"Life as a Dyad"

By EsmeAmelia

Chapter 2

After Ben helped save the kidnapped children on Geonosis many years ago, the Resistance generals had argued for a "lighter sentence," which not only meant he didn't get life, but it also meant that he was able to have his meals in the prison cafeteria. Of course, the cafeteria was still a gray windowless box with guards everywhere, but at least it was a larger box than his cell and it gave him a chance to talk with his fellow prisoners.

"Hey, can I sit?"

Ben looked up and there was Neven Daru, a fellow prisoner who'd been sentenced around five years after Ben was. Though Neven was about Rey's age, he always seemed younger to Ben, perhaps because of his round, boyish face and scruffy mess of blonde hair.

"Sure," said Ben.

"So," Neven said as he sat next to Ben and rather noisily placed his tray on the table, "finally a free man tomorrow, eh?"

"Out of prison, at least," said Ben, absentmindedly poking his fork at his salad. "You can bet they'll still keep an eye on me afterwards."

"But still, you'll be out." Neven stuck a forkful of nerf steak into his mouth in an exaggerated manner. "Meanwhile, they get to take care of me for another decade. Maybe if I regretted killing my own dad like you do, I'd have gotten some generals arguing for me too."

Ben inadvertently flinched.

"Sorry, didn't mean to disrespect your old man," said Neven. "Hell, I wish your old man was also my old man instead of my old man being the abusive prick he was."

"Can we talk about something else?" Ben quickly asked.

"Okay, sorry," said Neven. "Hey, you'll have your wife and kid greeting you tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah," said Ben, "except my 'kid' is twenty-four years old."

"Before my mom died, she'd say I'd always be her kid no matter how old I got."

Ben actually felt a half-grin pulling at his face. "My dad would say the same thing about me."

"There, see? Gavin's still your kid. Hell, you're lucky to have a family to come home to - when I get out, I don't know where the hell I'm gonna go."

Ben took a bite of the tasteless salad, chewing it thoughtfully. "Maybe you could look us up. My wife might be able to help you find a job - she knows people who know people."

"You think so?" Neven's eyebrow went up as if he didn't expect any sort of help.

"Maybe. I mean, I don't know where we'll be when you get out."

Neven shrugged. "Well, it's not for ten years anyway. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

Ben didn't answer as he suddenly took a long gulp of water. That bridge - it had seemed so far away all these years, when did he find himself right at it? Moreover, what was on the other side of the bridge beyond being able to finally live with his wife and see his son on a regular basis? Being a free man meant becoming part of the outside world again, contributing to society, getting a job.

But who would hire Kylo Ren?

. . .

Gavin Solo flopped down on his bed, exhausted from a day of stocking department store shelves, thankful for the quiet, thankful that he'd opted not to go out with his roommates tonight. Sharing an apartment with three of his college classmates was - well, it was noisy, much noisier than living with his mom, but he supposed that was part of the whole growing-up thing. The growing-up thing would probably be easier when he found a better-paying job (wasn't having a degree in computer programming supposed to make people want to hire you?) and could afford to have his own place, but for now he'd have to deal with arguments about whose turn it was to buy groceries or do laundry, sharing a tiny bedroom with his roommate Lindin (who snored), and his other roommates Tai and Hamda (sisters) always having friends over.

He kicked off his shoes, pulled off his socks, and wiggled his toes, trying to wiggle away the soreness from standing up most of the day. That was another reason to look for a better job - it would be nice to do something that wasn't so physically draining.

After huffing and puffing for a few minutes, he reached over to his nightstand and grabbed his holocom. Maybe the whole growing-up thing also meant eventually moving past calling your mother every day, but he wasn't at that point yet and he wasn't in any hurry to get there.

"Hey, sweetheart," Rey's hologram answered.

"Hey, Mom," said Gavin, placing the com on his chest so he could lie back while talking. "How are things? Did you talk to Dad today?"

"Not yet," said Rey. "The Force can be unpredictable about when it links us, but we'll both get to see him tomorrow - you are coming, right?"

Gavin nodded. "Luckily my boss is understanding about the whole Dad-getting-released-from-prison thing."

"Good." Rey gave him a warm, motherly smile. "Are you doing all right? Do you need me to bring you anything?"

Gavin looked up at the tiny room. The posters of favorite pod racers and singers covering the walls, his old art desk pushed into a corner, even Chewie Junior - Ben's old toy Wookiee that he'd passed on to Gavin - sitting at the foot of his bed. "No, I don't think so. I mean, work's a little tiring, but that's to be expected."

"Well, you let me know if you think of anything."

"I will." Gavin stifled a yawn. "Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Dad's gonna be okay? I mean, kids at school used to bully me cause my dad used to be Kylo Ren and even in college I got some dirty looks. If that happened to me, what's gonna happen to Dad?"

Rey's eyes lowered. "I don't know. The past isn't easily forgotten, even twenty years later. Sure, he helped rescue you and the other kids, but to many people that isn't enough. I still occasionally see a tabloid claiming that I'm biding my time with my husband to take over the galaxy."

Gavin felt a strangeness in the pit of his stomach. "Mom . . . if I'd known Dad when he was Kylo Ren, would I be scared of him?"

Rey's eyes lowered further. "I think it would be pretty hard not to be scared of him. He was scared of himself."

"When did you know?"

Finally she looked back up at him. "Know what, honey?"

"That Ben Solo was still in there?"

Her mouth twisted slightly. "I thought I knew when we first touched hands through our Force connection, but I was also naive enough to think that just talking to him would be enough to draw him out. I didn't realize how tightly Kylo Ren had Ben in his grasp. After he crowned himself Supreme Leader, I thought he was lost forever, but looking back, I don't think I ever truly gave up on him."

Gavin swallowed. "But the galaxy's a different story, isn't it? They gave up on Dad a long time ago."

"Well . . . I guess we'll have to wait and see there."