Chapter Text
They’re lying in the large bunk on the Falcon one peacefully silent evening when Rey suddenly sits up, startling Ben.
“We’ve been here for almost three months,” she states, staring at the wall. Ben cocks an eyebrow quizzically.
“Yes, we have…” he replies gently, unsure where her sudden statement originated.
“We’ve done good here, right?” Ben isn’t sure how to proceed.
“Sweetheart, where this is coming from?”
“We didn’t have to come back. We didn’t have to help restore the fucking galaxy. We’ve done so much good for the last three damn months but people still have the audacity to…” She trails off, jaw setting in a way he knows means she’s holding back tears.
“People have the audacity to what?” He murmurs softly, tracing his fingers up and down her back in an attempt to comfort her. She sighs, rolling her neck to stare up at the ceiling.
“We’ve done so much when we didn’t have to. We stayed to help. Yet we’ve endured rumor after rumor and glares and whispers. I expected it for the first while but not for this long.”
“Are there new whispers?” he asks, an edge to his voice. He still has moments when a shadow of his former self flashes through him. Rey looks down into his eyes.
“I don’t know what else we must do to prove ourselves to them.” She replies in a defeated whisper, not directly answering what he’d asked but answering his question nonetheless.
“Maybe…” he stops himself before he suggests an impossible idea.
“Maybe?” she prods, a tone of hope in her voice he hasn’t heard in far too long. He looks up at the ceiling, weighing his next words carefully.
“Maybe it’s time for us to leave.” He meets her eyes tentatively and she smiles.
“And where would we go?” she asks, settling back against his side once again. Her head rests gently on his chest, where she can hear his heart thudding away, and her hand finds his side where she’d once Force healed him. He can feel her peace at the idea through the Bond. A swell of relief floods through him that she isn’t completely offended at the thought of leaving the Resistance.
“I’d like to take you to Naboo, but I’ll take you anywhere and everywhere in the galaxy.”
“Naboo?” She questions and he realizes she doesn’t know the extent of his lineage.
“My grandmother, Padme, was Queen of Naboo as a young woman. My grandparents were married there. My mother kept the family cottage and used to take me as a child when she got the chance to escape. I’d like to take you somewhere that holds more good than evil in my family.”
“Tell me more about Naboo, Prince Ben.” Rey murmured, a glimmer of excitement in her eye. Ben chuckles before rolling her under him, caging between his arms as he holds himself closely above her.
“Ben and Rey Solo, Prince and Princess of Naboo. Huh, that has a nice ring to it.” She blushes crimson at his statement.
“Does that please you?” He smiles down at her. “Hearing your name beside mine?”
“More than I’ll admit to you now, sweetheart,” He kisses her gently, savoring the feeling of her carding her fingers through his hair. She deepens the kiss, swiping her tongue into his mouth as he kisses her breathless. After a few moments, she breaks away to catch her breath. Ben trails kisses down her jaw while she laughs.
“Mmph, tell me about Naboo,” she requests. He kisses her forehead.
“There’s green hills. Sparkling blue water. Domed palaces.” He presses kisses to her throat between each description. “We’ll lay in the sun for hours by the lakes.” A press to her collarbone. “You’ll dress in fine fabrics and try foods from across the galaxy and never want for anything again.” His eyes meet hers, his last statement a serious vow. Pink tints her cheeks.
“I will never want for a single thing in my life as long as I have you,” she replies, mirroring his vow. He smiles before chasing after her lips once more. After a while he breaks away.
“Let me take you to Naboo, please?” He asks. She grins, nodding.
“Take me to Naboo.”