The reminiscences of sea water left a burning to his now bandaged wounds, an unnatural exhaustion pinning him down in the captain's quarters bed. He wanted to sleep so badly, but it evaded him, his mind moving far too quickly for sleep to catch it.

They had agreed to make him stay in the Falcon, as it had the only real bed. The rest of them were all asleep on mats in the huts that had belonged to his uncle. All of them except for Rey. She now lay somewhere on the floor in the shadows that he couldn't see. Or he wasn't able to turn his head far enough to look that way.

He inhaled deeply, a small sense of nostalgia swirling its way through his chest. Had no one else used this bed since his father? The pillows smelled just like him and Ben could feel a tug on his heart, an ache in missing his father. Han had never really been there, never really understood. Now that Ben looked back on it, he realized that even if his father was not there, Han still cared.

Every time he had come home, Han had spent every moment he could with Ben. It had never been enough and Ben felt sick that he hadn't taken more advantage of the time they had had together. The stories, the gifts, the laughs, the jokes, the small pranks that they had played on his mother that Ben now found silly, but at the time had found hilarious.

They had never been the perfect family. Ben had just been blind to all of the small moments they had had together. Small moments that he would never get back that were only ingrained further by the scent of the pillows.

Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes and he inhaled deeply through his teeth, hands going to his eyes to wipe away the tears.

"Ben?"

Ben jumped, sitting up as far as his core would let him before the pain set in and sent him collapsing back into the mattress with a small cry. He groaned, teeth clenched tightly, arms wrapped around his center.

"I-I'm sorry!" Rey's worried tone said as there was hasty movement. "I didn't mean to startle you! I just can't sle-"

"It's ok," Ben assured with a whimper.

"Please let me heal you."

"No."

"Ben-"

"I am not risking losing you again!" he yelled before he could stop himself.

The room fell silent, the only sound the ocean waves crashing against the rocks and the wind rushing against the metal exterior of the Falcon.

Rey's cheeks burned a bright red that she was sure Ben would be able to see through the dark.

Ben exhaled sharply through his nose and turned to glance at Rey, who sat cross legged with eyes struck to the floor.

He wanted to say something to take back his sudden outburst, but the words escaped him. He had never been good at expressing his emotions. He had never been allowed to express anything other than indifference and anger and even that anger he had held back until it was so overwhelming that he went off.

Rey rose to her feet and he watched curiously as she came to sit on the edge of the bed beside him. Her hand slipped into his bringing with it a warmth. Before he could argue, the same cooling and heating power he had felt on the Death Star circled and caressed each muscle, relaxing it.

He could feel everything slowly mending back together, repairing itself against his will. Pain slowly ebbed away, a relief settling into his bones and Rey's hand tightened on his.

"Son of a bantha," he hissed, sitting up and taking her shoulders to make her look at him. "I told you that I didn't want you-"

"You're not getting rid of me that easily," she said in a strong but kind voice, cutting Ben off. He stared at her bright and serious eyes. She was as stubborn as ever and he really shouldn't have thought she would behave any differently.

His hands nervously released her shoulders and fell back to his lap. He cleared his throat, knowing there was absolutely no way he was going to win this fight and he was far too tired to try.

"You can't still be having that nightmare, can you?" he asked, figuring it best to change the subject. She shook her head, turning to face him more fully. "Then why can't you sleep?" She shrugged, still un-answering. Ben's jaw tightened slightly. He had never been a patient person, but this was Rey. And they had been through a lot. He couldn't just snap at her and he was silently scolding himself for the annoyance that was rising in him after she had done something so stupidly kind for him. He sighed heavily and lowered his head. "I'm sorry," he whispered, fists clutching the blanket that was around him. "I'm not good with this sort of stuff."

"Do you want to go look at the stars?"

Her question made him look up with a confused expression. Why now? He had just treated her so rudely, why was she not ignoring him? Or maybe this was her way to ignore him. When he didn't answer, she retook his hand and pulled him from the bed and through the Falcon.

The breeze off the ocean sent a chill through him, but Rey just inhaled deeply, face turned up at the sky with a small smile. She looked so content to just be.

She tugged him along down to the water's edge. The waves licked at her toes, but she didn't seem to mind.

Ben slowly wove his fingers through hers and came to stand beside her, ignoring the way that the rocks dug into the bottom of his feet.

His eyes wandered over Rey's face as she gazed up at the heavens. There was something so beautiful about how simple this moment was. For once in his life there was absolutely nothing wrong and nothing needing attention. Nothing he had to do, nothing he had to prove.

It was just them. The two of them.

His eyes turned to the night sky, the stars dancing around the moon and between the clouds that drifted by.

The silence between them wasn't awkward in the slightest, there was something calming about it. Something in the connection between them that made it so they didn't have to fill the silence. They were enough for each other.

"You were there that night in Naboo, weren't you?" Rey eventually asked into the night sky, pulling Ben's eyes back to her face while hers stayed trained on the stars. "I thought that maybe I had dreamt it."

"I was always with you," he whispered, breath floating away into the night.

Rey's hair blew about and she carefully tucked it behind her ear, stepping a bit further into the dark ocean until the water was lapping at her ankles.

"Thank you." She turned back with a small smile that twisted Ben's gut in an odd way. "No one but you would understand what I was going through." She took another step forward, tugging against Ben's hand as he stood still, planted to the spot. She turned back with a curious look, giving a small pull on his hand.

"Don't you think it's cold?" he asked, not truly wanting to get the legs of his pants wet. They were the only things he had to wear at the moment and they didn't fit right as it was. Finn had been closer to his size than Poe had, but each were much shorter than him. And it really was cold. He could feel his arms prickling against the night air.

"Ben, do you ever just stop and feel?" she asked with a laugh in her voice.

He shook his head and glanced around himself. "I can't say I have."

"Then come here." She gave another small tug on his hand that he couldn't bring himself to refuse. He sucked air through his teeth as his feet entered the cold water and he again stood right beside her. "Stop looking so in pain. Close your eyes." Ben sent her a skeptical look which she returned with one of her own that told him to stop being a child. He rolled his eyes, but did close them.

The ocean breeze against his face brought him back to his childhood. The salty taste of the air on his tongue and the scent of the sea was like a time warp and with his eyes closed, he could hear his father laughing at him falling backwards onto his sandcastle. It had stung at the time, but now that hearty sound was a treasured memory. The waves moved gently against his ankles in a lullying pattern, the cold no longer biting and the rocks had turned to a rough sand that was much easier on his feet.

His shoulders relaxed from the tension that was in them and he felt like he was able to breathe in a full lungs worth of oxygen for the first time in his life. His chest wasn't tight. There was nothing to worry about. He didn't have to think. He could just exist.

His hand became cold and it pulled him from his serenity to have Rey's side press into him as she circled her arms around him middle, her head resting against his shoulder. His now free hand wrapped itself around her waist, holding her close as she shivered.

So, she was cold.

Ben grinned before slowly leading her back out of the water. He pulled her back up the shoreline before she stopped and made him sit on the rocks. She curled up against him, legs pulled to her chest and stared out across the ocean and at the stars that were going to start to fade away soon. He rested his head atop hers and pulled her closer, doing his best to keep her warm.

"How did you know where to find me?" he asked, his voice breaking up the stillness of the night.

"It was in my dream," she answered with a yawn.

Ben chewed his cheek worriedly. "We can go back-"

"Not yet," she interrupted, her arms now circled around herself against the wind.

"Let me go get a blanket-"

"Ben," she huffed, looking up at him through her windswept hair. "I'm fine. Just be here with me."

Ben licked his suddenly dry lips and returned his gaze out to the waves. "Could you see that creature?"

Rey's brow furrowed and she blinked several times wondering if she really needed to answer. She thought it fairly obvious. "Yes."

Ben hummed thoughtfully and Rey wanted to straighten up to see what his eyes were saying he was thinking, but the warmth of his body kept her in place. "Ezra said that he couldn't see it when it attacked his companion."

"You spoke to Ezra?" This did make her sit up and look at him. Had he been able to speak to the dead the whole time?

"My mother did," he explained, not looking at her. "She came to bring me back with her." Rey's heart dropped. She wasn't sure why it pained her so deeply when he had clearly said no, but there was something about the thought of losing him that upset her. It wasn't his time to go and if Rey had any say in it, then he wouldn't be leaving for a very long time. "It just didn't feel right, you know? Like I was needed here. I don't know what for, but..." he trailed off before his eyes dropped to meet Rey's. She understood without him having to tell her anymore. Any form of emotions were going to be difficult for him to work through when he had shut them off for so long. "So, what do we do now?"

The question held too much weight to it and Rey absolutely did not want to think about it. She had him back and she couldn't be happier and she knew that at least her small group of close friends would be accepting, but the others... that remained to be seen. And that was just the rest of the Resistance. What about the galaxy? Ben was still Kylo Ren and until all of the damage was repaired he would stay Kylo Ren. He was a war criminal at best. The senate was bound to demand a trial and one scavenger girl's good word wasn't going to change much in the minds of politicians. Their best interest was for the people, and Kylo Ren was not that best interest. Would Ben Solo be enough, or had he stained the universe with his name just as his grandfather had?

"Can we think about that later?" Rey finally said, her head spinning from the scenarios playing out in her mind. "That can be tomorrow's problem, can't it?"

Ben should have known better. He couldn't just let things be. Why did he always have to be doing something? He couldn't relax for more than five minutes? How pathetic was he? He really should have left the thought for when they finally left this island. Rey was right, it was tomorrow's problem, but it was still heavy in his mind. He was going to have to take responsibility for all of his actions and he wasn't sure if he was ready to do it. He had so much more to offer this universe now that he had found his way again. The path was still foggy, but he had a direction and he wasn't alone anymore. He at least had Rey and that was all he needed. As long as she was by his side, he could conquer anything, even a lifetime behind bars. And maybe he would finally be something to be proud of, a feeling he had never experienced.

At another yawn from Rey, Ben shook his head at her stubbornness to stay out so long and helped her to her feet, guiding the way back to the Falcon. The temperature difference was immediate and Rey was able to move away from where she was huddled against him. They found their way back to the captain's cabin and Rey promptly went for the bed, curling up under the blanket. Ben's lips pulled into a half smile and he turned away to take her spot on the floor when a hold on his shirt sleeve held him in place. He turned back to where Rey's hand held tightly to the fabric in her fist.

"Stay."

She didn't need to say anymore. Ben still couldn't help the hesitation, but he slowly found himself under the covers in a cocoon of warmth. Rey hid her head against his chest just like she had in Naboo and Ben circled his arms around her, pulling her to him.

He knew exactly what was going through her head, because it was the same lie that was going through his. This was just for tonight, to numb away all of the pain. This was just for tonight, to let them both rest in peace. This was just for tonight so they wouldn't be alone.

But as sleep finally began to pull at his eyes and he sunk deeply into the pillows with the feeling of her held tightly against him, he knew this wasn't just for tonight. They finally had each other and he would never have to again think,

I don't like the space between us.