Not So Far
By SparklyTree3876

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Pairings: Ben/Rey and Han/Leia

Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here is my first Star Wars fic. It is AU where Ben never turned to the dark side and is living with his pregnant padawan and wife, Rey, on tropical world Tihon in which they enjoy their simple life, but things turn complicated when Han, Luke, and Chewie arrive. The idea came to me when I wondered what might have been if Ben never became Kylo Ren and took Rey on as his padawan learner in hopes of rebuilding the Jedi Order after destroying Luke's attempt at it. As a result, it was born. Unlike most fics, the main antagonist is female. I felt this would be a nice change of pace. I wrote a prologue due to there being so much detail to go through. I used information from the Wookiepedia and developed my own versions of the characters. Whether or not this will be a full-fledged tale or be a series of installments focusing on each movie of the sequel trilogy remains to be seen. I hope you enjoy this fic. Constructive criticism is welcome.

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Prologue

Thirty years have passed since the destruction of the second Death Star and the collapse of the Galactic Empire. The Rebel Alliance began rebuilding from the devastation by forming the New Republic. Mon Mothma was elected as Chancellor. A year after the Battle of Endor, the remnants of the Empire were defeated in the Battle of Jakku. They sued for peace and signed the Galactic Concordance. They fled into the Unknown Regions.

Han and Leia had a small wedding ceremony that was attended by those they trusted on Endor. She began her Jedi training with Luke, who suggested they do it on Ajan Kloss. She built her own lightsaber that produced a blue-colored blade. She trained in lightsaber combat and even managed to best him in a few sparring matches. She also practiced meditation and learned enough about the basics of the Force to levitate objects. He helped her to understand how it could give her visions. Unfortunately, her path to becoming a Jedi stopped when she had a vision of the death of her unborn son. She gave him her lightsaber for safekeeping and went on to serve the galaxy as a senator in the New Republic. She helped Han and Chewie free Kashyyyk from Imperial rule at one point, allowing the latter to return to his family.

Ben Solo was born on Chandrila. Han and Leia coined their own nicknames for him. He called him 'little bandit' while she referred to him as her 'little angel.' Ben's name was chosen by his father in honor of Obi-Wan, who went by it during his exile on Tatooine. Han began a successful shipping business while Leia continued to serve the New Republic. They and Luke were determined to keep Ben from knowing about his grandfather being Darth Vader until he was older. They entertained him with stories about Anakin Skywalker, especially with him earning the title of 'The Hero with No Fear.' Han and Leia did their best to build a normal life for him, but it was hard due to their careers.

Leia knew Ben was very strong in the Force courtesy of the Skywalker bloodline. She sensed both light and darkness in him. She asked Luke to train him in hopes of controlling the latter. He agreed to do so. At ten years old, Ben began his Jedi training. He excelled in it and became devoted to the ways of the Jedi. Luke established the Jedi Academy. He began taking on more students, which led Ben to begin to feel isolated. However, he did manage to build friendships with a few of them. He developed a fierce rivalry with one padawan going by the name of Vari. She considered him very arrogant while he believed she resented him greatly due to him being stronger in the Force than she was.

A new threat in the form of the First Order began to rise. It was led by Supreme Leader Snoke, who sought to rebuild the Empire's legacy. Leia tried to warn the Galactic Senate on Hosnian Prime about it, but she was dismissed as a warmonger. Snoke sensed the potential for balance of light and dark in Ben, so he began manipulating him from afar. When Ben was twenty-three, Leia's political enemies revealed she was the daughter of Vader. He was shocked to learn his grandfather had been a monster. He felt betrayed by his family. She was forced to resign and sent a desperate message of support to him, but it was too late to prevent his disillusionment with his family. Despite this, the retired Mon sent a message of her support to her and Han. Lando did the same from Pasaana, where he had settled to live as a hermit. Even Gial Ackbar, Amylin Holdo, and many others stuck up for her.

Luke became aware of the growing darkness in Ben. A month after the revelation, he had a vision of him destroying everything he loved. He went to confront him in his hut. In a moment of instinct, he drew his lightsaber and prepared to kill him. He became ashamed and found himself unable to do it. Ben woke up and was shocked to see his uncle standing over him. He believed he was about to be killed by him. He summoned his lightsaber and ignited it to strike him. Luke blocked the blow. Ben used the Force to collapse the hut on top of him. He emerged from the rubble, feeling angry and confused.

Ben's eyes clouded over with red. He noticed matching red storm clouds forming overheard. A lightning bolt struck the temple and set it on fire. It burned up, killing the students inside. He was knocked back by an explosion. When he recovered, he tried to go into the temple, but another explosion threw him down. He cried that he never wanted this. He felt so much shame and remorse. Snoke's voice told him he was not responsible, but Luke and the Jedi were. He demanded the young man join him.

Ben realized what Snoke had been doing to him and refused to join him. He decided to flee to tropical world Tihon in the Unknown Regions instead. He intended to live there in exile. He found it to be perfect as Force-sensitive individuals could not be detected easily there. He built a hut on a stretch of beach and befriended a young male tiger he named Marcus. He spent his days hunting, fishing, swimming, gathering fruit, and keeping his lightsaber skills up to par. Marcus became his hunting partner.

Luke emerged from the rubble to find his temple burning. He was devastated that his efforts to rebuild the Jedi Order had been destroyed. He sent Artoo to Leia, so she could watch over him as she led the Resistance that she started to counteract the threat of the First Order. He exiled himself to Ahch-To, the location of the first Jedi temple. He wanted to grieve alone. Vari had been on an off-world mission when the disaster happened. She returned and was devastated at the loss. She had little doubt Ben was responsible and vowed to hunt him down and make him pay for what happened.

Han promised Leia he would find Ben and bring him home. He enlisted Chewie's help. The Wookie was more than happy to aid him. Snoke sensed the growing darkness in Vari as she became obsessed with finding Ben and killing him. He used the Force to locate her on Oliss, an Outer Rim world. He came to her and offered her great power to avenge her friends. She was reluctant at first, but she became convinced when he said Luke was responsible for what happened. She joined him and faced Ren, the Master of the Knights of Ren. It was a test to serve the dark side. Ren doubted her ability to kill. She called him arrogant and fought him in a lightsaber duel. He held the upper hand for a while, but she used her anger and aggression to defeat him. She beheaded him and snagged the title of Master of the Knights. She chose to keep her name instead of changing it. She didn't want to wear a mask, though she let the knights keep theirs. Ben felt her fall, but he did not hold himself responsible. He considered it her own doing.

Eighteen months into his exile on Tihon, Ben was asleep when he sensed a strange presence in his hut. He woke up to find a seventeen-year-old girl seemingly sitting in a chair across from him. He freaked out, as did she. She was actually in a downed Imperial walker on Jakku. They asked each other what was going on. He told her his name. She introduced herself as Rey and said she was left on the desert planet by her parents, Jared and Lily, as a little girl for an unknown reason. Unkar Plutt had been entrusted to be her caregiver. She revealed she was aware her parents were never coming back and that she scavenged for a living. Ben sympathized with her and told her about his past. She felt sorry for him.

Over the next several days, Ben and Rey talked with each other extensively. He realized they had formed a dyad, a unique Force bond connecting two Force-sensitive individuals physically and mentally across time and space. He sensed she had the same raw and untamed power that he did. He feared Snoke would become aware of her and try to turn her to the dark side. He saw a chance to redeem himself by restarting the Jedi Order. He went to Jakku to get her. He found her being harassed by two scavengers in the Niima Outpost. He ignited his lightsaber and chased them off. He asked her to come with him to learn the ways of the Jedi. She agreed to be his padawan.

Before the duo could depart, Unkar confronted Ben about where he was taking Rey. Ben said he was taking her far away where she would be safe and vowed to protect her with his life if he sent anyone to find her. He pointed his lightsaber at him. Unkar became afraid and backed off. Ben and Rey returned to Tihon. He began training her immediately, and she progressed very quickly. He taught her how to hunt, swim, fish, and gather fruit. She built her own lightsaber that ignited a green blade. She befriended an adult male gray macaw she named Phoenix and taught him to speak. He started to communicate with Anakin frequently. She found herself having conversations with Padme. Master and padawan became romantically involved.

Two-and-a-half years later, Luke came out of exile as he had come to terms with his failure. He rejoined Han and Leia on D'Qar, the location of the Resistance base. Han had returned from another trip with Chewie empty-handed. After catching up with his brother-in-law and sister, Luke said he wanted to help to find Ben in an effort to make amends with him. He was aware of Vari's fall to the dark side having sensed it. Han was more than happy to let him come along. Vari became aware of her former master's survival six months later. She extended her hunt to get rid of him to prevent the Jedi from ever rising again.

Ben and Rey learned they were expecting their first child six months later. They were very excited about it. He proposed to her to which she accepted. They married on the beach the next day. Their wedding was witnessed by a number of Force ghosts. Among them were Anakin, Padme, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Mace, and even Yoda. She was now just a few weeks away from giving birth. Little did the couple know that their tranquil life was about to be interrupted.