Author's Note: I do not own Star Wars!
Twenty minutes later
Sitting in the common area of the Falcon, Ben and Rey sat together. After he had explained exactly what he had done, Rey had tried to persuade him to turn to the light, to join them.
"Think of the dark side as fire, Rey," He began. "It starts off as a spark, and gradually it becomes bigger and bigger, until it's like...it's like an erupting volcano, lava flowing, killing and irreparable damaging everything it touches. Then there's the light, which is basically cool water. In the beginnings of the fire, it can put it out, but unless it is in infinite amounts, it cannot stop the lava."
He looked at her a moment, before continuing.
"Even you have some darkness in you, Rey." As she opened her mouth to deny it, he brought his hand up to caress the side of her face, before continuing. "It's not enough to turn you, but it's enough to balance you."
"I can balance you," she responded, causing him to smile, using his finger to tilt her chin up so that she would meet his gaze.
"I was hoping you would say that," he stated, before capturing her lips with his own.
She remained shocked for a few seconds, before she returned it. It felt natural. It felt effortless.
Breaking apart, they rested their foreheads together, eyes closed, basking in the moment.
"I had wanted to do that the day you were taken away from me," Ben spoke, mild anger evident in his tone. With Skywalker gone, his anger had no fuel to ignite it further.
"I wouldn't have complained," Rey replied, a smirk on her lips and a faint blush on her face.
After a few moments of content silence, Ben spoke.
"I'm not going to turn, Rey."
"I know," she replied, leaning back to look at his face, a look of determination on her own. "Neither am I."
"Balance?" He asked, a look of apprehension on his face.
"Balance."
Her confirmation, brought a smile to his face. He wouldn't turn, but she was accepting him as he was. He was filled with darkness, a darkness that threaten to engulf him. She was the light that held it at bay, and with their ever-growing feelings for each other, the light got stronger. Not strong enough to turn him towards the light, but strong enough to keep him further from complete darkness.
As they hugged each other, a cough from the doorway was heard, causing them to startle and spring apart.
"Calm down, children," Leia spoke, a smug smile on her face. "Save the public displays of affection for after."
As she approached the table, Ben stiffened, his gaze avoiding her entire general direction, until she sat down opposite him. Immediately, his eyes shot to hers, a blank look on his face, coupled with a few unnecessary gulps.
"Ben," she spoke, compassion in her tone. It had the opposite effect to when Rey spoke his birth name, it caused him to look away from her.
He had been the reason she had lost her brother, both in life and due to death. He had killed his father, her husband. He had nearly killed her. He had wanted to prove himself to Snoke, prove that he had worth, even though he felt worthless. That was what he had wanted all of his life. Someone to tell him that they needed him, that he meant something to someone- anyone. He hadn't gotten it from his father, he was off his home planet for majority of the time, Chewie along with him. Leia, his mother, had been working for much of the time, it was in her blood. Skywalker, his uncle, had been his master, the birth of new Jedi being his priority over family.
You're nothing, but not to me, his words to Rey echoing in his mind. All he had wanted was for her to express the same to him, to tell him that he meant something to her. Knowing now that they were best friends, during their childhood, and now more, he didn't feel worthless. At least not to Rey.
"Ben," Leia spoke sternly. "Look at me."
When his eyes snapped to hers, she softened, exhaling a relieving sigh, which seemed as though it had been held in from the moment he cut off all ties. There was a mixture of emotions in her eyes: anger, guilt, relief. She could see the same mixture of emotions in his.
"The past is in the past," She replied, reaching out across the table between them. "You're here now, that's what matters."
At sound of the same words he had offered to Rey, he reached out his own hand, and grasped his mother's hand for the first time in ten years, for he had been at the temple two years prior to Rey's arrival. He had been the same age as Rey when he felt as though his parents had abandoned him.
"They will catch up to us soon," Ben spoke, his voice faltering slightly. "Mother."
At the word, Leia's breath caught, her eyes widening slightly. She had missed her son so much over the past decade. They watched each other for a few moments, before Rey placed a reassuring hand on Ben's arm, causing him to look at her and receive a soft smile, before continuing.
"They have not pursued us immediately, as they no longer have a Supreme Leader, or a particular person that the position could fall to. I presume that one of the Knights of Ren will take my place as Master and assume the role of Supreme Leader."
"We are heading to a nearby uninhabited planet. We cannot take to force of this battle in the sky, not on these old ships." She patted the wall of the Falcon affectionately, before continuing. "There is a base on the planet, rebel or not, we will use to refresh our supplies and ammunition."
Both Ben and Rey nodded, before Rey added:
"This war is far from over, even without a Supreme Leader."
At this moment, BB-8 came rolling in, pausing at the presence of Ben, before muttering in his usual chorus of beeps.
"I know, BB-8," Rey responded. "I know."
Seeing the blank looks Ben shot from the droid to Rey, and back again, she explained.
"He still doesn't like you."
"That's understandable," Ben nodded.
As Ben entered the cockpit, the looks he received from the pilot, the traitor and the mechanic, were a mix of resentment, anger and severe apprehension, mostly from the two men.
They were approaching to land on this uninhabited planet, the name of which was unimportant, as they were only stopping her temporarily. It was a red planet, somewhat small, and covered with volcanoes, some of which happened to be actively erupting at present.
"Of all planets we could have chosen, we chose this one," Finn spoke in his usual tone of disbelief. "Why would they have even built a base, let alone lived on a volcanically active planet?"
"It only became volcanically active twenty years ago," Leia answered.
Finn just scowled at the response, and returned to the controls, narrowing his eyes in Ben's direction in the process. Poe just seemed to ignore his presence altogether.
Rey gave Ben's hand quick squeeze, as she stepped in between Leia and Ben. As she passed Chewie, who was helping Rose repair a side panel, she gave him a pat on the shoulder, which caused him to nod in her direction. He too chose to ignore Ben's presence, breaking it only to shoot a glare at him. It would take more time for his anger and resentment to begin to relieve.
As Rey reached the two pilots, she placed a hand on both of their shoulders, causing them to look up at her, simultaneously releasing sighs of suppressed anger.
"I know you don't understand," She spoke calmly, causing Poe to look away, but Finn to remain watching her, as her gaze flitted between the two of them. "But I care about him."
"You're right we don't understand!" Poe shouted, rising from his chair and shrugging off her hand that was on his shoulder. "How can you care about that monster?!"
He pointed towards the direction of Ben, but he was several steps closer, ready to protect Rey from the pilot's outburst should he attempt to harm her. Poe looked taken aback at this, causing him to flinch and lower his arms, along with his voice.
"I just don't understand," His sadness becoming evident through both his voice and fallen facial expression. "He is the reason so many of us are dead, the reason why so many of my friends are dead."
"Poe..." Rey started, only to fall silent at the sharp shake of Poe's head, before he sat back down in the pilot chair, signifying that their conversation was over.
Rey took one look at Ben, offering him a small smile to reassure him that she was okay, before he stepped back, settling next to his mother. As Rey turned towards Finn, his face was blank, but he patted her hand on his shoulder, before offering her a small smile.
"I don't understand, but I see the way he looks at you, the way he...held you," He nodded, before returning his gaze to the controls in front of him, as they became close enough to land. "He's different now. It has to mean something."
Rey nodded, before returning to stand next to Ben, shooting Rose a smile, which she returned equally.
"You didn't have to come and protect me, you know." Rey whispered in Ben's ear, the sudden warmth of her breath causing him to suppress a small shiver. "He wouldn't hurt me."
"I don't like him," He whispered back, his arm snaking around her waist to pull her closer to him, causing her to smile, only to turn a bright shade of red when she saw Rose looking at them, with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.