Chapter 1

All night Kylo Ren tossed and turned in his sleep. After hours of trying to get rest, he finally sat up in bed and placed his head in his hands. He replayed what had happened the night before in his mind over and over again, but still was puzzled. Rey had wanted to take his hand. She was going to take his hand. Had it not been for the Millennium Falcon showing up, Rey would be at his side right now. He shook his head and tried to subdue the anger he felt for that ship. She was going to join me, I was so close to having her, he thought to himself. Brushing his hair out of his face, he swung his legs out of the bed, flinching slightly as his bare feet contacted the cold floor below. Kylo was about to stand up when he heard a soft sigh behind him. He froze, gripping the edge of the bed tightly. Turning slowly, he looked over his shoulder. His heart began to race as he saw Rey sleeping in his bed. She looked so peaceful and Kylo had to shake himself to see if he was seeing her only because he hadn't gotten any sleep. But he couldn't help but be comforted by her presence, he always was. Rey was the only person in the whole galaxy who truly saw him for who he was.
Without trying to wake her, Kylo reached out with the Force to see into her mind. He hadn't tried this in a long time because she was able to resist him, which always amazed him. Reaching into her mind, he closed his eyes to help himself focus only on her. A small smile started to pull at Kylo's lips as he saw himself inside Rey's thoughts. She was thinking of him. He was thrilled at this discovery and carefully pushed further into her thoughts, not wanting to wake her. Kylo saw himself wrapped up in her embrace and she was running her fingers through his hair. It was so tender, so sweet. Kylo let his smile grow across his face and closed his eyes, letting Rey's thoughts flood through him. He always felt so calm with her but this was more than he could handle. For the first time in a long time, he was at peace. Kylo never wanted this feeling to end. Everything just felt right at that moment. Unfortunately this feeling didn't last long. Kylo was pushed out of her mind and came face to face with Rey. They sat on his bed staring at each other, their faces just centimeters apart. No words were spoken. Rey stared at Kylo not in fear or anger but wonder. They had been close before but not like this. Kylo had to resist every urge to pull Rey close and kiss her with everything he has. His love for her was unlike anything he had felt for anyone and he so desperately wanted to share it with her. And to find out that Rey also thought about him, it was too much for him.
Rey continued gazing at Kylo and slowly reached a hand out towards his face. She let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding in when she watched him nuzzle his cheek into her hand. He closed his eyes and placed his large hand over hers, sighing out of content. Rey had never seen this man so peaceful before and finally realized why: the man sitting before her was Ben Solo. Her Ben that she had been trying to reach for so long. A smile spread across her face.
"Ben," she whispered, her smile mirrored on his face. Rey leaned forward and pressed her lips against his softly for just a moment. She started to pull back slowly but was stopped when she felt his lips against hers again. Sinking into their kiss, Rey felt his hand cup her cheek and she sighed into the kiss. They both pulled back and looked at each other. Rey smiled and watched as a big grin spread across Ben's face. But before they could lean in and kiss each other again, their connection abruptly ended and Ben was left alone on his bed. His hand slid down from where it had just been resting on Rey's cheek and it clenched into a fist. If only we had more time, he thought to himself. He would just have to wait until the Force connected them again in order for him to tell her how much she meant to him. In the meantime, he would have to keep running things for the First Order so as not to arouse suspicion from General Pryde, General Hux, or even the Emperor himself. Ben quickly dressed himself and walked out of his quarters, leaving his mask behind. He would no longer be needing it.