Chapter Nine

They had made it out alive. It was all thanks to Finn. He had been so angry about Poe's death, he fired rapidly at the increasing line of soldiers blocking their exit.

Following his lead, Rey and Ben swung their lightsabers, taking down countless Stormtroopers. They took off sprinting into the forest, not daring to look back. Ben wasn't as slow this time, adrenaline was pumping through his veins. Now, he would never be able to return to the First Order. Half of him felt happy, but the other half felt disconnected somehow. He knew he didn't belong there anymore, but it was hard to let go of something he had spent his whole life connected to.

"Are you sure?" Rey asked Finn. Of all people, she thought it should've been her. "You're sure he's dead?"

Finn was sitting on the ground, his face buried in his knees. "Yes," he mumbled, not looking up. "I watched my best friend die."

Rey slumped down next to him and wrapped an arm around Finn. A few tears slipped from her eyes.

"He died for a good cause," Ben amended. "He died saving us, fighting the First Order. He didn't give up," Ben looked at the pair. "Neither should we."

Finn stood up and wiped his face. "You're right. We need to figure something out." His face turned stony. "We're making it out of here alive."

Rey stood up, also. "What about the shack? Isn't there a transmissions station there? We could use that to contact the Resistance."

Finn smacked himself in the forehead. "Why didn't I think of that?" He looked to Rey and Ben. "Let's go, before they get here." The sun had begun setting and the sky had turned a deep purple. "We'll be harder to spot, now, since it's getting darker."

Rey and Finn took off jogging, but Ben stopped them. "Guys! Chances are that they have guards there. How are we going to get past them?"

"I can use a mind trick," Rey noted. "I'll make them leave and tell Phasma they saw us heading west. They'll go the opposite way of where we are."

Ben nodded, and then they took off towards the shack. Maybe, this would actually work.

~~~~~

They approached the shack quietly. There were two Stormtroopers conversing outside of the entrance. Ben doubted there were any inside, knowing Phasma, she would've sent the remaining troops to scour the woods.

"Stay behind," Rey ordered. "If this goes bad, run as fast as you can."

"It won't," Ben promised.

Rey sighed and immediately, the Stormtroopers drew their weapons as she walked out to face them. "You saw us go west," she demanded. "You will go tell Phasma that you saw us go west."

There was silence, then the Stormtroopers repeated her words robotically and walked off to find Phasma.

She gestured for the boys to follow her and they continued down into the room where the cells were. "Where is it?" She asked Finn.

"In the back," he replied and opened another door. He pointed to the machine that was sitting on the counter. "You guys go watch outside, I'll transmit the message." He began fiddling around with it as the remaining two stood near the stairs.

They were both quiet for a moment. "Thank you," Ben gave a half-smile to Rey, who raised an eyebrow.

"For what?"

Ben sighed. "For not giving up on me, no matter what happened. You... stuck with me through everything. You pulled out the good in me and didn't give up, not even once." He scratched the back of his neck. "I can't begin to express how much you mean to me."

Rey grabbed his free hand. "No, Ben. You saw the good in yourself. All I did was help you realize that. You just needed to be able to let the bad part of yourself go," she looked up at him. "You could've done all of that without me, Ben."

"No," he shook his head defiantly. He squeezed her hand lightly. He had a nervous look in his eyes. "Rey, what I'm trying to say here is that I-"

"Done!" Finn announced as he walked out from the room. He noticed their intertwined hands. "Oh," he smirked. "Didn't realize I was interrupting something. I'll just , uh, go wait upstairs, okay?"

Rey nodded. "That's a great idea."

Both of them could hear Finn giggling as he took the stairs two at a time.

"So, you were saying?" Rey smiled.

"Ah, yes," Ben smirked. "I was so lost, and you found me. You saved me, Rey. All anyone has ever seen is a cruel monster, but you didn't," he struggled to find his next words. "You saw a good man behind the mask. And for that, I am eternally grateful."

Rey didn't speak. She pulled him closer to her and buried her face in his chest. "Ben," she mumbled. "I only helped you save yourself."

He wrapped his arms around her, too. "Rey, I need to tell you something. It's important."

She pulled back and looked up at him. "Yes?" She asked.

Ben stared at her. She was irrevocably and undeniably beautiful. "Rey," he said lightly. "I- I love you."

No one had ever told her that; at least, she didn't remember anyone saying that. Her parents had left her at Jakku when she was young. She had no one. Of course, she knew that Finn cared about her and she loved him as a brother.

Still, she had never been told this. It was an odd feeling, knowing that someone cared about her, loved her, even.

She reached up and stroked his face. He brought his face down to hers hesitantly. "I love you too, Ben," she replied. And she meant it with all her heart.

They were close enough that their breath was mixing. Rey closed her eyes. Ben stared for a second, taking her in. Then, he closed his eyes and put his lips against hers. It felt like electric currents were coursing through his body. He put his hands against her face, and she wrapper her arms around his torso.

They pulled back to catch a breath. "You," Ben whispered, brushing a piece of hair out of her face. "You are.. beautiful." He rested his hand on her cheek.

Rey blushed. "Ben," she started. "I don't know how to say this, honestly. I've never been good at this stuff-"

"It's alright," Ben soothed. "Just tell me."

She took a deep breath. "I care about you, a lot. I mean it when I say that I love you, because I truly do. I don't know what we'll do next, but I know one thing." She stared at him timidly. "I just do not want to lose you. I know that for sure."

Ben embraced her again and buried his face in her neck. "I don't want to lose you, either."

"Guys!" Finn yelled from above. "We need to go, now."

The two quickly climbed the stairs and assessed the situation. "We're surrounded," Finn announced.

There were Stormtroopers everywhere. Literally, everywhere Rey looked, there were more. Captain Phasma emerged from behind a wall of them.

"Ah," she chuckled, taking in their surprised faces. "The prisoners." She pulled out her blaster and aimed it on Ben. "Snoke will not be pleased to at all to hear of this," she imitated what Ben had said earlier.

Phasma held an arm up. "Fire," she commanded to the Stormtroopers. All hell broke loose.