"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rey sat in front of an open panel on the Millennium Falcon making repairs. After their escape from Crait, Rey had brought what was left of the Resistance to Ahch-To. The First Order still didn't know the location, so it seemed the safest option. Snoke had tortuously pried the information from her mind, but Ben killed him before he could pass it on to his officers.

With C-3PO's help she had apologized to the caretaker she now knew as Matron Alcida-Auka for the damage she had caused during her last stay and promised that both she and her friends would be careful this time. The matron had stared at her without much expression, but accepted her apology with decent grace. The Lanais had then helped settle the small band of fighters into huts.

The Resistance couldn't stay long on Ahch-To. There was no way to communicate with the rest of the galaxy and build up their ranks and support. Therefore, General Organa had declared that they would stay just long enough for the wounded to heal and everyone to rest up. This meant that Rey and Chewie needed to get the Falcon back in working order as quickly as possible.

"Rey?"

She looked up to find Finn holding a plate of roasted fish.

"I brought you some lunch."

"Great, I'm starving. Eat with me?"

Finn settled down beside her.

"Rey, are you okay? You've been quiet since we got here."

"I'm fine," she lied. "Just busy. How's Rose?" She asked to change the subject.

"Better. Listen, Rey, there's something I need to tell you."

Rey thought she knew where this was going. Before the bond with Ben, she had thought one day there might be more than friendship between herself and Finn. Now she knew that could never be. She had sorted out her feelings for him quickly. She wanted to spare them both the embarrassment of this conversation.

"You two are sweet together."

"I...what?"

"You and Rose. I think you would be good for each other."

"Oh, I thought…you might not like it."

"You're like a brother to me, Finn. I love you like a brother," she explained what she had come to realize.

"Yeah," Finn replied as his face lit up with a smile, "yeah."

They finished eating and discussed where they thought the Resistance should go next and they best way to gain recruits.

"Well," Finn said as he stood, "I better go check on Rose again."

"I need to get back to this rust bucket," Rey replied, patting the wall of the Falcon affectionately. "Thanks for lunch."

"Don't mention it."

Finn gave her shoulder a squeeze and left.

As she rewired the component she was working on, Rey felt a familiar shift in the Force.

Oh no.

At least it had waited till Finn was gone. She look up to find Ben glaring down at her. Her stomach clenched at the site of him. Try as she might, she had not been able to stop thinking about him. Her sadness and disappointment over his refusal to come with her were just as raw as they had been in Snoke's throne room. In addition, she was angry about his merciless attack on Crait.

Ignore him.

No sooner had she come to this decision than Ben screamed at her,

"I WILL FIND YOU AND I WILL DESTROY YOU!"

Her first instinct was to shout back at him, but she could sense his feelings of rage, abandonment, and hurt emanating through the bond.

He thinks I betrayed him, just like everyone else in his life betrayed him.

It was as though the realization came from outside herself, from the Force itself. It caused a painful knot to form in her chest. There was still hope for him, there had to be. The Force would help her respond to him if she would just trust it. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and centered herself. Opening her eyes, she stood to face him. She kept her voice as calm and even as possible.

"I never meant to hurt you."

"YOU LEFT ME!"

"I'm sorry, Ben. I couldn't just abandon my friends to die, and I couldn't be what you wanted me to be."

"I killed Snoke for you! I offered you the entire galaxy, and you just left me there to die!"

He was still shouting. Rey took another deep breath and drew on the Force to maintain her composure.

"I didn't kill you though, did I? You were unconscious, at my mercy. I could have...I even thought about it," she admitted.

"You're weak! You won't find me so the next time we meet."

She sighed, "I'm not weak, Ben. The Force isn't through with you. The Force hasn't given up on you, so neither will I."

She sensed his anger dull slightly and mix with confusion.

He scoffed, "Then you're a fool. Why do you still want to save me? Why don't you just accept that we're enemies?"

She regarded him steadily.

"Because I care about you."

It was a risk, she knew, revealing that she cared for him. He might try to use it to manipulate her. However, her heart...the Force...something was telling her it was what he needed to hear, that somewhere in this galaxy there was at least one person who cared about him.

She could tell her honesty had caught him off guard. His anger receded further still and she could sense the return of his conflict, those small points of Light piercing his Darkness. When he didn't respond she dared a bit more,

"Your mother cares too. She still wants you to come back to her."

"I know."

She was surprised by his quiet admission, and couldn't think how to respond.

When he spoke again there was something like regret in his voice.

"I can't be what you want me to be either."

"So what now, Ben?"

"I don't know."

Before she could think what to say the bond snapped closed and Ben was gone.

A/n: I originally envisioned this story as a series of one shot Force bond vignettes, but it has taken me somewhere else. I've read the novelization, so there is some information coming from that. I love Reylo and the Force bond. I plan to update weekly. I hope you enjoy it.