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Ben is greeted with the usual excited tail wag and bark when he walks through the front door.
“Rey?” He calls, crouching to scratch between Kylo’s ears.
“Kitchen!” He hears Rey after a moment.
Kylo follows as Ben makes his way through the house, depositing his jacket and bag on the couch as he walks through the family room that opens up to the kitchen.
He can hear soft music playing, Rey humming and singing along to the lyrics. She stands next to the sink, drying off a pan. Her rounded belly peeks out from under the hem of her shirt and Ben can’t help but smile at the sight.
She’s about eight and a half months along now.
She sets the pan down and turns her head as he approaches her from the side, flashing a small smile. “Hi.”
“Hello,” he wraps his left arm around her shoulders and places the other hand on her stomach. He stoops down so she doesn’t have to do more than lift her chin a bit to meet his lips.
“How are you?” He asks when he pulls away, his hand gently rubbing her belly.
She leans against him and sighs. “Tired. And heavy. And my back hurts.”
“Do you want to go lie down? I can finish this,” he murmurs against her hair. He moves his arm from around her shoulders down to her back, pressing circles into her spine with his thumb.
“If I do that, I’ll fall asleep, we’ll probably miss dinner, and then I’ll just be up in the middle of the night.”
Ben chuckles and pulls away just enough to see her face. He brushes a lock of hair behind her ear. “At least come sit down.”
“Okay.” She smiles softly and lets him pull her over to the kitchen table. She settles sideways in a chair, facing the sink so she can watch him. With her left elbow propped up on the table, head resting against her hand, she lays her right hand on her stomach. Kylo plants himself at her feet, his head resting on her lap. He’s always been a little clingy, but the dog has been attached to Rey’s hip ever since she had started to show.
Ben makes quick work of the rest of the dishes, drying and putting them away in the correct places. He only works for a few minutes, but once he’s done and turns to Rey, her eyes are fighting to stay open. He smiles and comes to crouch in front of her chair, rubbing Kylo’s ear as he looks up at Rey.
“You still want to go to dinner? We can reschedule with Finn and Poe.”
Her hand leaves her stomach in favor of joining Ben’s on Kylo’s head.
“This is the reschedule,” she sighs with a smile. After a moment, she adds: “I’d like to stay in, but I want to see them. They’re probably already on their way.”
It’s been awhile since they’ve been able to see Finn and Poe, with changing work schedules, vacations, doctors appointments. Finding a time where all of them were free had been almost impossible.
“We can just call them, have them order it to go and bring it over. We can put on a movie or something. You and I always get the same thing there anyway.” Ben stands, pulling his phone from his pocket. He gets a confirming nod from Rey and calls Poe, explaining the situation. Poe informs him they are indeed already on their way to the restaurant and tells him to text Finn their orders.
Once done, he turns back to Rey. She has her eyes closed, but since she’s still petting the dog, he knows she’s not asleep. Not yet, anyway. Kylo has moved closer to her, his head pressed to her stomach.
Ben and Rey are both looking forward to seeing how he’ll be with the baby. Ben grew up with dogs, he knows having them around helped him tremendously dealing with many things, including battling with the loneliness he dearly hopes his child will never have to feel.
Rey opens her eyes when Ben sets his phone on the table. Kylo chooses this moment to leave the kitchen in favor of their couch, where he gnaws happily on a dog bone.
“Come on, sleepy,” Ben says, extending one hand for her to hold onto and the other to steady her as she stands up.
Once standing, she sighs and rubs at her lower back. Ben lifts her chin with a finger. “Are you sure you don’t want to go lie down?”
“I’ll be fine. You know I love this baby but I’m getting really tired of my back hurting all the time. I can’t remember what it feels like to not have it hurt.”
He smiles softly, moving his hand from her chin to her cheek. “I’m sorry you’re hurting, sweetheart. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”
“I don’t know. I think it’s just all the extra weight,” she says. She leans into his hand as his thumb strokes her cheek.
He thinks for a moment, then remembers something. He can’t think of where he saw it, if he read it or saw a video or if someone told him, but he wonders if it could help. “I think I have an idea.”
“Oh?”
He places his hands on her shoulders. “Just stand here, okay?”
“Okay?” She tilts her head a little to the side.
He runs his hands down her arms, stopping at her wrists and squeezing gently. He brings her hands up to his lips and presses a kiss to both. He releases them, then moves to stand behind her.
“What are you doing?” She turns her head to look at him.
“Relax,” he chuckles and gently turns her head to face forward again.
He steps forward, bringing her back against his chest. His hands smooth over her stomach, coming to rest on the underside of her bump. Very gently, he lifts his hands, relieving her of the weight of their growing baby.
She groans in relief, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against his shoulder.
“You wouldn’t believe how nice that feels,” she whispers. “Thank you.”
Ben presses a kiss to the side of her head, his thumbs rubbing circles into her stomach. Her hands slide over his, so they’re both cradling the baby. It’s then that he notices that Rey’s music is still playing. He dips his head down, nuzzling her neck with his nose. He slowly sways them from side to side to the song as Rey starts to hum along.
They stay like this, in their own little bubble of contentment, until the doorbell rings. Ben lets his hands drop very slowly. Rey sighs when he does so.
While Rey sits back down on the chair, Ben hurries to let Finn and Poe in; but not before pressing a kiss to Rey’s lips.
“I love you,” he says.
“I love you, too.”