Disclaimers: All right reserved of the originals "Star Wars" Characters, Names, Places, etc., to George Lucas / Disney. I pledge to return all characters after the story is complete.
Warning: Major Spoilers of TRoS.
Note: This is a Reylo FanFiction (slow-burn)
「Act 43: Shapeless Concerns」
Falcon, 36 ABY
Threepio walked down the corridor with his shorter companion; Artoo glanced at Threepio, who was steadying himself against a corridor wall. Their friends had returned from Yavin 4 and had found Omii there. The Falcone was flying in hyperspace, but the team had split inside the Falcone, and no one talked.
Ben jumped into the pilot seat without even looking around, Chewie followed. Rey disappeared in the back corridors of the ship, Poe was informing the Resistance, and Finn climbed down in the cargo unit.
"They've shut down ... no reactions at all," Threepio said as he had noticed the group of four returning and avoiding talking and even looking to each other. His voice was full of disbelief and concern as that of any human.
Artoo did not comment immediately, the droid had lost too many friends during the years, and their new friends' reactions meant only one thing, rising danger. A series of shorts beeps were finally heard, and Threepio understood what he meant.
"Madness, this is madness." He shook his head slowly. "This time, we'll be killed for sure. We don't know what dangers are hiding in the Imperial Palace!"
Artoo chirped, annoyed that he should be more positive and not freak out that easily. They had faced so many dangers already through all those years, and they were still alive.
"Yes, I suppose you are right." Threepio admitted, "but what are we going to do now? I can't believe we don't have a plan, and we will land on the Imperial Palace and look for a stone."
Artoo beeped again, trying to comfort his friend. Threepio was always complaining even if their missions were easy. The small droid kept walking down the corridor and beeping, ensuring Threepio that everything would be alright.
Poe was amused about the news that Rose told him; the Resistance was able to pull out a great stand and take down the First Order's last ships. He was right to trust Rose; that girl had so many possibilities. But she wasn't lucky at all; of all the people she could meet in this mission, she managed to cross paths with General 'Hugs'. Well, one more spy to help them. He thought, but he canceled his thought immediately as he forgot that maybe 'Hugs' wouldn't want to work for the Resistance now.
That wasn't a problem he had to worry about at the moment. Their new mission to locate the Sith's Soulstone was, for now, their new perceiving threat. Since they weren't aware of what type of dangers they would face in the Imperial Palace. Thoughts raced through his mind, and he stood up, trying to make them stop.
Too late, too slow, he told himself as his inner voice brought new worries to life. He sighed and took a few steps away from the communications board. Poe took a deep breath; he had too many responsibilities since Leia made him acting General. He was accountable for too many lives. It wasn't his fault; he kept telling himself.
Mistakes happen, and people die, but dying under his command was a price he couldn't easily pay. For an ordinary person, no matter how strong they thought themselves, failing was an option. But he was supposed to be the acting General, and people trusted him with their lives. Indeed there was no shame in failure, as long it didn't cost human lives.
He didn't much care what might happen to him; he could always find a way to keep fighting. But his friends and the Resistance had a heavier value to him than himself. He could be expendable, but his friends and the Resistance never. He was not sure why thoughts like those were troubling him at the moment.
They won against the First Order and the Final Order, the Emperor was dead, and the Sith were gone. He was allowed to relax and enjoy that victory. But Poe didn't. Indeed the after their victory from Exegol, he celebrated with everyone else. But the next day, he was up again working for the Resistance.
Another time, another place, Poe might have celebrated a bit longer, spent time with his friends, relax, talk about random things. Don't get him wrong; he loved what he did. He didn't become a pilot only because he was talented; piloting was his life. He was born to become a pilot. And that was the one thing he was best at.
The passageway reached its end, and Poe only then noted that he spaced out for a long amount of time, dwelling in his own thoughts. Thoughts that were troubling for a while, and thoughts that were new. He even felt so exhausted from one new thought.
Finn's confession to Rey.
He clearly had heard Finn admitting that he was in love with Rey. Honestly, Poe wasn't surprised he had spotted Finn's love interests. He was in love with Rey, with Rose, with Jannah, and even with Poe. But it felt that Rey was the one he was most interested in. He was following her since Jakku, and he was always running after her.
True be told, Poe would run to help his friends, and Rey as well. But Finn overdid it. At some point, he was not letting the poor girl have a moment of privacy. In a way, he was acting like an older brother caring too much about his young sister. But after today's confession, Poe believed it was because Finn had fallen in love with Rey.
But why was it bothering him?
Finn was his best friend, Rey was his close friend. If Rey agreed and accepted Finn, she would be lucky to have someone like Finn next to her. And Finn would be lucky as well. Because both of them were kind souls, they cared about others and had proven it through the years.
However, Rey wasn't in love with Finn, at least not in the ways Finn wished. Actually, she even didn't know what love was. And if she ever would find out, Ben might be her first choice. It was only Poe's thought, but Ben and Rey shared something special even if both were stupid enough and didn't figure out yet what Poe had noted.
That meant that Finn never had a chance with Rey. And although that reality would make his best friend sad. For some unknown reason, it made Poe happy. He shook his head in disbelief and climbed down at the cargo unit where Finn was.
Finn was scanning the reserve tank for any issues, they had patched the tank before they left from Ajan Kloss, but he needed to be sure that the leak was fully repaired. Fixing it now would prevent a much larger problem later, even if the tank was perfectly functional. He was glad to have something to fill the time to distract himself from thinking about Rey.
"Hey, buddy, how are you doing?" Poe asked, his eyes showed a kind of gentle concern for his friend.
He turned and faced Finn, frustrated "Poe; she isn't in love," he said, "I should have guessed it."
Poe laid his hand lightly on his shoulder, understanding that Finn clearly did not accede Rey's response to his confession. "You know things don't always go, as we want them to," He tapped Finn's back, "give her time to take it in, buddy."
"I know, Rey doesn't share the same feelings with me." his eyes opened wider, and he sat down on the ground. "Rose at least answered me," he sighed. "I confessed to Rose, she admitted she had liked me, but my timing was way off. "
Poe rose an eyebrow, gazing at Finn, confused. "You told Rose that ... When?"
"That's not the point; I even told Jannah; she seemed interested in me too. But she believes that I am confused." Finn admitted, "I know I told Rey she didn't have to give me a reply, but not knowing is killing me."
Poe scratch the back of his neck, and his brain formulated no thoughts other than to register that he was shocked. He closed his mouth, then looked at his boots before glancing back up to catch his eye. "You confessed to three girls that you are in love with them? And you think Rey is the odd one here?"
"I believe we have to be true to our feelings," Finn said, "I even have confusing feelings about you, Poe."
"No, don't try and turn this on me now" Poe's voice rose; he wasn't about to wait another minute for Finn to deliver the fourth confession. "I knew you were somehow into all three of them. But Finn, you cannot be in love with three people at the same time?"
"Four!" he corrected him.
"Even worse," Poe added, "Slow down, buddy," Poe said, "You should try to understand what it means to be in love; I think you are confused."
"I'm not," Finn though he knew exactly what he was feeling; he had fallen in love with more than one people, Poe couldn't understand that. "I just wanted them to know, wanted Rey to know, but maybe I should date Jannah..."
"Fine, go date whoever you want," he snapped, " but tell her that you are in love with two more people and see how it will go down."
"Three," Finn corrected him again.
"Really now," Poe said and climbed up, leaving Finn alone. Unbelievable, Stupid, hasty Finn.
Meanwhile, Ben turned the autopilot on, and Chewie assured him he would remain in the Cockpit to run the systems' last updates. He thanked Chewie and walked out of the cockpit; his brain was constantly searching for any sign that she was alright, but she was out of range, unreachable. His stomach shifted uneasily, worrying about her. Just stepping on her memories of Dark Rey made his breathing rapid and shallow. He knew she would be troubled now. Like she was on the second Death Star when she crossed paths with her.
Dread crept down his spine like an unknown terror leaving a trail of numbness like it would feed on his skin, descending until he was almost frozen to the spot. His stomach was full of lead; his feet are set in concrete; his mind was worryingly empty. He felt her fear. He took a step forward. He felt her fear rising. He took one more step forward. The difference between taking the step forward or not was everything. And over a lifetime, it defined who he could be.
He sensed her fear he would not avoid her.
He pushed his new thoughts away; Finn confession towards Rey touched a part of him that he never thought was there. His mind remained calm, but his heart was unsettled, trying to catch his attention. Yet Ben refused to give in, refused to take a glance at his own feelings. He had to admit that Finn was braver than he was; the former Stormtrooper faced Rey honestly and told her his feelings. Just like that, without any expectations.
Rey's friends were amazing.
Ben wasn't like that, of course, now he had a past hunting him down and wrongdoings to redeem from, but even without those, Ben had pride and a strange logic that wouldn't easily allow him to express emotions like those. Those emotions were alien to Ben Solo; Kylo Ren had taken away from him any chance he had to know emotions like those. Kylo made sure to allow him a life into pain and suffering.
And Ben knew he deserved it.
Once, and not so long ago, it would have been absurd for Ben Solo to ask for help and work with others. He only trusted himself. But that had changed after Poe dragged him back to the Resistance Base; he slowly became more familiar with the term 'teamwork' and helping 'friends.' Friends? That was another alien word to Ben. A word that started having a heavy value to him. And then there were all kinds of new emotions, some familiar and some so foreign, and instead of opening up them and accepting them, he stepped back and sealed them.
Monsters, like him, weren't allowed of such feelings.
Had he paid more attention to the area around him, he would have noticed changes other than his own; he would have seen that even in the present cold, and despite the silent emptiness, signs of heavier thoughts were emerging to be read by those who knew how; and he should have read them better than most. Yet he remained oblivious to them as to most of his surroundings instead of being lost in some other world within himself.
His silent absorption in his thoughts did not impede his progress; he stopped outside of a familiar part of the Falcon, there in the background of the corridors inside a small unit room his father had found the perfect place. It was hidden above the unit; it such a small opening. There Han had added a mattress, pillows, and blankets. And it had been Ben's room; it wasn't exactly a room but a large storage place with a mattress and an amazing view because it included one enormous window that was revealing the open space's view.
Ben had forgotten that the room even existed up there.
Before he even realized it, he had come to look at that nostalgic storage unit -envisioning the moment he had spent there. The person he was back then had grown up and become one of his worse nightmares. Suddenly, stronger thoughts threaten him, and he sensed her presents. She was hiding inside and trying to overcome the terror that her dark image left in her. Ben understood, most than anyone, he lived with similar darkness for so long. The constant conflict, the inner fights, and the pain could easily kill any hope and good inside him. He wouldn't let Rey fall into the same darkness as he once did.
Although she had all the light and helped that she needed from her friends, he was willing to aid her. As much as he could and as much, she would allow him.
The sudden thought of her in danger tore at his heart, and a look of deep distress settled on his face as a bitter regret for the time and manner took hold of him again. His heart should be lighter than this; they were not in any known danger at the moment, a sense of hollow grief rose inside him. But he didn't matter, for the price, whatever that might be, would be paid by him unless she would want to forsake him now.
It had been a while she had felt this unsure feeling, that Darkness enveloping her as she denied to step inside. Shapes and thoughts manifested around her, fragments of a person. Rey gasped, stumbling backward.
She realized with relief it was Ben.
Rey opened her eyes; a second ago, she was horrified; she almost felt that Dark Rey would hunt her. The darkness that she had fought and shut down could rise again. She refused, though to believe it, she was would never fall to the dark side. She didn't in her lower moments a year ago; she wouldn't now, or ever. Rey registered that it could be a possibility and that slight possibility was what scared her. Not for herself, but for her friends, and for the cause they had been fighting for.
"I feel it again," Ben said as he inhaled a sharp breath, "Your excruciating and your acute distress like in Kef Bir."
His words cleared her head. Brown eyes met dark, and time was frozen until Ben's awareness pushed with the Force, easing her fears. Rey calmed down, seeing a familiar face, and almost smiled.
Their previous conflict was even forgotten; silly arguments between friends wouldn't last long. A new thing that Ben found out recently. He had so much to catch up, a lot to learn.
She drew on Ben's awareness and awareness of hers, and just like before, they were separate and together, Rey gazing Ben, Ben gazing at Rey. They stood facing each other for the space of one breath. Rey smiled at him warmly; she was calmer now, but her mind was reeling on the terrors they would face, and her heart was full of so many worries. She opened her mouth to speak to him; talking to him was always easing her worries. Because through their connection, that unique oneness, Ben grasped her inner concerns fully.
Ben rose a finger and pressed it against her lips, gently hashing her. Of course, they would talk, as much as Rey needed, but first, he had to bring her to the right place. A place inside the Falcon he always found so magical and peaceful as a child.
「Upcoming Chapter: Act Forty - Four」
Okay, guys, that's all. I hope you enjoyed reading the 43rd chapter.
Thank you all so much! Stay awesome! Stay sweet!
And be nice to each other, see you soon, in the next chapter!
Feel free to Review and Follow the story!
Feedback is always appreciated!
Adelgado28: Dark Rey will not share any bond with Ben. I think yes, she might need Ben eventually, as he is the last of the Skywalkers. Flirt with Ben, well, I wouldn't put it that way. But yes, she would be the cause of jealousy. Just the Dark Rey is a concept for later. Stay around. It might get interesting, though. ^_^ Thank you for reviewing; it means a lot.
Guest: All opinions are welcome here; ^_^ thank you for taking the time and read a story which the main idea you don't like. You sound amazing! As for Ben and Rey, they might be perfect for each other, as at some point she did the same; she almost killed him in Starkiller Base and killed him on the second Death Star...And he wanted her to turn to the dark side, and she tried to turn him to the light. I believe, to a point, both tormented each other. Anyway, the list goes on. Plus, Kylo Ren turned, so it's more like a Ben-Rey thing than a Raylo.
amyunder: Don't worry, Dark Rey, we will see more of Dark Rey in the following chapter. ^_^
Rainbow-33: I will agree the Sith look prettier, Anakin as one, and Dark Rey, at least on screen, look so damn good. On the other hand, Snoke and Palpatine were terrifying to look at.