A/N: I mostly get inspiration for story ideas from music and this is no different. I found the Rey and Kylo Ren play lists on Spotify and these play lists are Canon y'all!

There is a song on Rey's list call Compass by Zella Day and as I was listening to it (on repeat, cause it's that good) this story idea came into my head.

Hope you enjoy. Leave me some love and feedback.

One

What was left of the Resistance was packed on to the Millennium Falcon and raced from the Crait System. Chewie sat in the copilot seat while Rey maneuvered them past the floating rubble that used to be the Supremacy and much of the First Order fleet.

A tear escaped her eye as she thought about all of the loss of life that day. She doubted her decisions. If she had stayed with him, how many could have been saved? But she couldn't think of that for now, she had to get them to safety.

Chewie called out next to her, about to jump them into hyper drive. "Brace yourselves!" Rey called out over the ship's comm system.

The Falcon seemed to wheeze when it was pulled from hyper drive. Rey and Chewie looked at each other, both knowing that the ship would need many repairs before doing any other jumps.

"Where have you taken us Chewie?" Rey had depended on her copilot to get them to safety since he had been all over the galaxy with Han and she had only known Jakku. Even though she could hardly find it on a star map if she tried.

"Kashyyyk. My home world." The Wookiee roared as they descended through thick cloud cover to a planet that had blue oceans and dense forests covering much of the land.

Rey was still in awe that there could be so much water and greenery in the universe. "Was it wise to bring us here? Won't they think to look for us here?"

Chewie just shrugged his shoulders and took over controls of the ship to direct them to a part of the planet that he knew they could hide.

Leia came into the cockpit and placed her hand on Rey's shoulder, "The Wookiee have always been friends to the Republic and the Resistance."

Taking the Wookiee's lead, Rey helped to bring the Falcon down in a clearing. The trees surrounding them were strange looking, thicker than other trees she had seen, twisted trucks and short stubby canopies, each reaching for just a little more light from the planet's one star.

"The Black Forest will shield us from detection."

"The planet's magnetic field make the Black Forest a dead zone to any electronic sensors." Leia added.

Rey was still not set at ease. She did not have to remind Leia that Kylo Ren did not use electronic devices to find them. She had still not shared with anyone the connection that she had with Ben…with Kylo while on Ahch-To.

The bond had gone silent when she felt Luke's Light leave the Force. Snoke had said that he was the designer of the bond. But even after Snoke's death, as she fought side by side with Ben, she has still felt utterly connected to him. She was sure that if Luke was the designer of the bond that he would have told her why she needed to be connected to Kylo, but he seemed clueless until he has seen them together in her stone hut.

They finished shutting down the flight systems and she clicked the four-point harness that held her in the pilot seat. Chewie followed her and they went to address the other Resistance fighters.

Leia hung back for just a moment. Pulling something from her pocket, she turned the gold dice around in her hand for a moment before hanging them in their rightful place in the cockpit of Falcon. A single word crossed her lips, barely above a whisper, "Ben."

When they lowered the ramp, the forest was quiet…almost too quiet. Chewie barked out an order and grabbed his bowcaster, going down the ramp first.

He made a few friendly, but warning calls to any other Wookiees that might be waiting for them in the tree cover. Before too long, a response came.

"Chewbacca, is that you?"

"Lohgarra?" Chewie called back in reply.

A Wookiee with pure white fur came from behind a tree, her own weapon drawn, but lowered it when she saw her long lost friend.

Rey peeked down the ramp and saw Chewie and a pale Wookiee embracing and squawking at each other in Shyriiwook. They were communicating too fast for her to follow, but she guessed by their interaction that the Resistance were welcome on the planet.

She walked cautiously up to her hairy friend and then he started to gesturing to her and speaking even faster to the other Wookiee. "You both have to slow down, I only speak some Shyriiwook."

Having lived and worked beside a wide range of otherworldly beings, Rey was very accomplished in understanding close to fifteen languages.

Chewie called that it was safe for the rest of the crew to come off the ship and Rey yelled the command in Galactic Basic. Ten others walked off the Falcon on to the soft soil of Kashyyyk.

Leia walked up to Lohgarra and wrapped her arms around the elder Wookiee. "It has been too long my friend."

Lohgarra motioned with her arm and gave out a grunt, instructing the group to follow her.

Through a cover of thick brush came trees so large that they would dwarf a Star Destroyer ship. Winding staircases connected different levels of platforms built into the trees. On each platform stood small buildings, some no bigger than her stone hut on Ahch-To.

Survivors in need of medial attention were filtered off into a hut on a lower level, while Chewie, Leia, Rey, Poe, and Finn were ushered to a higher level. The structure was built around the truck of the tree and offered an amazing vantage point of the surrounding forest.

Rey was in awe and even gasped as she saw the bight yellow sun setting beyond the canopy. Her Force blossomed as she surrounded herself with the pure wild of the land and connected herself to the massive trees and the beings that inhabit them. She quickly reined in her Force, not wanting to send out a signal to him.

Leia translated for Chewbacca and Lohgarra since she was most familiar with the Shyiiwook language.

"What brings you to Kashyyyk?" Lohgarra asks.

Chewie quickly recaps the events of the past few weeks.

"So this is all that is left of the Resistance?"

Leia steps forward, "Yes."

"And Luke? The Jedi?"

Both Leia and Chewie look back at Rey, who was still engrossed by the view from the treetop. "It's her." Leia states with both dread and hope.

Lohgarra furrows her brow. "You may stay for a while, but we too are not equip to take on the First Order."

"We only need enough time to tend to the wounded and repair the Falcon." Rey stated, picked up on the last part of the conversation.

It was days later and Chewie and Rey were still pulling apart the Falcon, trying to find what had been pieced together by the junkers on Jakku.

Rey was working on the cockpit console and removed an access panel to get to the wires and boards behind. She had to pull at the steel sheet, cursing under her breath at the neglected ship, "What a hunk of junk..."

When the white and rusted panel gave way, she was met with a rat's nest of wires. "Maker, this is a mess," she comments to herself before attempting to determine which connectors need replacing.

At the back of the compartment there appeared to be a piece of paper. Rey reached though the maze of wires and just reached it with her finger tips.

It was a photo, folded in half and looking rather worn. On the half that she saw first was a grassy field with a forest in the background. The trees were not like the large ones on Kashyyyk, but smaller like the ones in the forest on Takodana.

The memory of Takodana came rushing back to Rey. Maz and the castle, the call from Vader's lightsaber. The visions that the Force had shown her when she touched the saber also flooded her mind, her screaming as a child, the rain stricken battle ground when the then unknown masked man in black had stalked her down, red, unstable saber drawn. The cold forest of Star Killer Base and again, Kylo blocking her every move to escape. And then there was the voice that whispered to her…what had it said? Something about the 'first steps' and she swore she heard it tell her 'It's Ben'.

Again she had to shake him from her mind as she looked at the photo. Unfolding it to the back, in neat scrip was written Tralus-15 AYB.

She now turned the photo over and was able to see the whole picture. Sucking in a breath, she almost dropped the photo to the ground. Standing in the middle of the tall grass of the field was a much younger Leia and Han. But what struck her was the boy, Ben.

He stood in-between his parent, his head only coming up to Han's mid-chest. His hair was still dark and shaggy, blowing in a wind that had cross the field just as the photo was taken. There was a carefree brightness to his eyes and the smile that he wore almost brought her to tears.

She knew it was Ben, but the shadow of a man that she knew as Kylo Ren was no where in this picture. Her chest ached in an unfamiliar way. Rey again, shut down her emotions, not wanting to set off a Force signal. She refolded the photo and slid it into her pant pocket.

In her room that night, she took out the photo again and tried to image herself in the place of Ben. What would it had been like if she had parents like Leia and Han. Kylo's voice rings her ears, 'He would have disappointed you'.

She places the photo between the pages of a book that sat next to her makeshift bed, which happened to be a padded mat that sat on the wooden planks of the floor of her hut. Her accommodations also sat on a platform over a hundred feet from the ground, she was ever thankful that she was not fearful of heights.

That night's sleep was fitful. Rey found herself in that field, feeling that warm breeze that had ruffled Ben's hair in such a childish way. But the boy with dark hair and dark eyes was no where to be seen.

"Kira!" Han called happily, and a small girl with brown hair came from the woods and ran into waiting arms.

"I found flowers, Da!" The girl said excitedly and held up a handful of white blossoms.

Han inspected the flowers and then smelled them, "Your mother will love these. Why don't you take them into her." Han placed the girl back on the ground and Rey saw the child start to run towards a wooden structure.

Rey woke with a start. She was covered in sweat and she had tears streaming down her face.

She didn't sleep for the rest of the night, opting to walk along the platforms in their tree village. Firstly wondering why Han had called her…or better yet, the girl a different name in the dream.

The field plagued her dreams almost nightly. Some times Han and Leia were there, some times it was just her. Then after being on Kashyyyk for almost four weeks the dreams changed.

On this night she was a child again, a vision of her younger self. She was playing where the field met the forest, chasing a grasshopper as it jumped from blade to blade.

Now in the shadows of the forest she laughed as she watched the little bug hop on to a tree. Then she let out a little screech. From behind the tree came a boy, maybe five years older than herself. He was dressed like the boy in the photo.

"Hey," the boy said kindly. "What are you doing?"

Rey was now pulled from inside the girls body and she was watching the interaction as if she was floating above them.

"I'm trying to catch that grasshopper," the girl stated.

The boy looked around, seeing that the insect was now much too high on the tree truck to catch. He looked back down at the girl, "I'm Ben."

"Kira," the girl answer. Again using the strange name that somehow felt familiar to Rey.

"Do you want to play?" Ben asked.

The girl smiled, reaching out and tapping the boy on the chest. "Tag! You're it!" She yelled before running out into the field.

Ben gave chase, laughing in a way that almost sounded angelic.

Rey watched, unable to move, unable to wake as the two children ran around together. Laughing, lightly tapping each other in an endless joyful game of tag.

A movement off to the left caught Rey's attention. Leia had come out of the wooden home and was calling out to the girl.

"Kira! Time for supper!"

The girl grabbed the boy's hand and together they ran for the home.

"Who is your friend?" Leia asked seeing the flushed cheeks of both children.

"This is Ben. Can he stay for supper?" The girl asked, still not dropping the boy's hand.

Leia smiled, "Sure, why don't you both get washed up."

Both children ran into the home, still hand in hand. It was only when Leia closed the door behind all of them that Rey woke.

Her heart was racing and her right hand was sweaty and warm. She quickly figured out that tonight would be another long night of walking the platforms.

Twenty-eight sleeps since his defeat on Crait. It was difficult to gauge day and night in the cold emptiness of deep space. The Supremacy had been destroyed and with it all of the evidence of his betrayal.

The Force bond with the girl had been deafeningly quiet. Kylo Ren paced in his quarters, bordering on madness. He was questioning if his current mental state was due to the constant interrogation from Hux concerning the striking down of Snoke, his new ascension to Supreme Leader, or his fear that the bond had been severed for good.

Kylo Ren ceased his movement, the thought of never seeing her again set a pain deep in his gut. He mused to himself that if she was truly gone, he would have been able to feel it, just like he had felt his mother's pain when he ran Han through.

Han, his mother…Rey. All of the pain that he had caused was raining on him and he felt the swells attempting to pull him under.

Just thinking her name, for he had not let it cross his lips since the Supremacy, caused a new flood of discomfort. He had begged, would have gone down on his knees if he thought it would help sway her to his side. But she had rejected him, just as everyone else in his hollow life had.

He needed to get out of his head, he had wasted too much of his time on the dwindling hope that the girl…his girl was still alive and that by some great mercy of the Force, their bond was still intact, but dormant.

Kylo Ren donned his new helmet and left his quarters, moving swiftly down the corridors with his awkward lumbering gait. He long black cloak flowed behind him, and he would almost look elegant, if it also didn't appear that his feet were too heavy to move properly.

Making his way to the bridge was like second nature and his legs moved of their own accord. The perfectly slicked back orangish-blonde hair of General Hux seemed to mock Kylo. Under the mask he was a mess, having not bathed or shaven in days. Outwardly he appeared to be the vision of a menacing Knight striving for revenge.

"Nice of you to join us, Ren," Hux quipped, not taking his eyes off the lights of hyper space speeding by the ships bridge porthole.

Kylo let the statement roll off him. He never had a good relationship with Hux and with Snoke gone, unable to keep Hux in check, Kylo feared what was to come of himself and the First Order.

"What is our course?" Ren asked just as flat as his breaking mind would let him. This question was loaded as he needed to know if Hux was going after the Resistance.

Hux finally turned to look at his black clad companion. "I am not sure you need to be privy to that information." Hux turned again, looking at the star maps on the display screens. "You have managed to botch every mission concerning the Resistance and High Command has lost faith in you."

His hands tighten in his black leather gloves. Kylo was attempting to not take his rage out on everyone on the bridge. Hux knew just what he was doing, choosing his words carefully, prodding at the verbal and emotional abuse they had both received in training from Snoke and Hux's father. But he also wanted to remind Hux of his power, so he reached out with the Force, just enough to provide slight discomfort.

Hux made a gagging sound and then turned to Kylo with wide eyes. When the sensation had passed, the expression of indifference returned, "If you are done with your childish tricks, I do have a job for you."

Ren turned his masked face toward Hux and cocked his head slightly to the side, intrigued.

"With Captain Phasma out of commission, the troopers need a new leader…"

"I will not lead an army of thoughtless troopers, my powers would be wasted on such a task."

Hux exhaled annoyed, "You will be selecting a new Captain." The General almost had a smile pull at the corners of his lips with the next statement, "Again, High Command does not trust you with anything remotely important to the rebuilding of the First Order."

Kylo threw back the right side of his cloak in a swift move, exposing his lightsaber. Hux had the curtsy to flinch in anticipation of Ren's next move. Normally Kylo would roll into a fit, igniting his saber and slashing and destroying the closest inanimate object. Instead, he just smirked behind his mask. Satisfied that Hux still feared him.

"Consider it done," Ren drawled out, while turning and stalking out of the bridge.

Once the automatic doors to the bridge closed behind him, his gait become more lumbering, his shoulders rolling forward just slightly. Although he was only maybe an inch taller than Hux, in his mask and boots he appeared to tower over the sniveling General.

Kylo Ren may be the new Supreme Leader in title, but Hux still controlled the troopers. If he was ever going to make changes to the First Order and have a chance of Rey ruling beside him in a New Order, he needed to pick his commanders carefully.

Back in his quarters, the mask that hid his guilt and confliction made a hissing sound as the mouth piece moved up and out, allowing Kylo to free his head of it's confines.

He removed his cowl, tunic, and undershirt before sitting on his bed and pulling his boots from his feet. Taking a band from the floating table next to the bed, he tied his hair up into a knot at the top of his head.

Sitting down on the floor in the middle of his room, he hated that he had devoted so much of his time looking for her. A few times a day, he would sit like this, in mediation, looking for her Force signature. He could no longer feel his uncle's and his mother's was faint, but there.

Was she hiding from him? Had she put up a block? How had she learned to do this? She had no teacher. Kylo worried for her, knowing how strong she was with the Force and how confusing it can be to not know how to channel that power.

His time at the academy had felt like Luke was trying to mold him into something that he was not. With Snoke, again who he was expected to be, did not fit. Now more than ever, he felt torn in two. The Light and the Dark both fought for control and he just wished for balance.

Over an hour of medication had turned up nothing. He felt Force users in the universe but none of them were her. He stood from the floor and entered the fresher to ready for bed.

Twenty-nine sleeps. Thirty sleeps. Thirty-one sleeps. Kylo felt his control slip each day without feeling her through the Force. He would practice in his mind what he would say to her, if she were to let him in. He would fall at her feet and beg for forgiveness. He would rage at her for being so foolish and reckless going back to the Resistance. He would tell her that he…that he…no he couldn't say that.

Another night of silence awaited him. At this point he felt that he was going to drown in the loneliness. Rey had told him that he wasn't alone, but in the quite of his darkened room, with no one on the ship that could possibly understand the battle that was raging within him, it was the most alone a person could ever feel.

For some reason, that night he dreamed about a holiday that he had taken with his parents when he was ten years old. It was in the Corellian System but he could not remember the name of the world that they had spent almost a month on.

This was right before his mother had gone away to handle the Black Fleet Crisis. Right before he was once again left alone with only the droids to keep him company. This was the last time they had truly been together as a family. The last time that he had felt love, hope, and fulfillment.

AN: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Let me know what you think. Your ongoing support helps me to keep writing.