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"The word must be heard in silence. There must be darkness to see the stars." - The Farthest Shore, Ursula K. LeGuin
"You should take a vacation," Rose said one night in Ajan Kloss. She, Finn, Rey, and Ben were relaxing after returning from their latest successful mission.
"There's so much work to do," said Ben. It had been eight months since he had joined the Resistance, and he spent every day working to heal the damage the First Order had done to the galaxy.
"Yes," said Rose. "And you can't do it if you're exhausted. I don't think I've seen you rest since you joined us."
"On the way to and from Canto Bight?" asked Rey, holding Ben's hand with one hand and snacking on some jogan fruit with the other.
"That doesn't count!" said Finn. "I mean, especially not on the way back, with all those kids around."
"They were fine," said Rey. The newly reformed Republic had outlawed child labor, and Ben was pretty sure Uncle Lando had something to do with the Corporate Sector's new willingness to go along with it. They'd been able to reunite some of the kids Rose and Finn had seen there with relatives, and some of them had chosen to come back to Ajan Kloss with them.
"You need a vacation," said Rose. "Don't make Finn and I order you to take one." They both outranked him and Rey. Ben had no interest in leadership positions anymore, even if his new comrades' fragile trust would accept him in one. Rey was highly respected, but had no formal rank.
So it was decided. They would take some time off and travel.
Ben wanted to show Rey Naboo, but there was someplace she wanted him to go first. "I want you to see Ahch-to," she said. "Actually see in person, if you're okay with that."
Ben remembered the perfect jolt as their fingers had met across lightyears, and the way their connection had pulled him into the golden light of the hut. Even his memory of Luke separating them that night was slowly losing its sting as he spent more time with her. "I would love to."
*
They took the Falcon, after assuring Chewie that they would take care of it. They landed on Ahch-to, and were quickly met by beings Rey said were the island's caretakers. They talked to them about staying in Rey's old hut, which had been rebuilt.
Throughout the conversation, he could feel Rey's amusement, intense enough that he had a hard time keeping a straight face himself. "What was so funny?" he asked, when they were back in the Falcon, getting the supplies they would take into the hut.
"They like you," said Rey. "Of course they like you. They couldn't stand me."
Ben looked at her. "I find that hard to believe."
"Well, I did keep breaking their stuff. And... I did burn your ship here, too." She looked away, and he could sense her shame through their bond. "After I stabbed you - not some of my finest moments..."
Ben took both of her hands gently. "What's past is past. You keep insisting, to anyone who questions, that I can find a way forward."
"You can. You are," said Rey.
"Then you certainly can."
Rey nodded. "We can. We are ."
*
Rey pulled Ben outside to look at the stars with her. No clouds obscured their view of the sky, and the breeze was refreshing yet not too chilly. They sat on the grass between the huts and the cliffside, with the sound of the sea a soft backdrop. Ben could see the densely clustered stars and darker dust regions of the closest spiral arm of the galaxy arching above them..
"It's so different from the sky over Jakku," said Rey. "Or Ajan Kloss."
Ben snuggled closer to her, feeling contentment settle into his bones. The grass was soft under him, and the island teemed with life under the bright stars. He sensed the deep counterbalance of the sea cave as well, but the Dark no longer frightened him. He was whole, and free, and could make his own choices.
" Look!" Rey said, pointing to a shooting star high above them. Her joy rippled through him, spontaneous and pure. Her presence in their bond thrummed with reassurance. It was true, now, what they had said in the hut almost two years ago. Neither of them was alone anymore.
"Beautiful," he said, smiling. He was becoming more familiar with how his face felt when he smiled. He heard some soft chirping nearby and saw that two porgs were standing by them, the smaller one nestling close against the larger one. They were also looking up.
"Oh, I think those two are a mated pair," said Rey. "I keep seeing them around together. They're stargazing too!"
They lay back on the grass to get a better look, feeling enfolded by the stars and the ocean around them. Their calm bliss was interrupted when Ben felt something land in his hair. There was another chirp nearby.
Rey glanced over and laughed. "One of the porgs found you. See, like I said - everyone likes you!"
Ben laughed, and sat up, while trying to gently dislodge the porg. It waddled away, to stand by its mate once more.
"Maybe that's a hint," Rey said, with love and mischief in her eyes. "Time to go back to the hut?"
"Mmm, I think so," said Ben. They stood up, and he picked her up and carried her back into the warm firelight.