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Chapter Text

Rey had never felt more free.

She could feel it in her veins like a second pulse as they stepped out of the Millennium Falcon and onto the hard packed sand of the planet they had landed on to resupply.

“Rey.” Finn spoke from beside her, both of them having decided to head out together while Leia and Poe remained behind to strategize.

After what had happened to the Resistance, all that they had lost, they had a lot to figure out now. Rey had told them about what had happened to Snoke, and she could only imagine that the First Order was in a similar state of disarray after losing their Supreme Leader.

What had occurred between her and Ben she had saved for Leia alone. The General had taken the news well, but then again Leia was not one to share her emotions unless she really wished to.

“Rey, come on. We have to be back to the ship as quickly as possible.” He said, BB-8 rolling past him down the gangway.

She nodded, shouldering her pack as they walked down into the marketplace. Multi-coloured cloth provided shelter for those selling their wares. Rey was used to such an eclectic group, but Finn still stared as they passed by all sorts of individuals selling things he had never seen before.

Rey took his arm as he began to lag behind. “Don’t stare. You never know who you might attract attention from.” She warned, marching him through the crowded alleyway.

Finn looked to her with wide eyes, “Right. Yeah. Of course.” He frowned and nodded, as though he had known already.

Rey let go of his arm, stifling a laugh at her friend. She caught sight of a scrapper selling his wares and with a pat on Finn’s shoulder she directed them over to his table.

After a bit of bartering with the toad-like creature selling the parts, Rey packed the items she had needed away into her bag. She looked up to find Finn had wandered off. She turned, scanning the marketplace to find him and spotted him standing a few feet away, gazing down a smaller alleyway behind the row of stalls on the main street.

A kernel of panic settled in her stomach and she shouldered her way through the crowd of colourfully dressed aliens. She narrowly missed slamming into an Ishi Tib, the creature letting out a grunt of irritation before Rey was past it and almost to Finn’s side.

BB-8 was with him at least, so she wasn’t too worried. But he had begun to venture down the side alley and Rey was unsure what would be waiting for him there. It was not as though he was helpless, but he wasn’t used to such places and she needed to watch out for him as he did for her.

She started down the alleyway, following the familiar figure until she broke into a jog and caught up with him.

“Finn!” She hissed, the narrow alley much quieter than the market so she lowered her voice to match. “You can’t just go wandering off.” She muttered, her eyes scanning their surroundings.

“I’m fine. I have BB-8 with me.” He said, gesturing to the round droid who let out a beep from his side.

Rey rolled her eyes, “BB-8 isn’t exactly the best protector, Finn.”

The droid let out an indignant beep. Yes, I am.

Rey didn’t even try to argue with him on that. It would get nowhere.

Finn sighed, “Look, we need to get fuel and I thought I saw a stall down there selling some.” He turned and pointed down the alley.

She followed his finger, her eyes drifting over the stall selling fuel to the one opposite it. That symbol in the front. She had seen it somewhere before.

“Okay. Let’s go.” She nodded, starting off down the alley ahead of them. These shops were not just stalls, she could see, but were rooms within the sand coloured buildings lining the alley.

Finn and BB-8 followed after her, coming to a stop outside the stall. Finn turned to her, even as Rey stared at the stall with that familiar symbol. “Let me handle this.” He said, mustering all of his bravado to face down the store owner and bargain for the fuel.

Rey felt comfortable leaving him to do so. For she had realised where she recognised that symbol. It was in the cavern in Ahch-To. That symbol within the little oasis of water. One side light, the other dark, two sides of one individual who sat meditating.

Her feet carried her into the store before she could think to go in. Whatever connections to the Jedi and the Force she could find would be a help now that she had lost her only teacher. Rey felt a wave of gratitude sweep over her. Luke had taught her much. But still, she had not had enough time with him.

She entered the empty store, noting the keeper in the back crouched over a book. The small grey woman did not look up when she entered and Rey didn’t mind that at all. She would like some privacy anyway.

The store was lined with shelves of eclectic items. Crystals and old, aged books. Sketches of Jedi, painting of lightsabers. A jar of sand, which confused Rey to no end as she slowly made her way around the store.

A lightsaber. She needed one after what had happened with Ben.

She silently cursed herself. Where was she going to get a lightsaber from? She let out a sigh, picking up a pendant with the symbol from the oasis on the end of a silver chain.

“That’s fake.”

Immediately, she knew whose voice that belonged to. And she could feel that strange fuzzy feeling in the back of her head. It was familiar to her now, after it had happened so many times between them.

She turned to see Ben, standing in the middle of the cluttered store and staring at her. She met his eyes, that heavy gaze still felt like it was boring into her soul. It scared her how well he could see her. How well he could know her.

“Ben.” She whispered.

He stared, then blinked and looked to the necklace in her hand. “That pendant. It’s fake. Sold by fanatics who claim it brings you power over the Force. It’s supposed to be for good luck.”

Rey looked to the pendant and set it down on the shelf. The alien script scrawled onto a card above the necklace did say exactly that. If only it were true. She would need all the good luck she could get if she had to face Kylo Ren everyday in a Force connection.

She looked back to him and was unsurprised to find him watching her.

He had that look in his eyes. The one she had seen as she had boarded the Falcon. When he had been kneeling at the bottom of the gangway.

Tears in his eyes.

His eyes were clear now.

“I thought Snoke said that he did this.” She said.

Ben shrugged a shoulder, his eyes lingering on the bag at her shoulder. He was trying to get as much information about where she was as he could. But all he could see was her.

He wore his usual attire, his dark hair swept back from his head. He looked clean and put together. Not at all the mess he had been on Crait.

“He did say that. And it seems he was mistaken.” Ben replied, that soft voice now familiar to her. Rey didn’t know how to feel about that.

“You were meant to turn.” She said, taking a step towards him.

She watched him tense, his jaw clenching.

“Haven’t you given up yet, Rey?” He asked. A note of vulnerability entered his voice then. She watched him register his mistake, the expression on his face - carefully constructed - faltered for a moment. He had called her by her name. It was an intimacy that he did not want to play into, it seemed.

“I have.” She said. “I won’t waste my time with someone who isn’t going to change, Ben.”

She watched him swallow, his throat bobbing with the motion.

“I can’t be him.”

“Who?” She frowned, taking another step towards him.

“Ben Solo. He’s gone.”

“I don’t believe that.” She shook her head.

His eyes flickered to the ground. The only hint of resignation in his face. For that was what it was.

“You won’t ever let go.” He looked to her, gaze sharp. “Will you?”

Rey opened her mouth to respond, but the sharp ring of a bell distracted her. She looked to the threshold of the shop and found Finn standing there, in his hand a small golden bell. She looked back to where Ben had been and found him gone. That fuzzy buzzing in the back of her head faded slowly as the connection broke.

“Rey? What’s this?” Finn asked her.

Rey shook her head, shaking the remnants of her conversation with Ben from her mind. “Come on. We should head back.” She left the store, Finn and BB-8 following behind her.

As they approached the Millennium Falcon, Rey lagged behind. That feeling of freedom that had been so strong before had been left behind in that store. Or perhaps it had been left behind wherever Ben was.

Rey had never felt more trapped. She wondered how trapped Ben Solo felt, wherever he was?

So far from her and yet so close.

Chapter Text

Ben.

Kylo.

Ever since she had called him that, and refused to stop, he had been conflicted. He could feel it festering in his heart, tearing him in two stronger than it had been before.

Who was he?

A better question.

Who was she? To make him feel this way? To rip him apart the way she had?

Rey.

The girl. The scavenger. The last Jedi.

He couldn’t stand it. Being forced into this connection with her. If he could get away from her then maybe he could put himself together again and face her with strength instead of this weakness.

He could hear Snoke’s voice in his head. Calling him weak. Calling him a fool.

She could see it in him, too.

Ben sneered at himself where he sat on his cot. He had his head propped up on his fist, his elbow digging into his thigh. He stared at nothing, his thoughts consuming him.

She could see it in him, he was certain. That last connection between them, he could see the knowledge in her eyes. The understanding that he had light within him still. And that he still wanted what it was he had offered her. He still wanted her.

It made him angry. It made him furious. And it embarrassed him. And that made him more angry, and more furious. At her. At himself. At everything and everyone.

He got up and began to pace, that familiar anger coursing through him and making him restless. Where was Hux - that snivelling traitor - when he needed to hit something?

He fell back into the safety of violence, of his rage. But with the knowledge that he was hiding from the truth of the matter, he felt his anger slip away as quickly as it had come.

The truth was that he did not know what he was doing.

He knew why he had done what he did. He had turned on Snoke because of what he had said, because of what he had wanted him to do to Rey.

He had asked Rey to join him because they were the same. She was like him. She was what he wanted to be. And she had believed in him.

And when she had refused. He had fallen back into what he had known. Into what he does best. Violence.

And rage.

Now he was Supreme Leader Kylo Ren.

He would not lie, it gave him a thrill to hear it. And it would be easy, so easy, to take up the mantle and be Kylo Ren.

But he would not choose a path simply because it was easier. And to be a half-hearted Supreme Leader would not be fulfilling, he knew that.

He needed to rid himself of this conflict once and for all. How could he do it? Get rid of Rey, perhaps? If she were gone then who was left to sway him to the light? Who was left that held that power over him?

His father.

Ben stopped pacing. He stared at his bed, unmade and wrinkled from where he had lay. He forced that thought from his mind. He had thought on his father too often. And every time the thought of him entered his head, he found his chest tightening, something aching within him when he thought of what he had done.

It was better not to feel it. Not when more important things needed his attention.

His mother was gone, too. He had watched it happen.

Luke was gone. And although it did not hurt him as much as the knowledge of his parents’ death, he still felt too much when he thought of his uncle and master.

Rey was all that was left. The last Jedi. He would have to snuff her out.

But could he?

Did he have the strength to?

He felt his rage bubble to the surface again at the doubts within his mind, but before he could act on his anger he felt that tug against his ribs.

She was here.

“Will this happen everyday?”

Her voice. From the corner of the room.

And sure enough, when he turned there she stood. Her arms crossed over her chest, still wearing those filthy rags from when he had last seen her in person.

“How am I supposed to know?” He asked. He felt himself calm. He always felt calm when she was here. Not that she was here with him.

“You know more about this than I do. You trained with Luke longer than I did.” She said, uncrossing her arms.

Was she trying to anger him? Mentioning Luke?

He did not respond, but watched her as she ran her eyes over him. “Wishing you could see where I am?” He asked quietly.

She met his gaze then, a frown at her brow. Those bright eyes never failed to make him uneasy. Such passion within them, he could remember that fight on Starkiller Base. When she had been too strong for him to face.

“Aren’t you wishing the same?” Rey asked.

He nodded. “It would make it easier to find you.”

“So you can kill me?”

He nodded without hesitation, despite the conflict he felt rise within him at the thought of killing her.

Still, when he looked at her he felt that she could see through his charade.

“You asked me if I would ever let go.” She said, approaching him where he stood.

He was almost impressed with how much she had grown used to him. He towered over her. He had terrified her not long ago. And now she was voluntarily getting closer to him.

Perhaps it was because she was not actually here with him.

As she should be, he couldn’t help but think.

“I have let go.”

He looked down at her as she came to a stop directly before him. She had such resolve in her eyes, he almost believed her.

“Then why is this happening still? If you have let go of me?”

Rey frowned. “I don’t know. You said you don’t know about this connection either. How can you say it’s because I still want to help you?”

He blinked, and watched as she shifted awkwardly before crossing her arms. “I didn’t say I want to help you, I just meant-”

“I know what you meant.” He said. “I have no idea why this is happening.”

She nodded, that resolve returning to her gaze.

He felt the need to defend himself, so he spoke. “I have let go. Of you. Of Luke. Of my parents and of Snoke.”

“But you’re not free of it. The conflict you feel.”

He clenched his fists, his gloves tightening over his knuckles. “I will be when I am free of you the way I am free of them.”

Rey blinked in shock, and he almost felt regret for saying it aloud to her.

“When I am dead?” She raised a brow. Her disbelief left him unguarded for a moment.

She didn’t believe him?

It was enough for him to begin to doubt. For that small voice inside of him to begin asking questions.

“I don’t believe you, Ben.”

There was that name again. She added fuel to the fire within him with that one word. His head spun, that voice growing louder.

What was he doing? Who was he meant to be? Would her death end the conflict within him or would it be like his father? Could he bring himself to strike her down?

“I don’t even think you believe yourself.”

She was gone - the tug at his ribs indicating the end of their connection - even before the last syllable of that damning sentence had left her lips.

Chapter Text

It hadn’t been easy, but they had found a place. A connection of Admiral Holdo had reached out to them with funds, and an idea that had given them some hope. A planet with an abandoned Resistance base waiting for them to populate.

It was where Rey was now, finally off of the Falcon and on land again. It meant she could get some privacy after the many days of flying in close quarters with what remained of the Resistance.

Rose had been a refreshing change, and Rey often found herself gravitating towards the young woman who would chat at her and take her mind off of things. Although, admittedly, Rey often tuned out during these chats.

Sometimes Rose surprised her with a clever insight, and Rey wondered what Rose would make of Ben if she told her about him and about their connection.

Unaccompanied, she trekked through the humid jungle of the planet they had landed on the day before. It was dense jungle and forest, with the remnants of the Resistance base being overrun with foliage and sweltering whenever you were inside, but it was at least something.

She had her staff in hand, her pack slung across her shoulder. It almost felt like how it had been on Jakku. Too hot for comfort, although here she felt it pressing in on her lungs instead of burning on her skin. But more than that, the solitude she felt, and the purpose, brought back memories of her life before all of this had begun.

Rey felt lost. Not as much as she had before. When she had known nothing of who she was or what she could do. It was a different sort of lost now. She had a goal, but no knowledge of how to achieve it. To be a Jedi, without proper training or a master. Without someone beside her who knew what it was like. Without a lightsaber!

The texts she had stolen had not told her much. And they had been difficult to decipher. It was only with help from the others that she had been able to understand the words. After all, she hadn’t been taught to read properly.

She stumbled across a clearing between the tightly packed trees. Enough space to train for a while before returning to the base. Rey looked over the ground, deciding that it would be flat and firm enough to work on.

Setting her pack down on an upturned log, she spun her staff in hand and ran through a few of the moves she had yet to perfect. After a while of this, she sighed and let her staff fall to her side.

It wasn’t good enough. She needed a lightsaber.

Her eyes scanned the ground, finding what she was looking for just a few feet away at the base of a tree. She set her staff down by her pack and went to pick up the long branch. She broke off the twigs attached to it, till it resembled a lightsaber in shape. That was where the resemblance ended however.

She swung it wide in an arc, remembering the last time she had wielded a lightsaber. Ben had been with her then. And how grateful she was that he had been. She wouldn’t have been able to get out of there alive if he hadn’t been there.

Then again, he probably wouldn’t have gotten out alive if she hadn’t been there with him either.

Ben.

She couldn’t stop dwelling on him. Although she had promised herself to forget about him and to move on. She couldn’t stop how he leapt to her mind and took over her thoughts. And perhaps it was because he was always nearby. Just a Force connection away.

Rey shook her head. There she was doing it again. Thinking about him.

She practiced with the branch, the weight throwing her off, but she pushed through. And all the while she thought of Ben.

Was she going to keep trying to get through to him? She had been civil with him each time they had been connected since what had happened on the Supremacy and then Crait.

Would she continue to be civil? Eventually she would face him again? And what would she do then? He had said he would kill her. It may even be his mission to find her again just so he can be rid of her. But Rey could not see him carrying through with the act.

Then again, he had murdered his own father. He was capable of real evil, and could do the same to her.

Rey stopped swinging the branch, panting from the effort. She stood alone in the jungle, skin glistening with sweat when she felt the world go fuzzy.

She let out a groan of frustration. Perhaps just thinking about him for too long summoned him to her.

She turned to voice her frustration, but was silenced by the sight before her.

He sat on the log just by her pack, his head in his hands. He wore a black tunic, casual clothing that Rey could only assume he wore in his down time or perhaps to sleep.

She had caught him at a bad time.

He looked up at her slowly, already knowing she was there. His face was pale, sweat beaded at his temples as he slowly looked her over. He was breathing just as heavily as she was, and yet he was not dressed for training. He looked tired.

“Ben?” She frowned, approaching him where he sat.

He lowered his head into his hands, ignoring her.

“What’s going on?”

Silence.

Rey neared him, huffing out a sigh of irritation when he continued to ignore her. She reached out a hand, “Ben.” She spoke again, firmer this time, as her hand came to rest on his shoulder.

They both froze.

She had surprised herself with her own action. They had touched before, but it had been heavy with meaning and tentative. This was natural. And that scared her.

Rey felt his shoulder relax beneath her hand, and she left it where it was for a moment longer, encouraged by his acceptance of her touch, before she took her hand away.

It was then that he looked up at her. His eyes were wild and that was enough to frighten her. He was always so controlled whenever he was around her. She knew of his temper, of course, but she had never experienced it outside of the context of war.

He blinked at her, as if he wasn’t seeing her properly. “You’re sweaty.” He murmured and slowly stood up. Rey forced herself to remain where she was, until she was looking up at him, standing close enough to reach out and put her arm around him.

“Have you been training?” He asked.

Rey nodded. “You’re sweaty, too. But you haven’t been training.” She gestured to his clothing and he caught sight of the branch still in her other hand.

“Why?” She asked as she dropped the branch so he could no longer see it.

He looked at her knowingly. “I could tell you where to get a lightsaber.”

“Don’t avoid the question, Ben.”

He stared at her. Rey began to wonder if he stared at her in order to keep his anger in check so he did not frighten her away. Surely when she called him that name he would be angry about it and yet he had not shown it at all.

“You aren’t on that ship anymore.” He murmured, his eyes roaming over her form, stopping at her feet.

Rey glanced down at her feet and inwardly cursed herself. There was mud staining the hem of her pants, leaves on the bottom of her shoes.

“I could come visit you, Rey. Not like this, but in person. If you told me where you were.” He said. There was a note of exhaustion in his voice, and the blatant prodding for information was indicative of how strange he was acting. Something must have happened.

Rey ignored his barely concealed threat and spoke firmly, “What happened, Ben?” A frown creased her brow as she looked up at him.

He frowned, his hands - bare and pale without his usual gloves - clenched into fists. “I saw him.” He said.

Rey felt the confusion bubbling up within her. She opened her mouth to voice it, but stopped when Ben turned and paced away from her. He was tense again, she could see it in his broad back and the way he kept his head lowered. “Snoke. I saw him.”

She blinked in shock. How was that possible? “But he’s dead.”

“The Force…” He turned back to face her, his fists still clenched. “Sometimes when those who are strong with the Force die, they can return through the Force. And they can speak. And they can use the Force to influence the world around them.” He spoke blankly, without emotion.

Rey frowned, “So Luke could come back?” She asked.

He shot her a look, and that wildness returned to his eyes and made her uneasy.

“What did Snoke say?” She asked quietly.

The fuzzy feeling grew stronger, but Rey was not ready to let go of the bond just yet. She wanted answers. And a desperate part of her wanted to see Ben like this. Vulnerable.

She approached Ben, meeting his eyes. “Ben. What did he do?”

He watched her, even as the connection faded. Rey took a step back from where he had been, now just empty air.

Whatever uncertainty she had had before seemed to melt away. Ben would not kill her. How could he hate her that way when he had so readily accepted her touch? When he had told her what had shaken him?

And how could Rey bring herself to kill him? When she was certain he could redeem himself?

When she had seen a flash of fear shine in his eyes before the connection had broken?

It was enough. For now.

Rey shouldered her pack and picked up her staff, starting the trek back through the jungle to the Resistance base.

All the while she thought of Ben. And never once did she try to stop herself.

Chapter Text

“Supreme Leader.” Hux’s drawl sounded in Kylo’s ear and caught his attention. He was on the bridge, staring out across the vast, empty space before him, protected by the strong glass that he could see his reflection in.

“What?” Kylo snapped. He watched his mouth move in his reflection, and turned away from it to look at his second-in-command.

The shorter man hunched his shoulders, making him even shorter, but giving him an unlikeable air. More so than his permanent frown did, that is.

“We’ve searched the planet. There is no sign of the remaining Resistance.” He said.

Kylo’s fists clenched, gloves tightening over his knuckles. “Then we shall try again elsewhere.”

“With respect,” Hux began.

Kylo shot him a look and the man quickly went on.

“Supreme Leader, I am uncertain as to why we are searching for the Rebels on Lahn.”

“Because I told you to.”

Kylo could almost hear the control Hux was exerting to keep his cool. It amused him to make the General angry. And it gave him such satisfaction to hear him call him ‘Supreme Leader’. Hux had always been at odds with him, always looking to compete with him when it came to pleasing Snoke. He had been a thorn in Kylo’s side, but no longer.

“Yes.” Hux spoke through his teeth. “But why there? What intelligence do you have? Whatever it is should have been shared with me.” He said.

Kylo felt his hand drift to his lightsaber. He didn’t need it to frighten Hux. But he decided not to.

“I have been in connection with the girl. Rey. Luke Skywalker’s newest trainee.” Kylo spoke, turning back to the glass and away from Hux. “I know she is with the Rebels and managed to gain information from her that indicated they were based on a jungle planet with a humid climate.”

“Ah.” Hux said with uncertainty. He did not know about the Force and could not understand how Kylo was connected with the Rebel girl. But Kylo didn’t need to explain it to him.

“I will attempt to connect with her again and gather more information.” Kylo said.

Hux nodded and bowed shallowly as he turned on his heel and left the bridge.

That would be the hard part. He was sure that she would not give away too many clues, not after last time.

He strode through the glossy black hallways, his footfalls echoing around him as he walked to his chambers.

The door slid shut behind him once he was inside and he could finally relax a little.

They needed a mission. The ship needed a destination.

He strode over to his table, a simple steel item of furniture, that was strewn with maps and notes on the jungle planets he knew of. He looked over the list he had compiled. There were too many options, he needed to narrow it down.

If only he could force the connection.

His hand froze over a map of Lahn.

Perhaps he could?

He had never tried before. Perhaps he could call upon her at will. Surely it would only take a manipulation of the Force. Something she did not have the knowledge to prevent.

He kept his feet shoulder-width apart, a strong rooting as he reached out with his mind to find the Force around him.

It had always been so easy to find. He could remember how naturally it had come to him. Like greeting an old friend that was always there. A constant presence at his side. It did not betray him. It would not.

He recalled the feeling he would get in his navel. The tug that indicated her presence. He reached there, trying to find some remnants of the connection, but it was like grasping at nothing. He could feel it there, an invisible thread that tied them together, but like water it slid through his fingertips each time he tried to grab it.

He let out a grunt of frustration, returning to himself when it became obvious it was no use.

He would have to wait for it to happen naturally.

Kylo moved to the table to sit down. He ran a hand through his hair, looking over the maps. Perhaps he had overlooked something in his enthusiasm to find the Rebels? Something that could make this list shorter.

He scanned the list, pulling up a hologram of a map of the galaxy. He frowned. Obviously.

Immediately, he started working, pinpointing the Rebels position from where they had left Crait. They had been travelling for a week or so. Therefore, the planets they could have reached were limited.

And they wouldn’t make base somewhere unless they knew of a settlement there they could use already.

Kylo pulled up the database on the hologram and began to read, noting down the old Rebel bases on a jungle planet.

He worked until he had narrowed down the list even further. Then he stood, stretched and strode to his bed to meditate.

He sat on the bed, cross-legged and eyes closed, but after a while he could feel sleep tugging at him, forcing him to lie back and rest.

Kylo woke with a jolt, the automatic lights of his chambers were off, but turned on when he sat up in bed suddenly. The light blinded him for a moment, and he raised a hand to rub his eyes.

He had felt it. A tug in his belly that meant she was here.

“Sorry to wake you.” Rey said.

Her voice was so familiar, it made his jaw clench, a reminder of how she had rejected him. He looked at her then, his eyes taking in every detail.

Her hair was up, strands sticking to her neck. She wore thin clothing, similar in style to what she usually wore, but definitely thinner. Mud on her shoes.

Kylo paused, his eyes focused on her feet. He slowly raised his eyes to hers. She looked down at her feet, then blinked in horror and shifted her leg to rid her shoe of the bright yellow mud. He watched her shake her leg to remove the evidence, but it was too late and even she knew it.

“Babali.” He murmured. “An interesting hideout for your band of Rebels.”

Rey looked to him with wide eyes. She started forward. “How-”

“After rain, the soil turns a bright yellow. People feared it was toxic. But it wasn’t.” He said. “I read about it.”

She paused in the middle of his chambers, fear passing over her features like a ripple over water. He felt her fear as though it were his own.

The Rebels were so weak, easy to crush the way they were now. She knew it, and she feared for her friends.

“Do you fear for yourself?” He asked.

Rey frowned, meeting his eyes. “No. You will not hurt me.”

Kylo swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood, the cold floor biting against his bare feet. “I won’t?”

She straightened, her resolve - so easy for her to find as it always was - shone in her eyes and in her strong stance. “You won’t. You can’t.”

He almost laughed at her certainty. How could she be so certain? When even he did not know what he might do if he caught her.

“You should get off the planet now. Before I arrive.”

“No. I won’t abandon my friends.”

He tilted his head, “You will warn them, won’t you? It doesn’t matter, Rey. I will be there before you can leave.”

“You underestimate us.”

Kylo stepped towards her slowly, careful as he always was with her. “You cannot get far. I will hunt you across the galaxy, Rey.” Her name slipped from his lips too easily.

“You could always choose not to.” She said.

Did she still hope she could turn him?

“But even if you come. We will never stop fighting you. General Leia is with us, and she’ll never stop fighting the First Order.”

General Leia is with us.

He could hear nothing else after that. His mother was alive.

White noise filled his ears, and he did not care how shaken he must look. He knew he must because he could see Rey’s face change. A hint of concern in her expression.

It would have upset him to look weak in front of her, but it didn’t matter anymore. She had seen him after Snoke had come to him, whispering his weakness in his ear as he had when he was alive.

And it didn’t matter whether she saw him this way, because his mother was alive.

He stood still, focusing on his breathing. How could the news shake him this way? How could he allow her such control over him?

Kylo regained his composure, facing Rey. Impulse had never been his vice, but it was Rey’s. He blamed her for the impulsiveness of what he said next.

“I will come alone.”

She blinked in surprise and he watched her regain herself. “As a threat?”

He thought it over. He should say ‘yes’. But was he coming as a threat? Could he bring himself to harm his mother? Or Rey?

He had failed before. When they had attacked her ship. What made this time any different?

But he could do it. He had done it to his father.

Before he could settle on an answer, the tugging sensation returned.

He looked up from his feet to find her gone. But he still felt her presence within the questions that swirled around his mind.

Chapter Text

Rey strapped her laser to her hip, her mind reeling. He was coming. She had informed Leia immediately, and she had sent Finn, Poe and Rose out on a mission to gather support from their allies. They had left in a spare craft found on the base here, and Poe had fixed it up well.

Rey had said goodbye to her friends not long ago, but now she would face Kylo Ren. Or perhaps it will be Ben Solo she would see today?

Leia waited by the Falcon, the rest of the Resistance inside and ready to leave this planet behind should Ben come as a threat. But Rey would go to meet him. She would disarm him, and she was the only one who had fought him single-handedly before. Twice before.

Except this time she didn’t have a lightsaber. But she did have her powers. She had her staff with her, and a laser. And she had the Falcon to back her up.

She hoped it would be enough.

Rey set off from the base, waiting by the edge. She knew he would come here to find them.

Still, she had her doubts about this plan of theirs. It seemed foolish to give him another chance after all he had done. But Leia had insisted that if there was a chance that Ben was coming here to speak with her, she wanted to be here when he came. She was still his mother. And Rey hoped with all her heart that she wasn’t making the same mistake as Han Solo did.

The air was so thick with moisture, the humidity making her break a sweat even as she stood still. But her nerves made her shift from foot to foot. She had seen Ben after their fight on the Supremacy, but not in person. Or rather, not with him really here with her.

She had been thinking about all that had happened between them. Perhaps she had been too impulsive. It was a weakness of hers that she was aware of, but maybe this time she had pushed him. Perhaps it was her impulsiveness that had forced him to kill Snoke when he was not yet ready. And then she had assumed that he would help her afterwards, without a thought as to how he must have been struggling.

No wonder things had happened the way they had. He hadn’t been ready. And when she had panicked and reached for the lightsaber, and he had done the same, she had all but forced him to remain in the place he was most comfortable. To become Supreme Leader and resist the call to the light that was still within him.

But Rey did not blame herself. He was to blame for it all. And therefore she would not continue to help him. She could not.

She heard the crunch of leaves and foliage beneath his boots before she saw him. He emerged from the trees, a dark figure, except for his pale face and his hands. He wasn’t wearing his gloves, she noticed. The memory of their hands, touching just barely, came to her mind unbidden.

She hoped he couldn’t see the distraction in her eyes when he approached her.

“Stay there!” She yelled when he got close enough for her to see the freckles on his face. “Don’t come any closer.” She took out her laser and aimed it at him.

He stopped walking, standing with his hands limp at his sides. It didn’t fool her. She knew how dangerous he could be.

“Are you going to shoot me again?” He asked, his voice still that familiar soft tone that she could almost feel rumble through the ground to reach her.

Again?

She remembered then that first Force connection between them when she had shot him on instinct.

She ignored him. “Hold out your saber. Flat in your hand.” She ordered, her hand still on her gun.

He slowly drew his lightsaber, holding it out to her flat in his palm. She shot out a hand and it flew to her, she caught it in her palm.

“Are you armed with anything else?” She asked.

Ben shook his head. “No.”

She reached out with the Force and searched his mind, surprised to find him with his defences lowered for her. She saw he was telling the truth.

“Leia is waiting for you.”

At his mother’s name he tensed almost imperceptibly, but Rey could see it. She saw his fists clench, a telltale sign that he was disturbed by something.

“You walk ahead of me. I’ll guide you.” She ordered, the laser still aimed at him. She tucked his lightsaber into the holster at her hip.

“Walk that way.” She nodded with her head in the direction where the Falcon waited.

Ben started to walk that way and Rey followed him, both of their footsteps crunching over dead leaves as they followed the tree line.

When he spoke, his voice broke the quiet suddenly enough to make Rey jump. “This is different, isn’t it?” He asked.

She frowned, “What is?”

“Meeting in person. It’s different from the connections.” He did not look back at her as he spoke, but she knew that he was aware of her every movement, just as she was aware of his.

“Yes.” She agreed. It was hard to describe. But it was almost as though they were old friends meeting after a long time. And the connections were like letters sent between them. It held that importance, that weight, despite them being anything but friends.

They weren’t friends. Not the way she was friends with Finn and Poe and Rose. Even when she had gone to him on the Supremacy. Even when they had touched hands. Friendship was never what it had felt like.

“Have you thought about what may happen if the connections continue?”

Rey blinked at his back, watching him turn his head slightly to indicate he awaited her answer.

“Turn left.” She murmured distractedly, focusing on his question.

She had thought about it. And she hadn’t figured out how she felt about it. Having them end would make things easier for her. She wouldn’t have to see him all the time, she wouldn’t have to know how he was, or what was happening to him. How Snoke haunted him. How he was vulnerable.

But if they ended, she wouldn’t know him. And that wasn’t right. She had seen how they could be together, how they could be allies. And she would be lying if she said she didn’t want that.

“Rey?” He asked.

She looked up at him, finding his eyes on her. He stopped walking to turn to face her, but she raised her laser. “Keep going. We’re almost there.”

They kept going until they reached the clearing where the Millennium Falcon waited, Leia standing by the entrance, flanked by two Resistance officers.

Rey could almost feel Ben’s struggle from where she stood behind him. She didn’t need to see his face to know how the sight of his mother both terrified and comforted him.

Leia didn’t say anything. And perhaps it was wise. What name could she call her son? If she called him Ben he may get angry. If she called him Kylo Ren then she would be distancing herself from him. And Leia was a diplomat, she knew these things.

“Mother.” He spoke.

It surprised Rey, but Leia showed no acknowledgement for a moment. “I hope you haven’t come as a distraction.” She said. “You understand why I have to think of these things.”

He nodded, stepping a bit closer to his mother. Rey kept her laser at his back.

“I haven’t.” He said. “I’ve come to talk.”

“Why?” Leia asked.

“I’m hoping it will help me understand,” He paused, “What it is I should do next.”

“Have you come here as my son?” Leia asked, a note of emotion entering her voice. She looked tired, her eyes sad as she took in her child. “Or as Supreme Leader?”

There was a moment of silence where only the slight breeze could be heard in the clearing.

“Your son.” He spoke quietly. It sounded almost reluctant. Like it was difficult for him to get out.

Rey wondered how long it had been since he had accepted that part of him. Years of denial about where he had come from, who his parents were and who he was. She felt a kernel of hope spark inside her, and immediately snuffed it out. He was a manipulator. She had seen him do it to Han.

“Whatever your confliction is,” Leia said, “it is your decision to make.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It is, Ben.” She said.

Rey could hear the tears in his voice, how seeing his mother had shaken him.

“You will always be my son.” Leia spoke, almost too quiet for Rey to hear. “You will always have a place with me.”

He stood still, statuesque, then a slight nod of understanding.

He turned on his heel and left, walking past Rey without a care for the laser she aimed his way. Rey glanced at Leia, the General gesturing for her to follow him.

She took off after Ben. “Wait!” She called out.

He didn’t stop, but kept marching on back towards his ship.

It occurred to Rey that this could be a trap. But somehow she didn’t feel like it was. She caught up to him, almost reaching out to grab his arm before she remembered who he was.

They walked side by side back to his craft, the large black mass stretching up into the sky.

Rey paused and he did the same. She took out his lightsaber. “Here.” She offered it to him, holding it out in her palm.

Ben looked at her for a moment then slowly lowered his gaze to the weapon between them.

Rey couldn’t help but think about how they had split Luke’s lightsaber in two. What would happen this time? With Kylo Ren’s weapon between them?

He looked at her and lifted a hand. His fingers touched hers, and Rey held his gaze as he slowly curled her fingers over the lightsaber hilt.

She frowned in confusion, opening her mouth to voice it when he interrupted her.

“Keep it. Do what you want with it. I-” He stopped himself, his struggle evident.

“Tell my mother that I am sorry.” He said. When he looked at her then, she could see the tears building. She could only come to the conclusion that he felt more comfortable revealing this side of himself to her than to his own mother. It was a terrifying realisation.

He couldn’t tell his own mother that he was sorry for hurting her. But Rey could do this much for him. It was a good sign. She felt that kernel of hope inside her grow a little larger.

Ben looked to her, “I wouldn’t use that lightsaber if I were you.” He said, nodding to the weapon still gripped in her hand.

Rey raised a brow in question and was shocked at the slight pull of a smile at his lips. It was sad, and timid, but it was there.

“It doesn't suit you.” He said softly.

Was that a joke?

Rey stood still, watching as he turned on his heel, a mess of emotion that she could feel in the air as he boarded his ship.

Still, she could sense a little more resolve in him. A little more understanding. A little more of a conclusion to his struggle.

She looked down at the lightsaber in her hand.

Yes.

She could allow herself to hope.

Chapter Text

Hux had noticed the absence of his lightsaber. Ben was certain of it.

He was on guard, but not afraid. It wasn’t as though Hux posed a threat by himself. And he had yet to stage a coup against him. As though any of the First Order would have the courage to turn against him.

Kylo Ren was feared for a reason.

But he wasn’t Kylo Ren anymore.

Kylo Ren would never have killed Snoke, and helped Rey. He would never have spared his mother’s life. He would never have met with the General of the Resistance and let her live. Or fail to report the location of the last Rebel base.

He would never have given up his lightsaber to some scavenger turned Jedi.

But seeing his mother had solidified his decision, and ridding himself of the weapon of Kylo Ren by handing it to Rey had seemed far easier than getting rid of it himself.

It had been easy to close her hand over the hilt and let her take it. He didn’t need it. It was nothing to him.

It hadn’t been the first step he had taken towards the light, after all. It had been inevitable.

And yet, he didn’t think a Jedi was what he was becoming. And perhaps that was a good thing.

Ben held his head in his hands, sitting on the edge of his bed. He felt her presence before he looked up to see her standing there.

They looked at one another for a moment and he spoke first, surprising even himself.

“What did you do with it?” He asked. He finds he doesn’t truly care about the answer. He just wants to hear her speak. Wants her to be comfortable.

Rey offers him the smallest of smiles, and it is enough for that weight of loneliness to ease slightly from his chest.

“I’ve put it away. I’m sure you’d be able to find it if you wanted to.” She said.

Ben shook his head. “I don’t want to.”

Rey smiled a little wider. “Will you come find us again?” She asked. “Leia wants to see you.” She said.

“My mother will be the easiest to convince. I don’t think I’d be welcome by her side. By your friends.” Ben murmured and stood up to approach Rey.

She tensed, but something was different about it this time. Ben noticed how bright her eyes were, how welcoming she looked.

“You’re her son. It doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks.”

He nodded, “It matters what you think.”

“Why?” She asked quickly, her impulsive nature shining through. Ben didn’t mind it. He overthought almost everything, and she was the opposite. It was almost refreshing.

“Because I-” He paused, slipping back into how things used to be. Would it be too much to reveal this to her? After she had rejected his offer? Had reached for Luke’s lightsaber to strike him down even after they had fought side by side?

And yet, he found that he had finally let something go. For he could let that go easily. Rey - he understood. And she could understand him. It was why she had come to his side on the Supremacy in the first place, and had had to face Snoke because of him.

“Because I care.” Ben murmured. He pushed aside his slight discomfort with the admittance. And he threw himself into the sight of her widening eyes, and parting lips. Her surprise, and then obvious pleasure, at his words. Then she smiled and it was wide and warm.

It felt good to get a reaction like that. He could feel an answering smile come to his lips.

Ben had never been more clear-minded. He watched as she reached for his hand, ungloved and bare. When he felt her skin on his, it was like an ocean had opened up in his mind. He was floating, aware of the depths beneath him like it was an itch at his spine, but unafraid of the unknowns below.

There was so much more to uncover and he could do it with her by his side. They were alike, Rey and him, and the more time he spent with her, the more his loneliness fell away into that abyss below and something brighter rose to take its place.

Light or dark was a lie. There was no choice to make. There could be balance within him, like there was in all things the Force touched. And he and Rey could teach one another.

He looked to their joined hands, different from the last time they had touched, for she gripped his hand now as though they had made a deal and were shaking upon it.

Ben realised then what she had brought him. It was hope.

The shot rang out before he could register the pain at his shoulder. A laser blast.

A flash of horror on Rey’s face, then the connection was gone. Ben grunted in pain, whirling around to find a stormtrooper at his open door. He snarled his rage. How hadn’t he heard the door open?

Behind the stormtrooper stood a squadron of others. It seemed he had underestimated Hux’s ambition. He should have killed the General when he had had the chance.

Another blast shot towards him, but he used the Force to stop it. He summoned his rage from that limitless well of it inside of him, somewhere from that dark place that Snoke had cracked open within him.

He rounded on the mutineers, knocking them back like ragdolls. He cleared a path, bodies flying back against the walls as he ran from his room into the black corridor outside.

He needed to get off the ship.

He could hear more of them coming down the hall, so he lifted a hand and a blaster flew into his open palm. Now he was armed. Still, he wished for his lightsaber at this moment. Anything was better than a blaster.

He rounded the corner just as they did, a laser shot into the wall where he had just been. Ben sprinted down the corridor, the map of the ship in his mind. The escape pods? No.

His ship? Too recognisable.

Perhaps a simple TIE fighter would do.

The hangar would be easy to get out of, but to get into it unseen would be difficult. The echoing sound of boots on metal followed him down the corridors as he ran. What was he thinking? He wasn’t going to be unseen anyway. He was being chased by an army of stormtroopers, he was going to have to fight his way out regardless.

The entrance to the hangar loomed in front of him, but he didn’t himself feel even the slightest amount of relief. The bright light of the hangar bay left everything out in the open.

Ben slowed for a moment by the doorway, looking around the corner to find the nearest TIE fighter and to survey the threat.

A squadron of stormtroopers were parked by his ship. Ben cursed under his breath. They would close the hangar doors soon enough and he’d be trapped.

It was this thought that kicked him into motion. He cleared his mind, struggling to block out the drumming of the troopers boots as they followed after him. He reached out for the Force and found it waiting to greet him.

With a shove, his ship, black and gleaming and so unlike all the others, slid with a shriek across the floor and slammed into the squadron guarding it.

Ben sprinted across the hangar, reaching the TIE fighter unnoticed in the chaos he had caused. It would not last.

“There!” A voice called, so familiar that it made his skin crawl. Hux stood a level above the hangar, pointing straight at him over the balcony railing. Ben looked behind him as a laser shot past into the floor, barely missing his boot. The troopers from before had reached the hangar bay, and they were not distracted.

Ben leaped into the cockpit of the TIE fighter, sending out a Force shield of sorts to protect him from the lasers being shot haphazardly in his direction. He blocked out Hux’s screeching orders to get him as he powered up the fighter.

He was focused as he booted up the ship, shooting across the hanger bay at the troopers that threatened to swarm him.

A deep grinding sound that echoed across the bay made him freeze. It lasted a moment, then the sound of lasers filled the air as they had before. But Ben quickened his pace. He knew that deep, echoing sound was the sound of the hangar doors closing.

He didn’t have time. The TIE fighter roared into action, lifting off of the ground and shooting for the exit. Shots rang out against the ship’s exterior, an alarm sounded within the ship as one laser hit the TIE fighter and threatened to send him spinning out of control.

Ben could see the doors closing, watching the two steel doors sliding shut in front of him.

He reached out again, into that endless well of power. It wouldn’t take long, it wouldn’t exhaust him.

He reached out with the Force, keeping the doors apart long enough for his fighter to shoot out of them. With a gasp of air he let go of the hangar doors and they shut with a guttural bang.

He leaned back against the seat, piloting the TIE fighter as quickly as he could away from the main ship until he was out of range.

With a deep breath, he regained his composure.

Where would he go now?

Not far in this TIE fighter. And he had been hit before had had made his escape, his fuel was decreasing rapidly as he could see on the monitor in front of him. He would need to get someplace quickly, and use the remaining power to contact help.

Rey would help. And if he were to lose power before being able to contact her, he could wait until their Force connection led her to him.

He directed the fighter to the nearest planet with which he was familiar. He would have to be quick, Hux would be after him once the chaos had ceased.

Hux was a fool. He would pay for this betrayal. Ben eased the anger in him at the thought of the General’s mutiny. He calmed himself enough to direct the ship to the nearby planet, and to manage the craft as he broke through atmosphere to land on the surface.

As he set the fighter down all he could see was the orange rock of the planet, reaching out into the horizon and framed by triple moons in the sky, each a different size and intensity.

The TIE fighter settled on a rocky outcrop overlooking a canyon. As far as he could see, he was far from any sort of civilisation. That was for the best. He did not think he could handle a confrontation with any local life forms at the moment.

He ignored the ache in his shoulder, the injury sapping his strength quicker than he would like. He punched coordinates into the communication system and an error signal filled the screen, flashing red and beeping obnoxiously. With a snarl, Ben stabbed at the right buttons, attempting to siphon power from the craft to power the signal, but the fighter had been hit too badly.

He sat back in the seat, staring out across the orange canyons of rocks. Steadily, he felt his eyes close, sliding shut till he found himself in darkness.

He remained this way for a while, feeling the throb of his shoulder slowly come into sharper focus until he had to distract himself from the pain with other thoughts.

Ben thought of his dilemma. He couldn’t remain here waiting until the connection formed naturally. He needed to take action somehow.

Begrudgingly, Ben slid out of the seat, opening up the gangway of the fighter in order to get out. He needed air and space for what he was going to attempt.

Last time it hadn’t worked, but Ben had to try again in order to ease his mind. And for some strange reason he had a feeling that perhaps something different may happen this time.

He strode down the gangway onto the hard rock of the planet, barely taking in the sight from out here as he clutched his shoulder and walked to the edge of the cliff, looking into the canyon below.

He closed his eyes - for a moment imagined the fall into the canyon, how it would break him, how it would free him - then he reached out with the Force. He felt the life of the planet beneath his feet, felt the dark too. But more importantly, he felt her.

A spark of hope brought a small smile to his lips as he reached out to her, the shape of her clear in his mind like he was looking into a lake and saw her looking back.

When he made contact, his eyes opened and he turned around. Before he saw her, he knew it had worked. Something had changed within him, enabling him to connect with Rey by choice. As his eyes found her, the orange rock around him began to blend away into a small bunker room made of grey metal. He was where she was now, the cool metal keeping at bay the heat of Babila outside.

She looked to him in surprise, registering his injury, then his surroundings. Rey stood up and moved to him, the confidence and certainty of the decision shocking him, and causing a small kernel of nerves to blossom in his stomach. He shoved it aside and focused.

“You’re hurt. What happened? All I saw you getting hurt,” Her brown eyes moved to his shoulder, “and then you were gone.”

Before he could respond, she went on, working herself into a frenzy. He realised that she must have been worried about him, hence the overwhelming emotion now that she saw he was okay.

“This feels different. What have you done?” She asked.

“I forged this connection myself. It was not natural.” Ben spoke slowly, fighting to remain on his feet. His wound was taking its toll. He almost cursed aloud, losing inhibitions as he focused on remaining as composed as he could be.

“There was a mutiny. I’ve been shot. I need…” He hesitated, eyes flicking up to meet hers. He watched as she registered what he meant without him having to say it.

“You need help.” Rey said. She nodded immediately, “Tell me where you are. Quickly.” She was already moving, grabbing her staff, then her blaster.

Ben relayed to her the coordinates for the planet he was on, watching her as she strapped her blaster to her belt.

“Ben.” She looked to him, coming to stand in front of him before she had to leave and break the connection. “I’ll be there soon. Go to the fighter, keep yourself armed and try to stay conscious. I’ll be there soon.” She said.

He nodded, focusing on her eyes, on her face, in order to remain upright.

For a brief moment, she gripped his hand, her eyes determined before she turned and left the room through a rectangular door.

Ben blinked, slow and with a deep breath accompanying it, and when he opened his eyes he was back in the garish orange landscape, the three moons in the sky seeming to fade in and out of sight. He shook himself, marching back to the fighter.

He sank into the pilot’s seat, blaster in hand and his finger on the trigger. Wearily, he watched the horizon, but even for him remaining conscious was too much.

Ben passed out to the sight of his father’s ship on the horizon.

Chapter Text

She felt it when he woke up. She had managed to lug him off of the TIE fighter and onto the Millennium Falcon, where he had passed out either from the wound or his exhaustion. She had no idea how he had managed to forge a connection between them on his own. It hadn’t been done before.

She turned to where he lay on the cot in a spare room in the Resistance base. It was surreal to watch the man who used to be Kylo Ren waking up in a Resistance base. His shirt was folded neatly in a pile beside the bed, and a white bandage wrapped around his shoulder, keeping the healing salve pressed against his wound.

“Rey?” He blinked, lifting himself carefully up into a sitting position. “Where am I?”

“Babali. You’re with the Resistance.” She said, standing up from the table she had been seated at. She moved over to him. “General Leia has granted you a pardon.”

He paused for a moment, then nodded. “Thank you.” He said.

Rey blinked in surprise, and he offered her a small, timid smile.

“For coming to get me. I didn't expect Hux’s betrayal.” He murmured.

“How did you manage the connection?” She asked. “I didn’t think you could control it before.”

He shook his head. “I couldn’t. Something has changed.” He said, avoiding her eyes as he stood and leaned down to pick up his black shirt.

Rey couldn’t help but smile at that. Something had changed. Something fundamental if it was enough for him to start a Force connection with her whenever he liked.

“Leia wants you at our meeting. She’s waiting for you to wake.” She said.

Ben frowned, “That seems like a bad idea.” He faced her, running a hand through his dark hair. “Won’t the rest of the Resistance be unhappy with me being there?”

“She’s granted you a pardon.” Rey explained, moving to the door and looking back at him. He followed her as she left the room and stepped out into the dingy metal corridor of the Resistance base.

“And what is left of the Resistance knows who you are to each other.”

Ben nodded again seriously, and Rey smiled. “Relax. You’re here with people who care about you.”

He looked at her in surprise, and that small smile pulled at his lips again. “And who might they be?”

She blushed, despite herself, and was saved a reply when they reached the main antechamber of the base. Leia was leaning over a console, her walking stick in hand, and she looked up when they entered.

Her smile was bright and genuine, and meant only for Ben. Rey stood back as he moved towards her, the two of them stiff and uncertain, but not lacking in warmth for one another.

It was interesting to see Ben this way. Rey wondered if he had always had this softness within him. It was as though he was a whole other person. Or perhaps she was just seeing him differently.

Leia called the meeting, and as the rest of the Resistance filed in, Rey noticed the moment each of them spotted Kylo Ren standing by the General’s side.

She was standing just beside him, both of them facing the group and as people walked in Rey could see the shock in their faces, and then the hatred in their eyes. Poe and Finn were no different. Even Rose’s expression was dark as they took their seats around the table, close to where Leia stood.

The meeting began as the small crowd hushed and Leia stepped forward. “Welcome to you all.” She said, “We have devised a plan moving forward. As you know, a few of us were sent out to look for supplies, as well as allies, for our cause. We had little luck, but managed to acquire a few refurbished fighter jets from a generous former ally.”

There was a smattering of applause, and Rey felt Ben tense beside her. He stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes on the table in front of them.

“As you all can see, we have a new presence among us. My son, Ben.” Leia said softly. There was a deafening silence before she quickly moved on.

“What remains of our leadership has put all they have into this plan. The First Order is weak, led by a man that not many respect and that has just carried out a mutiny against their former Supreme Leader.”

Rey heard Ben heave a soft sigh, his eyes lifting to meet the unfriendly stares from the rest of the Resistance.

She almost expected Poe to get up and start shouting, but the pilot was silent where he sat beside Leia.

“The return of my son and Hux’s ascension mean that we now have some hope in defeating the First Order once and for all.”

There were murmurs of excitement around the table. The possibility of ending this made the air electric.

“Ben and Rey are our two Jedi.”

Ben stiffened at the term, but relaxed when Rey nudged him gently in the side. There was no term yet for what he was.

“Together they will be able to infiltrate the flagship of the First Order, which Ben knows intimately, and take Hux down, leaving the First Order leaderless and unable to rebuild itself.”

Rey blinked in surprise. This was the first she had heard of this plan. Ben didn’t move, showing no surprise despite the fact he hadn’t known either. The room practically buzzed, these people who had gone so long with little hope at all were now placing their trust in her.

Rey glanced to the man at her side.

Not just her, but Ben as well.

Could she trust him? He wouldn’t betray them, would he?

As if he could sense her attention on him, he turned his head slightly to meet her gaze. His dark eyes were almost black in the artificial light of the antechamber, but that soft smile - so new to them both it seemed - graced his lips.

She returned the smile, feeling just a little reassured, but not allowing herself to be wholly convinced.

Ben hadn’t had the chance to explain to her what he was thinking. He’d had a change of heart, but she didn’t know what that meant for either one of them.

Leia kept speaking, going through the specifics of their plan. A general took over, assigning teams of soldiers to accompany Ben and Rey on the fighter jets.

Poe spoke up, “So, how are we meant to get into the ship? We can’t exactly blast our way through.”

Leia nodded, “Very true. Ben.” She looked to him to take the question.

Rey frowned. Ben hadn’t even been briefed on the plan and now he was to help create it?

“I have a mastery over the Force.” Ben said, his low voice silencing the room. He kept his eyes on Poe. “I can use it to open the hangar doors.”

“Really?” Rose piped up. “Can you do it on your own?”

Ben tensed, his fists clenching behind his back. But after a moment, he calmed. He nodded slowly, “If I can’t, I have help.” He looked to Rey, just a glance, but it was enough to make her realise that she was one of his only allies here.

She smiled, “We can do this. We’ve fought side by side before.” She said.

The group murmured softly, not knowing that Ben and Rey had defeated Snoke’s Praetorian Guard together.

Leia turned back to the crowd, “Does anybody have any other questions?”

Nobody spoke up, and the meeting was dismissed. There was a chatter in the air, people rushing around to get things prepared whilst the fighter pilots stayed back to organise their approach.

Rey caught Poe’s eyes before she could leave, and the pilot came over, accompanied by Rose and Finn.

“What are you thinking?” Poe demanded.

It seemed both Finn and Rose felt the same, because Finn crossed his arms angrily over his chest.

She looked at her friend beseechingly, “He’s not the same Kylo Ren as before.”

“You thought that once before, remember?” Finn said.

Rey cringed, remembering her blind faith in Ben before he had betrayed her and taken her to Snoke.

“It’s different this time.” She said firmly, straightening up and gathering her resolve. “You need to trust me. I know it’s different this time and I won’t ever put the Resistance in danger.”

Rose was the first to smile at her, though it was worried. “Alright, Rey. We trust you.”

She left the antechamber after saying goodbye to her friends, and she went to find Ben.

He was in the spare room he had woken up in, and she entered unannounced.

“Are you nervous? Or glued to my side for some other reason?” He asked, not looking up from the blaster he was fiddling with.

She ignored his comment. “You shouldn’t play around with that.” She said, coming to sit across from him at the table. “And yes, I’m nervous. Aren’t you?”

“No.”

Rey watched him curiously. “I know we can do this. Don’t think I don’t believe that.”

“I know you do.”

She frowned, “What’s going on with you, Ben?” She asked. “What side are you on? You can’t have jumped ship that quickly.”

He looked up at her and set the blaster down. “I haven’t. There are no ships to jump.”

“What?” She shook her head as if to clear it so she could better understand what he was trying to say. “What are you talking about?” She huffed.

“I mean,” He paused, watching her closely. “That there are no sides. No light, no dark. Or rather,” He frowned, tapping the table in thought. “Both.”

Rey closed her eyes for a moment, reining in her impatience. “Ben, can you try to make sense?”

He sighed, “I’m just starting to figure it out myself. But, what if there aren’t meant to be sides. What if to bring balance to the Force it isn’t just an equal number of Sith or Jedi? What if it’s the balance of light and dark within us? Within one Sith, or one Jedi, or one whatever you want to call us.”

Rey met his eyes, and let the idea fester for a moment. She let it play out in her mind. “But then,” She shook her head, “Why did everyone who came before us keep this system? Why did they keep the Jedi and the Sith? Who are we to change things?”

“We are what is left of them.”

She paused, and nodded. He was right about that.

“Don’t you think that perhaps the very balance we are all seeking is meant to come from within each one of us. It doesn’t make sense to me, to have to pick a side, when you can be both.” He said.

Rey mulled over what he had said even as Leia came in to speak to her son, and she got up to give them some time alone.

He had a point, and the thought was somehow more comforting than the dichotomy she had had to live with before. But she was nervous about the responsibility the two of the had to carry this on.

This was not the right time. They had a fight to prepare for.

Rey spent the afternoon training, her nerves getting the best of her and making her paranoid about faltering during the mission. She used her staff, and practiced with her blaster outside in the clearing nearby the base.

She felt him before she saw him, a tugging behind her navel that alerted her to his presence.

“May I spar with you?” He asked, already gripping his staff tighter in his hand.

“Where did you get that?” She asked, wiping the sweat-soaked hair from her eyes.

“The base,” He hesitated, as though he would rather not call the ramshackle metal huts a base, “has a decent armoury.” He shrugged a shoulder, then followed through the movement and removed his outer layer, leaving him in his dark undershirt.

“Do you want your lightsaber back for the mission?” She asked, getting into an attack position.

He shook his head decisively, “No.” He leapt forward, and immediately she parried his attack as he pushed her back. “I don’t need it.” There was a hint of arrogance in his voice, that she felt compelled to mock.

“Oh? You think you’re just as good without it?” She teased, spinning her staff into a sweeping undercut.

He blocked it, his body twisting to reach. She knocked his staff upwards, taking the opportunity to pass at his neck, but he was quicker than she expected and he danced backwards out of reach.

“I know I’m just as good without it. I trust the Force.” He said.

Rey grinned, “Trust the Force that I’ll beat you black and blue with my staff.”

A spark of mischief glinted in his eye, and he leaned into an offensive stance.

“You wish.”

Chapter Text

The two of them sat on the craft that steadily carried them towards the First Order.

Rey sat beside him, still fussing over the grip of her staff that kept slipping. He would help, but he was too lost in his own thoughts.

Opposite them sat the traitorous stormtrooper - Finn - and beside him sat the woman Ben assumed was his partner, since the two of them held hands in silence.

He glanced at Rey again, watching her sit back and close her eyes. He could sense her nerves through their bond, but he didn’t know how to help relieve them.

He leaned over, getting her attention. She cracked open an eye to look at him.

“I can feel you freaking out.” He said quietly.

She sighed, rubbing her eyes. “Sorry. I’m just worried.”

“I understand. I used to feel the same. But you need to trust yourself.” He said, then looked at her again. “I trust you.”

She smiled, and it was enough for Ben to know he had done well in his attempt to comfort her.

The ship slowed as they approached the First Order craft. The pilot, a loud and obnoxious man that Ben couldn’t stand, called out a warning.

Ben stood, heading to the cockpit and bracing a hand on the empty co-pilot seat. The pilot looked up at him. “Sure you can do this?” He asked icily.

Ben didn’t look at him. “Are you incapable of keeping your mouth shut for more than a minute at a time?” He asked.

“Not the time for this.” Rey came up behind him, her tone firm. The pilot glanced at her, then out the front window, taking them closer to the flagship.

He checked the dashboard, monitoring the positions of the two other craft that accompanied them. Full of Resistance fighters.

Ben looked to Rey. “Are you ready?” He asked.

She hesitated, glancing at the hangar doors. They were huge, dominating the better part of the giant ship. She nodded, steeling herself, and he could feel her resolve through their connection.

He focused on the hangar doors, the quiet of the spacecraft surrounding him like a blanket. He could feel Rey beside him, she was close enough that her hand brushed his. He felt the connection flare up, a rush of power in him.

She gasped, feeling the same thing. He glanced at her, and silently offered her his hand.

She didn’t hesitate as she grasped it.

He could feel her power, her strength, and she could feel his.

They were balanced, perfectly in tune with the Force around them.

He focused his gaze on the gap between the hangar doors, imagining it widening and admitting them inside.

The gap between the doors inched open under their combined power. A red light flashed, issuing a warning for those inside and Ben focused on opening the doors quicker.

They flew closer to the hangar doors. Ben trembled from the effort, but with Rey’s strength alongside his own, the doors parted enough for the Resistance ships to enter.

Immediately they were assaulted with blaster fire, the pilot beginning to return fire as he prepared to land the craft. The other two fighter jets flew in behind them, beginning to cause chaos as they shot at anything they could that would buy Rey and Ben more time.

Ben strode to the gangway as it slowly opened for them. Rey was by his side, following him out and landing gracefully on her feet as they leapt the last few feet to the floor.

He took off at a run, Rey following him and ducking behind a pile of steel containers. Ben kept going, taking cover in a doorway. Blaster fire ricocheted off of the doorframe, hitting a TIE fighter lying a few feet away and sending off sparks.

He watched for Rey as she sprinted to where he stood. He turned, immediately punching in the code to open the door. The sound of blasters and explosions echoed inside the hangar bay, but in the corridor it was quiet. Both Rey and he slipped through the doors.

“I don’t know how we’re going to make it back to the ship.” Rey panted, following him down the glossy corridors, turning the corner carefully, her staff raised.

“I hope the others are alright.” She said.

Ben hushed her, listening as the drumming of stormtrooper boots echoed down the corridor towards them.

He grabbed Rey’s hand and ducked down a side corridor, moving faster. “We need to get to the bridge.” He said. “That’s where Hux will be. Making his orders.” His other hand skimmed the wall, keeping them close to it so they wouldn’t be so out in the open.

“How far is it from here?” Rey asked, turning the next corner with him.

“A few floors up. We need to get to the stairs.”

“What about that?” Rey asked, pointing down another corridor. At the end sat the elevator, the metal doors gleaming.

Ben hesitated. It could be a mistake. There could be troopers positioned outside the doors by the bridge. But then again, he had felt the power between him and Rey. They could take them.

The sudden sound of a blaster and an explosion of sparks above his head alerted him to trouble. A squadron of stormtroopers had come around the corner, taking aim at them.

“Quick!” Rey grabbed his hand and sprinted for the elevator. It was a bad idea to take it, but it seemed like their only option as the troopers rounded the corner, still firing. Rey looked back, her outstretched hand protecting them from the blasts as Ben skidded to a stop in the elevator, using the Force to slam the doors shut and press them upwards.

The two of them stood still as they could, watching the door as they sped upwards. Ben stopped them at the right floor, but kept the doors sealed for a moment.

He looked to Rey, and she nodded. With a deep breath, he opened the door on a group of ten stormtroopers.

A shot rang out, hitting the back of the elevator as the two of them rushed out. Rey had her staff in hand, hitting a trooper in the helmet, using the Force to block the blaster fire coming her way.

Ben sent out a shield, blocking the blasters as he advanced, using the staff to disarm the first two stormtroopers. He spun, the weight of his staff knocking one unconscious. He grabbed his blaster, aiming at one trooper and catching him on the shoulder. The stormtroopers began to retreat, moving back along the corridor as they continued to shoot.

Ben kept the shield up though it taxed him, and he followed after them, advancing on them till they hit the door to the bridge.

In his concentration, he didn’t notice a body sprinting down an adjoining corridor, coming straight for him. Turning his head, he caught sight of a stray trooper, his blaster held up and already firing. He had no time, his hand lifting far too late.

Suddenly, he felt the air beside him shift, a shield rising just in time for the laser to crash into it. He glanced at Rey, and found her beside him. With a wave of his hand, he brushed aside the stray stormtrooper, knocking him out with the impact against the wall.

“Ready to end this?” She asked, her breath coming heavily.

He smiled and nodded, and the two of them advanced.

They picked the remaining troopers off easily, each of them taking on two or more before Ben pried apart the bridge doors with the Force.

Inside there were more soldiers, there to protect Hux.

Rey engaged them first, sweating as she drew up enough energy to part them, tossing bodies aside like they were children’s toys.

Ben fired his blaster, firing at hands to disarm those who fired back. He used the Force to render some unconscious, all the while he kept his eyes on Hux.

The general stood at the end of the bridge, right before the glass windows revealing the starry sky. In his pale eyes was true fear. It made Ben glad for a moment.

Rey swung her staff, knocking a man aside as another engaged her. She was breathing heavily, and Ben saw blood at her arm and waist as he turned with his staff to engage a stormtrooper he believed he had knocked unconscious.

A sharp pain in his side told him that he had been shot, but he couldn’t remember when. The pain melted away as his adrenaline took over.

Ben fought until there was one guard left, engaged in combat with Rey. She used her staff well, and Ben wasn’t worried for her.

His eyes looked to Hux again, but the General wasn’t there. Movement at the corner of Ben’s gaze caught his attention, and he spun, finding Hux sliding along the perimeter of the room towards the doors. The General stopped when Ben met his eyes, and the two of them stared at one another.

In an instant, Ben knew what to do. As he reached back to grab his dagger, Hux ran to the doors. Ben leaped forward, dagger grasped firmly in hand. He flung the knife, then harnessed the Force around him, using it to make the knife aim true.

Sure enough, it lodged in the back of Hux’s arm. The slight man gave out a cry of pain, distracting the last guard long enough for Rey to knock him out with her staff. The ringing sound of her staff on the helmet echoed in the silent room.

Rey and he exchanged a glance, and Ben pulled his blaster, advancing on Hux.

The man was slumped against a console, barely keeping his feet under him. He looked up as Ben approached and curled his lip in disdain. “Traitor!” He hissed. “I always knew you were Rebel scum.”

Ben shook his head, “Nothing you can say can stop what is going to happen.” He lifted the blaster to Hux’s head, the muzzle a few feet from the man’s skull.

Hux breathed heavily, his eyes filled with fury.

Could he pull the trigger?

Rey stood silently behind him, just watching. She would not encourage this murder, even if it was what they had come to do.

He was aware that they were running out of time. The Resistance fighters in the hangar bay had little time left, and they needed the pilot to get them out of here. He should shoot and be done with it.

He had not hesitated with his father. Ben cursed inwardly. Why now did he seem to have a conscience?

“Ben! Watch out!”

A blinding pain went through his chest, making his eyes water. He stumbled backwards, his hand lifting to find the hilt of his own dagger protruding from his chest.

Hux was sprinting to the doors of the bridge, punching in the code. Rey turned, sealing the doors shut. With a snarl, so unlike her, she shot out a hand and Hux dropped to the ground unconscious.

Ben fell to his knees, breathing shakily. He held the hilt of the dagger, ready to yank it out, but Rey’s hand grabbed his own. “Come on.” She said. “We have to go.”

He shook his head. Already black spots danced in front of his vision. “No.” He rasped. “We haven’t finished it.”

She blinked with wide eyes. “You were just stabbed! Who cares about the mission? We have to go!”

Ben got to his feet with her help, a grunt of pain escaping him. He swayed on his feet, then gathered his strength and walked toward the main console.

“Rey. I have an idea.” He said, already pulling up the screen he wanted. “We can finish the mission and get out of here. But I need you to be fast. I need you to remember the way back to the hangar bay. We’re not going to have much time.”

She came up beside him, looking down at the screen of the console. Her breath caught, her face paling. “You’re too injured, Ben. I-”

“Then leave me behind.” He said.

She frowned, shaking her head. “No way.”

“It’s too much of a risk if you take me. We don’t have time to argue, Rey.” He turned back to the screen, pressing buttons.

She grabbed his hand and he looked at her.

“You’re coming with me whether you like it or not.” She said.

Ben hesitated, looking into her eyes. He nodded slowly, setting the timer for the self-destruct.

He ran to the door, Rey holding his hand. He almost fell at the door, but Rey slid her arm around him to support him as she opened the doors to the corridor outside.

They moved as fast as they could, stepping over or around bodies of stormtroopers. Ben tried not to look at them. They would all be dead soon.

He heard running footsteps, a group of guards sprinting for the shuttles. He and Rey took the elevator down. She grunted from the effort of forcing the metal box to move faster, using the Force to speed up the downward journey.

Ben leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. His vision went dark for a moment before he refocused his eyes again. He wondered vaguely if he would survive this injury, but Rey had her arm around him again before he could think it all the way through.

They sped up as they neared the hangar bay. The alarm sounding the self-destruct blared through the hallways, and the red lights flashing along the walls lit up the hangar bay in a hellscape of colour.

Rey yelled something Ben could barely hear over the alarm. The two other ships accompanying them had gone, taken off once the alarm sounded. He caught sight of the droid - BB-8 - speeding towards them. He beeped once and Rey yelled at him, then the droid sped back to the remaining ship.

The gangway lowered and Rey tugged him up. Before they had even entered the craft it began to take off, the gangway closing up behind them. The alarm faded, as did Ben’s vision.

He sucked in a sharp breath as Rey let him slip to the floor. He heard muffled voices, felt hands on him and the movement of the ship. A bright light lit up his eyes, and he closed them, warm orange and red of it illuminating his eyelids, and then everything faded into black.

Chapter Text

They had blown up the First Order craft. It was over.

Rey sat out on the balcony of her new room in the grand building housing the leaders of the Resistance. Outside, Coruscant buzzed as it always did. She never thought she would see the city-planet, but here she was. And Rey would spend all her time soaking it up.

After the mission they had flown here to pick up the pieces. Leia was happier than Rey had ever seen her. She had her new purpose, and knew what to do.

The rest of them, however, were not as lucky.

They didn’t have lives to get back to.

Poe and Rose had vague ideas. They knew their talents and knew where to find work to use them.

But Finn had been over in her room more than once, the two of them utterly confused about what was to happen next.

Rey had some vague idea of what she could do. But Ben hadn’t woken yet.

His wounds had been bad. It had been two days, and he was still resting in the infirmary. Rey had tried to see him twice, but had been turned away.

She let the Force fill her up again, closing her eyes and extending her consciousness up the levels of the building to the infirmary. She could feel him easily and knew which body lying there was his without having to try. Their bond was stronger than ever.

Rey was frightened by the thought, but another thought frightened her even more.

She trusted Ben. She really did trust him. And she wondered if that made her a fool.

She got up, stretching and getting ready for the day. She had been sitting in on meetings that Leia was attending. As the only Jedi representation, she had a duty to attend and to have input. On top of that, she was one half of the duo who had taken down the First Order.

Either way, she hated the meetings. She never understood what was going on, or who the people attending were.

Ben could do so much better than her at them.

Something stirred in their bond and she paused in tying her boots. He was waking up.

Rey hurriedly tied her shoes, sweeping her jacket on as she headed out the door and down the bright corridors towards the infirmary.

She took the elevator up, remembering the horrible ride down in the First Order ship with Ben barely hanging onto consciousness. She shook her head to rid herself of the memory. It had all turned out fine in the end.

At least she hoped he was fine. She hadn’t been able to see him yet, and her worry had made her think of horrible things that could have happened to him.

But she would have felt it if those things had happened. She would have felt it through their bond.

She stepped out of the elevator, heading down the familiar path to the infirmary. She knocked on the doors, a rust-coloured alien answering it. He clicked away at her, and she nodded.

“Thank you.” She murmured, following him into the infirmary and past the beds to the far corner where Ben lay.

He was still lying down, but his eyes were open and they found her as she neared the bed.

“Hey.” Rey said, sitting beside the bed.

Ben smiled, that barely-there smile she had seen only a handful of times before. “Hi, Rey.” He said.

“How are you feeling?”

“Horrible.”

She grimaces, “Yeah, I can imagine. You were asleep for a few days. We’re on Coruscant now.”

He blinked, looking around and out the large windows that took up most of the opposite wall. Ships shot by outside the window, the faint buzz of them echoing in the high-ceilinged infirmary.

“My mother is here?” He asked.

Rey nodded, “She’s made me sit in on hundreds of meetings.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m the only Jedi representation at the moment. You were occupied with other things.” She smiled.

He breathed a small laugh and sat up carefully, groaning as he lifted himself.

“Careful.” Rey said, her hand coming down on his arm to try to help.

He settled back in bed, reaching over for the glass of water on the bedside table. He sipped it, his dark hair a bit of a mess from how long he had been sleeping.

Rey smiled to herself. It was so weird seeing him like this. Not too long ago they had been enemies.

“What now?” He asked, setting his glass down.

“Good question.” Rey murmured, then sighed. “I was thinking about what you said.” She said quietly. “About what you think balancing the Force really means. And I think you might be right. And even if you’re wrong, I think it’s worth a try.”

“You think what’s worth a try?” He asked, watching her carefully.

“I think it’s worth trying to accomplish. To balance light and dark within you. I’m sure we can find a way to make it possible. And to teach it to others.”

“Teach?” He blinked, eyes wide. “You want me to teach it to younglings?”

Rey grinned, “Yeah! Why not? What else do you have to do?”

He opened his mouth to speak, then fell silent. “Maybe.” He said, a frown appearing on his brow.

She watched him, and had an inkling as to what he was feeling. “You won’t be like Luke.” She said. “We’re starting fresh. Bringing nothing with us.” She murmured.

He looked to her, and reached out, taking her hand. It surprised her, but she felt a sudden rush of warmth, of power, and of hope. He nodded, and she knew that he would try this with her.

A wave of relief washed over Rey. She had been worried he wouldn’t join her. She didn’t think that she could do this alone.

Leia came by not long afterwards, there to see her son and speak with him. Rey smiled at them both, saying her goodbyes as she left.

She went back up to her room, collecting her staff and changing into her tunic and linen pants, her usual clothing. She missed looking like a fighter, not like a diplomat of some kind.

She went down to the training arena, getting in some time for herself.

A tug on the bond a few hours later told her Ben was looking for her. She left for her room, wondering if he had changed his mind. He was waiting for her in her room, standing out on the balcony.

“You came.” He said, his face and eyes unreadable to everybody else but her. He was calm, she could feel it, and he was happy.

She set her staff down against the wall, and went out to join him.

“Apologies for just walking in.” He said, watching her as she stood beside him.

She shook her head, “It’s fine, Ben.”

He watched her curiously, the name no longer a friction between them. She was grateful that she could call him by that name and he wouldn’t get angry anymore.

“I spoke to my mother about your idea.” He said.

“And?”

“She thinks it’s a good idea. We have her support.”

Rey breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good news.” She smiled.

“Now the work begins. Are you sure this is what you want?” He asked softly, turning to face her.

She lifted her eyes to his. “Yes. This is what I want. It’s what we’re both meant to do.”

He smiled, taking her hand. It wasn’t weird now, it seemed natural for them. She wondered faintly what it meant. Whether or not they were friends now, or something more. She wasn’t sure. They were definitely something, but it seemed that just like the labels ‘Jedi’ and ‘Sith’, the usual terms didn’t apply to what they had found with each other.

They stood in silence for a while, and when he left her side Rey could still feel him through that bond that stretched between them.

---------------------

“Again!” Ben said firmly, watching the students attempt to lift a simple stone a few feet in the air.

He was used to this sight, he’d done this before. And he knew when he could see a student struggling. He went over to a young boy.

“Aaron. Keep your mind clear of all else. I can feel your distraction.” He said.

The boy looked up at him. “I don’t understand how to do that.” He mumbled.

Ben smiled, “Focus on one thing, and one thing only. Your will to lift this stone. Feel the Force around you, but don’t think about it. It is yours to bend to your will, like another limb. It shouldn’t require thinking to use.”

Aaron nodded, the soft sunshine lighting up his blond hair. He closed his eyes and tried again, but Ben knew it would take practice before he would manage the task.

He continued to pace around the perimeter of the field they stood in, a paddock that Rey had put up a year ago and when she had he had joked about them treating their students like cattle. She had sent her hammer flying at his head.

He always managed to duck, to her chagrin. It was a little game they played. One day she’d get him, he was sure.

“Lunch!”

The kids paused, looking around at Rey who called from the balcony of the house. It was a long structure, with dormitories for the children, a kitchen, a training room in the lower levels, and classrooms in the western wing. The two of them had managed to scrounge up enough funding from General Leia, though she was General no longer, and had put the house together for their students.

The children looked to Ben to be dismissed and at his nod they took off towards the house, running inside for lunch.

Rey waved to him from the balcony and he sent a warm feeling down their bond. She answered, and Ben could feel the warmth of her smile though he was too far away to really see it.

The house was full of chatter, the children lined up at the dining table. Rey was coming down the stairs, BB-8 rolling down a steep ramp alongside the staircase and into the dining room. He beeped at Ben, a quick greeting.

Ben raised his hand to Rey, smiling as she came over to him. “How was it?” She asked.

“Fine. They’re doing just the same as the first batch did.” He said. “Aaron had some trouble, but I have a feeling he’ll be fine.”

Rey nodded, turning her attention to him alone. She smiled, leaning up and kissing his cheek.

He remembered vaguely the first time she had done that. He had gone still, confused and startled beyond belief, and she had laughed.

It had been when they’d first entered the school, all the hallways had been empty and there were only three children living there.

Now they had two groups in the house, the older children and those slightly younger. And both Rey and he were working hard on the curriculum for the next year up.

He smiled to Rey, her eyes warm, and the two of them walked into the dining room together, the sound of children’s chatter in the air as they talked about the future.