Chapter Text
Coming up with a plan was a bit of a challenge admittedly.
Ben had grown up with the teachings of his parents, observation of others of his kind, and instinct that told him what he needed to do to win the affection of his Rey.
Throwing all he knew off the side of an Ach-To cliff wasn’t an easy feat, but he would certainly try.
Ben started with reconnaissance. He would fly around the island, as discretely as possible, and follow Rey around. His mother would thump him on the back of his feathered noggin if she knew he was all but stalking her, but hey, Leia wasn’t here. Besides, how else is he supposed to know her routine?
In a normal pair, after a males mating dance is accepted, the pair just…head off together. The male is invited around into the females space freely. Ben doesn’t have that. Not yet. Watching from afar will do.
A few days pass of cowering behind rocks and trying to fit his large body into patches of grass as a disguise, watching the pretty brown female with the big feathers on her head. He gets an idea of her routine, when she is normally out hunting and when she’s usually at her nest.
Perfect.
For his first idea, Ben chooses trying to wow her with prime nesting supplies. He spends an entire day combing the island for the best of the best twigs and reeds that will fortify Rey’s nest, or go towards making their own, he hopes.
Ben desperately wishes that Rey will see his gift as a show of what a good mate he is. Thinking of keeping them safe, building a secure place for their eggs to be laid and their young to grow up. He chirps happily to himself just thinking about it.
Ignoring the funny looks from porg passers by as he flies past with a mouth full of sticks, he lands nearby Rey’s nest on the grassy cliff. Luckily for him, she’s home.
She looks…adorable. Her neck feathers are fluffed up and she seems to be resting with the warm, midday sun casting it’s glow upon her face.
Ben wants oh so badly to be able to cuddle with her.
Soon, perhaps, if he achieves his goal.
The young male chirps, a muffled, garbled thing obstructed by what he had carried with him in his mouth. Rey blinks open her large eyes, looking around until she notices him. Intrigued or wary, he can’t tell, but the female hops up on the rim of her nest and stares at him.
Well, she’s not giving him angry chirps!
Ben takes a chance and hops forward a few inches closer, dropping the sturdy twigs and thick reeds next to her home. Mouth empty, he chirps happily, nudging what he brought closer to emphasize his point.
It’s all for you.
Ben waddled back a bit with plip-plaps of his orange feet, standing tall and puffing out his chest feathers, saying: Look at what a strong, capable mate I am for you! Oh please do accept me!
With bated breath he watches as Rey hops out of her nest with a few graceful flits of her wings, tilting her head and bending down to examine what he brought. Ben shuffles his weight back and forth from one leg to the other, anxious for her approval.
Or potentially disastrous disproval but, he tries not to think about that.
The pretty brown female picks up one of the twigs. She seems to chew on it a moment, swishing her head back and forth as if to test it’s weight and durability for herself. After a moment, Rey turns and hops back into the nest, and…
If a porg could gasp, he would.
She’s adding it to her nest! She’s accepting what I brought her!
Ben watches with happy awe as Rey weaves the stick into the interior wall of her nest, using her mouth and the tiny claws on her flippers to make room and adjust things until Bens provision has been added just right.
Elated and emboldened by what he sees, Ben gets closer to her nest with a happy chirp.
Which, apparently, is a mistake.
With a loud warning squawk, Rey hops back up on the rim of the nest, puffing out her neck feathers and extending her wings, trying to make herself look bigger and more intimidating. To Ben, she just looks very cute scowling at him.
The thought vanishes quickly when he realizes he’s still not fully welcome, giving a forlorn trill before heading away like Rey wants him to do, leaving her to modify her nest with his gifts as she pleases.
Despondent he may be, but lacking all hope he most certainly is not. Bens just warming her up to him, making nice and earning her trust. They’ll be mates, eventually. He’s sure of it.
~ 🪶 ~
Not wanting to push his luck too much and risk getting on Rey’s bad side, Ben leaves her alone for a couple days. During this time, he comes up with the perfect idea for how to woo her.
Food.
If he proves to her that he’s a good hunter, and will provide for her and their future young, there’s no way she can turn him down! Every porg needs food, after all. Besides, if she’s been alone so long, Rey might really appreciate not having to hunt for her own meal for a change.
Ben just hopes it will work.
The first time he hunts for her, arriving at her nest with two silver-stripes in his mouth, she’s not home. He leaves the fish inside the nest with the hopes that no other porg will come by and steal them.
Flying by later in the day, much to his delight, he catches a glimpse of Rey eating what he brought her. She could be seen biting off chunks of fishy flesh from bone with great enthusiasm, making Ben even happier.
The next time he hunts for his future mate, he brings her a silt-sweeper. One of the bigger prey fish for their kind. They are slow, but camouflage well, making them hard to find. Ben flaps triumphantly towards Rey’s nest with his prize in his mouth, confident it will impress.
To make things even better, she’s home this time.
Rey spots him as he lands, blinking curiously and… Oh! Chirps at him in cautious greeting!
Ben drops the fish on the grass with a gentle splat, freeing his mouth to return her greeting with his own, happy one. He nudges the fish towards her, rolling it’s plump self over. His chest feathers puff out in a show of pride, standing tall before his female, wanting to look big and handsome.
Rey looks at the fish, then at him, then back, then forth again. After a moment, she hops out of the nest cautiously, and Ben keeps very still for her comfort. She waddles over to the fish, giving it a few sniffs. Then... Oh! Yes! She takes a bite!
Then another!
Then a few more!
The happy chirps she gives him as she eats fills him with such satisfaction and joy. He has pleased her! The young male watches her eat with triumph, happy to see his future mate fill her belly with his provisions. It’s his job, after all, being a provider.
Just when he didn’t think things could get any better for him today, Rey hopped around the carcass to bump his chest with her forehead. Her overly large head feathers tickling this nose, but he couldn’t care less. Rey gave him a sign of gratitude! Affection! It was just once, a quick nuzzle before going back to her meal, but Ben felt as if he’d begun floating amongst the clouds.
Food was definitely the way to her heart!
~ 🪶 ~
A couple weeks had passed, and Ben had been continuously bringing Rey the finest fish he could find. Progress had been great! As of the last few days, Rey came out of her nest to greet him when he arrived, chirping at him and giving him a grateful, swift nuzzle to the chest every time. She didn’t seem wary of him at all anymore, and she even let him sunbathe by her while she ate, and even for a little while after. He still wasn’t allowed in the nest, but that was fine. With all this progress he’d been seeing, Ben could be patient.
Today, he had found a couple water-darts for Rey. They were long and thin, awkward to carry and fly with, but he had always liked their flavor, and hoped his beloved would too.
As he approached the nest from overhead, however, the young male didn’t like what he saw.
Rey was standing outside of her nest, pressed awkwardly up against the twigs and silver bits of it. Her feathers were ruffled and a scowl marked her pretty face as she trilled lowly with displeasure. It was quickly very plain to see why.
Another male stood in front of her.
A big, dark brown male….dancing.
Oh, that simply will not do.
She’s mine!
Ben dove down to the grass, landing roughly and swiftly spitting out the two fish. They flopped to the ground as he squawked, loudly and aggressively, catching the rival males attention. He trilled angrily back at Ben, outraged that he’d interrupted his attempts to woo the brown female.
Ben puffed up all his feathers and stretched out his wings, standing as big and tall as he could. The rival matched his pose, but wasn’t larger than Ben. Even if he was, he wouldn’t have succeeded in scaring away the black male. Rey was his. He had come this far in making progress with earning her trust, and he loved her far too much to back down now!
Ben charged at the male, fluttering in the air to scratch at him with the sharp nails on his webbed feet. The scar above his eye was a testament to how dangerous a porgs little claws could be. The rival backed up swiftly as Ben steered him away from Rey, squawking angrily and swiping at him all the while.
Ben managed to land a blow to the lesser males chest, causing him to cry out in pain before he began flapping furiously, swiftly taking to the skies in a cowardly defeat. He hadn’t even tried to attack Ben back! The winning male didn’t even bother to look at him a second more once he’d taken off. No matter. It wasn’t important in the slightest. The well-being of his beloved was of the most importance.
Ben turned around and padded over to where Rey still stood beside her nest. He didn’t care to be careful, he was too worried. The young male gave concerned chirps as he looked Rey up at down, checking for any injury or upset to her lovely self.
To his great surprise, Rey closed the distance between them, nuzzling into his fluffy, white chest below his chin and…purring.
She was purring.
She was giving him happy, content trills of gratitude and affection.
Ben couldn’t help but trill back, returning her affectionate nuzzles with his own. Gosh she was so soft! Soft and warm, so perfect.
His brown beloved pulled back, looking up at Ben with her pretty, dark eyes that seemed to sparkle in the Ahch-To sunlight. She pressed her nose against his, holding it there. The male, stunned yet elated, pressed his nose back, the pair standing and trilling in such a way that only mated pairs did.
Did this mean…?
Rey pulled away and waddled behind him, pressing her head against his back and urging him forward. Towards her nest.
Really? She wanted him in her nest?
He gave a quiet, questioning call, to which she squawked impatiently at him in reply. Ben complied, hopping into her nest with her right on his heels. She made him sit down, to which she then nuzzled her way under his right wing, pressing herself as closely up against him as possible.
Ben could hardly believe it.
Was he dreaming? Was he going to wake up and this all be over?
Did she accept him as her mate? Her other half?
Rey blinked up at him, no doubt seeing the bewildered state of his face. She trilled affectionately, nuzzling his nose with hers before settling into his side again.
He wasn’t dreaming.
He’d done it!
The female he loved had finally accepted him!
Ben chirped with utmost joy, nuzzling the top of Rey’s head, completely and perfectly and incandescently happy.