Title: White Lie
Category: Movies » Star Wars
Author: Ziggurat Rolsovitch
Language: English
Rating: M

"The power of a glance has been so much abused in love stories, that it has come to be disbelieved in. Few people dare now to say that two beings have fallen in love because they have looked at each other. Yet it is in this way that love begins, and in this way only."
―Victor Hugo

The sandstorm continued on just as predicted and persisted on into the next day. The howling and screeching winds were occasionally joined by loud bangs against the durasteel of the rotting giant as various objects were swept up in the high speed winds and thrown about like nothing. They were nothing in the face of this powerful storm.

Furious, raging, unpredictable. Similar to The Force. Similar to him.

He had not slept. It was obvious from the way his eyes darkened, but that was his loss. When the storm ended he would just have to march out exhausted. She could normally feel his emotions, but now it was a blank slate. He had shut down to a great degree... or he had learned to shut her out. If she were to push she could get in, but she did not want to be like Kylo Ren and force her way into someone's personal thoughts.

"How long?" He asked, lips curling up on one side. A perfect picture of a snarling wolf. He was so impatient and agitated.

"I already told you. It could last for days." Rey responded carefully, waiting for him to explode and break something.

"Then-..." Taking a deep breath he forced himself to calm down. He knew losing his temper with her would not benefit him. "You should meditate on The Force in that case."

"I don't want to learn from you." Rey insisted.

"Fine! Be that way!" He growled in irritation and crossed his arms over his chest as he turned his back on her.

Rey groaned and pressed a hand over her eyes. He was such a child. Had he really thought she was going to learn anything from him and risk exposing herself to the darkside? The darkside was a terrible thing and she wanted nothing to do with it. She wondered why he insisted so much on teaching her. What was it he wanted her to learn so badly? How to be evil like him so he wouldn't have to be alone?

That was part of it. He just didn't want to be alone anymore.

These thoughts were cut short by bigger concerns once the lantern went out it was was pitch black inside their shelter.

"Not now..." She whispered quietly and carefully inched towards where the lantern had been, but the darkness made it difficult. She had no idea where she was going.

"He had a bad habit of not replacing the power cells." He stated in the darkness and then she heard the shift of fabric as he moved and she wasn't sure if she should begin to worry. "Hand it here."

"You said the power cell is dead... if you're right there is no fixing it." Rey finally got her hands on it and tapped the side several times, hoping to get something out of it. Being stuck in the dark would make this stay much more unpleasant than it needed to be.

"No. Hand it here." He repeated, growing impatient.

"Fine." She tossed it towards his voice, partially hoping that it would hit him in the head and maybe knock a little sense into him. From the sound, or lack there of... there was no such luck. The Force was on his side after all. "What do you plan to-"

She was cut off at the sudden blue spark of light, once, twice, a third time and then the light returned leaving her to eye him wearily.

"There."

"How did you do that?"

"You said you didn't want to learn from me." When he didn't answer the way she wanted she searched his mind and watched him scowl in response as he felt her pressing around his thoughts. Persistent.

"Force Lightning? That really would have been useful in the past." Rey sighed as she thought about all the times she'd needed the extra jolt of power but never had it. "But it's forbidden for the Jedi."

"You have feelings for me." He stated very matter-of-factly and Rey glared at him as if he had insulted her somehow. He had in a way. How dare he use something like that to try and justify using the dark side of The Force. "This is also forbidden for a Jedi... and yet... you-"

"It isn't my fault that you dug into my mind!" Rey defended. "Of all people why was it us to form a bond like this?"

"Because you are not a Jedi... not yet... Jedi do not form such connections because of their discipline, but you had no such training... you were not guarded against it and ultimately because The Force is never wrong. This... what's between us. It's the will of The Force."

A moment of silence passed and he tilted his head to the side in a way that reminded her of a puppy expecting a treat. Was he still really waiting for her to give in and ask him to be her teacher? But then these skills could be very useful. This one in particular. She thought perhaps he was right to a degree. There was a darkness in her that had allowed Snoke into her mind to tempt her to kill him on Starkiller, but she had not given into it. So long as she did not give into darkness it was fine wasn't it?

"Fine... teach me then."

"Don't tell Luke..."

Rey scoffed at his words. "As if you're afraid of Luke."

"No. But he will make sure I never teach you again." As he said this he made his way over to her, but he didn't stay within her line of sight. Instead he made his way behind her and set a hand over hers.

"The only one who gets to decide who teaches me anything is me so I'd suggest you don't push your luck." She decided to give him a warning, because she was unsure of his true intentions.

"I've finally gained the chance to teach you something what makes you think I would jump to ruin it?" His hand closed over hers and exhaled slowly. "You're so tense. Relax."

"I'm training to become a Jedi... you're the Jedi Killer... relaxing under these circumstances is hardly easy."

"I'm not going to kill you, Rey." He relaxed himself to try and rid her of her tension. "The Force is everywhere. The electricity... it's already there. In the air. All around. You just have to gather it."

"Maybe this isn't a good idea... it's evil." She felt a little sensation deep in her stomach that she couldn't describe and wondered if this meant that she shouldn't be doing this.

There was a moment of silence before he countered her argument.

"No. None of the powers granted by the Force are inherently good or evil."

Rey took a breath and tried to force herself to remain calm as difficult as that might be. She closed her eyes and searched thoroughly, catching his burning presence and the static in the air. There was so much life in The Force. It was everywhere. Overwhelmingly so. She could feel it just as he had said and she gathered it at her fingertips, but only a small spark appeared. It seemed... lacking.

"That's force lightning?"

"Mm. It's a facsimile." He took a step back from her. "The Jedi believe it is a manifestation of your anger and your hatred twisting the Force into an expression of your emotions and that those that use it reject compassion."

"Is it?"

"Did you use it in anger or hatred?"

She frowned faintly and glanced down for a moment to consider his words. The more time she spent with him the more difficult it became to hate him as a monster, because he knew exactly how to explain himself, but she thought that perhaps this was just another trick of a Sith and he was trying to get her onto his side.

"Is this a trick to turn me to the dark side?" She brought her gaze back up and met his eyes so that she could try and gauge if he was lying to her considering he was keeping her firmly locked out of his mind.

"That doesn't benefit me in any way. I want you to join me by your own choice. Not based off of a deception." That was much more than what he had been given. All his life he was feed lies and deceptions and he had no intention of doing the same to her.

This was where their conversation ended. She had nothing else to respond with. This situation. Him. It was just too complicated. The rest of the time went by in the same silence until she grew weary and decided it was time to rest. There was nothing else to do other than rest up for the journey back when the storm died down.

Rey jolted awake at a sudden searing pain deep within in her side and quickly opened her eyes, expecting to find Kylo Ren there above her with his saber through her side, but he was not there and she was alone. She carefully glanced up towards the far end of the AT-AT and found him sitting there in front of the mirror with the light on and the top of his robes shed.

It was hard to tell exactly what he was up to but she didn't trust him, not until she felt that pain again and watched as he doubled over and slammed a hand down into the sand. She felt it all at once. How very tired he was. The burn of his fever. The ache of his wound. It seemed that he had been been hiding it from her all this time. Within his mind that was now unguarded from exhaustion everything was exposed. He had been using the Force to suppress his fever. He had not defeated it. She should have suspected that no one, not even Kylo Ren could defeat a fever in a day.

He was stronger than she gave him credit for. Strong enough to take that slash to the face, the one that trailed down his neck from his collarbone and then down his shoulder. She never realized how much damage she had done in the heat of the moment. She seemed to recall injuring his leg as well.

She got up and approached him cautiously and once she was close enough she eyed the wound in his side. That blaster wound. Mostly healed from bacta, but he had not spent enough time to cure such a very deep wound and it had been reopened. Something else was wrong here. It shouldn't look that bad.

"The Akk dog bit you..." She acknowledged and he jumped in surprise, having not been able to detect her through his pain.

"Leave me alone..."

"Just let me see-"

"I said leave me alone!" He snapped and this only earned him another jolt of pain that had him curling into himself.

"I for one don't feel like getting sick again because of you so I suggest you let me look after it." Her tone left no room for argument and his jaw dropped, giving away how genuinely surprised he was that she wouldn't back off and leave him alone even when he had taken such a tone with her.

His temper had always been his go to when he wanted people to leave him alone and it had always worked, but she was having none of it. Stubborn. She was stubborn.

He dropped his bloodied hand away from the wound in silent consent as he gritted his teeth and glanced away from her. She knew that he did not want the help, but this was not just for him. It was for her. She could not afford to grow ill through their bond if he went downhill from this.

Rey sighed and opened a small compartment that she kept hidden supplies in case she were raided while she was out scavenging. It held limited medical supplies that she had gathered over time.

"This weakness... must go..." He stated and brushed a hand over the injury, digging his fingers into the wound with a grimace. The tinge of pain was only half his pain, but she scowled at him and slapped his hand away from it.

"Stop." She sat in front of him and took in the extent of the wound. It was obvious it had been deeper and healed to a degree, but the strain he had put on it only took him back several steps. It was almost as if... he didn't want it to heal. As if... this last reminder of Han Solo he wanted to stay. He did. It was on purpose. "I don't have access to bacta. So you'll have to just put up with this lowly primitive form of medicine."

He scoffed at her as she poured water over the wound to clear it out and with a wince she took a hold of the sharp, white canine and pulled it free with some effort. The Akk dog tooth was a decent size and unfortunately was not alone. She had to pull two more because she reached back into her medical box and retrieved a needle and thread.

"Are they poisonous?"

"What?" His voice came across confused.

"The Akk dogs... are they poisonous?"

"No, but they like blood." It explained why they had gone for the wound.

"I suppose you would have died by now if they were... you were already in bad shape." Threading the needle she considered the best way to go about this. He was not going to like this at all and she had to be careful that he didn't snap again. Taking a breath she brought it to the wound and pressed it into the skin and out the other side to begin the process of closing the wound up.

His shoulders raised a little as he inhaled and held his breath. She was glad that it was not the reaction she was expecting. He was actually quite calm. She raised her gaze a moment when she felt a tinge of pain herself.

"Sorry." He had been trying to suppress it within their bond so that she could work in peace, but he was slipping up now and then. This did not stop her from progressing and he realized that she must have been forced to tend her wounds like this multiple times and was used to the pain of a needle. Being a scavenger was dangerous.

"You should teach me how to block you out instead." She said quietly as she carefully finished up and tied the ends up neatly from much experience.

With a sigh Rey glanced back up at him. His body looked strong still despite being ill. She still recalled the years she watched him work very hard to make his body this strong. He would practice every day for hours. She had always admired how strong he was. It had made her feel safe back then, but now... not quite so much. She was afraid of him over powering her now with pure physical strength.

She lifted her gaze up towards the mirror situated directly behind him and noticed in the reflection how torn his back was. She recognized these sort of scars. They were similar to the kind Nimma Outpost slaves had. Lightwhips were cruel inventions. It made her sick to the stomach to think about it.

"You... you're no better than a slave."

"I'm nobody's slave." He snapped and tensed up visibly.

"Yes, you are. Why would you serve him if he treats you like that?"

"The Supreme Leader is wise. He understands that with pain comes strength and that failure must be punished."

"The 'Supreme Leader' lied to you." Rey snapped back and his jaw clenched tightly as a sprung bear trap, but it was not something he could refute. The Supreme Leader had lied to him. He had trusted him when he had nobody else and Snoke had lied. Just like everyone else. She didn't wait for him to say anything and taped a bandaged over the fresh stitches. "It will keep the sand out. Don't take it off and don't scratch at it anymore."

"The Supreme Leader..." He groaned audibly and placed a hand over his eyes. It felt like he had slipped and fallen into a deep, dark hole and he couldn't find his way out of it.

"Try and sleep..." She said carefully and decided to continue their game of avoidance. She could tell that he was in no mood for further conversation. They kept running into this brick wall it seemed.

She made her way back to her bed and sank into it wearily. That should have been the end of it. It should have been easy to fall asleep, but here she was lost in thought when she should be sleeping. Rey glanced up at the ceiling... or... the side of durasteel that made up the ceiling... and tried to count the lines in it, but that did nothing to help. She rolled over carefully and tried to sleep on her side.

This also was of no help. she closed her eyes and thought about the ocean, but it only reminded her of all the times she had done that before. All alone in this AT-AT in the middle of the desert waiting for her parents while she was left in agonizing loneliness.

She wasn't alone now.

With a bit of apprehension she turned over again and watched him from across the room. He had not moved from his place this entire time. It was too cold for this. She bit her lip as she added up her options. There were not many. It was just too cold.

"It's cold." She voiced her thoughts and he only raised a brow without sparing a glance at her and she sighed deeply. "It's too cold."

"And...?"

"We'll freeze to death in the night." It was just fact. It had nothing to do with the fact that she couldn't sleep.

"How exactly have you survived these cold nights on your own?" His voice came across as skeptical.

"For one I never had to share my extra blankets with a stranger." This was also fact. If she had those she would be fine, but he would freeze if she took them. His wound would see to that.

"I'm a stranger?"

That was the word that he chose to focus on? It shouldn't have been such a big deal, but she felt it was. There was a certain sort of tinge she felt in regard to her words. It almost hurt, but this feeling was not her own.

"Just... get over here."

The silence took over again and she thought that he was just going to continue ignoring her and stay in his own corner as he had the night before, but he surprised her for once and grabbed the blankets he had and slowly made his way over to her. There was a moment he stopped inches from her and seemed to consider this. It did not last much longer as he draped the blankets over her. She sat up partially and eyed him wearily. Was he just going to walk away and get himself killed?

It seemed that he was really considering it, but then he shifted onto the makeshift bed and made a face. It was hardly as comfortable as what he was used to, but he grabbed a corner of the blanket and settled himself in it. This left them in an even more awkward position than before as he turned his back to her so he didn't have to look at her. He didn't want to face her at all.

That silence was back and she was beginning to hate it.

"Where do you go?"

"What?" His voice was filled with irritation this time. There were various things that he was angry about.

"When you can't sleep at night... you know where I go... where do you go?" She knew that she should leave him alone. Turn around and try and sleep. Not engage him in conversation, but she couldn't stand the memories this place held.

"I would have to show you." He took a breath and held it, considering his next move. "Do you want me to put you to sleep?"

"This... isn't a trick?"

"No... here..." He left his mind open to search his intent and found nothing other than a sincere want to help her find the rest that eluded her. He reached a hand out and lightly grazed her temple with the tips of his fingers and that was all it took.

Rey found herself somewhere else entirely. It was a seemingly endless field of golden rye, gently swaying in the breeze and a hill with a single tree was the only thing to see. She slowly held out a hand and lightly brushed the soft ends of rye as she made her way up the hill and stopped beneath the tree. There in the distance there was an end. A deep, dark forest. Erie almost, but here was safe from there.

Here was... beautiful. Here was familiar. She sensed his presence nearby, behind her, but she didn't turn.

"You dreamed of the Academy when you couldn't sleep..." She remembered these fields and their time spent here as children. It was his safe place. "I never thought... your mind could go to such a beautiful place."

"Almost." His whispered voice drew closer. "The darkness is always lingering."

"But you managed to hold onto it."

"If The Supreme Leader had learned of this place's existence..." A pause and then his eyes scanned over the dark forest. "He isn't here..."

It was a sudden epiphany.

"He...?"

"He isn't here. He hasn't been... not since..." He didn't continue that sentence and instead sighed. "Enjoy your time here. It's quiet. Nothing unpleasant will pry it's way in. I promise."

With that he left her to dream in peace. This was the least he could do. He was very familiar with sleepless nights and if he could change that for her he would. Snoke could frown upon his actions and his compassion, but Snoke was not here. He had abandoned him. Lied to him. He sighed quietly and pushed those thoughts far from his mind. It was just too much to comprehend at this time. Later a decision would have to be made he knew. A break in the road was coming.

He lightly trailed his fingers along her cheek and then back up to brush her hair away from her eyes in sleep. Carefully he shifted and leaned over her partially, taking in her face and the peaceful expression there. He carefully drew his hand away and then pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. A brief exchange that she would never know about.

"Sleep well, Rey..." His voice just barely above a whisper. He turned his back to her then and curled into himself to try and gain the rest that he himself needed to keep up with the journey they were to undertake.

Rey awoke to silence. Silence. She sat up and glanced towards the ceiling and waited for something. Anything, but there was nothing. Not a sound. That must mean the storm had finally passed and they could leave.

She quickly got up and went to the door, pushing the heavy durasteel open to find that outside was clear. The storm had finally passed.

"We can leave." She informed, but she received no answer and glanced back at him. He hadn't moved from that spot yet. In fact he hadn't moved all night. For a moment she stood there, watching, holding her breath as she waited to see if he was still breathing or if he had died during the night from his wounds. "Ben?"

But then no. She realized that had he died she would have undoubtedly felt an emptiness somewhere inside of her, because she felt his presence so clearly within herself that she knew that he was okay. She wouldn't say fine. He was still sick and he was wasting his energy trying to suppress his illness with the force. He couldn't keep doing it or he was going to die.

A low sigh left him. Irritated if she didn't know any better.

"Leave me here."

"What?"

"Leave me. I already know that if I should go back with you... you'll hand me over to the resistance."

"You won't survive out here. Not with a wound like that. You don't have a choice." Rey responded uneasily. She didn't want to have to fight him again.

A moment of silence before he slowly shifted and stood up. She was relieved that she wouldn't have to fight him over this. It wouldn't be a pleasant battle. She gathered up the bag and the parts they needed and there on the shelf the rag doll. The rebel pilot from her parents. The one that Ben had saved for her.

Maybe there was something good left in him.

They started the trek back across the desert towards their ship. It seemed to take forever because he was wounded and he was trailing behind a bit. She had to stop and wait every now and then for him to catch up. Of course she could tell he absolutely hated that she had to stop for him, but he didn't say a word.

Finally they arrived at the Falcon and she hurried up the ramp with the parts.

"I have what we need."

"Well done, Rey." Luke came around the corner on a set of crutches with his leg securely bandaged up with the aid of his wookie friend.

It made her grimace a bit. The strong, powerful and fearless Luke was like a crippled old man now. For some strange reason she felt a tinge of hurt in her chest at seeing him like that. She wondered if that meant that Luke was beyond being able to teach her. If he couldn't teach her then... how would she learn?

As if on cue Ben stumbled through the door and he immediately dropped down onto the couch and let out a breath.

"I'm going to get to work on those repairs." Rey informed and Chewie offered her some help, which she gratefully accepted. She would feel much better if he would help when he knew the most about this freighter.

"Look at you... you're old and broken... even like this... I could beat you and make my escape." Ben stated in a low tone. "I'll return to my master..."

"Ben..." Luke began. "Has Snoke really groomed and manipulated so well into thinking that he genuinely cares about you? You heard what Rey said. She can't lie through your bond so you know it to be true. The second there was a stronger force sensitive he thought he could manipulate Snoke was completely willing to sacrifice you. What does that say for your future with him?"

When Ben stood Luke prepared himself for him to lose his temper and break something, but instead of that Ben stormed off past him into the ship somewhere he could be alone. Artoo let out a sad little beep.

"Try now." Rey called across the ship as she adjusted the piece and then stepped back a safe distance while Chewie made an attempt to start up the Falcon. Unfortunately the it only sputtered a little and Rey let out a sigh. Of course. She should have suspected it was going to take more than that to fix. This freighter was old after all. Just as she was about to return to her work she sensed that familiar burn nearby and quickly glanced towards the doorway. Ben stood there as awkwardly as ever and slowly approached the engines.

He raised a hand and flipped a switch on and then off again and that was all it took for the ship to roar to life.

"Still a piece of garbage..." He muttered under his breath.

"That was it? You just had to turn it off and back on again?" Rey was a little dumbfounded that actually worked. Chewie started the ship and with a shuddery start it took off safely away from the ditch.

"Well... the next option was to kick it." His lips quirked up faintly. A small smile that didn't quite reached his eyes. But fixing this piece of trash was hardly what he was here for. Instead he made his way over to a hatch and opened it up to retrieve a box. He opened it up to reveal a few bottles.

"What's that?" Rey questioned him cautiously as she took a step closer.

"Kolto." He responded as lifted his shirt up and bit into it to hold it with his teeth and keep his hands free to opened up one of the bottles. He dipped his fingers into it to gather up a liberal amount then pressed it deeply into the torn and jagged wound on his side.

"You already ripped out the stitches?" It was frustrating to her and even more so when his only reply was a non-committal grunt. She reached over and snatched the bottle from his hand which only served to irritate him further, but he relented and released the shirt and held it up with a hand instead. "Is it like bacta?"

"Sort of." He grimaced and shivered a little when he felt her hands apply the cold substance against his wound. Much more carefully than he had, but he didn't want a careful touch he needed the pain. "Kolto is a natural. Bacta is a synthesized."

"Does this work better?" She asked.

"Some people think so..." Despite the fact that he had been working on a mental border she could tell exactly what his thoughts were. It was in the way he clenched his fist and the way his jaw tightened. It was building until it poured over. "Stop... stop taking care of me."

"You're forgetting that we share this bond. If you hurt I hurt. Like it or not." She glanced towards the box and noticed smaller packets. Clean bandages. She grabbed one and tore it open to apply this to his side next. "I know why you're doing it... but punishing yourself... making it hurt for your father dying... it doesn't change anything."

"I thought we agreed to stay out of each others head." He snarled and pulled away from her to get to his feet and create distance. "Would you like it if I pry into yours again?"

"Try it. You're not the only one that can build walls." Rey was so confident that his expression faltered and he seemed completely shocked that she had become so sure of herself. He had no idea what to respond to that with. "I heard you... talking to Luke... you'll really go back to Snoke?"

"You both make it seem as if I'm a child being forced to act. I made a choice." The last thing he wanted was for them to pretend that he had not chosen this for himself.

"Under false pretenses. Even though you know that Snoke was pretending to be your grandfather all along you're still going to... to return to him? He wanted me to kill you and take your place."

"I can't go back. It's too late for me."

"Do you want to go back?"

"I don't know what I want." His voice broke despite himself and he glanced away from her, but not before she caught the glint of tears building in the corners of his eyes. This conflict inside of him was destroying him.

"Just come home..." She knew it wasn't going to be that easy, but he didn't argue with her like she thought he might. Instead he just looked defeated. Like he had completely given up any fight that might have been in him.

"Okay." A reluctant answer, but he knew he had little choice. Deep down he knew that one way or another it was over. Everything that he had believed in had come crumbling down all over again. He had little choice in the matter, but there was one thing that he did know even through all of this. He would never come to call the Republic home ever again.

The ship gave a jolt suddenly. They had company again. Those bounty hunters didn't give up easily, but then again on a bounty that large who would give up easily? As a scavenger Rey knew that she could never pass up a chance on a piece of scrap that was worth a week's portion.

With that thought in mind she quickly turned and hurried to the cockpit to try and figure out exactly what was going on and if she could help.

"You might want to take a seat." Luke gave her the warning just as the ship jolted once more in Chewie's attempt to avoid a few shots aimed to disable the ship. "Oh. We'll have to go through. We can't risk them following us to the resistance base, but it will be dangerous..."

Rey glanced up to find the reason for Luke worry. A thick asteroid field in front of them. It seemed impossible to get through. At least for the average person.

"I can get through it." Ben's voice came from the entrance and all eyes turned towards him in disbelief.

"How can I trust you won't fly us back into First Order territory?" Luke asked.

"I think Chewie would rip my arms off before I had a chance." He responded and Luke nodded in acceptance of the answer. He set a hand on Rey's shoulder as he passed her to the pilot's seat. "Strap in, kid this rid is going to get bumpy."

Rey was not convince of his piloting skills and so she wasted no time quickly strapping herself into the seat. She could probably make it through that, but he might have more experience flying than she did. She would relent just this once. His comment made no difference to her, but it had Luke raising a brow. For him it was almost like a memory from the past.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Luke commented.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing, uncle." Ben remarked dryly, before exhaling and pushing forward the throttle. He knew he could do this. He knew he could get them out of this mess of a situation.

Despite the risk the bounty hunters were daring and they took the risk of following them in after only a slight hesitation. The chase was on and he jerked the controls to the side to move around a group of rock which was promptly blasted apart by a few rockets that had been intended for their engines.

It was a small success because the bounty hunters had to deal with the broken chunks slamming into the hull of their ship, but ultimately they got out of it and kept on their tail. It was a high risk.

"Ben..." Luke inhaled sharply when they narrowly missed being completely smashed between two rocks.

"I could sleep my way through it." He responded just as he cut the engines. Chewie let out a cry, Artoo screeched and Rey covered her eyes with her hands.

"BEN!"

"I've got it." He quickly reached over and slammed a hand down on the hyper-drive and the next thing visible was the sudden jolt of the Falcon somehow narrowly avoiding the hunk of rock moving into the line of view which had successfully cut off the bounty hunter ships from getting a line on them.

That was it. They had made it through and successfully prevented the bounty hunters from following them. Although it was incredibly reckless to activate hyper-drive in the middle of an asteroid field he had somehow successfully done it.

There was a moment of silence and then for some inexplicable reason Luke threw back his head and started laughing. It was contagious and soon enough all them were laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation... and at how they had beat the odds. A peaceful, humorous moment among a fast paced moving world was rare, but this was one of those moments.

It was this moment that made Rey realize that this was what she had been missing. Her parents might be dead, but this was her family. these people. It also made her realize how much she wanted him back. She wanted him to come back to their family. She wanted him to fight by her side, because if she didn't have to do all of this alone... if she could do this with him at her side... maybe she wouldn't be so scared.

As if sensing those thoughts he briefly glanced back at her. An unspoken exchange. Yes. He did know but instead of saying anything he slowly stood up and left the cockpit. It left Chewie to take over piloting. They would be at the resistance base soon... and then she was unsure of what was going to happen to him. Surely nothing good.

There was nothing to do other than to sleep through the trip and so she stood up and retired for the rest of the trip.

TBC