Chapter One: The Candle

Ben Solo-Organa was having one of those days. Last year, he and his mother, Leia Organa, buried his father, Han Solo, after he had suffered a heart attack. Throwing himself into his work wasn't helping either, as one of the writing professors of a Community College, he never convinced himself to move on. He would rarely sleep, or sleep long, choosing a lifestyle that ran off of coffee or other caffeinated drinks, though his students rarely noticed. His uncle, Luke Skywalker, the personal defence trainer for the college, had noticed the change in his nephew but was all but powerless to help. Until one day, just prior to the start of the Fall term one year, he met someone who just might turn his nephew's life around.

Luke was in the common eatery where students and instructors mingled freely. Many of that year's incoming freshmen had come to acclimate themselves to the campus and as such, every table was filled. He was eating a stew when he heard a young girl's voice "May I sit here sir?"

Looking up from his meal, Luke noticed the girl was gesturing to one of the seats at his table, "Of course young one." he replied. His warrior's instinct took over for a split second as he studied the girl. She could not have been more than a few years younger than Ben was, but more importantly, she was not armed. "Are you a student here Miss?"

The girl picked up on the question despite the noise "Kenobi, Rey Kenobi, and no, I am instructing the new Creative Writing course. What about you Mister?"

"Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, and I teach Personal Defense here." It was then that he picked up on her accent "Pardon me, I don't mean to be rude, but would you perchance be from the British Isles?"

Rey nodded. "Born and raised, but I left to see what I could make for myself away from my parents."

Luke nodded "A noble endeavour, you might check with Professor Solo-Organa later today, he is sort of regarded as the unofficial head of the Writing Department, he can show you the ropes around here."

Rey smiled with a smile that could ignite stars "I'll do that, thank you Professor Skywalker."

By this point, she had finished her food and departed. 'My God, she can brighten a room with her smile, perhaps she can help, I'll have to be subtle about it though.'

Ben's day had not been improving, several of his classes barely had the requirement to avoid termination and the coffee machine had been broken all day. This mood persisted when he heard a knock on his door; when he looked up he noticed Rey. "May I help you?" he asked.

Rey could practically feel the sourness rolling off of him, however, she was undeterred and chose to wear her usual bright smile. "Professor Solo-Organa? My name is Rey Kenobi and I am going to be teaching the Creative Writing class; Professor Skywalker suggested that I should talk to you."

Ben was so mesmerised by Rey's smile that he nearly forgot his manners. However, he quickly regained himself, "So you're the new instructor, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." With this, he rose and approached her. "I presume you were shown around the campus?" to which she nodded. "Then there is little more I can do, however, should you need help or advice, feel free to come over."

Her smile seemed to brighten, if that was possible, and she extended her hand towards him but was surprised when he performed a modest bow to her. She took that as her cue to leave and soon Ben was alone again. 'What was that?' he wondered; in a conversation lasting less than five minutes it seemed as though all of his problems vanished, and he was left with a calmer disposition than earlier that day. His introspection was cut short when his uncle walked into his room. "Ben? Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I'm not entirely certain uncle, it would appear as though I have a great deal to think about," Ben replied.

Luke studied his nephew, he could normally tell when he would be able to help or not, but Ben wasn't revealing anything. "Well, we best get home, or we'll be late for your grandparents," he said.

It was late afternoon before Ben's grandparents, Anakin and Padme Skywalker, arrived for dinner with their children and grandchild. Anakin could tell that there was something on the boy's mind and decided to see what it was, however, his gut told him to wait until Ben was alone with him. Soon though, he got his chance. Anakin and Ben were sitting on the porch, each with a cup of tea in hand when Anakin asked, "Ben, you seem distant, is everything alright?"

Ben looks at his grandfather, he knows that he should tell someone what happened, but he didn't know what the conclusion would be. Deciding that his grandfather would be able to help him, he recounted everything that happened when he spoke with Rey. To his credit, Anakin says nothing until the very end of Ben's story, he feels as though he should recognize the name of the girl, but he doesn't, but he does recognize what is going on to his grandson. "It would seem that you are suffering from a case of love at first sight."

Ben nearly laughs at his grandfather, "Grandfather I've only met her today, how can you be certain?"

Anakin strokes his beard, thinking back to a time when he was younger "Because that is precisely how I felt when I met your grandmother." It was at that point that Padme walked in "Do you remember what I said to you when we first met Padme?"

Padme wore a look of confusion for a moment before replying "Yes, you thought I was an Angel. Why do you ask?"

Anakin chuckled, much to the embarrassment of Ben "Ben is experiencing something of the same nature, just with one of his co-workers."

Padme looked at her grandson; as she did so, a smile came to her face "Follow your heart Ben, for it will never lead you astray."

Across town, there was a similar introspection taking place. Rey was thinking about Ben, she could feel that something was off with him and wanted to help, but she did not know how. Then there was that bow he executed to her when she left. She could not explain what it was that she felt when he bowed, but she knew that there was a reason behind his actions and her feelings. 'Feelings… could that be the answer?' One way or another, she suspected she would find out in the morning.

Author's Notes: I've thrown myself into Reylo, could be interesting as I currently have no impressions with The Last Jedi and my impressions of Force Awakens was that it was a good movie, but lacking in some areas *Cough Kylo Ren Cough* for this story I will more or less be discarding the fact that Kylo Ren is a thing and focusing on Ben Solo, the Workaholic. Please do review, it lets me know what I can improve on as a writer and if people actually enjoy this story.