Chapter Text
“Who’s idea was it to get these fucking onesies?” Ben shifted in his seat next to Rey on the couch as he surreptitiously adjusted himself under their shared throw blanket and continued complaining. “I had to wear two pairs of tightie whities just to hide my damn dick.”
Rey rolled her eyes and giggled, tossing a piece of popcorn at him. “It’s tradition!” she teased him.
A tradition she had just invented, mostly to fuck with him. It had been a year since their doggy door incident and, well, he’d become a bit more inclined to do things just to make her happy.
He was such a good stepbrother.
“Tradition, my ass. You just can’t help but fall prey to every bullshit basic Instagram and Pinterest trend.”
“Who’re you callin’ basic?” she scoffed. “Don’t think I didn’t see your peppermint mocha with extra whip in the kitchen trash.”
She held her index finger to her chin. “Yes, I seem to recall it had the name Bon on the side,” she joked, stretching out his name dramatically as his brows furrowed in embarrassment. She was already willing to ease up on him despite how tempting it was to give him shit. “Just shut up, you look hot,” she complimented him, wagging her own eyebrows up and down.
“Just no pictures okay? I don’t need your little Snapchat friends making fun of me like at Halloween.”
“Oh come on, we were such a hit! A pickle and a deer? Dill Doe? I deserve an award for that.”
“Poe called me ‘dildo’ for weeks," he moaned. "That’s the last time I invite you to one of our parties ever again.”
Rey couldn’t help but admire how devastatingly cute he was when he was pissed, and she loved how it always worked in her favor. She batted her eyelashes and assumed a faux innocent expression. “So you’re saying you don’t want to get a blowjob under the beer pong table again?”
He sputtered, grabbing a throw pillow and shoving it down over his lap. “I’m not not saying that—“
“You kids ready for movie night?” Momma Leia bellowed as she and Mom burst into the family room with individual bowls of popcorn and mugs of hot cocoa on a tray. Beebee trailed closely behind, snarfing up pieces that fell in their wake. “I get to pick this year finally!”
Ben rolled his eyes. “Let me guess. It’s a Wonderful Life .”
Leia looked at Amilyn with a weary expression. “I pushed this nine pound butterball out of my body and this is how he treats me. Unbelievable.”
“I love that movie, Momma,” Rey chimed in to comfort Leia, making her voice, saccharine sweet. “It always makes me cry.” She looked defiantly at Ben who glared back.
“Yeah, Ben, you’re outnumbered once again,” Amilyn teased. “Don’t worry it’s your turn next year.”
“Yeah, yeah okay fine,” he smiled begrudgingly. “Gimme my popcorn and hit play already.”
Amilyn doled out the festive peppermint swirl patterned bowls and they each got their favorite mugs, replete with extra marshmallows and peppermint sticks. The moms took to their individual recliners and put their feet up, while Rey and Ben shared the loveseat. She’d already been inching closer to him since they sat down, and they were now joined at the hip. Beebee, unsuccessful at scoring more popcorn, made his way to lay down in front of the tree.
Leia clapped and the lights went off as Amilyn hit play.
Once the movie started, Rey’s hand dipped under the blankets. Her thigh now eclipsed Ben’s despite his efforts to squirm away from her.
He’d just arrived that morning, grumpy and frazzled from finals since he’d switched back to pre-law. Rey, on the other hand, had arrived the night before and began planning a way to get her hands on him ever since.
They’d seen each other a few weekends during the fall. The best of all was when she and a few friends stayed at Ben’s frat house on Halloween weekend. They’d spent their nights fucking each other silly and the rest of the time finding ways to sneak away from their friends to make out or feel each other up. Ben even took her on a real date to a restaurant and it felt, just for a little while, like they might be an actual couple.
Thanksgiving was harder, with more family staying in the house, necessitating that Rey sleep on a blow up mattress in their moms’ room and that Ben sleep on the couch. It didn’t stop her from sneaking out in the middle of the night to give him a surprise blow job, but his Uncle Luke interrupted them by sleepwalking on Ambien and making himself a sandwich.
After that, they’d managed to have a standing quickie in the guest bathroom at midnight, but they were too afraid to try anything else.
Now they’d be home for two whole weeks between semesters, and there were plenty of things they could do both at home and in town to rekindle their clandestine romance.
Ben was acting a little standoffish and curmudgeonly now, but his texts leading up to their trip home told a different story.
Ben: Don’t wear panties to bed while we’re home
Rey: Oh yeah? Why’s that?
Ben: You know why. Little slut.
Rey: You’re a little slut
Ben: My slutty little sister. Don’t fuck anyone else.
Rey: I won’t. You neither. Manwhore.
Ben: Only for you.
She treasured every single one. Her friends kept asking her who the guy was that had her zoning out at keggers and giggling to herself while she checked her phone constantly. She’d used the “he goes to another school” excuse and they’d rolled their eyes and accused her of fucking their hot mechanical engineering professor, Dr. Andor.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t considered it, but all she could think about was her stupid stepbrother. Her stupid hot, sexy, multiple orgasm-giving stepbrother.
They could never be together the way her naive heart was starting to yearn for. Maybe she was just dick drunk. It was really big, and wide, and hit just the right spots.
He could be sweet when he wanted to though, case in point, he was wearing the ridiculous red union suit she’d bought him to go with her green one for family Christmas photos. The onesies buttoned up the front and had little buttoned bum flaps. Momma and Mom refused to wear them, but got their own coordinating plaid flannel ones to coordinate.
Also, she was super proud that he had changed his major back to pre-law, was partying less, and took such good care of her during Poe’s Halloween party when she’d had a little too much to drink. He didn’t even try to fuck her while she was almost passed out in his bed, but he did play with her hair and rub her back until she fell asleep. Okay, he did grab her boobs but she could have sworn he whispered I love you in her ear, she just couldn’t be sure.
With all of that fueling her, her hands wandered over to his lap under their shared blanket as the movie continued to flicker on the screen. Their moms were watching intently and Momma was already dabbing the corner of her eye with a tissue. But it was too hard to pay attention with his big, solid muscular body pressed against her side, their thighs overlapping. It was almost too warm for a blanket and Ben was already naturally warm.
Ben shifted a bit in his seat right as her palm found his tightly packaged cock under three layers of fabric and gave it a tentative stroke. He grabbed her wrist firmly and stared at her, his eyes widening in an effort to deter her. “Knock it off,” he whispered.
With a look of faux contrition, she relaxed her hand and pulled it away when his vice grip on her wrist relaxed.
His efforts to escape her were finally thwarted by his body meeting the end of the couch. Changing tack, she repositioned herself, lying down and placing her head in his lap. Rather strategically, of course.
As she nonchalantly rubbed the back of her head against his rapidly hardening bulge, she felt his hand quickly descend on her neck. His thumb was firm at the base of her skull and his index finger threatened to depress further on the front of her throat if she didn’t relent.
Rey withheld a giggle as Ben leaned forward and whispered a stern warning in her ear. “You’re gonna get it.”
Aside from the thrill she got at him holding her neck, she couldn’t help being disappointed that he wouldn’t at least play with her a little. She laid still, enjoying how he rewarded her good behavior with tender circles of his fingernails on her scalp.
The film really did make her cry, especially when George Bailey said, “You want the moon? Just say the word, and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down.”
What she wouldn’t give for a love so big. One that she didn’t have to keep a secret, that is.
Soon, the credits rolled and their moms were both snoozing steadily. Rey sat up and looked at him, and he almost looked relaxed. It took all her strength not to kiss him, but she leaned forward and whispered in his ear, knowing full well she was going to bolt to the bathroom thanks to the giant mug of cocoa she’d consumed earlier.
“I didn’t wear any panties like you asked.”
Before he could react, she jumped up and ran to the guest bathroom down the hall, trying not to giggle with excitement.
She locked the door so he wouldn't burst in on her half naked on account of the onesie. She wanted him to work for it . As she was washing her hands, however, she heard him turning the ineffective lock.
He opened the door slowly, with an emotionless stare like a horror movie villain and closed it behind himself. Suppressing a smile, she put both palms on the bathroom counter and regarded herself in the mirror, her cheeks flushed with anticipation, and her union suit unbuttoned to reveal the valley between her breasts.
Ben placed the butter knife he’d used to unlock the door on the counter, carefully so as not to make noise. He hovered behind her, covering her body with his, and placed his hands over hers on the counter.
“Such a fucking tease, little sister,” he whispered menacingly in her ear before nibbling it. “You wanna get caught touching my dick in front of our moms? You’re a sick little fuck aren’t you?” he inquired, thrusting his hips so she could feel him harden against her ass.
“I’m a tease? All you do is talk about your dick and you don’t want me to do anything about it?” she breathed heavily as his hands moved to her hips, fingers digging in as he continued to rub himself against her. Her heartbeat quickened and she felt an insistent throb between her legs, made only worse by him thrusting her mound against the lip of the bathroom counter.
“Oh, you’re gonna do something about it, alright,” he insisted, reaching one hand inside her onesie to tease her nipple between his fingers until she whined desperately. “You’re gonna make it up to me right now,” he spoke softly, raising goosebumps where his breath ghosted against the skin of her throat. Another slow pinch of her nipple. “On your knees.”
“Kids?”
“Shit,” he hissed, pulling his hand away and adjusting himself. “You go, I need a minute.”
Huffing a laugh, she smirked mischievously. “I’ll bet you do.”
“Get the fuck out of her before they come find us,” he insisted, shooing her away.
Rey straightened her neckline and returned to the den where Amilyn was covering Leia with a blanket and gathering the dishes.
“Let me help,” Rey insisted, hoping the distraction would help until she could finally pounce on the elusive target of her lust.
“Oh, you’re so sweet, but I got it, honey.”
“Okay, Mom,” she smiled. “Thanks for an awesome Christmas Eve.”
“Yeah, it was really nice. Get some rest honey, big day tomorrow,” she urged, kissing Rey on the forehead.
Just as Amilyn was lifting the tray to bring to the kitchen. Beebee startled out of a dream that had him whimpering and kicking his feet. He stood up abruptly and darted under the tree, bringing several glass ornaments crashing down.
“Beebee!” Rey admonished him in a whisper, but Leia was already stirring.
“Oh, I must have drifted,” she declared with a yawn, stretching and pulling the throw blanket off before lowering her foot rest. “Let me help you with those, babe” Leia offered to Amilyn.
“Don’t be silly, I got it,” Amilyn insisted. “But Rey, can you clean those up before you go to bed so he doesn’t hurt himself?”
“Sure, Mom, no problem.”
“Thanks, Rey,” Leia chimed in, offering a hug. “Night, sweetie.”
“Night, Momma.”
Rey sighed and followed them into the kitchen to grab the dustpan, passing a red-cheeked Ben in the hallway, holding in her laugh as best she could. Their parents dropped off the dishes next to the sink and made their way upstairs. Rey returned to the family room where Ben was already sprawled on the couch scrolling through the Amazon Prime interface.
“What’s that for?” Ben asked nonchalantly in regards to the dustpan, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d jerked off just now and if that would work in her favor for the rest of the evening.
“Beebee broke a few ornaments and I gotta clean it up. But I don’t feel like it, can you do it?”
“Fuck no, you do it. You’re already up.”
“Why me?”
“He’s your dog, and besides you’re smaller. I can’t fit under there. Just crawl under the tree and do it yourself.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“Fine. But don’t pretend you don’t love him as much as the rest of us. Look what he did for you and me,” she winked suggestively.
Ben gave her a genuine smile in return. “Yeah, he’s okay I guess. Little fucker.”
Beebee exhaled loudly through his little doggy nose and made himself comfortable in Leia’s still warm recliner.
Rey dropped to her knees with the dustpan in one hand and began sweeping the shimmering pieces into a plastic bag. She peered underneath and saw that there was still one in the far back corner, where the tree skirt didn’t cover the hardwood. She could leave it and no one would be the wiser, but knowing her dog, he’d find a way to get back there and eat it. She moved some presents aside to make room for herself to crawl underneath.
She knew by the way Ben was quietly laughing from across the room that she probably looked ridiculous, her ass wiggling in the air while she swept. As soon as this banal task was complete, she was going to jump right into his lap and start kissing what was probably a smug look right off his face.
Satisfied she’d gotten all the sparkly glass dust off the floor, she started backing up. Only she couldn’t.
Of course.
“Ben?”
“Yeah, NASA?”
“I think I’m stuck.”
She endured the expected outburst of laughter, hoping he’d come to her aid and not make a big deal of it. Sexy time awaited.
“Just help me, asshole,” she admonished him.
He didn’t respond but she could hear him padding across the carpet and settling on his knees behind her.
“Oh, Rey. I’m starting to think you’re doing this on purpose,” he remarked, toying with one of the large round buttons that sealed the trap door in her onesie. The one that was strategically over her ass.
“Ben, I swear I’m not. I’m really stuck. Maybe it’s an ornament hook or something?”
“I’ll bet it is,” he responded dreamily, as he unfastened each of the two buttons before peeling the fabric down.
“Ben! Come on, really? Let’s go to my room.”
“Mmm, no, I think I like this better,” he teased, trailing his fingers over her exposed skin. “Can’t really eat you out in this though. But I don’t think you deserve it for being a little fucking tease all night.”
“That’s real rich, Ben. Just get me out of here and I’ll make it worth your while," she promised with a wiggle of her ass.
“Mm, I thought you’d say that. Let’s see if you’re ready, shall we?” With that, he slid a finger between her folds, parting them, and unleashing the evidence of her arousal from the last few hours. “Just what I thought. Fucking soaked. ”
“Who’s the tease now?” She rolled her eyes, though he couldn’t see it.
“You know, I think I like these goofy things,” he started, ignoring her accusation. “These little buttons are a pain in the ass but at least I can get my dick out.”
“What are you waiting for then?”
“So impatient. Someone’s eager for my cock, eh little sis?”
She didn’t want to admit it, but yes, yes she was. She’d been thinking about it for almost a month since they’d last parted.
“Make your little jokes. See what happens when I get out of here,” she threatened playfully.
“Who says I’m letting you out? What if you’re my present, huh?” She heard the slight ripping of paper followed by the slap of Ben’s hand, and felt something left behind.
“What is that?”
“It’s a bow," he laughed. "Such a pretty gift, my sister’s bare ass and dripping wet pussy under the tree. I guess I have been a good boy this year.”
“You’re enjoying this way too much, you know that?”
“What, you aren't’?” he implored, slipping his finger back between her labia and stroking softly, teasing her.
“I would if you’d get on with it already. Seriously Ben. It’s hot under here.”
“I like you all sweaty and desperate. Fucking hot. Trapped like this for me, all spread open just waiting for me to fuck you.”
She couldn’t help but preen. He may act like a douche sometimes, but she had him wrapped around her little finger.
Speaking of fingers, he slipped one inside her just then, followed by another, pushing and stretching and sliding in and out until she could hear how wet she was.
“Fuck, I need to be inside you,” he insisted, and she soon felt his cock prodding at her entrance.
Please she whispered quietly, hoping he wouldn’t hear. Her prayer was answered as he gripped both of her hips and pushed himself deep inside, letting out a quiet grunt.
Her adrenaline began to spike at the thought of one of their moms coming downstairs and catching them, or worse, both.
“I already jerked off but I’m not gonna last. Fuck, I missed this. You feel so fuckin’ good, Rey.”
She grabbed fistfuls of the tree skirt and arched her back so it wouldn’t chafe against the low branches of the faux tree. She clenched around him, squeezing his cock each time he thrust inside of her.
The wet, sloppy sounds of their bodies colliding filled the air, and she whimpered quietly, her lips pressed tightly together, breathing heavily through her nose.
He fucked her fast and hard, until she felt herself needing to come. She reached one hand down between her legs, bracing all of her weight on one elbow to give her clit some much needed attention. She felt his hand pull hers away as he drew hard, messy circles on her sensitive nub.
“Come on my cock, Rey. Fuck. I’m gonna fuckin blow my load.”
“Not on my onesie! Family pictures, Ben!”
“Oh fu-uck” he groaned, drawing out the syllable he stilled his hips. “Don’t fucking say that while I’m fucking you, shit. Why does that make it hotter? Jesus we’re fucked up. Are you sure? You want me to come inside?”
“Ben, please just do it,” she whined, clamping down with all her might to spur him along. “I’m so close please don’t stop, please.”
“Baby sister hold on tight,” he warned her, resuming his rapid thrusts as he rubbed her clit strategically, just the way she liked until she was bursting with pleasure, milking every pump of spend out of him deep inside her pussy.
“We’re going to hell,” he noted as he slipped out of her. “Hold that shit in, I'll get you a tissue.”
“Ben, I can’t do that, just hurry the fuck up, please.”
Luckily, Amilyn kept tissues all over the house for her prone to weeping at sappy Christmas movies life partner.
He cleaned her gently and carefully, using several tissues to ensure nothing was missed. It was weird, but also kind of sweet, how hard he was trying to save the silly pajamas he had previously purported to detest. He re-buttoned the trap door over her ass and stood up.
“I’m just gonna get rid of these in uh, my room. I’ll be right back.”
He returned swiftly and kneeled down to find the exact branch that had snagged her neckline and prevented her from escaping.
Once free, she dumped the dustpan into the bag she’d brought in from the kitchen. She then turned around to find him looking so good in his splayed-open onesie, it should be illegal.
Hair: playfully mussed.
Lips: sinfully red and plump
Chest: carved from marble
Abs: exposed down to the happy trail
“You okay, NASA?” he asked playfully, and she realized she’d simply just been staring at him.
“My room. Now,” she ordered, standing up with the dustpan and bag in hand and starting to march towards the kitchen. “Don't wait for me. Go now and get naked and I’ll be there in a minute.”
No more time for games. She wanted fully nude, skin on skin contact, and she wasn’t taking no for a damned answer.
“Yes ma’am,” he laughed, running his hand through his hair. She was gonna pull that stupid hair while she sat on his face.
🎄🎁☕️
To her delight, when she entered her darkened bedroom, her full size bed was dwarfed by his huge frame. She’d tested it for squeakiness the night before, so she was confident they could go to town.
As she approached the bed, she could see he’d obeyed, sitting propped up against her headboard, fully nude with the sheets pooling around his waist.
“Took you long enough,” he quipped as she began removing her onesie, one sleeve at a time before carefully folding over the back of the chair in front of her vanity.
“Shut your pretty mouth,” she retorted, crawling onto the bed to straddle him, effectively shutting it for him.
He startled at first and then melted into her embrace as they explored each other’s mouths. Her hands wefted through his hair and pulled as she nibbled on his lower lip and snagged it gently between her teeth.
“Fuck, you’re so sexy,” he breathed, his hands guiding her hips as she began to grind down on his erection through the sheets.
Slowly the sheets receded, letting their bodies make increasingly more contact, and she whimpered as her bare center found his silky soft shaft.
“Mmm, wait,” he protested. “Let me eat you out.”
“I thought I didn’t deserve it,” she panted, leaning down to kiss his neck and flex her hips until he slotted perfectly between her lips. Her arousal allowed her to slide up and down his sinful length.
“Oh, fuck,” he moaned as she picked up speed and his fingers dug into the softness of her hips.
“Ben,” she whimpered, forgetting all about their petty sibling rivalry all of a sudden, as her orgasm began to build. She focused on the slick slide of his shaft between her folds and along her clit, her nipples brushing against his hard chest.
Then, suddenly, she was flat on her back, and his head was between her legs within seconds.
“Oh my god!” she whispered, even though she wanted to scream, frantically grabbing handfuls of his hair as he licked enthusiastically at her cunt from hole to clit, sucking greedily on the swollen nub.
Her earlier orgasm under the tree had just been an appetizer to this soul-shattering, full-body pleasure she was experiencing now. She’d never wanted him more than she did at this moment, the significance of the last year finally hitting her all at once.
All the sneaking around and unwanted distance. She just wanted this.
Before she could get lost too deep in thought, his fingers brought her close to the edge, and his plush lips and slippery tongue shoved her straight off the cliff into ecstasy. She bucked her hips and clenched her thighs around his ears, but he didn’t relent, pumping his fingers and lapping greedily, sticking his tongue in her throbbing hole to capture her release.
“Ben, please,” she mewled. “I can’t.” Her body tensed up again, already coiling towards another shuddering climax.
“Mmm, come on,” he urged, focusing all of his attention on the overstimulated bundle of nerves on her front wall, reaching up with his other hand to grasp her breast and brush his thumb over her nipple. “You know you can do it.”
“I c-can’t,” she lied to herself as she approached the threshold once again. It felt so good she wanted to cry.
He reached up and pressed his thumb down on her chin. “Look at me,” he ordered before sticking his long tongue all the way out and slowly licking up her center before teasing her clit with just the tip of it, pressing hard on her g-spot at the same time.
“Fuck!” she cried out a bit too loudly at the sordid performance.
He resumed his relentless barrage of lips, tongue, and fingers until her back arched and she kicked at the mattress as she came harder than before. She tried to squirm away from the stimulation, but he held her down by the hips until he was done licking her clean, this time more gently.
When he finally relented, she melted into a puddle on the bed, limbs splayed wide, still shaking and throbbing with the aftershocks.
“I like you like this. All docile,” he teased, hovering over her as he kissed her neck and collarbones before taking a nipple in his mouth.
“S’good,” she mumbled, smiling up at him with a dopey grin.
He smiled back and kissed her nose before reaching down to guide his cock inside of her, the slow slide electrifying her whole body once more. She pushed past her exhaustion to wrap her legs around his waist and urged him to drive all the way in.
He sucked in a breath through his teeth as he sheathed himself to the hilt. “God, you’re so tight. Fuck .”
“You’re damn right I am,” she insisted, giving him a squeeze that elicited a tiny choked sound from the back of his throat.
“You’re perfect.” He closed his mouth over hers, stealing her breath as he began moving his hips and grasped her hands, threading his fingers between hers as he positioned them over her head.
It was everything she’d ever wanted.
“I missed you, Ben.” Her words melted into a delicious groan as he pulled out all the way and thrust all the way back in.
He didn’t respond, but when he opened his eyes to look at her, she could see he felt it too. Where there had once been a million questions, she could finally see his answer.
Yes.
Always.
He kissed her again as he continued to move. Their bodies were so tightly connected, the friction was enough to help her over the edge again. This time it began as a gentle flutter that exploded into a deeper quake from her center and out through her limbs until she was limp and boneless beneath him, her legs falling to the bed as he joined her shortly after.
He kissed her forehead and each eyelid, and finally her lips before releasing a shaky breath into the space between her neck and shoulder. Releasing her hands, he collapsed a bit, careful not to crush her.
Rey gently scratched his back with her fingernails and kissed his shoulder, enjoying the feeling of his heart thudding against her own chest. He rolled off of her and she turned to snuggle into his chest, wrapping her arm around his waist. They laid silently for a little while as he stroked her forearm with his fingers.
“You should move to LA after you graduate so you can be closer to me.” She spoke confidently, breaking the silence.
He huffed a quiet laugh. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah,” she pointed out.
“What makes you think I want to live in LA?”
“You need my guidance, obviously.”
“That so, NASA? So you want me to be your boyfriend? What will all your little friends think?”
“It’s none of their fucking business, but if it makes you feel better we can hide it.”
“That’s kinda hot actually. Sneaking into your shitty little dorm room and shit.”
“I’m assuming you’ll get an apartment.”
“In LA? If I have like three roommates maybe.”
“Then we can have hot sneaky sex there too.” She giggled, imaging all the quiet sex they’d be having for the next few years. She hoped.
“Do you think we’ll ever stop? Should we?” It was a halfhearted suggestion, one she shouldn’t have made, one she hoped he’d shut down immediately.
“I keep thinking we will, but I never want to. I didn’t know if we were even gonna be together this time.”
“Really? Come on, you knew. Don’t wear panties texts? You keep me hanging on, Ben Solo.”
“It was more like hope," he smiled in return. "And I’m glad it paid off.”
“Ben, until you move to LA, can you call and text me more? And not just when you’re drunk?”
If they were laying it all on the line, she had nothing to lose.
“Oh, so I am moving now?”
“Obviously.”
He laughed, kissed the top of her head.
“I get jealous thinking about you with other guys. You fuck anyone else at school?”
“No, you?”
“No.”
“Good,” she replied.
Very good.
“Rey?”
“Yeah Ben?”
“You know I love you, right?”
“Of course, I’m your little sister, you have to.”
“That’s not why.”
“That’s not why I love you either.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
“Go to sleep, Rey.”
“You go to sleep.”
She couldn’t see it, but she could feel his smile, his lips brushing her hair as they curled upwards at the edges.
🎄🎁☕️
He’d slept in her room all night and they woke up slightly sweaty and sticking to each other.
“Merry Christmas,” she kissed his cheek as his eyes fluttered open and they separated, stretching their long-frozen limbs, feeling cool air meet their skin again.
“Yeah, damn. Merry Christmas.” His voice was husky and sexy in the morning, she noted, dreaming of their shared future of small rooms with and without roommates.
Rey and Ben descended the stairs at strategically different times once they’d heard their moms stirring in the kitchen downstairs and smelled the scent of coffee wafting up the stairs.
“You guys look like shit,” Amilyn teased. “Did you sleep at all?”
“Gee, thanks Mom.” Rey groaned and rubbed her eyes. Ben ran his fingers through his hair and yawned.
“Too excited for Santa?” Leia added with a laugh. “Spoiler alert, it's clever socks and gift cards.”
“I was kicking her ass at video games,” Ben murmured a fake excuse, padding barefoot towards the coffee maker.
“We made coffee.”
“Yes, no family photos til we have coffee,” Rey insisted, grabbing their favorite creamers from the fridge; Caramel Macchiato for her and Peppermint Mocha for him.
Ben’s exasperated tone filled the air. “Is this Folgers ?”
“Instacart replacement, sorry,” Amilyn replied. “It’s really not that bad. Besides, you kids put so much crap in it anyway.”
“It’s no Domenico's, but I’m sure Ben will survive,” Rey mocked him mercilessly. “I’m fine with it. It’s better than the stuff in the school cafeteria."
He shook his head and shot her a dirty look before pouring coffee into two mugs and handing her one. Watching the creamer swirl to the surface, she waited for Ben to hand her his spoon after he finished stirring. They were like a well oiled machine.
“You kids want breakfast?” Leia asked in a tone of voice that told Rey she wanted them to eat cereal or offer to go get donuts.
“We’ll get donuts in a bit. I know a place that might be open,” Ben offered.
“Oh thank God,” Amilyn responded. “No fire department this year.”
“It was one time!” Leia bellowed back, but her crinkling eyes betrayed her indignation.
“Honey, I love you, but please don’t make me bacon ever again.”
Rey loved watching them together. She wanted a love like that.
Maybe she already had it.
“Hey, I got you something,” Rey whispered to Ben and gently pressed her shoulder into his.
“I got you something too,” he grinned.
“Really?”
“Yeah, don’t make a big deal about it.” He gave her a shy smile and they retreated to the family room while Amilyn and Leia sat at their favorite spot in the kitchen and made eyes at each other while doing the New York Times crossword.
The stepsiblings took their mugs to the den and Rey kneeled in front of the tree to find her gift for Ben. A small, modest box that held a framed picture of them. Ben kneeled beside her and handed her a similarly sized package.
She laughed, remembering what he’d done with a bow the night before and tore the shiny red one off her gift and stuck it to his broad chest over his heart.
“You’re my present this year.”
“That’s my line,” he smiled, but he wasn’t teasing her, or giving her shit like he usually did.
He looked at her like he’d never been more sincere, or meant anything more in his entire life.
When she opened the box, the tears formed instantly, threatening to spill over.
It was the same photo.
Poe’s Halloween party, the dill pickle and the doe. Right before she’d given him a BJ under the beer pong table. He had pretended not to love the costume, but his goofy grin in the photo said otherwise. It was her favorite picture of them together, and obviously his too.
“You kids ready for the official NOSH family photo?” (It stood for Niima, Organa, Solo, and Holdo.)
Their moms joined them in the family room and they quickly repackaged their frames and shoved them under the tree. Leia looked around the room, seeking the selfie stick tripod Rey normally would have strategically positioned by now.
“Yeah,” Rey replied, wiping her eyes with the back of her index finger. “I’ll get it set up.”
“You okay?” Ben asked.
Then he mouthed I love you.
“I’ve never been better.” She grinned from ear to ear and mouthed I love you too, and stood up before the tears came again.
Rey clapped her hands authoritatively.
“Okay, everyone in position. That means you too, Beebee!” She pointed at their defiant little fluff ball.
For once, the little dog cooperated.
