My Love, My Bonded

Chapter Twenty Eight

Rey ate everything she could get her hands on. She ate roasted porg and deep fried nuna legs. She sunk her teeth into meiloorun fruit and a pastry from Canto Bright. She even tried colo claw fish, which she was hoping she would enjoy more than she did. The squishy texture just didn't sit right.

In this moment, Rey was thankful for food. Not only is she discovering more than she ever knew flavor wise, she had a way to release her anxieties. The entire day was spent trying to hide them and now, she could enjoy a moment free of stress.

She chewed her food as she observed the room quietly, taking a second away to tear off a piece of meat or pop in a fruit. The members of the Resistance were lively tonight. Voices bounced off all the walls and distant music hummed in the background. She studied the couples one by one, a habit she had formed on Jakku, and found herself slightly saddened.

Connix was laughing loudly at some joke that was told and Rey watched as Raanan looked at her lovingly. His eyes sparkled and a little smirk graced his lips while he studied her. She turned around and looked at him, her large smile dropping to a small one as she whispered something to him. His smile grew and he shook his head. He then reached for her hand and placed a light kiss to the back of it.

Rey couldn't decide if they were sickeningly sweet or just cute. She continued to eat.

Her stomach was full to the brim as she leaned back in her chair, letting out a satisfactory sigh while her eyes dropped close. "That was amazing. I didn't even know the Resistance had this much food, especially these ones."

"I know," Rose said at the same time as the sound of her tearing off a piece of her cooked porg burst through the air. "I bet they got it for tonight."

She nodded. "Probably."

"Do you want to go dancing as soon as I'm done with this?" Her friend asked. Rey opened her eye to see her dapping off a bit of grease for her face. She closed her eyes and shrugged.

"Sure." Rey replied smoothly, inhaling deeply.

The minutes passed and the girls were out on the dance floor, jumping and withering to the beat. Rey had never actually danced before. The people there readily accepted them in and together they formed a large group of energy. Shoes were discarded and smiles were plastered on everyone's faces. Those with pale complexions became bright red and those with dark ones shimmered from the collected sweat on their brow. Anyone in between was a mixture of it all.

Droids with trays full of sparkling liquid split the dance floor here and there as they offered the drinks to the sweaty dancers. Rey and Rose quickly guzzled them down and the Jedi was surprised at the feeling the drink gave her. Her stomach was warm and fuzzy and her head started to feel lighter but she weirdly liked it. She swallowed two full glasses, one after the other, and continued her upbeat dancing. Her body moved and swayed to the music and Rose began to sing the lyrics out loudly, her words slurring which made the girls cackle with enjoyment.

Rey continued to drink those warm, bubbly drinks until she was stumbling along the dance floor but she didn't care. Her mind was fuzzy and her body was active.

A song with a sultry beat played and the crowd cheered but Rey was confused. Couples grouped together and began to mold their bodies to the other.

Rey felt a weird heat crawl up her body, settling in the pit of her stomach, and she swayed against the noise. She closed her eyes and relished in the musical notes.