Now

Rey stood awkwardly in a secluded corner, away from the crowd. It was her first time attending a funeral and she barley knew anyone here. Most of them were members of the resistance. She had arrived with Luke Skywalker, but separated from him when he reunited with his sister. Her heart broke at the sight. There were no words exchanged between them, but their embrace spoke volumes. She then decided to retreat, and give them privacy.

A smile then graced her lips. Never in a million years, would she have believed that she would be in the presence of a man she once thought was a legend. Her first encounter with the Jedi Master was brief, but sufficient enough for her to know that he disliked to be called by that title. She was rather grateful; it felt odd for her to call anyone her master, though she knew it was only a rank set by the long gone Jedi Order. It wasn't like she was officially his Padawan, but there was this silent agreement that they will soon head there.

Rey turned around to scan her surroundings, and what she witnessed made her entire body go numb. Kylo Ren was standing right in front of her. She closed her eyes, hoping this would rid her mind of its delusions. And yet he was still there, when she opened them again. He was standing in an empty corner shielded by a large pillar, and seemed to be observing the crowd ahead. After the shock receded she felt rage take over. Was he here to gloat over his achievement? Or was he guilt ridden? Either way he had no right to be here. What angered her most is how he didn't even put much effort to conceal himself. She made to approach him when she felt a hand on her arm.

"It's not what you think." Poe Dameron said.

She furrowed her brow willing for him to elaborate.

"That's Bail Solo" He started. "His twin brother." She noticed the way he refrained from saying his name.

"But this doesn't make sense." She turned back to look at the alleged twin, but the spot was now empty. "Where was he through all of this?"

She couldn't believe he would only make an appearance at his father's funeral. Where was he when the resistance needed him? Where was he when his own family needed him?

"I wasn't the only one looking for Luke Skywalker, you know." He said.

She nodded in understanding. Her eyes turned back to the crowd. She sometimes forgot how many people were involved in this. Rey still couldn't grasp the idea that she was now part of a big movement. Her mind only registered the endeavors that united her with Finn, Chewbacca and Han Solo. She hated how her body goes rigid whenever she remembers the name.

Han Solo.

An image of a glaringly red lightsaber impaling his chest immediately infiltrated her mind. He shouldn't be remembered like this, but she couldn't shake it.

"It's about to begin." Poe's voice pulls her back to her surroundings. He gestures towards the clearing in front of them. She could see the crowd huddled in a circle; but she couldn't spot any familiar face. She wondered what they were gathered around, as there was no way to obtain Han's body. Rey followed Poe as he approached the circle, as she neared it didn't seem as claustrophobic as it seemed from where she was standing before. She was content with the spot she found at the back, but Poe gestured for her to follow him to the front.

"General's orders." He explained, giving her his signature smirk.

She felt like she was an intruder, and at the same time she felt like had as much right to be there as any of them. Her uneasiness dissipated when General Leia greeted her with a warm welcome. She tensed again when she moved away, as Kylo Ren's twin brother was standing beside his mother, and an unknown girl had her head on his arm her hands entwined in his. She couldn't will her mind to accept the intimate scene in front of her. It was too bizarre for someone with the face of Kylo Ren, to display such tenderness. But when she saw his face again, she felt foolish for letting her previous violent impulses take over. She had forgotten a very important detail, because there was no way that Kylo Ren would still look this way, not after the gash she left on his face. In that moment she wished more than anything for it to leave a permanent scar as ugly as that monster was inside.

"I don't think we have been formally introduced."

Rey pulls away from a conversation she was having with one of the resistance fighters. He extends his hand towards her, and after a moment of hesitation she takes it.

"So you are the little girl who took down my brother." Bail Solo declared, before pulling her hand to his lips.

"I wouldn't call myself a little girl."

He smirked when he saw how her cheeks warmed.

"Care to say how you managed to pull it off?" He finally let go of her hand, and he could see how that relieved her. "Especially since you have only just started to dab into the force?"

"Is this an interrogation or an introduction?" She crossed her arms. "I didn't even get your name."

"Oh you know my name." Bail shrugged. "And your name." He stressed the words. "Well let us just say it is a name everyone should know by now, little ray of sunshine."

"Would you stop with the nicknames?"

"How did you do it?" He said it again, his voice sullen this time.

"Why is it so important for you to know?"

"Because my brother went easy on you and I want to know why."

"Are you implying that I'm not capable to fight?" Her hands balled into fists.

"I know his strength." Bail said. "And there is no way he would be beat down by someone inexperienced in battle."

"First of all, he was already injured." Rey began, her voice laced with an agitated tone. "Chewbacca struck him with a bowcaster after he-" She paused, but continued when Bail motioned for her to go on. "And it wasn't just me and him. Finn went against him first."

"Who's Finn?"

"It is a name everyone should know by now." She said, throwing his words back at him. There was a hint of pride in her voice, but he could see sadness ebbing its way into her eyes. "He is the bravest person I know."

"What happened to him?"

"He was gravely injured." She whispered. "I'm not sure if he can even walk again."

"Oh" He said as recognition dawned on him. "Isn't he that Stormtrooper who defected from the First Order?" He said in a condescending tone.

He heard about him from Poe as he explained how he was able to get away from the clutches of the First Order.

"He was." She stressed the last words. "And don't ever try to belittle him front of me again." She gave him her most menacing look.

"Relax sunshine." Bail raised his hands in mock surrender. "I'm just stating the facts."

"Says the brother of dictator." She looks at him straight in the eyes. "Facts hurt when it concerns family, doesn't it?"

"My brother abandoned us, he has no family left." His voice went stale.

"His wife would beg to differ." Rey scoffed.

"What did you say?" He hissed.

"Well his wife does count as family, right?" He searches her eyes and he sees genuine confusion plastered on her face. "I still can't believe how she agreed to be with him, let alone marry him." She added as if she were talking to herself.

"He doesn't have one." He insisted.

"You don't know." She said as if she had come to a realization.

"That's not possible." He said. "Was she at Starkiller base?" He pressed.

"Well I saw her." She began. "Just never actually met her."

"I'm not in the mood for games, sunshine." He glared at her.

"I happened to get into your brother's mind." She explained. "I saw her there."

He looked absolutely shell shocked.

"I don't think she was at Starkiller base though."

"Do you know which planet she was at?"

She shakes her head.

"Think harder, is there anything that stands out there? Any monument?"

"The only thing that stands out to me is that there was a lot of green."

He grabbed her hands pulled her away to a more secluded corner. She shoved him away.

"What's the matter with you?" She hissed.

"You need to show me." His jokes were gone and she could feel the urgency in his voice. "Use the force and show me what you saw." He took her hand and put it on his temple.

"I have never done that before." She stammered, surprised by the contact.

"Then it'll be easier if I get into yours-" But she didn't let him continue. Rey violently pulled her hand away from his forehead.

"No." Her voice shook. "I prefer it if I showed you. Teach me."

"He has got into your mind hasn't he?" He asked, and it was the first time he conveyed such gentleness in his tone. She ignored his question, but her weary eyes gave him his answer. "May I?" he gestured for her hands.

She nodded and put her hands on his forehead.

"Okay sunshine" She makes a disapproving sound and starts to pull away. "Okay okay, no more nicknames." He stifles a laugh. "Now, I want you to close your eyes."

Before

"So where do you come from?" She asked him as he looked at the stream ahead. It took him a beat before he answered "Tatooine."

"Tatooine." She repeated sympathetically.

"It's not so bad" He turned to her. "Not as bad as everyone makes it seem at least"

"I have never been anywhere else."

"Never?" He asked, and this is the first time she saw a genuine reaction out of him.

"Never set a foot on a ship."

He looked back at the stream and there was another moment of silence. She has never been around anyone who was as quiet as him. And yet somehow, the silence between them was always calming, and she didn't feel the need to fill it.

"Maybe one day I can show you." He declared.

"You would?" She squealed like a child.

"I owe you" He smiled. "It's the least I can do."

"Deal." She smiled back. "Well Mister I have seen everything, I need to get going." She adjusted the hem of her dress as she started to stand.

"Wait." He stood up to face her, his tall frame towering her. "You haven't given me your name."

"It's Erien."

"Erien." He repeated absentmindedly. "What's your last name?" He added.

"I don't have one." She murmured. Curiosity was evident in his eyes, so she spoke again before he could question her. "But since you brought it up, what's your last name?"

He didn't shy away from her, but his eyes give him away. He doesn't like the question. She was about to shrug it off when he answered her.

"Skywalker."

"Ben Skywalker." She said his name like it was a melody. "I like that." She smiled, before turning away.