Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ben was bored at work again. It was yet another slow day and the tiny office the company had given him was starting to feel claustrophobic considering it was just a window, a desk, a computer, and a few framed pictures of him and his best friend on top of the wooden surface. Ben hadn’t seen Poe in a few months due to the fact Poe had left the publishing company they both started off working at together.

He’d gone to a different company that offered him a higher salary while Ben stayed behind to continue to be the silly IT guy that got called for things like helping people figure out how to turn on their computer and replacing keyboards that had coffee spilled on them. Ben had started to feel like he was going insane a few weeks after Poe left and now he was certain he was going to be in a mental hospital by the end of next month.

With a heavy sigh, Ben pushed up the thick rimmed glasses on the nose he’d gotten teased about for years when he was younger and hit the spacebar to lazily bring his own computer screen to life. For the millionth time, he refreshed the page and watched as his emails blinked while loading before revealing a still inactive feed. Ben groaned and dropped his head in his hands, his fingertips grazing the long black locks of hair he felt were in desperate need of a trim.

To put it bluntly, Ben felt lonely. 

Ben had never really been the center of the attention growing up, certainly not in his own home where he felt that’s where the start of the emptiness inside of him had begun. With a father that was constantly gone due to the fact he flew planes for the US Air Force and a mother who had been a Senator for as long as he could remember, Ben had practically been raised by maids who seemed more like robots than anything.

For a long time, Ben thought his name was sir because that’s all the maids addressed him as. He could remember days of disappointment when his parents had promised they’d do something with him that day only for both of them to be gone before he had even woken up. So it was safe to say that Ben spent a good deal of his early childhood in an empty home filled with people who were paid to care for him.

School was no different. Ben had always been somewhat on the nerdy side, much more interested in figuring out how to build computers as opposed to throwing a football. He got his first pair of glasses at the age of ten and promptly broke them the first time he actually tried to play sports with a group of boys during recess. His mother had scolded him and got him a new pair the next day. Ben didn’t do sports after that.

In middle school, he met Poe when he signed up to join the robotics team. Poe had joined because he thought they were genuinely going to build intelligent robots and not contraptions meant to execute certain tasks. However, the two had bonded and became inseparable ever since. Poe was the epitome of a star student. Not only did he play for the lacrosse team in high school, he also ran for so many leadership positions that Ben had lost count after seven.

Of course, being best friends with the school’s most popular kid had given Ben the perfect opportunity to meet more girls, but the growth spurt he had between sophomore and junior year only made him more awkward than he actually was. In the end, more girls seemed to want to talk to him about Poe than himself. 

In college, Ben learned he could cover his ears if he grew out his hair and found a kind enough optometrist who recommended some glasses that were much more fashionable. The average temperature in Maine was relatively cool throughout the year, so thick knitted sweaters, stylish coats, jeans, and a good pair of shoes saved Ben the trouble of having to worry about clothing on top of it.

For some reason, he actually got laid quite a few times during his college career. Whether it was because he grew into his looks and lean body or that Poe was practically there to guide him every step of the way, Ben wasn’t sure. That being said, he never seemed to actually reel in a girlfriend and, up until very recently, Ben had been okay with not having someone to love.

Now, he just felt sad and lonely all of the time. The nice cottage he’d bought a few years ago at the age of twenty-five suddenly seemed dark and gloomy when he entered it despite the fact almost the entirety of it was white and the amount of natural light that came in through the windows blinded him sometimes. But the bedroom and the kitchen and the living room all felt so… lifeless. 

With Poe gone and working an absolute bore, Ben felt more and more helpless when it came to having a connection with someone. And, to be honest, it wasn’t like the girls in Freeport were flinging themselves at his feet. Most of the decent ones had left after college and those that stayed were already married to more handsome men than him. 

Ben had tried a few of the popular dating apps, but nothing ever went past the first date to the fact most girls appeared severely turned off by the obscenely large IT guy with glasses and shy conversation. With nothing else really seeming to work out for him, every day Ben began to entertain himself with the idea of moving to a larger state or city where he might actually stand a chance with someone. 

A ping came to his computer a few seconds later and Ben all but jerked his head up in excitement to see who could need his help. What would it be this time? Broken keyboard? System error? Unable to find the power button? To his surprise, however, the email had gone to his junk mail and the blue little number (1) next to Junk stared back at him, as if it was just daring him to click it. Deciding he had nothing better to do, Ben huffed and clicked on the junk mail with lifeless eyes. 

To: Benjamin Solo

From: Niima Naps

Subject: Professional Cuddler- Spots Open

To whom this may concern,

Hello! My name is Rey Niima, owner and primary facilitator of my business Niima Naps. I am a professional cuddler in need of some new clients. I’ve just moved here from another town in Maine and unfortunately had to say goodbye to my old clients. For those of you wondering what a professional cuddler is, my job is to hug, hold, breathe with, talk to, and cuddle those who are in need of those things. I charge $30 an hour per one-on-one session and my services are completely platonic. There is a common misconception with professional cuddling where most people believe clients are just desperate for attention, but I believe people simply crave touch and deserve to have it. If you are interested, please feel free to email me back.

Sincerely,

Rey Niima

Ben blinked at the email and ignored the way his heart seemed to pick up its beating within his chest. This couldn’t be serious… right? Ben immediately opened up a new tab and typed ‘professional cuddler’ into the search bar only for ‘professional cuddler near me’ to be the first suggestion below what he’d entered. He swallowed thickly, not really certain of what to make of the suggestion, but ignored it and went with his original search.

The first thing that popped up were videos of professional cuddling sessions and Ben instantly clicked one to see what it was like. A few minutes in and a woman, the cuddler, was holding a man who looked like he sincerely just appreciated being held by someone. His eyes were closed and one of his hands was over his heart, as if he was feeling it being restored just from the cuddling. 

Ben clicked out of the video, his heart now aching for that same affection, and looked to the websites below. Sure enough, there were multiple links to professional sites for booking or becoming professional cuddlers and Ben sank in his chair, his breath leaving his body in one big huff when it clicked that this was indeed a real thing. He nibbled on his bottom lip while he thought, but another ping came to his email.

Deciding he would think about it in a minute, Ben went back to his emails and sagged when yet another email came into his main inbox from someone in the building having spilled a hot drink on their keyboard. With a sigh, he rose from his desk and started to head in the direction of the floor and cubicle that required his services. Of course, it was Hux who had done the deed this time. Ever since Ben had started working at the publishing company, this man had always found a way to fuck up his computer somehow.

The ginger haired man was patting down the front of his shirt with angry mutters as a puddle of tea displayed just enough for Ben to understand what had happened. “Hey, Hux… another spill?” Ben asked, scratching the back of his head awkwardly as he avoided eye contact to look at the mess instead. “What does it look like? Obviously. Can you just fix it so I can get back to work?” the usually bitter man bit back with his typical pinched expression.

“Uh, yeah,” Ben agreed shyly, ducking away to head for the storage closet that would have all of the extra keyboards for when things like this happened. Now, Ben had a few ‘friends’ at the office, although he really hesitated to call them friends they were more of co-workers he sometimes chatted kindly with, and Hux was not one of those people.

Known as a particularly uptight editor for some of the books that went through the company, the majority of the people in the building stayed away from the man. Ben always dreaded having to fix his things, but that seemed to be a regular occurrence. For someone so meticulous in their work, Hux certainly was sloppy when it came to everything else. Ben fished out another keyboard a few minutes later and bumped the back of his head on the shelving above where they were stored.

“Fuck…” he grumbled, rubbing the back of his head with a wince. He just knew there’d be a bump there tomorrow. “Let me guess, Hux again?” a familiar voice chided from behind him. Ben turned around and smiled nervously at the image of Phasma leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed and an amused grin on those thin lips of hers. She was one of the people Ben considered a ‘friend’. 

“Uh, yeah,” Ben murmured, holding up the keyboard to show off what the problem was this time. Phasma just ah’d at him and nodded, pulling away from her spot to let Ben pass. “Will you be attending the office party at the end of the month? Tallie wants to have some numbers to go by as far as ordering food and drinks goes,” Phasma told him, walking alongside him in the direction of Hux’s cubicle. 

Ben went to scratch the back of his neck out of embarrassment, knowing that people usually brought dates to the party before Christmas, but thought better of it when his head ached again from the bump. “Oh, uh, I don’t think so,” he answered warily, turning his eyes down to the ground as the thought of that professional cuddler eased back into his thoughts.

He could really stand to be held right now.

“Well, hopefully you’ll change your mind. Good luck with the devil. I’ll see you around,” Phasma teased before leaving him. Ben offered her a smile, but the woman was already gone and his heart sank a little at the missed out exchange. Hux was waiting for him with that damn pinched expression, tea staining the front of his suit even though he had tried very hard to soak it up with the tissues he kept at his desk. 

“Took you long enough,” the prissy man hissed. Ben just blushed a little and got to work removing the old keyboard to replace it with the new one. The entire time, Ben thought about the cuddling. It couldn’t really hurt just to email her back with some questions, could it? And, if he did go through with it, he certainly didn’t have to do it again if he didn’t like it. 

He wasn’t even sure who this Rey Niima was. What did they look like? How old were they? Did they have a criminal background? Where did they live? So many questions raced through his mind that by the time he had finished installing the new keyboard, Hux had to clear his throat in annoyance to pull him from his thoughts. Ben was burning a bright crimson as he left the cubicle in a hurry.

The broken keyboard was still clutched in his hands when he returned to his tiny office. With a saddened sigh, Ben dropped the keyboard into his trash bin that was never full and probably had only been taken out twice since he’d started here. The IT man collapsed in his chair and stared at the Junk tab burning a bright blue on the screen. Ben gave in almost immediately, leaning forward to click it and then the reply button for the cuddling email. 

To: Niima Naps

From: Benjamin Solo

RE: Professional Cuddler- Spots Open

Dear Rey,

Hello. My name is Ben. I work in IT at First Order Publishers and got your email today. I’m interested in your service, but I’ve never done anything like this before. Could you tell me a bit more about what it is you offer and a little about yourself?

Sincerely,

Ben Solo

He hit send before he could even re-read what he wrote. Of course, he cringed almost instantaneously when he realized just how fucking awkward he sounded in the email. God, how did he even manage to sound uncomfortable through a computer? With a groan, Ben hid his face back in his hands and found himself determined that he was a hopeless cause overall. 

The computer chimed. 

Ben’s head jerked up in shock and he blinked a few times in disbelief when he saw that Rey had already replied to the email he sent. His hand was on the mouse then, jerking it to click on the message and open it while his heart beat a million miles per hour within his chest.

To: Benjamin Solo

From: Niima Naps

RE: Professional Cuddler- Spots Open

Hi Ben!

My name is Rey Niima, I’m a twenty-six-year-old female from Winthrop, Maine, and I’ve been a professional cuddler for four years now. I am happy to say I have had 112 clients since I started and all of them have been extremely pleased with the job that I do. Some of the things that I offer include workshops about consent and touching when it comes to cuddling as well as one-on-one cuddling sessions.

I offer things like breathing exercises, conversation or quiet options, multiple cuddling positions, as well as just basic hugging and holding sessions that wouldn’t require people to lay down on a bed if they didn’t feel comfortable with that. Please let me know if you have any further questions or if you would like to schedule an appointment. My hours are Monday-Friday from 10 am to 10 pm. 

Sincerely, 

Rey Niima 

Ben didn’t even think when he typed out the next email.

To: Niima Naps

From: Benjamin Solo

RE: Professional Cuddler- Spots Open

Dear Rey,

Are you available today from six to seven?

Sincerely,

Ben Solo 

She responded back just as quickly.

To: Benjamin Solo

From: Niima Naps

RE: Professional Cuddler- Spots Open

Hi Ben!

That works perfectly for me. My address is 93 Cove Road in Freeport, Maine. It’s the tiny red and tan house right on the water. I’ll see you then!

Sincerely,

Rey Niima

 

Ben leaned back in his chair and stared at the screen. Fuck, he was about to have a cuddling session with someone he never met before in his life. But God, did he need it. She seemed so kind and trustworthy too, and the fact that she’d been doing this for so long also calmed him somewhat. So he took in a deep breath and reminded himself that he’d been so lonely for so long now and he was doing this for a reason.

He needed to be held, to be heard, to be touched. He couldn’t remember the last time someone actually touched him with affection. All of the girls he slept with in college had no affection towards him whatsoever and seemed more attracted to his hands or what was in his pants than who he was as a person. Ben knew that this woman had told him her services were platonic, and he was certain he would respect that, but he just couldn’t wait to cuddle with someone.

What happened if a client fell asleep during their session? Would she just not wake them and charge them for all of the hours they slept or would she wake them and ask if they wanted to extend the period or go home? Ben figured he could ask her that when he went over to her home tonight. For some reason, he was now extremely nervous about this encounter.

Dragging a hand down his face, he scolded himself internally for not just re-downloading a dating app and hoping to score himself a date. But Ben knew he was lying to himself in that respect because even if he could get himself a first date, there certainly wouldn’t be another one. Instead of moping about it, Ben accepted that he would just try this out for the benefit of his tired heart and nothing more. And if it ended up being something that helped, then he had no problem spending money to feel better.

The day droned on with no emails after Rey’s and Ben found himself yet again trying to fill the time with drifting away into his daydreams. Maybe one day, a real nice girl would come to town and actually be interested in his work and like how dorky he was. Maybe she’d want to hold his hand and go on dates and giggle when he got a little shy sometimes.

His brain was active when it came to imagination and all he could think about in that tiny little office for the rest of the day was a pretty woman who would truly and genuinely love him just as much as he loved her. But the dream was gone when the alarm on his phone went off indicating that it was already the end of the day and he’d spent a majority of it thinking about something that would never happen yet again.

Ben took in a shaky, yet steadying breath, and rose from his desk to turn off his computer and flick off the lights. At five pm, the building was still somewhat full with people working, but IT wasn’t required to stay past five if they didn’t want to. And since nobody seemed to be having any problems, Ben strode out of the building and in the direction of the shiny black Lexus he’d saved up for.  

Considering the fact he never really spent money and didn’t have anyone to spend it on, Ben had accumulated quite a nice little fortune for himself since he’d left college. It was time he spent a little bit of money on himself, and thirty dollars an hour for a cuddling session appeared to be the perfect thing to treat himself with. So Ben got into his car, pulled up the directions for Rey’s house, then took off with a giddy feeling flowing through his veins while his heart pumped with hope.

Chapter Text

Ben blinked at the house and realized that when she said tiny house, she literally meant a tiny house. It was no bigger than 500 square feet at least and had a beautiful bright red roof with white trim and tan walls. Situated just a ways away from the lake behind it, the house looked like the definition of cozy. He was a few minutes early, but didn’t want to appear strange, so he turned off the car and clumsily got out.

The navy blue knit sweater he had on was promptly rolled up to his elbows so that he could wipe his hands on his jeans, already a bit of sweat growing on his palms. “Just… be cool,” he murmured to himself in an attempt to calm down his jittery nerves. With one big step forward, Ben began up the rocky path to the white front door and swallowed rather hard. 

It felt like he was watching a movie as he lifted a balled up fist and knocked on the door a few times. Shit was that loud enough? Did she hear me? Ben’s thoughts were already going crazy with thinking he did something wrong when the most beautiful British voice called out from inside, “Coming!” Everything seemed to freeze in Ben’s body when that bubbly little voice hit his ears.

And then the door was opening.

Standing somewhere around the low five foot something range was a girl with tan skin, sparkling hazel eyes, raspberry colored lips, and chestnut hair pulled back into three buns. A cream colored light sweater slipped off one shoulder to expose bare skin and fuzzy grey shorts reached a short enough length that Ben could see every inch of her sun tanned legs. “Are you Ben?” the woman asked with a dazzling smile.

Ben figured he wouldn’t be able to speak as he stared at this absolutely beautiful woman, but was pleasantly surprised when his own voice echoed in his ears, “Uh, yeah. Yes, that’s me.” His cheeks immediately flared up with warmth at his failure to speak like a normal man, but Rey just giggled and opened the door further to welcome him inside. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Ben. Come on in and take a seat so we can talk about what you’re looking for out of this.”

He nodded dumbly and walked in, having to duck a little so he wouldn’t hit his head on the doorframe, and awkwardly stood by the entryway as she closed the door and padded over towards the table situated in the middle of the room. To be fair, the entire house was one big room-- a studio, really. With the bed to the right, kitchen straight ahead, and bathroom tucked in the back to the right, everything was so… comfortable. 

“Would you like any tea?” Rey questioned, glancing over her shoulder to flash him yet another devastating smile while she picked up two little cups from the circular table. “Oh, uh… sure, yeah, okay,” Ben tumbled out. Her giggle sounded again, a heavenly thing that Ben was starting to get addicted to already. He watched as she moved to the kitchen and pulled a sea green colored kettle off of the stove to pour honey colored tea into the cups.

When she returned, her cheeks were a little pink when she glanced up at him and nodded to the other chair at the table. Ben jumped a little when he realized she wanted him to sit, but he quickly acted and pulled out the seat to sit down while Rey smiled and handed him a cup that would be severely dwarfed in his hands. Seeming to realize this, Rey cocked an eyebrow at him with an amused expression and raised her own cup to her lips.

Ben’s heart lurched inside of his chest, but he reluctantly picked up the dainty little thing in his giant hands and sipped at the tea that was beyond delicious. “Wow, this is good,” he said in astonishment. Another laugh. “Well thank you. So, Ben. Do you have any idea what you want out of this?” she asked kindly in a soft yet reassuring manner that suggested there was no judgement whatsoever.

He set the cup down and thought for a moment just how open he wanted to be with this woman before him. On one hand, he very much wanted to just play it cool and say something like, ‘Oh, you know, just wanted to try something new.’ That seemed like something a cool guy would say. But on the other hand, he was desperate to tell Rey the truth-- that he was here because he was starved of touch and affection and wanted to feel it.

“I just want to be held,” he blurted out. As soon as the sentence was put out in the open, Ben’s entire face went red and he quickly ducked his head in embarrassment. He pushed up his glasses, a nervous habit, and raised the teacup to take an anxious sip that hopefully wouldn’t be looked into so much. When he flicked his eyes up cautiously at Rey, she just had her head cocked with a slight smile and soft eyes, like she was reading his soul.

“Yes… I think I can see that,” Rey murmured gently. He blinked at her, a little stunned by just how captivating she was, and watched as she rose from the chair and extended a hand towards the bed. “We don’t have to talk if you don’t want to and you can choose which cuddling position you’d like to try,” she told him, waiting patiently until he stood as well and began to fiddle with his hands.

Why on earth was he so nervous? It was just cuddling after all… with an extremely mesmerizing woman who was drop dead stunning and kinder than anyone he’d ever met before. “Do I just…?” he trailed off as he pointed to the bed. She nodded compassionately and followed behind him, climbing onto the bed and crossing her legs when she turned to look up at him with those wide eyes. 

Deciding it was probably better if he made this as casual as possible, Ben quickly kicked off his shoes and awkwardly crawled onto the queen sized bed next to her. “Something tells me you would rather be the one being held?” Rey questioned, cocking her head to the side in curiosity. He nodded and before he could get a word out, Rey was gently enveloping him with her arms and pulling him down so they could lay against the pillows.

His head rested just below her chin as her arms cradled his head and her knees turned towards him. Ben blinked, stunned and in awe all at the same time, before he hesitantly extended his own arms to slide one arm around her tiny waist loosely while the other curled up against his body. At some point, their legs tangled together, and for a long time, Rey just held him and played with his hair as they cuddled.

Ben hadn’t felt the urge to cry in a very long time, but he was so close to tears at this very moment that he just closed his eyes and savored the feeling of being held. Somehow, Rey seemed to sense this as she pulled him a little closer and let his body nearly cover her own while she sighed contently. The sound of leaves rustling outside and the lake splashing in the distance echoed through the house due to the fact some of her windows were open, and Ben was completely at peace.

He didn’t feel the need to talk to her and she didn’t seem to make any move to start a conversation either. Ben could hear her heartbeat in her chest, a steady and comforting thing that rattled around in his head while his breathing evened out to match hers as well. 

Rey’s fingers found all of his weakest spots on his head and seemed to be an expert at playing with the thick tendrils as well. Her slim hands worked perfectly through his hair and before he knew it, Ben drifted off.

*****

Rey had never cuddled a man this big before. Sure, she’d had quite a large range of clients throughout the years, but as soon as she opened the door to see a man who quite literally was as tall as a tree staring back at her, Rey knew this was going to be unlike any sort of session she’d ever had. If she was being honest, she expected him to be somewhat sharp and ready to just jump in considering his email vocabulary was short, but that all changed when he opened his mouth.

Ben was as shy as a baby deer. His cheeks were constantly pink and those chocolate colored eyes of his glimmered with uncertainty. His eyebrows just faintly tugged up into that of a worried expression, as if he was doing something wrong all the time, and the way he spoke was a dead giveaway that this giant man was a bigger softly than she ever could have imagined.

Rey could sense it, however, almost instantly that this man was lonely when he sat down at her table and hesitantly drank her tea. His posture was curled in on himself in a way that people who felt un-held typically had and he appeared unsure of everything, as if someone would pop out of the closet and tell him he was being pranked and no one would ever actually want to cuddle with him. But goodness, did Rey want to cuddle this man. He seemed so painfully in need of it that Rey skipped all of the formalities she usually had with new clients. 

He was warm against her chest and heavy in the same way a weighted blanket would be. Those full, pink lips she’d noticed the second he started talking were parted a little as soft sounds escaped him and Rey understood after a while that he was asleep. They still had roughly forty minutes left of their session and Rey was the kind of professional kind enough to gently rouse them about ten minutes before the end so they could spend the rest of the time cuddling awake. 

That being said, Rey’s eyes also tracked the single tear that had been building in the corner of his eye, right next to his nose that Rey found rather attractive. To be fair, she found every single part of him attractive. From his height to his beauty marks, the man drew her in more than any other person she’d ever seen and had tried to stifle her own blush a few times when his eyes caught hers behind those giant glasses.

Her eyes remained trained on the tear that had been gathering ever so slightly every second and her own lips parted just a moment later when it finally collected all that it could before falling down his smooth cheek. Rey watched in fascination as the tear caught on the rim of his glasses, rested there for a moment, then broke again to continue down his face until it ended when it reached his lips.

Rey decided right then and there that she wasn’t going to wake him up then. Ben so dearly craved this and she’d never cuddled someone who seemed so secretly in need of being held, so she vowed that she’d let him have his fill until he woke. It wasn’t like she had anybody else reaching out to make appointments yet despite the fact she’d emailed nearly everyone she could find in a registry book for the surrounding area. 

Ben stirred a little bit in his sleep, tugging her impossibly closer as he nuzzled his head deeper under her chin and sighed happily. Their legs were in some sort of tangled mess and his hair was tickling her neck, but Rey couldn’t bear to move a muscle. If she wanted to be honest with herself, she couldn’t remember the last time she felt so incredibly comfortable cuddling like this, so she just nestled her own face against the top of his head and continued to play with his hair.

Ben’s locks were soft, thick, and luscious in every sense of the word. A beautiful raven color that caught the light perfectly, Rey had caught herself staring at it a few times while she twirled the full strands around her nimble fingers. It wasn’t until about twenty minutes later did Ben stir, his glasses sliding halfway down his face and his eyes drowsily blinking back sleep.

Rey observed with an amused expression as he tried to make sense of his surroundings, his arm tightening ever so slightly around her waist while the other hand came up to push his glasses back into place. When his eyes finally found hers, he seemed to jerk back in surprise and come back to the reality he was cuddling with her. “I didn’t have the heart to wake you,” Rey told him kindly.

Ben calmed down a little bit, all of the memories of how he’d gotten there and what he was doing coming shooting back into his head. Fuck, he’d fallen asleep? “Uh, how long was I out?” he asked in the typical raspy voice he had whenever he woke up from sleep. The feeling of something wet on his cheek made him quickly wipe his face so he could pull away and look at the cuddler.

“Mm… forty minutes maybe? You still have twenty minutes left of your session,” Rey murmured, reaching out to fix some of the hair around his face. Ben blushed at the action and nodded, ducking his head back down so he could rest against her chest. For some reason, the urge to talk overwhelmed him and before he could stop himself, Ben blurted out, “Is this the only job you have?”

Rey laughed, a beautiful and soft melody in his ear, and nodded. “Yes, this is my full time job. Sometimes I go into Augusta though to run these giant workshops, but that’s only about once or twice a month. I saved up for the move and everything since I knew people might be hesitant about this at first. I have to say… I was really surprised I got a client the first day I sent the email,” she explained.

Ben wasn’t sure if he should feel proud about the fact he was her first client in Freeport or if he should feel embarrassed because he responded so quickly to that email. “Yeah, shit, I kinda replied fast, huh?” he choked out, going to scratch the back of his head like he usually did, but she was quicker and soothed his nerves by massaging his hair in a comforting way. Ben relaxed almost instantly.

He hadn’t been aware of the fact he was such a big fan of getting his hair played with until now. “Oh, believe me, I was thrilled. And you’re not creepy either which is a bonus,” Rey teased. Ben frowned at that and looked up to meet her playful eyes with his own concerned ones. “Do you get creepy people?” he questioned. She shrugged, gently tugging him back down as she moved her hand from his hair to his back.

“I’ve only had a few but I have the right to refuse service and I’ve turned them away if they tried to book again. I’ll have to give you my website link if you want to book again so that way you can just do it online and see when open spots are,” Rey informed, brushing off the subject of creeps like it was no big deal. Ben, however, was still stuck on it. 

How could someone this beautiful and kind and nonjudgemental so openly welcome people into her home and arms and still get preyed on occasionally? It made his stomach a little sick at the thought about what people had tried to do with her and his arm instinctively brought her a little closer as if he could possibly protect her. Ben had never fought anyone in his life, but he was suddenly ready to defend this kind woman currently holding him. 

“Do you like your job at First Order then?” she pressed, keeping the conversation light but interested. Ben couldn’t recall the last time someone asked him if he actually enjoyed his job, let alone remembered enough about it to ask any question pertaining to it. Fuck, most people didn’t even know the name or forgot the second after he told them.

“Uh, no,” Ben said, not really thinking. As soon as he caught on to the fact he’d said straight up that he didn’t like his job, he opened his mouth to save himself. But Rey was already giggling and patting his back in good nature. “There’s not many people who would admit that outright, but I like your honesty, Ben,” she complimented in that light hearted British accent that was currently squeezing his heart with an emotion he wasn’t familiar with. 

“Are you, uh, from England?” Ben asked shyly, not really certain if that was something rude to ask or not. She just gave him a pointed yet entertained look and jested back at him, “What gave it away?” For the first time in a very long time, Ben laughed at her humor and watched as it was her turn to blush a little. “Yes, I’m from England. I moved here when I was twenty-two after working at my foster father’s junkyard became too torturous,” she revealed.

Foster father. She was a foster care child? Ben wasn’t really sure what he thought of when he thought of foster care children, but it certainly wasn’t bright and bubbly women who looked like the epitome of perfection. Then again, he’d only ever really seen commercials of sad and dirty looking children when it came to foster care. Was she ever sad and dirty? He didn’t want to ask. Maybe that was a giant misconception and he would offend her.

They spent the rest of their time in a comfortable silence, the air filled with happiness and comfort. Nothing felt better than having someone hold him back and Ben was tempted to ask if he could just have another hour to really be selfish and savor the feeling he hadn’t had in years. But a light and calming alarm went off on the side of the bed and it was a slow move to detangle from each other.

“I, uh… thank you. I really needed this,” Ben stated, sitting up from the bed as Rey pulled away and stretched her arms before turning off the soothing melody that acted as her alarm. “It’s my pleasure. I hope I’ll see you soon if you liked it,” she hummed, rising from the bed and opening the nightstand drawer to pull out a small piece of paper.

Ben looked at it nervously, wondering if it was some kind of contract to sign or something, but Rey handed it to him with that kind smile and said, “I give this to all of my first time clients. It’s just a little thank you and a link to that website I was talking about if you wanted to book again.” Ben’s fingers brushed against her tiny ones when he took the paper from her and he quickly tried to ignore the blush that was forming on his cheeks when a faint jolt of energy passed through them. Static, that’s all it was.

“Thanks. Uh, how do I, um, pay you?” Ben asked, carefully tucking the piece of paper in his back pocket while also reaching for his wallet that contained his cards and cash. “This one is on me, Ben. But, for the future, if you do want to book again… my Venmo is on that piece of paper.” He blinked at her in a stunned silence. Did he just hear her right? That this session was free?

Rey cocked her head to the side with that amused smile she seemed to always have around him, and by always, he meant that smile he’d seen for a decent amount of time for the hour he’d been here. “O-on you?” Ben stuttered out, his hand still hovering over the wallet that rested in the back pocket of his jeans. “Let’s just say this was a test run to see if you liked it,” Rey assured, winking kindly at him.

She moved away from the bed and nightstand then, turning to the closet to the right of her to tug out a cozy looking cardigan made of thick knitted white wool. Assuming he was getting close to overstaying his welcome, Ben stumbled to toe back on his shoes with ears that were on fire from how hard he was blushing. Rey just giggled softly at the sight.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such big shoes before,” she told him. It took him a while to come to the realization she wasn’t laughing because he was a mess at putting on his shoes, but because she was looking at how big his shoes were. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the nice dress shoes that seemed to be at least a foot bigger than her own, although that might be a bit of an overstatement.

Ben pulled away to look down at the shoes now on his feet and wiggled his toes within them a little as he thought about it. Yes, he supposed he did have some pretty big feet. “Well, what size shoe do you wear?” he asked, not tripping over a question for the first time he’d gotten there. Rey glanced back at her closet where a few sneakers lined the bottom of the floor and shrugged. “Six and a half, seven.”

He lifted an eyebrow at the tiny size and mumbled, “Yeah… I wear a size ten and a half, eleven sometimes.” Rey tsk’d at that and shook her head, wrapping her cardigan around herself as she smiled and started to move towards the kitchen where her tea was still sitting. It had to be cold by now, but she picked it up and sipped at it like it was still the most perfect cup.

“Well, I’m sure I’d look like a clown if I tried to put them on, that’s for sure,” she joked lightly. Ben chuckled a little and nodded, awkwardly shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jeans while they descended into another small silence. Coming to with the fact he was still in her house, Ben jolted a little and pulled his hands out so he could nervously gesture to the door.

“Right, I’ll, uh, just go then,” he rushed, starting to head towards the front door while Rey set down her cup of tea and followed behind him with those warm and inviting eyes that appeared to tell him without words she enjoyed having him over. Being the host and all, Rey opened the door for him and watched as he ducked to avoid the door frame of her tiny house. “I… thank you, Rey,” Ben murmured.

She nodded and smiled, lifting a hand to wave a small goodbye to him as Ben pulled down the sleeves of his sweater due to the fact the temperature had plummeted a little while they cuddled. Rey stayed in the doorway until he got into his car and turned it on, deeming it finally okay for her to close the door knowing he was safe within his vehicle now.

When she turned around to the tiny house that was now quiet except for the rusting of leaves and the stream outside, Rey’s eyes eventually drifted to her bed that had become somewhat disheveled from their session. She nervously bit at her bottom lip and crossed her arms over her chest as a thought she didn’t really want to act on came racing to her head. 

And while she held off for a good few minutes, deciding to clear the table of their tea cups, she eventually found herself back at the foot of the bed. With a mix of a groan and a sigh, Rey gave into her greed and collapsed on the comforter, taking as deep of a breath as she possibly could to fill her nose with the addicting smell of Ben Solo.

Chapter Text

Ben spent the entire weekend thinking about Rey.

His nights were practically slumber-less now that he’d gotten a taste of what it was like to be held as opposed to lying alone in an empty king sized bed. He’d tossed and turned for what felt like hours, eventually grabbing one of his pillows and putting it close behind his back so it felt like someone was cuddling up behind him. 

It was safe to say that by the time Ben came to the office on Monday, he looked positively tortured. The receptionist, Rose, blinked at him with wide eyes when he strolled onto their floor in a pair of sweatpants, sneakers, and a sweater hastily thrown on over a long sleeve thermal. Even his glasses were lopsided on his face. Fuck it, it wasn’t like anyone came to see him anyway.

Ben sat down at his desk in his gloomy room, the view outside from the single window within his office displaying grey clouds that threatened snow. With a soft groan, he turned his attention to the computer and slowly brought it to life, immediately going to his emails where he would refresh the page for yet another few hundred times today to see if anything came in.

Of course, the inbox was empty and Ben was certain he was going to lose his mind. Biting on his bottom lip, Ben hesitantly reached into the pocket of his sweatpants and pulled out the tiny piece of paper that had all of Rey’s information on it. Relief flooded him and he mentally patted himself on the back for bringing it with him to work today. Straightening himself up in the chair, Ben opened a new tab and typed in the website.

What popped up was exactly what he’d expect- a white and sea green themed website with Niima Naps in cute cursive at the very top followed by a menu listed with about, services, book, reviews, and contact. It was very well put together was the first thing he thought, but he shook his head away from the business side of it all, opting to click book instead.

A tiny calendar popped up and showed all of the available dates, the ones not available like weekends a darker grey color. Every single week for the rest of the month was a light grey, signaling it was available, so Ben clicked on the date for today and watched as a list of time slots pulled up next. Once again, all of them were ready for someone to snatch them up. Without a second thought, Ben clicked the 6-7 time slot and clicked the continue button.

A small box popped up before he moved on to officially booking his slot and asked the question: would you like to reoccur reserve this time slot? Ben didn’t even know that was a thing that existed, but he clicked the yes button almost instantly and watched as the calendar popped up yet again with the instructions: choose which dates you would like for this time slot to be reserved. 

Ben dragged the mouse through all of the weeks in the month. 

He stared at the decision for longer than he would’ve liked, but ultimately clicked book at the very end of it all. With a deep breath released from his chest, Ben leaned back in his chair and stared at the message that said thank you for booking with Niima Naps! Your reservation dates are as follows… with an entire list of all of the dates and same time dragging out on his screen. 

A sharp knock at his door pulled Ben out of his trance and made him jump in his chair, quickly exiting out of the site and coughing before telling the knocker to come inside. Phasma’s head peeked into the room and she raised an eyebrow at his appearance before coming inside. “Well, Rose certainly wasn’t lying when she said you came in looking like you had an existential crisis,” she chided.

Ben blushed at the observation the receptionist had made and opted to push up his glasses while Phasma took a seat in the only other chair he had in the room, a creaky little thing placed directly in front of his desk. “I, uh, had a rough weekend,” Ben muttered, scratching the back of his head. God, what he would give for Rey to run her fingers through his hair right now.

At the thought of her, Ben shifted a little in his chair and tried to slyly press against the back of his own chair as if it would suddenly grow arms and wrap around him. He just had to get through the day and then he would be enveloped in her arms. Fuck, maybe he should’ve booked 6-8 or 6-9 if he wanted to sleep. Maybe if no one else booked after him then he could ask? The sound of his name being called dragged Ben from his thoughts and to the concerned face of Phasma instead. “Are you alright? Maybe you need to go home for the day. You look a little sick,” she stated.

God, nothing sounded better than just saying fuck it and ditching work right now to blow a good three hundred on cuddling all day. Would Rey even allow that? Before he could think any better about it, Ben nodded and agreed with a dull, “Yeah… I think I, um… I think I should.” Phasma rose from her chair and told him she’d go let the office know so that any IT problems they had would have to be fixed the next day.

Dragging a hand down his face, Ben couldn’t believe he’d just used a sick day because he wanted to go cuddle someone in order to sleep. But the yawn that ripped through his body convinced him the reward far outweighed any punishment he might get from missing one day of work. So the tired man stood from his desk and turned off his computer only to walk back out of his office that he’d entered ten minutes ago.

Rose gave a worried little wave to him as he walked past and Ben nodded in response, making a beeline for the elevator that would take him to the ground floor where he’d be able to get into his car and drive away. The elevator came rather quickly, much to his relief, and Ben decided he should probably give Rey a call to ask her if she could take him real quick.

He pulled out the piece of paper from his pocket once more as well as his phone and plugged in her number while the elevator carried him down to the first floor. It only rang a few times before her cheery voice was answering the phone with, “Rey Niima!” The elevator doors opened and Ben tripped getting out, huffing out a sharp, “Shit!” 

Her giggle filled the other end and before he could say anything, she was asking in an amused tone, “Ben? Is that you?” His face went red at the fact she knew who he was just based off of his voice alone and he nervously pushed his free hand into his sweatpants pocket to fumble around for the keys to his car. The first few snowflakes started to fall as soon as he stepped outside to confront the full parking lot. “Uh, yeah, hi,” he stupidly replied, internally beating himself up immediately after.

Ben could practically feel her smile through the phone and that bubbly voice of hers piped up yet again. “Well, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Rey questioned, the soft sound of shuffling filling the empty space around her voice. “Uh… would you… are you able to take a client right now for the whole day?” he finally managed to get out, his eyes locking on his car just a few rows away. 

For the first time, it seemed like Rey was speechless between the two of them, but she quickly caught herself and spoke back into the phone, “Yeah, sure. That works.” Her voice sounded somewhat distant and Ben caught on instantly, trying to save himself by choking out, “U-unless that’s too much! You can say no.” But she just laughed softly and he could tell she was shaking her head at him. “Come on over, Ben.”

With that, she hung up the phone and Ben hadn’t realized he was standing outside of his car until he lowered the phone from his ear and blinked. It was only 8:15 and she technically didn’t start her days until 10, but she wanted him to come over. Pushing up his glasses in order to ignore the blush forming over his cheeks, Ben opened his car door and ducked inside.

The snow grew heavier as he drove towards her tiny little house, only a ten minute drive from the office, and Ben vaguely worried about checking the weather to see if Maine was expected to get a few feet at some point this week. But his brain focused instead on the amazing British woman he was about to go see that would hopefully hold him until he fell asleep.

His body practically sagged in the seat of his car as he turned onto her street just a little while later, the promise of being held so certain now. It wasn’t until he saw her on her porch however in a pair of baggy sweatpants, a sweater, and a cardigan holding a coffee mug while sitting in a white rocking chair did his heart really leap into action, however. Her hair was pulled back into the same three bun style she had on Friday and Ben nearly hit the curb when he pulled up behind what he assumed to be her car, that’s how distracted he was.

Even though it was snowing, she seemed to be completely comfortable while she waited for him on her tiny little porch, the white flakes drizzling around her red roof. Ben turned off his car and clumsily clambered out of the vehicle, brushing himself off a little bit before pushing up his glasses that fogged up going from the warmth of his car to the chill outside. 

“You don’t look like you slept well,” Rey pointed out as he walked up the gravely path to her home. He cocked an eyebrow at her but remained quiet while she took a sip of tea from her mug and stood from the rocking chair. “Come on, you giant. It’s getting cold out here and I’ve got another mug waiting inside that’ll warm you up,” she coaxed. 

Ben couldn’t help but notice as he walked behind her that Rey easily only came up to about his chest in height, and while Ben never considered himself to be big on size differences, the one apparent between them certainly did something funny to his stomach. Her home was nice and warm inside and sure enough, a steaming cup of tea was set out on the table while the tv above the fireplace currently alive played some sort of sitcom Ben had never seen before.

“I, uh, didn’t sleep well. You’re right,” he admitted once Rey closed the door and came to sit down in one of the chairs at the table while Ben took his own seat and picked up the tea mug. “Mm, I can tell based off of the bags under your eyes. You’re lucky you’ve got glasses to hide those,” Rey teased, a faint smile spreading out over her lips.

It wasn’t an insult in the slightest and Ben actually chuckled at her observation, reaching up to pull off his glasses and rub the deep purple marks that apparently had formed over the weekend. “Yeah, well, my co-workers seemed to notice it, too. They thought I was sick and suggested I take a sick day,” he told her honestly. Rey ah’d at him and nodded, but there was an amused glimmer to her eyes that suggested she knew exactly why he wasn’t sleeping very well. 

“What?” Ben questioned while a smile of his own bloomed. Her eyes flicked down to his cheeks for the briefest of seconds and Ben quickly wondered if there was something on his face, but her hazel eyes were back on his within the next moment. “I’m guessing you’re here because you’d like to sleep while being held. I had lots of clients who used to do the exact same thing,” she informed him kindly.

Oh thank God, that didn’t make him feel that stupid and desperate. Ben lifted his hand to scratch the back of his head like he usually did when he was nervous, but caved and nodded with a sigh, averting his gaze to the tea in front of him. “Uh, yeah…” he confessed through a murmur. Rey set down her mug of tea and turned to look in the direction of the bed.

“You want to finish that tea or go cuddle?” she asked, those hazel eyes of hers training back on his while she tilted her head in curiosity. Fuck, he was blushing again. He’d never had a woman be so… interested in wanting to do something with him before. And while he knew that technically this was her job, and he was paying her, she’d let him come over two hours earlier than she started and seemed to genuinely like his company.

Even though they’d only known each other for two days. 

“I think I’d like to go cuddle,” Ben managed to get out, setting down the mug a little bit too harshly which may or may not have given away that he was nervous. Rey just giggled softly and stood up from her chair, stretching her arms high into the air before coming around his side and placing her hands on his shoulders. “Alright, come on. Get up, you big man,” she teased.

Fuck, he kinda liked when she called him a big man.

Ben reluctantly got up from the chair and toed out of his sneakers, his bare feet suddenly touching the cold wooden floor when he realized he’d forgotten to put on socks. “Oh! Let me get you some fuzzy socks like me!” Rey all but squealed, gently pushing him towards the bed so he could lay down while she scurried to the closet where her socks apparently were. Unsure of how to really position himself, Ben moved all the way across the bed and rested his back against the wall while he extended his legs and anxiously clasped his hands together in his lap.

Rey came bounding out only a few moments later, bright red socks in her hands that looked like the definition of cozy. “I only had red ones left. I took the blue,” Rey told him excitedly, scurrying to get up on the bed and hand them to him as she tucked some stray hair behind her ear. All Ben managed to get out was a shy thank you before he pulled up his feet and tugged the comfortable socks on.

Damn, those did feel good. 

But he was startled when Rey abruptly curled herself against him, her body turned to face him as she rested her head and hand on his chest, her right leg draped lazily over his thigh while she sighed contently. Ben blinked at the action, unsure of what to do. This was the first time a girl had cuddled up to him and not the other way around. 

“You put your arms around me, Ben,” Rey murmured into his shirt, her eyes already closed. “Oh, right…” he replied stupidly. It took him a few seconds, but he carefully wrapped one arm around her shoulders while the other hesitantly curled around her waist. She was so small against him, her head nestling on his chest while her legs only reached just below his knees curled up. 

Rey hummed in comfort and they both fell into a peaceful silence, only the sound of the tv filling the emptiness while snow continued to fall steadily outside. It didn’t take long at all for Ben’s eyes to feel heavy while he watched the snow fall beyond the glass of her window that was closed this time, and with one final nuzzle of Rey’s head into his chest, Ben closed his eyes for good and fell into a deep sleep.

*****

Rey woke to the feeling of something wet dripping onto her forehead. She groaned a little bit, playing it off as nothing until another drop slapped right on top of it. Peeling her eyes open, Rey blinked back sleep as she looked around and quickly came to the realization she’d fallen asleep in Ben’s arms while the big man was still passed out beneath her. 

She reached up and wiped the water off the top of her head, scared there was a leak somewhere from the snow, only to glance up and see a faint trail of water coming from one of Ben’s eyes. He was crying in his sleep again. His arms were loose enough around her that she could turn a little bit in her position and look at him, watching as another tear swelling in his lid poured down the trail already established.

It dripped off of his chin within the next second. Rey had never cuddled with someone who cried while they slept, and while it wasn’t apparent that he was having any sort of distressing dream, Rey still wondered what the cause of it was. Ben’s glasses were slanted on his face, just about ready to fall off when Rey shuffled a bit more to get closer and take them off.

With her face just inches away from his, Rey carefully placed her fingers on the bridge between his lenses and pulled the glasses off of his face to reveal an entirely new look. He was just as devastatingly handsome as he was with the glasses. Lost a little in admiration, Rey didn’t catch the first twitch of his hand signaling he was pulling out from his own nap until his eyelids fluttered and locked on with hers.

Hazel eyes clashed against chocolate ones and both of their faces turned bright red as their close proximity became very apparent. It was Ben’s eyes that flicked down to her lips for the briefest of seconds, but Rey caught it anyway and pulled away nervously. “Oh, uh, s-sorry. Your glasses were sliding off,” Rey stuttered, folding up his glasses and setting them to the side. “Yeah, uh, it’s fine,” Ben’s choked voice soothed.

They both rested there for a while in unsure silence, both of their hearts racing in their chests while they tried to figure out why they didn’t mind being so close to each other. “Did you enjoy your nap?” Rey finally asked to break the quiet, though she didn’t move a muscle on her body as they continued to cuddle. “It was really nice, yeah,” Ben answered a little too quickly.

“Would you like to maybe have some tea and watch a movie while we cuddle until you get tired again?” Rey suggested, sitting up so she could look at him and try to get past whatever moment they just had. “Yeah, that’d be, uh, great,” Ben agreed, shifting so he could lean against the wall a bit more properly instead of the slumped position he’d gotten into just a moment ago.

Rey nodded and stood from the bed, walking over to where their mugs were before she caught sight of something white and looked to her left quickly, unassuming. But what she saw quickly prompted a double take and Rey froze in her spot just before grabbing the mugs of tea as she stared at the blanket of snow that had taken over the ground. 

“What?” Ben’s voice asked from behind her. She jumped a little, startled by the fact he’d managed to get out of the bed and walk up behind her without her hearing. His eyes soon settled on the outside world too and Rey could practically hear him deflate. “Oh, fuck,” he stated so bluntly, Rey couldn’t help but laugh. There was no way Ben was going to be able to leave anytime soon, not until the snow went down.

But the flakes were still falling and the clouds were as dark as coal above them which signaled there was no way it was slowing for a decent while. “Well, I guess we’re going to have to pick quite a few movies,” Rey joked, nudging Ben on his arm and beaming up at him with those bright eyes and alluring smile that had his heart jumping inside of his chest.

Whatever happened just a few minutes ago eased away into the past as he smiled and nodded, blushing a little while he accepted the mug of tea she handed to him. “You know, I bet the lake will freeze tonight. If you end up getting snowed in here with me, I’m dragging you out to that lake and making you skate with me,” Rey informed him, picking up the remotes for the tv before walking back to the bed where she plopped herself down casually and looked at him.

“Oh, uh, I don’t really know how to skate… and I don’t have skates with me,” Ben told her shyly. He was about to lift his hand to scratch the back of his head like he usually did when he was nervous about something, but forced himself not to and walked to the bed instead so he could sit down beside her. “Oh you’re very funny if you think I have skates and won’t want to see you stumbling around out there,” Rey told him with a humored tone.

He huffed at her and shook his head. “I think you just get pleasure out of seeing me be a complete idiot,” Ben admitted. Rey giggled and nodded, not even denying it in the slightest. They both turned their attention to the shitty show that was playing on the tv, but it didn’t matter how crappy the show was because Rey was suddenly resting her head on Ben’s shoulder and wiggling her fuzzy sock covered feet against his.

Ben swallowed thickly and flicked his blurry gaze down to watch her feet snuggle against his in an attempt to get comfortable. The sound of a laugh track sounded in the background while Rey sighed, completely at ease, as snow continued to blanket the outside world. Nervous, but feeling a little bold at the same time, Ben pulled one of his hands away from the mug and wrapped it around Rey’s shoulders to pull her into him.

She hummed in appreciation and turned her whole body towards him after that, her hair tickling the underside of his chin in a way that Ben never knew he’d actually like. He decided right then and there he didn’t care how many times he made a fool out of himself in front of her, he’d do it again and again if it meant hearing her laugh or getting to cuddle with her at the end of the day.

And if going out on that icy lake the next morning after spending the night with her was one of those things included in being an idiot, then by God, Ben was going to go out on that ice in his sneakers and giraffe-like legs. They stayed like that for a long time, both of them holding their tea without actually drinking any of it as they watched a crappy tv show and cuddled against each other.

Chapter Text

It was nearing seven o’clock at night when the snow finally stopped. The sun had already sunk behind the horizon, but a solid blanket of white at least a few feet tall was left behind in its wake. The fire was still crackling in Rey’s fireplace and the movie they had on now was some sort of 2000s romantic comedy, 10 Things I Hate About You, if Ben recalled correctly.

They had just gotten to the part where Kat was about to recite her poem to the class, but the soft snores of Rey on Ben’s chest pulled him away from the touching scene to look instead at the beautiful woman passed out on top of him. Her face was buried into the knit of his sweater and her hand loosely grasped the fabric while her whole body draped itself on top of him.

At some point, she’d fallen asleep and had slowly gotten closer until Ben finally built up the courage to wrap his arms around her tiny waist and tug her on top of him, her head tucking perfectly below his chin as her three buns started to fall out. “I hate the way I don’t hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all,” the tv recited in the background as Ben stared at the woman sleeping on his chest.

She really was beautiful with skin that was perfectly tanned despite her living in Maine like everyone else, freckles that dusted across her nose, and lashes that hit the tops of rosy cheeks. All Ben could do was blink slowly and examine her face like there was going to be a test on what she looked like and he absolutely had to memorize it. 

Rey began to stir on top of him when Kat found the guitar inside of her car, a soft little huff escaping her lips while she gripped his sweater a little tighter before yawning and blinking away the remnants of sleep. Her sock clad feet wiggled against Ben’s and she sighed happily at the feeling of his own feet nudging her back even though his cheeks were flaming red and his eyes had gone back to the tv.

“What bloody time is it?” she grumbled, sitting up from his chest and rubbing her eyes as she turned to look out the window and see it was dark out. “Almost, uh, seven,” Ben replied after glancing down at his watch like he hadn’t just checked the time a few minutes ago to keep track of how many hours Rey had been asleep on his chest for. “Was I really out that long? I apologize for falling asleep on you, I think the roles are supposed to be reversed here,” she teased, rolling off of him.

Was it bad that Ben suddenly felt cold now that she was gone?

“I don’t mind,” he piped up, kicking himself internally because that might have sounded desperate in her ears. But Rey just threw one of her award winning smiles over her shoulder at him and brushed it off while she walked to the kitchen. “Tea while I figure out something we can eat?” she asked, already putting the kettle on the stove without really waiting for his answer.

Ben shifted on the bed to straighten himself out and nodded, opting to pay attention to the credits that were now scrolling up the screen due to the fact the movie had wrapped up. “Why don’t you find us something else to watch that I might actually stay awake for?” Rey teased while she rummaged through the fridge. “It was technically you who chose the last few movies,” he pointed out.

She just laughed and shook her head, pulling out some chicken from the fridge alone with pasta noodles from the nearby kitchen pantry. Ben stretched out across the bed and grabbed the remote, wondering just how brave he could be right now while Rey worked away in the kitchen. Nibbling at his bottom lip and remembering something Poe had said to him a long time ago, Ben scrolled to the horror movies genre.

“Oh, I see how it is. Revenge, huh?” Rey joked as she eyed the tv screen then shot him an accusing glance. Ben blushed but tried to play it off with a shrug. His stutter, “Y-yeah, I like horror,” however, didn’t seem to sell his confidence due to the fact she giggled again and started to cut up the already grilled chicken on a cutting board she appeared to pull out of thin air. 

Poe had told him at some point in college while they were stuck in a dorm room together that playing a horror movie was the perfect way to pull a girl. If they were scared, they’d go to you for comfort and you could be the knight in shining armor to hold them whenever they jumped at something. However, it didn’t really work if the guy also happened to be scared of horror movies. Determined to be that hero figure this time, however, Ben put on his big boy pants and chose The Conjuring. 

He’d seen it before a few years back, so he figured that might help if he already knew what to anticipate. Although, now that he thought about it, Ben couldn’t really remember where all of the scary parts were… 

“Your tea,” Rey’s voice said beside him. Ben jumped hard on the bed, so zoned out that he didn’t notice Rey walk across the entirety of the room to hand him the mug of tea she’d made. Had he even heard the whistling from the kettle? “Right, thank you,” he muttered, taking it quickly from her and sipping on it while Rey had a smug little grin on her face.

“You sure you like horror?” she asked as she walked back to the kitchen to continue prepping whatever meal she was making for the both of them. He could tell based off of her playful tone that she obviously saw right through him, but Ben just pushed up his glasses and said as bravely as possible, “Yep. I love them.” Rey simply cocked an eyebrow at him, not saying anything else as the movie started.

Already, Ben shifted in his spot and watched the opening credits begin. He had never been good with horror movies, even when he was younger when little boys would usually cheer and reenact certain scenes when they played with each other. He recalled the time when he and Poe watched Nightmare on Elm Street in middle school and Poe chased him around the house with the blade-gloves.

Ben had cried so hard that he threw up on the stairs, and even though Poe had let it go years ago, Ben still thought about it from time to time and felt embarrassed. There was even one girl in college that Poe had hooked him up with around halloween as a double date to go to a haunted house close to their college campus. Of course, Ben clutched the girl more than she clutched him.

It was safe to say that he didn’t do very well with horror at all, but Rey was suddenly walking over with dinner somehow already made in two plates she balanced in both hands. “Pasta doesn’t take long to make and I already had the other ingredients chopped and ready. All I had to do was heat it up really,” she explained, blushing a little when his eyes popped out of his head at the sight of the food being handed to him.

It was some sort of chicken pasta dish and Ben eagerly grabbed the fork situated on the plate while Rey collapsed beside him and made herself comfortable against his side only a few seconds later. They both ate quietly, their eyes glued to the screen while two girls talked about a doll that appeared to be possessed by a demonic spirit in the beginning.

“I hate dolls,” Rey huffed beside him, shoving some noodles into her mouth while she shook her head and continued to watch Ed and Loraine Warren talk about the fact there wasn’t actually a spirit going into the doll, but a demon that wanted to hurt them. “They’re terrifying, I agree,” Ben murmured, dropping a noodle as he lifted it towards his mouth only for it to plop on her chest.

Both of their eyes went to her cleavage where the penne noodle rested and before Ben could think any better, he was reaching for it at the same time she started to sit up. What resulted was Ben’s hand going directly into the front of her shirt to grab the noodle while Rey squealed at the action and jerked away. “Fuck, sorry!” Ben instantly apologized, yanking his hand away. 

“I didn’t know you were gonna go for it like that, you dolt!” Rey chided back, rummaging into her shirt herself before she yanked out the noodle and threw it at his head. Dumbstruck at the fact she actually wasn’t mad about it, and that her laughter abruptly filled the air, Ben just stared at her with stunned eyes and ignored the fact he’d been smacked by a noodle that had gone down her shirt.

Acting out of pure instinct alone, Ben grabbed both of their plates and set them down roughly to the side before tackling her and starting to tickle her. “I don’t even know what ‘dolt’ means!” he cried as he attacked her sides with his fingers, Rey cackling below him and squirming as tears grew in her eyes. “Ben! Ben, please! I’m sorry, you noodle freak!” she squealed in pure delight.

When he finally took mercy on her, Ben was on top of her with his hands around her wrists to pin her down while Rey beamed up at him with messy hair and flushed cheeks. Both of them were breathing hard and staring at each other, their smiles slowly starting to fade away as realization washed over them like a tidal wave that they were in this position. What happened next, though, Ben could never have prepared himself for.

Rey sat up as best as possible from where she was pinned underneath him and pushed her lips against his, her eyes closed and cheeks bright pink while Ben froze and stared straight down at her closed eyelids. It took him a few seconds to understand that Rey, beautiful and amazing Rey, was actually kissing him and wanting to kiss him. 

Although, she seemed to mistake his lack of kissing back for him not being interested, so she pulled away with wide eyes and somewhat puffier lips only to stutter out, “O-oh my God, I’m so sor-”

But Ben cut her off, dipping down and relaxing his hold on her wrists to kiss her back with such a passion that Rey actually moaned into his mouth and tugged a little at his hold around her wrists. Ben let her go quickly, opting to hold himself up around her head as her dainty fingers flew to his inky locks and wove themself into his hair tightly.

Her lips were soft and perfect in every sense of the word, like a warm pillow that tasted of chamomile tea and something uniquely sweet. Rey’s hands tugged him closer and she opened her legs to accommodate his size, their mouths working almost roughly against each other when she parted her lips and swiped a devilish tongue over his own bottom lip.

Surprised, but not wanting to stop in the slightest, Ben opened his mouth to her and all but groaned at the feeling of her silky tongue clashing against his. Velvety like her lips, Ben pushed his own against hers, albeit a bit sloppier, and reveled in the taste of her mouth that belonged purely to her. Rey whimpered against him and lifted her legs to wrap around his lower body, the fluffy socks she had on scrunching up around her ankles as her sweatpants created a new warmth around his suddenly stiffening cock.

Ben wasn’t sure if Rey could feel that he was getting hard just from kissing her, but one hand dropped down from his hair to palm at his cock starting to tent the front of his own pants. And before he knew it, Ben snapped and lost control on top of her. He growled into her mouth and flipped them over, bending his legs so she now sat perfectly on his lap while his hands worked in a frenzy to get her out of her sweater.

They were flushed and panting, both of them crazed while Rey pulled away from his swollen lips only to remove her sweater and leave her in a light pink bra that Ben swore only she could pull off. Lacey around the cups and teasing at the small swell of her breasts, Ben’s hands found her ass and tugged her forward so that he could lock his mouth around the exposed and supple skin.

“Oh!” Rey whined, slapping a hand against the wall behind them as she arched her back into the feeling of his lips and tongue lapping at her heated skin. One trembling hand reached behind her and fumbled with the clasp of her bra until Ben felt a soft thud on his chest and opened his eyes to see Rey’s heavy eyelids staring down at him, blissed out and accompanied by reddened cheeks and abused lips.

Her tits were on full display before him, beautiful things with rosy nipples and pink from the attention they were suddenly getting. He swore they were even dusted with freckles like her face. Dumbstruck, but desperate to go on, Ben locked his eyes on hers and palmed one of her perfect breasts before latching his mouth onto the other nipple currently not getting any love. She let out a breathy moan and let her eyelids flutter closed while Ben lapped at the hardened peak.

His tongue swirled around her nipple again and again, sucking it lightly between his teeth before he moved hungrily to the other one, his thumb finding the wet bud he’d left behind. Rey shuddered against the feeling but made no move to get away. Instead, she arched herself more and wiggled back so that her ass could find the front of his sweatpants before she started to grind down in a way only someone with experience could.

Ben moaned against her breasts and pulled away, his own face flushed with need as he reached up and tugged her face back down so their lips could connect yet again. His hand wove into her chestnut colored hair and managed to get the strands to fall from the three bun style she normally wore, a cascading wave of brown tumbling around her shoulders and shielding them from the outside world.  

Her tiny hands grasped his wrists and pulled them down only to place them on her ass, both of them groaning at the feeling while their tongues moved greedily against each other. Her ass fit into the palms of his hands perfectly and by God did Ben squeeze that fit little ass of hers. Rey whimpered above him while he squeezed and groped and massaged and devoured her bum, desperate to make sure every inch of it was covered by his hands.

Ben’s cock was achingly hard against her and he swore that if he focused really hard, he could feel a certain wetness dripping through two layers of sweatpants from above. Rey mewled at the feeling of how hard he was against her sopping wet cunt, but when he suddenly let out a breathy moan of, “Rey…” below her, everything came crashing down at once that this was her client.

Flinging herself back, Rey slapped a hand over her chest and gasped while Ben sat up in a panic, obviously not understanding what was going on. The bulge in the front of his sweatpants was accompanied by a wet stain, and while Rey marveled for a second with holy fuck his cock is huge, she also had to remind herself that she was thinking her fucking client’s cock was huge. 

“I… oh my God,” she whispered, pulling away from the bed in a flash and snatching her top as she fled to the bathroom. Ben was left completely dumbstruck on her bed, blinking behind foggy glasses as he tried to wrap his brain around everything that had gone so deliciously right, to so devastatingly wrong in a flash. His eyes flicked up to the tv screen at the same time a jump scare happened, and he flinched with a sharp swear like a fucking idiot. 

Rey’s heart was beating rapidly in her chest and she was still clutching her shirt tightly as she leaned against her bathroom door and listened to the sound of the horror movie playing in the background. There was nowhere for her to go considering the house was one big room and it wasn’t like Ben could get in his car either and leave with all of the snow outside. She closed her eyes tightly and whined internally. 

Of course she just had to go and fuck this up, didn’t she? Fuck, Ben was attractive both outwardly and internally and she just had to kiss him like an idiot. She should’ve just kept it professional, but the way he was looking at her when she was pinned underneath him tempted her far too much and she just-

Rey groaned and rested her head against the back of the door as she pulled her sweater back on and let her arms hang at her sides. How could she go about this now? It was obvious that even though they’d quite literally just met days ago that there was an attraction between them and that had just been confirmed by the half naked make out session they’d shared on her bed.

She’d never gotten this way with a client before and it was certain from how shy Ben was, and how a little inexperienced he was at first, that Ben wasn’t really around girls much. Rey just found him so alluring and sweet and now she’d fucked it all up by acting on her urges and kissing the living daylights out of him while taking off her bra and putting his hands on her ass and grinding on his cock.

Don’t think about his cock, don’t think about his cock, don’t think about his giant cock-

Rey shook her head and took a deep breath, straightening out her shoulders and turning to look in the mirror beside her so that she could gather her composure. She was going to go out there, apologize for her behavior, inform him that they could continue professionally and platonically if he would like, and never ever act on anything again. Yes, bury whatever feelings had just risen.

That would work, right? Assuring herself that it would, Rey shook out her limbs and reached for the handle of the bathroom, opening it at the same time Ben was outside about to knock on it nervously. What ended up happening instead was Ben knocking on her forehead as she took a step out into the room. “Oh fuck! I’m so sorry!” he cried, stepping away instantly with red cheeks while she jerked back and rubbed her forehead.

“N-no! It’s fine! Uh…” Everything she was about to say seemed to fly out of her brain and it came as a great surprise when Ben scratched the back of his head anxiously and said seriously, “I apologize for how I acted. I shouldn’t have started anything or kissed you or done, well, half of the things I did and I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I-I won’t come anymore if you don’t want me to and I’m really, really sorry, Rey.” 

She blinked at this dopey looking man a good foot taller than her shifting worriedly on his feet like the world itself was about to end and instantly dropped her shoulders sympathetically. “No, don’t apologize. I was the one who kissed you and you just went along with it like any normal person would. It was my fault and completely unprofessional. I’m sorry for taking advantage of you like that, Ben. I’ll keep it strictly professional from now on if you want to continue as my client.”

He nodded immediately after she spilled everything and glanced back in the direction of the bed. “I… I get scared when I watch horror movies. The girl is always supposed to cling to you when something scary happens, but it was always the other way around. If you’ll have me… I’d really like to finish the movie and we can just act like this never happened and keep it platonic?” he asked after a slight pause, looking at her again.

Rey agreed rapidly and stepped out of the bathroom to head in the direction of the bed. It was still a little messy, and her pink bra was tossed on the floor, but she kicked it underneath the bed and sat down first. Ben joined her quietly a few moments later and for what seemed like an eternity, neither of them moved or said anything as they sat there stiffly against the wall with legs in front of them.

It was her who caved with a heavy sigh, lying back and opening up her arms as she glanced to the man who now seemed to be sporting a permanently heavy blush across his cheeks. “Come on, Ben. I know you’re going to get scared soon and I don’t mind being the one who holds you. Like you said, let’s just go back to normal and pretend like it never happened,” she urged. Ben sank down next to her and entered her arms, holding her back loosely as they both focused on the tv.

Was it still kinda awkward? Yes. But did it start to get better after a little while longer? Absolutely. It was nearing the end of the movie when things felt like they were finally back to a relaxed and comfortable place between them, even if the movie was horrifying. Ben jumped in her arms and grumbled about how that jump scare was a low blow.

Rey giggled and threaded her fingers through his hair, moving her fuzzy sock clad feet against his. “Is someone scared of an exorcism?” she teased, nudging him while he huffed and got a little closer to her for support. “You look at that and tell me that’s normal! What voice sounds like that?” he cried, shaking his head and pushing up his glasses even though he didn’t really want to see.

On the outside, Rey was laughing and watching the movie without a care in the world, but internally, she was hyper aware of the feeling of his head against her chest. Her heart was still thumping painfully while she attempted to tell herself that she wasn’t attracted to him in the slightest and it was totally okay that they were cuddling like this while watching a horror movie.

People did this all the time platonically, didn’t they? The exorcism ended and Ben exaggerated a sigh of relief, relaxing against her to a point that Rey hadn’t even realized he’d been grabbing onto her so hard. “Remind me to never watch a horror movie again,” Ben huffed. She nodded and carded her fingers through his hair while the movie began to reach its ending and ignored the memory of her grabbing his hair when they kissed.

She really shouldn’t be thinking about this. Not when they’d just agreed that they would continue to do this if she was professional. Professional, Rey, be a fucking professional, she chanted in her brain. “Are you okay? You seem a little white in the face. Did the movie scare you too?” Ben asked from below her, his head tilted back and worried eyes masked behind those dorky glasses that made her heart melt.

“Yeah, it was the movie. These things usually don’t get to me but jeez, this one sure did,” she played along, offering a nervous laugh. Ben just smirked and said, “See! I told you it was scary,” before resting back against her with a satisfied expression. In truth, Rey knew that it wasn’t the movie that had scared her to the point of blood draining from her face, but the fact that she was going to have to hide the rapidly growing feelings for her shy client.

Chapter Text

When Ben woke up the next morning, it was to the sound of birds chirping outside and soft snores coming from beside him. He blinked a few times, lifting a hand to his bare eyes so he could rub away crusties and make sense of where he was. Rey was curled against him on her side, her head tucked below his chin while her forehead rested against his chest. 

Her arms were curled against her and her legs were tangled with his and for a good amount of time, Ben was able to just admire her while she slept. So much had happened last night that his head still hurt from it all, and even though they’d both said their relationship would be strictly professional now, Ben felt anything but professionalism towards her.

He’d sucked on her tits for Christ’s sake.

At the thought, his cheeks started to turn pink and he focused his attention back on how soft she looked with her chestnut colored hair fanning over the sweater that probably should be changed whenever he actually managed to go home. Deciding he should probably check on the outside world just to see how the snow levels were, Ben carefully removed himself from underneath Rey and padded towards one of the windows.

The sun was out, promising that it would melt eventually, but there remained a good two to three feet of snow and Ben’s shoulders sagged immediately. That probably meant he was going to have to spend another day with her, and while he was totally prepared to do that, they were both going to have to act like nothing had happened the night before.

It would be easier if he could go home and they could both take a break from seeing one another’s faces, all things considered, but the snow had him trapped and the universe seemed to want Ben right where he was. As if on cue, the feeling of his phone vibrating in the pocket of his sweatpants pulled him away from the snow and to the screen that lit up with Poe’s name.

Casting a nervous glance over his shoulder to the still sleeping Rey, Ben hurried towards the back sliding doors and stepped out onto the small cement slab that acted as a bit of a back porch and was snow free. “Hello?” he answered anxiously after closing the door behind him. “Solo! How the fuck are you, dude? Feel like I haven’t heard from you in a lifetime,” Poe all but cheered into the phone.

Ben winced at the eager voice on the other side and once again peered over his shoulder to see if Rey was moving around. Nothing. “I-I’m good. Work is shit without you, you know,” he chided back, folding his arms over his chest as he looked around at the white covered landscape. Fucking hell, it was cold outside. He shivered and tried to pay attention to what Poe was saying when he looked down and saw fuzzy socks suddenly on his feet.

He hadn't put those on. 

“Ben? Dude, you okay?” Poe’s voice suddenly brought him back. “Fuck, yeah, I’m okay. Sorry, just… got distracted,” he covered poorly. His best friend clicked his tongue at him through the phone while Ben re-focused and decided to worry about the socks once he got off the phone. “I was saying I think I might come down this weekend, come visit you and hang out before the worst of the winter weather comes.”

He nodded quickly and stuttered out, “Y-Yeah, sure. Fuck, this weekend… yeah, I should be free.” Poe laughed heartily on the other end and Ben could practically see him shaking his head. “You’ve still got that awkward way of talking, don’t you? Dude, I’m your best friend. Come on. Well, what’s got you distracted at least?” Poe questioned, shuffling also sounding through the phone. 

Ben looked into the glass doors and spotted Rey sitting on the edge of the bed rubbing her eyes, looking around with a confused expression until they landed on his. She gave a pleased smile and waved at him while Ben grinned back and did the same, pointing to the phone to show he’d be just a minute. Rey just gave him a thumbs up while Ben turned back to the conversation.

“Uh… I kinda met someone, but-”

“You what? Ben fucking Solo met someone?” Poe was immediately screaming into the phone. Ben flinched at the volume and pulled the phone away for a moment until his best friend was done yelling. “It’s not serious! It’s more of a… professional thing?” Ben said, though it came out as more of a question. Poe paused for a second and Ben held his breath as he waited.

After a few heartbeats, he realized what he said might have been interpreted wrong, but Poe already beat him to it. “Dude… are you in love with a prostitute?” Ben's face drained of color and it was suddenly him screaming into the phone, “No! No, no, God no! She’s- it’s- we-” The sliding door opened and Ben spun around to see Rey handing him a cup of coffee with an amused expression.

“Seems like you could use some out here,” she told him with a wink before stepping back inside. “Holy fuck was that her? She’s British, dude! How the fuck did you pull that?” Poe gasped on the other end of the line. Ben just stared down at the hot coffee in his hand and before he knew what he was doing, he muttered to Poe, “Hey, I’ll call you later.”

He could hear his best friend start to protest, but Ben was already disconnected and pushing his phone into the pocket of his sweatpants. He opened the sliding door and stepped back inside to hear shuffling coming from within the bathroom and figured Rey was probably changing, which drew him back down to the fuzzy socks miraculously on his feet. 

They were bright pink with white polka-dots and Ben blushed at the pattern, wiggling his toes within them and appreciating just how fast they warmed his toes. He knew for a fact that he hadn’t put them on himself which meant that at some point during the night, Rey must have put them on him herself. The bathroom door clicked open and Rey stepped out in a pair of jeans and heavy oversized sweater, her hair up in a single messy bun today.

“How’s that lake looking?” she asked with a smile, brushing past him to head into the kitchen where her own mug of coffee was waiting for her. “Lake?” Ben asked dumbly, following her movements like a lost puppy as he watched her turn and nod while taking an amused sip from her coffee cup. “Is it frozen yet?” Rey pressed, jerking her head in the direction of where it would be outside.

Ben looked quickly and noted that it was indeed frozen, about to tell her such until he remembered what exactly she had in mind for that lake. His shoulders instantly rose in defense while he lifted his hands and shook his head to show there was no way he was going to go out on a lake when he didn’t even have skates. “No way,” he protested. Rey just giggled and set down the mug, pointing behind him to the bathroom.

“There’s a change of clothes in there for you. Old stuff from an old friend that will probably fit you. Come on, Solo, it’s time to see just how well those legs work out there,” Rey teased. He huffed at her but pushed up his glasses and turned around, heading into the bathroom to change while she shook her head and continued to sip at her coffee. If Rey was being honest, she’d woken up scared when she realized the bed was empty.

Figuring she’d scared him off because of what happened yesterday, she almost collapsed into tears until she heard his voice muted but close by. She’d sat up from the bed and spotted his frame outside on her back doorstep with a phone to his ear and her whole body seemed to relax when she finally found him. That probably wasn’t a good thing that she felt panicked when she couldn’t find him, but Rey ignored it like she did her other feelings.

Once again, Rey found herself reminding her heart that what they had was a strictly professional relationship and nothing more. She even tried to put out of her mind the fuzzy socks she’d gotten him at some point in the early hours of the morning. His feet were just so cold and who was Rey to deny him some cozy socks? Now that she thought about it, it probably wasn’t a good thing to put socks on a client while they were sleeping either.

With a sigh, Rey turned her attention to the lake outside while she waited for Ben to change into Finn’s clothes, her best friend that she had to leave behind when she moved, and hoped that some good old fashioned fun might be able to distract her from the thought of his mouth on her tits or his cock against her-

Rey shook her head with a blush and furiously drank her coffee, savoring the way her tongue burned because it pulled her out of those sorts of thoughts. “I think the hoodie might be a little tight,” Ben’s voice drew her from her thoughts and Rey nearly spit out her coffee when she saw the medium sized hoodie clinging to his giant torso. The sweatpants were a bit short as well, but were baggy enough that they didn’t cling to his skin.

“Oh my God…” she laughed, hiding her grin behind her hand while Ben blushed but gave her a pointed look that said seriously? Rey quickly moved back to her closet and tried to find something else that would fit him, a big, pale pink puffer jacket the only thing she could find that had belonged to yet another friend. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ben grumbled, shrugging it on anyway considering it was so cold outside.

He pushed his arms into the warm coat that surprisingly fit and zipped it up, now clothed in a pink puffer jacket, grey hood peaking out at the top, grey sweatpants that sat just an inch too far away from his ankles to be considered normal, and fuzzy pink socks with polka-dots. “I look like a pink marshmallow,” Ben huffed, self consciously crossing his arms in front of him

“Well I think you look stunning, so throw on your shoes and come on!” Rey chuckled, snatching two beanies and pairs of gloves for them before ducking out of the doors and squealing while she ran down the hill towards the lake. Even though he still had to put his shoes on, Ben somehow managed to race right past her and beat her to the edge of the body of water with a victorious cheer.

Rey pouted at him and threw him the gloves and beanie before nervously eyeing the lake that appeared to be frozen solid. “I dare you to go first,” Ben teased while he tugged the black beanie on over his matching hair. “That’d probably be best considering I’m not the one who looks like a giraffe,” Rey jested back at him, inching towards the shore with curious eyes. She’d never actually done anything like this, but she took in a steadying breath and finally put her foot down on the ice. 

It creaked loudly below her and Rey froze, but pressed on when nothing else happened. Her first few steps were tiny, like a baby’s would be, and Ben was trying to stifle his laughter behind her. “Oi! Shut up!” she hissed with a frown, her arms instantly flying out to balance herself when she slipped a little. “I’d like to see you try!” Rey shouted at him while giving him a glare. 

Ben gulped at the snap she gave him but grudgingly followed, hesitantly stepping out onto the ice as well while it groaned beneath their weight. “Are you sure this is a good idea that we’re both on this?” he very obviously fretted. Rey just swatted at the air to wave off his concern and continued moving outward until they were a decent couple of feet away from the shoreline. 

The ice whined around them in protest for a few more seconds before dying down completely with no signs it was going to give. “See, it worked out!” Rey said proudly with a confident smile and flushed cheeks. Ben just rolled his eyes and looked around the scenery from the frozen lake, checking out the giant houses that bordered the icy shores. “So was this house actually here before you moved or did you have it built?” Ben asked, turning back to face her.

Rey bent down and tightened the laces of her sneakers with a shrug, a hot puff of breath escaping from her mouth and floating into the air. “I actually had it moved with me. It’s able to be picked up and transported,” she giggled, standing back up and glancing down at the ice before giving a tentative push. Her arms immediately flung out at her sides to steady herself, but she slid towards him like someone would with an ice skate. 

“You’re telling me you picked that up by yourself and moved it? I’m impressed,” Ben joked as he scuffled to get out of her way while Rey continued trying to skate. She shook her head at him with a small laugh, then pushed once more in his direction only to slam right into him before he could move out of the way in time. “Fuck!” they both yelped, scrambling to gain balance by clinging onto each other and steadying out. As soon as they realized how close they were, their arms shot back to their sides and they quickly stepped away as easily as they could.

Ben scratched the back of his head and looked around the lake, trying to find something to avert their attention to instead of some unspoken rule they’d just violated. When he spotted a rock jutting up from the surface, Ben pointed to it with a suggestive eyebrow and tried to change the subject by asking in a challenging tone, “Race you to that rock?”

Rey’s awkward face instantly lit up at the competition and she beamed at him, narrowing her eyes and agreeing with, “You’re on!” At that, they both started shuffling as best as they could across the ice to the rock, Ben obviously in the lead due to the fact his legs were longer, though he was painfully shaky. Rey’s movements were smoother behind him and he could tell she was trying her best.

They were so close, only a foot or two away when Ben’s foot suddenly caught on a stable crack in the ice and sent him flying forwards until his face landed on the rock they were racing to. “Ben!” Rey shrieked behind him, moving even faster in a panic while Ben groaned and rolled over onto his back, clutching his face which was now bleeding.

Rey collapsed onto her knees beside him and hurried out, “Let me see,” before grasping his wrist and gently pulling his hand away from his face. Her face turned almost as white as the snow when she saw the gash running along the right side of his face from where his glasses had broken and cut into his skin. “Fuck, okay. We need to get you back to the house. I have a first aid kit. Come on,” she urged.

Ben nodded and happily accepted her support, both of them hobbling back to the house on the slippery ice that ultimately had them laughing the entire time back, even if Ben was bleeding everywhere. “This was a bad idea,” Rey giggled, their feet slipping and sliding in all different directions while they almost made it to the edge of the frozen lake. “You think?” Ben shot back humorously.

When they finally made it back to solid ground, they shuffled up the snow covered ground and made it back into the heat of the house, shrugging off now soaked shoes and heading towards the table by the fireplace. “Alright, you stay here and keep pressure on that. I’m going to get the kit and a wet washcloth,” Rey informed, trying to keep it serious even though they still had smiles on their faces.

Ben just nodded obediently and watched as she scurried off to the bathroom, rifling around under the sink until she made a proud little sound followed by running water. Within the next thirty seconds, Rey was hurrying back towards him and pulling the other chair up between his legs so she could get a good look at his cut. Ben blushed at the close proximity, but Rey was more focused on the blood trailing down his skin.

“Alright, looks like there might be some glass from your glasses in there. I’ll try to wipe away this blood then tweeze out those little pieces. Give you some bandages afterwards, yeah? I can’t stitch,” she teased lightly. Ben nodded and stayed completely still while Rey reached out with wide eyes and gently pulled the damaged glasses away from his face.

Their gazes caught for a fraction of a second too long, and then they were both turning pink and looking anywhere but each other. The fire crackled beside them, still going from last night which wasn’t safe in the slightest, and the sound of wind whistling through bare trees outside filled the house. Rey’s breathing was soft in front of him and Ben winced when she pressed the towel down at first, but soon relaxed at her careful touch.

“Can I ask why you moved? If you had so many clients in the city and all…?” Ben blurted, not even knowing where that question had come from since he hadn’t been thinking about it at all. Rey blinked at his inquiry and her blush faded quickly, but she took a moment to think about how she wanted to respond while she continued to work. “Do you remember how I said sometimes clients got a little too out of bounds?” she whispered.

Ben’s heart seemed to skip a beat in his chest and all he could do was nod. “There was a client that tried his luck once… he didn’t get very far, granted, because I stopped him, but he got upset about it. He basically harassed me for a solid month relentlessly and I had to move. I was starting to get scared,” Rey admitted in a voice far too small for Ben’s liking. She pulled the washcloth away quietly and moved on to the tweezers, but Ben reached out and gently placed his hand over hers. 

“Rey, I’m so sorry. Please, with everything that happened yesterday and hearing about this, please let me know if you need me to stay away. You don’t deserve that. You’re one of the kindest people I’ve ever met and I’d hate to bring another shadow over your life like that person did,” Ben told her seriously. She just smiled and shook her head, that certain twinkle returning to her eyes.

“No, Ben. You aren’t like that at all. I just needed to leave and I… I’m glad I did,” Rey admitted, flicking her eyes up from underneath her lashes to meet his own chocolate gaze. Before he could get another word out, Rey was swatting his hand away playfully and lifting the tweezers to cautiously remove the tiny pieces of glass situated in his skin. 

He winced every now and then when she removed the prescription glass, but Rey finished up before it became too unbearable and picked up the washcloth again to clean the wound back up. “Alright, I have princess band-aids and normal band-aids. What’ll it be?” Rey asked through a grin, holding up the two boxes with a mischievous glint in her eyes. 

“I think I’ll take the princesses considering I know you’re going to put them on me anyway,” Ben grumbled, shaking his head while she squealed and eagerly dug into the box to pull out at least five of them. There was probably a more effective way of covering the wound other than layering band-aids on top of each other, but Ben kept his mouth shut and watched in amusement as she pulled off the protective plastic flaps and told him to sit still.

So there he sat, warmed by the fire and her touch as he closed his eyes and let her cover him in princess bandaids while clothed in a pink bubble jacket and pink polka-dotted socks. “Oh, Ben… you just look…” Rey trailed off, obviously biting back laughter as she took in his appearance. “Listen, I paid for this day too, so can we just cuddle and ignore the fact I look like the definition of pink?” he groaned, going to cover his face with his hand only for him to wince and yank it back when he touched the wound.

“Ben! You dolt!” Rey laughed, full blown bending over at the waist as she tried to catch her breath. He just grumbled and stood up to go over to the bed only to trip on the chair and fall face first onto the floor. “ Ben! Holy shit! ” Rey yelped, now laughing so hard tears were streaming down her face. “Just help me up!” he whined, rolling over onto his back and extending his hand.

The tiny woman stood up after catching her breath and rushed over to help him, and whether it was because she had just had a laughing fit or that Ben was heavier, Rey was suddenly yanked down onto his chest and stopped just inches away from his face. All laughter was drained from them as they stared at each other with wide eyes, but no one broke away from the contact. 

It was Ben who moved first, lifting a hand to brush some of her hair behind her ear before his palm remained cupped on the side of her face in admiration. “I know… I know we agreed to be professional, so let me just say this and then I’ll never speak again… but you are the most beautiful woman, inside and out, that I have ever met, and I think I would go insane if I never got to be around you again,” he admitted.

Rey’s lips parted, her face stunned, but then she was moving, moving, moving and her lips were back on his and his hands were in her hair and their breath was shared between each other while Ben ignored the twinge of pain in his face in exchange for a moan from her mouth. The cold that was once in his skin was long gone now as a steady flush moved over his cheeks.

And just like that, Rey was pulling away and swallowing hard as she sat back and gently pulled him up. “Like you said,” she began slowly. “Let me just do this and then we’ll never do it again. Professional.” He nodded in a daze and stood up from the ground without another word alongside her, both of them moving to the bed knowing full well that being professional was never going to work.

Chapter Text

When Ben woke up at 8 am on Saturday, he felt cold. With a sigh, he ran a careful hand down his slightly less bandaged face and pulled himself up in a sitting position. His head instinctively swiveled to try to find the body supposed to be sleeping beside him, but an empty bed was the only thing that greeted him after he rubbed his eyes free of sleep. Frowning, Ben looked away from the abandoned side and reached for his glasses instead.

Not even a second later, his phone was vibrating on the nightstand and grabbing his attention. Ben snatched it up at a lightning fast speed, rushing out a hello with the hopes a British accent would be on the other side, but all that came through was the caught off guard voice of his best friend. “Uh, hey. Listen, we still on for today? Because I’m about, eh, thirty minutes away?” Poe questioned.

Ben’s eyes nearly bugged out of his skull when he remembered that Poe said he was going to come up for the weekend, but considering he’d spent half of his week snowed in his crush’s house, it had totally slipped his mind. To be fair, it was harder keeping a boner and feelings down than Ben had originally anticipated, especially since Rey had a thing for draping her leg over his lower body.

“Shit, yeah. Yeah, we’re still on,” Ben tumbled out, scrambling to get out of the bed and head for the shower in nothing but his boxers and a pair of fuzzy socks he’d caved and gotten the other day at Target. That smug little Brit was rubbing off on him more than he would like to admit. “Alright, great. See you soon, Solo!” Poe cheered before disconnecting.

Groaning, Ben practically made an Olympic sport out of taking a shower; peeling off his clothes faster than Usain Bolt and battling water better than Michael Phelps ever could. Within five minutes, he was scrubbed from head to toe with a slight stinging sensation lingering on his skin that now seemed a little pink. Next up was his wardrobe, but that part was easy.

Black jeans, white long-sleeved undershirt, navy sweater, fuzzy socks, and boots he would set by the door in case Poe decided they should go out. And knowing his best friend, Poe always wanted to go out and do something. When his phone vibrated again in his back pocket just a few minutes after he made it downstairs to whip up something for breakfast, Ben figured it was just Poe again until he saw Rey’s name lit up on his lock screen. His heart lurched in his chest and Ben grabbed the phone, jerkily unlocking it and reading her message.

Rey

Gotta say… it’s a bit odd not having you around today.

He grinned at the message and leaned against the countertop, oblivious to the fact his toast was burning, and quickly replied with flushed cheeks.

Ben

Gotta say… it’s a bit odd not waking up in someone else’s bed being cuddled.

Fuck, was that too forward?

Rey

Ha. See you in two days, you giant man. x

Ben stared at the x tacked to the end of her message, but decided it was probably best if he didn’t reply to that in fear he’d say something way too out of bounds. At the thought, he lifted his fingers to brush across his lips and feel for where hers had been just a few days ago for the last time. It was a goodbye kiss, an end to whatever weird thing they had for a few minutes, but it was still a kiss.

And God, did he cherish that kiss. Her lips were so soft and gentle against his, like she knew that he was shy about everything and had to be cautious with him. Ben liked that she was able to just know how he felt about things and he knew deep down that the chances of finding someone like her in the future were slim to none. Who was he kidding? She was perfect in every way.

He liked everything about her, from her award winning smile and sparking hazel eyes to her confident ways and kind personality. Rey was a woman of her own and Ben admired every single inch of her inside and out. Fuck… he was falling hard, wasn’t he? The smoke that filled his nose pulled his mind out of the thoughts of the professional cuddler and with a sharp swear, he snatched his thoroughly burnt toast out of the toaster at the same time his doorbell rang.

With a groan, Ben ditched the toast and hoped Poe would be hungry enough to go out and grab something before heading towards the front door. “What took you so fucking long?” Poe asked with a wide grin once Ben opened the door, not even giving him a second to respond before he was swamped in a hug from his shorter friend. Ben just hugged his best friend back and grumbled, “Yeah, yeah. Burnt my goddamn toast.” 

Poe laughed, stepping out of the doorway to look around the house that was probably meant more for a family than a single IT man. To be fair, houses were relatively cheap in Maine… “So? Where is she?” Poe asked, turning back around excitedly to stare at the taller man. Ben frowned while closing the door as he tried to figure out what Poe was talking about until it dawned on him that Rey had been the topic of the end of their conversation on the phone.

“Oh, uh, listen… we aren’t actually a thing, Poe. I, uh… I pay her to cuddle,” Ben admitted shyly. Poe’s smile instantly dropped and he stared at his friend with an expression that could only read as did I just hear you right? Nodding to avoid the conversation, Ben pushed past his friend and walked to the laundry room where his winter coat was hanging up. “You want to grab breakfast?”

*****

Within two seconds of the waitress walking away after pouring them mugs of coffee, Poe was smirking at his friend with a knowing look and asking suggestively, “So… cuddling, huh?” Ben just groaned and shook his head, dropping it into his hands as he avoided the smug gaze zeroed in on him. “Listen, I don’t judge! Sometimes we just need to be held, I get it!” Poe quickly defended.

“Just shut up,” Ben hissed back, finally pulling his hands down his cheeks so he could meet his friend’s eyes just over the tips of his fingers. Poe sipped at his coffee and looked around the diner they’d chosen in the downtown area, a grimace suddenly coming over his face as he set the mug back down. “God, nothing has changed since I left, has it?” he asked through a grunt. Ben just nodded and drank his own bitter coffee. “Has there been anything new at all?” Poe pressed as he shifted in his seat to lean forward.

“Besides a professional cuddler moving to town, I would say no. We got a new donut shop for a while, but it closed because apparently no one had interest,” Ben grumbled, picking up the menu to the side even though he knew he was just going to order the same thing that he always did. “You need to get out of this fucking place, Solo. I swear to God, I’ve been gone for a while now and these are still the same faces I grew up with,” Poe murmured.

The sound of the bell dinging to signal someone had entered the diner caught Ben’s already faltering attention while he went to take another sip of his coffee. It wasn’t until he recognized the chestnut colored hair in three buns did he choke on the hot drink and quickly grab for napkins. “Jesus Christ, dude! What the fuck?” Poe jumped.

The debacle in their booth grabbed Rey and everyone else’s attention and Ben quickly ducked his face down to avoid her curious eyes. Of course, that sweet little British voice was calling out, “Ben?” before he could cover his identity from her. Poe looked over his shoulder with furrowed eyebrows, his eyes going wide as he looked at the woman in a bright red peacoat now walking towards them.

“You do a piss poor job of hiding, you know,” Rey teased when she found herself at the end of their booth with a grin. Ben blushed and nervously looked up at her while pushing up his glasses to get a better view. Fuck, she looked beautiful. Her tanned skin was pink from the cold outside and her red coat clashed beautifully with black skinny jeans and a thick grey scarf around her neck. 

“Uh, yeah, I know… sorry,” Ben murmured, still staring up at her as she held onto the satchel draped across her torso. “Ben, you gonna invite her to sit or make her fucking stand, dude?” Poe chided, flicking a stunned expression from his best friend to the gorgeous woman standing beside them. “Oh, fuck, yeah, sorry. Here,” Ben stuttered out, scooting to the side while Rey giggled at his tripped over words. Her body was surprisingly warm beside his as she sat down and made herself comfortable. 

“This the girl then?” Poe asked bluntly, taking an impressed sip of his coffee as he looked between the couple that complimented each other rather nicely when beside each other. Rey cocked an eyebrow at the question, turning to look at Ben who was now dangerously close to a fire engine red while Poe stared him down. “What girl?” Rey pressed as she tried to hold back a grin. 

“The professional cuddler, I’m assuming,” Poe cleared up, winking at Ben to show he just saved his ass because of course Poe knew Ben had a crush on this girl. “Ah, yes, that would be me. Why, you interested?” Rey piped up, turning her attention away from the giant sitting next to her to Ben’s best friend. Poe just laughed and shook his head. “No, I’m just visiting unfortunately. Sounds like you’ve got your hands full with this one anyway.”

Ben just huffed and continued to stare at his menu while he ignored the conversation going on between his crush-slash-personal cuddler and his best friend. To be fair, he wouldn’t be surprised if Rey ended up liking Poe more than him. Girls always liked Poe more than him.

But then, he felt it. 

Her hand slowly crept under the table towards his and very hesitantly laced her fingers into his.

“Oh yes, I’ve definitely got my hands full. He's quite clumsy and falls asleep every time during our cuddle sessions. I swear he’s the only thing keeping my company in business right now. Books up all my time. Not that I mind, though,” Rey explained casually, like she wasn’t holding his fucking hand under the table. Ben was frozen in his spot, staring at the menu with blown pupils as he tried to make sense of what she was doing. 

Rey and Poe continued to talk about her job while Ben focused on how soft and perfect her hand fit into his. She was so small and dainty, that much was sure, and he couldn’t help but relax in her grasp as he tightened his own fingers comfortably around hers. God, what he would give to be able to hold her hand like this every day… 

With a sigh, Ben accepted this would probably be the only time he would ever get to hold it and decided to savor its feeling while the two others at the table moved on to what Poe was doing back.

“Oh, you know. Just missed my best friend, is all. We grew up together and worked together for a few years before I moved recently. Poor guy’s been all by himself up here without me,” Poe snickered while reaching for two menus after catching Ben staring intensely at his. Rey turned her attention to the giant next to her and so many things clicked inside of her brain at once. 

He was all by himself.

Her heart shattered a little bit inside of her chest and it dawned on her that she was intruding very much on the breakfast Ben was trying to have with his best friend who had left. Suddenly feeling very out of place and rather upset at what Poe had just told her about Ben, she blushed and turned her gaze to the bar stool seating at the diner’s counter, spotting an empty stool.

“Well, I’ll let you two catch up. I’ll see you later, Ben. Nice to meet you, Poe,” Rey rushed out with a lopsided grin, only catching Ben’s confused eyes for a second or two before she was leaving his hand and the spot beside him to go sit at the countertop. The bell chimed again, a familiar red headed man striding in with the usual grumpy attitude, but Ben ignored the co-worker he recognized and turned his attention back to Poe with accusing eyes.

Of course Poe would scare her off by telling her just how lonely he was, and right when they were holding hands for the first time too. With a grumble, Ben just continued to stare at the menu until the waitress came up to them and took the same orders they’d been ordering since they were young. “Well… how’s life in the new city?” Ben asked, trying to ignore the crime Poe had just committed.

“Fuckin’ great. I’m telling you man, you need to get out of Freeport. It’s a big world once you leave this place behind,” Poe tried to convince him. Ben just shook his head, glancing to Rey who was all of a sudden talking to Hux who had sat down next to her, a devious glint in his eye. It was obvious she seemed a little uncomfortable as he kept leaning in every time to talk to her, but Rey was doing an excellent job of keeping her eyes trained on the menu in her own hands.

Ben forced himself to look away, his heart now going crazy in his chest while Poe rambled on about his job, the new house, the money, and the women he was meeting. All he could hear now were Hux’s poor attempts at trying to pick up Rey, the sweetest woman in the entire world who, frankly, Ben felt very protective over. “Uh, that’s very kind of you, but I think I’ll have to decline,” Rey’s delicate voice filled his ears.

Ben slanted his gaze towards the two, still nodding along to Poe who was now messing around with the silverware in front of him while he continued to talk. Hux was dangerously close to her and Ben knew his co-worker well enough to know that Hux had quite a temper when he didn’t get what he wanted. Already, Ben had started to shift in his chair and focused all of his hearing to their conversation.

“Not even one date? You don’t even know if you like me,” Hux tried to persuade, nudging her with his shoulder after accepting a mug of coffee from the tired looking woman behind the counter. “No, I’m alright. Thank you for the offer though,” Rey pressed, not even looking at the red head whose face now screwed up into something sour.

“Listen, I get you’re new around Freeport and might be a little wary of strangers, but I swear I’m a nice guy. I could show you the town and take you out to a nice dinner. Come on now, be reasonable,” Hux barreled on. Rey bit her bottom lip and very obviously angled herself away from the man, tucking some loose strands of hair behind her ear as she offered one final awkward smile and reiterated once more, “I really have to decline. I’m not interested.”

Ben was out of the booth as soon as he saw Hux’s hand lash out and grab Rey’s bicep tightly, the sound of Poe’s stuttered story falling on deaf ears as Ben saw red and quickly approached the co-worker of his. “Get your hand off of her, Armitage,” Ben said seriously as he snatched the pale man’s wrist and yanked it off of Rey who now looked terrified. “Solo? What the fuck are you doing here?” Hux hissed, recoiling in his chair. “With a friend. Leave her alone,” Ben bit back. 

The red head flicked his gaze from Rey to Ben before he narrowed his eyes and snarled out, “Do you know her?” Ben’s hand was still around the smaller man’s wrist and starting to get tighter when he felt Rey’s tiny little hand reach out to lightly grasp the back of his coat where Hux wouldn’t see. “What does it matter? You’re making her uncomfortable and you’ve just grabbed her. I think it’s time for you to leave, Hux,” Ben stated. 

Armitage tugged his wrist out of Ben’s hold with a cold chuckle, shaking his head and standing up from the stool only to look Ben up and down slowly with a cocked eyebrow. “Who would’ve thought the bitch IT boy would stand up for a woman, let alone know how to speak around one,” the bitter man mocked. Rey’s grip tightened on the back of his jacket but Ben stayed where he was standing.

“And who would’ve thought the man who’s a dick to everyone at work would also be a dick to women? Actually, that’s not surprising at all,” Ben shot back without thinking. Within the next second, a fist was hurting towards his already busted face and glasses only to shatter the spectacles for the second time in a week and reopen the wound that had been covered in band-aids. 

Rey was jumping up from her seat then, lurching to catch Ben’s staggering form as Poe shot out of the booth and grabbed Hux, shoving him towards the exit with a cuss filled shout. Ben clutched his face, blood starting to seep through the cracks of his fingers yet again while everyone else in the diner stared with wide eyes and subtle murmurs. 

“Alright, that’s enough! You three, out!” the woman who’d been pouring coffee from behind the counter yelled at them. The small group nodded while Poe and Rey hooked their arms around Ben to support him as they walked towards the exit as fast as possible. “How many bloody times are you going to hurt this face of yours?” Rey gasped once they got outside, Hux already long gone. 

Ben just huffed and pulled his hand away to stare at the blood coating his palm. With a shy grin to show off his orange stained teeth, Ben looked at Rey dopily and murmured, “Totally worth it.” She just rolled her eyes and turned to her bag to pull out a box of bandages she kept inside, shooing Poe out of the way so she could work on covering the split open cut. “You’re going to need new glasses, you know,” she mumbled while working quickly.

“Yeah… might need some extra sessions too,” Ben teased. Rey shook her head at him while Poe watched them interact from the side, a little stunned that his best friend had just stood up for a girl and was now flirting while bleeding down his face. 

God, he’d left for a few months and his best friend had suddenly turned into some hot British chick magnet. 

“I think we should probably get him home,” Rey finally admitted after bandaging him up as well as she possibly could, even if there was dried blood now covering the lower half of his face. “Why don’t I just let him go with you and I’ll go back to his? We can all re-group tomorrow because I don’t know how to fix his fuckin’ face,” Poe said with a laugh.

Rey grinned at the older man and nodded, giving him a silent thank you before turning back to Ben who was still staring at her. “Alright, you giant. Let’s get you back to my home. I’m starting to think you ought to just move in based on how much you’re at my place now,” she joked. If he was being honest, Ben did quite like the idea of being able to live with someone.

And her home was so cozy and warm, he wouldn’t mind one bit that it was tiny. They could share the shower and fall asleep every night with the fireplace going and the tv playing in the background. They could leave the windows open when it was warm out and maneuver around each other in the kitchen, laughing the whole time at who was taking up whose space. 

Ben sighed at the dream, glancing to Rey who had started walking beside him in the direction of her car. Thank God Poe had driven them there or else this would’ve been a nightmare. As much as he wished that dream could come true, he knew that it was impossible. Sure, they’d held hands in the diner and kissed a few times now and almost had sex but… but they had to keep it professional. That’s what they agreed upon and Ben wasn’t going to-

Rey slipped her hand into his as they walked.

Ben immediately glanced down at the action, a little stunned at how casual she’d done it, then flicked his eyes back up to the side of her face to see she was blushing and avoiding his staring. “I, um… thank you. For sticking up for me, I mean. That was really nice of you, Ben,” she whispered, still keeping her eyes trained on the red car they were walking towards. “I didn’t want you to get hurt,” Ben told her honestly in response.

There was a faint tug at the corner of her lips that ghosted at a smile, but she just nodded with bright pink cheeks and let go of his hand to find the keys in her peacoat pocket. It was silent as they both found their sides of the car and silent once they clambered inside of it. But neither of them made any move to put on their seat belts or start the car, opting instead to just stare straight ahead at the lazy town around them.

Ben wasn’t sure if it was him or her that moved first, all he knew was that one second, he was looking at a white car drive by, and the next, his lips were pressed against Rey’s. She let out a soft sound against his lips and completely abandoned her seat, struggling to climb across the middle of the car so that she could plant herself in his lap and get closer.

There was no inappropriate touching, no removal of clothes, no love bites on each other’s skin, no hair pulling, no nothing. It was just her hands on his shoulders and his hands on her waist as their lips moved heatedly and passionately against each other. Fog was starting to build on the windows of the car as they kissed, but Ben couldn’t give less of a shit about it, or about who saw.

All he cared about was the taste of her lips and the warmth of her body as she pressed herself flush against him. “I don’t want to be professional,” Rey blurted through heavy pants, scared but desperate eyes staring down at him as she pulled away to rest her forehead against his. Ben searched her face for any hint she might take back what she said, but when he found nothing, he simply breathed back, “I don’t either.”

And then her lips were back on his and the hit Ben had sustained from his co-worker seemed so much more than just ‘worth it’ now.

Chapter Text

Ben was back to work on Monday with even more bandages on his nose, but a brighter attitude on his face. Hux had called in sick, but Ben knew what the real reason was. When he’d finished kissing Rey in the passenger’s seat of her car, they’d practically sped back to her home where all they did was cuddle and kiss in her bed while watching a shitty show that they’d never put on again.

To Ben, it was pure bliss. He’d never slept so well and he’d never felt so adored. Poe had been great the next day, too. He spent the whole day over at Rey’s, all of them cramped into her tiny house as they sipped on tea and talked about Ben and Poe growing up together. Poe told all of Ben’s most embarrassing stories while Ben blushed and held Rey’s hand as she laughed.

The weather had cleared up somewhat too. Sure, the clouds were grey and there wasn’t much sun out, but there wasn’t any snow to keep him locked inside with her, even though he wished there was. So when Ben said goodbye to Poe on Sunday night and turned back to a tiny home that was now reserved for just Rey and him, it was safe to say that Ben slept like a fucking baby that night.

He’d woken up extra early on Monday in order to go home and get a change of clothes, but he promised Rey he’d be over as soon as the day was done. She’d smiled around a cup of tea and told him that a few people had finally emailed her with interest about sessions, so Ben buried a tiny sting of jealousy when Rey quickly hopped up from her chair and kissed him before he left.

And now Ben was sitting behind his desk with a smile that definitely should not be reserved for staring at his computer screen waiting for an email to come in saying someone needed IT help. A knock on his door ultimately pulled Ben away from stupidly texting Rey while at work, even though he’d just seen her a couple hours ago, and directed his attention to Phasma who leaned in with a raised eyebrow.

“Jesus, what happened to you?” she asked, sliding in and moving to sit in the chair in front of his desk. Ben laughed and mumbled, “You should see the other guy.” Phasma just huffed, obviously not hearing what he said, and looked down at the pad of paper she had in her hands. “Anyway, I just wanted to come in and remind you that we have that work party on Friday and Paige is taking last minute names in case anyone decided they’re bringing a date now. Any updates?” Phasma questioned.

Ben paled at the question when he realized that the work party was the end of this week and all he could suddenly think about was bringing Rey as his date. So before he could stop himself from holding back, Ben blurted out, “Rey Niima. Y-yeah. She’s, uh, my date.” Phasma flicked her eyes up from the pad of paper and shock was evident on her face as she looked at the beat up IT guy who nervously pressed up his glasses at her attention.

“Where the fuck did you get a date?” Phasma pressed, setting her pen down to suddenly give him all of her attention. Ben blushed and shifted a little in his seat at her attentiveness to his answer and stuttered out, “We, uh… met online. She’s n-nice.” The older woman just huffed at him and turned back to the pad of paper to scribble down Rey’s name next to his before standing up.

“Well… let’s just say I’m very excited to meet this woman on Friday then,” Phasma said before leaving his office and moving on to the next person who was about to get interrogated about their date. In a hurry, Ben scrambled for his phone and instantly dialed Rey’s number, waiting only three rings before she picked up with a sleepy sounding, “Ben?” 

His heart melted in his chest at the sound, but Ben quickly got back on track to what he had originally called her for and rushed out, “Please tell me you want to be my date to a stupid office party thing at my work this Friday.” The other end of the line was silent for longer than Ben would have liked, but Rey’s giggle soon warmed his ears and all of the anxiety he had building inside of him washed away.

“Ben Solo, are you asking me to be your date to a work party?” she asked through a humored voice. He spun around in his chair, elated to hear her voice but nervous now due to the fact she was wanting him to formally invite her to an event. How the fuck was he supposed to tell her every time he asked a girl in the past to do something with him, they always shot him down?

Taking in a deep breath and forcing himself to just go for it, Ben asked in a slower and much more relaxed voice, “Would you like to be my date to a party at my office this Friday? It’s not anything crazy, just a nice cocktail dress I think.” Rey sighed happily into the phone, and if he could picture her right now, he just knew she’d be all rolled up in bed with her cozy socks on and messy hair as she nodded to his question. “Of course I’ll go with you,” she agreed.

Ben fist pumped the air, blushing at the fact he did that, and immediately drew his hand back before he nodded as well and stuttered out, “G-great. Sounds like a date, then.” Rey giggled again and the line went silent for a few moments until Ben understood there really wasn’t anything else to be said. “Shit, sorry, I’ll let you go. Uh, I’ll see you later,” he told her shyly.

“See you later, Ben,” Rey replied softly. With that, the line went dead and Ben spun around in his chair with his phone held loosely in his grasp and his head tilted back in bliss. How was it that life was suddenly going so fucking well? As if on cue at his internal question, a ping came into his computer alerting him of a new IT problem and Ben had to pull away from his ecstasy to that of the mundane. 

*****

It was 4:49 and Ben was itching to leave the office. He only had 11 minutes left before he could technically leave the office and deny any further tickets for IT problems. The only one that had come in earlier was to fix a frozen screen that simply required Ben to turn the computer off and on again like some sort of joke. To be fair, the poor girl that had requested help looked even more mortified than he felt.

With a sigh, Ben swivelled around in his chair until the second knock of the day came to his door. Surprised at all of the attention he was abruptly getting, Ben welcomed the knocker in, half expecting Phasma again, only for his blood to go cold when Hux peeked his head in. Of course, he didn’t have a single scratch on him because Ben hadn’t actually punched the man, but Hux had annoyance written all over his face.

Ben shifted instantly in his seat, sitting up and scooting back somewhat as the redhead stepped inside and closed the door behind him. “Calm down, IT boy, I just want to talk about what happened,” Hux grumbled, all but collapsing in the seat Phasma had also taken earlier. God what he would give to have Phasma come in and grill him about who his date was now. “I’m sorry about your face,” Hux said like a child forced to apologize by their mother.

Ben swallowed hard and anxiously reached up to touch the bandages that covered the bridge of his already awkward looking nose. Not to mention he had to wear his backup glasses now that reeked of growing up in the 90s. “Uh, yeah… I’m not gonna say it’s fine but… it’ll heal,” Ben told him, avoiding eye contact to look at his email as if he was actually busy with work.

Armitage scowled and the room filled with an awkward silence for a few heartbeats until the redhead spoke again. “Listen, I’m sorry for the way I treated the girl, whatever she is to you. It doesn’t fail to amaze me though why she would be interested in you,” Hux stated. Ben ignored the subtle insult Hux had thrown in there, used to it by now, and looked back up at the man who looked like this encounter was painful.

“All I’m saying is… I’m assuming she’s probably coming to the shit on Friday and I just want things to be fine since I’m bringing someone also,” he finally finished. Ben raked his gaze over the sour looking man in front of him and made special note of the way his face pinched up in discomfort at having to be the one to apologize this time. So with a sigh, Ben nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, she’s coming… I don’t want problems,” he confessed. Hux let out a humorless huff of air and looked away in disbelief before rising to his feet. “Well, I’ll see you later then. Now get back to work or… whatever it is you IT people do,” Hux grimaced. Ben watched him leave, flinching when the door slammed, but relaxed in his chair as soon as the red head was gone.

As far as days went, this surely seemed to be a roller coaster for him. When he glanced up at the clock, hoping it was time to leave already, Ben nearly jumped out of his chair in excitement when he noticed it was exactly five. Snatching up his phone, keys, and jacket, Ben rushed for the door and all but fled the office in favor of jumping into his black car. He sped all the way to Rey’s house, parking rather haphazardly alongside her curb before dashing out of that as well.

As if on cue, Rey was already sitting in her rocking chair on the porch with a cup of tea in her hands and a blanket wrapped around her body as fuzzy sock covered feet poked out. “You look like you’re in a rush,” she teased while he walked up the path to her doorstep. “I wanted to see you,” Ben said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. With a giggle, Rey rose from her seat and tugged him inside so he could grab his own cup of tea.

They made themselves comfortable under the covers of her bed only a few minutes later as a movie turned on and the fire crackled in the background. “So, how did it go today with customers and stuff?” Ben asked once the movie started to begin. Rey immediately sat up in excitement and turned to face him, crossing her legs and nursing her mug of tea while a smile lit up her entire face.

“I had four people schedule sessions with me! Don’t worry, they’re all at times when you’re at work, but I’m so excited!” Rey all but squealed and she wiggled around the bed sheets. Ben laughed and smiled back at her, pushing down that little stab of jealousy he felt once again, and forced himself to say, “That’s great, Rey! I’m really happy for you.”

Before he knew it, however, Rey was launching herself at him and pressing her lips against his in a celebratory kiss as they both tried to also balance their mugs so tea wouldn’t spill all over them and the bed. He groaned a little against her mouth and smiled, reaching for her mug and sitting up a little bit so he could carefully set them on the nightstand while their lips still continued to work against each other.

Soon, their kiss started to get more heated as Rey clambered onto his lap and straddled him with her body, her small hands moving over his giant shoulders as she moaned into his mouth and gently pushed her tongue against his. Ben actually whimpered at the feeling and cautiously placed his hands on her hips, loving the feeling of her tits pressed against his chest while he continued to sit up to a better posture. Rey panted against him as she pulled away, hurrying to get rid of the sweater she was working wearing.

Ben’s cheeks flared up into a bright rosy color as he made eye contact with the lace black bra she had on underneath the blue-grey sweater and couldn’t help but reach out to cup one of her breasts while she tossed the clothing to the side. Rey let out a soft sound at the action and pushed against his touch, arching her back even as she leaned in. Her ass rubbed against the growing bulge in his pants, and this time, Ben knew there was no stopping them.

With a new hunger boiling in his stomach, Ben tugged both of her bra straps down and proceeded to yank the cups off of her as well. “Ben!” Rey gasped in delight, grinning against his lips while those perky little tits of hers fell out onto full display. His hot tongue clashed against hers while the air grew thicker and his rough palm found the rosy and sensitive peak he’d been craving for what seemed like ages.

Her nipple pebbled against the cold air and his touch only furthered its stimulation as she squirmed on top of his hardening cock in his jeans. “Fuck…” she whimpered in that beautiful British accent that Ben adored. Not being able to bear it any longer, Ben pulled away from her now swollen lips and trailed his kisses down her chest while his hands found the small of her back and bowed her around his palm.

She made the quietest sounds of pleasure and tangled her thin fingers into his black locks while Ben latched onto one of her nipples and sucked it roughly through his teeth. Rey whined a little at the pain mixed with pleasure and gripped his head tighter, loving the way he already knew what to do with her body when he gave in and let go of the unsure mentality he always carried. 

Ben swirled his tongue around her rose colored bud and licked at it over and over, only stopping to suck in the delicate skin around her nipple every once in a while so he could leave behind beautiful dark marks in contrast. When he moved on to the next one, he left behind a wet mess and quickly covered it with his hand while his fingers pinched and twirled her now abandoned nipple. Rey moaned and writhed on top of him, her hands searching for the hem of his shirt as she desperately tried to pull it off of him.  

Ben wasn’t used to not having his shirt on around women, but he couldn’t care fucking less as she tugged it off of his abdomen and threw it to the floor to join hers. With wide eyes and flushed cheeks, Rey stared at his sculpted body and wondered when on earth this man went to the fucking gym. He always seemed to be at work or with her, yet he had abs looking like a marble statue’s and his arms were bigger than her waist if she really wanted to compare his muscles to something.

Even his pale skin was speckled with moles, freckles, and beauty marks, and Rey was obsessed. She couldn’t help it then when she dived back for his lips with a renewed ferocity and breathed heavily into his mouth while Ben shakily reached up between them to push up his fogged glasses. Her hands were inching towards her jeans then and Ben was right there to meet her, both of them fumbling to undo the button and zipper so they could free her of the denim prison. 

“Fuck, you’re so goddamn beautiful, Rey,” Ben managed to breathe out as they tried to shove the tight denim down her tanned legs. She just giggled with a blush and rose to her knees, shoving the jeans down to her knees to expose the matching black underwear she had on underneath. “So beautiful,” Ben stated again, his mouth a little drier while he stared at the lingerie she wore for him. 

Rey kicked off the jeans and repositioned herself on top of his lap, gripping the sides of his face to make him kiss her again before she murmured heatedly, “Get these jeans off, yeah?” Ben nodded like a mad man and sat back to work on his own jeans, staring at her marked up tits and lace black underwear that didn’t leave much to the imagination. 

She was small and lean, but full in all of the right places and tan all over. Freckles lighter than her hair adorned her body and Ben could only feel himself grow harder in his boxers when he realized there was a dark wet spot on her panties from where she’d been grinding against his cock. “Fuck…” he groaned, immediately shoving his jeans down to his thighs where Rey took it from there and pulled them the rest of the way off.

Now both in their underwear, Ben took the lead in what happened next and reached out for her, flipping their positions so Rey was now beneath him and Ben was on top. With a little yelp, Rey stared up at him with wide eyes and gasped as he put his hands on her knees only to throw them open. “Ben!” she squealed, watching while he kissed his way down her heavily breathing stomach until he reached the waistband of her lace panties.

Flicking his eyes up so he could stare at her, Ben hooked his fingers into her panties and tugged them off in one swift motion to expose her sopping wet pussy. Rey was really squirming now, observing him with desperate and lust filled eyes as he finally pulled his gaze away from her and stared at the soaking wet cunt in front of him. All of the air seemed to leave Ben’s lungs as he looked directly at the most beautiful little pussy he’d ever seen in his entire life.

Neat curls rested just above her equally rosy colored clit that had started to twitch with stimulation and a clear slick coated the folds of her cunt, dripping down from her entrance to cover the other hole Ben hoped to take later on in their relationship if it lasted. “Jesus fucking Christ… you’re perfect, Rey,” Ben groaned, spreading her legs even further to make himself comfortable between her trembling thighs.

Rey just whimpered and gripped the bed sheets, practically bowing off of the bed when Ben ran the pad of his index finger up from her drenched hole to her aching clit. “Ben, fuck…” she moaned loudly, her eyelids fluttering closed while he focused all of his attention on her clit, pushing tight circles into the throbbing nub of nerves. She whimpered and whined and mewled and moaned in front of him, holding onto the comforter of her bed for dear life while more wetness coated her cunt.

And then, his mouth was on her pussy. 

Rey gasped so loud, Ben thought something was wrong, but her hands were fisting his hair and pushing him against her and he knew he’d done the complete opposite. “Fuck, fuck, that feels so good,” she cried out, her toes curling in pleasure while her hair came out of the usual three buns she wore. Ben moaned against her cunt, savoring the sweet and tangy flavor on his tongue while he lapped up her slick and sucked her clit between his lips. She tasted as perfect as she looked and Ben needed more.

His hands found her hips and tugged her roughly further, his mouth pressed as close to her pussy as he could possibly get while she squirmed against him. “F-fingers. Please, Ben!” Rey stuttered out, the first time he’d ever heard her trip over her words. Without another moment of hesitation, Ben pulled one of his hands away from her thighs and carefully pushed his middle finger into her tight cunt. Her walls were hot and tight, velvety and soaked from stimulation in a way that made Ben groan against her clit.

Rey whined at the stimulation and panted his name a few times, releasing one death grip from his hair so she could reach behind her and grab the pillow as well while her thighs turned inwards and framed his head. Not stopping there, Ben pushed his finger all the way inside of her before starting to pump it in and out, a thick layer of translucent juices coating his skin.

She tasted amazing and Ben’s cock was starting to get painful inside of his boxers as he strained against the material. Fuck, he needed to be inside of her tight cunt as soon as he possibly could, but he also wanted her to cum on his mouth if he could do that. To be honest, Ben had never actually done this with a woman before, but fuck did he enjoy it. “More, please!” Rey cried from above.

Flicking the tip of his tongue over her clit, Ben shoved in another finger and started to curl them against the spongy front wall of her pussy, eliciting sounds from her that sounded like they’d descended directly from the heavens. Rey writhed before him and it took all of Ben’s strength to keep her rooted in place while he thrust his fingers in and out of her cunt that gripped his fingers from all angles.

“I’m gonna come, Ben… I’m gonna come, fuck!” Rey mewled, arching her back up from the bed as her toes curled until they turned white and the grip in his black locks turned into something painful. Before he could even prepare himself for what was about to happen, a burst of tangy wetness exploded onto his tongue and fingers and Rey was crying out, “Ben!” at the top of her lungs. He lapped up every single drop of slick that dripped out of her pussy and carefully pushed his fingers in and out, helping her ride through her orgasm.

Rey gasped for breath as she came down, her grip loosening in his hair and her legs falling open in exertion while Ben removed his fingers and looked up from her cunt after pulling his mouth away from her throbbing clit. “Fucking Christ, Ben,” Rey giggled breathlessly, reaching for him with flushed cheeks and glossy eyes. Her hair was like a halo around her head on the pillows and Ben swore he’d never seen a better sight. 

With a newfound excitement, Ben crawled up the length of her and pressed his lips against hers as she sighed happily and wrapped her arms around his neck. She didn’t seem to care if she tasted her cum on his lips, she just pushed her tongue into his mouth and let one arm drop so she could snake her hand towards the waistband of his boxers.

Surprised that she even wanted to keep going after her orgasm, Ben just pulled away with eyebrows that knitted up in confusion and looked down at her through slightly crooked glasses. “I want to fuck you, Ben,” Rey stated bluntly, her hand pausing just before slipping inside. “Y-yeah, fuck, okay,” Ben agreed stupidly, grunting when her tiny hand finally pushed into his boxers and wrapped around his pulsing cock.

Rey took in a sharp breath of air and Ben watched as her eyebrows lifted a little in shock as she tried to enclose her hand around his girth but failed. “Fuck, Ben, you’re… huge,” she gaped at him, flicking those wide hazel eyes back up to his while Ben tried his hardest not to thrust into her grip. “Is that a, uh, problem?” Ben asked, scared she suddenly wanted to back out.

Instead, she just started to pump his cock faster with a lust filled gazed and shook her head. “No. Not at all,” Rey told him honestly. He nodded at her intensity and leaned back down to lock his lips against hers, fully prepared and more than ready to push his cock deep inside of her. So when she started to push down the rest of his boxers to fully release him, Ben only helped her tug them down quicker and made note that she was still wearing her fuzzy socks.

Chapter Text

Their lips were still connected together passionately and his boxers were now joining the rest of their clothes on the floor, but the last thing Ben expected before he was about to push himself inside of her was for Rey to roll them over so that she was suddenly on top and it was his hair now fanning out over the pillow. He blushed and stared up at her naked body, his cock falling against his stomach, hard and heavy, while Rey lifted herself to her knees.

“Sorry, I just… fuck, I really want to ride your cock,” Rey admitted breathlessly, her small hand circling around his girth once again as Ben’s eyes practically bugged out from behind his glasses and his lips parted in shock. “Y-yeah, okay,” he choked out, his hands finding her hips to guide her into place as she lined the tip of his cock up against her soaked cunt, a soft moan falling from her lips as she slowly started to ease herself down onto him.

“Fucking hell…” Ben groaned, tossing his head back against the pillows as he entered her tight cunt inch by inch, her velvety walls gripping him and swallowing him whole with each second that passed. “You’re so big, so fucking big,” Rey whimpered, finally fitting everything inside of her as she splayed her hands out over his chest and let out a shuddery breath.

Her eyelids were heavy and her lips were parted as she sat on his cock, adjusting for a moment, while Ben tried to gain control of his breathing underneath her. They both just seemed to stare at each other for a few moments, neither of them really wanting to move considering everything already felt so good. Ben’s glasses were lopsided on his face and Rey’s fuzzy socks brushed the sides of his thighs as she folded her legs on either side of him.

“Is it okay if I, fuck… is it okay if I move?” Rey asked through a slight pant, adjusting her hands on his muscled abdomen while Ben stared at her like she was a goddess that had come down to Earth. He could already feel her wetness starting to drip down on his own thatch of dark hair on his lower body and the feeling of being surrounded by her tight insides was enough to have him nodding since he wasn’t sure he could actually speak at the moment.

The loudest groan he’d ever made in his entire life erupted from his lips when Rey suddenly brought herself up and slowly sank back down with a moan of her own. “Fuck, you feel so good, Ben,” she whimpered, making another up and down movement at a faster pace this time. Ben dug his fingers into her hips and licked his lips, watching as she lifted herself up to expose a few inches of his cock before taking all of it back inside of her.

His cock was soaked with her slickness and Ben couldn’t help but mutter out, “Jesus fucking Christ…” when she started to bounce even faster on top of him. Her tits joined along with her movement, one of his hands letting go of her hip to reach up and grab one, not even knowing that he was groping her until she moaned his name and threw her head back. 

Her pussy clenched him from all sides, soaked from her first orgasm and practically dripping all over him as his cock went in and out of her with each smooth bounce. Rey’s nipple chafed against his palm as he grabbed it and Ben was absolutely fixated. Her cheeks were flushed a rosy pink, her lips open as if she was about to let out a sigh, and her eyelids were closed in bliss. 

Unable to help himself, and just because he loved her tits so much he might actually have a certain fetish for them, Ben tugged her forward so that they now hung just in front of his face. “Oh!” she gasped when he latched his mouth onto the other nipple that hadn’t been getting attention yet. Rey’s hands were flat on his stomach and she was letting out small noises now as Ben got more confident and started to thrust himself inside of her each time she came down.

“Fuck, Ben, your cock is huge…” Rey whimpered, her head dropping as she whined and bit her lip while Ben practically ravaged her breast before moving onto the next one. The free hand he wasn’t using reached down behind her and gave a rather sharp smack to one of her cheeks and Rey cried out on pleasure, her cunt only getting wetter at the small amount of pain he’d given her.

“Fuck, I’m gonna come…” she cried softly, pulling away so that he could no longer suck on her tits the way he wanted to. “Oh no, you don’t,” Ben just growled, pulling out and finding his inner dominance once more as he flipped her onto her back, spread her thighs open wide, then dove back inside of her. “Fuck! Ben!” Rey all but screamed, her back arching up from the pillows as he held up her legs from under her knees. The fuzzy socks she was wearing were all lopsided now and Ben had lost his glasses at some point, but neither of them cared. 

“You want to come on my fucking cock?” Ben asked, a new confidence swelling inside of him as he watched himself slide out of her a few inches before gliding back inside. “Yes! Yes, I want to come on your cock!” Rey whined back to him, clutching the sheets as her eyes desperately looked at him and her toes curled inside of her socks. 

Ben could feel the tight coil of pleasure building up inside of his stomach and he knew he was close too. “Fuck,” he groaned, shifting one of her legs so that it was over his shoulder while the now free hand moved between them and allowed for his thumb to find her clit easily. Rey wailed with pleasure at the feeling of him circling her bundle of nerves and as soon as he saw her head tilt back and her mouth open wide, he knew she was done for.

“Ben!” she yelled, the neighbors and then some probably hearing her cry just based on how loud it was. Rey’s cunt pulsed around him and started to twitch as a creamy white liquid gathered along his cock and made him thrust even easier into her while she came hard and long. Her thighs quivered and her breathing was rapid as she rode out her orgasm with dizzying shocks.

When she finally seemed to come to, oversensitive and pleased to no end, all she had to do was make drowsy eye contact at him with a dazed smile to make him come. “Fuck, shit!” Ben grunted, burying his cock as far as he could inside of her before he was filling her up with his cum, all but collapsing on top of her as they both let out moans at the feeling of him stuffing her.

For a few moments, they both rested there on the bed, panting, and staying in the same position while their minds raced along with their hearts. “Jesus Christ…” was all Rey could say a couple minutes later when Ben finally got the strength to get himself off of her and pull out. He agreed with a slight groan and rolled onto his back, descending back into a silence as they stared at the ceiling in utter joy. Fuck, he’d never had sex like that before in his life, and little did he know, Rey was thinking the exact same thing.

When she rolled on top of him the next second, pressing her lips against his with a smile, Ben was worried she wanted to go again, but she just cuddled up alongside him and whispered, “You’re lucky I’m clean and on birth control.” Ben’s entire face seemed to drain of color when he realized they’d never actually had a conversation about protection or any kind of diseases, but he was relieved when she told him.

“Holy fuck, I forgot about… yeah, okay, shit… I’m clean too. Not on birth control, though,” he said dumbly, turning his head to the side with wide eyes to stare at her as she bit on her bottom lip in an attempt to hide a giant smile. Rey just giggled and kissed him once more before reaching behind her to grab something that was digging into her back. 

His glasses came into view as she lifted up the intrusive object, both of them chuckling at the sight while Ben reached for them and put them back on. “I guess we should probably take a bath if we don’t want to be smelling like sex for the rest of the night,” Rey suggested softly, her face warm and eyes vibrant. She seemed to take his breath away, and for a few moments, Ben took the time to really admire her.

Rey was practically glowing after the sex they’d had. Her skin was golden and shimmered as the rays of the sunset outside shone through the window and landed on her body. Her brown hair appeared to be alive as it curled around her and shifted softly with each tiny movement she made. Her lips were swollen and looked like the color of raspberries while her cheeks looked more like that of freshly bloomed peonies. 

Ben felt like the luckiest man in the world as he stared at her in complete admiration, not even sure how he managed to pull off getting to know a girl like her, let alone sleep with her. And now she was going to be his date to an office party? Ben swallowed thickly at the thought, knowing he should probably man up and ask Rey to be his girlfriend since they’d both admitted feelings and just had sex… 

So instead, he agreed with her and carefully got out of bed alongside her, both of them walking towards her bathroom that thankfully had a tub considering Ben wasn’t even sure how he was walking at the moment. Everything in his body felt jittery and fuzzy, and even as they walked to the bathroom, Ben teased her by gently pinching her sides while they both laughed. 

As Rey ran the water, Ben went ahead and got in so she could lean against his chest. They sat there in pure peace as the tub filled up with hot water, Rey’s head lolling against his chest while his arms wrapped around her and held her close. “So… at this office party of yours, how are you going to introduce me?” Rey asked once she cut off the water and the bathroom was only filled by the sounds of the world outside.

Ben chuckled and said with a joking tone, “Oh, you know… as my professional cuddler that I hire.” Rey laughed alongside him and tilted her head up to look at him, a subtle look of curiosity taking over so he could see she was still wanting an answer. It was as if she had read his mind-- that he’d only been thinking about it a few minutes ago after they finished that he wanted to ask her to be his girlfriend.

Biting on his bottom lip, Ben quickly came up with a clever idea and gently pushed her forward so that her back was exposed to him. “If you humor me for two minutes, I’ll answer your question?” he asked, cocking his head to the side in hopes she would go along with what he was wanting her to do. Rey just grinned and nodded, waiting for him to go on as she sat forward.

“I want to play a quick game really quick. I’m going to spell words or phrases on your back and it’s your job to guess what you think I’m writing. Sounds good?” Ben questioned with a slight smirk. Rey agreed once more with a nod and went still as Ben lifted his finger up from the water and started to trace his last name into her skin, holding back a laugh of his own as he waited for her to guess.

Rey nibbled on her bottom lip, trying to figure out what it was that he had written, piecing together the loops and straight line and squiggle. “Solo?” she guessed, looking over her shoulder at him with questioning eyes. Ben nodded with a big grin. “Yeah, that’s right! Okay, two more. Next one is multiple words,” he told her with a sly tone. Rey huffed and turned back around, staring at the wall as he traced.

There was a curve first, then another, then too loops with straight lines and some weird squiggle that kinda resembled an ‘o’. Rey huffed in frustration, only getting more impatient as he traced one more loop with a straight line, another curve, and a loop with a low straight line. She took a few moments, trying to decode the message, and nervously asked, “Cuddle bug…?” 

Ben laughed in joy, actually surprised she figured out what he had written into her skin. But the next one, and the last one, was the big one that was also meant to answer her question about the office party. Rey lowered her eyes to watch the water move around them while Ben worked with her wet skin. His lines and curves were neat, but Rey was already lost at the second word due to the strange spacing.

There were three words total, she knew that much, but for some reason, she couldn’t figure out what the saying was. With a little groan at the fact she couldn’t figure it out, Rey dropped her head onto her arms and shook it in disappointment. “Fuck, I have no idea…” she admitted sadly. Ben chuckled and said supportively, “Come on, I’ll do it one more time. Pay attention.” 

Rey nodded and felt him trace the three words once more, this time able to pick up the first two short words before the long one that had her absolutely bewildered. “I have no idea! ‘Be my… be my’ what?” Rey whined, turning around to face him as Ben smiled softly at her and tucked a long piece of her hair out of her face. “Be my girlfriend, Rey,” he answered for her. 

The room went silent as Rey stared at him, but it quickly turned into the sound of water splashing onto the tile as Rey launched herself at him and pressed her lips against his, a giant grin covering her face as she muttered, “Yes, yes, yes,” against him in glee. Ben just held and kissed her back, both of them feeling happier than they ever had in their entire lives.

*****

By the time Friday rolled around, Ben and Rey had already had sex more times than they could count on their hands combined. They’d fucked in the bed, in the shower, in the bath, on the kitchen counters, on her tiny table, against the wall, and even on the floor when Ben tripped carrying her. Yes, they really couldn’t walk two more steps to the bed-- they had to have each other right then and there.

Ben hadn’t been back to his giant and empty home in a week, preferring the cozy space of her tiny home and comfortable bed much more. They made dinner together, watched shitty television, drank never ending cups of tea, and washed enough pairs of fuzzy socks that Rey grumbled about having to get more since they’d get worn out of their colors by the end of the week.

All in all, it had been a blissful past couple of days, but the office party loomed like a dark cloud on the horizon as Ben stared at the clock on his wall, ticking closer towards five when he could leave. He told Rey that the party started at eight and there’d be everyone from the building in attendance so it should actually be pretty nice and packed for a good time, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t nervous.

Everyone at the office knew that he was the shy IT guy that tripped over his words, was scared to make eye contact sometimes, and ultimately just kept to himself. No one figured that he had a date since he never brought one in the past and he already knew the majority of the people that would be attending weren’t even going to expect him to come. 

It wasn’t like he really had ‘friends’ at the office either. All he really had was Phasma, Rose from the front desk, and her sister who seemed kind enough when they crossed paths in the hallways, Paige. And with Poe gone, this definitely would be a very different experience for him. Rey was beautiful and outgoing and sunshine on a cloudy day, he already knew everyone would come up to them.

Champagne and nice food probably wouldn’t help things either. In fact, this was the last day Ben would see his co-workers for two weeks since he’d taken off time for a winter break, also allowing him to spend Christmas with Rey now. So he just knew they would all be dying with questions as soon as he came back to the office in two weeks and dread bubbled up in him like a witch’s cauldron. 

When a knock came to his door just two minutes before he was allowed to leave, Ben had to hold back the groan ready to escape his mouth when Phasma poked her head into his office. “Hey, just wanted to make sure that girl of yours was still coming?” she asked, thankfully not stepping into the room. “Uh, yeah. Her name is Rey… she’s my, uh… girlfriend,” Ben said stupidly, still not used to calling her that.

Phasma just grinned and gave him a thumbs up before closing the door without another word. Ben sighed in relief and quickly snatched up all of his belongings before dashing out of the office to get home to Rey. “Ben! You’re coming to the party, right?” Rose asked as he strode past the secretary desk. “Yep!” Ben just shot back, all but fleeing the building a minute later.

The drive from the office to Rey’s tiny house seemed to pass by in a blur, but everything slowed down when he pulled up alongside her curb only to see her in the usual position-- curled up with a blanket and a cup of tea in her rocking chair outside. Ben smiled and got out of the car, walking towards her and stooping low for a kiss as she grinned back at him.

“How was work?” Ben asked as she rose to her feet and followed him inside. “Good, had a really sweet client come in around noon and another one at two, both friendly and respectful,” Rey informed before sipping from her tea. The typical jealousy that Ben felt when he thought of his girlfriend cuddling others brewed inside of him again, but he forced himself to remember that they were dating now and he technically got to cuddle for free going forward.

“Well, I’m glad they treated you with respect. It’s what you deserve, sweetheart,” Ben said, forcing the jealousy away as he pulled her in for another kiss just to assure himself that she was his. Rey smiled against his lips and pulled away to look in the direction of her closet. “I guess I should probably start getting ready, shouldn’t I? I need to shower and do my hair and put on a dress…” she trailed off, and for the first time in a month, Ben saw nervousness flash across her face. 

Acting fast, he reached out to cup her face with a smile and made sure she was looking at him through his glasses. “You’re going to look beautiful and I’m going to get to tell everyone that you’re my girlfriend. And then they’re all gonna shit themselves because they can’t believe that the IT guy got such an amazing woman,” he teased, trying to get her to laugh which worked at the end.

Rey just blushed and batted his hands away before moving towards the closet to pull out the dress she was going to be wearing for the night. It was a black gown, that much was certain, but Ben was awful at guessing what dresses looked like when they were flat, so he figured he’d just have to wait until she put it on. What ultimately followed was him trailing behind her to the bathroom and climbing into the shower with her.

They managed to keep their hands to themselves, surprisingly, and actually focus on washing up before Rey dried her hair and started on the minimal makeup that Ben loved so much. He let his own hair air dry, picking up a call from Poe instead while Rey worked at her mascara. “Hey, man, how are you?” Poe asked once Ben stepped out of the tiny bathroom to sit on the bed also carrying Rey’s dress.

“I’m fucking great, how are you?” Ben questioned back, smiling and mouthing the word ‘Poe’ when Rey poked her head out of the doorway with an inquisitive brow. “Really? Well now you gotta tell me why you’re so excited. Haven’t heard you this way in what seems like months,” Poe laughed. Ben watched as Rey stepped back into the bathroom to continue working and his heart swelled with pride.

God, he was going to finally be able to tell his best friend that he had a girlfriend. “Well… I asked Rey to be my girlfriend and she said yes. We’re getting ready for the annual office party before Christmas,” Ben informed through a grin. The line seemed to go quiet for a moment before Poe asked, “You’re fucking kidding. My best friend and practical brother got himself a girlfriend?” 

Ben laughed at Poe’s excited question and nodded to his phone while his best friend started rambling on and on about how happy he was for Ben and what a catch Rey was and how cute they were together. They talked for a few minutes more about what Ben thought the party would be like with Rey instead of Poe, but eventually said their goodbyes when Rey walked back into the room in nothing but black lingerie, curled hair, and simple yet elegant makeup.

“Uh, Poe, I’ll call you later and fill you in on everything, okay? Bye,” Ben rushed, quickly hanging up before Poe could get another word in. Rey already lifted up a hand with a warning eye as soon as Ben set down the phone, stopping him in his tracks from pursuing anything with the way she looked. “No! I just did my hair and makeup and I want to look nice! Party first, sex later, you animal,” she teased.

Ben just groaned and fell back against the bed, not wanting to have to get dressed in his own suit and tie while Rey tugged the black dress off of its hanger and started to pull it on. “Will you zip up the back of this for me?” she asked, turning and moving her hair around her neck while Ben slowly rose from the bed and did as she asked, making sure to run his knuckles over her skin to get some sort of touch.

When she turned back around, Ben’s mouth went dry at the sight of her. The black gown was form fitting with a slight flare at the end. There was a thin slit up the side of her left leg to expose it when she walked forward and it only had one shoulder on her left hand side as well. There was a gash within the thick strap to show off some of her tanned skin, but the dress was as elegant as it was sexy.

“Oh, I’m definitely taking that off of you when we come home,” Ben all but growled, pushing up his glasses to get a better view of her as Rey laughed and pushed him in the direction of the suit laid out over one of the kitchen chairs. He just huffed, but complied anyway and started to dress as she slipped on her shoes. By the time he was completely covered head to toe, looking ‘handsome’ as Rey called it, the sun had set and it was almost time to leave.

Rey walked over to him with a smile, touching up her hair one last time as he took her in and realized he was going to have the most beautiful woman there on his arm. “Are you ready to go?” she asked with flushed cheeks. Ben nodded and took in a deep breath, looping their arms so she stayed close before replying, “I don’t think I’ve ever been ready for something more in my life.”

Chapter Text

When Ben pulled up to the office only fifteen minutes later, jittery beyond belief, Rey had to carefully place a hand on his shoulder with a soft smile in order to get him to calm down. “We’re going to go inside and we’re going to have fun and you’re going to introduce me to all of your friends. And afterwards, we’re going to go back home and cuddle, okay?” Rey asked with an assuring tone as she looked at him.

Ben nodded at her words and took in a deep breath before opening up the car door and quickly moving around to her side to open the door for Rey. She got out with ease, smiling up at him as she took his hand and smoothed out her dress so it wouldn’t be all bunchy when they entered the office. He swallowed hard at the sight of her, knowing that he was about to be the luckiest man in the room.

Suck it, Hux, he thought internally. “Are we going in, Ben?” Rey asked with a laugh, shivering as the winter air that promised snow overnight engulfed her shoulders. “Oh, fuck, yeah… right,” Ben stuttered out, closing her car door and locking it behind them as they started in the direction of the office where a few other couples started to flood into the doors.

The smell of holiday spices and alcohol filled Ben’s nose as soon as they walked into the doors, the sound of holiday music swimming in his brain even though they needed to take the elevator to the floor that the party was being held on. Of course, Phasma just so happened to be with a date of her own waiting for the elevator when Ben and Rey approached, the older woman’s eyes brightening almost instantly when she took in Ben and his date.

“Solo! You actually made it!” Phasma cheered, letting go of the smaller woman beside her to engulf Ben in a hug that suggested she’d been drinking already before arriving. “Ah, uh, yeah,” Ben murmured, hugging her back uncomfortably as his eyes looked for Rey. Rey just smiled at him and turned her attention to the date that Phasma had brought, giving a small wave and letting go of Ben’s hand to walk over to her.

Confused, Ben pulled away from Phasma and both of them looked at their dates to observe what on earth was going on. “Oh, Ben, this is one of the new clients I took on!” Rey explained once she turned away from the smaller woman who was smiling. The woman grinned at Ben and stuck out her hand to which Ben hesitantly took it back, a little bewildered at the fact he was meeting one of Rey’s other clients. “Oh, uh, nice to meet you. Are you…?” Ben trailed off, unsure of how to suggest a relationship with Phasma, but his co-worker joined in quickly. 

“Ben, this is Kaydel. This is my girlfriend that I always talk about,” Phasma explained while she moved to Kaydel’s side with a proud smile. “It’s nice to meet you too! Your girlfriend is quite the cuddler,” Kaydel said with a shy smile, looking over to Rey who tucked herself back against Ben. Phasma’s face seemed to flash with confusion then realization as she put two and two together in her mind, her eyes flicking between Ben and Rey.

It didn’t take a genius to know that Phasma knew Kaydel had been seeing a professional cuddler, but when that professional cuddler also happened to be the girlfriend of your shy co-worker? “Uh, Ben-” The door to the elevator opened before Phasma could finish her question and Ben quickly grabbed Rey’s hand, stepping into the space that was bound to be crowded due to the fact a few more couples showed up.

“After break, yeah?” Ben quickly countered with panicked eyes. Phasma just pursed her lips and nodded, following behind Ben and Rey with Kaydel as the elevator packed together with people slowly began its ascension to the third floor. “Is there anyone else I’m going to meet?” Rey asked in a whisper, the other couples around them talking softly too.

She played with the lapels of his suit jacket, her hazel eyes flicking up to his with admiration as she bit back a smile on glossy lips. Ben stared at her and tried to come up with words that sounded coherent, but he was too transfixed by how she looked. Rey was absolutely stunning. In a dress that fit her like it was made perfectly for her and a face that could capture anyone’s attention, Ben was starting to wonder why they were even here and not back at home where he could be ravaging her. 

“Well… you already kinda met Hux, but I told you earlier that he would be here. So that just leaves Rose and Paige honestly since you just met Phasma,” Ben explained, flicking his eyes up to the woman who was still eyeing him while her girlfriend hung onto her side. “I like Phasma! Her girlfriend is really nice too. She doesn’t ask for much, just some breathing exercises and back to chest cuddling. Simple stuff,” Rey said.

That usual feeling of jealousy bubbled up inside of Ben when he heard about someone else cuddling with Rey, but he forced it down as usual when he reminded himself that her client was literally into women and dating his co-worker/friend. Sighing, Ben nodded and rested his chin on Rey’s head while she beamed up at him from her place in front of him. The elevator doors opened a few moments later and everyone carefully flooded out to the party in full swing.

A dance floor was surprisingly filled with couples who had been drinking, obviously, while a long buffet of nice food stood on one side of the room along with a bar for alcohol. Tables were set up on the outside of the floor so people could eat and drink before dancing and everything was decorated head to toe with Christmas decorations. From lights to mistletoe to tinsel, the room was covered with red, green, and gold and Ben was already considering leaving.

“Come on you. I want to at least meet these other two girls you’re talking about,” Rey said through a chuckle as she tugged him in the direction of the food and drinks where quite a number of people were hanging out. Ben caught the rude gaze of Hux from across the room, a thin woman with sharp features and black hair on his arm that Ben knew from the HR department, Bazine, he believed.

Ben quickly looked away and held Rey a bit closer to him as they walked towards the drinks first, both of them picking up some champagne to get their evening started and hopefully loosen up Ben’s tense muscles. “Alright, who should I be looking for?” Rey asked, turning to look at the crowd as she leaned against Ben and scanned all of the faces ranging from happy to bored to sad. A typical office party if Ben had ever seen one.

“Well, Rose and Paige are sisters. They both have short black hair and aren’t very tall. Kind faces, I guess… They’re also-” 

“Found them!” Rey all but cheered as she interrupted Ben’s terrible description of the women that actually seemed to care about how his day was. Rey nodded her head in the direction of the sisters who were getting off the elevator and walking towards the party. “Should we, uh, go say hi?” Ben asked, not really sure how to do conversation since he never started them.

Rey laughed at his question and took a sip of her champagne before nodding and taking his hand, tugging him in the direction of the sisters who also appeared to be looking around for people they knew. When Rose caught sight of Ben, her entire face seemed to perk up and she quickly tapped on her sister’s side to alert her of the approaching couple. “Just introduce me, Ben,” Rey encouraged softly as they approached.

Nodding and tightening his grip on Rey’s hand, their fingers laced together, Ben came to a stop in front of Paige and Rose and gave them his best smile as they said their excited hello’s. “Hey, Rose. Hey, Paige. Uh… this is my, um, girlfriend, Rey,” Ben poorly introduced, looking down at Rey who was already happily gazing back at him with flushed cheeks. She turned her attention to the sisters who seemed a little stunned at the introduction, but they quickly stuck out their hands.

“Oh my gosh! When we saw on the list that Ben was bringing a date, we couldn’t believe the name wasn’t Poe! We had no idea that our shy little IT guy here had a girlfriend, especially someone so pretty!” Rose gushed, shaking Rey’s hand a bit over-enthusiastically. Rey just laughed at the compliment and turned to Paige who also rushed out, “You’re so beautiful! Ben! Why did you never say anything about her?”

Feeling like a deer caught in headlights, Ben quickly looked to Rey for rescue who happily saved him like it was no big deal. “Well, Ben and I only recently started dating. In fact, I think it’s really only been a few days if we’re being honest. I moved here around a month ago and we met my first day in town. We’ve kinda been inseparable ever since,” Rey admitted with a smile. The sisters awe’d and ooh’d at how cute that was and then it was Ben’s turn to morph into a tomato as they fawned over them. 

“Well, Rey, what do you do?” Paige asked once the four of them made their way to get drinks and then find a table. Ben’s heart lurched in his chest as he anticipated her answer, but Rey answered truthfully without a care. “I’m a professional cuddler! It’s basically my job to be in bed all day and relax with people who need it.” Rey laughed it off casually and the sister’s dived in with questions, never once wondering if that might be how she and Ben met. 

If he was being honest, he wasn’t really sure why he got so nervous when the topic of Rey’s job was brought up. Sure, it wasn’t like he really wanted to admit he was so starved of affection and touch that he hired someone to cuddle him and then ended up falling in love with them, but was that really such a bad thing in the end? If Rose and Paige were treating her profession like it was the luckiest thing in the world, why was Ben so anxious about it being tied to their relationship?

“So Ben, you must get some pretty good cuddle sessions then,” Rose piped up after taking a sip of her champagne. Rey leaned her head against Ben’s shoulder and looked up at him with an encouraging smile that made some of his nerves wash away almost instantly. “O-oh yeah, uh, definitely. She’s kinda the best at it,” he admitted with a faint blush.

The sisters just laughed at that as well and moved on with their conversation, eventually steering it towards going to the dance floor while Ben’s face practically drained of color at the suggestion. Swooping in yet again to save the day, Rey looped her arm through Ben’s and said, “Actually, I was hoping Ben would show me his office? He always talks about how boring it is and I feel like bragging about my job more to him.”

“Ugh, you’re so lucky! Well, come back soon so we can all dance!” Paige encouraged, squeaking when her sister grabbed her wrist and impatiently dragged her to the floor that now seemed even more crowded. “You want to see my office?” Ben asked skeptically, cocking an eyebrow at her. Rey shrugged with a mischievous glint in her eye and took the last sip of her drink with a slow nod. “Sure, why not? Lead the way, shy IT guy,” she teased. 

A little dry in the mouth now at what Rey was actually implying besides looking around his office, Ben just took her hand and nodded before heading back towards the elevator. Thankfully, no one joined them on their trip down to his floor, and when the doors opened to reveal the dark and empty space that now looked so foreign, Ben just told himself to man up. He led them quietly towards his office and opened the door to the cramped space with a slight frown.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Rey groaned behind him when they stepped inside and Ben turned on the lights. Her distaste for the office was written all over her face as she took in the plain walls and lack of furniture. Only one picture was on his desk of him and Poe, but other than that, it was just a desk and a computer. Oh, and two chairs. Even the blinds covering the window were closed.

“How on earth do you not go insane in here?” Rey asked incredulously, whirling around to look at him with shocked eyes. Ben shrugged in embarrassment and glanced at the computer before mumbling, “I usually just wait for your texts.” Her face softened at his words and then Ben was watching as she walked to the chair he sat at and pulled it out.

Ben lifted an eyebrow in confusion, but her command of, “Sit,” had his feet moving almost immediately towards the chair that suddenly never felt better until this exact moment. “Does the door lock by any chance?” Rey asked while she moved around the chair to stand in front of him and push her hair behind her shoulders. “Uh, n-no,” Ben stuttered out.

Rey just grinned and bunched up her dress before getting down onto her knees in front of him with a devilish glint in her eyes. “Well then, let’s just hope no one needs you,” she teased. Her hands were working at his belt then and Ben felt like he’d actually died and gone to heaven while she tugged at his pants. Never in his entire life did he ever think he’d have an amazing British girlfriend in his office about to suck his cock. The thought alone sent a rush of blood to his lower half, and by the time Rey fished him out of his slacks, Ben was rock hard.

“Someone’s excited, aren’t they?” Rey asked with a giggle, looking up at him through her long lashes as her tiny hand tried its best to wrap around the base of his cock. Ben just groaned at the sight and shifted in his seat, gripping the sides of his chairs with white knuckles when Rey leaned forward slowly and gave the tip of his cock a soft lick. “Fuck…” he breathed out, tilting his head back and keeping eye contact with her.

Rey smiled at his response and gave up on the slow approach rather quickly when she abruptly took nearly all of his cock down her throat. Tight, hot, and wet, Ben fucking whimpered at the feeling of her mouth around him and opened his mouth to let out soft pants as she pulled off before sinking back down. Her mouth was sinful wrapped around him and Ben couldn’t help it when one hand let go of the chair to wind into her hair.

She moaned around his cock, the vibrations sending even more pleasure through him as Ben inhaled sharply and managed to look down so he could watch her head bob while she sucked him off. Rey had already managed to pick up a fast pace, her cheeks hollowing as she lifted while her tongue swirled around his tip before going back down.

“Fucking hell, Rey… you’re so fucking good at this,” Ben grunted, loving the feeling of her hair thread between his fingers as she hummed around his length. Pleasure was starting to build to an overwhelming level and Ben knew he wasn’t going to last long if she didn’t stop. “Fuck… do… do you want to have sex, or?” Ben quickly asked, shifting on the chair when Rey gave a deliberate kitten lick to his tip. Her hazel eyes flicked up to him mischievously and she pulled off of his cock with a smirk.

“I thought you’d never ask,” she giggled, raising to her feet before she tugged up the skirt of her dress all the way to expose the lace black thong she was wearing. If Ben’s eyes weren’t already wide, they nearly popped out of his head when she bent over her desk and looked over her shoulder with questioning eyes. “Well? What are you waiting for?” Rey asked in a tone that was meant to be play at innocent, but Ben knew it was anything but.

Within the next few seconds, Ben was shucking his pants down to the floor at a rapid pace and stroking his cock a few times behind her while Rey bit her bottom lip and gripped the edge of his desk. “Fuck, you’re already so wet,” he murmured as he ran the back of two fingers through her soaked folds, parting them slowly after he yanked down the thong and rested them around her thighs. Ben carefully pushed the same fingers inside of her as he pumped his length, his cheeks flushed while he watched her cunt swallow his fingers with ease.

“God, I love your fingers so much,” Rey whined, pushing herself against them so she could take them faster. “Greedy little thing, aren’t you?” Ben teased bravely. She nodded and looked back over her shoulder at him, her eyes glancing down to his cock currently being fisted by his free hand before she gazed back up at him with utter need. “Please, I want you inside of me,” she begged. He blinked at the request, knowing it was probably best if he stretched her first, but the desire in her eyes won over his better judgement and he gave in with a nod.

“Y-yeah, fuck, okay,” Ben agreed through tripped over words, pulling out his now soaked fingers so he could line the tip of his cock up against her cunt. A clear slick was already starting to drip down the back of her thighs from how needy she was, and deciding he couldn’t wait any longer, Ben pushed himself against her entrance and slowly started to thrust himself inside of her. “Fuck!” Rey whimpered, dropping her head against the desk while she took all that he gave her.

Her cunt was even tighter than her throat and the velvety soft walls that Ben was falling in love with more and more every day only made him groan out loud as they clenched around him. “God, you feel so fucking good, Rey,” he mumbled through deep breaths before bottoming out inside of her. She just mewled in response and rocked against his length, a sign that she was already wanting him to fuck her.

Without another moment’s hesitation, Ben pulled out of her tight cunt and pushed back in roughly, sending her into the desk where she moaned and grabbed it tighter. What followed was the sound of his desk and their combined sounds of pleasure filling the entire office and probably the floor. Ben knew he wasn’t going to last long considering she’d blown him in his office chair, so he quickly snuck a hand down between her legs to circle her clit as she whined.

“God, Ben!” Rey cried when his fingertips finally reached her throbbing clit. She threw her head back in pleasure and rocked against his cock, her dress bunching up around her stomach while her thong threatened to break around her thighs from how wide her stance was. “Fuck, I’m gonna come…” Ben groaned as he tightened his grip on her hip while playing with her clit with the other.

Rey was starting to tremble underneath him and her heightened breaths and softer cries only told him that she was close too, so he gave her a few more rough thrusts while the coil of pleasure in his stomach twisted tighter and tighter. “Please… please, Ben!” Rey whimpered, grinding into his fingertips. Her shout of desperation was the final push and before he could give another thrust, his cock jerked inside of her and started to fill her with his cum.

“Jesus fuck…” he groaned, seating all of himself inside of her while he continued to touch her clit as he came. It was only seconds later that Rey clenched around his cock with a cry of his name, her own orgasm chasing after his like they always did with each other. Spent and blissed out from the quick office sex they’d just had, Ben slowly eased himself out of her and reached for the tissues he kept by his computer to wipe her and himself down.

Rey ran a shaky hand through her hair to fix it and straightened out her dress, giving him a dazed grin when they caught each other’s eyes after making themselves look presentable. “As far as office sex goes, I gotta say my office is definitely better,” Rey teased. Ben just groaned and pulled her towards him with an eye roll, kissing her at the exact same time a knock suddenly came to the door.

They jumped apart at the sound and quickly turned their attention to the intruder, Ben’s heart collapsing when he saw it was Phasma who poked her head in. “It smells like sex in here,” she grumbled, pushing into the office all the way with a twisted up face. Rey giggled a little as she moved closer to Ben, but he wasn’t necessarily in a laughing mood.

“What do you want, Phasma? We’re about to come back up if that’s what you’re down here for,” Ben all but growled, disappointed their blissful moment just got ruined by the one co-worker he actually kinda liked. Phasma cocked an eyebrow at his tone but sighed and crossed her arms before looking over her shoulder at the closed door. “Look, I don’t want to make any assumptions, but my girlfriend is a client of yours and everyone at the office got one of your emails, okay?

“What I’m saying is… I don’t care how the two of you met, but Kaydel is up there right now already drunk telling people about your business, Rey, and people are starting to connect the dots on how your relationship started,” Phasma admitted. Everything in Ben’s body when cold and he stared at the woman with stunned eyes, his panic obvious on his face as Phasma nodded quietly.

If Kaydel was telling everyone that Rey was the professional cuddler, and everyone got one of her emails… then everyone would know Ben got his girlfriend because he wanted to be cuddled. Embarrassed because he was already regarded as the shy IT guy who could barely talk to co-workers, let alone girls, Ben quickly grabbed Rey’s hand and pushed past Phasma with a sharp look.

“Woah, hey!” Rey protested from behind him, following anyway as Ben made a quick beeline for the front of the office where he could escape all the people that would jump on him and make fun of him as soon as he went back to the party. He wasn’t as lucky as he hoped to be, though, because as soon as they stepped into the entryway of the office building, Hux was stepping off the elevator with a small group.

Like a deer in headlights, Ben clutched Rey’s hand as he stared at the red-head already smirking from across the room. “Well… if it isn’t the man who needed some cuddles to get a girlfriend. What’s wrong, Solo? Mommy not love you enough as a child you needed to pay someone to hold you? I wonder who fucks who in the relationship,” Hux said loud enough for everyone to hear. Ben didn’t miss the way people tried to drunkenly hide their laughs and grins. Without another word, but tears brimming in his eyes, Ben turned away from the office and left as quickly as he could with Rey in tow.

Chapter Text

Rey held his hand the entire car ride back. No music played on the radio and no words were said between them. The only sound that filled the car was of the wiper blades working slowly to get rid of the snow that had started to fall just minutes after they left the office. It crunched under his tires and bounced off of his window, but it was the only thing that seemed to fill the void of nothingness.

Ben on the other hand was feeling absolutely numb. He was certain his heart had stopped beating and his blood had turned ice cold in his veins from Hux’s insult. The amused and drunken looks on the people behind him trying to hide their humor were burned into his brain and Ben had decided about two seconds after he got into his car that he was quitting his job.

He hated it, he hated the people he worked with, he hated that he was picked on, he hated that his best friend was gone, and he hated that he couldn’t spend his entire day cuddling Rey while others could. He knew that he couldn’t blame Kaydel for talking about Rey’s job considering there hadn’t been any outward desire to keep it a secret, and he knew how proud Rey was about what she did.

Who was he then to say she couldn’t talk about her job and that others couldn’t talk about it either? In the end, it was no one’s fault but Hux’s for publicly humiliating him in front of drunks who would probably gossip and share the news before passing out on a couch that night and waking up the next day with no memory but the texts they’d sent. Ben gripped the steering wheel and tightened his hold around Rey’s hand, currently the only thing keeping him grounded.

She hadn’t said anything and neither had he since he started the car. If Ben was being completely honest, he was very much on the verge of tears. He wanted more than anything to blame something or someone for the fact he was in this situation at all, and all he could think of were his parents. If they just stayed home every once in a while and actually acted like they cared about him, maybe he wouldn’t be here right now.

If they told him they loved him and hugged him and, fuck, maybe even petted his hair once in a while, maybe Ben wouldn’t be touched starved and getting made fun of for it at a work party. But then… if he wasn’t touch starved and didn’t get cuddles… then he wouldn’t have met Rey. With a deep sigh that only seemed to fuel his internal struggle more, Ben focused on pulling up to the side of Rey’s home before cutting the engine.

They both got out of the car wordlessly and walked up to her home without a sound as well. It wasn’t until the door was closed behind them did something finally happen. Rey turned around as soon as he closed the door and pulled him in for a deep hug, her eyes closing in a tight squeeze as she held him against her silently. Ben blinked a few times in shock, staring down at her until he realized all she wanted was for him to hug her back.

Neither of them said anything as they stood in the doorway still in fancy clothes holding each other. Rey’s feet were dying from her heels and Ben’s back ached from bending to hug her back, but it was obvious they both needed to hold each other for a moment-- a way of saying ‘I’m here for you’ without actually saying it out loud. Ben wasn’t sure when the tears had started, but he just knew the rims of his glasses had begun to get wet halfway into their hug.

Rey gently tightened her grip around him and moved one hand up to his hair, cradling his head against her as Ben sniffled and finally broke, all but swallowing her in his hold as he started to sob against her. “It’s alright, Ben. I’m here,” she whispered against him, stroking his hair and holding him back just as tightly. 

He nodded with a shudder and tried to man up, pulling away to wipe his face and shake his head, but Rey was having none of it. She pushed her hands into his suit jacket and shrugged it off onto the floor before undoing the buttons on his shirt as well. Ben sniffed as he watched her work at undressing him, her gentle hands tugging his boxer-clad body towards the closet.

Rey found him one of his fluffier sweaters and tugged it on him before handing him a pair of fluffy socks only seconds later. “Why don’t you put these on and get the bed nice and warm for me while I change and make us some tea, hm? I’ll be quick, I promise, my love,” Rey murmured with a soft smile, running her hand down the side of his face in adoration before cupping the side of it. He nodded and did as she asked, still crying softly but furiously trying to wipe the tears away as he watched her slip out of her dress and into one of his oversized sweaters.

A wet chuckle came out of him as he watched it drop down one of her shoulders and land at mid-thigh while she tugged on her fluffy socks. Rey just laughed a little at it too and rolled up the sleeves before padding to the kitchen to make them some tea. Sniffling and getting more comfortable in bed, Ben turned on his side and hugged the pillow against him as he watched her work and hum in the kitchen. 

When she brought over two quick cups of tea only a few minutes later, Ben sat up and thanked her softly as he took one of the cups from her. “Here, come lay your head on me,” Rey suggested, snuggling against him so his head could rest on her chest as she wrapped her arms around him. Ben knew that technically it should be the other way around, but fuck if he didn’t love being held by his girlfriend.

They sipped at their tea for a while as she ran her fingers through his hair, but it eventually became time for them to talk and Rey was thankfully the one to start. “So I think we should talk about what happened, Ben,” she told him gently. He pursed his lips and took a drink of his tea before nodding slowly. “Yeah, okay…” he agreed.

“You know… I’m glad that you let me talk about my job, you know how much I love it, but I want you to know that I’m also glad I met you through it. I don’t share client information, so trust me when I say Kaydel and her girlfriend had no idea my job was how we met, but it’s important to me you know I’m not embarrassed by the fact we fell in love through professional cuddling,” Rey started. 

His heart seemed to shrink a little inside of his chest when he realized how brave she was. He was being an absolute coward about the situation. While she was proud to say they’d fallen in love based off of cuddling alone, Ben was sheepish at the fact he’d fallen in love with someone he paid to hold him. It wasn’t like men were supposed to pay to be cuddled anyway…

Why did there have to be such a stigma anyway that men couldn’t be held every once in a while? Why did it always have to be the other way around where girls were the only ones who needed to be cuddled? Ben had been touch starved his entire life, but most men in the same situation were usually told to just be a man and get over it. But why? Why did he need to?

Why couldn’t he just admit that he needed to be held after a long day of work, or that someone had upset him and he wanted to be held, or that he was simply just in the mood to be held? Why was that such a taboo thing for a man to say? Ben sighed heavily and met her eyes with his own heavy ones. “I envy you sometimes…” he admitted quietly.

Rey frowned at what he said as she combed her fingers through his hair, but she remained quiet and waited for him to continue on as she nursed her tea. “You’re so brave and strong and bold and confident and I’m just… the sad, awkward, embarrassed IT guy who never got hugged as a kid. It’s not that I’m self-conscious about our relationship, not one fucking bit, it’s just… people have expectations of men in relationships and meeting through paying to cuddle isn’t exactly…”

Ben trailed off, but Rey understood anyway. She offered him a small and encouraging smile, still allowing him to go on if he wanted to as Ben made himself smaller against her. “It’s just Hux makes me feel like a fucking loser and, yeah, okay, I’m a thirty year old guy who can confidently say another grown man makes me feel like a loser. And tonight, what he said, in front of everyone, I… I just-”

“You felt hopeless,” Rey finished for him. He nodded at what she said and averted his eyes. “I think I’m going to quit my job. Tonight was just one of the things pushing me to do so, but I’ve been unhappy for a long time now. I don’t think I was really even happy when Poe was here. Sometimes I think I just went along with him in life because he was the only person who wanted me around… 

“I mean, we grew up together, lived in the same home when we were older, got the same job together, went out together… I think I just wanted to be so much like him when I was never really him in the first place,” Ben finally admitted. It felt strange to get that off of his chest, and he never really knew that’s what he needed to say and confess, but it was true. Ben felt like he’d been living another man’s life and that he really hadn’t started to live his until Rey came along.

Her fingers remained steady in his hair, and when she understood he wasn’t going to say any more, she finally opened her mouth. “What is it you want to do, Ben? What would make you happy?” Rey asked gently. He thought for a moment or two, thinking of all the things he wanted to be when he was younger and all the things he was good at when he was growing up and in school.

Ben always knew he was good with computers, that much was certain, but he also knew that his personality didn’t match with the confident and knowledgeable characteristics that went along with the job. “Can I be honest with you?” he asked Rey in a shy tone. She nodded and looked down at him with eyes that combined sympathy and adoration together.

“If I could choose anything in the world… I’d want to be a professional cuddler with you… like you,” he told her in the smallest voice he’d ever had. Rey blinked at the confession, biting on her bottom lip before carefully setting her tea to the side. “Why do you say that, honey? I thought you liked IT, Hux and everything else aside?” she questioned. He shook his head with a sigh and rolled over.

The room was quiet for a long time as he thought about how to phrase it to her and part of him just wished she could read his thoughts so she didn’t have to. “I don’t think I ever liked IT… I think I just knew I was good at it, so I settled,” he finally said. Rey pursed her lips at his explanation but nodded along. She’d heard clients say the same things sometimes and knew all too well what it was like herself to not be happy with her job.

“Well then, I think it’s time for a change,” she agreed. Ben lifted his eyes and looked up to meet her concerned hazel ones. His eyebrows furrowed into a questioning gaze and he tilted his head to the side while waiting for her to go on. “What if we became a team? Cuddled people together? I know that sounds strange… but people might like it?” Rey suggested.

Ben quickly sat up from where he was laying down and made sure that his tea didn’t slosh onto her bed spread. “You mean, like… work together?” he asked dumbly. Rey giggled a little at his question and dumbstruck expression, nodding her head in amusement as she sipped from her mug. “Shit, yeah, okay. That sounds good,” Ben agreed through stumbling words. “Mmm, good,” Rey chuckled. “Now come over here and cuddle me.”

*****

When Ben woke the next morning, it was to the feeling of warm, naked skin cuddled up next to him and a freezing breeze on his cheek. He shivered in his hazy slumber and pulled the body next to him for more warmth only for another shockingly cold gust of air to touch his skin. “Mph… cold…” Rey’s soft groan sounded from against his chest.

Grumbling in agreement, Ben cracked open an eye to see what the source of the cold was only to instantly shoot up in bed when he saw a giant pile of snow gathering against the wall belonging to an open window. “Fuck!” he yelped, jumping up out of the bed to slam the window down and quickly back up from the snow that seemed to be gathering all night. It probably didn’t help that he was naked.

Rey was staring with wide eyes and an open mouth from bed, a hand just barely covering her slack jaw as she took in the scene of a nude Ben Solo quite literally freezing his balls off next to a pile of snow inside of her home. “Stay in bed, I’ll handle this,” Ben huffed, shaking his head as he walked towards her closet and pulled on some of his warmer clothes that had found its spot in her home.

She bit back a smile and curled up in their warm bed, watching with flushed cheeks and messy hair as he tugged on sweats and a jacket in anticipation to deal with the giant mess. “It might get a bit cold in here, just a heads up,” Ben warned as he opened the front door and picked up a handful of snow right after. “The window was open all night, Ben. I think this is already peak coldness,” Rey huffed.

He chuckled at her point and continued to heave snow out of the house until nearly all of it was gone, only a puddle and small pile remaining roughly fifteen minutes later. Ben groaned and stood up, his hands finding his lower back to soothe the ache that had grown there from bending over while he looked to the fireplace. It would probably be best if he put some logs in and started a fire…

Glancing over his shoulder in the direction of the bed, Ben couldn’t help but smile softly when he noticed Rey had already drifted back off to sleep, his pillow cozied up against her chest with her arms wrapped around it. Fuck, he was so in love with her. Ben blinked at the thought that ran through his head and he took a moment to process what he’d just said mentally.

Was he really…?

He swallowed hard at the prospect and focused on her naked, sleeping frame once more in complete adoration. Fuck, he was. He really was. Groaning internally and deciding to focus on getting the house warm again instead of the new wave of emotions that were now messing with his heart, Ben moseyed to the kitchen to grab towels on the wetness left behind and stole some wooden logs from the back porch to fill the fireplace. 

The fire crackled to life at about the same time the towels soaked up all of the puddle and Ben finally relaxed as the tiny home started to fill with heat again. The clothes he’d put on a half hour ago found their way off on the floor only moments later, and soon, Ben was back in bed tugging Rey against his side. “I could feel you staring at me,” she mumbled against his chest.

He bit his bottom lip and chuckled a little. Ah, so not asleep then. “Hard not to stare when you’re so beautiful,” Ben shot back quietly. Rey lifted her head with narrowed yet playful eyes and smacked his broad abdomen. “Oh, please…” she sighed, her head falling back down while she sighed contently and draped her leg over his. They drifted in and out of sleep and lazy kisses for the next couple of hours until it finally turned into a decent time to wake up.

However, the morning didn’t stay perfect for long as a knock came to Rey’s front door sometime around 10:45. They both shared a confused look, but it was Rey who ultimately went to the door and cautiously opened it, both of them now dressed thankfully, to see who was on the other side. “

Fuck off, asshole!” Rey shot, slamming the door on whoever had knocked almost immediately after she’d opened it.

Ben lifted a bewildered eyebrow at her from the kitchen as he poured them their tea, his fluffy socks at different lengths on his ankles while his sweater was rolled up to his elbows with the new heat. “It’s fucking Hux,” Rey told him coldly. Ben’s heart sank at the information and he set down their mugs, his expression going stony while he made his way to the front door.

“Wait, Ben, don’t-”

Ben ignored whatever Rey was planning to say and swung open the door to look at the surprised Hux who was on the other side. “Ben! Uh, hey man, listen-” 

Hux barely got the sentence out before Ben was bringing his fist down as hard as he possibly could on the man’s face, a satisfying crack sounding upon impact. “Report me to HR, see if I give a fuck. I’m quitting. Go fuck yourself,” Ben spat out before slamming the door on the stunned and in pain co-worker. Or, well, ex co-worker now. Rey blinked when Ben turned back around and shook the ache away from his hand. 

There was pride in her eyes, though it was clear she was trying to hide it as she pursed her lips to hold back a smile and cocked her head to the side. “I’m not going to say that was the right thing to do… but that was the right thing to do,” Rey teased, walking over to him to hold the hand he’d punched Hux with so she could kiss his knuckles. 

It came as quite a surprise then when another knock came to their front door in the next minute. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ben all but growled, turning around to march back to the door while Rey followed with confused and crossed arms. He opened the door once more with a now pissed off expression, staring down at the red-headed man who now seemed so cowardly in front of him as he clutched his obviously broken nose. “What did I just tell you?” Ben asked through gritted out teeth.

Hux nodded quickly and lifted up a hand in surrender as he let out a pained grunt, apparently getting ready to talk. Rey and Ben both stood in the doorway staring at the man, waiting for him to get on with whatever he wanted to say so that they could get on with the nice morning they’d had after the snow. “Look, I wanted to apologize for last night. I said a shitty thing and I’m really sorry.

“I was drunk and so was the group I was with. I shouldn’t have cracked that joke or made fun of how you two met,” Hux finished. Ben grimaced at the weak apology, something that sounded like a speech a high schooler would say after they just cheated on their significant other-- emotionless and rehearsed. 

“That’s great, Hux, but I don’t give a fuck. I’m done working for the publishing company and getting picked on every day by assholes like you. You ruined my fucking night and embarrassed me and I’m over it. How about you fix your sorry ass before you harass someone else who doesn’t deserve it?” And with that, Ben shut the door once more and locked it loudly for extra effect.

He turned yet again and leaned against it, letting out a large breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding inside. God, how long had he been wanting to do that to Hux? He couldn’t even begin to count the amount of times he wished he had the courage to tell that prick off, and now… he’d just did it. “You look happy with how that went,” Rey chimed in. 

Ben nodded and looked over to her, abruptly reaching out to pick her up and spin her around with an excited smile. “I’ve been wanting to do that for fucking years, Rey. God, I’ve never felt happier than I do right now,” he admitted as he set her back down, bending over so he could connect their lips in a passionate kiss. Rey giggled against his lips and held him closely, her hands perfect over his shoulders. 

“You know what would make me really happy right now?” Rey asked when she broke away from the kiss. “Mm? What would that be?” Ben questioned back with a smile. “If we could get our tea, climb back in that bed, and cuddle all day while we watch movies. What do you think? You want to make me happy?” she teased. Ben pretended to think for a moment, like he was actually contemplating it, but Rey just slapped him with a laugh.

“Jerk!” she squealed, breaking free from his arms only to turn around and flop back onto the bed, attempting to hide under the covers in protection from him. “Oh no you don’t!” Ben yelled back. He landed on top of her moments later, both of them laughing as he wrestled to get her out from beneath the covers while she twisted and turned with humored tears in her eyes.

When Ben finally got her out of her cocoon of sheets, their lips met for the thousandth time and they seemed to melt together perfectly. Sometimes it felt like she really was made for him, a gift straight from the heavens above when he needed one most. One day, he’d been hating his life and in need of affection, and the next, he was cuddling the most beautiful woman in the world who he knew he loved.

But of course, Ben didn’t want to blurt that right now and ruin the morning that already seemed to have so many ups and downs, so he settled with kissing her and eventually laying down beside her. They found some sappy romantic comedy Rey claimed to love on tv and spent their day wrapped in each other’s arms with fuzzy socks on and tea mugs in hand.

Ben knew that his home was probably freezing and run over with cobwebs at this point from how long he’d abandoned it since he found Rey, but it didn’t seem to matter much anymore. He adored these tiny walls and the tiny girl that came with it. Quite frankly, Ben believed that he would feel at home wherever Rey was. 

It dawned on him then that Rey had said something yesterday when they came back from the party. She’d called him a name as she went to make them tea and Ben suddenly froze at the nickname she had used. “Hey, Rey?” he asked softly, now nervous to bring it up. “Hm?” she hummed back. He bit his bottom lip but finally got up the courage to say it, “You called me ‘my love’ yesterday.” Rey tried to hide the smile around the mug of her tea in acknowledgement, her cheeks going pink. “I know,” she confessed confidently. 

A certain warmth bloomed in Ben’s chest, and soon, he was smiling alongside her. “I think I like that nickname,” Ben told her smugly. Rey just hummed and nodded slowly as she cozied up to him a bit more with her eyes still glued to the screen. “Yeah… I think I like it too.”

Chapter Text

DISCLAIMER: THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN MOSTLY UNEDITED. I APOLOGIZE FOR ANY MISTAKES.

“Ben, wake up! It’s Christmas!” Rey squealed as a pillow to his face followed shortly after. He groaned in their bed and waved his hand at her, turning over so he could cuddle back into the sheets for more sleep. “Ben! There’s presents, come on!” Rey whined. He couldn’t help but grin as she climbed onto his back and started to bounce, pressing down on his shoulders in an attempt to get him up.

Finally with a huff, Ben rolled over and pushed Rey onto her side of the bed as she yelped. “I’m up, I’m up! Fuck…” he grumbled, rubbing his eyes while he looked around their decorated tiny home. They’d managed to squeeze a small tree by the kitchen counter and fireplace, only a few presents underneath the decorated little thing. 

Christmas lights and mistletoe decorated the rest of the house from the ceilings and Rey had been sure to buy candles that smelled like the holiday itself while she still could. Maine had been expecting a snowstorm a few days ago, and sure enough, they were trapped inside the house with a fair amount of snow outside. Ben couldn’t really complain though, it wasn’t like he had anywhere else to go.

That’s right. 

Ben had managed to sell his house to a couple of local college students looking to get away from their roommates, meaning Ben had packed up everything he needed and moved in with Rey into the tiny house. He’d sold all of his furniture and other things he no longer needed and showed up with only two boxes filled with clothes and toiletries not even a week ago.

Rey had been fully supportive of the idea as well considering Ben had already typed up his letter of resignation and was hoping to send it tomorrow after Christmas was over. The plan to become a team for professional cuddling remained and Ben had never felt as happy in his life as he did right now.

“Come on, old man, we have gifts to open!” Rey giggled, scrambling off of the bed to go and look at what presents were hers. Ben had to admit, it was hard wrapping things when your girlfriend lived at home and there was only one main room aside from the bathroom. He didn’t want to admit he’d wrapped her presents on the toilet, but alas…

Ben slowly pulled the covers away and got out of bed after her, walking over to the kitchen to put on some tea while she gathered up all of the gifts beneath their tiny tree to set them on the bed. They’d agreed only five presents each to keep things fair and even, but Ben may or may not have gotten her a sixth last minute present that he absolutely had to buy for her as soon as he saw it.

“Come on, I wanna open them and then cuddle while we watch movies and drink hot chocolate!” Rey called from the bed. Ben looked down at the pot on the stove boiling hot water and quickly put away the tea bags in exchange for the sugary drink she wanted today. “Alright, alright, here I come,” he chuckled. His fuzzy sock clad feet padded back across the room and plopped him down on the bed beside her as she sorted out the gifts.

“Okay, these five are for you, and these five are for me. I want you to open first!” she exclaimed excitedly. He nodded with a grin and put his hands up in a joking surrender before grabbing the first present in front of him. It was a decent size, not big enough to make him go wide eyed but not small enough that he had to worry about the expense inside.

Ben quickly tore open the wrapping paper, his eyes widening in delight when he saw the picture of a waffle iron on the box waiting below. “No fucking way! You know I’ve always wanted one of these!” he cheered, quickly pulling off the rest of the paper so that he could stare at it in pure joy. “Holy shit, I’m going to make us so many waffles…” 

Rey laughed at how excited she was and clapped her hands together in glee. “I’m so glad you like it. As soon as I saw it I knew you had to have it,” she explained happily. He nodded and held it close to his chest as he eyed her own gifts. “It’s perfect… now come on, open one of yours,” Ben urged. She didn’t have to be told twice because she was quickly unwrapping the biggest box with a maniacal grin.

Her squeal filled the entire house when she unearthed the bathtub caddy meant to hold things across the tub while she soaked. “Now I can eat waffles in the bath!” she giggled. Ben shook his head in amusement, but loved that she was excited to eat while she got clean. Of course that would be something Rey would look forward to the most with a new caddy. 

They took turns opening up two more presents each, Ben unwrapped a fancy bottle of whiskey and a plaid blanket with white fuzz on the other side while Rey all but cried as she opened a new sea green kettle and a weighted blanket. Both of them had been pleasantly surprised by the gifts so far, but Ben cocked an eyebrow at Rey when she suddenly got excited at the next present he picked up.

“Why do I feel like this is an important gift you’re about to give me?” Ben asked teasingly before shaking the box to see if he could figure out what was inside. Rey smacked his hands as he tried and urged him instead to open it while she held back a smile. Suspicious but excited all the same, Ben tore the wrapping paper and frowned when a black shoe box stared back at him.

He gave a curious look to Rey who just nodded eagerly to him, then opened up the top slowly only for his heart to swell at the sight of brand new ice skates nestled inside. “This way we can both skate on the lake together,” Rey explained softly from in front of him. Ben nodded in awe and carefully picked up the skates, looking at their black and red exterior with giant eyes.

“They’re beautiful, Rey… holy, shit,” he confessed breathlessly. Rey blushed at his approval and perked up when she heard the sound of the kettle whistling for their hot chocolate. “I’ll let you stare at those while I get our drinks,” Rey giggled, getting up from the bed to scurry over. Ben nodded wordlessly as he stared at the skates in awe. He’d never had a pair for himself, his parents never getting around to getting him some as a gift when he was little. 

Ben carefully put the skates back down in their box and tucked them to the side, deciding he’d put them on and try them out after the snow went away. When Rey returned to the bed with hot chocolate in her hands, Ben accepted his mug without a word and leaned forward to press his lips nicely against hers. She hummed in approval with a smile and pulled away to sip at her drink.

“I love them, Rey. Thank you so much,” he whispered to her. “Of course, now let me open this gift,” she laughed, nuzzling against him before setting down her mug so she could open up the next gift set down in front of her. It was one of the smaller packages and Ben knew instantly what it was that she was about to open. Rey bit her lip as she pulled off the packaging and scrunched her eyebrows as she read the label.

“A candle?” she asked curiously. “Look at the scent, dummy,” Ben laughed. Rey perked up and opened up the box before gasping with a small grin as she read the label HOMESICK with the subtitle ENGLAND underneath it. “It’s supposed to smell like home, and while I know you left England because your foster father sucked, I thought it just might be nice to-”

Ben didn’t even get to finish his sentence because he was suddenly getting tackled by Rey and getting his face covered by kisses. “I love it so much! It smells just like home…” she whispered in pure glee. “Well, I’m glad you like it, sweetheart.” 

She pulled off of him and they took turns again opening gifts, Rey squealing at the aroma diffuser and Ben grinning at the coffee maker she’d gotten him. But then… that just left the extra gift Ben had gotten her. “I know we only agreed on five, but I saw these and had to get them for you…” 

Rey gave him a pointed look but watched anyway as he ducked under the bed and pulled out the tiny little gift wrapped to near perfection. “I hope you like them,” Ben said with a blush while he extended them to her. She eyed the tiny package, a little soft inside, then tore them open only for a giant grin to erupt over her face. Fuzzy pink socks with silhouettes of a cuddling couple printed over them sat in her hands.

“Okay… these are perfect,” Rey agreed with a tiny giggle as she looked at them. Ben practically sighed with relief and watched as she undid the tiny plastic wire holding them together before pulling them onto her feet. Her toes wiggled within the cozy socks and she smiled widely. “I love them!”

“I’m glad, sweetheart. I already had the five gifts but I had to,” he explained with a chuckle. Rey reached over and pulled him into a big hug, holding him there for a while as she murmured into his shoulder, “This has been the best Christmas ever and it’s all thanks to you.” He blushed a little at her words but pulled away after a while to put the presents down on the floor and cuddle back against her under the covers.

“Now, I was promised something about movies and hot chocolate?” he teased. “Absolutely,” Rey agreed. Their Christmas was spent in each other’s arms, cozy under the covers and completely happy as they watched holiday movies and drank all of the hot chocolate in the tiny house.

*****

Ben stared at his computer the next morning and re-read his resignation letter for what felt like the hundredth time. “Are you still staring at that?” Rey asked groggily from beside him, her naked body warm against his own bare skin as she yawned and dug back into their sheets. It was only eight in the morning, way earlier than Rey usually woke up, and Ben had tried his best not to wake her but that seemed to have failed.

“I just want to make sure it’s okay, you know? I’d rather not leave on bad terms if I can help it,” he murmured back to her, reaching over to card his fingers through her hair and soothe her back to sleep. Rey just hummed happily at his touch and cuddling further against him. Ben looked over his shoulder at her sleeping frame and smiled to himself.

Without Rey, he couldn’t even imagine where he’d be. She’d made him a more confident person, made him feel loved and appreciated, made him think he could do anything in the world if he wanted to, made him feel smart and strong, and most importantly, made him feel held. Ben wasn’t aware that he even cried in the beginning when he cuddled and fell asleep, but Rey had broken the news to him a while ago.

He’d been embarrassed at first when he learned of the little habit that seemed to stick for a week or two, but he was pleased to know now that he no longer cried, and instead, smiled when they held each other. Cuddling seemed to have made Ben a whole new person when it came to personal and relationship growth as well. Speaking of relationships… Ben was going to have to tell Poe he quit his job.

Ben knew that Poe would be excited and supportive as soon as he would hear Ben quit, but it was about the idea of the job that followed that had Ben worried about his best friend’s response. With a huff to himself knowing that at some point he was going to have to do it, Ben finally grabbed his phone and gently pulled away from Rey. 

She murmured a little in her slumber but didn’t rouse again once he left, his footsteps as quiet as possible while he locked himself in the bathroom and dialed up his best friend. “Fuck, yeah, what’s up?” Poe asked in a groggy voice that suggested he had just woken up after the usual three rings. “Hey, man. I just wanted to talk to you real quick,” Ben replied softly so as not to disturb Rey outside.

“Fucking hell… better be some good shit this early in the morning,” Poe grumbled back. Ben nodded against the phone and tried to figure out how to word what he was planning to say, but all that came out was, “I quit and I’m working with Rey.” There was a long pause on the other side of the phone and Ben heard rustling before Poe spoke again. “You quit?” he asked in confusion.

Ben curled in on himself a little and nervously looked at the door, half expecting Rey to barge in and yell at him for waking her up during her winter slumber. “Uh, yeah… I quit and I’m, uh, becoming a… professional cuddler. With Rey, obviously,” he tried to clarify at the last part. The phone was silent again and Ben nervously bit at his bottom lip as he waited for Poe’s response. 

“So let me get this straight… you quit a fucking well playing IT job to become a professional cuddler with a girlfriend that might not even last?” Poe asked incredulously. Ben closed his eyes tightly at his best friend’s response to the information and sighed, nodding against the phone once more. “Yeah, Poe. That’s what I’m telling you. I fucking hated that job and the people I worked with so now I’m going to work with my goddamn amazing girlfriend and be happy,” Ben stood up for himself. 

Once more, the line went quiet and Ben listened as his best friend on the other line took in a sharp breath before letting out a deep sigh. “Look, I’m not going to lie and say I thought you were happy at that job, but this is a huge step, Ben. I mean, this is a whole fucking other profession,” Poe explained through the other end of the phone. Ben nodded along, knowing Poe was right, but he was eager to explain himself further.

“And I get that, but I’m so ready and so excited to do something new. I’m really looking forward to this and I think I’m going to be really happy, Poe. I… I want you to be happy for me too,” Ben finally finished off a little quietly. Poe sighed once more, but Ben could practically see him nodding on the other end of the phone. “Yeah, shit, alright…” Poe finally agreed.

Ben grinned against the phone and lifted his head when he heard shuffling outside in the kitchen. “Hey, I’ll call you later, okay? I think Rey’s up.” Ben didn’t even wait for Poe to say anything, he just hung up the phone and pushed out of the bedroom with wide eyes to see his girlfriend standing in the kitchen in one of his sweaters and fuzzy socks. 

Rey looked over her shoulder at him with a sleepy smile, two packets of hot chocolate out on the counter beside her while the new kettle he’d gotten her for Christmas sat on the stove. “I’m making hot chocolate. Was that Poe?” she asked through her adorable morning voice, turning around so she could face him fully. Ben sighed and nodded.

He leaned against the entryway to the bathroom and folded his arms across his chest, nibbling on his bottom lip. “He was really unsure about it, which I get, but I had to tell him that I was going to do something that finally made me happy and I think he understood at the end,” Ben explained while he pushed away from his position to walk over to her.

Rey welcomed him with open arms and sighed happily as they hugged each other in the middle of the kitchen, the winter snow still piled high outside around them. “I’m really proud of you, Ben. I read your resignation letter too, by the way,” she told him with her face buried against his chest. “Yeah? What’d you think?” he asked. Rey pulled away with a mischievous grin and turned back around to open the hot chocolate packets while he frowned.

“Rey…?” he asked unsurely. She shrugged and reached for the kettle as she said, “It was so good I went ahead and sent it for you.” Ben’s eyes widened and he quickly ditched the kitchen to race back to their bed where his computer was sitting. Of course, as soon as he touched the mouse pad, he was greeted by the screen saying an email had been sent to his boss.

His heart seemed to fall through his chest and he quickly sat down, staring at the computer wordlessly. Ben knew full well that he needed and wanted to leave the company more than anything, but it still felt like a stab to know that part of his life was over. “Ben? I’m sorry… I wasn’t thinking, I didn’t mean to-”

“No, I… it’s okay. It needed to be done. I… thank you,” Ben cut Rey off, slowly closing his laptop and setting it to the side as he looked up at his girlfriend hovering nearby with a nervous expression. He sighed heavily and opened his arms. “Come here, I’m not upset. I just don’t really know how to feel,” he admitted while she walked over and collapsed into his arms.

They both leaned back until they were flat against the mattress, Rey in Ben’s arms and her head on his chest. “I understand what it’s like to not know how to feel when these things happen. When I left England, I was absolutely terrified that I was going to wind up on the street with nothing to my name… but I was so excited at the same time. It created this kind of numbness inside of me.

“And then when I got the client that really freaked me out… I felt numb then too because I knew I had to leave. I was sad I had to leave all of my friends behind, but I was happy I was going to be able to get away without being found,” she murmured against his chest. Ben ran his fingers through her hair and nodded along while she spoke, understanding entirely what she meant.

“Will I ever be able to meet some of those old friends of yours?” Ben asked after a moment. He really only had Poe and Rey had already met him, so there was no one else for him to really introduce her to. Rey lifted her head a little with excited eyes, a small smile splaying over her lips at the same time, and she nodded eagerly. “I’d love for you to meet my best friend, Finn. I think he and Poe would really hit it off,” she told him.

Ben smiled and cupped the side of her face in adoration. “Well, the next time there isn’t a shit ton of snow outside, I would love to meet him,” he teased. She just slapped his chest with a giggle and pulled away from him so she could return to the kitchen where their hot chocolate was waiting. “So you aren’t mad at me then for sending your resignation letter?” she asked.

He glanced at the closed computer and sighed, knowing full well he probably would’ve been too anxious to do it himself anyway and shook his head. “No, I’m not mad at all. Thank you for doing it for me,” he huffed. Rey walked back over with two cups of hot chocolate and sat up further in bed, patting the spot beside her as she waited for Ben to inch over so he could take his own mug.

“Well then, my completely-free-from-the-cubicle-life boyfriend, how does it feel to know that you’re now a professional cuddler with your girlfriend?” Rey questioned with a smug grin. Ben nudged her shoulder and laughed, shrugging after a moment while he really took a moment to think about it. Now that he was, though, Ben was quickly starting to realize he actually didn’t know much about cuddling at all.

He knew how to spoon with Rey, he knew how to be held by Rey, he knew how to hold Rey, and that was about it. And knowing his girlfriend, Ben knew that there were probably a million other ways to hold someone. IT was so fucking easy, the worst he’d ever have to do was replace a keyboard, now he was going to have to learn the cuddlemaster3000 position.

Fuck, he hoped that wasn’t a real thing.

“Ben? You okay?” Rey giggled, waving her hand in front of his eyes. He blinked and snapped back into the reality they were living in and quickly nodded. “Yeah, shit, I’m great. I just am kinda starting to notice I don’t really know that much about cuddling after all…” he admitted with a blush. Ben nervously pushed up his glasses and took a sip of his hot chocolate while Rey smiled at him.

“Don’t worry, honey. I’ll teach you everything I know. That’s a promise.”

Chapter Text

2 years later

Ben stared at himself in the mirror and noticed that he was paler than usual. His eyes were wide and he ran a hand through his hair one more time to make sure everything was in place before straightening out the lapels of his suit. If it was up to him, Ben wouldn’t have gone through all the fancy tailoring just for a basic outfit, but Rey had told him a million times this was no basic day.

It had been two years since Ben had started cuddling Rey and two years since he was certain he’d met the love of his life. They’d laughed together, cried together, started a business together, and cuddled together. The sex was good, no, great, but the relationship itself was even better. Ben knew the day that he sent his resignation letter was the day the beginning of his new life started.

And sure enough, it had been nothing but good days since he left. Ben never ran into Hux again and never stepped foot in that horrid office after the resignation letter had been sent. His boss hadn’t been too happy to hear that Ben was leaving the day after Christmas, but as Rey liked to say, who the fuck cares? It wasn’t like he planned on getting another IT job anytime soon.

Poe had been skeptical about the cuddling business with Rey for the first few months, but Rey and Ben found that they were actually getting more bookings as a couple than Rey was alone. It turns out, some people really just wanted to be surrounded and that was no issue for them. In fact, most people who came to receive their services actually spread word to others about it.

By the end of month four, their business had skyrocketed on social media and people started to travel from other cities and goddamn states to come see what the fuss was all about. The seasons passed easily in their tiny home, but the days were long in the best way possible to Ben. Each morning, he got to wake up next to Rey’s sleeping figure, and each night, he got to fall asleep with his arms wrapped around her.

Ben was fully confident in saying that he felt like the happiest man in the world with her by his side and he was glad beyond belief that he’d taken the risk and given up the job that was slowly killing him. At the thought, Ben focused back on his figure in the mirror and knew that this was about to be the happiest day of his life, even if he was filled with nerves.

It was their wedding day.

The idea hadn’t been anything thought out at all when Ben asked the question. If he was being completely honest, Ben had no intention that day of asking Rey to marry him-- hell, he hadn’t had any intention of asking Rey to marry him for a long time. But when she padded out from the kitchen with dinner in her hands, his sweater over her shoulders, and mismatched socks, Ben couldn’t help but blurt the question.

At first, she’d laughed thinking it was some sort of joke, but like the idiot he was, Ben asked again while he stared at her with wide eyes. It had been a nerve wracking couple of moments when Rey stared at him with the realization he was genuinely asking, but her own startled answer of yes sealed the deal. Ben didn’t even have a ring for her.

They’d decided fairly quickly that they wanted to keep the wedding small. Ben only planned to invite Poe and Phasma while Rey sent out invitations to Finn, Rose, and Kaydel. And, as much as Ben disliked the idea… he’d even sent an invitation to his parents who had yet to even meet Rey. She knew that it was a big step for him, and Ben knew it too, but he figured he should at least try reaching out-- especially on his wedding day.

That being said, it came as a surprise when everyone including his parents RSVP’d. And now… now was the day. It was going to be a nice wedding right on the lake outside of their tiny home. Rey and the girls had decorated the trees with hanging lights while the boys set up the white chairs with forest green ribbons and the altar made with sticks, white flowers, greenery, and more lights.

Rey said it looked like something out of Twilight, although Ben had absolutely no idea what the hell that meant. Rey had even sprinkled white rose petals on the aisle like Bella got-- once again, that escaped Ben. But as soon as everything had been set up, Rey was whisked away to Kaydel and Phasma’s home to get ready while the three boys remained at the home.

“For the millionth time, you look great, dude. I know this is only the third time we’ve met, but you look great,” Finn laughed from behind Ben, his body stretched out along the bed while he watched. Poe nodded along, his eyes glued to the tv, as he mindlessly fiddled with his tie. “Yeah, fuck, I know… I’m just nervous. This is the biggest fucking day of my life,” Ben huffed.

Both boys glanced over to Ben and raised an eyebrow, but it was Finn who sighed and sat up to face the nervous groom. “Look, Rey loves you, man. It couldn’t be more obvious that she does. In fact, I’m convinced she would still say, ‘I do,’ even if you looked like trash walking down that aisle. Don’t be so nervous, be happy,” Finn assured.

That actually seemed to calm Ben down quite a bit and he nodded his head only for his nerves to spike up yet again when the sound of a car pulling up outside filled the somewhat quiet space. Poe glanced at his watch and frowned. “Girls aren’t supposed to be back for another ten,” he mumbled. Ben’s stomach sank at his words and he knew right away who’d pulled up.

“It’s my parents,” Ben informed them in a shallow tone. He wasted no time walking over to the window next to the door and peeking out, watching as his parents clambered out of a car with equally nervous looks. The first thing that struck him was how much older they looked. They were both covered in wrinkles now with grey hair, something that hadn’t been present at all when he was young. 

The two adults slowly made their way up the path, muttering hushed things that Ben couldn’t hear from within the house as they took in its tiny appearance. He stepped away from the window before they could see he was looking and took in a deep breath to mentally prepare himself for the encounter he was about to have. Only a few seconds later, a steady knock came to the front door. Finn and Poe both watched quietly as Ben reached out and opened it.

All three of them seemed to be shocked by how much time had passed since they last saw each other, but Ben did his best to offer a smile like Rey had encouraged him to do when they came. “Hey, mom… hey, dad. I’m glad you guys could make it,” he welcomed in a soft tone, still somewhat due to the nerves. He knew they weren’t huggers, obviously, so he just stepped out of the way to welcome them inside.

“When we got the invitation in the mail… we didn’t quite know what to think. We haven’t heard from you in so long and we… we had no idea you had a girlfriend, let alone a fiancee…” Leia murmured as the two of them stepped inside. Ben caught Poe and Finn exiting out to the back porch at the same time to give them some privacy. “Uh, yeah… Rey. We met two years ago and I’ve been in love with her ever since,” Ben quickly explained.

Han and Leia both looked around the tiny home with uncertain and shy eyes. “And you two… live together, then?” Han asked while he observed the small space. “Yeah, we do. We run a business together, actually. This is our little home,” Ben laughed somewhat as he looked around with them and shoved his hands into the front of his pockets. Both of his parents looked at him instantly when he mentioned a new job. 

“Business?” Leia inquired. Ben nodded and pushed up his glasses while he looked away. “Yeah, I hated IT and I met Rey through her job. When she offered for me to join, I said yes and we’ve been really happy ever since,” he clarified. Part of him was relieved when they didn’t ask what the job was, but rather sat down at the table in front of the fireplace and tv.

“Well… whatever it is, we… we want you to know we’re happy for you and we’re, uh, proud of you, son. Your mother and I… we know we weren’t the best parents for you growing up and when we got the invitation to your wedding… well, it was really nice. We’re glad you found someone and we’d like to get to know her, maybe even get to know you again, too,” Han said between uncertain pauses. Ben nodded, unable to really think of what to say, and quickly averted his eyes.

“Yeah… yeah, I think we’d both like that,” he finally managed to get out before the sound of another car pulling up outside came. Ben instantly lifted his head and recognized the car as Phasma’s car. “Shit, she’s here,” Ben swore, practically racing up from the table to the porch where the guys were. He swung open the door, catching their attention immediately and rushed out, “Rey’s here.”

The three men instantly jumped into action and pushed Ben towards the altar, Han and Leia quickly following along with the sudden mood change as Poe followed. “Good to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Solo. Glad you could make it,” Poe huffed while they power walked down the aisle. It was a blur for Ben because one second he was in the house and the next, he was at the end of the aisle with his back turned.

He could vaguely hear fussing going on in feminine voices behind him and the nerves instantly came back. It was Rey’s voice that ultimately had him freezing up, but as soon as the music they’d chosen for her to walk down the aisle started playing over the speaker, Ben knew it was time for him to finally turn around and face his bride.

Taking in one final deep breath, Ben pivoted on the altar and trained his eyes onto the small crowd of people gathered around. The first people he noticed were his mother and father on the left, then Phasma, Rose, and Kaydel on the right. Poe stood beside him, ready to officiate, while Finn walked down the aisle with a woman covered in white.

At first, it didn’t register to Ben that it was Rey who was walking down the aisle towards him, but then she lifted her eyes from behind the transparent veil covering her face and Ben couldn’t help the tears that welled up in his eyes. Her dress was simple and beautiful all at once-- off the shoulder, lantern sleeves, a white sash around her torso just below her breasts, and nothing but flowing white fabric all the way down… Rey looked like a dream.

Ben quickly wiped his eyes and smiled at her while she laughed quietly and ducked her head in embarrassment, her hands trembling slightly as she clutched her white and green bouquet in one hand. When Rey finally made it to the altar, Ben took her hand as she handed the bouquet to Finn and then turned to face him. “You look so beautiful…” Ben whispered while Poe assumed the spot beside them.

“You’re crying,” Rey pointed out with equally glassy eyes. He shrugged with a smile, unable to contain his happiness as he took in her appearance. Ben knew that Poe was starting to recite what was required of him in order to officiate the wedding, something he got licensed to do as soon as Ben broke the news to him, but Ben wasn't paying attention. 

No, he was staring at the woman in front of him who was about to become his wife. In fact, he somehow even managed to say the personal vows he’d written for her without really knowing he was doing it while she did the same for him. 

It wasn’t until Poe said, “Ben Solo, do you take Rey Niima to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?” that Ben came to. He swallowed thickly and nodded, never taking his eyes off of Rey as he stated confidently, “I do.”

Rey smiled behind her veil and squeezed her hands around his in assurance while Poe turned to Rey. “Rey Niima, do you take Ben Solo to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?” 

She nodded back just as eagerly and said around a beaming grin, “I do. I really do.” The small group of people acting as witnesses started to murmur with excitement and get ready with phones to take pictures as Poe chuckled and stated, “Then with the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife! Kiss!” Claps erupted from around them and drowned out all other sounds.

Ben reached out and flipped back Rey’s veil, making note of how much pinker her face was from delight when it wasn’t hidden behind a translucent piece of fabric, then leaned in quickly and pressed his lips against hers. Rey’s arms wrapped around his neck and she smiled into the kiss when he dipped her down a little, someone whistling in the crowd with joy. 

When Ben finally pulled away, Rey looked a little more flushed and dazed beside him. He chuckled a little and took her hand before facing the crowd to lift their joined hands up into the air. Everyone clapped a little bit louder and shouted words of encouragement as they walked back down the short aisle and headed back to the tiny house where the ‘reception’ would be.

All nine of them packed into the tiny house and found seats at the kitchen counter, the table, and on the bed while Ben and Rey cut their wedding cake and camera flashes went off nearly every second. Champagne and wine was passed around until it was nearly dark outside, and at some point, Poe had turned on music while the others moved the table to the kitchen so Rey and Ben could dance together.

Everyone gathered in cramped positions on the bed, even Ben’s parents, to watch the newlyweds slow dance in the tiny space with humored smiles and drunken eyes. Sure, it may not have been the most spacious or most meticulously planned out wedding, but it was perfect to Ben and Rey. It could easily be said for both of them that it was the most perfect day of their entire lives.

By the time the sun had completely disappeared behind the horizon, everyone had called Ubers to take them home before they passed out from alcohol consumption alone in the tiny house. The only two guests that remained were Han and Leia. Ben and Rey lay stretched out on the bed, both of them on their backs while Rey curled up against Ben’s side and watched whatever movie was on tv.

Han and Leia both sat at the kitchen table that had been moved back to its proper spot, everything calm and happy while the night wound down. “Did you want any more cake or anything else to drink?” Rey asked kindly, tilting her head to the side as she looked at Ben’s parents. They were older than she thought they’d be, but then again, her husband was a few good years older than she was. Leia looked over her shoulder with a smile and shook her head, sighing instead and getting up.

“Oh, no… I think we’ve had plenty to drink and eat. This seemed like the perfect wedding for you two and I think it’s fair to say Han and I rather enjoyed ourselves,” she chuckled a little, glancing at her husband who was just barely awake in his spot. “We ought to get going anyway. It’s getting late and I don’t want to intrude on the new couple,” Leia assured. 

Ben smiled thankfully to his mother who watched as he pulled his new wife closer and nuzzled against the top of her head. There seemed to be something that flashed across his mother’s eyes due to the way a sudden understanding covered her features when she watched her son interact with someone. A subtle pain was there too, but Ben didn’t get to catch it for long due to the fact she turned away quickly.

Rey squeezed his hand with the acknowledgment she’d seen it too, but they said nothing. Instead, they watched Leia rouse Han and usher him to the door where a cab was waiting to take them to whatever hotel they’d probably be staying at for the night. But before Leia was completely out the door, Han waiting for her in the cab, she tapped her fingers against the door frame and paused for words for a moment.

The couple waited kindly until Leia finally opened her mouth with soft eyes and said gently, “I think everyone could see today that you two are perfect for each other… I know I did. I’m glad that you two found each other and that you two are happy. I… I’m happy for you both. I wish you both nothing but the best and… it was nice to see you, Ben, and nice to meet you, Rey.”

Ben nodded in a silent ‘thank you’ to his mother, Rey giving a little wave with a small ‘thank you’ herself before Leia closed the door with a tiny smile, leaving them alone once again. “Well… I’d say that was definitely a success,” Ben murmured into the quiet of the tiny home, his eyes taking in the messy appearance that indicated a wedding party had definitely taken place here.

“Mm… definitely a success,” Rey agreed with a small yawn. Ben pulled away with a small smile, looking down at his new wife as she closed her eyes and curled up against his chest, still clad in her wedding dress. “Are you tired?” Ben asked with a chuckle. She just slapped his chest lightly and yawned again with a small nod. “You know… when people talk about wedding nights, they usually don’t say ‘we got married then fell asleep’,” Ben laughed.

Rey just huffed and mumbled in her sleepy voice Ben was used to, “Well, we’ll say that about our wedding night. We have all the time in the world to christen our new home.” He nodded and threaded his fingers through her hair, a smile never leaving his face while a yawn overtook him as well. “Well what are you really wanting right now, Mrs. Solo?” he inquired.

Rey grinned at the new name she now had and hummed for a moment to indicate thought. “I think… right now… I really just want to cuddle,” she admitted softly. Ben hummed and tugged his wife against him, clapping his hands twice so the lights would go out and engulf them in darkness. 

They spent the first night as a newlywed couple in each other’s arms, still dressed for their wedding.

*****

When Ben woke the next morning, it was to the sound of the shower water running and the sight of Rey’s wedding dress in a puddle on the floor. A slice of cake was cut out and set on the nightstand beside him and Ben chuckled a little at the sight of it. Groaning and stretching, Ben pulled himself out of their bed and undid his own clothing so he could pad to the bathroom in nothing more than his birthday suit.

Light humming came from the bathroom along with the shower water and Ben paused for a moment just to savor the moment of listening to his wife showering happily. Of course, he couldn’t wait for too long and pushed into the bathroom only a few seconds later. “Fuck!” Rey yelped when Ben stepped into the shower behind her. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Rey hissed with a smile.

Ben raised his hands in mock surrender and finally got to wrap his arms around her when she relaxed and leaned against him. “You know… you look just as beautiful naked as you do in a wedding dress,” he teased. Rey just rolled her eyes and slowly started to sway with him under the shower water, an easy dance that reminded both of them of last night.

“I think your parents are nice. I mean… I can obviously tell they aren’t the touchy-feely type, sure, but they seemed like they really wanted to get to know me and come back into your life,” Rey murmured against his wet chest. Ben nodded quietly and closed his eyes, knowing that she was right. They seemed genuine in the fact they wanted to get close to Ben and Rey… and he figured it was probably time to start on that path.

After all these years of being shy, touch starved, and genuinely lost when it came to affection, Ben had finally found someone to give him all of that and more. And now, he felt ready in the sense that he could connect with his parents again in a way that wouldn’t make him feel upset or hurt at the fact they never shared emotions through touch. But he had Rey now, and that was more than enough for him.

“Yes… I think they want to get to know you and come back into my life too,” he agreed after a few more moments of quiet swaying. “But I want to keep you to myself for a little while longer and savor all of the time we have now as husband and wife.” 

Rey giggled a little against his chest and pulled away as she rested her palms flat against his chest and looked up to meet his eyes while she smiled. “Yeah, I think I want to stay in our happy little bubble for a little while longer, too. That being said… there is something I would like for you to do once we get out of this shower,” she said with a slight tilt of her head. Ben raised an eyebrow suggestively and placed his hands on her hips while he looked at her.

 “Oh? And what is it exactly that you would like for me to do when we get out of this shower?” he questioned around a grin. Rey sighed happily and leaned forward, her arms lacing around the back of his neck as she closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat. “I want to be held by you. Just… held,” she whispered. Ben nodded and rested his cheek against the top of her head, still swaying while he smiled gently. “Nothing would make me happier.”