Chapter Text
The door slowly slid open as I looked up from the jars of herbs I was rearranging on one of the many shelves that covered the walls of the tiny outpost that I ran. Turning around, I was met by the sight of two figures standing in the doorway, one I recognized immediately.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Skywalker.” I said with a smile, brushing my hands on my apron as the former Jedi made his way further into the store, stopping at the counter that was placed at the back of the room.
“How many times have we talked about you calling me that?” The middle aged man said with a smirk as I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.
“How may I help you Luke?” I asked as I made my way to the desk that Luke was leaning on. Feeling someone watching me, I turned to the hooded figure that was still standing in the doorway. “Who's your friend?” I asked, my eyes locking onto the person that seemed to have developed an interest in me.
“Shut the door and come on in. She doesn’t bite.” Skywalker said as the figure timidly shut the door behind him and in a few precise steps made his way up to the counter.
“Hard anyways.” I murmured before the figure removed his hood. I was met by a pair of stunning brown eyes. He had thick brown wavy hair that fell all the way to his strong jawline. His nose protruded stately from his face and he had plump lips that were currently placed in a strong smirk.
“This is my nephew Ben Solo. He’s coming to live with me in the temple.” Skywalker said, reaching out and grabbing Ben by his shoulder. Standing up taller, Ben’s smirk only deepened as Luke continued introducing. “Ben, this is Elise Aria, she runs the best trading post this side of the galaxy.” Tearing my eyes away from Ben, I crossed my arms against my chest and jutted out my hip.
“The best post around the least amount of people because you’re a hermit, Skywalker.” I turned my attention back to Ben and gave the best smile I could. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Extending my hand out to him, he took it and pressed a chaste kiss to my knuckles.
“The pleasure is all mine, Miss. Aria.” He said, his voice smooth, as Luke rolled his eyes and clasped Ben on the shoulders.
“You are most definitely Han Solo’s son.” Luke said, with a nearly proud smile on my face as he turned back to me. “So back to business, you don’t happen to have those spare parts we talked about last time do you?” He asked as I let out a scoff and kneeled down.
“When was it ever business?” I muttered out, opening up one of the many drawers within the counter. Pushing unneeded junk out of the way, I plucked out an electronic key and stood back up.
“This is the key to let you into the back.” I said, offering it out to him, but when he went to take it, I slightly pulled it back. “Some of the stuff in there is worth more than both your little Jedi mind powers combined Skywalker.” I warned as he reached out and took the key from me. Rolling my eyes slightly, I made my way back to the counter that I was rearranging. “That’s Skywalker for you.” I muttered, before raising my voice and turning my head slightly. “But you probably already knew that.” I directed to Ben who was standing with his back towards me. Quickly jerking around, he shrugged his shoulders.
“I guess, I mean he is my uncle and all, but he spends most of his time in the temple, you probably already know that.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he continued. “I only really saw him around birthdays and when he came to visit my parents.” I nodded slightly before turning back to the task at hand. We stood in an awkward silence and Ben let out a small cough before I tried to attempt some type of conversation.
“So you have some Jedi mind trick powers then?” I asked lightly, as the jar at the very end of the shelf began rising off of the solid surface. My eyes grew wide and I felt my lips slightly part. I spun around on my heel and gave an amazed grin to Ben. His brown eyes were intensely focused on the jar and his gloved hand was reached out, trembling in concentration. “Wow.” I whispered, hoping to keep it to myself, however, it attracted Ben’s attention as his eyes snapped to me and I heard the glass fall back with a shatter. “Damnit it.” I muttered as I turned back around and scoped the exposed herbs and some broken pieces of glass into my hand. I rushed over to the counter and rummaged around for a new jar as I felt a burning sensation start to form in my hand. Gasping slightly, I pulled out a jar with my free hand, slid the herbs in and securely sealed it shut. I looked down at my hand and saw six red lines along with some pinpricks of blood that was starting to swell. Cradling it, I turned around to see Ben rushing to scoop up the glass and toss it into an empty bin.
“So I probably shouldn’t have done that.” He started off in a joking manner before he followed the path of my hand to see the damage that had been done. Walking over to me, with his cloak flying behind him, he took both of my hands into one of his and inspected it. “What was in that jar?”
“Highly rare, highly expensive herbs that become highly acidic when they come into contact with open air. I have medicine patches behind the counter.” I said, as once again he rushed past, over the counter, the cloak fluttering along with him. He began tearing apart the cabinets, muttering incoherently to himself as I walked up to the counter and placed my hand down, palm side up. “The drawer to your left, right in the front.” I offered as he stopped for just a moment only to dig into the targeted cabinet and snatch out a patch. Turning back around, he attempted to peel off the back but his gloves enabled the task. Before I could offer help, Ben peeled his glove off with his teeth and placed the patch firmly but delicately onto my open hand. I involuntarily let out a sigh as the patch began to work. I caught his eye as he was looking at me with a mixture of concern and interest and gave him a soft smile. “Thank you Ben.” Instantly, his face became flushed with light pink. Letting the glove drop from between his lips, he placed his other hand ontop of mine carefully.
“My pleasure.” He said, giving me back a cautious smile, his confident and strong mask finally falling. We stood like this in a comfortable silence until Luke stumbled back into the main room, lugging an armful of parts. Ben automatically snatched his hand back and I let out a small cough.
“I would like to purchase all of these.” He said, laying out all parts with a clatter on the counter, glancing at Ben and I and our opposite spots. Standing up taller, I automatically went into business mode. Poking at the pieces and flipping them over, I raised an eyebrow at the pitiful selection he had picked out.
“Skywalker, these are barely worth half a ration, just take them.” I said, pushing them towards him as he grinned at me, our eyes exchanging the message that we both knew the real reason why he had visited.
“And that’s why I always come back.” Luke smiled at me, before tossing a few parts at Ben, who barely managed to catch them. “Come out of there and let’s go. We have a lot of training to get too.” Ben slightly nodded before casting a glance at me and making his way towards the door. “We’ll be seeing you soon!” He called out, picking up the rest of the pieces and following Ben out.
“I’ll be right here waiting.” I said, with the roll of my eyes. As the door shut behind them, I looked down at the counter, accessing the damage as my eyes landed on Ben’s abandoned glove. Picking it up in my free hand, I smiled. “Right here.”