Walking to the village himself, Ben found it a bit odd, surprised by just how quickly he had become used to constantly being with Rey in such a short period of time. While they had been in contact for long before now, being together in the same space for so long was still so new, yet so familiar.

Any minute now I could wake up, and we'll be on different sides once again.

He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he did have to glance behind him multiple times to convince himself that the Falcon was still there. That Rey was still inside.

When he finally reached the village, it was in a more frantic state then it had been the previous day. A handful of people were crowded around a child, trying to hold them still. Getting a little closer, he could see that the child was injured, but also seemed terrified of something.

"Did anyone go get Eir?"

"I'm here, what happened?"

"The kids ignored the warnings and wondered off to the ruins! They somehow managed to activate an old droid, and barely escaped with their lives. This one seems to be stuck in fight or flight mode."

"It's alright, little one, you are safe. You can sleep now." Eir waved her hand over the child's face, who stopped struggling, eyes closing and falling back into the person behind them. "They should be fine when they wake up now; just make sure that they get plenty of rest." The others said their thanks before dispersing, but Ben mostly ignored them in light of staring at Eir.

That ability – it's not something a light side user would do

Even with all of Eir's talk about balance and valuing both sides of the force, she had still struck him more as a light side type of person. Yet here she was, using something was that was usually considered to be darker. Even more surprising still, the people had seen her do it and didn't even flinch. Not so much of a 'Hey what do you think you're doing?'

"Do you know what your son did today?"

"There's just so much Vader in him."

"Maybe if he trained with Luke -"

They thought he hadn't heard, didn't know. Didn't know that the three of them had stayed up late in the night, talking about him, his future. He never even got a chance to give his own input, make his own decision. Instead they -

"Can I do something for you?"

There was an unfamiliar clawed touch suddenly on his arm and he jumped back, reaching for his lightsaber ready to defend himself -

Only to find that nothing was there, and had been that way for some time. He took a deep breath, realization dawning on him as his surroundings came into focus around him once again. He was just inside Ekair's village, with Eir standing a short distance from him, surprise turning into sympathy.

He felt Rey's presence behind him before he heard her. "Are you alright?"

"I was just surprised, is all. I'll be fine." He turned around to see her, worry evident on her face. While he couldn't see her surroundings, she was sitting down with a tool in one of her hands, so she had to be somewhere within the bowels of the Falcon. "How are the repairs going?" He decided to try and change the subject, still a bit annoyed with himself for his earlier outburst.

At first she looked like she was going to ask him for more details on what happened, but changed her mind. "It's going well," she began, "most of it is just normal wear and tear for how old it is. I should be finished by the time you get back. Did you find Eir?"

Oh right her.

"I'm just about to talk to her." He had momentarily forgotten that the woman was there, who was probably staring by now.

"Good luck." Rey gave him a smile before she went back to what she was working on, and Ben turned back to face Eir.

"You were talking to Rey just now, weren't you?" He wasn't really sure how to describe the look on Eir's face when she spoke, but it was somewhere between curious and excited. "Fascinating," she continued, not waiting for him to a answer, "I know Kaine said that you could converse across great distances, but I was under the impression that it happened solely in the mind. Hmm, perhaps that is the evolved form…?" She began to walk off, a pensive look on her face.

"You can't just say that and leave!" He almost yelled, a bit frustrated with her. "How much of that did you hear, anyways?"

"Just the half of it," she finally stopped then, turning back to face him, "speaking of, I really should apologize for starting you. The two of you did just come from the fighting; I should have remembered you'd be cautious. Is there any way I can make it up to you?"

You can use that

Get what you need

"That…ability that you used on the child," he began, deciding to choose his words carefully, "for all your talk, you didn't really seem the type for the dark side."

Eir gave him a strange smile then, one he wasn't sure how to read. It was possible that he had seen something that he shouldn't, and the rest of the village just went along with it because it benefited them. But he was an outsider and she was about to do something about it, he was sure. He glanced around to see if there was anything he could use as a makeshift weapon –

"You'd be surprised what I know." To his surprise, she did not offer retaliation; instead she gave knowledge. "The force is energy, and energy by itself is benign; it is only in how someone uses it that good and evil come to be. The Light side and Dark side are simple constructs of the Sith and Jedi, when if they would just stop and listen they would know there are no sides, there is only the force."

It was odd but not entirely unwelcome to hear his feelings on the matter put into words, Ben decided. For a long time all he had wanted was simply to be, to not be criticized about whichever part of the force he decided to use. "Why are you telling me this?" Information was never free – Eir was bound to want something in return. "What's in it for you?"

Eir shook her head. "I see much of my young self in you. So young, so unsure," she placed a light hand on his arm, "spent too long on the wrong part of things."

Ben took a step back then, forcing her to let go of him. How much did she know, exactly? No one had yet come to breakdown the door of the Falcon to get to them so she must not have told anyone…at least not yet. There was a strange feel about her, and no matter what he knew Rey would say, Eir unnerved him.

"Right, well," he began, wanting to get away from the current topic, "I only came to see if you knew where we could get some cooking supplies."

"Hmm, I think Mercy might have some extras if you want to ask her." Eir answered with a thoughtful look, not even batting an eye at the abrupt change of subject. "If not, then Amir might. I think those two are the biggest cooks in the village, so they'd be your best bet."

She doesn't have any after all…

Despite how unnatural Eir was to him, he had been hoping that she would be the only one he had to talk to.

It would be easier to just not..

"No one's really cooked for me before so I'd love it if you would."

It would make her happy though…

He sighed. If it were for Rey and the potential to see her smile, he'd put up with any discomfort that might come. "Alright," he began, now more determined then ever to continue, "where do they live?"

/

After Rey had finished the repairs on the Falcon, she decided sit on the bed and look through Eir's book while she waited for Ben to return. She wanted to see for herself the rest of the writing that followed what she had seen in her vision, and it would distract her from wondering how Ben was doing.

She wanted him to get more experience in talking to people in a safe environment, so that he could get more used to regular conversations, instead of the toxic culture he was used to. She was a bit worried still about what had surprised him so much that it put him on defensive. She reminded herself that Ekair was a peaceful place; they couldn't have been more fortunate. He did say he was fine, and in all likelihood someone had probably just come up from behind too quickly. Everything was alright and Ben would be back soon.

It was with the smell of something delicious did Rey slowly open her eyes, finding herself laying on the bed. She blinked a few times and sat up, the blanket that had been placed on top of her falling off in the process.

When did I fall asleep?

Confused, she looked around for Ben (who else could have placed the blanket on her?), but when she didn't see him she decided to follow the source of the smell instead, leading her outside. She found him not far away, standing in front of a portable burner, slowly stirring the contents of a pot that had been placed upon it.

"I hope I didn't wake you." He said, looking back at her as she came down the ramp.

"No, don't worry. What are you making?" She asked as she came to stand next to him, peering into the pot.

"It's not much, just a basic stew. If we get different supplies then I can make something different if you don't like it."

"It smells amazing so I'm sure it's good." She looked around at the small set up, seeing a few dishes, a basket, and cutting board with vegetables being cut by a knife. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought that it was moving on it's own, but instead looked back over at him. "Where did you learn this?" She asked, motioning to the knife.

"No where really, it was just something I started doing because you could keep stirring while cutting up everything else at the same time."

Every move that the knife made was graceful and precise; she couldn't help but watch it in fascination right up until he lifted it up and dumped the cutting boards contents in the pot. "That's brilliant Ben!"

"I…I guess." She could tell he was a bit embarrassed, but she still didn't miss the smile that appeared on his face.

She loved to see him smile; it was warm and gentle like the sun, dazzling her every time she saw it. She only hoped that one day it would become more common, much more frequent then then any other expression.

"Did you get this from Eir?"

/

He shook his head. "She didn't have anything, but had me go ask a woman called Mercy," he began, taking the pot off the burner so it could cool and turning off the heat, "who then let me take this in exchange for a favor." He had originally intended to ask Amir instead, but he'd seen Ranulf heading to the other man's house and had decided against it.

He would've much preferred asking Amir for the sole reason that asking someone you had already met, however briefly, would be easier then someone new. At least if it was Amir he wouldn't have to introduce himself, something he wasn't entirely sure how to go about. He couldn't remember the last time he had actually told someone his real name – even Rey had found it out through other means. The trend continued even here, as Rey had always been the one introducing them. It should be easy, saying your own name, and yet he had gone so long under something else that it still felt almost foreign to him.

News travels fast in small villages however, as when he got to Mercy's house, she already knew who he was. He was oddly grateful at that; it gave him more time to figure out how he was supposed to introduce himself in the future.

"What was the favor?" Rey asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Apparently some of the kids got in trouble wandering into the ruins and managed to activate an old droid. She's worried it might make its way into the village and cause problems. She wants us to go make sure that doesn't happen."

"That's not too bad, I've been wanting to go explore there anyway."

"Oh, I know." He had been waiting for her to suggest going there, since he knew how much it interested her. He was a bit surprised that she had mentioned going to Jakku first; but then he realized it was because she was trying to make him feel better at the time.

"We'll have to go there after we eat and before we leave on our trip. Speaking of which," she said, eyeing the stewpot, "is it ready yet?"

Well, I guess the moment of truth had to come eventually

He definitely hadn't been stalling for time. Definitely.

"It should be." He reached over and filled a bowl for her, holding it out for her to take. "Here."

She took it from him eagerly, looking at it as if he had just given her something high grade and expensive – not thrown together from a few simple vegetables, meat, and basic spices. He watched her with baited breath as she blew on a streaming spoonful before taking a bite. He'd never cooked for anyone before, let alone let anyone know that he could. 'A sign of weakness, unfit for one of your station' he was sure if anyone had found out he would've heard something along those lines, and so instead had preferred to keep it to himself. It wasn't as if no one had ever found out, they just…didn't survive long afterwards.

"This is really good!" Rey's eyes lit up as soon as she took a bite, looking from her bowl to him, amazement shining in her eyes.

"You really think so?"

"You know I do." She sent him a feeling and a knowing look, to which he chuckled softly and dropped it.

"Alright, you do." It was a nice feeling, he decided, watching someone enjoy something that he had made, and the fact that it was Rey that got to be the first person made it even better.

"Are you going to have any or just keep starting at me?"

"Oh, right." He tore his eyes from her at last, a bit embarrassed that he had been caught staring. When he turned back to her, he saw that she had moved to sit on the ground, leaning against the rock face.

"I've been thinking," Rey began as he sat down next to her with his own bowl in hand, "Before we go to the ruins, you're going to want some better clothes." She leaned over then, fingering the hole in the shoulder of his shirt, "We don't know what we'll find in there, after all. There might be something in the Falcon we can use, and if not then I'm sure we can find something we can use to trade at the shop we saw the other day."

It was after they had finished eating and were once again looking through the Falcon's stores, that Ben found himself drawn to the cockpit. He seriously doubted that anything of use was to be found in here; and yet still he stayed looking over the controls and worn seating until his eyes came to rest on a pair of hanging dice. He went over to get a closer look, reaching up to touch them gently. He knew the story behind them, it was one of Han's - his father's - favorite stories to tell. How he had won the Millennium Falcon with this very same dice.

"And then I won, just like that! These dice are lucky, kiddo, and one day when you're older I'll show you."

"Han! You are not teaching our son how to gamble!"

He smiled slightly at the memory, pulling the dice down from where it had been hanging to hold in his hand. Those were the times that he liked best; before anyone was worried about what side he might ultimately end up on. Back when they were all still together and he could watch his parents' squabbles over little things, yet still see how much they loved each other.

"There you are. I think I've found something we can use." He turned around to see Rey standing in the doorway.

Rey, the girl who came from nothing and yet had ended up with everything. He knew she didn't quite take it that way, still struggled with the feeling at times. She was just 'Rey' and always had been. He could tell that she didn't like it when people asked for a family name, that it stirred up pangs of grief within her.

"You had a father who loved you, actually gave a damn about you!"

And then there was him, who had a perfectly good name and had thrown it away. She was understandably angry at him then, and he'd be fine if she was still angry at him about it now. He hadn't been very nice to her about it then, was too desperate to get her to see how alike they were, to get her to want to join him. Identity was so important to her, and he wanted to share his with her; he just wasn't sure how to go about it. After all, it wasn't like the last time he had tried had gone so well.

"You're nothing. But not to me."

Honestly it hadn't been his greatest line, but it was still true, in a way, he just hadn't managed to express what he meant in the right way. What he had really meant to say was that he didn't care where she came from – she was important all the same. If he tried again, only this time as Ben Solo and not Kylo Ren, would it turn out differently? She had come this far with him already that she just might accept it this time; but he wasn't sure how to go about it or even if it was the right time.

Do I even have the right to ask, when I'm so unsure about my own self?

There's also still a chance she could say no. If she does, what then?

/

"There you are. I think I've found something we can use." Rey was surprised when she found Ben in the cockpit, standing there staring at something in his hand. He turned around to face her then, but didn't answer.

She could see Han's dice in his hand, along with an uncomfortably familiar pained look on his face. She frowned and went up to him, placing a hand on the side of his face. "What are you so conflicted about?" She asked him softly, watching his face closely. She tried to glean an idea from what he was feeling, only to find that his emotions were currently a complicated mess.

He remained silent still, reaching up to take her hand in his. He closed his eyes as he moved her hand so that it was resting against his lips and taking a deep breath.

He's trying to steady himself...

"I'm not..." He began softly, shakily, after a moment had passed, "I'm not sure how to put it."

"It's okay Ben. You don't have to tell me right away if you can't. You can take your time and tell me when you're ready."

He nodded, opening his eyes once to more to look at her. "Thank you." He whispered against her fingers.

It was a little while later, and Rey was sitting on the bed, waiting for Ben to get done changing after they had managed to find some clothes that fit in one of the storage compartments.

While she waited she was left thinking about what had happened earlier; she knew for sure that whatever had been troubling him hadn't gone away completely, but at the very least it had subsided enough that he was able to move forward again. She was still worried about what it could have been, but wasn't about to pry. She knew he would tell her when he was ready.

"Alright, I'm done, let's go." Rey looked over when she heard Ben's voice as he stepped out from where he had been changing. Seeing him now, she couldn't help but stare, and had to stop herself from letting her mouth hang open with how good he looked.

He's so handsome

He had stuck with wearing various shades of all black; keeping with the (albeit different) long sleeved shirt but had rolled the sleeves half way up to his elbow, with a vest over top, along with his usual pants and boots. The only splash of color was a brown belt with a silver buckle, along with the blaster that was sitting in the holster on his thigh.

"What?" He asked, fidgeting nervously when she had only continued to stare at him. "Is it that bad?"

She shook her head and walked over to him, reaching up to finger the dice – Han's dice – that he wore around his neck. "It looks good on you." Not being able to resist any longer, she stood up on her toes and placed a light kiss on his cheek, leaning against him as she spoke next, "I like Ben Solo's style." His face was completely red when she stepped away, and she had to stifle a giggle, her heart filling with warmth at the sight.

These are my favorite moments

"It just needs one more touch to be complete." She said, going over to her bag and pulling out both of the lightsabers she had been keeping in there. She went back over to him, holding out Luke's saber for Ben to take.

"Are...are you sure?" He raised his hand as if to take it, but didn't complete the action.

"Of course; it's yours, isn't it?" She answered with a smile. Most of the red had faded from his face by now, but she could tell that he was still a little flushed.

"Thank you." He took the saber gently, gracing her with his own smile.