Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of the recognisable characters of the franchise. This story is purely for entertainment.

Chapter 20

Ben hated almost every moment of the 30 hours he spent in the base. Starting from an awkward walk across the airfield after they arrived, he felt exposed and out of place. No one apart from general D'Acy, Quan, Maz and…Finn was bothered to introduce themselves or others to him so without invading their brains, he knew the names of only a few people.

He stayed in his room for the rest of the first day, eating meals on his own. Mostly he did it to avoid being stared at by other people, but also to avoid meeting Rey.

Quan surprised him by coming to his room before dinner… with Maz Kanata. Ben heard so much about her from his father when he was a boy that it felt almost like meeting an old acquaintance. Which it was in a way as he learnt that apparently, she met him when he was around 5.

She was definitely uncommon. She said she just wanted to meet him and brief him on the current situation. At the end of their short meeting she just said: – 'Welcome back.'

He instantly knew that she was referring to his coming back from the dark side and automatically tried to contradict her. – 'I am not sure that I'm back, not really.'

But she smiled, adjusted her glasses and leaned forward looking straight into his eyes. He instinctively leaned back in his chair. He wasn't used to people coming so close to him. After a few seconds she leaned back as well and smiled again. – 'Oh, I think you are.'

Then she swiftly stood up and waved her hand at Quan. – 'You can now answer all his questions.'

Quan nodded his head. Maz looked at Ben again. – 'We will meet again.'

With that she left, leaving Ben with Quan who was quiet all throughout the conversation. Only when she was gone, he realised he wouldn't mind to talk to her longer, as she was the first person he met in a while who seemed to treat him in a casual way.

He was stunned when he learned of what was happening in the galaxy. He found out about all the rumours that were being spread about him and he felt sick. He intentionally tried to avoid thinking and analysing the news about Hux as he struggled to keep the hatred and anger under control.

And the picture of him as a hope of the galaxy made him laugh bitterly when Quan finally left his room for good. It was good that he asked Quan to give him something to help him to sleep although Quan warned him nothing would really work for him, not for any longer period of time. But he was not ready to face and analyse all that he heard.

Sleep was overtaking him quickly, so he laid down on bed despite the early hour.

The medicine Quan gave him had to be very strong or his determination to sleep was stronger than his restlessness - Ben thought as he woke up surprised that it was early morning and he was still in yesterday's clothes. But for the first time in weeks, he felt restful.

He quickly requested a meeting with General D'Acy and was surprised that she agreed to talk to him at such short notice. He was definitely satisfied when it went the way he planned. However, before he even had time to collect his thoughts, it was time for the command meeting and this is when his efforts to avoid Rey went all wrong.

He was forced to sit next to her. And then someone decided it was a good moment to describe how life in any form was completely annihilated on 11 densely populated planets in the Core Worlds because of the new inferno bombs.

This is when he was immediately forced into Rey's mind - probably without her will, just like it happened before. She was distressed so he touched her arm (as inconspicuously as he could) to calm her down and force her memories away. He helped her to see her favourite view from her spot above the outpost. He could feel her relaxing and for a moment nothing else really mattered.

Now looking back, he wished that moment had lasted longer. He was about to leave as soon as the wedding of that Finn guy would finish. And Rey….

He suddenly saw Rey standing in front of him. He knew he should close the link but he didn't have enough strength. Not today. Not when Rey was standing…probably at the wedding…looking so… beautiful. For the first time, he saw her in a dress.

It was most likely handmade and nothing sophisticated. She was just wearing a long grey skirt instead of trousers to complement her grey tunic. It was all finished the usual way with her charcoal-grey shawl crossed at her chest and back and gathered at her waist with the belt, only this time with the ends of it cascading down, all the way along the folds of her skirt. Her outfit was overall dark in colour, like most clothes she was wearing these days, but still she looked almost ethereal.

Her hair was gathered in a simple high bun, adorned with a small green twig. She had another slightly bigger twig in her hand. He knew that on some planets the newly married tried to plant the twigs, sometimes kept them in water, and if any of them started growing or blossomed it was considered as a sign of blessing, a sign that the force was with them.

She was standing there looking now both stunning… and…and stunned herself. She looked straight into his eyes as if frightened of something when she felt his presence. He was just unashamedly drinking her in and she blushed. He knew he shouldn't do it so after a while he just reached out his hand towards her and closed his eyes concentrating, hoping the Force would help him. He opened his eyes just for a moment when he felt the rush of the Force bringing life. He got the last glimpse of her face radiating with joy and awe. And then she was gone.

...

She felt awkward wearing a 'dress' and she felt awkward being the only dressed up person. Even the bride was in her uniform and her only decoration was a delicate garland on her head made of tiny green twigs and delicate white flowers.

Rey wished she had asked about the dress code. She always thought that you should wear a dress when going to a wedding even though she had never attended one. She worked so hard all morning to create something presentable out of nothing. And she ended up overdressed. The smirk that appeared on Poe's face when he saw her from afar, carried a promise of him teasing her no end about it.

She sighed and tried to focus on the ceremony but all she could think about was Ben's touch during the command meeting. His consideration moved her more than she was ready to admit, even to herself.

As she had his picture in mind already, she didn't realise at first that she was looking at him through the connection. She was shocked that maybe she managed to do it again, that she somehow managed to open the link even though she didn't mean to.

Her eyes were caught by his in some magnetic pull she couldn't and didn't want to break. For a brief moment, she thought, she saw admiration in his eyes. She could feel her cheeks blushing but she was not going to drop her eyes. She didn't want to miss one second of this magical moment. They just stayed like this until he finally slowly reached out his hand towards her and closed his eyes focusing on something.

She almost jumped when after several seconds someone touched her shoulder. She looked around. The air was filled with joy. Everyone, even the newlyweds, was looking at her and pointing out at the twigs in her hand and in her hair. Even Chewie was excited and was his noisy self again.

She looked down and then she saw it as well. Her twig was getting greener, new leaves were growing and flower buds appeared. As she was looking, they slowly started opening up into a full bloom. Their delicate purple petals curled back exposing white insides and the sweet fragrance filled the air. People started clapping and cheering.

She looked at Ben, but he was gone, the link was closed again.

Everyone wanted to touch the blooming twig. People were passing it around. They all thought making the twigs bloom was her doing and she wanted to shout that it was Ben Solo who brought them so much joy but she didn't know how to explain it to them.

All gathered took it as a good omen not only for the newlywed couple but also for the war.

'The tide is changing!' – Someone shouted.

Rey was standing rooted to the spot. Her eyes, at first watching the happy couple kissing over the blooming twig and accepting everyone else's twigs and wishes, moved to the spot where, barely a few minutes ago, Ben stood. She suddenly realised that she wanted to be in Rose's place one day… with Ben by her side.

But how could there be a happy ending for them?

She couldn't find the answer. All she knew very clearly though was that she couldn't imagine her future with anyone else.