Rey watched as Ben descended the mountain with his uncle. She was surprised, he did not seem angry, in fact he didn't seem upset at all. When Luke had volunteered to grab Ben from wherever he had gotten off to, Rey had expected to hear shouting ringing through the mountains and for Ben to come stomping back to the ship before locking himself in one of the holds, but he seemed fine, happy even. Sure, he and Luke were not smiling and laughing and chatting idly, but they were approaching the ship together, the air between them was easy.

"They sure took their sweet time." Han grumbled from the top of the Falcon's ramp.

Rey looked back to see Leia's arms tightly wrapped around her husband's torso, looking up at him with a sweet but admonishing glare.

"I think we should just be glad they aren't trying to kill each other."

Rey choked back a fit of nervous laughter.

"Are you alright, dear?"Leia asked from behind Rey with genuine concern.

"Yes, yes," Rey sputtered awkwardly. "Perfectly fine."

Ben gave Rey an easy smile as he arrived at the Falcon, one that she returned, her face probably tinged with confusion. He swept his parents and then Chewie into warm, lingering embraces as they all boarded the ship. Rey looked to Luke, half suspicious he had used some sort of Jedi mind trick on Ben, but he simply looked on the scene with warmth.

Once they hit hyperspace Ben challenged Chewie to a game of Dejarik. He asked Rey to join him, insisting that he would need as much help as he could get to even stand a chance against the wookie. Rey agreed, trying to relax into this new effortlessly comfortable Ben. It wasn't that she disliked his change in demeanor, it was just so sudden.

Several times throughout the game Rey caught Ben looking at her, just quietly watching. His expression was tender, sweet. It warmed her in the strangest way, it was a silent, content affection she was not used to. Chewie chastised him more than once, growling that he needed to pay more attention to the game and less to the pretty girl. It made Rey blush and Ben laugh.

"Han, I can't believe you still have this old thing." Luke laughed as he placed a decades old rebel helmet on his head, the opaque blaster shield lowered over his face.

A small spherical remote droid, much like the ones Leia had provided for Rey in her own training, floated in front of him. Luke's green lightsaber flashed to life as he began blindly blocking the remote's fire. Han poked his head out from the cock pit and laughed with his old friend.

"Implying my father ever throws anything away." Ben said impassively, his focus concentrated on his next move in the game. "Interesting."

Chewie grunted, chiding Ben's move as amateur. Lecturing that he had taught Ben better than that. Ben just laughed warmly at the wookie's remark.

"And why would I throw away something that works perfectly well, Ben?" Han asked, leaning on the doorway to the cock pit and crossing his arms over his chest, his lips quirked into a half smile. Again, Rey was blow away by how much the son resembled the father. It warmed her heart; this was how things should be, how they should have always been.

"You're right Dad, I'm sure you've gotten plenty of use out of that old remote."

"Your uncle is using right now, isn't he?" Han asked, faking an incredulous tone.

About halfway through the game Han ran into the lounge and pulled Chewie away to go put out some sort of metaphorical fire somewhere within the Falcon - or had it been literal? Ben did not seem to mind, shutting the game off as soon as his father and Chewie had disappeared.

"We were losing anyway." He sighed and rose, holding a hand out for Rey who took it without hesitation.

His posture was different, she noticed. Normally, his tall figure was hunched at the shoulders, his head slightly bowed, but his back was straighter now, he pulled himself to his full height.

Ben did not let go of Rey's hand once she was standing, instead he began leading her somewhere, towards the crew quarters, she realized with a strange bubbling in her stomach. Once inside, he turned to face her, the door whooshing shut behind them. He just stared at her for a moment, his eyes and the Force surrounding him full of intent, their hands still clasped together in the quiet.

"I wanted to… apologize." He said, awkwardly, though his eyes, normally so dark, did not leave her own. "I never – I'm so sorry, Rey, for everything."

Rey just watched him for a moment, her head tilting to the side. She had not been expecting this. Her lips parted, but she could not find anything to say. She laughed.

"I think we're past apologies, Ben." She said finally, shaking her head.

"No." Ben said, he leaned down and pressed his forehead to her own. "I hurt you Rey. I manipulated you, I tried to hurt you and I am sorry."

"I forgive you, Ben." Rey whispered, hardly able to believe what was happening, hardly understanding. "Of course, I forgive you." She had forgiven him long ago if she were honest. She had forgiven him on Ahch-To the first time she touched his hand, she had forgiven him on Kef Bir when she healed him, and she had forgiven him every day since as she watched him grow and change into the man she knew he could become.

"I've hurt everyone I've ever loved." Ben sighed. "I've hated myself for it for so long, but I think that maybe I don't want to any longer." He flicked his eyes away from hers, almost nervously. "I know that I can never undo what I've done, you can't kill the past." He laughed reufully. "But maybe... maybe I don't need to let it kill me either, maybe I don't have to... wallow in it forever." He shook his head. "I want to move forward, maybe that would be best."

"I agree."

Ben looked back at her now, his dark eyes, normally so intense, held a softness Rey would have previously thought unimaginable. His the muscles in his tense jaw worked on something fiercely, as though he were chewing on the words he meant to say, testing them, tasting them. He squeezed her hands tightly.

"I love you, Rey." Ben said, his voice soft, tender. Rey stilled at the words. "I've been so afraid to admit it, afraid that I don't deserve it, afraid you won't feel the same way, afraid that you will…" He lifted his head and closed his eyes. "But I can't allow fear to control my life any longer. I understand if you don't…"

"I do." Rey said, surprising herself. "I do love you, Ben."

Rey's heart was racing. Had she said that? Her blood ran hot in her veins and she was trembling. Ben's eyes, so beautiful and dark and brown, glowed with love. She was transported back to the small dark hut on Ahch-To, both of their faces illuminated only by the glow of the fire. A tentative touch, skin against skin across time and space, the universe shifting around them.

As much as Rey hated to admit it, there was a small part inside of her that belonged to the little scavenger girl abandoned on Jakku, the one who craved love like water but had no idea what to do with it. When she loved people they left. Her parents, Han, Luke, Leia, Ben… sure, most of them were back now, but still. It hurt to love because it hurt to lose and it frightened her.

Still, Rey did love Ben. She had loved him for longer than her past self would have cared to admit. She'd tried to get around the word for too long now, saying she cared for him, that he was a friend, but now that it was out there, now that the truth was loose and set free she felt unimaginably at peace. She raised her hand to cup his right cheek softly and he leaned into her touch.

Ben leaned in slowly and Rey rushed to meet him, crashing her lips into his. She met his love with her own, letting it all escape her. He pulled her closer, one hand on the nape of her neck and the other slowly tracing lines up and down her back. The hand that had rested on Ben's cheek slid up into his hair, thick and dark and soft, she ran her fingers through it, her other hand rested on his chest, feeling the steady drumming of his heart.

Rey did not know how long they stayed like this, lost in each other. She did not know when they had sat down on one of the beds, both of their knees too weak to stand. All she knew was Ben. Ben and Rey, two stars alone in an empty galaxy. They had traveled lightyears and through time to be here, now, and it was all that mattered.

Ben and Rey where ripped apart by the heart stopping sound of the door flying open. Han Solo stood in the doorway, wiping soot and grime onto his trousers. He had not noticed them yet and Ben and Rey scrambled to separate from each other, both of their faces burning red.

"So, fire's out…" Han looked up to see the two of them fidgeting on opposite ends of the bed, hair mussed, breathing heavily, pointedly not staring at each other. "Oh," He said with a sound that was half a laugh and half a cough. "Sorry, kids." Han threw up his hands and made to leave.

"No!" Ben stood quickly, hitting his head on the bottom of the upper bunk. "Ouch. Dad, it's not…"

"Hey, kid." Han said, looking out into the hall, rubbing his neck. "Don't worry about it, I'll just leave, your mother probably needs…"

"Dad, please, listen to me" Ben said, rubbing at the top of his head. Han was laughing now.

Rey was about to join him in the awkward, embarrassed revelry when a sharp jolt of pain pierced her very being. It lingered and burned, the agony throbbed within her, ebbing and rising like a pulse. Rey doubled over onto the ground and she could see out of the corner of her tear-filled eyes that Ben was experiencing the same thing, down on his knees, one hand gripping at his heart.

"What…" Rey could hear Han's voice. "Luke, Leia… somebody!"

As suddenly as the pain started it stopped. Han looked at the both of them, hazel eyes blown wide with panic and fear.

"What happened?" Rey asked Ben breathlessly.

"I – I'm not sure, it almost felt like… No!" Ben shot up and ran from the room. Han and Rey paused a moment to look at each other before following him.

Leia sat on the curved seat surrounding the holoboard, her back hunched over her cane, breathing heavily. Ben was kneeling on the floor in front of his mother, one of her small hands clasped in both of his larger ones. Luke was just behind her, his flesh hand white knuckling the back of the seat, his face a bright scarlet. They had experienced the same sudden pain, Rey realized.

"What was that?" Rey managed to squeeze out.

"A terrible tremor in the force." Luke croaked. "I've felt something like this only once before."

"You don't mean…" Han breathed beside Rey. He ran to the cockpit without another word. The four in the lounge waited in a tense silence.

"Ben," Leia muttered softly, smiling at her son. "It's alright, I'm alright." Setting her cane against the holoboard, she placed her free hand against her son's cheek.

Han stumbled from the cockpit, his face white as a sheet, his lower jaw trembling.

"It's Hosnian Prime – it's gone." He said, his voice low. "It was a Sith Eternal ship."

Rey's knees nearly gave way as all of the air left her lungs. It was happening, they had wasted too much time. The Emperor knew, Rey wasn't sure or how much, but he knew something, that was obvious. It was too late and now Hosnian Prime was gone, they hadn't been able to save it at all, only delayed the inevitable.

Somethings really were fated to be, Rey's own thoughts echoed though her mind again. Maybe they couldn't change the past, maybe she and Ben had been fools.

"The Resistance?" Rey breathed, her voice trembling with the same frequency of her legs beneath her.

"I can't say for sure," Leia said, her voice low. She shook her head solemnly. Peeling her hand from her son's face, she stood. Han rushed to her side to help her, Ben kept a careful hand on her arm. "I need to contact the Resistance fleet." Luke slipped into the seat Leia had occupied, Rey sat down beside him.

"I didn't want to believe it." Luke said, his voice nearly a whisper. "I knew… I just didn't want to believe it could be true."

Rey looked at him, her words escaping her. There was fear in her old master's blue eyes, but more than that there was sorrow and pain. Rey had thought she knew what it was to hurt but the pain of a planet dying, it sent the balance of the force into a tailspin. Life and death, a cycle in the force just stopping instantaneously. Rey placed a tentative hand on Luke's and he sighed.

"Where did you say that wayfinder was?"

"The fleet was not in the Hosnian system when the ship, a Xyston-class Star Destroyer according to reconnaissance in the area, attacked." The flickering blue hologram of the resistance admiral said. "We were able to secure a few scans of the ship and our engineers are studying them as we speak. You are telling us your son knows where the fleet is located?"

"He does," Leia said, her voice weary. Ben's heart ached; his mother had lost so much already. She looked at Ben with tired eyes.

"The fleet is on Exegol." Ben explained plainly.

"I have never heard of…"

"It's the planet of the Sith Eternal, in the Unknown Regions." Ben thought back to the world seemingly made of a storm, star destroyers rising from the ground, rock crumbling around them. Tens of thousands of ships, he'd thought they had been his then, but that was never what Sidious had intended. "It is very well hidden, you need a wayfinder to locate it. Only two exist."

"And you know where those are as well, I assume?" The admiral asked, her voice taking on a suspicious tone.

"I do." Ben agreed coolly.

"And how do you have this knowledge?" The admiral narrowed her eyes.

"Is that relevant?" Ben snapped.

"I have to agree with my son, Admiral Rebard." Ben's mother said, trying to diplomatically smooth over the situation. "Our focus should be…"

"All due respect General Organa, some very disturbing news has been circulating about your son's past position within the First Order, I think it is very relevant." The admiral stood firm. Ben glared at the woman. She reminded him so of a First Order officer, all straight backs, crisp uniforms, thinly veiled malice dripping from every word. Rebard was dancing around the subject, too afraid to accuse him in front of his mother. Ben had never had the patience for these kinds of games and the galaxy didn't have the time.

"If you would like to begin the trial of Kylo Ren, be my guest, but I agree with General Organa. The Sith fleet and the return of Darth Sidious should take precedent, don't you agree Admiral?"

Ben had known this would happen, but this was certainly an inopportune time for it. There were more pressing matters at hand, did the admiral not realize that? There would certainly be a trial for Kylo Ren, the warlord, Ben knew that, his legal reckoning would come, and he would not try to stop it. He did worry how his past would reflect on Rey and his parents, hopefully people would not judge them too harshly by association.

The admiral seemed annoyed but relented.

"I do agree." She said brusquely. "We will put a pin in that conversation for now. Do you know how many ships there are?"

"Not an exact number, thousands, tens of thousands." Ben shuddered at the memory. Ben could see the muscles in the admiral's jaw tense.

"There's something else, General." The admiral's attention snapped back to Ben's mother; her hands clasped tightly behind her back. "A message from the First Order, or the Sith Eternal, they seem to be one and the same at this point. It was released just after the attack on every open channel galaxy wide."

"Oh?" A voice came from behind them; it was Rey. All attention fell to her. "Sorry, I can go."

"No, stay." Ben insisted, holding his hand out to her. If he was here she had a right to be as well, they were a team. Rey took his hand and crossed the cockpit to stand in front of him and Ben wrapped his arms around her.

The admiral grimaced and nodded, accepting the new audience member, and the hologram flashed – the flickering blue figure of General Hux, stood before them, as clean-pressed and smug as ever. His posture was similar to the admiral's, his hands behind his back, but the expression he wore was the expression of a man who had cheated in a game of sabacc and won big.

"This is General Hux of the First Order." Ben noticed that he was still 'General', not 'Supreme Leader'. Ben wondered if it had stung the wormy little man to learn that there was yet another master to obey, Ben hoped that it stung.

"The false government of Hosnian Prime is dead and the loathsome insurgency known as the Resistance will be soon to follow." Hux began. "The Emperor lives. These are the final days of the Republic rebellion. Bow before the might of the First Order, before the might of the Sith Eternal or die. There is no hope, there is no defiance, there is only order." Hux smiled smugly and the hologram flickered away, replaced by the uncomfortable admiral. "Our forces are concentrated on evacuating D'qar, we're sure that's the next target if they are intent on destroying the Resistance." The admiral sighed.

"Is that all?" Leia asked stonily.

"It is, General Organa." The admiral responded. "Do you have any orders?"

"Keep up with the evacuation. I will be recording a message of our own for the galaxy. We need to show them that there is hope. I'll want it broadcast as wide as possible. We'll need as much help in this fight as we can get."

"Understood." The hologram flickered out and Ben's mother turned to face him, she looked so tired.

"Endor System, Kef Bir."

When they arrived at the location of the Death Star Han Solo landed the Falcon on a flat outcropping jutting off of the main structure, the same place Ben had landed the first time he had been here. Ben, Luke and Rey exited the ship, taking in the massive, wrecked weapon that jutted out of the sea. The water was calm today, very unlike Ben and Rey's last visit where the waves had crashed over the sides of the walkways, threatening to pull them into the surf.

"Are you coming with us?" Rey asked Luke. He smiled and shook his head, the smile did not reach his eyes.

"I'm flattered, but there's no way I'm climbing up that these days, no. I just wanted a closer look." Luke's eyes swam with memories of fallen masters and fathers, of lightning and emperor's long thought dead. Ben knew all of the stories very well. "I'm not particularly interested in seeing that old throne room again anyway."

Ben and Rey approached the weapon and began their ascent. Rey climbed like an expert, her hands and feet always finding easy purchase wherever she placed them. Ben's climb was a bit sloppier, missing a hand and foothold every now and again and he found it difficult to keep pace with the former scavenger.

They entered the throne room together and Ben stared at Rey breathlessly. The room looked exactly the same, sun pouring in through the round viewport onto the rusted wreckage before them. It seemed impossible that the room should look exactly as it had then despite everything that had changed.

Ben waited for Rey to make a move towards the vault. He wasn't sure why, exactly, except for an unspoken belief that this wayfinder was hers just as the one on Mustafar had been his. Rey did not move, her face was unnaturally pale in the shadows that surrounded them, her eyes were haunted. He squeezed her shoulder lightly.

"I'll get it." He said as he approached the Emperor's vault.

The door slid open before him. Ben approached the holocron, the small pyramid growing red with dark energy. The moment his hand touched the metal surface of the wayfinder he heard the crackle of a very familiar lightsaber blade screaming to life. Ben whipped his head up and saw him there, Kylo Ren, mask and all, approaching from the darkness beyond, red cross-guard lightsaber sparking with power pointed directly at Ben.

"Do not run from me, do not fight your destiny. The blood of Vader runs through your veins." The deep modulated voice said. Ben took a step backwards and hesitated. This was just a vision.

"I'm not running, but I will never stop fighting you." Ben said, standing his ground. Kylo swung his blade down hard and Ben ducked, rolling out of the vault. When he stood Kylo was gone.

The blood of Darth Vader did run through Ben's veins, there was no lie there, but all that meant was that the blood of Anakin Skywalker ran through his veins. Anakin who fell and rose just as Ben had. The blood of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa and Han Solo, the heroes of the rebellion ran through his veins as well. There was more light in Ben's past than there was darkness, and there would be more light in his future as well. He turned to Rey.

Rey was standing beside the Emperor's throne, the throne of her grandfather. She reached a hand out as if to touch the throne's arm but pulled it back. She breathed deeply.

"Isn't it strange?" Rey asked, a quiet laugh to her voice, though there was no joy in it. "My grandfather sat here and yours stood beside him, ruling the galaxy… and here we are."

Ben coughed awkwardly. It was strange, he agreed, but he wasn't sure why she would bring that up now. He reached out through the bond. Uncertainty and fear rolled off of her in waves.

"We've been here before." She said, not taking her eyes off of the throne. Her face was as still and cold as stone, her hazel eyes, normally bright and shining, were dark and dull. "You were holding the wayfinder then too."

"Rey, what are you getting at?" Ben finally asked. He crossed the room to close the distance between them. He took Rey in his arms and held her close, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head. Rey held him back, but her grip was weak. She sighed into him.

"Some things never change." She mused quietly, her voice muffled by his shirt. Ben pulled away, his hands on each of her shoulders. He stared into her eyes.

"Rey, what is going on?"

"Ben, do you believe in fate?" Rey asked, her eyes and voice desperate, for what, Ben did not know.

"No." Ben answered gravely, his voice low and deep.

Fate was a dark path; one Ben knew all too well. He had thought, he had been told, for so many years that he was fated to be Vader's heir, that he was born to finish what Vader had started. The idea of fate was made to trap you, to force you into a place and down a road you feel that you have no choice but to take. No, Ben did not believe in fate.

"We choose our own paths, Rey."

Rey said nothing and nodded but Ben did not feel her despair ease. He pulled her close and sighed again.

They arrived back at the Falcon, the journey there taken in somber silence. Ben sat the wayfinder down on the holoboard table and his father set a course to rendezvous with the Resiatance fleet which was currently amassing somewhere in Unknown Regions. Luke, who was sitting at the table, gave Ben a reassuring nod, but it did little to quell Ben's nerves. Ben's mother sat down next to her brother, placing one of her hands softly on one of his.

"Rey and I discussed it earlier." Luke began, his tone grim. "She and I will face Sidious on Exegol…"

Whatever else Luke said was lost beneath the sound of blood rushing in Ben's ears. He felt dizzy, like the world was tumbling and rolling around him.

"What?" He sputtered, all eyes turning to him. "Rey?" He looked to her, his tone accusing.

"Ben," Rey started softly, placing a hand on his arm. "Luke and I going makes the most sense -"

"You were the one that said we were a team!" Ben's voice was raised, panic was clawing at his throat. He backed away from her, from all of them. His jaw was trembling, he felt trapped. "You were the one to tell me to stop sacrificing myself and now you want us to split up and…"

"Ben, you remember what happened last time." Rey said, her tone firm. His anger rose, of course he remembered, how could he forget, how could she… "If we go together, the Emperor will use our bond against us. We can't do this together, we just can't." Her voice was barely more than a breath. There was sorrow in her eyes and Ben's indignation began to ebb, even if only a little.

"Then I'll go." Ben said desperately. His heart was pounding wildly.

"No, Ben. The Emperor doesn't need you. He would just kill you… I would at least stand a chance." Her voice was sad, full of terrible truth.

Ben wanted to fight her, wanted to push back, insist that he go in her place. Instead, he closed the distance between them and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her tightly in the hopes that he could protect her from inevitability. Horrible images flashed in front of his vision, her small, cold form on the ground. She wasn't moving, she wasn't breathing. Tears stung Ben's eyes as he pulled her limp body into his, pulling her close in the way he had never been able to in life. He looked around, searching the crumbling ruins for answers that would not come. A spark of hope as he placed his hand on her abdomen and gave her everything, gave in the way she had shown him on Kef Bir.

His blood ran cold with the idea that it could happen again, that it would. Rey's voice rang through his head like a bell, a death knell.

We've been here before.

Some things never change.

Ben, do you believe in fate?