Revan's face tilts up, and he looks in control. The Emperor's energy is still there in the force, clashing with Revan's, but he is contained. For one moment Jeyna has the alarming idea that Revan is staring directly at her. Chills rocket down her spine at the expression on his face, before she realizes his eyes are not focused on her. Rather, they are staring at a space between where he kneels and she hovers by Hux.
Ben follows Revan's line of site and his eyes widen in shock. She struggles to see what he is responding to so strongly, but all she can make out is a vague shimmering between them. Something in the force is disturbing the air, and she can't see more than that. But Ben appears to sense more, staring at that place where Revan's gaze has locked.
"Bastila," Revan sighs. His hands relax by his sides, his expression becoming something peaceful.
Jeyna searches the space between them, desperately wanting to see what Ben and Revan see. Is it Bastila Shan? Has her presence somehow come for him? But no matter how her eyes roam, she can see nothing more than a shifting mirage, dancing in the air.
Revan's mouth softens into a small smile before his eyes slide closed, his face falling down towards his chest. One moment he is there, and the next, he vanishes. Jeyna's mouth falls open as his clothing crumples to the floor.
A blast of force energy is released, and it washes over her, radiating outwards from the space Revan's body had previously occupied. The shimmering in the space before her grows stronger, and she breathes heavier as overwhelming joy hits her suddenly. She knows, somehow, that it is coming from Revan. It grows, swelling her heart with relief and happiness that isn't hers. And then it is gone, snapping away from her as the distant connection with Revan breaks.
That small part of her that has been tied to him all her life is only now noticeable when cut free of the tether. The energy in the air fades, before the atmosphere settles back into calmness.
Ben's eyes raise from where the disturbance had been, seeing Jeyna kneeling beside Hux. His lightsaber twitches upwards, eyes narrowing.
"It's okay," she tells him immediately, standing. But Ben's expression has turned threatening, focused on the redheaded man on the ground.
Hux tries to push himself up, groaning. "Go. I'll call off the fighters," he tells Jeyna, voice weak. "Tell Organa the First Order wants a ceasefire."
Leaving Corellia
True to Hux's word, the TIE fighters retreat from the battle as the Millennium Falcon departs the Supremacy. The First Order's fleet falls back, and as the message spreads throughout the Rebel forces, they do as well.
Han sits in the copilot's seat, and Jeyna watches from her spot near the navigation chart as he leans forward to look outside. He watches with fascination as the TIE fighters blow right by them, none opening fire. "Guess we didn't need Chewie on the cannon for our retreat," Han muses. "He's going to be bored down there."
"Another hit and we could have a hull breach," Ben replies. "We're lucky he pulled back their forces."
"How did you manage that?" Han asks curiously, studying his son as Ben pilots them away from the planet.
Ben shrugs. "I didn't. It was Jeyna."
Han turns to give her an incredulous look, but Jeyna can only shrug in response. She hadn't intended this consequence, as fortunate as it might be. In the distance, she sees the Resistance command vessel appear to stretch and distort, as it jumps to hyperspace. A moment later, and they join it.
Jeyna looks away from the viewport, to where Han is still surveying her. "So, what is the stupidest thing you've ever done?" she asks, remembering his earlier promise to tell her.
Han smiles broadly. "Oh, you're going to like this story. I had this job on Nar Shaddaa, and I had to sneak into a Hutt's warehouse-"
Ben groans loudly, spinning around so Jeyna can see the pleading look on his face. "Not that story. Please do not tell her that story."
"That's a hilarious story, why not?" Han demands.
Ben shakes his head. "No one needs to hear that about a Hutt. No one needs to picture that on a Hutt."
Han seems to rethink before sighing. "Would you rather I tell her about the butterfly mission?"
Jeyna is amused to see a pink flush creep into Ben's cheeks, spreading down his neck. Is he embarrassed? She can't recall ever seeing such an emotion on him. He swallows heavily. "Can you at least let me marry her before you start sharing childhood stories about me?" Ben asks after a moment.
Han rolls his eyes. "Then hurry up and marry her," he suggests, standing. He strides to the exit of the cockpit, pausing to explain. "I'm going to check the damage to the engine room. We might need to get it fixed up before you can take her off D'Qar."
Ben's eyes narrow in disbelief at his father. "You're letting me take the Falcon?"
Han nods. "I won't need her. I've got someplace I need to be."
"Where is that?" Jeyna asks curiously. Won't he need a ship to get to wherever he is going?
Han smiles. "Wherever Leia is," he answers simply, leaving the space to head towards the engines.
She turns to look back at Ben, and finds him already watching her. The pink lingers in his skin, and she finds it oddly appealing. "Do I not get to hear about the butterfly mission, then?" she asks, smiling teasingly. The pink deepens, and her smile grows with appreciation. The blush softens him, and she loves it.
Ben looks flustered, lost for words. His eyes search hers with hesitation. She feels his presence, testing at the edge of her mind, and she opens to him. His energy is so nervous as it mingles with hers. As she stares into his eyes, she can feel him holding back from what he wants to say.
"Ben," Jeyna breathes, his nerves managing to infiltrate her own emotions.
The ship lurches slightly as they drop out of hyperspace, and Ben has to turn away, breaking his hold of her gaze. D'Qar looms closer as he takes over from autopilot, bringing them down closer to the Rebel base. Their landing is a bit rough, indicating that Han was most likely correct about needing to do repairs before flying the ship again.
Jeyna pauses in the main hold, instead of following Han and Chewie out into the bright daylight of D'Qar. Revan's robes and lightsabers are sitting on one of the flight seats where she had dropped them in a hurry departing the Supremacy. She surveys them, feeling something like remorse that this is all that remains of the man she'd barely gotten to know. He had sacrificed himself to protect them all from a threat that had lurked for millennia.
"You're sad he is gone," Ben comments quietly from behind her.
Jeyna bites her lip, considering that. "There's so much I would have liked to ask him… So much I could have learned. Can you imagine everything he's been through? All of those historical events he saw, firsthand? It's all just…lost with him."
What she says is true, the scholar in her is mourning the lost opportunities. But truthfully, there is something more. Meeting Revan had only made him seem more of a mystery. That part of her that had held onto him since she was a child, clinging onto his legend when she had nothing else, feels a little lost now.
"It might not be as lost as you think," Ben says.
Jeyna gives him a questioning look. "What do you mean?"
"Before we breached the Supremacy's hangar, he told me to take the droid to Dantooine. That there might be something there you'd appreciate," Ben explains.
Her eyebrows raise, that familiar old burning curiosity returning. Had there been more on Dantooine than she'd found on her last visit? "Did he say what?" she asks eagerly.
Ben shakes his head, and she's surprised when he sits the lightsaber Luke gave him down by Revan's. She has a feeling as she stares at the three sabers, that Ben will not be using any of them. There is so much history there, in those three relics. She can almost feel it, echoes within the kyber crystals.
"Leia is looking for us," Ben says after a moment, breaking Jeyna from her thoughts. She nods, following him from the ship.
Minutes Later
Jeyna watches as Leia embraces her son, love and pride radiating from his mother. Then she freezes when Leia releases Ben, only to pull Jeyna into a surprisingly strong hug. She tentatively wraps her arms around the older woman in return. "General Hux has requested to begin negotiations on behalf of the First Order," Leia explains, releasing her.
Jeyna stares at her in shock. "He has!?"
Leia shakes her head thoughtfully, but can't keep the hopeful smile off her face. "His message indicated he is aware that we have a common enemy. He feels the survival of the galaxy requires mutual cooperation," Leia says. "Of course, it could be a lie, but given what Luke says he experienced with the Emperor… Perhaps he is being genuine."
"One small action can have very far reaching consequences," Luke speaks up from beside Ben. "Your small act of compassion turned the heart of your enemy."
Jeyna is stunned into silence, unsure what to say. Leia tempers the news with rationality. "We have to try to not get our hopes up too much. He is only one man, and it is probable others in the First Order will disagree with his decision. But any relaxation of hostilities would be enough to let us rebuild the Republic, so this could be very good."
"He will most likely have detractors to contend with," Ben speaks up. "But division within the Order will weaken it. Either way, it will benefit the Republic."
Leia nods, looking content. Han and Chewie approach the group where they stand, in the shadow of one of the large hills of D'Qar. Han looks nervous as he reaches to kiss Leia's cheek in greeting, but she smiles reassuringly at him.
Jeyna looks away from the pair, from the way they look at one another as if the rest of the world has vanished. Her gaze catches Ben's, and she notices he has also awkwardly looked away from the tender way his parents are staring at each other. He holds his hand out, waiting like an invitation, and she takes it.
They slip away from the group, the sound of Chewie roaring something and Luke laughing following them as they disappear into the underground base. The Rebels they pass seem high energy, excited. The mission was viewed as a success, and the following news of a possible peace treaty with the First Order has their spirits high.
Jeyna and Ben sneak through them, hands entangled as he leads her to their temporary quarters. The minute the door slides shut, they collide. Ben's arms surround her, urging her up on her tiptoes even as he hunches down to meet her in the eager kiss. His lips are soft and teasing, gently luring her into parting her own for his tongue. She edges back, dragging him with fingers twisted in his shirt to pull him down with her as she falls onto the bed.
She searches for the edge of his shirt, sliding her hands up underneath it to run them over his warm skin. Ben breaks from her lips to search onwards with his mouth, kissing her everywhere. She giggles slightly when he lays kisses on her cheeks, her forehead, even the tip of her nose. But the giggles turn to a quiet gasp when he tucks his head to find her throat, kissing and grazing his teeth over her pulse.
She shifts, pulling her legs up to wrap around his waist, pressing herself to him. Jeyna runs her fingers gently through his hair, her mind spinning with love as she tries to reach out. For the first time she is successful, strengthening their connection on her own. Her awareness of his feelings grows, affection and lust battling as his lips caress the delicate skin below her ear.
"Marry me," he breathes lightly, so lightly she wonders if she really heard it.
"What?" she asks, half dizzy and surprised.
Ben pulls back, and she opens her eyes to see his, cautious and longing. "Marry me?" he repeats. She feels him holding his breath.
"Yes," she whispers without hesitation. The tension fades from his gaze, and she smiles at the nervousness he'd been feeling. Had he really doubted what she'd say? She was already his, and everything else was a formality to her. She captures his lips, pouring her passion into their kiss. Ben groans softly against her at the way she kisses him, his hips grinding down into hers. The motion is enough to send any sensible thoughts spinning from both of their minds.
Later
Her skin feels so hot against the cool air, her breaths rapid as she tries to calm her racing heart. Ben pulls her back against him, shifting down so he can nuzzle into the crook of her neck. For a long time there is nothing but their breathing, gradually slowing as they both return to reality. His hands trace slow, random patterns over her bare body before he speaks.
"I don't think I did that right," he admits quietly.
Jeyna furrows her eyebrows, confused. "I thought you did everything right," she replies. Ben laughs slightly, his chest shaking against her. She can feel him smiling against her skin before he explains.
"I meant, I think I was supposed to get down on one knee," he says.
Her eyes widen. "Oh! Oh, you meant that…"
He laughs again, his arm tightening around her affectionately. "Yes, that…"
"I don't really know what you're supposed to do," Jeyna answers after a moment. She hadn't ever thought about it, romance and marriage had always been the last thing on her mind. "But it was perfect, to me," she adds quietly. She feels her cheeks warm with a blush for some reason.
"Good," he says softly. Ben shifts, and she feels him pull blankets up over their entangled legs. Her sleepy mind ponders the time. Isn't it still daylight outside? But she is tired, and she realizes it doesn't matter if they sleep now. She feels safe, for the first time in so long. And with that, she realizes she is happy in a way she hasn't experienced much before. A peaceful happiness that feels calm as she lays with him. She lets herself relax in the security of his arms, her mind finally, blissfully quiet.