Author's Note: Hello! I'm very excited about this story, and I hope you all like it. The story is inspired by the movie Hancock with Will Smith and Charlize Theron.

I was adamant on combining elements of both the SW plot and Hancock plot so that a believable marriage of the two would occur. Therefore, it's important to note that this story exists in a world all its own! If you have any questions or need any clarification, don't be afraid to ask! :)

Rated M for eventual mature content.

Hero

Chapter One

Rey had done it all. Or, just about. She climbed the steep hills of Ahch-To and hiked through the treacherous jungles of Takadona. She trekked along the endless, sweltering deserts of Jakku and swam the depths of the Silver Sea. But there was one accomplishment she had yet to achieve: reaching the peak of Junari Point.

Towering above Hanna City – capital of the beautiful and lustrous Chandrila – Junari Point was a constant reminder of Rey's "almost done it all" shortcomings. Since her very first adventure, the mountain had remained a goal perpetually dashed by her guardians. Leia said it was too dangerous, but then, she was never present for Rey's other escapades. Luke was – he was the reason she was able to visit such places as Ahch-To and Jakku. Without him, Rey was sure she'd never leave Chandrila. When Luke visited, however, he was put to work on base, and was subsequently far too busy to fulfill Leia's one requirement: that he accompany Rey on her climb. Hence, Rey's goal remained unreachable.

Until that day.

Rey appreciated everything the twin elders had done for her. Taking her, a bastard child orphaned by the Battle of Chandrila, in as an apprentice of the Resistance was nothing they had to do. It was just in their nature. After all, they were the founders of the Resistance – the only force big and brave enough to actively oppose the First Order. In addition, the Resistance's primary initiative was to recruit into the operation while aiding innocents affected by the tyrannical government. Even when they were shunned by those same, fear-driven innocents. Leia, Luke, and the Resistance made up what little good was left on Chandrila… but when it came to Junari Point, specifically, the twins were also obstacles in Rey's way. Their idea of Rey "stepping up" was vastly different from hers, and she had something to prove.

In hindsight, Rey should have known that free-climbing a mountain would risk all of her guardians' aforementioned efforts. Taking her in. Keeping her safe. Shaping her into a productive entity within the Resistance. Etcetera. But she'd waited long enough and Junari Point called to her. Ten years it beckoned, and now, it was practically singing. Begging her to come like it was waiting for her and her alone. Rey could imagine the cord that connected from her very core leading all the way up to the mountain peak. She had to see for herself where it ended.

The plan was simple. At the base of the mountain was a narrow, sandy beach overlooking the Silver Sea: the perfect safety net. A steep but traversable path led a third of the way up the mountainside. From there, she would begin to climb. Halfway up, a leveled edge jutted out beneath an overhang. She'd rest there at the midway point. Beyond, it was nothing but her hands and feet and a prayer.

Rey jogged the first length of the path, only resorting to her hands and knees when it eventually and sharply steepened. Dusting her hands with a thin layer of chalk, she took her first step up onto the wall. Then another, and another. Mere feet above the ground and she already felt free. She always did when she climbed, untethered by anything and reliant on no one but herself. It was as it always had been, even after Leia took Rey in. Old habits died hard when she had nothing and no one that was truly hers.

Half a mile from the midway point, Rey's hands began to cramp. She expected it. It'd been some time since her last climb, and the grit of the mountainside was beginning to bite into her softening callouses. Fortunately, Rey was prepared. Fishing the anchors from the small haul bag clipped to her harness, she reeled back and pounded two into the wall. Then, hoisting herself up, Rey planted one foot on each. One more anchor into the wall and Rey could hang on, alternating between resting her hands and her feet. Just a small break and she'd be ready to reach the ledge above.

The sight was breathtaking. She'd climbed high above the distant treetops of Veridian Forest and the Silver Sea stretched out behind her as far as she could see. High in the sky, the sun sent glittering fractals over the waves as they broke against the shore. Rey gripped the anchor above her head and leaned out, reaching with her free hand toward the ocean. It looked so different from when she was beneath those waves, swimming alongside the sealife. Like it was from some foggy, barely-there dream…

They say that when you're approaching death, everything moves in slow motion. For Rey, the opposite was true. The anchor at her hand slipped out of the crumbling façade, her feet fell away from the wall, and it all happened with such quickness that Rey had no time to react. No time to claw at the mountain for a handhold. How she had leaned, admiring the view, sent her into a hurtling nosedive for the ocean below… but a liar was made out of her. In the last few feet before breaking the surface – what surely would have snapped her neck on impact – time did slow. Or at least her body did. Somehow.

The cold of the water took her breath away, the empty space instantly filling with salt water. Even with the last minute, slower descent, her body spiked through the ocean to a depth where darkness overtook all light. Rey kicked with all her might, eyes set on the dim surface impossibly far above, but her lungs were already burning. She'd never make it to the light…

A plume of white burst above her, and suddenly, hands found her. Wrapped around her waist. Propelled her upward much more quickly than she could have managed on her own. The darkness fell away the higher they swam until Rey's vision was filled with blinding white and she could breathe again. They were wet, choking breaths, but air mercifully filled her lungs all the same.

The same arms that pulled her from the depths now guided her toward the beach. It was a decent swim, and as weak as she was, Rey tried her best to doggy paddle; kicked her legs; anything. "Be still," a gruff voice commanded her over the rushing in her waterlogged ears. Gratefully, Rey complied, and the grip around her tightened. When – whoever it was – was able to stand, he lifted Rey's tired body in his arms. Swaying with each step, he powered against the tide. As much as she hated sand, Rey had never been happier to feel it when he laid her against the shore.

Rey wanted so much to see the face of her rescuer. Wanted to beg him not to leave her, as startled and aching as she was. But looking directly into the sun, her vision was hazy, and each gurgling word she tried to speak produced another gush of water from her mouth. She felt her harness being pulled from her waist and her shirt ripped open with no remorse for the buttons that tore apart. Hands pressed against her sternum – their warmth heady even over the cold, soaked binding around her chest – and began working. The ministrations forced more water out, but still, Rey's lungs protested. Burned. What little air she was getting wasn't enough. And it was as if her rescuer read her mind. Foreign lips closed around hers and sweet, lifegiving breath exhaled in once. Twice. By the third time, he pressed against her sternum just once more and there was no water left to sputter out.

With her chest heaving, gulping in breath after unhindered breath, Rey couldn't stop the hot tears that sprung to her eyes. Those same warm hands lifted her head from the sand, an arm curling around her shoulders and pulling her close. His voice, deep and rough, murmured into her wet hair, "Alright. You're alright."

Rey pried her eyes open and craned her neck to finally see for herself. The man – her rescuer – had dark hair that fell in wet, glistening waves to his shoulders and deep eyes beneath thick eyelashes. His broad shoulders blocked out the sun and he glowed against it like Poseidon emerging from the sea in a blaze of glory. He didn't notice the way Rey's eyes widened or the gasp that hitched in her throat. He was too busy closing his large hand around her small, bleeding ones, just to release them and reveal perfectly healed skin.

"You're… you're…" Rey's voice was hoarse, but not so haggard that her shock went unnoticed. The man's gaze snapped back to hers, his brow furrowing. Settling her back against the sand, he took to his feet. How tall he was. How intimidating: the force user who terrorized Chandrila.

Rey recognized him. Ben Solo. How often had she seen his face in the news? Heard his story gossiped around town in hushed voices? Read his name in Most Wanted pamphlets forced into every hand by the First Order? Though she'd imagined what it was like – intimidating and exhilarating all at once – Rey had never met him in person. In fact, most people didn't, nowadays. The last time he was seen anywhere was nearly a year ago, when the incident happened…

And now, after saving her life, he was leaving without a word. It took two attempts to bring her voice back to its natural decibel, but Rey did it. She called the name most were afraid to speak.

"H-hey… Ben Solo. Don't go!"

When he stood still like that, he could have passed for anyone… save for the way he dripped, soaked by the ocean from head to toe. His black, sleeveless undershirt and matching dark pants clung to him like a second skin, but put him amid a group of construction workers and he wouldn't stand out. His stare drilled into her for just a moment before darting to and fro: everywhere but at her. Rey joined him, deducing what he was looking for. Passersby. Witnesses. Anyone with nothing to lose and everything to gain by feeding a "Ben Solo Nearly Drowns Innocent Woman!" story to the First Order.

Easing herself into a seated position, Rey shaded her eyes with a hand to her brow and peered up at the mountain. Whispered a curse under her breath. She'd nearly made it to that ledge…

"How'd you know I was there?"

Ben Solo was close again, casting a shadow over her and gesturing with his shoulder to the same place Rey studied. His question was mixed with intrigue and frustration, but Rey had questions of her own. "The ledge? You were up there?"

"Don't act like you didn't know."

Rey was on her feet now. Though her chest still ached, she mustered her own indignation to match Ben Solo's. "I absolutely did not. Who makes it their goal to seek out force users?" She spat the term with more disgust than she intended, and immediately bit her lip in shame.

Ben Solo's stare hardened, turning into slits. "You know who," he growled so low, he had to lean in, nose-to-nose, for Rey to hear it. As panicked as she felt with his proximity, he was gone as quickly as he'd come, stomping away toward the mountain base.

Flustered, Rey scrambled after him. "Hey, wait a minute!" Ben Solo didn't slow his pace, but Rey wasn't going to give up either. She'd kicked her rescuer when he was already down, which was typically not in her nature. Leia would have been ashamed. Rey swiped once and missed, just short of his pace, but caught his arm on the second try. He turned to face her with an unnerving expression. Like all he wanted was to disappear back into the shadows; back to being forgotten.

Except, he was never forgotten. No one could forget.

Rey wasn't sure what she wanted to say, now that she had his attention. Ben Solo seemed to understand, though. "Look. I was in the right place at the right time. When you fell, I followed. That's it."

Something didn't add up. "But if you thought I was after you… which I wasn't," she clarified, just in case. "Why would you save me?"

He sighed, and it was so human of him that in that moment, Rey regretted any negative thing she'd ever said about a force user, past or present. "Why wouldn't I?"

That was it. Rey had to thank him somehow, and one thing in particular came to mind. "Come with me." Ben Solo's response was to laugh incredulously, as if she'd lost her mind. Rey swatted at his bicep with a loose fist. "I'm serious. You have to let me show you my thanks. I won't flaunt you in public, I swear. Your secret's safe with me, just… come with me."

He was quiet for a long, painstaking moment, and it gave Rey hope that he was actually considering it. "Why?"

Rey smiled. "Because I think I can help you."