When Poe does a sweep of the hangars that night, he finally finds Ben-- raw knuckled, bruises dotting his upper arms, viciously taking apart and reassembling the engine of one of their spare cruisers. Less dramatic than just wrecking shit with the Force, mostly less destructive.
Poe clears his throat. "Bad date?" Ben looks up, but doesn't meet Poe's eyes.
"She asked me to hurt her," he says. He's speaking very quietly and precisely and staring at the engine components in his hands like they hold the secrets of the universe. He picks up one of his wrenches and tightens a bolt-- hard, but not hard enough to break.
"Ah, fuck," says Poe.
"She asked me--" Ben lets out a horrible, braying laugh. His eyes are wild. "She asked me to tie her to a rack and torture her." He dissolves into more laughter then stares at Poe like he's never seen him before, or maybe like he was expecting something else. Expecting them to be somewhere else. "Why are you here? Why are you talking to me?"
"Well," says Poe, "I'm responsible for all the Resistance vehicles in this hangar, and if that cruiser blows up tomorrow OSHA is going to have my ass." Ben makes some noise of assent that could be an agreement or could be cursing in Wookiee. "And Rey has been blowing up my comm for the past three hours saying she sensed a disturbance in the Force." He kneels down. "And because you're my friend, and I forgave you a long time ago."
Ben closes his eyes, drops the wrench, and slowly pulls his arms around his knees. "I can't do this", he says in a small, tight voice. " I thought she was someone the First Order had hurt, her family-- that she was trying to-- to get some kind of-- revenge, closure, I don't know, that would have made more sense. Instead of taking me to a bar and asking for--" He takes a shaky breath. "I should be in prison."
Poe quirks an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound impossible. Maybe you could start down a life of crime and then trash it all and get caught. Try out a new career as a drug dealer. Rob a coupla banks." Ben huffs a laugh.
They're interrupted by the chime of Rey's ringtone on Poe's comm.
FILL: Never Have I Ever, 2
Poe clears his throat. "Bad date?" Ben looks up, but doesn't meet Poe's eyes.
"She asked me to hurt her," he says. He's speaking very quietly and precisely and staring at the engine components in his hands like they hold the secrets of the universe. He picks up one of his wrenches and tightens a bolt-- hard, but not hard enough to break.
"Ah, fuck," says Poe.
"She asked me--" Ben lets out a horrible, braying laugh. His eyes are wild. "She asked me to tie her to a rack and torture her." He dissolves into more laughter then stares at Poe like he's never seen him before, or maybe like he was expecting something else. Expecting them to be somewhere else. "Why are you here? Why are you talking to me?"
"Well," says Poe, "I'm responsible for all the Resistance vehicles in this hangar, and if that cruiser blows up tomorrow OSHA is going to have my ass." Ben makes some noise of assent that could be an agreement or could be cursing in Wookiee. "And Rey has been blowing up my comm for the past three hours saying she sensed a disturbance in the Force." He kneels down. "And because you're my friend, and I forgave you a long time ago."
Ben closes his eyes, drops the wrench, and slowly pulls his arms around his knees. "I can't do this", he says in a small, tight voice. " I thought she was someone the First Order had hurt, her family-- that she was trying to-- to get some kind of-- revenge, closure, I don't know, that would have made more sense. Instead of taking me to a bar and asking for--" He takes a shaky breath. "I should be in prison."
Poe quirks an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound impossible. Maybe you could start down a life of crime and then trash it all and get caught. Try out a new career as a drug dealer. Rob a coupla banks." Ben huffs a laugh.
They're interrupted by the chime of Rey's ringtone on Poe's comm.