Hi friends! So sorry for the delay - you know how life is these days! Happy reading :)

Chapter 10

"How long will it take us to get to Coruscant?" Rey asked nonchalantly, walking up from behind Ben, who sat in one of the pilot chairs.

"Another day or so," Ben answered, glancing up at her over his shoulder.

From outside the cockpit an electric zap and a loud wookie roar of curses could be heard, making both of them stifle a laugh. Chewie, the only other member along for their adventure, had been trying to change a blown fuse for well over an hour, causing several more blown fuses in the process.

Rey leaned her midsection lightly against the back of the chair, her arms wrapping loosely around Ben's neck. She watched as stars and planets blurred, wondering at their beauty. She was jerked out of her momentary trance by an alarm from the console. She watched as Ben's hands followed the same path she was already taking in her mind, deftly turning several knobs to stabilize the electrical overload. Chewie groaned an apology from outside and Ben pulled a lever to silence the alarm. Upon pulling it into the correct position, the lever handle snapped off, causing the pilot to emit a loud groan of frustration.

"Piece of junk…" He grumbled, placing the broken piece into Rey's already outstretched hand.

She pursed her lips, trying to hide her amusement while taking the broken piece from him. He rolled his eyes in response, but when his fingers brushed hers, his annoyance at the aging freighter was replaced with Rey's playful emotions - as if he could see the laughable scene from her eyes.

Simultaneously, they each turned back to their own task, with Ben resuming the piloting and Rey turning on her heel to tinker with the broken handle. As the peaceful silence of the cockpit enveloped him, Ben thought about how Rey would likely return shortly with something even better than the original. As much as they were both similar in their aptitude for mechanics and piloting, only Rey could turn such junk into treasure.

Several hours later, Chewie took over the pilot's seat to give Ben a break. Aside from the occasional mechanical whirr or beep, the ship was silent. In the captain's quarters, both Rey and Ben sat facing one another, eyes closed in deep meditation. Previously, they had each been able to see glimpses of the other's memories, but they came in sporadic flashes. Ben had suggested they now try something new.

Within her mind, Rey suddenly saw a new surrounding begin to envelope her. She found herself in a brightly lit and somewhat ostentatious hall with a long staircase in the middle that led up to a second floor balcony. The sounds of conversation and light music filled the air and she now could see all manner of beings around the hall, formally dressed and bejeweled. The room became hushed and everyone's attention turned to the staircase, where a youthful Leia gracefully descended while holding onto the hand of a small, wide-eyed boy.

Rey smiled outwardly, even while in meditation, at the vision of Ben as a child from within his own memory. When Leia and young Ben reached the bottom of the staircase, Leia leaned down to whisper in her son's ear. Whatever she had said had caused him to stand a little straighter and nod his head.

He looked to be about six years old, and had already mastered a brooding facial expression beneath his dark mop of hair. The scene continued as Rey watched, enraptured. Little Ben let go of his mother's hand as she greeted a group of richly clad dignitaries. Stiffly, Ben made his way through the crowd, finding the banquet table. He grabbed a handful of exotic-looking sweets and wandered over to the edge of the room away from the crowd. He was joyfully munching away at his sugar-filled contraband when Rey watched him suddenly drop it all on the ground as a glazed look of shock took over his face. Through the memory, Rey could sense the overwhelming darkness and hear a disembodied, insidious voice call to the child. The small boy's eyes squeezed shut and his lower lip began to quiver slightly, as if he might cry.

The heavy fog of the darkness suddenly vanished when the child heard the voice of his father call out, "Hey, kid! There you are."

Even as a child, Ben regained his composure quickly with a smile of relief.

"Got into the desserts, huh kid?" Han Solo said with his signature smirk.

Ben nodded in reply, looking at the treats he had dropped on the floor in front of him.

Han looked around secretively before whispering, "Well let's go grab a couple more, before your mother finds us. C'mon, Ben."

The dark moment forgotten, little Ben happily followed his father before the memory began to fade away within Rey's mind. Her eyes flew open, blinking rapidly to adjust to the low light of the room. Across from her, Ben watched her expression with a wariness she had not seen before.

"Was that -?" She began

"The first time I consciously heard the voice speaking, yes," Ben finished quietly.

"You were so young," Rey lamented, reaching for his hand and stroking his forearm comfortingly.

Ben took a deep breath, placing her hand back on her own knee, "I want to show you one more."

Again, they both closed their eyes as their breathing became in sync with one another, deep and slow. Rey focused, and as if she were entering a tunnel, a new scene played before her eyes that surprised her. She found herself staring into her own frightened and defiant eyes. He was showing her the time he had her strapped to an interrogation chair from when they had first crossed paths. This time, Rey found that she was looking through Ben's eyes, feeling his own emotions and thoughts in the memory.

"Don't be afraid, I feel it, too," Kylo Ren spoke calmly as he reached into Rey's mind. The sensation of seeing into her own mind from another's perspective was dizzying. She remembered her own fear and confusion in the moment, but was surprised to see a mirrored fear and confusion from within him, too. As he sifted through her thoughts, she felt his shock at experiencing her hidden power in the light. That first brief connection they had experienced had created a shift within the mighty Kylo Ren, creating a chip in the darkness he had shielded himself in for so long.

The connection ended abruptly with a snap, as if a stretched band had been broken from too much tension. Kylo Ren's hand recoiled as the Rey restrained before him pushed back into his own mind. She could feel the racing of his heart, the panic, and the curiosity he was feeling towards her. Neither had known it then, but it had been the beginning of the end of Kylo Ren. From this memory, their Bond had been born.

Though this memory had been painful to re-live, it now took on a new and peaceful connotation within Rey. Slowly, she opened her eyes, again looking into Ben's slightly worried face.

Gracefully, she uncrossed her legs and closed the small gap between them, kneeling next to him and placing a hand on either side of his face. She smiled widely at him before pulling him in for a long kiss, letting her hands trail down to his neck and then shoulders. She could feel his mouth turn up into a small smile as they deepened the kiss and gasped when he pulled her into his lap. Slowly, Ben stood up out of the cross legged position and maintaining his hold on her, carried her bridal-style without breaking their kiss. Ben waved the hand that was under Rey's knees to open the door leading to the bedroom. They both laughed when he tripped over the foot of the bed, causing them to topple onto the pillowed mattress. The laughter stopped when Ben repositioned, pinning Rey's arms above her head with both his hands and a little aid from the Force. He smirked and raised an eyebrow in a silent challenge to Rey to try and escape.

Rey gave a show of a useless struggle, but they both knew that if she wanted to break free, she would have. Looking up into his eyes, the former scavenger gave him an uncharacteristically sultry gaze. That look fanned the flames already raging deep within his core, and Ben was lost in a momentary stupor. Taking advantage, Rey slipped free and rolled them over so that she was now the aggressor, enjoying the look of surprise on her lover's face.

She leaned down close to his face and whispered, "You know I can take whatever I want."

The next day…

Rey reached above her position in the co-pilot's chair to flip a switch and watched Ben next to her change the ship from auto-pilot to manual mode. Soon, they would enter the atmosphere of Coruscant.

She thought she had seen her fair share of planets since leaving Jakku; water planets, jungle planets, desert wasteland planets - enough that nothing more would surprise her. As the surface of Coruscant became clearer as they descended into the atmosphere, she found herself speechless from the sight. The planet's entire surface was covered with levels and levels of a massive and endless city, with more beings than she could ever have imagined to exist in the entire galaxy. The more details that came into view, the more amazed Rey was.

Having been there several times with his mother, Ben was somewhat familiar with Coruscant. After the fall of the Empire, there had been frequent trips with and without him to the planet by Leia. The planet, which had served as the capitol and center for many eras of changing control, was where many came to begin to build the nascent government and ward off the gangs fighting for the power vacuum created by the fall of the Emperor and the First Order.

Both of them felt the other slowly losing focus in their own thoughts, and they shared a quick glance and smile before turning to refocus their efforts on making a smooth landing. They found an open landing dock near the former Galactic Senate Building. Rey began powering down the Millenium Falcon, trying to calm her many thoughts that were now racing through her head about the beginnings of this new journey. A loud hiss signalled that Chewie had lowered the boarding ramp, and she could see his furry figure from outside the viewport, waving them to follow suit. She seemed frozen for a moment, taking in the overwhelming sights before her and wondering if perhaps blissful ignorance was better than the disappointment that might be ahead of her. Before worry took a permanent hold, she felt Ben's warm hand encompass hers and she felt that small light of hope grow for a brief moment.

Ben pulled her up to a standing position and smoothed a piece of stray hair that had loosed itself from her buns, "Let's get started."

Okay- I think I'm finally reading to get started with their little search. I have to admit, I'm a little daunted...this is where a lot of research will be needed to not go too far off base in the Star Wars world. Thanks for reading, reviews are so appreciated!