Before Ben can say a word, Rey takes a step forward, her hold on the books in her hand turning white-knuckled. "Yes, you do owe him an apology," she snarls. "Didn't you hear him? Didn't you care?"
"Of course I cared," Anakin replies. "I do care. That's why I'm —"
"Don't. He is not your vessel. You don't get to show up when you please and start making demands of us, let alone Ben. You lost that right when you abandoned him. And if you think you're suddenly going to swoop in and guide us, you're not. We do not need your help." She shakes her head, the derision and scorn plain in her voice. "We've made it this far on our own, and we'll be just fine without you."
As Rey's anger pours through their bond, Ben can only stare at her, his mind empty of everything save her. Her rage is glorious. Does she realize how much her defense means to him? For as long as he can remember, he has been forced to fight for himself; he trusted no one. And now, here is Rey, spitting vitriol at a revered Force ghost simply because said ghost has wronged him. Him.
Rey turns to him, fire in her eyes, and Ben has to force himself to breathe.
He wants to kiss her.
He wanted to kiss her that night when their hands met across the fire, and her vision of him had sent tears streaming down her cheeks. He wanted to kiss her in the turbolift aboard the Supremacy, the bright lights reflected in her eyes as she vowed to help him. He would have kissed her in Snoke's throne room, blood on his cheek and ash in his mouth, had she not turned away and broken the tension between them.
Rey may be good at waiting, but she is also good at running. In the past week, Ben has done all he can to make her feel as if she does not need to run.
Would she run now, if he kissed her in the library of Coruscant's Jedi temple?
He does not realize that he and Rey have been staring at one another until Anakin clears his throat. Ben blinks and swallows hard. No. He will not kiss her here, with all this history around them, and his grandfather's ghost watching.
Rey takes in a breath, startled out of her own reverie. With her free hand, she reaches up to cup his cheek in her palm, all the ire in her expression now softened. "You don't have to speak with him, Ben. This is your decision."
From the corner of his eye, Ben sees Anakin raise an eyebrow. "You really do have to speak with me. I'm afraid that turbolift isn't going anywhere any time soon."
"Oh, kriff off," Rey retorts, glaring at Anakin. "You can't keep us down here forever."
Ben can't help himself. He laughs. Rey and Anakin both jump, their eyes wide. Ben covers his mouth with one hand, trying to stifle the laughter he can still feel bubbling up in his chest. "I — " He breaks off as another laugh escapes.
It feels good to laugh. He doesn't want to stop.
"There it is," Anakin murmurs. "You have hidden that smile for too long, Ben."
Even as Anakin says it, the smile slips from Ben's face. "No thanks to you."
"I know. And I truly am sorry, Grandson. I never meant for you to follow in my footsteps, to feel the pain and heartache that I knew."
"Then why did you whisper to me all those nights?" Ben demands. "Why promise me power and acceptance if you didn't want me to finish what you started?"
"Those whispers — they weren't me, Ben. Since before you were born, Snoke was there, intercepting me at every turn. Whenever you called on me for guidance, I could do nothing but watch as Snoke slowly turned you away from the light."
Ben clenches his fist. "The dark side is in my nature."
"So is the light. No one is all dark, Grandson, just as no one is all light. You and Rey are the living proof of that. Together, you can teach the galaxy that balance is real." Anakin pauses, his gaze turning more solemn than before. "Though we should not act on our darkness, the darkness itself should not be feared. It is a part of organic life — a part of the Force — and ignoring it will not make it disappear."
"So you're not here to turn me?" Despite Anakin's words, Ben finds it hard to believe that the moral of this conversation — like every conversation he has had with his family for the last ten years — is not that he should repent, and throw himself at the mercy of the light.
Anakin shakes his head. "I want you to be happy. And I want the galaxy to find peace. If that means that you use the dark side every now and then, I certainly won't complain."
"Not dark or light," Rey says thoughtfully, "but somewhere in-between." She looks at Ben with excitement. "Something new. Just like you said."
Anakin grins at them. "See? You were right all along, Rey; you don't need me. You will do just fine on your own. But if you ever do need me..." He gives Ben a meaningful look, and Ben's heart squeezes painfully in his chest. "Call, and I will answer."
His form flickers and disappears.
Behind them, the turbolift doors open with a quiet ding.
Rey's voice breaks the stillness of the otherwise empty command shuttle. "Ben?"
"Hmm?" he asks, not taking his eyes off the viewport before him.
From the corner of his eye, he watches as she comes to sit beside the pilot's chair. "That text. It said, one being born of light and drawn to darkness." She pauses. "That's you."
Ben slowly lets out a breath. He knew she would pick up on this. Setting the shuttle's course for the Finalizer, he engages the autopilot and swivels in his chair so that he can face her. "Yes."
"So I'm the one born of darkness."
"Yes."
She almost seems to deflate at that, her shoulders drawing down, her eyes lowering from his as they begin to fill with tears. "Maybe that's why they left."
"What?"
"My parents. Maybe they left because they felt it, and they didn't want to deal with a child who — "
Ben is shaking his head before she is even halfway through the sentence. "No. Your darkness didn't make them do anything. It's their own darkness, their own selfishness, that made them abandon you like that." It hurts him so deeply, that the people who were supposed to love her threw her away like garbage. And now, she is looking to blame herself for what they did?
If he could go back and save her the pain of their betrayal, he would. In the week they have spent together, he has learned that he would do anything — cut down her enemies, rip the galaxy to shreds, even destroy himself — if it would make her happy. He wonders if she knows it. Can a girl who has never been loved understand the depth of his devotion to her, when he doesn't fully understand it himself?
Rey sniffs, scrubbing a hand across her wet cheek. "But what if Anakin is wrong? What if I can't help you bring the balance because I'm too broken to make a difference?"
Ben's battered heart cracks anew at the words. "You're no more broken than I," he says quietly. "Maybe that's what balance is about: two broken pieces that, together, make something whole."
Rey's tears fall harder at that. Slowly, Ben reaches for her, letting his hand come to rest on her knee. She is the only one who can draw such gentleness from him, and he gives it willingly. "My darkness is tempered by your light, Rey, just as my light is fed by your darkness. We'll be alright," he says, the last words no more than a whisper.
After a moment, Rey nods. "Okay," she says, her voice shaky. She covers his hand with her own. "Okay."
When they return to the Finalizer, Hux is waiting for them in the hangar bay. He greets them with a deferential nod of his head. "Supreme Leader. Lady Rey."
Behind Ben, Rey tenses at the moniker, her discomfort rolling off of her in waves. Ben feels a twinge of frustration alongside his sympathy. The First Order must recognize her growing authority before she is crowned. If she refuses to bear the title of Supreme Leader along with him, then he has to allow the troops to call her something respectful.
"General," Ben replies. "I trust things ran smoothly in our absence?"
Hux smirks. "Of course, Supreme Leader. In fact, we have had a rather productive day."
Ben raises an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"We seemed to have acquired quite a useful prisoner." The general's eyes dart to Rey for a moment, and Ben immediately distrusts his pleased expression. "The traitor — FN-2187 — has been captured and brought in for questioning. He seems to have a great deal to say about our future Empress."
Ben can barely register his own shock before Rey's hurt, confusion, and betrayal crash into his mind. Without even thinking, he pushes his emotions back to her, momentarily satisfied by the answering flicker of relief in her consciousness.
You didn't know, she says, sending the thought directly into his mind.
No, he confirms. He would never hurt her like that. Besides; they made a deal. What's left of the Resistance is safe, so long as she stays. Of course, he did not expect Hux to circumvent that order by bringing in FN-2187, a known traitor to the Order, who just so happens to support the Resistance, too.
Rey lets out a soft sigh. Then, her rage at Hux explodes, a fiery torrent that nearly bowls Ben over. Instinctively, he reaches an arm out behind him, catching her around the waist as she attempts to storm past him and attack their chief advisor.
Hands scrabbling against his ribbed sleeve, she growls, "Let go." She sends him a volley of images — all of which involve either maiming or screaming at Hux — which, under normal circumstances, would fill him with equal amounts of pride and amusement. But here, in front of half their army, she cannot show such unrestraint. Even if he has done the same more times than he count.
As she continues to struggle against his hold, Ben pulls her into his chest, leaning down so that he can whisper to her, "Not here."
She growls again and hisses back, "You promised that I could stand up for my beliefs, no matter what they think."
"If you let them see that the traitor is your weakness, they will use him against you. Do not give this to them."
He can sense Rey's distaste for that word — traitor — but he does not know what else to call the man he once knew as FN-2187. Though he has heard the man's chosen name in Rey's thoughts before, it feels wrong to say it himself. As if he has not earned the right to speak it, somehow.
Thankfully, Rey sees the truth behind his words. A forced calm comes over her.
Good, Ben thinks. He dips his head so that he can murmur his next words, low and dark, directly into her ear. "When you are Empress, you can do whatever you like."
Rey grips his forearm tightly in response. There are only two days until their coronation. If she can make it to then without giving them reason to distrust her, she can fraternize with traitors all day long, if that's what she wants.
Before, jealousy would have plagued Ben at the mere thought of Rey spending time with another man. But now, he knows that Rey is his. He has nothing to fear from her friend.
Rey straightens, her voice booming in the hangar bay as she commands, "Take me to the prisoner."
Hux obeys.