In the months following the destruction of the Resistance base on Crait, Rey's friends marveled—and in Finn's case, worried—over her Jedi-like serenity. Even General Leia Organa had moments where her poise slipped and frustration and sorrow ravaged her expression and tone. Rey tried to reassure Finn with smiles and the occasional hug that she was all right, but she couldn't say the words he so clearly wanted to hear.
She hadn't accepted that Ben Solo was lost to the Dark Side.
How could she? Snoke's death hadn't severed her connection with Kylo Ren. She was able to suppress their bond in her waking hours, but in her sleep, longing to revisit their possible future eroded her control.
And she dreamt.
.
Jakku, three years after the death of Supreme Leader Ren and the fall of the First Order . . ..
The Lost Star Destroyer was an old cantina tale even when Rey was a child. The gullible bought fake maps and trekked into the desert, never to be seen again. Experienced scavengers relied on technology to reveal treasures beneath the sand. Again and again, they searched to no avail.
That hadn't stopped young Rey from imagining herself as the one to discover the lost Destroyer. In countless daydreams, she'd been a Jedi using The Force to locate and raise what was hidden in a cavern buried under rock and sand.
"We've never recovered a starship this immense before," Ben said as they strode from the Millennium Falcon toward the crater they'd created with strategic blast charges.
Rey's lips curved. "Having doubts?"
"Never."
His passionate certainty sparked an answering flame inside Rey. She reached for his hand. The moment their fingers entwined, the ground shook and groaned as The Force brought an Empire Star Destroyer to the planet's surface.
Hours later, she accepted the final, best offer from Hazsin, head of Jakku's newly established Scavenger's Guild while Ben, concealed by Mandalorian armor and helmet, stood guard.
"A pleasure doing business with the legendary Rey Organa." The Uthuthma male's toothy maw opened wide in his skull-like face.
Rey heard the faint rasp of an armored finger sliding toward a blaster pistol trigger and stepped forward to clasp Hazsin's forearm, signaling the end of business. "May your chains be many." Uthuthmas wore thick necklace chains for protection and to proclaim wealth.
"May your chainsss be many." Hazsin's voice became sibilant in nervousness as he backed down the landing ramp.
Once he reached the sand, he turned to the crowd of scavengers and cried, "Portions for all!"
Rey hit the button to close the entry door, muting the sound of cheers.
"I much prefer to be the one on the inside instead of being shut out with the rest of the world." Ben's voice was a deep bass courtesy of his armored helmet.
Her heart skipped a beat at his low, sexy tone, but she shook her head at him. "Boys and their love of costumes. You don't have to keep wearing it. Beskar metal withstands blaster shots, but it can't be comfortable."
"Maybe I like to watch you shiver when I talk." Ben's laughter at her look of chagrin switched from dark to light when he took off his helmet.
Rey touched his inky damp hair. "I'll ready the Falcon for takeoff. You need the refresher unit."
"I'll confess I was more interested in the history of the armor." Ben's mouth twisted wryly. "Boba Fett probably had too much ice in his veins to sweat." His expression brightened. "Let's go to a water planet. Rent an island. Swim naked."
"Arden Prime." She'd heard about the outer rim planet from Poe Dameron, who'd invited her with a suggestive wink and promise that what happened on Arden Prime stayed on Arden Prime. "I'll set our course."
"I'll take a sonic." The hint of a pout was too adorable. Rey headed for the cockpit before she was tempted to do something that would delay their takeoff, like nibble Ben's lower lip.
Halfway to her destination, she stopped in her tracks. They weren't on a hostile planet. No one knew that Rey taking the name Organa wasn't solely due to her close relationship with Leia. No one knew that Kylo Ren had "died" while Ben Organa—once Solo—continued to live. There was no hurry to leave.
Rey entered the captain's quarters as Ben was leaving the refresher unit.
He went to stand by the bed. "Should I put on a towel or something?" he asked with a wicked gleam in his eyes. A sonic shower was water free, so they stored their towels in a drawer on the other side of the room. A flick of his fingers had one floating toward him.
She raised her hand to stop the towel midway between them, suspended in air.
Ben used The Force to tug the towel his way.
Rey concentrated on tugging harder—and then suddenly released the towel to use The Force to push her husband backward. In a flash, she pinned him to the mattress.
"You always win." His pretended sulkiness turned into a grin when she nibbled his bottom lip.
"I had an unfair advantage. You were fighting your feelings more than me."
As always, any reminder of the past brought shadows to his eyes. "I don't deserve you," Ben whispered.
Rey kissed him with all the love in her heart. "Take me anyway."
.
.
On the warship Ascendancy, in the Supreme Leader's quarters, Kylo Ren rested on his bed until he felt a pull on the thread of his connection to a scavenger girl that should have been nothing to him, yet was everything. Only then did he allow himself to dream.
.
Jakku, three years after the marriage of Emperor Ren and Empress Rey . . ..
The planet wasn't worth the Kyber crystals needed to power a weapon to blast it out of existence, but since his empress wished it, Kylo accompanied her to the Western Reaches so she could bestow her unmerited benevolence on a worthless populace. Not that he'd step foot on the planet. The very name of Jakku offended him, a reminder of his grandfather's Empire reduced to a graveyard of ships. Instead, he'd sent troops in armored transports.
Rey had been amused by his protectiveness, although outwardly she'd agreed to the military escort with a composed nod.
Telepathically, he'd warned her: I will eradicate every lifeform on the planet if anyone attempts to harm you.
Warmth caressed his scarred cheek like the touch of invisible fingertips. All will be well, my love.
Two hours after they'd parted, a wave of deep satisfaction—Rey's satisfaction—brought a faint smile to Kylo's face. It was done. The new Scavengers Guild would regulate and protect every scavenger on Jakku. No earnings would be untaxed, but neither would any abandoned child go hungry again. Best of all, his beloved wife would shake the sand of this backwater from the train of her gown and never return.
"I'm glad my efforts have pleased you . . . emperor." The holographic image of General Hux appeared torn between relief at the smile of what he thought was approval and his resentment at having to call a former rival emperor.
A thought terminated their communication. Let Hux worry he'd caused offence. Rabid dogs needed reminders of who was alpha in order to keep them in line—or something to that effect. Snoke had rambled on about anything and everything in his attempt to impart wisdom to his apprentice. Sometimes Kylo was amazed he'd hadn't killed his master sooner to give his ears a rest.
The moment Rey stormed into their imperial chambers, he stopped pacing and clenched his fists. "Tell me the name of the one who angered you and they are dead."
Her face softened at his offer, and then sharpened with irritation. "He killed himself. Greedy Blobfish." She started tugging out hair pins to release her braids from their crown. "Unkar Plutt couldn't stand the thought of not being the Junk Boss of Jakku anymore. He shouted to the assembly that he'd rather die than be controlled by an Order guild."
Kylo used The Force to undo her braids. "How did he kill himself?"
Pink tinted his wife's gorgeous cheekbones. "I told him, 'Stop breathing, then,' and he did."
Laughter burst from Kylo. He doubled over, which made him an easy target for Rey's push. He toppled back onto the bed and grinned up at her when she pinned his body with hers. "I agree, I agree. The Blobfish was suicidal to oppose you."
She didn't return his smile. "I didn't mean to kill him." Her hazel eyes were dark. Pleading.
"I know." As strong as the Dark Side became in her, part of Rey would always be the vulnerable girl reaching out, wanting to understand and be understood. Light drawn to darkness.
Wasn't his darkness pulled toward her light?
Between one blink and another, Kylo shifted from his back onto his side. Instead of looking up at his wife, he met the stare of a rebel who gazed at him with a longing that echoed his own, along with something else that dulled the green in her eyes. Something that caused hope to flare in his soul.
Fear.
She feared that her dreams of their future would never come true. Luke Skywalker hadn't given her the warning that Yoda once gave Anakin.
Careful you must be when sensing the future. The fear of loss is a path to the Dark Side.
Kylo closed his eyes to break his connection with Rey.
And smiled.
.
.
A/N: Most of my stories are Harry Potter, but I venture to galaxies far, far, away when inspired. The connection between Rey and Kylo Ren was incredibly inspiring, although I don't see how either of their dreams will come true in the end. Ah, well, there's always fan fiction.