her. Looking up at him she arches her eyebrows innocently. ]
[He isn't sure whether he likes it on her or if he likes the idea of taking it off her better. It's definitely not lost on her how this affects him. He swallows thickly, his eyes drifting from her face down to her legs, bared comfortably on the bed.]
You can keep wearing it.
[And any other shirt of his, for that matter. He likes it entirely too much, whatever that says about him.]
[He moves under the covers obediently, adjusting his pillow before settling in.]
Mm. You look like you're comfortable in it at least.
[He wanted to snuggle in close, feeling almost needy for her warmth. It was an emotion he still warred with himself over. He didn't deserve to need her as much as he wanted to.]
[ Waving her hand to turn the lights out with aid from the Force, Rey snuggles up to Ben, not hesitating where he fought with himself. ]
It's very comfortable, yes. A lot of the clothes you can buy traditionally here seems made more for style than comfort, at least where women are concerned. I need to start making my own clothes again.
[ Not that her clothes had ever been anything particularly flashy, but they'd been efficient, and comfortable. ]
[It's on the tip of his tongue to say that she doesn't have to make clothes any more, but he understands her point - if the clothes here aren't comfortable, she'd want something that was. Still, he turns it over in his head. The last thing he wanted was to sound condescending.]
Was it hard to make them?
[A safer topic, he decides. Maybe she can teach him, not that he'd forgo the old stand by of buying clothes. He had never once thought of it.]
At first. Once I got better at it and figured out how best to do it, it got easier. It was something to do in the evenings when I was done running flight simulations.
[ She loved working with her hands, and sewing qualified into that. Plus she could sometimes trade things she made for extra portions to others in need. ]
Can you teach me? I've never made my own clothes before. Usually everything I've owned was bought or a droid did it for me. Aside from cooking and training, obviously.
[He can do some things. It just is painfully apparent how sheltered he is. He had been with Luke since he was 10 years old and then the First Order provided everything else.]
[ Pausing just to look at him in the dim light of her room, she smiles softly and nods. He surprises her, with little glimpses of his past life. Nothing too painful to talk about, but every once in a while she gets another piece of Ben Solo. ]
[He nuzzles his way into the crook of her neck where it met her shoulder. This was what bliss felt like. He tried not to let it make him too comfortable but moments like this made him want to - made him want more. The energy he spent on denying himself was immense.]
[He shivers when she kisses him, just as he always did these days. It was easy to. At least he didn't recoil from her touch like he expected to, but spending time together in the most intimate sense month after month had made him used to her touch. Too used to it.]
Mm. You could also share it with me. Through our connection. Though I don't think I know how. It's just an idea. I've seen how you fight - it's a lot like me. Maybe it's the same idea.
[He has a theory she "borrowed" his training and it augmented her own innate talent and instincts. It had been interesting to see it without being on the receiving end.]
Maybe. I don't really... I don't know how I did it. I just know when I had the saber in my hand it felt like I'd been fighting with one my whole life.
[ There had been other things, too. The mind tricks, and the probing. The latter she'd only ever done to him, but the former... That had definitely been a skill she picked up and made use of. ]
Maybe. But you said you saw our future. That wouldn’t have anything to do with knowledge of the Force because the Force doesn’t decide our futures for us.
[These were a lot of maybes and it was making the gears turn in his head. It was like solving a great puzzle or an equation.]
[ She says it with some hesitance, though she knows he's had them too. ]
I hear things, too. Ever since I was a child. Back then I thought it was just... memories, but the first time I touched the lightsaber I saw things from... the past, and the future. I saw you, in the forest, and I saw me, when my parents left me. I saw Luke facing Vader, too.
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I don't know how that's any different than any other day.
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[He kisses her forehead, holding her steady while she finds her feet again.]
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No, that's true. Just means we'll have to get creative with foreplay, for a few days.
[ She bites her lip, tilting her head up to his, just resting the bridge of her nose against his jaw and closing her eyes, enjoying the closeness for a moment. ]
Or we could file your claws down. The scales don't bother me. Nor do the wings.
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What you don't like having holes poked into you?
[He chuckles, sweeping her hair over one shoulder so that he can kiss the one he's bared. It was tempting to stay like this until the water became ice, but he moves back a step so that she can have her own space.]
If you want to get cleaned up again, I can wash up once you're done? I feel like if I keep you in here the water will just get cold and I might not be able to completely behave myself.
[It was far from a regret, of course.]
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You, not being able to behave yourself? That is news to me.
[ She bites her lip before letting go of him, turning to fish her washcloth from the bottom of the tub where it lay forgotten. Scrubbing herself down in the messy spots is a quick affair, and the water has already done most of the work for her, so once she's clean she turns to climb out of the shower. ]
All yours.
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I'll be just a minute.
[It strikes him how domestic they're being. It wasn't a bad thing, though it felt foreign to him. Once he's clean, he turns the water off, shoving his hair back out of his face. If she manages to walk away to find clothes, he has a few minutes alone in her bathroom to stare at himself in the mirror.
It was still strange to imagine that this could be his life with her if he wanted it. They were already on the edge of something, if he wasn't so afraid to take the leap. It was one thing to decide he wouldn't ever be with someone else, but there were still parts of him that were afraid. It was hard to tell of what exactly.]
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When he emerges from the bathroom she'll have on fresh underwear and a t-shirt that he'll probably recognize as one that he's left behind at some point. It's far too large for her, which is a lot of the appeal for her. She's sitting on the bed scrolling through her communication device. She looks up at him and smiles, pointing at the clothes she's left folded at the end of the bed. ]
Fresh boxers and sleep pants. I know you don't like sleeping with a shirt on and the wings certainly won't help.
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Thank you.
[He takes her in for a moment, eyebrows raising slightly.]
That's one of my shirts.
[It's large on her, black, and loose hanging. Of course it's his. The sight of it makes his throat bob and his teeth scrape over his lip.]
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It is. Is that a problem?
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[He isn't sure whether he likes it on her or if he likes the idea of taking it off her better. It's definitely not lost on her how this affects him. He swallows thickly, his eyes drifting from her face down to her legs, bared comfortably on the bed.]
You can keep wearing it.
[And any other shirt of his, for that matter. He likes it entirely too much, whatever that says about him.]
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I was going to with or without your consent, but glad you approve. Come lie down.
[ She holds her hand out to him, inviting him back to the bed. ]
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Mm. You look like you're comfortable in it at least.
[He wanted to snuggle in close, feeling almost needy for her warmth. It was an emotion he still warred with himself over. He didn't deserve to need her as much as he wanted to.]
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It's very comfortable, yes. A lot of the clothes you can buy traditionally here seems made more for style than comfort, at least where women are concerned. I need to start making my own clothes again.
[ Not that her clothes had ever been anything particularly flashy, but they'd been efficient, and comfortable. ]
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[Forgive him. He’s never had to sew something in his life, pretty much. Maybe mend a few holes but not make an entire outfit.]
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[ She replies, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck, draping an arm over his chest. ]
I made a lot of my own clothes when I was on Jakku, or modified them from things I found on wrecked ships.
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Was it hard to make them?
[A safer topic, he decides. Maybe she can teach him, not that he'd forgo the old stand by of buying clothes. He had never once thought of it.]
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[ She loved working with her hands, and sewing qualified into that. Plus she could sometimes trade things she made for extra portions to others in need. ]
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[He can do some things. It just is painfully apparent how sheltered he is. He had been with Luke since he was 10 years old and then the First Order provided everything else.]
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Of course I will.
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[He nuzzles his way into the crook of her neck where it met her shoulder. This was what bliss felt like. He tried not to let it make him too comfortable but moments like this made him want to - made him want more. The energy he spent on denying himself was immense.]
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It'll still be nice to do something together.
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Mm. You could also share it with me. Through our connection. Though I don't think I know how. It's just an idea. I've seen how you fight - it's a lot like me. Maybe it's the same idea.
[He has a theory she "borrowed" his training and it augmented her own innate talent and instincts. It had been interesting to see it without being on the receiving end.]
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[ There had been other things, too. The mind tricks, and the probing. The latter she'd only ever done to him, but the former... That had definitely been a skill she picked up and made use of. ]
It might only work with knowledge of the Force.
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[These were a lot of maybes and it was making the gears turn in his head. It was like solving a great puzzle or an equation.]
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[ She says it with some hesitance, though she knows he's had them too. ]
I hear things, too. Ever since I was a child. Back then I thought it was just... memories, but the first time I touched the lightsaber I saw things from... the past, and the future. I saw you, in the forest, and I saw me, when my parents left me. I saw Luke facing Vader, too.
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