The Art of Broken Pieces

One Porg Who Wants to Sleep

Brows drawn together in irritation, Ben frowned at the report that Rey had asked him to help her write. She had given him a draft that she had produced, and despite his own dislike for red tape and paperwork, he had to admit that she was correct. She was horrible at this. Leaning back into the lounge couch, Ben sighed. How the hell had he gotten here, writing up mission information for the fucking Alliance? He knew exactly who would be reading it, and he was spitefully tempted to add his own commentary. But that would get back to Rey, probably scathingly, and she would be less than pleased with him.

He looked up as she came into the lounge, hair damp from the refresher. She was finally able to move around a bit on her own without almost collapsing, though she still looked pale and exhausted from the effort. It would take weeks--if not months-- before her body had built back up enough of the blood she had lost for her usual bright energy to return. He scooted over and shoved Lunch off of the couch, making room for her. The fat porg glared up at him and wondered off, no doubt to inform Spoon to take revenge in his stead. Despite only having the two of them on board, keeping up with them still kept RD busy and distracted.

"You're making a face," Rey said, out of breath and wobbly with the heat of the shower. She collapsed onto the bench beside him, heart thundering in her ears. "Is it that terrible? I said what happened."

"It's terrible." Ben said flatly. "And I hate writing reports, I always made other people write them." He glared at her. "You're lucky I like you."

Pushing the datapad away, Ben leaned back with a sigh. "This is why it's more fun being the leader, not a follower. You get reports, not the other way around."

Rey scooted sideways, bumping into his side. "If my reports annoy you, I'll just have to be the leader," she said. "You can give me reports and I'll tell you what to do."

Ben paused, glancing over at her with an arched eyebrow. Sometimes Rey was too innocent for her own good, it was entirely too easy to take the things she said in ways she most likely did not intend. "You will, will you?"

Rey didn't think about how her words could have sounded until Ben looked at her like that. He wasn't like Poe, who was prepared to take almost any phrase as a flirtation, and so it was strange to see him with that sort of half-amused sparkle in his eyes. A blush crept up her neck as she realized exactly what that had sounded like. She stopped a protest from escaping. She wasn't entirely certain she wanted to take back the statement either way.

Instead, she just let herself give an awkward laugh and let her hand drift to Ben's thigh. "Yes," she said. "I'm not convinced you'll follow them, but I'll try to be sufficiently intimidating."

Ben snorted. "If intimidating is your goal, you have a lot to learn. And following any orders is not my strength." He growled at her threateningly, stalking her as he leaned closer, aiming for her neck.

Rey heard herself give a half-squealed laugh. "See, it's working already!" she said. "It's-ngh." There was no more chance for words, once Ben's teeth found her neck. He attacked, arms pinning hers as he wound her up. Rey let herself enjoy the feeling of his teeth, the heat of his mouth and gentle sweep of his tongue on her skin. She tossed one leg over his thigh, then the other, and he seemed perfectly willing to haul her into his lap and hold her there.

Ben tried to be careful of the still healing wound in her side, simply glad that he could hold her again. He teased his teeth up the outside of her neck, enjoying how she squirmed as he did so. He ended with a soft kiss just behind her ear, nuzzling into her hair. He wanted so much more... to feel her skin under his hands, her body pressed close against his own. He sighed regretfully, hands sliding around her waist under the fabric of her shirt. "Could you heal faster, please?" He complained.