Sofie and Ben's hope on Mortis was quickly extinguished when they left the planet. They were reminded of the reality of the outside world. The First Order was eventually defeated by the Resistance but they would still need to be officially disbanded. Although the forces led by Hux initially resisted, Ben's new training was hard to defeat.
Ben and Sofie resolved to believe that a neutral position in the Force could be pursued. They both believed that if Ben had been led correctly, he would have never been manipulated by Snoke.
Despite Ben Solo's offerings for reparation, the galaxy seemed to agree that Kylo Ren needed to properly and fairly pay for his crimes. The only challenge was balancing punishment and his ability to be an ally when convenient.
Eventually, an agreement was made. A Republic of Free Planets was reinstated as the government. Ben would assist in any military-related requests without question-even dangerous ones. He would be required to stay in a stationary, guarded place. Visitors and monitored visits outside were permitted, but limited.
The restrictions were uncomfortable, but Ben knew that it was due justice.
The universe gave him a punishment of its own when he returned to a galaxy without his mother.
Ben and Sofie were both devastated, but it was Lana who seemed to be the most impacted. Her grandmother who had essentially raised her alongside her own mother was now suddenly gone.
Although he was no replacement for his mother, Ben took the opportunity to try and be the father that he needed when he was Lana's age.
Initially, Sofie and Ben's relationship was different. They both cared for each other deeply, but once the euphoria on Mortis passed, reality began to set-in.
Resentment and hurt had been building for years between them and their relationship was far from perfect. Their relationship began as co-parents, not lovers— or even friends. Fights and long conversations were frequent and necessary.
Their biggest fight happened just a couple of weeks after the events on Mortis. The culmination of events had caused tension between them to increase.
Sofie was glad to see the Ben she knew again, but she also found herself struggling to separate Kylo Ren from Ben now. It was a natural reaction, but she found herself suppressing the feeling instead of confronting it.
She kept herself emotionally guarded, that is, until she had finished visiting with Ben in the military center he was being temporarily kept in while the new Republic decided the details of his "release".
The visit was primarily to discuss what Ben knew currently, and their plans for if he was ever released.
"How's Lana?" Ben asked towards the end of their conversation. Sofie smiled slightly, she liked it when he asked about her.
"We're making sure she's ok, but I think like all of us, she doesn't like the changes. I can't imagine what it's like to have war as your 'normal'," Sofie said nervously.
"Well, there's a new normal now. The most we can do is just try to move on," Ben replied. Sofie frowned, his words had rubbed her the wrong way, but she couldn't place why. She tried to form the words to reply to him but found it difficult.
The problem wasn't with Ben not apologizing. It felt like he was apologizing every day.
But no matter how much he apologized, Sofie struggled to separate the Ben she knew now from Kylo Ren.
Sofie and Ben shared a long silence, until Ben finally spoke up.
"Are you okay, Sofie?" He asked her which caused Sofie to snap back to reality.
"This isn't right," Sofie muttered under her breath. Ben eyed her in confusion and waited for her to elaborate. Instead, Sofie stood up quickly.
"I just- I know you're sorry and I can see that, I know you're different now, but honestly all I can think of when I look at you is Kylo Ren," Sofie stumbled over her words and hesitated leaving.
Sofie could feel the hurt in her own heart when she said this, but also saw a variety of emotions on Ben's face when she said this. He seemed to be thinking about what he should say next.
"I can't change the past Sofie," Ben finally replied, watching Sofie nervously stand next to the table they had both been sitting at.
"Of course, I know that. But surely you understand why I'd be hesitant to get involved again with a man who was responsible for the deaths of his own parents, an ex-dictator, helped with the deaths of countless people, and was involved in hurting me!" Sofie exclaimed, any filter she had was suddenly gone, and while the conversation was painful, she knew it was something they were eventually going to face.
Ben hung his head, sensing this wasn't something he couldn't just brush off. Maybe she was justified in not wanting to cooperate with him.
But, underneath everything, he knew they both saw the wide-eyed, innocent Ben. He reasoned that if Sofie hadn't, she would have stopped trying to help him a long time ago.
He knew.
There was another painful silence.
"You're right," Ben started, "all those things- you shouldn't give me the time of day. If you really want to go on separate paths, I won't argue with you."
Sofie bit her lip and crossed her arms in discomfort. She eyed the discouraged Ben.
She felt like they had been playing a seemingly endless game for years. Ben would run and she would chase him. He would turn his back on her, and she would try again.
Despite all that back and forth, she had never stopped to think about what she would do when he finally stopped running and turned to face her once and for all.
Sofie frowned and sniffled. Was it wrong of her to give him another chance? What's the worst thing someone can even do, before they don't deserve that second chance?
Sofie slumped back into the chair but didn't look at Ben. She pondered whether or not she had the ability to change her perception. She also questioned why she had difficulty seeing the Ben she once knew since she had chased that vision for years.
Ben offered his hand out on the table.
"Take as much time as you need for yourself," Ben began, "but will you promise me one thing?" He asked Sofie. Sofie looked at him with interest. "Please let me see Lana."
Sofie took his offered hand and squeezed it.
The offered hand gave Sofie the space she needed to accept Ben again. Time would gradually heal the wound and let Ben prove himself.
Just two years in, the new Republic of Free Planets had decided that the political climate was finally stable. Ben and Sofie would disagree, but Ben wouldn't argue with his conditional release.
Ben could finally travel freely. He had paid some of his debts in life-threatening battles and still needed to come at their request, but he was free. He had paid a price physically and mentally, evident from his struggles to accept his mother's passing and from losing part of his hand while on Mortis.
While Ben did his service, Sofie kept Lana nearby and dreamed new hopes of her own.
After the disintegration of the First Order, Sofie made an objective of finding her family who she had briefly met while on Nexa. Finding them took some searching, but Sofie found out that they had moved to another small village in Nexa.
Sofie visited them frequently and felt a weight lift off her shoulders when her family met Lana.
Sofie was occupied frequently with Lana and had a plethora of tasks. Despite an infinite number of tasks, Sofie had a vivid dream one night that would cement her future. She wasted no time in telling Ben about it.
"Ben, it felt so real. And the energy , I felt so much hope. The students there felt so much hope," Sofie told Ben one day while he prepared to leave his government-provided quarters.
"Maybe it's my nostalgia, or maybe it's actually something your mom and uncle wanted us to do. Not only that, but we could train Lana there and she could bond with other students," Sofie continued and gushed with joy at her dream.
"You don't think we'd be lousy teachers?" Ben asked, closing a few of the bags Sofie had let him borrow.
"I think it might have a steep learning curve, but I think we've already done well with Lana," Sofie replied.
Ben thought about Sofie's revelation. She wanted to start the Jedi Academy over and do it their own way. Luke's Jedi Academy did have a soft spot in Ben's heart, but the way he left haunted him every day.
"Then… do you think I'd be a lousy teacher?" Ben reiterated. Sofie sighed slightly, realizing Ben's feelings. She moved next to him squeezed his arm.
"You'd be the best teacher because of your experiences, no other teacher can parallel your experiences," Sofie said, giving Ben a quick, reassuring hug.
The idea grew from this small seed, and Sofie and Ben eventually found themselves stepping into the same planet with the Jedi Academy that they had met on. They both knew that there was something special about the landscape the original Jedi Academy inhabited.
Ben privately thanked his lineage as the new academy was being built. He knew that they were the reason for his resources.
In due time, the academy was built. Ben and Sofie had studied intensely to make sure they were adequate teachers. They prepared Lana mentally for the big change that was coming and continued to train her as well.
Finally, on a breezy spring day, the new academy was ready. It operated under a new name: Skywalker Academy. Ben and Sofie hoped they could honor Luke and Leia vía the name.
At first, the academy had one student, Ailana Solo. Their difficulties in keeping the school operational would only increase from here.
Gradually, after scoping out eligible students, the academy grew. Force-sensitive children were invited from across the galaxy.
Before Sofie and Ben knew it, they had about a dozen students. The academy eventually developed into something both of them felt proud to call their own.
"Sofie, can you come with me to see something?" Ben asked Sofie one afternoon in their shared 'teacher hut' before the sun began to set. Sofie gave him an inquisitive look but agreed to walk with him.
They walked together up the hill that laid North of the academy. Both of them admired the sun that had started to set and rested atop the horizon.
They chatted casually while Ben led them towards the edge of the forest that bordered the academy.
"We're not going far, are we?" Sofie asked him, wondering where he could possibly be taking her.
"Not at all," Ben replied. They walked a few more minutes and finally came to the edge of the forest. It looked like a typical forested area with no special features. Sofie looked around the area in confusion.
"Did we arrive?" She asked Ben. He nodded.
"I knew you might not remember, but that's ok," Ben explained and began to pace, "it's cheesy, but this is where we shared our first kiss."
Sofie's face lit up as she began to remember the moment.
"You're right!" Sofie laughed, "I can feel the secondhand embarrassment just standing here."
"I know, I know, as I said, cheesy. But I thought it would be a fitting place for this," Ben said and then pulled out a somewhat familiar ring.
Sofie barely recognized the ring as the one originally owned by her father and given to her by Ben years ago. Ben had polished it up and attached an emerald-like stone onto the ring. The ring was in much better shape than before.
"Wow, I've never seen this ring look so nice. I also can't believe you secretly stole it from me," Sofie commented while looking at the ring closely. It was in better condition but still had the words engraved by her father inside it.
Truth and justice, always , Sofie thought while looking on the inside. She still had part of her father with her.
"It's a gift for you and- I don't want to call it an engagement, but it kind of is," Ben explained, trying to clarify his intentions.
"I know things are different compared to ten years ago, and maybe we do things like sleep in separate beds and keep our hands to ourselves around the other students," Ben rambled about their relationship. Sofie smiled at him sweetly, trying not to laugh.
It was hard for Sofie and Ben to not present themselves as a pair since they were Lana's parents. A couple of years had allowed them to slowly rekindle the relationship, and while they weren't full-on lovers, they didn't deny that there was something between them.
"I'm almost certain that you're my twin flame. The way the Force connects us, our conflicts that ultimately elevate us—and the understanding of each other that I think we have now," Ben grabbed Sofie's hands and squeezed them tightly.
"...you think we're two sides of the same coin?" Sofie asked Ben, trying to decipher what a twin flame was. Ben nodded.
"Ben," Sofie said quietly, "when I found you with the Knights of Ren all those years ago, what stopped you from going with me?" Ben gulped. It was common for Sofie to ask questions about his previous actions. It wasn't to get a straight answer, but rather to emphasize the fact that it would never happen again.
"I wanted that power that Snoke promised me. He convinced me that it was the best thing for you and Lana as well," Ben explained. "When Luke made you leave abruptly as well, I thought you hated me."
Sofie frowned as Ben explained himself. She sensed that she had already known this as well. She took his hands, touching his hand that had been replaced mechanically very carefully.
"It's in the past now," Sofie said and gave Ben a soft peck on the lips. Ben pulled her closer and they embraced. He gently rested his chin on her head and smiled.
A gentle breeze floated through the air and moved the trees and grass as it traveled. Ben and Lana lazily laid in the grass on the outskirts of the academy.
"Dad, what were you like when you were a student at my age?" Lana asked him, playfully rolling her lightsaber in the grass.
"When I was 15?" Ben asked out loud, "I wasn't really that social, but I practiced and studied a lot." Lana groaned.
"Did you say that because you want me to study more?" Lana asked with contempt. Ben slightly laughed.
"Maybe," Ben replied. A determined Lana stood up quickly and grabbed her lightsaber. She attempted a back handspring but fell backwards when attempting to land. Ben watched her and then immediately commented on her attempt.
"Don't practice while holding your lightsaber like that!" Ben exclaimed.
Lana stood back up and activated her lightsaber, she rotated it in her hands carefully.
"Ok, I'm ready to practice- and to kick your butt," she said to her father, smiling.
Ben slowly got up, reaching for his saber as well. Lana watched him carefully, nervous but determined to see how she fared against her father. Sparring with him was no joke, but she also took lessons from her mother specifically to know how she could beat him.
Their match was quick, but Lana put up a fight and managed to impress her father. Ultimately, she took a hard fall to the ground which marked the end of the match. Ben helped her back up to her feet.
"If you practice more, you'll get better muscle memory. You'll be able to see what your opponent is doing and be one step ahead of them," Ben explained. Lana sighed. Her strengths were in the Force, not lightsaber dueling.
Ben and Lana began to walk back to the academy. They chatted about some of the other students and about what side projects he and her mother were planning.
"You guys still have to visit the Republic every week?" Lana asked. Her parents seemed to be politicians more than teachers on occasion.
"It's twice a week now, actually. They're just making decisions that fast," Ben explained. They didn't have a substantial amount of power, and their involvement could be seen as ironic since they were concerned about the remnants of the First Order. They kept a close eye on politics so that they could react accordingly.
"It must be so boring," Lana sighed.
"Only if you don't understand what's happening," Ben reassured her.
Ben and Sofie could only cross their fingers and hope that their daughter never had to experience war in her life twice. Despite their wishes, they both felt that things were unbalanced and that it would be inevitable.
They hoped that teaching her everything that they knew would be enough preparation. But they knew that one day she would have her own journey to fulfill.
It was enough to see her go.