"Ben!"

Han's voice makes him stop in the middle of the bridge to the park and he can't move, suddenly remembering the span where he watched himself murder his own father. His vision is bathed in red, his father's remembered face shocked and strangely accepting as he'd taken his life.

He wants to sprint away, irrationally afraid that somehow, without meaning to, he'll replay that nightmare scenario.

But when he turns, his father is almost to him, and just like in Rey's memory, they stand in the middle of the narrow bridge. His father looks pleading and frustrated; Ben can only lock his knees to keep from collapsing.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Han hollers, mincing no words. "Come home." He reaches out his hand and beckons to Ben.

"I'm being torn apart," Ben sobs. "I don't know who I am anymore!"

"You're my son," Han says firmly.

"Do you even know who that is?" Ben snarls. How could he when he doesn't know what his boy is capable of? What these hands will do ...

"Yes, I do. You're the boy who wanted to see the stars, shoot his first blaster. You're the man I'd always hoped you'd become."

"NO! You don't understand!" Ben yells, seeing himself killing his father over and over again. What can he do to stop that, now? Vader's grandson can only ever be one thing.

"Then explain it to me."

Ben snorts. "You never wanted to know about the Force before."

Han sighs. "And I was wrong. Explain it to me," he repeats.

Shoulder's slumping, Ben finds himself admitting. "I've struggled with the dark my entire life, and now I know why. It feels … it feels like I have no control. That the dark is my destiny."

"It's not, I know it's not. You're a good boy. A good man."

"Then how … how … how …." He chokes on the tears flowing down his face.

Han looks truly worried now. "Ben … tell me."

"I can't," Ben shudders out, afraid that to speak the words will somehow make them true, standing on this crossroads. He can almost feel his father's flesh split under that hissing blood-red blade.

"You can," Han urges.

"You'll hate me," he moans out.

"I could never hate you," Han says with more affection than Ben has ever heard from his father.

Ben looks at him hesitantly. Maybe he should tell him. Warn him. Then he'll understand what kind of monster his son truly is. "When I was in Rey's mind, I saw—I saw—"

His father nods encouragingly.

Ben can't look at him when he finally chokes out, "I kill you, Dad. I don't know when, but whatever I become … I … I …" He can't bring himself to say it again.

He chances a peak at his father, who's frowning. Han's jaw works, but he stays silent, looking over the side of the bridge.

"Please say something," Ben pleads. Hate me.

His father rubs his chin. "It seems to me that you're carrying a lot of guilt for things you haven't done. I'm right here. You haven't ever hurt me, and I don't think you will."

"But Rey—"

"Came to change things. I don't pretend to understand all that Force stuff, but I know you, and I like to think I'm getting to know your girl. Whatever happened to make you feel you had no choice but the dark, I have to believe that the two of you will stop it. Hell, you probably already have."

"But, Vader!"

"Yeah, so what? I mean, I'd like to go back in time myself and kill the bastard again for what he did to your mother. But is she dark? Is your uncle?"

He shakes his head. "I don't … I don't know anything anymore."

"Well, I'll tell you one thing I know. You're the man who won't abandon your girl."

Ben scoffs. "Even if that's the best thing I could do for her?"

"Don't be a bantha's ass. Rey is crying her eyes out, sobbing 'come back' over and over again. Do you really think leaving is what she needs?"

That strikes at him, deep inside. "I … I didn't mean—"

"What did you think was gonna happen when you leave her like that? You think you're the only one struggling? So Vader is your grandfather. So what? She's related to the damned Emperor and you don't see her running away, do you?"

"No," Ben admits sullenly.

"No. She's doing everything she can to help you be the man she knows you can be, not running from her problems."

"I just needed time to clear my head," Ben defends mulishly.

"Did you make sure she understood that?"

"I told her."

"But did you even think about how she was feeling?"

"Like you ever thought about how mom felt when you'd just fly away," Ben accuses snidely.

"How do you think I learned this?! She almost left me!"

Ben blinks at this revelation and the fight leaves him. "I didn't know."

"We didn't want you to. It's our job to protect you."

"Yeah, well, I think you protected me so much I was all alone."

"I know … I can't change it, but, Ben, you're screwing up with Rey. "

"I don't … I don't mean to."

"Doesn't change that you hurt her tonight."

Ben remembers her stricken face, and how afraid she'd been that he'd be repulsed by her and he suddenly sees that she'd shared something deeply personal and he'd made it all about him.

"Damn," Ben mutters

"Now get your ass back home. Fix this. All that's changed is you know some old family history. You're the same person you were yesterday."

Ben blinks and lets out a long breath, and with it goes much of his fear. His father is right. The only thing different is that he knows something he'd rather forget.

"And, you left without any shoes, ya moof-milker."

Ben looks down at his bare feet and sleeping pants and feels like ten kinds of fool. He'd raced off into the night with only a coat and left Rey.

How could he do that?


He finds her curled up in a ball in the family room and he gently calls out, "Rey?"

"Ben!" she exclaims as she jumps to her feet and runs to him. He catches her in his arms and holds her, so close.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I'm so sorry."

"You can't … you can't leave me like that."

"I know, I know."

"After saying you wanted to leave for good, I didn't … I didn't know you were coming back."

"I told you I was coming back," he reminds her.

"I know, but I couldn't hold onto that. All I could remember was my parents leaving me, and, I just … I just broke."

He kisses her forehead gently. "Rey, I'm never leaving you. Sometimes I might need to have a moment to myself, but I'll always come back."

"Please don't ever talk about leaving me for my own good ever again."

He looks down and finds her expression dead serious and he nods. "Alright. I promise. No more talking of leaving."

"No running away," she presses.

"No running away."

She nods and nuzzles her face into his coat, then she tries to stifle a yawn. Ben peers down, really looking at her. Her eyes are swollen and red and she looks utterly exhausted. Without thinking about it, he sweeps her up into his arms and starts to head to their bedroom.

"Ben!" she squeals.

"Time to get you back to bed. Enough Skywalker dramatics for one night."

She wraps her arms around his neck and turns her face until it's hidden in the crook of his neck. He feels her murmuring something against his skin.

"Hmmm, sweetheart?"

"I said, I love when you carry me."

"Well, I love carrying you. Isn't that convenient?"

He kicks open the bedroom door and brings her inside, gently setting her on the bed. As he removes his coat, she giggles. "What?" he asks in confusion.

"You went out in just your sleeping pants and a coat. No shirt. Or shoes."

"Yeah. I know. I wasn't thinking very clearly."

"Obviously," she teases.

He's about to get into bed when Rey shakes her head. "Off," she says as she pulls away her robe, revealing her perfect body.

His eyebrows rise. He's not sure he's in quite the right headspace for exploration, but then she's shaking her head again. "No, I just need to feel your skin."

This, this he can get behind. There's something so sublime about feeling their skin move together, it's centering, comforting, as well as scintillating.

He shucks off his sleeping pants and crawls into bed. She immediately slides into his arms and oh, oh, the feel of her. Nothing could ever have prepared him for the totality of Rey.

Rey … his beautiful, perfect other half. How could he have imagined ever being without her? All of him cries out for all of her, and he feels supremely idiotic for ever having had the idea in the first place.

Her head is on his chest, his arm wrapped around her, playing with her hair. With his other arm, he pulls her even closer. "I really am sorry for earlier."

"I know."

"And I don't care about you being related to Palpatine. We're both struggling with our ancestry, and I know that who you are has nothing to do with his blood."

"I know the same thing about you," she assures. Ben pushes away that voice inside him that wants to argue, wants to say that he's marked for life by this revelation. That voice is wrong and he's going to prove it to his family, Rey, himself.

"I could never leave you. Please know that," he vows.

She nods. "I know that here." She touches her forehead. "But I couldn't get my heart to stop breaking."

"Oh, Rey …" he whispers. Ugly guilt twists in his belly, and he knows he's not going to make her doubt his constancy ever again, not if he can help it.

"I just … for so long I was the girl who waited. For a family that was already dead. I can't … I can't be her again."

"You won't be. I promise, I promise."

"I was so lonely," she chokes out.

"I know, I know."

"I thought if I was just good enough, they'd come back. But no matter what I did, I was always, always so alone."

"You'll never be alone again. I'm here. I'm here and I'll always be here," he croons.

"I love you, Ben," she declares.

"And I love you," he confirms.


Rey is dead to the world when he wakes up. He considers disturbing her slumber, but instead he just settles in to soak her up. He's not going to allow her to awaken to an empty bed, not after last night. If that means he simply watches her sleep, then so be it.

It's not exactly difficult.


She stretches languidly and scrunches up her face. It might be the most adorable thing he's ever seen.

Then the covers slip and her gorgeous breasts are begging for him to taste. After having so much time to simply let his eyes roam over her, he's been having rather detailed fantasies all morning. He hopefully catches her eyes, and he sees answering heat, so he slowly bends his head and latches on, suckling at her gently. She groans and arches her back; he sucks harder in answer.

She takes his hand and pulls it to her center and he chuckles against her skin. She's certainly not shy about what she wants and his eager fingers slide between her folds.


They eventually make their way to the kitchen after they'd both readied for the day. It's late morning so he's not surprised that his parents are nowhere to be found.

He's relieved, in a way. He's not sure he's ready to talk to his mother in the light of day. He still doesn't really know how to feel about her keeping such a huge secret from him. He's not angry any longer, more hurt. Like a bruise he can't stop pressing.

Rey keeps close to him, and he understands all too well how she's feeling. He doesn't want to let her out of his sight, either. But then the door alert sounds and Ben startles. They don't usually receive visitors and he waits to see if either of his parents are home to answer the door, but there's no movement. Huh, they must not be home.

The alert sounds again, and he considers not answering it, but it might be something important for his mother's position, so he makes his way to the foyer.

His brain can't quite process who he finds when he opens the door. The Twi'lek, Darrah, is standing on the other side wearing an indecently low-cut dress that barely covers her.

"Ben!" she says with a treacly sort of enthusiasm. "I'd hoped you'd be the one to answer the door!"

"How … how'd you know where I live?" he asks slowly.

"Don't you remember? I picked you up when you were home last summer."

He runs his hand through his hair, trying to remember. Dimly the memory comes and he says, "Right, yeah. Uhm. What did you need?"

"Well … I thought I'd find out if you were busy. Maybe we could go out, pick up where we left off …?" she suggests seductively, stepping into the apartment and running her fingers along his tunic. Why is she always touching him?

That's of course the moment Rey joins them. He can feel her rage through the Force.

"Hands off!" Rey snarls.

Darrah's eyes go wide and she snatches her hand back. Then Rey rounds on Ben. "What the hell is she doing here?"

"I really have no idea," he says, holding his hands in a defensive position. "She just showed up."

"Oh," Rey says, not looking the least mollified. "You need to leave," Rey hisses at the Twi'lek.

Darrah pouts. "So this," she gestures between Ben and Rey, "is serious?" She eyes Rey up and down and almost sneers. That's a step too far for Ben and he puts his arm around Rey possessively.

"Very," he says sharply.

"Well, when things don't work out, comm me," Darrah purrs.

That's when Rey snaps and a wave of the Force pushes Darrah out the door and on her ass. Another wave slides the door shut with a lout snick. The last thing Ben hears from Darrah is an indignant howl.

Ben looks down at Rey in surprise. Rey isn't usually so … forceful.

She grabs him by the collar and pulls his face down to hers. She kisses him fiercely then actually growls, "Mine! You're mine!"

Ben nods dumbly, surprised at how her words have gone straight to his core. Then she's pulling him along, declaring, "Bed!" along the way.

He almost trips over his feet in his rush to follow.


A/N: This chapter is unbeta'd, so don't blame ArtemisBare for anything wrong. :D

Thank you, Readers! I got back from our trip, so there should be another chapter tomorrow. I suspect that I'll be back on my chapter a day streak as well. Thank you for being the most stupendous group of people out there!