Chapter 7: Coup D'é·tat

Something had changed.

Rey was certain of that much at least. She had gone from months of not speaking to her bond mate to having at least one daily conversation with him. He was easier for her to speak to than Chewie and, at times, a welcomed escape from her burden. The Resistance was still rebuilding, still forming anew and she was the one holding together the delicate web of pilots, spies, medics, and other rebels. As the last known Jedi, she was seen as their pillar of hope.

But she wasn't the last Skywalker.

No, that title belonged to Ben. It belonged to the man she had seen as their last hope, who she still believed had the power to end this needless war and bring balance to the Force. It belonged to the man she had been secretly conversing with. A man who, by all others accounts, was the enemy.

Rey had told him she could sense the conflict within him. Over the past several days, it has lessened, while her own had grown. After they had fought side by side in Snoke's throne room, she had been sure he would return to the light with her. She had seen it. But the more she thought about her vision, the more conflicted she felt.

Unlike the visions she had when she first found Luke's lightsaber, when she had seen Ben it had been more of a feeling than a detailed dream. Was that the reason they had conflicting visions? Because their path wasn't set?

She sighed, unsure what to believe. So she handled her uncertainties in her typical manner, throwing herself into repairs on the Falcon. Chewie had flown with her enough to know when she needed her space. Unless she disappeared for a day or more some where in the belly of the ship, he wouldn't disturb her.

In an odd way, the Wookie has become a surrogate father to her in ways Plutt, Han, and Luke had all failed. While he was not the longest standing male figure in her life, he was the most consistent. He had taught her more about the ship, was patient with her training, and had been supportive of her plan to venture on board the Supremacy to retrieve Ben. They had never spoken about her failure on the latter. And Rey was grateful for it.

As torn up as she was about Ben Solo, she imagined it was far worse for Chewbacca. Having known Ben since before he was born, her co-pilot had a different perspective on the new Supreme Leader. Despite her curiosity, she had never asked. Instead, it was added to the list of painful topics they had wordlessly agreed not to discuss.

It wasn't long after she started, she feels the signs of the bond opening. She can multitask so she doesn't bother to stall in her efforts.

Ben raises his eyes. She can imagine how she must be appearing to him. Wherever he is, she is either floating or he has found her lying on the floor, reaching up with a wrench in hand.

"Rey?"

"I'm fixing the sensor dish," she informed him.

It explained her awkward position. It didn't explain how she was there with him again or why they could see and or hear different things from each other's surroundings. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to what the Force allowed them to experience. Rey felt it, as Ben reached out, tentatively. He was afraid if he pulled too tightly on their connection, she would shut him out again. The Force flowed between them unhindered. It felt natural...right. It was as if it had always been there, long before the Starkiller base, long before they had met on Takodana.

As quickly as he had reached out towards her through the bond, he stopped himself.

"If you check under the far left-side panel, it's probably the valve on the underside."

She did as he had instructed, already knowing what she will find. He was correct. It was an easy fix and she was thankful for his insight. It would save her hours of troubleshooting the outdated components.

"Thank you."

He nodded, his face resigned. He didn't seem to be in a particularly talkative mood today. She didn't push. When he was ready to tell her (if he was ready to tell her) what was on his mind, he would. Their unspoken truce was still in affect and she didn't want to break it to satisfy her interest. But she was interested. She wanted to know more about him — what he did with his days, if he regretted killing his master, if he was interested in her.

The last part had her pausing. She flinched when the wires in her hands cross, unintentionally shocking herself. The slip-up didn't go unnoticed by Ben.

"Rey?"

"I'm fine."

He resumed staring down at his hands, as if they hold all the answers to his problems. His stare was so intense, she found herself worried. He looked lost, alone, and afraid. There was a sliver of fear akin to the terrified horror of his younger self, the betrayed boy she had seen in the vision of the night Luke had failed him. And she couldn't hold the question in any longer.

"What happened?"

Ben ignored her question, offering her one of his own instead. "Where are you?"

"In the Falcon," she responded. "You know that."

"But where are you?"

The desperation in his voice was not the tone of a Sith or the cold, calculating command of the Supreme Leader. It was uniquely Ben Solo, the broken man. Still, she felt the sickening twist of doubt in her stomach.

"You know why I can't tell you."

"Rey, please..." her breath caught, her work forgotten as she watched the wounded expression on his face. "...I need you."

"What happened?" She insisted.

There was silence for a long moment. She couldn't tell it it was his pride or his distrusting nature that kept him from opening up to her this time. He was always so guarded, like her in a sense, because of his past, always so mysterious and withdrawn. Even now she could see his shoulders caving in on himself, drawing him into a smaller posture, though there was hardly any way for him to look small. He was an imposingly broad man at any angle. Still, he gave the impression of a scared child, shying away from the world and by extension, her.

Then, finally, just as she thought he'd shut her out, he spoke.

"Hux. Hux is staging a coups."


A/N:Thank you to those who are still reading this and following! Chapter 3 of Hit Me With Your Best Shot is now up. Also, I'll be writing an in canon-verse one-shot for the Reylo Fanfiction Anthology V-Day fic exchange. My requester has asked for my take on the first time Kylo/Ben and Rey meet after TLJ and to stay in canon (as best as possible). I'll have it posted before 2/14!