A/N: It's been three years since I finished this fic.
A LOT has happened in those three years.
And I know Lucasfilms made a decision regarding Rey's parentage, but given that it was a STUPID decision, I've decided to ignore it.
More notes at the end. Enjoy.
They left the morning after the wedding. The party had gone on and on, and Rey had never wanted it to end. Rey and Ben had never left the dance floor, and they both must've danced with half the Resistance before they could even sneak away to eat. Poe and Finn never stopped their party and booed when Rey and Ben came to kiss them goodbye and give their congratulations. They collapsed into bed in their formal clothes and did not awake until the sun was almost midway through the sky.
Rey felt more comfortable in her casual clothes. Though she had built a new wardrobe on Coruscant, she had made sure to have plenty of clothes that were familiar to her. Lightweight, breathable.
As she slung her lightsaber across her back, she took one last look at her room. It was rarely slept in, yes, but it was the first time she had ever made a room her own. Clothes still filled the closet, and trinkets lined the shelves. A tapestry of a color wheel hung over Rey's seldom used bed, and sometimes Rey liked to stare at the colors, reminding herself there was once a time where her world looked so different.
Rey felt like the room was already welcoming her home after her long journey.
"Ready?" Ben asked, sliding behind her.
"Yes," Rey said, her voice a little thicker than she thought it would be.
"It's okay," Ben said, hugging her. "This is always going to be our home. We'll be back before you even miss it."
Rey smiled, and took his hand, the flesh and bone hand, kissing it before saying, "You're my home now. Wherever we go, I'll always feel at home."
Ben looked like he might cry, so he kissed her forehead and held her close.
Soulmates. Rey wondered if it was just another word for home.
They took the Falcon. Rey had flown it a handful of times, but Ben had never even sat in a pilot's seat. Rey watched as Ben walked through the ship with awe, his eyes brimming with tears.
It was his birthright, and he had finally come to claim it.
As Ben took his time reacquainting himself with the ship, Rey brought their bags into the captain's quarters. They were cozy and perhaps the most well maintained part of the ship.
They made the bed, spreading their favorite quilt Maz had given them, and Rey noticed Ben was retreating into himself.
"Are you okay?" she asked, and Ben took a deep breath.
"It's just overwhelming. I always wanted to fly this with Han and make him proud. Maybe I could've been a pilot like him," Ben said, and it broke Rey's heart. She walked around the bed and cupped his face in her hands.
"He's proud of you. You know that. And I'm sure he'll be sitting in the cockpit with us," Rey said, and Ben smiled.
"As long as he doesn't appear with no warning like a Force ghost."
"Fair point. Let's just hope Leia and Luke never figure out a way to appear in the flesh," Rey said.
"They're going to be very angry."
"Leia was angry when you came home, but she got over it. She'll get over this too."
Ben smiled at that, and Rey's heart was filled to the brim with excitement. She and Ben, adventuring through the Galaxy. Seeing worlds Rey never imagined could be real, worlds long forgotten, worlds filled with danger and mystery and hope and life.
And to think, she had once imagined spending her whole life on Jakku.
Rey and Ben settled in the cockpit, Rey on the left and Ben on the right.
Rey had once thought that they had been made to pilot together, and she decided she was right. The way they operated the Falcon would have made Han Solo proud. She was a strange ship, full of quirks and tricks. But Rey seemed to be able to anticipate any jumps the ship would give.
Ben, on the other hand, had grown up in this ship. He mentioned to Rey that his first steps had been in the hallway just behind them. And as Ben piloted the Falcon, Rey realized that nothing surprised Ben. He knew anything she could throw at him, and none of it seemed to faze him.
It made for a perfect partnership.
Once they navigated far enough away from Coruscant, Rey swiveled her chair to face Ben and asked, "So, where to first?"
Ben leaned back in his seat, folding his hands neatly over his stomach. Luke had once let Rey know that technically, Leia was Queen of Alderaan, and Ben was a prince. He looked princely right then, with his features schooled to thoughtfulness. He didn't have the same roguish charm as his father, but instead the elegance of his mother- though he would try and hide it.
"Any preferences?" Ben asked.
"Not a desert," Rey said.
"Fair enough. You've spent enough time in them."
He thought for a moment, running a hand through his hair. He had let it return to its natural brown, and Rey was delighted to watch how the colors would catch the light.
"We could go back to Naboo? Just to check on how rebuilding is going," Ben suggested.
"Haven't the Gungans returned?" Rey asked.
"That and the humans have elected a new Queen. The first one in two decades."
Rey smiled, punching in coordinates and preparing the ship to jump to lightspeed.
"Let's go welcome her, then."
x
It had been half of a standard year since Ben had been to Naboo. After everything that had happened with Snoke and almost losing Rey, he didn't think he would ever come back. But, as he was Rey flew toward the rebuilt palace, Ben could see how much had changed.
The water was a beautiful, clear blue, meaning the poisons had been removed. The sky was a lovely mix of colors as the sun set, and there was nothing sinister to it. There were no sounds of TIE Fighters launching or Stormtroopers training. Just peace.
As they were led through the palace, Ben noticed how it was all rebuilt. During his time training on Naboo, he had never been able to appreciate how beautiful it all was. The palace was alive again, no longer in a state of disrepair.
When the new Queen, a former refugee, had taken the crown, she demanded the palace remove all traces of the First Order, and Ben could see where she had instead had their battle for freedom immortalized in the stained glass.
"It's us," Rey said, staring up at a scene where two figures (one in gray, one in black) banished darkness from Naboo.
Ben took Rey's hand, squeezing it tight as he felt through their bond that she was about to cry.
"We're legends now," Ben said.
They dined with the Queen, laughing and discussing the rebuilding of Naboo, trashy holos, and inter-planetary sports. It felt casual and completely unlike the political events Leia had convinced Rey and Ben to attend with her.
"Ben Solo, I have a gift on behalf of Naboo," the Queen said as the final plates were cleared away. A droid quickly sprung to life and brought her a small wooden box.
"We recovered these from the ruins of the throne room. The private journals of Padme Amidala, your grandmother. Take them, as a token of my thanks," she said, handing the box to Ben. Rey peeked over Ben's shoulder as he opened the box, revealing intricate books. They must have been written by hand, which was uncommon even during the time of the Clone Wars.
Ben was afraid to touch the covers, for fear of it all being a joke or the volumes simply crumbling away. They must have been close to eighty years old.
There, in his hands, were the words of his grandmother. It was more than speeches, more than interviews. This was her. This was Padme Amidala.
"Thank you," Ben said, his voice thick with emotion.
Though they left early the next morning, Ben stayed up late reading Padme's diary as she described the pressures of Queenhood and the confusion that came with her growing up. And, of course, there were dozens of pages dedicated to her discovery of colors, beginning the moment she encountered young Anakin Skywalker on Tatooine. Some of this was based on a research-based, scientific standpoint. Some of it was wonder and curiosity, because Padme knew colors came from looking at your soulmate, so she knew Anakin must be her soulmate.
When Ben finally came to bed, Rey was already asleep, but she draped an arm over him once he settled in.
Soulmates.
A year before, Ben had been struggling in this very palace, trying to deny what was to clear to the Force.
He was made to love Rey Kenobi.
x
"Stars," Rey breathed.
The Deep Core stared back at her, bright and uncaring. Rey reached and dimmed the viewport, feeling her vision begin to burn from staring at the center of the Galaxy for too long.
"This feels unreal," Ben said. He wasn't looking at Rey, only at the Core.
Rey had wanted to see the Core because it was the stuff of legends. On Jakku, no one thought about what the center of the Galaxy might look like. When she lived with Luke, she asked for details and legends and histories of the Galaxy. Somehow, she never quite believed that the Core would be real.
"From what I researched, there's a massive black hole in the middle of that. The Falcon's programming won't allow us to get any closer for fear of being lost," Rey said, unable to look away.
It was so ancient, perhaps older than time itself. The Force was thick here, moving sluggishly through Rey's veins. It must have been concentrated so densely due to the black hole, and Rey marvelled at the power she felt.
Maybe it was the source of her power. Maybe it was responsible for the Force. It could be the beginning and the end of everything she had ever known, and that thought frightened her. Though the light was blinding, Rey was staring into the abyss.
"I can hardly see any colors here," Ben said, and then Rey noticed it, too. Every color in the cockpit was dimmed, with the vibrance stripped away. For a moment, Rey panicked. Her colors had only ever disappeared when Ben was in trouble, but he was right next to her, alive and well.
"Maybe the Core is pulling the colors toward it, too," Rey said, and Ben nodded.
"We should leave," he said. "Where do you want to go next?"
"Anywhere. Everywhere."
As Ben punched in new coordinates, Rey looked away from the core and focused on him. They had survived so much together.
Maybe that was why Rey didn't fear staring into the abyss. Ben was by her side. And he always would be.
They spent weeks travelling the Galaxy. They went to ice planets, water planets, planets with climates that seemed to change from region to region. They discovered lost histories of the Galaxy and made contact with old allies who had been isolated for so long they didn't even know a war had started and ended.
Ben watched Rey's delight at each new planet they visited. He watched her immediately befriend any lifeforms they encountered. He watched her always find something to adore on each planet.
He was falling more and more in love with her by the moment.
x
Several weeks in, they felt a strange desire to head into the Unknown Regions. When they both realized they were being drawn closer to the cockpit, they locked the ship down and sat staring at each other.
"I have a bad feeling about that," Ben said, and Rey nodded. Her eyes were closed, her hands pressed to the sides of her head. She was focusing, Ben could feel it.
Rey was reaching into the Force, trying to trace their desire back to its root. Ben observed with fascination as she managed to skirt alongside the pull but not be sucked in.
Was that why she was able to resist their bond for so long? Because of that determination and focus?
Ben's heart was whispering for him to go to the Unknown Regions, and it took every ounce of discipline and logic to ignore that impulse.
"I think this is what Anakin and Obi Wan were warning us about," Rey said, her eyes still closed. "Dark side planets. Trying to lure us in."
"Do you think this could be Korriban?" Ben asked, remembering the specific warning they were given.
"No, Korriban is in the Outer Rim."
"So this is somewhere else."
They both sat in silence for a while, breathing and concentrating.
Ben had been tempted by the Dark side for most of his life. Even now, standing firmly in the Light, Ben wasn't sure if he could call himself a Jedi. He and Rey had discussed it before, how their beliefs and lifestyles weren't right.
Ben wondered if that's why the Dark side was calling to him once more. It crooned that it could give him strength, power, and eternal life by Rey's side. It promised a Sith throne where they both sat, ruling the Galaxy. He knew it promised Rey the same.
Eternal life with Rey didn't sound like the worst thing.
Rey abruptly stood up and rushed to the cockpit. Ben felt through their bond that Rey wasn't struggling anymore as she set a course and jumped into lightspeed.
"Where are we going?" Ben asked, slightly dazed as the Dark side lost its grip on him.
"Far away. I won't let whatever is out there touch us," she said, slumping back into her seat. She was exhausted. Evidently, she had broken out of the Dark side's mental grip quicker than Ben.
So Ben picked her up and carried her to bed. He didn't know where they were going, but Rey had saved them. She deserved to rest.
Rey has already asleep as Ben pulled the quilt over her shoulders.
x
One morning, Ben suggested they return to Coruscant and get married.
Rey froze, and so did Ben.
They had discussed marriage before. At Finn and Poe's wedding, yes, but also over the past several weeks. They both agreed they wanted to be married, just not at the same scale that Poe and Finn had been married at.
"You… you want to stop this trip?" Rey asked, confused.
"Oh, no, Rey. I'm having the time of my life right now. I love you. And I love everywhere we've been," Ben said.
"Except Mustafar," Rey said.
"Except Mustafar," Ben agreed, smiling. "But I think that this would all be so wonderful if I was your husband."
"Do you… want to stay on Coruscant?"
"I don't want to stop adventuring with you. We can stay as long as we need to get married, and then we can hop right back onto the ship and fly off."
"Once we go back to Coruscant, they might try and stop us from leaving again," Rey said, and Ben's smile grew.
"They can try. But I promise you, no one can stop us. We'll get married and come right back to the stars," Ben said, and Rey kissed him.
"Yes, Ben Solo. I'll marry you."
A/N: So, like I said. Three years. The final chapter was published on October 23, 2016.
I never planned to touch Colorblind again. It was a finished work. Something that I could look back on to motivate me to keep writing.
But then The Rise of Skywalker happened and suddenly I was ready to write the two-part (yes, two part!) epilogue I never thought Colorblind needed.
The sappier note will be at the end of the next (and FINAL) chapter. Thanks for reading!