All was quiet at the Resistance base. Night swept over the planet, scattering the sky with millions of sparkling jewels. The General slept quietly in her room. The bedroom adjacent to hers had been vacant for as long as the base existed on this planet. Now it belonged to its rightful owner, who sat hunched over the edge of the bed. Luke stared absentmindedly at his right hand, opening and closing his metallic palm, his thoughts nowhere, yet everywhere.
Rey. Rey had found him, after two decades of waiting for her to be ready. He could hardly control his emotions when he called upon R2-D2 to wake up. Sweet little Rey, whose baby breaths he would listen to as she slept. A sharp cry would occasionally come out of her tiny mouth, but nothing that a Jedi Master couldn't solve.
He could feel the warmth spread across his cheeks as he turned his face to the setting suns. One always chasing the other, creating brilliant shades of orange and purple. The sands of his home planet lay still for as far as the eye could see. Any anger or frustration was instantly melted away by the radiant beauty.
A pang of sadness would always overcome him in these moments, but he never let Rey feel it. She would close her caramel eyes and fall into slumber with a slight smile.
Leaving her on that junkyard was the most painful moment of his life. Not even feeling the screams of millions being snuffed in the Hosian system or learning that Be- Kylo Ren had turned fully to the Dark Side had put such anguish into his heart. Now she stood in front of him, on the edge of the temple, holding out the lightsaber. Her caramel eyes begged for his approval, her arm trembling slightly. Her hair- which Leia had always played with in her fleeting moments of free time- was still in three buns. Not much had changed since then, and everything had changed. The Jedi were yet again being hunted by the Dark Side. Ren and his band of Knights were chess pieces in Snoke's elaborate plan to rule the galaxy. Han… his heart skipped a beat.
Han.
A piece of his soul had left him that day. It took everything to not call out to Leia, but it wasn't time yet. The one person who needed to know where he was knew. He had been sending his location through dreams to his girl since he had left, knowing she would need the knowledge later on, and also to dry her dusty, tear-streaked face as she struggled to sleep.
The return to D'Qar on Han's first child was the most nervous Luke had even been. He had told Rey to get some rest, despite her protests, and sat across from the walking carpet. There was no need to discuss. The pain was evident in Chewie's eyes. Chewie knew what he was feeling too. When had he ever been this nervous about seeing Leia? Perhaps before he told her who their father was and why he had to face him, but that seemed laughable now.
As they came out of hyperspace, A large, cloud covered planet with rings of asteroids bathed the cockpit with light. He felt Rey staring at the back of his head. He knew the feeling, unfortunately. Turning around, he gave a quick grin, his icy blue eyes locking with her caramel ones. She returned the smile and sat behind the pilot seat, which had always been his. Luke was about to ask her a question when he felt a faint tingling in his brain, an itch that had to be scratched. Something he had not felt in a long time. Luke!