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“Is he here?” Poe asked ducking as an explosion hit behind them. Rey shook her head.
“He’s close though.” Rey replied. She could sense he was not on the battlefield but he was here on the planet. Possibly a trap.
“You must go and find him.” Poe shouts over the noise of blasters as the Resistance engaged with the First Order in what they hoped would be their final battle. “And Rey, you have to kill him. He is the only smart head in the First Order. When they find out he’s dead, they’ll turn one each other and victory will be ours. I have to know that you’re up to this.” Poe emphasised ignoring the disarray around him that he would soon organise into the battle tactics previously discussed.
Rey nodded and it seemed to convince Poe but killing Ben was not her plan. Ben’s plans however, were ambiguous. He’d shut off his thoughts.
The planet they were on was full of grass plains and forest. Rey, alone, moved into the forest as it provided more cover for her. She shut off her yellow lightsaber she had constructed with the help from Ben through a force bond as it emitted light that could give her away between the dense shrubberies. See Ben was not totally evil if he helped her construct a lightsaber. If Rey couldn’t convince herself this she had no idea how she was supposed to convince a galaxy.
Rey knew she was getting closer. She could feel his presence getting stronger. Usually, they could read each other’s thoughts as well but Ben had closed her off. As to why, remained a mystery to Rey. She didn’t believe it would be a trap. Rey trusted Ben to turn up alone as she had.
Rey had switched off thinking about Ben. She didn’t hear the footsteps around her. Didn’t hear the blaster shot until it had already hit her back.
Rey eventually came around looking up and seeing the tops of the trees reaching for the sky. She was lying on the floor. Rey didn’t remember falling. There was the gunshot that hit her. Rey sat up feeling her back and it was unharmed, must have been set to stun. Which means they wanted her alive.
Rey observed her surrounding noticing stormtroopers lifeless on the ground. She turned her left and saw Ben sitting there passively. He realised Rey was awake and crouched down by her.
“Are you okay?” Ben asked concerned. He reached an ungloved thumb and brushed the cut Rey had gained on her forehead. Ben’s touch set Rey alight like she was the match and he was the matchbox, fire created with a single brush. She craved his touch yet she to push that aside to deal with the bigger problem.
“You kidnapped me again?” Rey stood up reaching for her saber through the force. It was only a couple of feet away and it sprung right to her hand. She ignited it. Rey was never going to use it, just using the yellow blade as a threat. Unfortunately, Ben knew that too.
“I think you mean I saved you.” Ben replied his body stance not defensive.
“I trusted you. You said you were going to come on your own and you betrayed me.” Rey swung at him out of anger. It was never going hit him but he dodged anyway.
“Welcome to my world sweetheart.” Ben almost smirked, almost. Rey lunged again forcing Ben to actually block the jab with his own saber. Anger coursed through Rey, saving Ben had been thrown out of the window for the moment.
“What happened then? If you supposedly saved me.” Rey replied. She met Ben’s gaze their sabers still pressed together in contest.
“Some stormtroopers were patrolling and they encountered you, stunned you and brought you here to me. My question is why didn’t you here them? Why didn’t you feel them coming?”
“I was preoccupied.” Rey answered shaking her head in attempt to move the loose strands of hair out of her face as her hands were holding her lightsaber against Ben’s. She wasn’t going to say she wasn’t paying attention because she was thinking about him. “But why are the stormtroopers dead? Who attacked you?”
“No one did.” He moved closer to Rey and she tried to step back. His smell, his voice, it was a drug. A drug that made her lose all sense of morality, all sense of good and bad, all that this man has done to her friends, to innocent lives. She wanted Ben, Rey knew that, but this wasn’t him.
“Then what happened?” She tried to focus on him and meeting his gaze so it was easy for Ben to grab both their lightsabers and through them away. He closed the distance and put his hand on the back of her neck. Rey thought he must have frozen her through the force but he hadn’t. That’s just what his touch did to her. He opened up his mind and she was met with anger, but not towards her, towards the corpses on the ground.
He'd killed them all. His own men. Because they’d hurt her.
“You know I’d never let anyone hurt you.” Ben whispered. Rey pushed him away.
“You can’t keep doing this.” Rey said spinning around so she could see the dead bodies. There were at least a dozen. “You keep killing people.”
“It’s to protect you.” Ben justified. “They dragged you through a forest. You have cuts and bruises all over your body. Not to mention the fact that they expected me to kill you and the thought of that made me feel sick.” Ben stepped closer to Rey so their bodies were practically touching. Rey was looking up quite a bit due to Ben’s tall stature.
“You’re so confusing.” Rey said. “What do you want?”
“You. I’ve always wanted you.” Ben said without hesitation. That was all the invitation Rey needed. She caved. Rey stood on her tip toes wrapping her fingers in Ben’s hair and pulling him into her until their lips meet. She was hungry for him but he was starving. It was aggressive, a result of years of build-up of tension. Ben put his hands on Rey’s waist pulling her into him as much as he could. Rey had her fingers pulling on Ben’s hair, something she had wanted to do ever since the first time she’s seen those luscious locks.
But the implications this kiss had. As much as Rey was enjoying it. It changed everything.
“Don’t think about it. Just let this moment last a bit longer.” Ben pleaded but Rey had already ruined it.
“What are we going to do? Am I a traitor?” Rey panicked.
“You’re amazing, that’s what you are.” Ben replied but Rey was too distressed to listen to him. “We can run away.” Ben proposed. “I can’t be part of something that’s trying to hurt you so let’s go somewhere in the outer rim. A scenic planet where no one will bother us.”
“I can’t just abandon everything and everyone. I have friends, you have your Mother.” Rey pointed out. She knew Leia was desperate to even see her son once again. Rey couldn’t take that away from her especially after all she’s been through.
“I’ll do whatever you want.” Ben said pressing a kiss to Rey’s forehead which awoke the butterflies in her stomach.
“What’s changed?” Rey questioned. She knew Ben wasn’t lying to her as she could see into his mind and he was inviting her in.
“You.” Ben answered simply. “I thought you were dead when the stormtroopers brought you in. I couldn’t live with myself if you were dead and I could have stopped it. I’ve always felt protective of you, wanting to keep you out of harms way even though you usually can manage yourself.” Ben smiled. It was possibly the first time Rey had seen a smile fully grow on him. “I can’t live without you and I thought I was protecting you by staying at the First Order where I could control the regime trying to hunt you but it turns out that doesn’t work. I know you don’t need or want protecting but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to be by your side for the rest of your life. Kylo died a long time ago, but I’ve been pretending to be him to keep you safe, to keep you away from me because I thought that was better. That’s why my mind was closed off, I’d never betray you. It may be selfish of me, but now I don’t want you further than a couple of inches away ever again. I love, I love you.”
“I’ve been waiting for you to come back Ben Solo, I love you.” Rey smiled and wrapped her arms around Ben. “How are we going to do this? Have you still got control of the First Order?”
“You want a change in battle strategy?” Ben raised his eyebrows. “I should have thought of that.” Ben whipped his comm out and spoke to someone in it. Rey listened taking a mental note to go and tell Poe.
“Are you coming back to the front line with me?” Rey asked passing Ben his lightsaber as she picked up hers.
“I’d love to but I don’t think I can show up there and expect people to not shoot at me. I’ll go and visit my Mother.” Ben sighed. “I know I just said I wouldn’t leave your side but I don’t want your friends to turn against you by protecting me.”
“What makes you think your Mother won’t shoot you.” Rey laughed getting her comm out and signalling that Leia’s ship should land in the field next to the forest.
“There’s a high chance she will. I deserve it after all.” Ben responded.
“You deserve to be happy after everything you’ve been through.” Rey said looking up at Ben who put his arm around Rey. Leia’s ship landed and she rushed out. She knew whose presence she felt. Ben was quickly embraced as Leia sobbed into Ben’s shoulder.
“You’re okay, you’re home now.” Leia said lifting her head up. “Oh and thank you Rey.” Leia opened her arms and embraced Rey next. “Thank you for bringing my son home.”
“I think Rey needs to go, we still have a battle to win.” We. Ben was one of them. He reached out to hug Rey placing his lips on the top of her head.
“I’ve only just got you, don’t leave me.” Ben pleaded.
“It’ll be easy. The First Order were never much anyway.” Rey teased.
“Maybe I should come.” Ben mused.
“No stay here. Do what you can inside the ship and plan us a trip across the galaxy. We’re going exploring once this is all over.” Rey smiled. “We’ll be fine.”
It turned out more than fine. The Resistance won, the galaxy had peace and Leia had Ben home. Rey never had a real home. Her AT-AT on Jakku never really classed as a home. To her, home was a person and that person was Ben. Ben Solo.