The slowest burn is the most painful

[reversesock]

Arranged Marriage Turned More To have and to hold, you said, till death do us part, all while the sharp, swinging pendulum of obligation hung overhead. But how could you have truly meant those words? This union has been tainted from the start, forever bearing the chains of an arranged marriage. It would be understandable if you couldn't bear to look at your new life partner, eternal reminder of your stolen future that they are, much less like them. Much less love them... Still, things can change. You could realize that they are in the same boat as you or, that when compared to others around you, they are the lesser of evils. Perhaps you even open up to the idea of a friendship; at the very least, an alliance may be in order to become a power couple in a perilous world. From that innocent decision or sense of self-preservation, a new feelings sparks. Something like affection. Something, you realize in the wake of speeding heartbeats, like love. Will you acknowledge this? Can the two of you have a happily ever after - happier than if you'd met in another fashion - or will you hold firm in your distaste? how to play. - Everybody loves "couples forged by less-than-ideal circumstances" tropes! - Comment with your character, prefs, all that good stuff. - Reply to others. - IDEC where you set your threads, it's wide open. Fantasy world with hairy hobbits, old-timey lands, future AUs, do a space marriage for all I care. I'm sure they're still getting married in Star Wars or whatever.

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[forcevisions]

[ The next moan is softer, but nonetheless evocative. She straightens her neck after that, satisfied, and apparently lets the battle plans just slip away on that note because she's sufficiently distracted. This is it. This is how the Resistance dies. The ultimate distraction technique. ]

How did you learn to do this?

[ She rolls her shoulders a little, stretching them now that the work of his hands have loosened them. ]

Your hands feel incredible.

[vaderstan]

[ As she straightens her neck he'll try and cup some warm water over the area to help facilitate the loosening of the muscles. ]

Some massage is beneficial for therapeutic reasons. [ Sports massage is an actual important thing that Kylo should honestly practice more, but he was too busy getting thrown around by dark lords. So he's just wound up tight. ] And I've studied some anatomy.

[ Prissy upper class education. Learning shit about how bodies work and are put together. I honestly just realized how insane space biology would be and now I want that life. ] But a vocal recipient makes it especially easy.

[ Those moans tho Rey. Those moans.

And I won't make mention of big strong hands, because that's obvious. Those help a lot. ]

[forcevisions]

[ She chuckles at that last bit. ]

I've never had to be quiet.

[ Never felt enough good things in her life to make a problem of how loud she moans. And then there was the fact that her AT-AT was so far out from Niima Outpost that it didn't make a difference. No one would overhear her anyway.

There was no one. Ever. ]

I'm glad it's good for something.

[vaderstan]

[ He leans forward to rest his chin on her shoulder, invading her space like a huge overgrown cat. Honestly, he needed this as well, to help settle back into place with her. He just didn't realize it. ]

Does anywhere else need my attention?

[ If he hadn't just fucked her silly he's sure she'd just point to her cunt like Duh. But He's not diving back in there until he's invited. Plus a salt filled bath probably makes for Horrible lubrication. He's just guessing that. ]

[forcevisions]

[ Yeah, the desire to get him back down to her cunt is there, but as she shifts to accommodate the way he crowds her (welcomely, admittedly), she feels it ache again and — well, maybe no more of that today. Sometimes you get wrecked for like two days straight and need a break. Sometimes you're playing pong with the UTI gods and really pushing your luck.

She turns her head slightly instead to catch his eye at her shoulder, then raises her finger to point to her mouth. This will do, in the absence of sexual intimacy. ]

My mouth still hurts.

[ And then she shuts her eyes expectantly like it ain't gonna ? ? kiss itself /?? ]

[vaderstan]

[ Sadly, Han didn't teach Ben about UTI's and that girls should pee after sex. He probably figured that the girl would know it on her own or didn't even know it himself. Hopefully Leia will pull her aside once she sees how goddamn wrecked Rey is constantly and be like "LISTEN."

And he nearly feels like being a smart ass and just pushing his fingers over her mouth but.... Okay he's thirsty as fuck too.

So he'll close the scant distance between their mouths and kiss her softly. Gentle in the wake of his taking from her so savagely, he'll let her take the lead on the kiss whether she wants to deepen it or not. ]

[forcevisions]

[ Her lips part a little, but it's a gentle kind of fumbling. No tongue or teeth. Just soft, slow intimacy. Basking in it, rather than rushing it or urging more out of it. She hums into his mouth, gratified to have been given this. Her hands settle on his knees and squeeze. Savoring the fact that he's here, he's close, he's hers. ]

This is exactly what I needed.

[ She says this as she breaks the kiss, tilting her forehead against his. It's a brief thing, though, because turning like that tilts her neck at a weird angle again, and she's trying to fix that. She straightens out and leans back into him again, sighing her relief. ]

Thank you.

[vaderstan]

[ I'll be honest. Those words alone have him buzzing on some sort of high because he feels, needed and useful and wanted. This is just gonna be some intense codependency for a while here because part of it isn't out of unhealthy boundaries but sheer necessity. But-- at least for this moment, he's not thinking of it in that way. He melts with her and tucks her into his shoulder. He hasn't been this relaxed in a while and even if the circumstances were undeniably insane and unideal for both of them-- he'll take it. ]

Thank you for trusting me. [ Because sitting here with her, tiny and unguarded, in the proverbial lion's den, she is putting herself at risk. She knew that coming into this, she had her guards up and-- it took a while but she heard him out.

It's kinda what he needed to. (but not like. Blind trust. EARNED trust. no repeats of crait please) ]

[forcevisions]

[ She rubs her hands up and down his shins soothingly, around the inside of his calves, trying to return the favor of the slow, gentle recovery from what they'd been getting up to without overexerting herself after how rough it had been on her body. It's a nice, ambient gesture which keeps her anchored in him and their closeness. ]

You earned it.

[ She settles her head back against his shoulder and shuts her eyes, basking in the warmth of the tub. ]

And I hear what you're saying about the Resistance. I will tell them … something. Once I have a private moment. But really, your mother has probably already passed that on. They're her people, after all.

[vaderstan]

[ Something strikes him in this moment. Something odd and- surreal. He hasn't really spoken to his mother at all since the start of this, she's seen him and they've shared space with one another. But they haven't talked like normal humans. The only thing he knows about is that she definitely saw Rey kiss him and-- He asked Rey to tell her the Thing but???????


He'll ask this delicately. ]

Did you tell her about us? [ --- Wait ] Not about the fucking, but about this.

[ He'll grip a hand over the slope of one of her shoulders to indicate the bald faced affection they have for one another. Cause fucking is one thing but ?/? ?this is a totally different story. He'd asked her to relay the message to Leia and he's sure she has, but he's not sure to what extent ]

[forcevisions]

I told her what you asked me to tell her.

[ Rey explains this with some stunted surprise. Did he think she wouldn't ??? She looks up at him, suddenly sheepish about it coming out of her mouth instead of his. He's reiterated it recently but still she feels presumptuous to say — ]

I told her you love me. And I trust you. And we're sleeping together and working together.

[ All true things. ]

And she knows that she's marrying us tomorrow. I told her that when I told her to move to Lando's suite.

[vaderstan]

[ HE'S JUST CONFIRMING. He's a cautious dude. And I mean-- he's used to hostile work relationships. Cooperating on this level is new for him. He'll press his mouth to her shoulder gently. An apology for asking for reassurance and clarification, but-- he's got this shit to work through as well. Plus it was good to be on the same page, especially now. ]

She won't pass along any information that's unnecessary for others to know, it's entirely possible they don't know the extent of our relationship

[forcevisions]

They definitely don't know about the sex.

[ She pulls this to mind now that he's going through it with her. Rey's no good at parsing out different amounts of information to different people. It's not a skill she has because she didn't have social skills until like six months ago. ]

I asked your mother not to mention it. I thought it would distract them.

[vaderstan]

[ Honestly, that draws an amused exhale of breath from him. Like. Distract is probably not the word for it. Completely enrage them Yes. That's what would happen. ]

I'm unsure if she would think it'd be her place to tell them either way. [ 'Don't worry folks. She's gettin' porked by him' Yeah. That wouldn't fly.


But it's no good to dwell on possibilities, they can't do anything about them now and he'd want to get off the subject of work for the moment. Relaxing is just such a novelty thing right now. ] Would you like for me to wash your hair?

[ And body. Just feel up all that skin even if ur tapped out for the evening. ]

[forcevisions]

[ A smile lights on her lips. She's happy to leave the consideration of her friends' reactions behind too. They aren't here, their opinions on this don't matter right now. At least not until Naima brings them in screaming at 6 AM. ]

Yes, please.

[ There's something childish in how she asks for it, giddy and relieved. She sinks down accordingly, scooting forward from him some and then leaning back to dip her hair into the water. It puts her head squarely against his lower abdomen, but at least she's face-up and they're both fuckin wiped anyway. ]

[vaderstan]

[ LOOK FINN IS GIVING POE AND ROSE THE OHANA SPEECH RIGHT NOW. OHANA MEANS FAMILY, NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND TO GET FORCED INTO A MARRIAGE WITH KYLO REN.

Also jesus help us bath blow jobs??? Are we trying to add "ACTIVELY DROWNING WHILE SUCKING BEN OFF" to the kink list? Don't answer that. I know the answer is probably yes.

There's an affectionate tug to the bond from him, glad he can give her this at least. He'll start pulling his hands through her hair gently, getting a feel for it.


--Also jesus fucking christ they're getting married. This is just gonna hit him at different times and different places, like as he has to reach out to grab some shampoo to wash her hair and it's like... they could be doing this. Every night?????????????????


??????????????????????????????????????????????????

Jesus. Jesus.

I swear to god he's not really anxious or freaking out about any of this just a little stunned by how sharply things had changed. At the very least the silence is amicable. ]

[forcevisions]

[ She sits up straighter once her hair is sufficiently soaked and feels that sort of … surreal awe hit him sideways. Rey's smile widens. This wasn't quite what she had seen in the vision of Ben's future. They had lost too much for that, and her vision had been much … purer, for lack of a better word.

But it's better in so many ways. Equally alleviating of the burden of her own loneliness. Knowing that they will have precisely this together for as long as either of them can stand it. ]

You're not nervous.

[ She sounds surprised. ]

See the helmet and kylos hand? THATS REY'S HEAD.

[vaderstan]

[ He makes some grunt of acknowledgement as he gets a handful of whatever luxury ass shampoo they got in this suite. Her hair is gonna never suffer again. He runs his hands together to get a lather going before running his fingers over her scalp. Reverence here, Rey. Reverence. ]

Why would I be?

[ There's so many responses to that question that it's not even funny.

But honestly, he's as calm as he could ever expect to be with her. Out of all the possibilities for a political marriage among the two warring factions-- this was possibly the most ideal one for the both of them. Anything else would undoubtedly stir up anxiety. ]

in ashes

[forcevisions]

[ The noise she makes is most closely comparable to cooing. Her mouth is open, or it might have been a hum, but no. It's more like an ohhhh. Her eyes drift shut and for a moment, she lacks an answer for him. So she lets the silence stretch a little bit.

Right. Nervousness. ]

Because we're getting married tomorrow.

[ She supplies this with a deceptive ease. ]

And you don't know how to feel about it, and your feelings usually make you nervous.

that's the secret to kylos locks

[vaderstan]

[ It would be prickish to say that this is close to getting what he had wanted in the throne room anyway, right? Probably. Either way, he understands that's not entirely the truth. He's at least, That self aware.

Pulling the shampoo through her hair now, it's just full Ben Solo ASMR experience. Her body maybe wrecked but this is the best possible after care session she could currently get. ]

This could be a trap for you still. [ Your jokes are terrible and you are the worst. Especially considering he doesn't say it with any sort of inflection that Suggests it's a joke. The only clue would be the way he runs his fingers back to the crown of her head to get it foam-y and good like. If this was a trap this is the most relaxing trap ever. ]

I suppose it helps having someone I can trust to work with on something as important as an intergalactic marriage to end a galaxy-wide conflict resulting from never-ending chaos.

[ Seriously, Rey. You've seen the people he's working with in the First Order. Like, yes killing Snoke was undoubtedly good. But everyone has been at each other's throats since the decrepit being had been bisected. ]

that adds up

[forcevisions]

[ Ah yes. A trap. Save her. Please. Free her from the iron jaws of this wampa trap, for surely she is caught and will soon be handicapped by gnawing her leg off to escape it. She's really in such a hurry. Such a hurry that she's tilting her head to nudge his fingers into places at her scalp that she wants him to rub. Not because he missed shampooing there. Just because his fingers feel nice.

Update Rey is a cat. ]

Yes. You're luring me in with your love and appreciation, and any day now, after we've executed the less moral members of your leadership, you'll … What, exactly?

[ She decides to just open that up. ]

Make me come another five times?

No poo all ash. Honestly I shoulda thought of such a combo sooner

[vaderstan]

[ It's okay Rey, he's a cat too. He's not even concerned about the lather at this point, just scratching at her scalp so she keeps making that pleased face and those nice humming noises. This is just. Triggering all sorts of internal Needs for him right now. He can't even handle it. ]

Hux did interrupt my plans to make you come with my mouth until you couldn't think any longer.

[ The worst crime here. Clearly.


I'm not even being sarcastic. Hux should die for that transgression alone. ]

[forcevisions]

We'll have time.

[ She's not in a hurry. More to the point, she doesn't doubt his intentions to follow through on that. She melts under his hands, a puddle of satisfied sounds and warmth. Honestly if they could forget the armistice and do this forever instead, she'd be Here For It. Let Leia do all the work. She can marry Hux instead.

(no. never.) ]

I think that's the whole idea behind marriage, in fact.

[vaderstan]

You'd be surprised.

[ And by surprised, he means: Disappointed but not surprised. There was a reason Hux and the others didn't even think twice about Kylo Ren raping his fiancee. Many political marriages were tepid, at best. Ways to produce heirs to join together families or planets. And he suspects his mother, being all business and practicality, only didn't enter one because she had met his father.

Love, passion, attraction. All of that trumped truces or temporary alliances.

Honestly he's still not sure how the fuck this even happened. ] Tip your head back for me.

[ He's gotta rinse out those suds. ]

[forcevisions]

[ She sinks down, gets her shoulders to his knees, and then dips her head back. Submerges to her hairline. It gives her the chance to look up at him, her eyes wide with reverence and her lips slightly parted to see how flushed he still is (the heat, probably) and how tired and relaxed he looks. ]

You're really beautiful.

[ There's no point in telling him so, but not everything, Rey has learned, needs to have a point. ]

All the time, but especially like this.