AN: Hi again, everyone! I'm getting a very clear idea of where this story is going to go. Prepare for a lot of slow burn! It'll pay off hehe.

Rey watched the machine in front of her, listening to the gentle purr of the water as it was heated.

It had been two days since the fights for the villages, and two days since she had . . . discovered something new about herself. She hadn't dwelled on what had happened for too long after Ben had disappeared. She wasn't that weak. She knew her place in the Resistance, and now that she had a job to do, she couldn't go off on a whim to cry in a hole.

She had given herself an extra minute or two to cry and feel sorry for herself, and then walked away from the window and the pilot's chair. Finn and Chewie knew better than to mention that day to her again, and even Poe, who was leading one of the other units and had successfully protected another village, said nothing.

There hadn't been any more First Order ships, but still she and Finn raced to the cockpit anytime the communications machine beeped with a new message, none of which contained intel on incoming troopers. Everyone was on their tiptoes, walking on eggshells because they weren't used to the close quarters both the ships and the iciness of the planet forced upon them. It was driving them crazy.

So, Rey started to make tea, each morning and each night.

It was a simple solution, maybe even a laughable one, but something about the warmth in her hands made her feel steady. She woke early and precisely, following her schedule even when she wasn't on Jakku and even when the sunlight that had poured through the fallen AT-AT failed to shake her awake.

The machine beeped, the water ready.

She reached out with a bandaged arm-she had gotten hit by a blaster, even if she only realized it hours later when the adrenaline faded-and poured the water over her teabag. Breathing the warmth and comfort like medicine, she held the mug as delicately as though it was a flower.

* * *

The world smiled. Peace. Ben felt it, and snapped awake. It was a beautiful dream.

* * *

Strange, how peaceful it was, when the sunlight had scarcely kissed the white ice of the planet. Rey turned to the window and watched the sun for a moment, sipping carefully on the hot drink.

She hadn't yet put on the commander's jacket. None of the troops would see her, anyway, so it barely mattered. It was draped innocently over a chair behind her, yet the weightiness of the position it represented made her turn away from the window.

She had had her fix of peace for the morning. Now it was time to go down to the village.

The day before, she had spoken for a long while with General Leia, who had finally been allowed to sit up and was feeling perfectly fine, alright? The General had advised her to start talking with the elders in each village, to ask them what the Resistance could do to help rebuild the buildings and houses that the First Order had managed to destroy.

Shrugging on her jacket, Rey paused.

She had felt his smile.

* * *

The cells were terrible cold and gruesomely uninviting, but they were constructed to jail dangerous people, and so Ben thought it was okay. It had taken far too many troopers to carry Hux to his cell. The man fought so hard against them, stubborn and haughty even when his hands were cuffed.

Ben needed to talk to Hux, so he went before he had eaten anything and as soon as he was awake. The troopers outside the general's cell let him in without question, saluting their new leader and stepping aside to unlock the door.

With a heavy clang, the door sprang open and Ben stepped inside to see the general on the floor, asleep. How innocent the man looked.

"General," he said, gruffly, standing over the sleeping form.

The man was up in an instant, trained to fight and live like a solider. Hux looked at him, narrowing his eyes.

"Come to gloat?" There was no respect in his tone, but Ben hadn't expected any.

"No," Ben said. "I need something from you."

Hux stood prouder, if that was possible, smirking and expanding in girth even when his hair was mussed from sleep. "Of course you do. I know more of war than you ever could."

Ben looked at him dryly. "You misunderstood. I don't need your advice. I need you to do something for me."

Hux's brows furrowed. "What?" He spat.

"I think you've had time enough to consider your betrayal. I recognize your importance as a leader because those platoons obeyed you, not even questioning why the orders sent to them hadn't had my approval."

Ben watched him as he spoke, and continued. "They listen to you and believe that you should be their true leader. That's why I need you to publicly announce your devotion to the First Order as it will be under my orders."

Hux's nostrils flared. "You want me to humiliate myself, to lie? To swear allegiance to you?"

"Yes. And you will."

Hux matched his stare in silence. Then he said, "I know the truth."

"And what is that?" Ben asked, his words taunting.

"Maybe not the full truth, but I know you lied about what happened in the throne room. That girl made you do something, I know it."

Ben laughed and kept his composure. "You know nothing." He paused. "You will make the announcement, or I will have to explain to all the troops who adore you why their favorite General is undermining the First Order and going against everything Snoke would have wanted."

Hux glared. Ben waited.

"You'll kill me if I don't?"

"Didn't you hear me earlier?" Ben asked. "There is no sense in mindless killing. What would I gain by killing you but more troops who leave? No. You won't die. Your name will. You will be remembered only as a traitor with nothing he wanted but power and control of someone else's forces. You are a General, but I am Supreme Leader. Your troops are mine. You will do this because you want to have some sort of control over your life. You don't want to spend the rest of your days as a janitor, do you?"

Ben could see he was striking a nerve as the General looked away, staring at the wall with clenched fists.

"Fine," he spat. "I'll do it."

Ben nodded and turned for the door, opening the thing with a wave of his hand. He told the troopers outside to let the General out and take him back to his old room. He needed Hux on his side, and needed the troops to see the allegiance between them, whether or not it actually existed. He would keep watching the man, but for now, he knew he had him.

* * *

Rey took her lunch and dinner in the cockpit now, which was slowly becoming her second home. Captain's jacket thrown over the chair, tea bags stashed in one of the upper compartments, papers giving details of battles over the controls. She ate the rations as she poured over the old reports, including the ones that had sent them there in the first place.

As a mechanic, she could help the villagers rewire broken electronics, but she had exhausted that task late last night. Now, she had nearly the whole day to devote to tactics, to planning for counterattacks and strategizing.

The galaxies hummed for the first time in two days, and she stopped mid-sip of tea. The papers rustled as she put them back on the controls, her makeshift desk.

"Rey," he said beside her.

"Ben."

He was sitting in the chair next to her, holding pen and paper. He must have been sitting at a desk she couldn't see, because the papers were floating. She gave him a small smile, which he slowly returned, and then picked her papers back up again. She curled in the chair, pulling her knees to her chest and the papers closer, so she could focus on them better.

They didn't say much after that, simply sitting and reading and writing in silence. Rey sipped her tea.

It was nice, and different, what they were doing. It was good to know he was there, not saying anything or asking her if she was feeling any better. Silence was best, anyway. If she talked she might ask him to join her again. So she read, and he wrote, and it was easy.

Deep orange was flooding the bottom of the sky outside, sending gold across the ice. And above that, a blue so deep Rey thought if she reached out she would fall into it, swept into a riptide of stars. Then clouds shaped like mulberries danced past the window and kissed the golden sun good night.

Time passed beautifully when the stars rose, when there was nothing but breath and moon and comfortable silence.

Rey finished her drink and rose. "Do you want tea?" She asked, almost disappointed in herself for breaking the peace.

He looked up from his writing and nodded. "Sure."

Standing on her tiptoes, Rey opened a compartment and pulled out the box of teabags.

Rey slipped outside, shutting the door behind her, and brought her empty mug to another room. It was quiet there. She was alone. Quickly, she turned the machine on and started to heat the water. She reached above the machine to the cabinet full of dishes and utensils, and pulled out a second mug.

The machine beeped and Rey poured water into both mugs, before turning and almost crashing straight into Finn.

"You're moving fast!" He exclaimed, and then noticed what she held in her hands. "Two cups of tea?"

Rey swallowed. "I'm really thirsty."

Finn stared at her, and she managed a weak smile before leaving the room as quickly as she could, the tea wobbling and sloshing. She opened the door and, heart pounding, slid into the chair in the cockpit.

She exhaled loudly and handed a mug to Ben, who took it with a raised brow.

"Yes?" Ben asked, amused.

"Nothing. Drink your tea."

* * *

He woke up with his head on his arms. All across his desk, there were maps, papers, things that needed his approval, reports, and half a dozen other things he was glad he could barely remember. Sometime, late the night before, he must have fallen asleep while he was working.

Rey had sat beside him in an invisible chair for hours, knees curled to her chest and papers in her hand. What a strange thing it was, to not speak and still have an understanding. He led his troops. She led her own. Yet somehow in the middle of the battling they found some sort of truce.

Their knowledge of one another and of themselves allowed them peace when the galaxies opened and the other came tumbling through, humming and flickering with the starlight that was always still on their skin. It was impossible. A dream, perhaps.

Then he saw the mug, and realized it was real. He could hold the thing in his hand. What did that mean? Was their bond getting stronger? Was it always this strong, and they simply hadn't tested it this way?

Ben stood, because it was morning, and he had a job to do. There was no sense in being hung up on memories, or dreams, or still-damp tea bags, or someone standing on her tiptoes.

He dressed and left the room.

* * *

Another day passed as slowly as it could. Still the villagers eyed her warily, careful eyes burning holes in the back of her head even when she helped them rebuild from the rubble. Still her friends didn't mention the lightning, and still she didn't let herself think too much about what had happened.

The girl in the yellow jacket kept watching her from far away. Rey would turn and meet her eyes, and the small child would run behind a building, or crouch behind a snow bank, never coming closer or saying anything.

Finn woke her late that night. "Your watch," he said slowly, voice drained of energy.

She stood up as he stumbled down the hallway to his room, and made her way to the common area. She sat where she could see the outside, and waited for the three hour shift to be over. Most of the lights in the Falcon were off, which meant that the greatest light came from the moon and stars.

She watched the horizon. An hour passed. Two.

Then the galaxies hummed and he was by her side. She looked up at him from where she sat, and nodded. The dark-haired man nodded back and then sat beside her.

"It's three in the morning," she whispered, keeping her voice low while the others slept. She was in the common room, after all. "You should be in bed."

"Couldn't sleep," came his response. "Why are you awake?"

"My turn to watch," she said softly. She paused and then told him, "The villagers put the red flag in their town today."

"That's ironic," he said.

"It's defiant," Rey replied. Then she thought of something. "Can I ask you something?"

He cocked a brow. "You can, but that doesn't mean I can answer. This is war, after all."

The last part he said ironically, eyes hardening.

Rey nodded. She knew this, but wanted to try anyway. Maybe she should have asked sooner, but she was enjoying the newfound peace between them too much to let it go.

"Do you know when the next platoons will come?" She asked hesitantly, knowing very well what she was asking him to do.

"Rey . . ." He began, watching her carefully. "I'm not supposed to tell you that."

She nodded. She knew that already, so she tried not to be disappointed. What did she expect? She was a leader of the Resistance , and he led the entire First Order. It was too much to ask him to betray his people. She started to watch the horizon again, turning away from him.

"But the platoons were always against my orders," he continued. "Maybe, maybe I can tell you something anyway."

A pause. "Go on," she whispered.

"Hux sent the troopers to the canyons, because he thinks the mission of the First Order is to kill without purpose. He ordered the red flag platoons to leave their home base, and I suspect he was starting to plan this even when Snoke was alive."

"Snoke can see into people's minds. Wouldn't he have known?" Rey asked.

"I don't know. All I know is that Hux can't be underestimated. It seems impossible for him to make these plans and form allegiances with the soldiers overnight. To answer your question, I don't think there's any more platoons."

There was something in his tone that made Rey  curious, untrusting. Yet he held her gaze and the steadiness of his eyes made her want to believe him.

Rey paused. "He's dangerous. There could be more troopers still following his orders. He suspects you're lying about the throne room."

"He can't prove anything," Ben said. "But yes. That's why I arrested him."

"You arrested him for his belief you might be lying?" Rey was raising her voice, and immediately realized her mistake. The others were still sleeping.

Ben shook his head. "No. He was arrested for sending platoons out without my orders. He'll announce his devotion to my leadership publicly, and hopefully that'll help stop-"

"Rebellion?" Rey asked.

"Yes. Your troops don't need more members." He looked at her, and her eyes widened.

"Was that a joke?" She asked, a smile faint in her eyes.

"No," he responded, but his tone said otherwise.

She shook her head as they looked at each other. She turned and watched the window again. The stars and moon were sending pale light into the room, and she thought she could faintly see the red flag in front of the village. The planet was soft and ethereal this late.

She could hear nothing but the soft hum of the generators and the steady beating of her own heart. The moon flickered. The stars winked. The man beside her breathed. She shifted against the wall, moving so the stiff bones in her back cracked, and watched the horizon.

Then a ship appeared in the sky, as suddenly and immediately it would have been thought impossible if hyperspace wasn't accessible. With its appearance all peace within her flickered out. Rey stood, fists clenched.

She cursed, and another demonic fly popped into view.

"What is it?" Ben asked, and stood beside her.

He couldn't see what she saw, and yet there was something shifting inside of him, a something nearly tangible. She knew him. Somehow she knew that he was pretending; knew that something wasn't right within him. Conflict or guilt or something.

She cursed again, louder. "First Order ships. A battalion." She turned and the galaxies let her feel his guilt. "You," she spat.

Rey had brought only 120 soldiers with her, and many of those were dead or injured from the first fight. They had been sent to counter the attacks of platoons, full of only twenty men each. They had managed against four platoons, but now?

Still the ships were popping into the sky. There were three hundred troopers in those ships, and Rey could only count on maybe eighty of her soldiers to fight with her. Too many had died for them to win this one. Too many were injured, being taken care of by Resistance doctors and medics within the village.

"You filthy liar," she said cruelly.

"I didn't lie," he said, eyes terribly full of knowledge of what he did. "That's not a platoon."

It was hard to look at him when he was guilty. She could be swallowed whole by his emotions alone.

"You sent this battalion? Against me?" Rey corrected herself, knowing she couldn't allow personal anything into her head during war, "against my troops?"

"I am Supreme Leader," he said. "Your forces killed four of my platoons."

"I thought they were Hux's platoons."

"I took credit for them."

She knew he had to; already his troops were defecting and turning away from him. He had to go after the Resistance, because they represented everything the First Order was not.

But Rey didn't care. All she knew was he had betrayed her.

Rey stepped closer, eyes blazing. "You lied to me. You could have warned me about this, but you didn't. You could have chosen not to send the battalion. I could die when they attack. You would have killed me."

Oh, her words were harsh. They both know she wouldn't die. She was a survivor. He watched her with sad eyes and said nothing to defend himself. He knew.

She shook her head. "I don't have time for this."

She ran from him and the window and down the hallway, knocking on every door and telling them to wake up and get their guns. Stupid. Stupid, how betrayed she felt. She ran to the controls. Pressed the button to send an SOS to the Resistance, asking for back-up.

It was a four hour trip from the Resistance base to the planet. Rey cursed.

The knowledge of his betrayal was singing in her veins. She put on her coat, her gloves, her wrap. She could feel the presence of electricity in her fingers, barely contained.

"Rey," he was saying as she opened the door, as shouts were bouncing all around the ship.

People were running out of their rooms, marching from the other ships. It was a flood of people full of fear and disbelief.

"Go away!" She yelled at him, over the chaos.

Someone turned. "Commander? Were you talking to someone?"

She almost laughed, because the situation was so perfect. Ben could still hear her, she knew. So she threw his old words back at him, betrayal fueling her as she left the ship with her troops. They had a war to fight.

"No one."

AN: oops.

Who am I you guys this is another over 3000 word chapter. Furiously typing some more!